As the holidays begin the Brien McMahon Girls Basketball Team wanted to share with their friends and family what they are thankful for this time of year. The girls wanted to give back to their community by donating desserts to the DVCC shelter for their feast on Thanksgiving. Each of the girls on the team also wanted to voice their opinion on what they believe the term “Friendship” means to them.
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![]() Eric Day II Sports Writer ![]() The NBA lives off many different talents. From the best shooters to the high flyers. There's two dominant teams who have faced against each other in the Finals for the past 2 years. Heading into this season, if the two teams return to the championship, the winner will show exactly who the best team is in the league. The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers are very similar teams who in contrast, play differently. Both possess two strong players who are the faces of their teams, often being the go to players in clutch moments. Steph Curry and Lebron James both winning MVP. However, there’s a newcomer in town and his name is Kevin Durant. This past 4th of July, Kevin Durant decided to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder and join forces with Steph and the Warriors. Can you imagine that? A former MVP playing together with the reigning MVP of the league at the same time. This ultimately gives Golden State the upper advantage to win the finals, because they have the best players and the best shooters Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant. But now since they have KD the chemistry might take time to gel together before they start winning. (9 of 10) people believe that with Kevin Durant joining the Warriors they will still be defeated by the Cavs when they play in the regular season. All there is to do now is wait until Dec. 25th where the Golden State Warriors will face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers. We will see if the Predictions stay true. Eric Day II Sports Writer ![]() Brien Mcmahon football team hasn't had the best start to their 10 game season. Starting off 0-6 isn't what anyone would wish for but they haven't given up yet. They are working towards defeating Warde as their next upcoming away game. Mcmahon has been losing tough games to many of the top teams in the state including Darien, St.joe & Staples. “Very important week of practice and I feel as if we are the same caliber team , we have been working hard to earn this win. It's on us to get the job done ” Senior Jordan Smith stated.The Seniors on the team have been part of a 7-3 team and a 2-7 football team. They know how it feels to loss and win big games. Smith stated “ I feel good because they pretty much have the same record and i think we are more disciplined than them so they will make some mistakes.” The team who makes less mistakes will have a better chance of winning.”We are trying to make the best defense to stop their offense and their running back ”We shut that down and put points on the board we will win. Amari Brown Senior Strong Safety, said “Going hard in practice is the major key getting a victory.”Practicing how you play is not necessarily true but it's a big component on how you're going to perform, if you're not sharp in practice you're not going to be sharp in a game time situation ” Warde coming off a 50-21 loss to Darien. The Mustangs have a very solid team just like Mcmahon does, but they have to stop Wr #2 and Rb #24 to be able to get this victory. By: Bryanna Perez The students at Brien McMahon High School have all been asking each other the same thing for quite sometime now, “Where's our mascot?” The answer still remains unknown, so where is the famous senator?
Pride Time Sports News got the opportunity to speak to the Brien McMahon Athletic Director, Joe Madaffari, about the situation. “Believe it or not, the school's mascot was around a couple of times last year for a few events.” Another important source, Ken Dustin, shared his memory of the mascot, “The mascot was out for one time last year at a boys basketball game” says Mr. Dustin, who is the head coach of the BMHS Boys Basketball Varsity team. “The school's mascot needs to be someone tall and strong because the costume is long and kind of heavy. The head is very large and sometimes it can get a little hot in there” says Joe Madaffari, “No one has stepped up and asked me, "can I be the senator?”" The mascot last year was the senior class president, Keily Calderon. So the question still remains, who is going to step up this year and take position? According to Joe Madaffari the position for mascot is still in the air. There are no auditions, nothing crazy, just some questions he will be asking you obtaining to what he expects in the person in the costume. Whoever wants to volunteer for mascot will sit down with him in his office and go over some strategies and ground rules. If you're considering this position, remember to have fun but most importantly make sure to take it seriously. By Darren Battle In the midst of struggling teams this fall, one team did something very shocking, The girls soccer team defied doubts and made it to the state tournament. Many people in the beginning of September called this a rebuilding season with the addition of a new coach and freshman taking on big roles. However this season the girls took a turn into the right direction and made the mouths of doubters completely shut.
