Message from Coach MAC
We’ve made it! The Dialectic teams are heading to their State Tournament next week (knock on wood). During this crazy year the cloud of uncertainty hung over the basketball teams constantly. Will we play or won’t we? I told all our team parents at the beginning of their seasons that it wasn’t a matter of “if” it was a matter of “when” we’d have games cancelled. And thankfully there have only been 2-3 games that have been cancelled or postponed during the year. We have not had to quarantine any teams this year, and other than when our school made the decision to do the Thanksgiving “reset,” we have not had to cancel any games because of Covid. We have been truly blessed that to this point our families have strived to keep our student-athletes on the playing floor. This week has also been an amazing example of the perseverance and diversity in our students. We had 3 Rhetoric Boys and 1 Rhetoric Girl that balanced multiple basketball games this week during Tech Week for the Rhetoric performance of Jane Eyre! This student-athletes are rock stars! They would finish school, immediately go to rehearsal, and then with the partnership of Avery Stephens, would leave rehearsal immediately afterwards (stuff some food down), and then come play a game! It was amazing to see the time management skills in play as they showed their diverse talents. These are the types of students that our school trains up. This is the portrait of a graduate that we often refer to – students that can flow between multiple conversations or activities with grace and humility. Go Griffins Go!
Weekly Sports Recap
Freshman Sam High came out firing Monday night at Midtown…and firing, and firing! The Freshman wing hit 9 three pointers (9 for 12) in the game as the Griffins took down the MidMoore Tornadoes 69-59. The ACADEMY boys finished 13-27 from the 3 point line as a team (48%) with both Jackson Holdsworth and Camden Jackson each finishing with 11. Tuesday the boys split the squad in half to take on the Shawnee Shockers at home and Trinity on the road. Both teams scored at will as the Home squad (coached by assistant Brendan King) won 75-29 and the Road squad won 72-16. Freshman Ed Thomas scored a career-high 22 at home while Sam High posted back-to-back 20-pt games for the second time this year (26 vs Trinity). Also getting in the action for the road squad was team manager Honor Carr. To balance out the teams Honor suited up and played a few minutes each half and connecting on a Free Throw late in the first half!
The Rhetoric Girls have won 3 straight games in January! After wins over Eagle Point and Cristo Rey last week, the JV Girls went to Trinity on Tuesday and dominated the Tigers 51-10. All but 2 girls scored in the game with Avery Metcalf leading all scorers with 10. The JV girls return to action February 9th after the conclusion of the HCAA Junior High State Tournament next week. In the early games Monday the White team beat MidMoore 34-16 with Isaiah Payne leading the scoring load with 9 points and 4 steals. Austin Irons just missed out on a double-double with 8 points and 10 boards. The Blue team lost a close one 33-25 Monday vs Midmoore. Daniel Gaona has been strong all year and finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds. The Blue team then dominated 40-8 Tuesday in their final game of the season vs Shawnee Shockers. Luke Abbott paced the team with 12 points. Great season boys! In the MS girls’ game on Monday, the Griffins took down the Tornados 31-18 with all the girls getting good opportunities to contribute. The girls were led in scoring by Cora Shutt and Claire Wilkerson with 7 each, and Bri Stephens adding 6 on the night.
HCAA Junior High State Tournament Next Week
The MS teams will be heading to HCAA State Tournament next week with the girls opening on Monday and the boys Tuesday. The girls play #1 seed Southwest Covenant while the boys open against Wright Christian on Tuesday.
YouTube Livestream Link Available for Home Games and Limited Road Games
Games tonight vs Casady at 5 and 6 will be livestreamed on the athletic Youtube channel, so fans won’t miss the action. Click here to access Livestreams and various Athletic content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8874oYIwsBG077e6PJioSA
3X3 Return to Play
3X3 Basketball is Back! The next slate of games is tomorrow, Saturday, January 30th. The remaining game schedule has been sent to coaches for review to make sure there are not any last-minute adjustments that need to be made.
Don’t forget that you will need the athletic door code for Midtown when you come to play your games!
Reminder that MASKS ARE REQUIRED when you visit our campuses. Please remind your students to wear their masks as they arrive and leave practice. Parents must also wear masks, especially if they remain in the practice location.
Senior Night
Friday, February 12th we will be honoring our 3 Senior basketball players before the Varsity Boys game at 7pm. Please tune in to Zoom or make plans to attend in person at Midtown to help honor these athletic program pioneers. Look for Senior Spotlights in future Athletic Reports.
Upcoming Athletic Events
