The tournament, which began on Wednesday, November 16th, is a three game series.

St. Leo went up against two St. Isidore teams before the final game on Friday versus St. Bede of Hayward. The score in that game was 51-44, St. Leo

The championship game, which was scheduled for a 9:30 PM start, didn’t end until almost 11:00 PM.

The team had a regular season game Saturday against St. Philip Neri of Alameda, so the boys needed to get home to rest up for the next morning.

This is the second year that St. Leo the Great’s eighth grade basketball team has participated in the tournament which is open only tp 7th and 8th grade teams from the diocese.

“St. Isidore’s coach invited us after playing our team in the ‘MVP Flight’ tournament in 5th and 6th grade,” said Coach Kirby Harris.

The boys won the tournament last year, as well.

from Staff Reports
News Team
THE LION LEDGER

The boys put up a hard fight and the coaches definitely worked up a sweat to stay on top. The team was out there playing hard. You could see the energy they were putting into their shots, layups, and footwork. It was so intense!

The coaches were out there fighting back though. As weary as they were, they remained consistent in staying ahead of the boys by a few points.

“The coaches played really good,” said Mustafa Ali, one of the most notable players in the game. Ali made a lot of points and didn’t slow down for a second.

So many of the students, staff, and parents attended this game that it was hard for anyone to squeeze into the gym, for players to catch a layup, or to find a seat on the already packed bleachers.

The students weren’t the only ones who brought their parents to the game, but also 8th grade teacher, Mrs. Karabinis.

As great of a job as the 8th grade boys did, the coaches apparently outdid them winning the game with a score of 68-58. “We didn’t do our best,” said Ali. “It was just for fun [though].”

Probably the most fun was watching the 7th and 8th grade moms cheerleading at halftime.

In the end, all the money raised by selling entry fees, raffle tickets, and food went towards the 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C. and part of it also to support finding the cure for breast cancer.

by: Aliyah Muhammad, 8th grade
Reporter
THE LION LEDGER

It’s a popular sport that is run around the world from New York to California, and this year, right in our school.

The 2010 cross country team is special because we could call it a one woman show. Aliyah Walker in seventh grade took on the responsibility of being on the St. Leo Cross Country team all on her own.

Aliyah says that her mother inspired her. She says one time her mother was talking to her about how fast she was and that she should run track or do cross country. Aliyah decided to do cross country and she loved it.

Aliyah is a scholar athlete who tries her best to keep her grades up while dedicating her free time to playing basketball, both CYO and AAU, playing soccer, and running cross country.

In her spare time Aliyah likes to make movies and is now working on a movie called “Super Kid.” Aliyah is not thinking about taking up cross country professionally but she is planning to be on the team again next year.

It’s great that Aliyah represented our school and was the only person on the team. You could say Aliyah Walker is a real super kid!

by: Courtney Johnson, 7th Grade
Reporter / THE LION LEDGER

The St. Leo’s girls teams in grades 4, 5, and 7 made it to the final round!

All the girls teams made it to the playoffs this year! (Except 8th grade since they didn’t have a team this year). Sadly, 6th grade made it to the last playoff game, but lost to Holy Spirit, 26-32. They did their best though.

Also, the 5th grade lost in the championship against St. Bede, but they made it that far and their coaches were very proud of them.

The 4th and 7th grades won the championships this year! For the 4th grade, it was 19 to 17 against St. Lawrence O’Toole (SLOT) and the 7th grade, it was 51 to 17 against Holy Spirit. Congratulations to the Lady Lions!

by: Cameron Gill, 5th Grade
Reporter / THE LION LEDGER

It is now the 20th anniversary of that big win. There were many great players on the team like Jason Kidd who’s been in the NBA for 16 years. But did you know that Kirby Harris was also on this awesome team?

Yes, the same Kirby Harris (you may know him as “Coach Kirby”) that coaches the 7th grade boys at St. Leo the Great, CYO champions for 2009 and 2010.