The girls soccer team struggled last year and people went in judging this year’s team based on the past. Chloe Ortolano (‘19) proclaimed that the doubt was huge at the beginning of the season! “I don't think anyone believed in us because last year we only won two games and our coach told us everyone was taking us as a joke.” The season should have been taken more seriously with the addition of the new freshman that came in. The freshman players added better footwork/ball handling, and more hustle, speed, and defense Anna Bean (‘18), voiced “The addition of the Freshman girls has improved the season from last year because they add better control in the midfield and make shots go in faster, and are aggressive when clearing the ball.” The freshman this year have made huge positive contributions and have not struggled with the faster pace of high school. The next step is is to go as a far as possible in states, to complete that Sophia Tarasidis (‘19) stated that it starts in practice. “For states we need to have harder practices, we have to not give up and put it all in and work harder as we get closer in states.” With the mindset of Sophia that's what made these talented girls make states. It was not one player or even one grade that helped enable them to win more, it was the effort from top to bottom that pushed these girls to the extent. With the leadership, drive & talent throughout, Something just does not make sense …. How were they even doubted in the first place? Darren’s Gameplan Analysis: With november 7th fast approaching , the girls need to make sure they go in with intensity. They are a very tough intensified team who have a wide range of scorers. There have been 9 different scorers, Scoring is not a problem. The girls have had 7 games where they have scored 3 or more goals. Defense needs to step it up a bit, there has been 7 games where 3 or more goals has been scored against, with a range of talented defensive players it's possible for the defense to improve, and they are capable of playing good defense, In 9 games they had less than 3 goals scored against them. The game plan should be on go out there at a fast pace and attack with intensity while on offense. Defense should do whatever it takes to takeover because the state game will be won on how the defense will play. By: Justin Louis ![]() The Chicago Cubs & The Cleveland Indians have been regarded as the Cinderella teams all throughout the year. Both teams are locked in a stalemate, as the series are tied 3-3 with Game 7 determining the end of one’s franchise drought. “FALL CLASSIC” is another word to call the World Series. The World Series is the annual championship series of the MLB, consisting of two teams from the American League and National League. This year the two teams playing are the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians. Both teams are looking to end their drought and seek to win their next championship. On the contrary many people are split about who they believe will win. The Cubs haven’t been to the World Series since 1945! A lot has happened since then. The last time the Cubs won it all was back in 1908, over 100 years ago. Throughout the regular season, Chicago had the best record (103 - 58), as they have been picked as the “favorite” to win it all this year. It’s been a long time coming for the Cubs, and Mr. Ayala is still debating who will win. “I would love to see the Cubs win. 108 years is long enough, and I think if they were playing anybody but the Indians, everybody in America would be rooting for the Cubs." On the other hand The Cleveland Indians are back in the World Series for the 1st time since 1997. 1948 was the last time the Indians won it all. Their record stands at (94-67) as they won AL Central division. The city of Cleveland has been rejuvenated, and craves another championship. Cleveland looks to become the 1st team since 1988 to win both the NBA Championship and the World Series. 60% CUBS WIN 35% INDIANS WIN By: Bryanna Perez Peyton McNamara, a freshmen at Brien McMahon High School, has definitely earned the respect of the league. Playing since she was three years old had most certainly prepared her for her high school career. Gaining a spot and starting on the Girls Soccer Varsity Team , McNamara will stop at nothing. “Everyone was super welcoming during pre season and captains practice over the summer,” telling Pride Time Sports News, “I went in knowing I had to work hard to earn my spot just like everyone else on the team,” McNamara nailed her tryouts and soon enough was ready to play for the senators. “I felt honored and very excited to have gotten the opportunity to represent for my high school's soccer team.”
McNamara playing on a travel team, CFC United, since she was nine years old decided to hold off this fall season to get the chance to play for the Brien McMahon Girls Soccer Team. “Not for a second did I second guess playing for McMahon. I was so excited for my high school team that in seventh grade all the way up until I got to high school that I watched a lot of their games. “ So what is it that made this young freshmen stand out to the crowd? McNamara, a striker for McMahon, was putting up a lot of points for the senators this season. The game against Warde on October 17th, McNamara had 3 goals in total, allowing the senators to end off with a victory (5-2) . They needed one more game to win to qualify for states. That one more game was against Trumbull that same week on October 21st. “To prepare for the big game I made sure I ate right and hydrated myself. I focused on the game and thought about what myself and the team needed to do to win.” The senators did in fact beat Trumbull (3-0) as McNamara contributed one goal and an assist to teammate Chloe Ortolano. “It felt amazing to win!” This will be the first time , since 2007 that the Brien McMahon High School girls soccer team qualify for states. McNamara and her teammates are now getting ready for states and focusing on bigger goals. Matt Saint-Louis, Chandler Greene, and James Snedaker Sports Writers
