As it is the height of college application season, and with the end of the quarter quickly approaching, I have been remiss in posting recent articles in a timely fashion. However, with the plethora of events which have occurred over the past seven days, I would do a disservice to the athletes by not recognizing some notable accomplishments. Therefore, I have put together below a comprehensive summary of how each sport fared.
Cross Country
The team of endurance runners traveled to Newport News on Monday to compete in the Catholic State meet. Senior Sean Tully won first overall and is the 2014 Catholic State Champion. His time of 16:26 was also a school record. Other notable performances included junior Andre Gallant who finished fifth as well as freshman Sammi Connor who placed fifth on the girls’ side. The boys’ team took 3rd overall and the girls’ team finished with their highest placement in school history. In total, it was a very successful day of running for the Wolves. Congratulations to everyone who competed.
Football
The football team departed John Paul shortly after attendance was taken Friday morning for their long bus ride up to northern New Jersey. Friday night, they would would watch national powerhouse Don Bosco prep before playing a game of their own on Saturday afternoon.
Their opponent, Northern Valley Regional, scored less than three minutes into the game, and it took them just a few more minutes to make it 14-0. In the opening 15 seconds of the second quarter, the Norsemen scored again, but the extra point was no good. They would score again, this time putting the extra point through the uprights to make it 27-0. With just over a minute before halftime, Northern Valley scored their fifth touchdown of the first half, and the two teams went into the break with the scoreline reading 33-0.
After another Norsemen touchdown, it was 40-0 before the Wolves finally got on the board in the fourth quarter. Two rushing touchdowns cut the deficit to 40-14, and then with mere seconds remaining in the game, a third touchdown coinciding with a two point conversion made it 40-22, and that would be the final score. The Wolves look to right the ship this Friday against Rappahannock, before taking on Bishop Ireton in their final game. John Paul must win their last two games in order to have a chance at the playoffs, so it is shaping up to a repeat of last season’s situation: coming down to Ireton with the season on the line in the final game.
Boys Soccer
On Friday night, the Wolves routed Trinity at Meadowview by a score of 5-1. Goals were scored by Marvin Cortez, Dan Fitzpatrick, Justin DeRaymond, and Alex Turner who scored twice.
Tuesday afternoon was the soccer team’s senior night and they took on top ranked Woodberry Forest. The game ended in a 3-1 loss for the Wolves, with the lone goal coming from Matt Samuels on a penalty kick.
Volleyball
After suffering a straight set defeat to O’Connell last Thursday, the girls were looking to rebound at home Tuesday afternoon on their senior night against St. Stephens St. Agnes. Along with senior night, it was also their Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Out game as well as their Marquee Event.
The match was close during the first set which ended up going the way of the Wolves. John Paul dominated the subsequent two sets to sweep the match (winning 3-0) and emerge with a straight set victory of their own. It was a dominant performance for JP’s volleyball team.
Field Hockey
In the field hockey team’s Breast Cancer Pink Out game last Friday, the Wolves took on Flint Hill. The rout was on from the beginning, when Brooke Burke scored on John Paul’s opening possession. After three more goals, one more by Burke and two by Aidan Gelbach, the Wolves emerged victorious by a score of 4-1.
The next morning explains the latter half of this post’s title. About 18 hours after their victory over Flint Hill, it was time to take on the rival Cardinals of Bishop Ireton at noon on Saturday. It was a defensive struggle back and forth as both teams fought to break through. John Paul finally found the back of the goal, but no sooner did they have the lead than Ireton scored the equalizer. It was about midway through the second half when Aidan Gelbach put the Wolves up for good with her second goal of the game. John Paul would need a strong defensive stand in the closing minutes to withstand Ireton’s relentless offensive attack, but it was a strong stand indeed. It was a thrilling finale in a statement win.
Field hockey’s senior night was one of three senior nights to occur Tuesday afternoon. On a personal note, the whole “senior” concept hit home for me and my fellow senior field hockey hypesquad members who have grown accustomed to attending the games over the years. With so many senior festivities on one afternoon, it made us realize that after the years of watching older students be announced and walk on the field, it’s our turn now. If any underclassmen are reading this, enjoy the time you have and make the most of it, because it goes so quickly. When you’re a senior you’ll look back and appreciate the fact you relished every second of it.
Anyways, the Wolves were taking on Episcopal High School. The game was fast paced with one team pressing hard but not being able to score. Then the other team would come down and do the same thing without a score result. The crowd was into it and as the game entered halftime scoreless, it was set up for another crazy finish. However, few were expecting what actually happened. As the rain began to pour late in the second half, Renee Paquette sniped a shot into the goal for the first score of the game. All JP would need to do is hang on for the last few minutes. Episcopal had different ideas. While there had been no score the entire game, they came right back within seconds and tied the game, forcing sudden death overtime. Just minutes into overtime, Episcopal was on the attack, and the attack proved too much for John Paul to handle. An Episcopal player rifled a rocket of a shot that found the goal, giving them the win. While it was not a victorious effort for the Wolves, it was still one of the most exciting and intense games of theirs I have witnessed.
That concludes the summary of this past week’s events. The close of the fall season is quickly approaching, with only a couple of weeks left depending on the playoff situation.
*This site’s URL is now simply Johnpaulwolfpack.com instead of Johnpaulwolfpack.wordpress.com
JP Wolf Pack
Paul Fritschner
Steve Miller
The John Paul Wolf Pack 