Falcons Clinch Playoff berth with win over Ryan

The Falcons clinched a playoff spot on Friday night with a 60-53 win at Archbishop Ryan. If they can get past St Joe Prep on Tuesday, they will secure 2nd place in the Red Division and get a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

Game Summary
See Roc….See Roc jump…..See Roc dunk……Dunk, Roc, Dunk. For those of you in the over 30 crowd, this is what it seemed like Friday night, as Rakeem Christmas did something you don’t see often in this young man. He got mad. And, as we now know, when Roc gets mad, just get out of his way. After getting tangled up under the North basket with a Ryan player, and then crashing hard to the floor, the refs called Roc for a foul and gave offsetting technical fouls to each player. It was at this point that people in the crowd started to taunt the big sophomore. And, it was from that point on that Roc exploded. Going down the stretch, the Raiders hit 6 or 7 late 3-pointers to stay close to the Falcons, but it was also during that same stretch that Roc blocked 4 shots, grabbed 4 boards and scored about 6 or 7 of his 18 points (5 blks, 8 rebs) to keep the Raiders from actually catching up. Despite what the Ryan fan wrote in his game summary for TedSilary.com, the crowd not only didn’t faze the Falcons, it made them play better. But, I think it may have inspired the Raider players too. Down the stretch, they stayed close not because of mistakes on the part of the Falcons, but rather because they just couldn’t seem to miss from beyond the arc.

This is now two straight games where I saw the raw intensity in Roc that just makes him an almost one-man show on the floor. I say “almost” because the team effort in this game was superb. Jack O’Neill (14 pts, 9 rebs,5 for 5 from the line) was seemingly in the right place at the right time on many occasions last night. We believe Jack was shorted a point on one of his 3-point baskets. The ref’s hands went up like it was a three, but the scoreboard guy only put up two. When North’s stats guru, Tom “Hockey Puck” McKenna, tried to correct the score, the “official” scorekeeper said it was only a two. The ref didn’t remember, so it stayed as a 2-pointer. Another big contributor was Mike Terry, who scored 14 points while getting 4 steals. Seems that Mike is over his injury, which kept him out of the Prep Charter game. To the home crowd (and Ryan players), just keep in mind the words of legendary songwriter, Jim Croce (paraphrased, of course), “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind, you don’t pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger, and you don’t mess around with Roc!”

No pictures for this one. I may get to them later.........

Next Game
The Falcons travel to Villanova University Saturday night to play Jamesville-Dewitt. This will be a tall order for the young Falcons, as the Jamesville team comes into this game undefeated and ranked as high as 28th in the nation (ESPN’s Rise magazine) and in the top 15 in the region (USA Today). But, to be the best, you have to play the best. Come on out and support the team.