By Darren Battle The volleyball team is this years Mcmahon fall team with the most wins, they are 11-1. The ladies have secured a spot in states and are currently ranked third in the FCIAC standings and hold the 3rd seed in the FCIAC playoff race. The senators are also currently ranked 15 in the state. With the great season the ladies are having, one would question what makes a winner and what do they do to keep it up? Team chemistry has to be amazing in order to be good, everyone has to contribute. Talking bad about each other is unheard of from this team. In order to have a well rounded team, trust has to be on and off the court. Trust has to be on the court especially as Elizabeth Murphy a junior for the varsity team explained “Volleyball is such a hard sport because it takes trust and communication. You need to trust your team when they call it out, so you don't touch the ball or when someone says got it you have to trust them and then let them get it.” Volleyball is such a fast paced game trust needs to be instilled, if teammates do not trust each other many collisions and mistakes happen. Jennifer Bouzy a senior on the team explained that trust is needed through positions on the court because “we have to trust the libero (the best passer on the team) to give a perfect pass to the setter (sets the ball to hitters) while the setter has to trust the libero in giving the perfect pass and the hitter must trust the setter to give a perfect set.” In order to continue to win games, if a lost happens it needs to be taken serious. Dedication is what these girls seriously have. A regular season lost put tears in their eyes but it pushed them to have for the better. The girls lost 3-1 to Ridgefield but after that the tough loss they went on to win six straight games. With the first loss that was endured Elizabeth proclaimed “That win sucked. We were all in tears in the locker room because we knew we didn't deserve that loss but we let it happen so we couldn't nope. We decided that would be our turning point and come back with more energy and more drive to win.” That's exactly what happened when five of those six straight wins after the lost were 3-0 sweeps. By Justin Louis & Dorrran Ladouceur The football team at McMahon has been on a rough skid this year. Currently their record stands at 0-5 as the team rebuilds their program. This past Saturday our football team faced the #1 team in the state Darien, with the final score being 54-17. Coach Albano knew this game would be a tough one for his young football team. “Playing the #1 team in the state is not easy. I thought the kids played really well in the beginning, but it’s hard to keep up with a team like that and especially when you turn the ball over, they capitalize on your mistakes.” However there was a bright spot to take away from this loss. Jamie Taylor. Jamie Taylor, a four year player on the McMahon football team, scored his 1st varsity touchdown this past Saturday. Taylor, who has down sydrome, ran to the endzone for 60 yards to score. It was an exciting moment for everyone on the team. Chris Druin (‘18) recalls that moment, “It was definitely special to see Jamie score. Just seeing how happy he was to run the ball down the field, it’s probably one of the best feelings you could get.” This Friday our football team takes on Trumbull as they look to earn their 1st win. “Better preparation for the teams we have to play against, forget about what’s happened and look forward to who we have,” says Chris Druin as the team looks to take one game at a time.. Show some school spirit and come out to support our Brien McMahon football team this Friday as they play Trumbull at 7:00pm under the lights at Jack Casagrande Field. Witshi Bien-Aime Sports Writer Passionate, intelligent, athletic are words that describe 17 year old Brien McMahon varsity soccer captain Afa Reyes. With his new role as captain comes great responsibilities and renewed hope of the success of the success for this season. Afa stated, “So far we started pretty good, we did struggle a little at the beginning but now we picked up the pace and hope the momentum from the last game continues.” When asked about the transition to captain Afa responded, “I now have to set an example to the other players on how they should behave on and off the field”.
Afa feels the team has started well as a whole stating, “The team has been working really hard all summer, the team has good chemistry and are very talented.” Afa is very motivated when on the field playing the game he loves. He says what motivates him the most is the thought of holding a trophy with Mcmahon, but his dream is to go pro one day” New Brien Mcmahon soccer coach, Rodrigo Guzman, went to Brien McMahon in the 80s and was a key player for the school as well. Afa rates the coach very highly when it comes to having a good season. “Physically, he made us work really hard. Our stamina as a team has improved a lot and mentally he's a great motivational speaker which has helped us a lot. Tactically he has brought a lot to the team and helps us a lot as a whole,” he said. Halfway through the season the team needs 2 wins to make states and FCIACS and Afa has said that the team won't give up.The season has been both up and down, with a 3-8-2 record but with the team is within reach of both competitions. Outside of soccer Afa enjoys swimming, and enjoys watching the sport as well as competing. He has a huge in-ground pool at his house and has always loved swimming and competing with friends. “If I was not a soccer player right now I would be a swimmer and for the future if I did not play soccer all my opportunities and friends would be different,” he said. Afa’s answer after being asked about his best moment playing for McMahon was, “The game vs Trumbull High School in the 15-16 season, our team morale was at an all time low.The team was down 2-0 with 20 minutes left, Our defender Abdullah scored with 10 minutes left. Then I scored twice, one of which was one of the best goals I’ve ever scored. It was from 30 yards and went right over the keeper.” Afa Reyes hopes that more great moments