By Roman Brunetti ’26
On February 27, a group of Chaminade seniors battled faculty members in the annual Senior/Faculty Basketball Game at the AAC. Thanks to a late layup by Coach Joseph Romero ’13, the faculty came out on top, 43-42.
The afternoon started with the intramural league semifinals, where Team Fortnite and Team DeMilt each came away with a victory.
Then came the three point contest, where the faculty-senior pair of Dr. Daniel Summers ’08 and Ryan O’Toole ’25 faced the duo of Mr. Thomas Griffin and Matthew Marquardt ’25 in the finals after a great tournament. It was a great battle, but Griffin, a former JV basketball coach, and Marquardt emerged victorious.
In the final of the intramural league, Team DeMilt defeated Team Fortnite, 39-29.
As for the game that packed the AAC bleachers, the energy was palpable in the arena as the Class of 2025 looked to take down their professors. The students in attendance cheered as the game’s participants were introduced. Mr. Pisani ’12, Coach Vargas, and Mr. Balestra were praised, while Coach Feeney and Coach O’Connell ’15, the varsity and JV basketball coaches respectively, were playfully booed. Mr. Matthew Kaplan ‘97 proved electric on the PA system, mixing funny jokes with good-natured trash talk.
The game was back and forth throughout, as each team went on multiple extended runs. The three point champion, Marquardt, kept the students in it thanks to his multitude of threes, while the teachers used a balanced attack led by Coach Romero, Coach O’Connell, Coach Feeney, and Mr. John Mazzello. In the final 30 seconds, Coach Romero’s short floater gave the teachers the lead, and they held on defensively for the win.
It was a fun evening of basketball, and everyone shared praise for it. “I’ll remember it very fondly after seeing all my favorite teachers and my peers playing basketball together,” said Ethan Quinn ‘25 on how he will remember the evening; he was in attendance, cheering on his fellow students.
“Just playing out there with my teammates and friends; it was real fun,” said the sharpshooter Marquardt on what his favorite part was. “I’ll just think back and see how much fun I had out there tonight.”
Even some of the faculty chimed in afterwards: “I would say my favorite part would be just the kids in the crowd because they got really into it, cheering for their guys,” said Mr. Michael McCarthy, who participated in both the three-point contest and the game. “It’s always funny when they boo the faculty.” Mr. McCarthy has played in every one of these games, and when asked why he keeps coming back, he said, “I love basketball. I think it’s fun to mix it up with the kids.”
Coach Feeney added, “It’s fun to go out there and play, and you get a lot of non-basketball kids that I know from Phys. Ed and from being around the athletic department,” he remarked. “Whether they’re gearing up for a spring sport or whether they play something in the fall or they’re just involved in another facet of school, it’s a lot of kids we know, and there’s a lot of friendly banter going back and forth, and it’s always fun to go out there and play.”
The strongest comments came from Coach O’Connell. He boasted, “I’m not surprised we won. We were clearly the superior team, and we plan to continue that dominance next year, as well.”
In the end, it was a great evening full of basketball that both the seniors and faculty will not forget anytime soon.
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