This past Monday, Cathedral Prep held their annual intramural handball tournament in the gym after school. For anyone who has ever gone to Prep or known anyone who has gone to Prep, they will understand that handball is taken very seriously here.
This year’s tournament consisted of three teams: Team one was made up of Tyler Lockett, Michael Parks, Alfredo Acosta, and Stephen LeBron. Team two included Andy Samuels, Jimmy Colvin, Colin Kelly, and Paul Causgrove. Team three consisted of Pat Kelly, Jared Heidt, Matt Whaley, Ryan Sweny, and Evan Selker. The format of the tournament was 4-on-4 round robin competition, with each team playing one another, before the top two performing teams play in the championship game.
In game one, Team Samuels came flying out of the gates, going up 12-3 at halftime, and cruising to a 14-3 win over team Acosta.
In game two, Team Heidt took on the red hot Team Samuels, and in a hard fought first half, saw themselves down 5-4. This deficit was quickly erased, as Team Heidt came roaring back in the second half for a 14-10 victory.
In game three, with a trip to the championship game on the line, Team Heidt took on Team Acosta. Team Heidt took the lead early on and never looked back, collecting an emphatic 13-7 victory, punching their ticket to the championship.
The championship match was set between Team Heidt and Team Samuels, who have some history dating back to last year, when Team Heidt knocked Team Samuels out of the tournament and went on to claim the championship. After the strong duel between the two teams in round two of this year’s tournament, the stage was set for an epic finals.
Both teams were deadlocked early on, exchanging goal for goal, but Team Heidt managed to grab the momentum going into half with a slim one goal lead. They extended that lead all the way up to three at the the start of the second half, but Team Samuels managed to crawl their way back into a tie at 10-10 with 2 minute left. After a couple quick goals, Team Samuels found themselves leading by two with under a minute to play, but Team Heidt came back with a furious onslaught of shots and defensive pressure to get the game into overtime.
As both teams headed into sudden death overtime, tensions were high, knowing that one shot could be the difference between winning and losing. Team Heidt won the opening tip and went on the attack. After a failed offensive possession, Team Samuels was quick to counter. Flying down the court was Jimmy Colvin, who sealed the victory for Team Samuels with his decisive goal.
After the win, team captain Andrew Samuels said, “Well, it’s been a long time coming. I believe it’s been 6 tournaments in the works. I’ve seen three different gym teachers reffing and three different principals administrating in that time. To think that the day finally came where we would find it in ourselves to dethrone this team… it still doesn’t seem real.” Team Samuels made sure to collect their championship T-shirts right after the match to celebrate their big win.
Overall this is a another great chapter in the history of handball at Cathedral Prep, with this year’s championship match being one of the closest in history. Even with this amazing finish, the season isn’t over quite yet, as there is still one more tournament scheduled for the spring, which will surely provide all participants with lots of fun and enjoyment.