WATKINS MEMORIAL vs. DUBLIN SCIOTO IRISH

OUR QUEST........CONTINUES

IRISH FANS............

Did you notice something different tonight? thewebguy did! The pre-game music was an array of classic rock songs that really made thewebguy believe these players appreciate really good music. Or maybe they are just tired of hearing a broken down old #@%" talk about his taste in music!

thewebguy does not believe that the gymnasium of Dublin Scioto High School ever had BOSTON, SURVIVOR, KOOL & THE GANG and STEPPENWOLF reverberate the walls!

However, if thewebguy were a Watkins Memorial fan, he would be thinking about a song by Three Dog Night - ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER! The Warriors of Watkins Memorial matched up with the IRISH very well for one quarter before, as John Cougar Mellencamp would say, "And the walls, came tumbling tumbling down!

Lets talk basketball.....................

Junior Varsity - Watkins Memorial vs Dublin Scioto


thewebguy got to the pre-game warm ups in enough time to call out to several players. He was providing words of encouragement to Jason Tiemeier, Deji Olatoye, Brandon Brown and Rahim Wasim.

The IRISH started out slow in the first quarter but were close when Jason and Brandon scored the first 6 points for the IRISH. The JV team from Watkins scored one more basket, that being a three pointer and held a 9-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Green & White fought back to tie the score at the end of the second quarter at 14 all. Andrew Shoemaker lead the way for the IRISH as he scored the first and last bucket of the quarter. Two of his baskets came on offensive rebounds.

Both teams played very even in the third and fourth quarters. Watkins Memorial getting the better end of the deal as they hit a three point basket to tie the score at 30 - 30 and force an overtime.

The IRISH missed four free throws in the fourth quarter that would have iced the game! However, it was on to the extra 3 minute quarter.

The Warriors never trailed in the overtime stanza. Even though they tried to let the IRISH back into the game by missing foul shots themselves or turning the ball over, the IRISH could not get the ball into the basket to tie or take the lead.

Andrew Shoemaker led the IRISH with 10 points, Dylan Coscia scored 7 points while Deji Olatoye and Jason Tiemeier scored 6 points each.

The Junior Varsity team is 1-4 on the year and will host the Columbus Linden McKinley on Saturday, December 23, 2006. Game time is 6:00 PM.

The final score of the JUNIOR VARSITY game was Watkins Memorial 37 and Dublin Scioto 35.

Varsity Game - Watkins Memorial vs Dublin Scioto


Playing in a new division can create some unexpected results at times, especially, if you have never played your opponent in your 11 year school history. This was the case for the IRISH playing the Watkins Memorial Warriors tonight. Watkins Memorial came in with a 2-3 record and were itching to put an "L" in the loss column for the Green & White.

The IRISH got off to an outstanding start taking a 9-0 lead. This lead came via O'Connell, Ashwill, Lolli, Winter and Eubank team play. The first four players did the scoring while Michael Eubank played the assist game for these players. Again, Michael showing that an assist is just as important as scoring the point yourself! Good heads up basketball allowed the IRISH to jump out to this lead!

The Warriors did not falter, after taking a time out and regrouping they came back to tie the score at 16 apiece only to see the IRISH jump ahead at the end of the quarter, 20-16. My friends, that is where the game ended and the rout was on!

The IRISH came out in the second quarter and forced nine turnovers and routed the Warriors 20-8. O'Connell, Ashwill and Winter scored 4 points each while Lolli, Eubank, Gorniak and McGougald all added two points themselves and the IRISH took a 41-26 half-time lead.

If thewebguy learned one thing tonight in the first two contest, it was that this opponent did not give up no matter what the score was. Point in case, the Freshman held a 13-3 and a 17-11 lead at the end of the first two quarters, only to lose the game because they did not take care of business.

The JV team did not lock the door in the second game because they missed critical foul shots in the fourth quarter. It was imperative that the Varsity not allow the Watkins Memorial team back in this game!

Senior, Kevin Lolli, did his best to not let the Warriors see the light of day. Kevin lead a third quarter barrage scoring 8 points, while Austin chipped in 5 points and Kelly 4 points. The IRISH left the floor at the end of the third quarter with a commanding 66-33 lead! Now you should begin to see why thewebguy picked "One Is The Loneliest Number........"

The IRISH continued their defensive pressure in the fourth quarter and caused five additional turnovers and they went on to score another 19 points.

Again, it was very good to see the senior class support the basketball team. Seeing the fans bring signs, cheer for players and having fun make high school sports fun!

Two fans that thewebguy need to mention are, Matt Dixon and Michael Woytek. Matt enjoys making signs for the game and Michael was awarded the most outstanding fan of the game by the IRISH REBOUNDERS CLUB!

The players and the fans enjoyed another big win in the quest for the Capital Division title!

Remember that we are only as good as the game that we are playing.........keep the quest in front of you........we have a long journey!

The Scioto scoring was led by Austin O'Connell with 22 points. Kevin Lolli and Kelly Winter followed up with 14 points apiece while Ben Ashwill had 9 points and Bradley McDougald chipped in 8 points.

Before thewebguy closes out tonight, he wants to say hello to two young boys whose father, Geno is spending Christmas in IRAQ! Derrick and Xavier, keep smiling! Your father will be home before you know it! He is in our thoughts daily!

The final score was Dublin Scioto 85 and Watkins Memorial 36.

The IRISH are 5 and 0 overall and 3-0 in the OCC - Capital Division.

Dublin Scioto plays Columbus Linden McKinley at home on Saturday, December 23, 2006. Junior Varsity game time is 6:00 PM while the Varsity will start around 7:30 PM