Coach Kirby first started as assistant coach in 2002, when one of his co-workers, Lloyd Facen, parent of a St. Leo student, wanted someone with experience to help out coaching the boys. His team (the Class of 2007) did very well that year, making it to the championships, but unfortunately they lost in triple overtime.

He decided to continue coaching at St. Leo’s after that. “I found that I enjoyed the challenge of teaching basketball,” Coach Kirby said. He’s been coaching at St. Leo for 9 years now! “The students and parents at St. Leo are the best and Mrs. Simril and Coach O (Principal Sonya Simril and Athletic Director Olaf Pollard) are fantastic and very supportive so I come back every year.”

Coach Kirby, obviously, has skills and could probably coach professionally but he never thought about doing it.

“I like coaching CYO because the emphasis is on the players, teaching, working together, and citizenship, whereas to be a professional coach you’re in a business relationship and you have to win at all costs. And that means putting your players after winning and I don’t know that I would like coaching in that environment,” he said.

SJND’s back-to-back victories in 1991 and 1992 are an inspiration. The school had only about 450 students and they played against some schools with thousands of students. “It was wonderful to be part of a team that accomplished so much,” he said.

“The best part of being on those teams were the friendships that we formed. I still talk to the guys on the team regularly. I am still friends with Jason Kidd and Kevin Bremond — who was on the team that won the championship in 1992 — has been my assistant coach for the last two years at St. Leo,” Coach Kirby said.

St. Leo’s teams are the only teams Coach Kirby has coached. He has been the head coach of the 7th grade boys basketball team since they were in 3rd grade and also has been an assistant coach for a few of the girls teams. He said he plans to keep coaching after the 7th grade boys graduate next year.

by: Saba Kinfe, 7th grade
Editor / THE LION LEDGER

It was a very exciting game that was full of action from the start.

The Lions had seven points near the end of the first quarter but Brandon McGhee made a buzzer beater and the crowd cheered! At the end of the first quarter, the score was 9 to 2 with St. Leo’s ahead.

A funny thing that happened in the first quarter was when one of the Tigers’ players tried to make a shot, but the ball got stuck in the rim.  Many people tried to get it out.  It didn’t come loose until Nyjahl Thompson threw the shot that made it come out.

In the second quarter, a lot of people on the St. Leo’s team were fouled.  At half time, the score was 17 to 7, again with the Lions in the lead. In the third quarter, Nyjahl Thompson made an “alley-oop” after catching a rebound from Brandon McGhee. The points from the Lions kept on coming and by the end of the game, the final score was 41 to 13.  The Lions won!

St. Leo and SLOT are long-time rivals.  Both schools have had a rivalry for over ten years.  Nobody knows the source of the rivalry. Maybe it’s because some St. Leo students used to go to SLOT or because both schools have really strong teams.

But, does the reason really matter?  It’s all in good fun! And the rivalry will continue…

EDITORIAL NOTE: This game was both teams’ first match-up for the season since the scheduled game between St. Leo and SLOT at the beginning of the season was forfeited due to a lack of available players from St. Leo’s seventh grade team.

by: Aleks Bialek, 5th grade
Reporter / THE LION LEDGER

The St. Leo Cheerleaders participated in the 2010 Oakland Holiday Parade last Saturday, December 4. It was a long and exciting day for the cheerleaders.

There were so many marching bands, cheerleaders, schools, and even TV news crews. There were also lots of cartoon characters and balloon floats too. Before they cheered in the parade, the cheerleaders got to have their picture taken with the characters from the Peanuts gang with Charlie Brown and all his friends!

Zakiya Mahoney, a cheerleader in 5th grade, said she really enjoyed the experience. “I really had a fun time. I was so excited that I was going to cheer at the parade. I was ready to cheer for as long as it took!”

