All of the seasons at MacArthur have concluded for the 2014-2015 school year. Having watched many games from almost every sport, I’ve looked back through the seasons and come up with a list of the top 10 games (or matches) of the year, enjoy.
10. Brahmas get Luckey in win over Clark
The only game on this list that’s not a district or playoff game. The game’s momentum shifted every passing minute, and the teams went to overtime tied 49-49. Despite a clutch three in overtime by Kyle Murphy, the star of the game was Kevin Luckey, who scored only 4 points but got 12 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 assists, while giving the insane effort that ultimately won the game.
9. Football crushes Madison
The much anticipated rivalry did not disappoint this year. The teams that are extremely familiar with each other went back and forth on the scoreboard, however, the game turned in the Brahmas direction when Josh Jung completed a 41 yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Cura, one of 3 TDs for Cura. Madison cut it to 6, but the Daijon Williams and Isiah Dennis backfield proved to be too much as Mac won the game 43-27, and bragging rights for the year.
8.Baseball secures second over Johnson
The teams were playing for 2nd place, and a much easier first round opponent. The Jaguars led 5-0 going to the bottom of the 4th. Mac needed runs fast and received just that when senior Steven Cardone hit a 2 run home run in the 4th and senior Derek Stallworth homered in the 5th to give Mac a 6-5 lead. Johnson then scored 2 runs, sending the Brahmas up to bat in the bottom 6th. Steven Cardone hit an RBI single then Paul De La Rosa did the same making it a 10-8 lead that they would hold onto for the win.
7. Boys Soccer upsets the undefeated Volunteers
The team was 3-6-1 (W-L-T) going into their 3rd district game vs 7-3-2 Lee. Although they were the underdogs, they came ready to play and kept up with the aggressive Volunteers. At halftime the teams were tied at 0-0. The game got heated and emotional in the second half. Mac created chances and scored the winning goal on a Chandler Farnsworth goal that was assisted by Parker Miller late in the 2nd half.
6. Boys Basketball wins heated contest
The team played Johnson in a game to stay in the top half of the district. The teams got physical early and often, leading to 2 technical fouls. Mac was down by 7 at half but rallied to get a 57-54 lead in the 4th. With under 20 seconds left, Johnson hit a huge three to tie the game. Then, junior Kyle Murphy drove baseline with 3 seconds left, went up and got fouled with .4 remaining on the clock. He went to the line and sank the first one, then missed the second on purpose to secure the victory.
5. Boys Soccer shocks Barranco and the Jaguars
MacArthur’s Ricardo Vidal scored early in the 2nd half and seemed to have some momentum until Johnson stole it all and evened up the game with 21 minutes left. A tie would have been sufficient but Mac pressed up the field and senior Gustavo Rangel scored the game winning goal with 8 minutes left. The win surprised most of the district and established Mac as a power in boys soccer for the season.
4. Cardone hits a clutch walk off
The game looked to be out of hand as Reagan was up 4-1 going to the bottom of the 6th with the Rattlers ace on the mound. The game turned when Josh Jung, Derek Stallworth, and Steven Cardone all got on and scored 1 run to start the inning. Then Isiah Dennis and Tyler Vitt brought in the game tying runs in succession. With a man in scoring position, Cardone stepped up to the plate. He took a few pitches, then swung and knocked a ball off of the end of his bat and right over the first baseman’s head, bringing in the game winning run.
3. Softball rallies to save their season
Down 4-2 going into the bottom of the 7th against Judson, the Brahmas needed two runs to stay alive, so it’s obviously a great game if they score 3 and win. That’s exactly what happened as freshman Kiersten Licea was at the plate with 2 outs, down 4-3, she hit a line drive to bring in 2 runs and win the game 5-4. Mac went on to win game 3 of that series and win the first series in softball history at Mac.
2. Girls Soccer escapes in extra time
The girls faced a tough Steele team in the first round of playoffs. The game was tight as the score was 0-0 until Steele scored early in the 2nd half. The girls had to counter, and did, off of a Bella Von Toussaint volley with 9 minutes left. In extra time, the girls had the momentum and pushed to score the game winning goal on a cross that was scored by Ana Campa with 3 minutes left in the first half of extra time. The tremendous 2-1 win showed tons of resolve by the team.
1. Murphy stuns the Jags
A loss for boys basketball would have taken them out of the playoffs. Nathan McRunnel and Kyle Murphy had combined to score 29 points. The teams were still knotted up at 54 with under 10 seconds left. After a Johnson bucket, Kyle glanced at the clock, crossed half court, took a dribble right off of a Shawn Hamilton screen and drained a deep three at the buzzer to win the game 57-54 and put the Brahmas into the playoffs. The game winner put the crowd in a frenzy and went viral in the district, making it the game of the year.
