Getting in the Way-Back Machine (Part One)

It's been a long time since I've offered an update here about the happenings around the Banks Trail Fall sports teams, having spent the last couple of weeks with a case of Senioritis and Powder Puff Preoccupation. And since all the Fall sports are now over, what's a guy to do? I know! Come with me now as we travel back, courtesy of Wayne and Garth (for everyone who loved Wayne's World) and their magical time warp way-back machine, to find out what happened to the 7th/8th grade volleyball and football teams in the final weeks of their seasons. Hang on to your hats!
           
                      

Whew, what a ride! Here we are now in the week of October 13th. At this point the 8th grade volleyball team was on a six match win streak and headed for a showdown at Gold Hill in the final match of the season, on Thursday the 16th. The 7th grade team had lost two straight matches and was looking to right the ship in the final match against Gold Hill on the same night. The 8th grade football team was undefeated and ready to take on Springfield. The 7th graders were undefeated in the division and needed a win against Springfield to keep their division title hopes alive. So the teams dialed up a double-header on Wednesday the 15th at Springfield MS to take on the Mustangs, so let's start there with the recap.

Chris Singleton heads for the TD on the T-Wolves first offensive play. 

Dee Qwiy comes down with a 1st quarter interception.

The 7th graders started their game with a quick score on their first possession to take the early lead. But Springfield's run game was effective and the Timberwolves defense had some trouble stopping them in the early going. But turnovers and some costly penalties helped corral the Mustangs while the Timberwolves unleashed some horses of their own in Dee Qwiy and Chris Singleton. Dee had some big receptions on offense and an interception on defense while Singleton ran effectively against the Mustangs defense all afternoon. In the end the T'Wolves prevailed and came away with a hard-fought 21-16 victory. That put them in position to play for the the division title against Gold Hill in the final game of the regular season.

The 8th graders then took the field against Springfield in the night-cap of the doubleheader and also came away with a victory over the Mustangs. Quarterback JT Marr and his receiving corps of Zeb Graham, Lawrence Adams, Hunter Waldrop

QB JT Marr fires a pass to...

...Hunter Waldrop over the middle for a big gain.

and Bradley Bott were effective through the air while RB Alex Cooper kept things moving in the ground game. Meanwhile, the Wolves defense kept the Mustangs in check for most of the night, not giving up a score until late in the game. Final score in this one was 44-8. Now it was on to Fort Mill High School's Bob Jones Stadium on Oct. 22 for another 7th-8th double header with Gold Hill with the division title and undefeated regular season on line.

The next night, Thursday, Oct. 16th, the volleyball teams were at Gold Hill MS to finish off the regular season. I didn't make it to those matches because of my attendance at NaFo's Senior Night volleyball match against Rock Hill, so all I really know is the outcomes: The 7th grade won their match, 2-0 (25-8, 25-15), while the 8th grade saw their win streak come to an end with a three-set loss (25-18, 16-25, 13-15). That gave the 7th graders a final regular season record of 7-3, while the 8th graders bounced back from a slow start to finish 6-4. From there it was on to the post season the following week at Rawlinson Rd MS in Rock Hill. So back in our time travel machine to jump ahead to the week of Oct. 20th.

On Monday, Oct 20th, the 7th grade volleyball team played an inter-divisional playoff match with the West Division's Rawlinson Rd. The Timberwolves came out strong in the first set, claiming victory 25-22. A bit of a let-down in the second set led to a RRMS win, 25-23, setting up the decisive third set. Banks Trail came out determined to finish strong and came away with 15-7 set win and 2-1 match win . This gave the coach Cory Hustedt's 7th grade team a final record of 8-3, which was good enough for a share of 3rd place overall in the 12-team York Co. Middle School Athletic Conference. Congratulations on great season for Coach Hustedt and her 7th grade team.

Calli Wells hits a return
against RRMS

Cecelia Hilton and teammates celebrate win over RRMS.

                               

Ainsley McGinty hits a return shot.

The next night at the same location (Rawlinson Rd MS), the 8th grade team took part in the preliminary rounds of the YCMSAC post-season tournament. As the East Division 3rd seed , the Timberwolves drew a first round match-up against the West's 6th-seeded Sullivan MS. Playing without a key teammate in Annika Ford, who was out with a case of bronchitis, the Lady Timberwolves came away with a win in 3-sets over Sullivan and advanced to a second-round match against the West's second-seeded Rawlinson Rd MS. Playing on their home court in front of the home crowd, the Lady Raiders held off Banks Trail for a 2-0 match win (25-19, 25-22).

Coach Scott reacts to
the first set win.

In the second set, with the match point on the line, the Lady Timberwolves scored, I think (time-travel fog is clouding my vision), five consecutive points behind the service of Courtney Smith to close the gap to 24-22, before losing on a serve into the net. It was a tough loss to end a good season, but Coach Amanda Scott should be proud of the way her girls fought back from a slow start to finish strong with a winning record on the season at 7-5. Our two high schools can look forward to adding the talents of some of these young ladies next season as Alissa Ilacqua and Grace Howell plan to continue playing at NaFo while Michaela Bartkowski, Autumn Hardwick and Courtney Smith will take their talents to Fort Mill. Others on the team no doubt have plans to play at the next level, but those are ones I know of for sure.

Michaela Bartkowski spends
anxious moments at the end
of the final set.

Alissa Ilacqua tries to get above the net.

So that concluded the volleyball seasons, but the football teams still had some business to take care of, which I'll address in Part Two of this post on Monday, since I'm venturing into 'War and Peace' territory here with the length of this post.














In my continuing efforts to find Banks Trail students participating on a high school team I found three girls playing tennis for the Fort Mill HS JV team.

Banks Trail students (from left) Amelia Hall, Lucia Williams and Jamie Petralla played JV tennis for the FMHS team.

Amelia Hall, 7th gr.

Lucia Williams, 8th gr.

Jamie Petralla, 7th gr.

I caught up with Jamie Petrella (7th), Amelia Hall (7th) and Lucia Williams (8th) first at the team's regular season finale against Indian Land HS on October 13th, then again on Oct. 22 at home before the varsity's first round playoff match with Dorman HS. Coach Angela Niccum reports that this trio played in 12 JV matches this season; Jamie Petrella played singles at the #2 or #3 spot while Amelia Hall and Lucia Williams played as a doubles team. Petrella recorded a 11-1 record and the Hall/Lucia doubles team notched a 10-2 record. According to Coach Angela Niccum, all three will be competing next year for spots on the Lady Jackets varsity team. So great job ladies and keep up the good work.


Don't forget that you're all going to need Holiday cards of some kind very soon, so why not have yours include a professional family portrait taken by yours truly. My special holiday card special is still running through Nov. 19th, so let's get out there and take advantage of those Fall colors. I am now accepting session appointments during the week now that the Fall sports season are over. Give me a shout and we'll get set up.