like this will come this season. By: Bryanna Perez ![]() “ It felt amazing! ” said Tatiana Arias after not only winning the most important game to the Senators but for also being announced MVP. Arias, attending Brien Mcmahon High School, pulled off an amazing performance for the Senators on Friday night on Testa Field as they faced their hometown rival, Norwalk High School. Arias did attend Brien Mcmahon High school when she was a freshmen , then transferred to Norwalk High School her sophomore year. Entering her Junior year she did come back to Brien Mcmahon but was not able to play the first 8 games for the senators. “ I was super nervous before the game because I knew I couldn't mess up being goalie, especially against Norwalk High. It was a must win for me because that was my old school.” Nothing got passed Arias on the field, not even the “Bear Pack.” “Mentally I had to get ready for the game. I knew I couldn't let the bear pack effect me or anyone in the stands.” Arias also had a lot of help from her teammates. “They were always supporting me and telling me I was doing a good job. The compliments helped get my confidence up.” The senators won the game with a 3-0 score but the game didn't end there for Arias as she was announced MVP of the Chelsea Cohen award. “I was surprised, I didn't expect to be named MVP but I was happy.” And so were her coaches , “ They told me I did a great job because I did everything they were telling me to do, they were proud.” Arias celebrated the victory with her teammates and school as they all went onto the field chanting in full pride. “ It's great to be home, I missed it a lot!” By Bryanna Perez ![]() Transitioning from boys to girls will be a challenge for the new varsity head coach of the Brien Mcmahon girls basketball team, Derek Sellers, as he is willing to point them in the right direction. “I'm not used to coaching girls, but i'm just going to coach them the way I know how to coach” Sellers says as he talks about his new position. Coaching boys, Sellers does have a lot of experience and it's safe to say he knows what he's doing. “I've coached kids from elementary all the way to college. Iv coached different types of levels, structures, city teams, AAU teams, high school teams, etc, so I do have a lot of experience in coaching basketball.” Sellers even brought one of his older AAU teams, The Norwalk Blue Blazers, to Las Vegas and Coco Beach in Florida to play in some major tournaments, they even won a couple of championships. Coach Sellers has a lot planned for the 2016-2017 season for the girls at Brien Mcmahon as he wants them to become closer and create a strong bond. “The morale is down from last year and it wasn't really together. So I want to build more of a family oriented type of environment so we can work towards our goals” Sellers says explaining his plans on coaching the team towards success. So what made him want to apply? Sellers tells BMHS pridetime blog “A Lot of players showed interest and confidence in me that I could help them become a better team and build a better program, ” mentioning , “I'm here to do anything for the kids.” “I'm very excited and kind of nervous” Sellers says with a big smile on his face. Looks like those pre game butterflies are kicking in early. By Darren Battle In high school sports, there are never consistent teams with the same players. New player’s arrive while senior’s graduate. This year for McMahon basketball they lost six seniors who last season, propelled the team to an 8-0 start. The they went 13-9 and made it to the state tournament where they were one loss short of an FCIAC playoff berth. They also advanced to the quarterfinals of the state tournament and lost to Danbury 53-44.
As senior leaders go away, there are new leaders that step up. The attitude going into this year is hard work, mental toughness, and bigger roles. Aaron Mckeithan ('17), a senior basketball player this year, plans to play a role of making sure others work to their potential. “As one of the leaders of the team I'm not letting anyone on this team give up and I'm showing resilience every single game,” states Mckeithan. Coach Dustin the head varsity basketball coach expresses that the goal this year has to be a difference in mental toughness from last year. In other words, every hardship encountered needs to be quickly adjusted. Adjusting to differences this year starts in the fall basketball league (a league where several returning players play scrimmages against other teams during the fall season). The fall league is an opportunity for players to prepare for the season outside of workouts. Matt Saint Louis ('17), an FCIAC all honorable mention senior, stressed that "the fall league is not about winning anything, it's about seeing the progress of the team and adjusting.” A determined Louis also states, "In our first game, we fought well as a team and made good adjustments to come back and win. So we look to do more of that throughout the year just adjusting to whatever adversity comes our way and sticking together through it”. Aaron stated the reason of decline of the season was “What went wrong last year I think is that when we went 8-0 we thought we were in the clear and didn't play our hardest after.” Matt discussed the solution’s to last year’s problem is “Last year I feel like we started off really strong and got too comfortable. So this season we really have to work on starting strong and finishing how we started”. Aaron Mckeithan, Matt Saint Louis, and Coach Dustin all feel like this years team is more than capable of making it to the FCIAC and States tournament. Coach Dustin says the boys have a goof chance of an upper-middle rank in the FCIAC league. According to Dustin, the key to success in a tough league is “-making everyone grow and get better on a daily basis, coaches included; and commit together as teammates.” Make sure to keep tabs on this upcoming basketball season, as the Senators step up to the plate to reclaim their spot as the most hardworking, focused team in the FCIAC. |
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