SBy Brandon Teixeira ’16

Senior Night, a popular tradition at Chaminade, brings together the senior class with many of the faculty for a night filled with laughs and friendly competition.  Signaling that the senior class trip to Disney World and graduation are right around the corner, Senior Night is a culmination of four years of hard work at Chaminade High School.  On Thursday, March 3, most of the senior class came out for the festivities, and the night lived up to expectations.

The festivities started with two semi-final senior intramural basketball games.  Teams Ferryman and Connors played first, battling in a close matchup that brought the crowd to their feet.  While the teams traded the lead for much of the game, Team Connors, with coaching from Varsity Basketball’s starting point guard Ryan Dean, pulled away late in the second half and clinched their spot in the championship game.  The second semi-final game displayed a contest between Teams Quinn and Arcos.  Team Quinn began the game off strong, with Joe Pizzingrillo channeling his inner Steph Curry by hitting four threes in the first half; however, with a revamped game plan from Coach Mark Rodriguez ’16, Team Arcos battled back, tying the game and sending it into overtime.  Riding their momentum, Team Arcos pulled ahead quickly in overtime and never looked back, cementing their spot in the championship game against Team Connors.  But before the two contenders could face-off, the three-point contest needed to crown a victor.

In the three-point contest, one team from each homeroom attempted to score as many three-pointers as they could in one minute.  The student contest got off to a rough start with homerooms A, B, C, and D hitting few shots, but the contest soon picked up.  Eventually, homerooms H, K, L, and M made the playoffs for the students.  In the faculty contest, the teams of Mr. Dan Feeney and Mr. Peter Dubon ‘99, Mr. Michael McCarthy and Mr. Sebastian Agosti ‘09, Mr. Joseph Ceriello ‘10 and Mr. Gregory Saporita ‘02, and Mr. Dennis Flood ‘89 and Mr. Pasquale Razzano coasted to the playoff rounds.  After further narrowing the pools, Homeroom 4L, represented by Zachary Shelhorse and Robert Sangirardi, squared off against Mr. Razzano and Mr. Flood in the first semifinal bout.  The initial minute saw both teams score the same amount of threes, pushing the contest to an extra round.  In the next thirty seconds, Zach matched Mr. Flood’s shooting, and the contest continued to a third round.  Unfortunately for the students, Mr. Razzano outclassed Rob and advanced his team to the finals.  In the faculty dominated championship round, featuring Mr. Razzano and Mr. Flood against Mr. McCarthy and Mr. Agosti, Mr. Razzano caught fire from behind the arc and led his team to victory.

 

Following the three-point shooting contest, the highly anticipated senior championship intramural game between Team Connors and Team Arcos arrived.  The winner was clear from the start, as Team Arcos carried their momentum from their earlier overtime victory to coast easily for a win.  Julien Arcos hit some clutch three pointers, while Peter Petersen grabbed rebound after rebound, and blocked shot after shot.  Team Connors put up a valiant fight, but they were no match for the well-rounded Team Arcos and its coaching staff.

Nicholas Sciortino, a member of Team Arcos, said, “Winning the intramural basketball tournament made senior night even better than it already was.  It is a great way to end my Chaminade intramural career and will remain a fun memory that will last a lifetime.”

Captain of the team, Julien Arcos, echoed Nick’s sentiment, saying, “Senior night was a great experience to share with my friends.  It was an amazing feeling to win the intramural championship while my classmates and teachers looked on.”

After feasting on some spicy chicken heroes and snacks, the seniors watched their 3C video that highlighted their first week of school, allowing the seniors to reminisce about some of the first experiences they had at Chaminade.  After the memory-inspiring video, the main attraction – the Faculty-Senior Game – was set to begin.

After some hilarious introductions from Mr. Matthew Kaplan ’97, the game began.  Early in the first quarter, the game showcased a matchup between Sean Wosleger and Mr. Feeney, as each scored his team’s first five and four points, respectively.  After some other players also contributed to the fray, the score at the end of the first quarter was 16-10 in favor of the students.  

The students then began to pull ahead early in the second quarter, leading by as many as 17 points.  Nevertheless, the faculty battled back and, with the help of some unannounced, “modified rules,” such as a nine point shot and two-point free throws, had pulled ahead 42-35 at the end of three quarters.  

With four minutes remaining in the final quarter, the students saw themselves down six. They cut the deficit to two with two minutes left.  They then hit another free throw, but in the final minute, Mr. McCarthy drained a three to put the faculty back up four. After a timeout, the students were down three with 17.5 seconds left.  Joe Carney hit his first free throw and strategically missed the second, which gave Jack Barry the chance to clean up with a nice put-back, tying the game and sending it into overtime.  However, in the overtime, the faculty jumped out to an eight-point lead and never looked back.  With a few seconds left on the clock, Gilbert Onu, a late roster addition, who substituted into the game in overtime, swished home the final shot of the game, and the seniors stormed the court in celebration.  While the scoreboard, operated by faculty member Mr. Kevin Parente ’82, may have indicated a 58-52 victory for the faculty, the seniors knew they were the real winners.

Senior Night ended with nearly the entire grade huddled together on the basketball court of the Activity-Athletic Center.  The event accomplished its goal of bringing the class together for a great night, living up to expectations for both the students and the faculty.

“It was a great night for the Class of 2016 to come together, and I really enjoyed watching my classmates compete in a humorous yet competitive atmosphere,” said Michael Tek.  “I think it is safe to say that this tradition met its expectations and then some, and the Class of 2017 definitely has something to anticipate.”