Monday, February 25th

Last Thursday, the Eagle basketball squad honored the seniors before they faced off against Villa Angela-St. Joseph in the Nest. Shoutout to Spencer Crane, Brady Foutz, Mark Gaertner, Josiah Knight, Jack Loesch (myself), Jake Ogle, Josh Ogle, and Meechie Terry for contributing four great years to the St. Edward Basketball Program. From my position as the team manager, I have had a great four years with this team; great players, coaches, and fans have made this experience truly amazing for me. Hopefully, I will remain the team manager for seven more games!

The starting lineup against VASJ was Brady Foutz, Mark Gaertner, Josiah Knight, Jake Ogle, and Josh Ogle. VASJ came out firing and hit a few early threes. But the Eagles kept it close in the first segment of the opening quarter. Once the starters checked into the game, the Eagles really began to take control of the game. Down 17-12 at the end of one, the Eagles then took a 19-17 lead and never looked back.

Throughout the remainder of the game, the lead was built even more. Great performances by Tae Tae Blanton, Grant Huffman, and Meechie Terry led the Eagles to a 93-68 win. This was a much-needed win, as we did not want to enter the postseason on a two-game losing streak. Also, this quick turnaround from Tuesday’s upset loss to Solon indicates that we are getting better and better.

Although Meechie’s fantastic alley-oop dunks and amazing hustle play (see video here… although you could probably find it all over twitter because Matt Goul’s original post now has 1.3M views), Tae Tae Blanton took over the game with lights-out shooting that led to him to net a career-high 31 points (see Tae Tae’s highlights here). Grant Huffman contributed greatly to the win, as he nearly recorded a triple-double.

Personally, however, my favorite moment of the night (and this may be a tad biased) was my half-court shot at during halftime. At the half, all seniors had the opportunity to win a free prom bid if they hit a half-court shot. About 30 guys attempted the shot and all of them missed. I had the last shot, and let me tell you, the pressure was ON. Being the only person at mid-court and getting watched by everyone in the gym, I felt obligated to not disappoint them with a miss. Thus, I sent up a shot and nailed it, sending the gym into an uproar (see video here). That shot was an instant memory for me; it was really cool to see the reaction of my classmates when the ball went in.

Shifting gears to Hockey, the Eagles took a tough loss to Holy Name in the District Semifinals on Saturday night. Looking for revenge after a loss in the conference tournament, the puck just did not go our way. The final was 2-0 Holy Name. Congratulations to the St. Edward Hockey Program on a great season.

All of the wrestlers advanced to districts after competing in sectionals on Saturday at Westlake High School. Great job to the Eagle wrestlers; keep doing your thing! Let’s bring home another banner!

The Eagle basketball squad opens off the playoffs on Saturday at 7 PM in the Eagle’s Nest against the winner of Parma and Normandy. Make sure to support all of our winter athletics as we enter the postseason!

GO EAGLES!

~ Jack Loesch ‘19