Don’t you wish you could’ve been in the parade?

by: Cameron Gill, 5th Grade
Reporter / THE LION LEDGER
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EDITORIAL NOTE: St. Leo’s cheerleaders have been participating in the event for the past three years. Also known as the Comcast 11th Annual “America’s Children’s Parade,” groups and organizations interested in participating must apply to be a part of the event. For more info, go to: oaklandholidayparade.com

The game started out at a slow pace. During the first quarter, the Lions only managed to shoot a single basket while the St. Philip Neri Spartans were already ahead by five points, the score, 2-7.

With only five of the six Lions players present that evening, the team would have to press on without any breaks for the entire game.

It appeared as if this would affect the boys early on, but the Lions would come back roaring in the first half of the second quarter, much to the surprise of the Spartans team. A two-point shot by Timothy Angulo followed by a three-pointer at the ring tied the game, 7-7.

The Spartans couldn’t keep up with the Lions’ sudden burst of energy. A quick pass off a rebound from Angulo to Dylan Pedregon with the layup netted a basket for St. Leo’s. Two more baskets by Pedregon before the buzzer found the Lions ahead, 13-7.

Just before half time each team would advance by only four points, putting the score at the end of the half, 17-11.

In the third quarter, it was all about the angle the team was focused on (or should we say, the Angulo, who scored 9 of the 14 points in this round) and that was for the Lions to stay ahead in the game.

The pressure to maintain or regain the lead — the latter for the Spartans — seemed to be getting to both teams as the aggressive moves started to show up on the court. A foul by the Spartans on Devohn Moore gave the Lions a chance for two free points, but Moore would only sink one in.

Ten seconds later, the tables would be turned and a foul by the Lions on the Spartans would give the St. Philip Neri boys one free shot, earning them their first point since the end of the second quarter. However, they still were down by 12 points to St. Leo’s 24.

At the end of the third quarter, the Lions were in the lead, 31-18.

All eyes were on the dynamic duo of Pedregon and Angulo in the fourth quarter as both teammates took charge of the game. Pedregon would rack up eight points and Angulo another six. Paris Conboy came in with a two-point assist adding his own two cents into the mix.

A total of 16 points from the Lions and two baskets from the Spartans in this round brought the game to a final score of 47-22, St. Leo’s win.

by: Joe Leo
Advisor / THE LION LEDGER

The 8th grade boys are now 1-2 for the season, with a loss to rival St. Lawrence O’Toole (SLOT) during an away game on November 13, and a forfeit to SLOT during the Lions’ first home game of the season on November 6.

How did it feel to win your first game of the season?
ANGULO: “It felt great. I felt accomplished because we worked as a team and everybody was setting each other up to succeed. The crowd was in it so they pumped us up.”

Is it difficult to play when there are only a few players on the team?
PEDREGON: “Well, at first it was pretty difficult playing with only five players. We had around [that same number] last year so it’s not that big of a deal. I think just because we only have five players, it doesn’t change a thing. All we need is to put in effort and give it our all and we’ll succeed.”

Did you have any doubts that the team would win this game?
ANGULO: “We kept an open mind.  We go into each game with the mind set that the other team is prepared and that drives us to play our hardest.”

What do you credit your basketball skills to?
PEDREGON: “…lots of practice and effort. The way I see it, if you don’t practice, you won’t be good at it and if you don’t put in effort, you might as well give up. You need practice and effort to win— without it, you’re nothing.”
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3rd grade played Madeleine but scores aren’t kept in this grade officially, so neither team wins or loses the game.

All eyes were on the SLOT games since they are St. Leo’s rivals on the court, but only 4th grade would play — and win — because 7th and 8th grade’s games were forfeited. (SLOT’s 7th grade and St. Leo’s 8th grade didn’t have enough players).

5th grade found themselves up against Corpus Christi, with a key factor becoming a small challenge in the game: both school’s teams had the same color uniform… blue! But hard work and concentration on St. Leo’s part led the team to win the game, 18-4.

from Staff Reports
News Team / THE LION LEDGER

Sunday, 1/31 @ SJND Gym

• St. Leo: 53
• St. Joseph: 4