Week 1 of the 2013-2014 CYO campaign has come and gone, and with it some squads have gotten off to an ideal start this year while others find themselves in an early hole. Here is a rundown of how the ballclubs in the Eye’s Power Rankings fared this past weekend (using the original rankings):
1) St. Albert the Great
-The Mustangs won their opener, outlasting a tough Assumption squad, featuring Vetri Ravichandran ’14 and other Ignatius ballers, by a final score of 41-36. In the words of various St. Albert players, “the road to states has begun.” More importantly, though, senior Matt Kobunski confirmed on Twitter that the Mustangs’ bench temperature was a steady 98.6 degrees throughout the entire ballgame. St. Albert will take on St. Ambrose this Saturday.
2) St. Ignatius- “The Greater”
-This Wildcat CYO club suffered a tough opening loss this past weekend to the infamous St. John Vianney team, led by the ginger kid we East Side ballers all know and dislike. Look for the ‘Cats to bounce back this coming weekend against Gilmour.
3) St. Francis Xavier
-Apparently, this squad took Sacred Heart of Jesus in Wadsworth out to the woodshed last Saturday by a score of 32-0, with all 32 points allegedly being scored by Mark Becker ’14. However, this information has yet to be confirmed; the CYO website gives St. Francis the win, but the word is that in fact this score is incorrect and Sacred Heart of Jesus recorded the win. Regardless, St. Francis will clash with Queen of Heaven this coming Sunday.
4) Our Lady of the Lake/Holy Cross
-As expected, the defending state runner-up Falcons secured a 33-22 victory last weekend over the notorious St. Mary of the Assumption, moving to 1-0 on the year. Thus far, senior Cole Larson’s claim that Holy Cross will finish #1 in the rankings has been backed up. Holy Cross will meet NDCL this Saturday.
5) St. Raphael
6) Communion of Saints/St. Ann
-The Sabres lost a close one this past weekend to a formidable NDCL squad by a final of 42-35. To the surprise of no one, Dominic Gideon ’14 is pointing to the shady betrayal of fellow senior Jacob Rossi as the reason for his team’s opening defeat. Nevertheless, St. Ann will look to even its record at 1-1 this weekend against St. Mary of the Assumption.
7) St. Ignatius- “The Lesser”
-These Wildcats suffered a disappointing loss to one of St. Albert’s other CYO ballclubs, a team featuring the likes of seniors Shane Skuhrovec, Andrew Ciolli, Nick Margevicius, and Pat Hudec. Considering the fact that the majority of the student body already knows what the score was, there is no need to mention it. According to reputable sources, however, Tom “Feathery Touch” McCartney will be running multiple suicides on account of the loss. Nevertheless, this St. Ignatius squad is unfazed and looks forward to its Saturday matchup with #10 St. Brendan-St. Richard.
8) St. Angela Merici
-The scrappy Bruins fell in a heartbreaker to St. Luke this past Sunday, 44-43. Owen Manning ’14 did not take this loss well, hitting the hardwood for countless hours over the course of this week in order to prepare to redeem his squad this weekend. Self-appointed captain and senior Mitch Zawodny was very upset as well. The Bruins will aim for the W this weekend against St. Joseph of Amherst.
9) Sts. Joseph and John
-SJJ began the season on a strong note this past Saturday with a 42-32 win over #12 St. Christopher, then followed that up by losing a nail-biter to a talented OLA ballclub (featuring various Wildcat players) by a score of 31-30. However, both of these games were played without seasoned vet Niko Minasola ’14, so the Vikings figure to be even better with him on the floor. They will do battle with St. Basil the Great this Saturday.
10) St. Brendan-St. Richard
-St. Brendan-St. Richard started off their season the right way with a 52-43 victory over the St. Bernadette Bulldogs. It appears that senior Phil Criswell was, as expected, an absolute animal on both ends of the floor for the duration of the contest. This team hopes to continue its success against St. Ignatius (“The Lesser”) this weekend.
11) St. Jude (Senior Team)
12) St. Christopher
-The Knights were handed their first loss of the season in their opener at the hands of #9 Sts. Joseph and John as previously mentioned. This junior squad of skilled ballplayers will look to get off the schneid this weekend against 1-0 OLA.
13) St. Bernadette
-The Bulldogs got off to a fast start for the 2013-2014 season with a 49-37 win over St. Thomas-St. Theresa, whom I have never heard of in my illustrious CYO career. This tough squad looks to jump out to 2-0 against Holy Trinity on Saturday.
14) St. Bartholomew
-St. Bart’s opened their season with a strong win against a different St. Angela Merici team by a final of 33-21. Sources tell me that Colin Soeder ’14 was lighting it up from different area codes as he usually does, and was getting “MVP” chants by the end of the 3rd quarter. The Pirates will hope to improve to 2-0 this weekend against St. Anthony of Padua (Parma).
15) St. Luke
-The Crusaders established themselves as a force to be reckoned with this past Sunday after routing St. Mary of the Falls, 41-22. These self-proclaimed underdogs have put themselves on the radar as potential contenders and will play St. Albert the Great (different from the two previously mentioned squads) on Saturday.
16) St. Jude (Sophomore Team)
-St. Jude dropped their first contest of the season, 27-21, to St. Joseph (Avon Lake). This squad of sophomores will hope to even their record at 1-1 against Sts. Joseph and John this weekend.
In news outside of the Power Rankings, a Holy Family squad led by Tim Riley ’14 picked up an illegitimate W by way of forfeit in Week 1. Riley claims this was a forfeit based on pure intimidation, but the real reason is obviously the pity the opposing team felt upon seeing Tim’s motley crew of subpar ballers. Additionally, senior Brian Callahan’s St. Columbkille Knights fought their way to a 50-42 win over St. Anthony of Padua (Parma), and thus continue their run as CYO’s most overrated ballclub.
If any of you are on a team that did not submit a team description in time for the release of the Power Rankings, please email me with your team’s name and coach’s name as well as any Ignatius players you have so that I can include your squad in future articles. Additionally, for those teams in the Power Rankings for whom I don’t have results posted, this is because I could not determine which team was yours based on the fact that I don’t have your coach’s name. Please email me your coach’s name so that I can report your team’s results.
I will have updated Power Rankings on the way soon. Until then, keep hitting the hardwood and the weight room, CYO ballers.
