It was a great season for the O’Connor Panthers, and at the end of the game no one could say they didn’t give their all against the defending regional champions.
But it wouldn’t be enough, as Pflugerville defeated O’Connor 56-39 last night at Lehman High School in Kyle, TX.
Posted by
Jay Tope on February 11, 2010 at 2:59 pm
While NISD named two head football coaches this week, Seguin is losing theirs.
Steve McGhee and David Malesky have been named head coaches of Clark and O’Connor, respectively. Both were assistants at those schools.
Meanwhile, Jim Carson of Seguin has announced that he will step down as head football coach and athletic director of Seguin High School at the end of this school year.
O’Connor HS Cheer on Great Day SA - Video
Posted by
Jay Tope on February 10, 2010 at 8:15 am
Panthers corral Raiders
Posted by
Mark Kusenberger on January 31, 2010 at 10:12 am
Playoff-bound O’Connor enjoys 58-34 victory over Taft
by Mark Kusenberger
SAsports.com Senior Writer
The O’Connor Lady Panthers leaped out to a 20-2 lead on their way to a 58-34 victory over the Taft Lady Raiders Saturday afternoon at the Paul Taylor Field House.
O’Connor (23-7, 10-3 in 28-5A) distributed their early scoring almost as efficiently as a layup drill. In outscoring Taft 16-2 in the first quarter, O’Connor had six players score two, three, or four points. Tina Chapa, with four points, was the only player to score two field goals in the first quarter. Bria Ford’s basket with 3:35 left in the first was Taft’s only first quarter score. Thanks to O’Connor’s commanding 20-2 lead, O’Connor coach Karmen Wilson was able to rotate all nine of her players into the game by the 6:20 mark of the second quarter.
The Lady Panther’s ball distribution resulted in unusual scoring totals. Arlene Cisneros, O’Connor’s leading scorer, finished with only five points, although she did have three assists in the first four minutes of the game. Deedrah Torres, who averaged only 2.7 points per game going into Saturday, sank three second half trays and four total on her way to a game-high 14 points.
Taft (8-20, 3-11 in 28-5A) only suited up seven players for Saturday’s game, including just one senior. Two of their top three scorers were unavailable for the O’Connor game. Ford led the Raiders with eight points, all in the first half; Monet Noel finished second on the team with six points, all in the second half.
O’Connor’s victory, combined with Marshall’s later win over Brandeis, keeps the Lady Panthers and Lady Rams tied in the loss column for second place in district; O’Connor and Marshall split their district meetings. Taft is tied in the win column for seventh with Brandeis; Taft and Brandeis also split.
TAFT SCORING: Bria Ford 8, Monet Neal 6, Alex Owens 5, Josalyn Madrigal 4, Amanda Acevedo 4, Danielle Dye 4, Sarah Narvaiz 3
Mustang boys outrun Panthers
Posted by
Mark Kusenberger on January 16, 2010 at 7:51 am
Serrano steal seals 73-69 Jay victory
by Mark Kusenberger
SAsports.com Senior Writer
The Jay Mustangs built up leads.
The O’Connor Panthers cut the deficits.
But thanks to a steal by Luis Serrano with 5 seconds left, Jay held on for a 73-69 victory Friday afternoon at the Paul Taylor Field House.
Jay (12-10, 5-3 in 28-5A) was protecting a 71-69 lead when Serrano stole the ball with 5 seconds left. He drove for the basket and missed the clinching shot, but then got his own follow-up to clinch the win.
The Mustangs set the tempo for the first half, playing little defense but building a lead by trading three-point plays for two-point plays. Luis Serrano and Isiah Flores each made a pair of three-pointers, with Serrano’s coming from beyond NBA range. Despite that, Jay’s leading scorer for the quarter was Jose Colon, who contributed eight points. Even with all that firepower, Jay led only 22-19 after one quarter; O’Connor was led by seven points from Kurt Russell and five for Adrian Lozano.
The scoring finally slowed down, but not a whole lot. O’Connor coach Mike Houlihan called three time outs in the first half trying to slow down the Jay attack, but nothing worked. Jay led 26-23 when Houlihan called his second timeout, and led 40-27 with 3:04 left when he called his third. Robert Oliver came off the bench for 11 second quarter points to help Jay build their lead, and O’Connor might never have made the game interesting again if not for Michael Adeniran finding Nathaniel Sisk for back-to-back threes to close out the half, bringing O’Connor within 42-35.
The pattern continued in the third, as O’Connor (9-13, 2-6 in 28-5A) came within 42-39, then fell behind 56-45. The 14-6 Jay run concluded with an assist from Serrano, dealt through congestion in the lane to a wide-open Flores for a layup. Akeem Smith made a putback at the buzzer, and it was Jay 58-49 after three.
O’Connor fought back yet again, battling within three twice. Down 71-65 with 49 seconds left, the Panthers got two free throws from Adeniran and a score from Adrian Lozano to get within 71-69. Missed free throws by Jay set up O’Connor final game-winning opportunity, thwarted by Serrano’s steal.
The victory kept Jay one game ahead of Warren for fourth place in 28-5A. Jay will be tied for third place should Taft lose to Brandeis on Saturday.
JAY SCORING: Luis Serrano 18, Robert Oliver 17, Isiah Flores 15, Jose Colon 12, Akeem Smith 6, Eddie Bellamy-Stephens 3, Moses Menchaca 2, Chris Diggs-Goff, Paul Ortiz
O’CONNOR SCORING: Kurt Russell 18, Adrian Lozano 15, Nathaniel Sisk 9, Michael Adeniran 8, Troy Massie 7, Jonathan Azzianaro 4, Kevin Washington 4, Jarrin Johnson 2, Devin Sotello 2, Jordan Kouremetis
O’Connor’s Padron becomes head football coach at TLU
Posted by
Jay Tope on January 9, 2010 at 1:28 pm
by Jay Tope
Senior Editor, SAsports.com
What is a celebratory time at Texas Lutheran University is also a sad time at O’Connor High School.
Danny Padron, the head football coach and boys athletic coordinator at O’Connor High School for the past eight years, has accepted the head football coaching job at TLU.
I could go on and on about the history of Danny Padron; his 30 years as an assistant, how he built O’Connor into a powerhouse. But I’d rather talk about Danny Padron, the class act.
A 1969 graduate of John Jay High School, Padron has been a mentor, a motivational speaker, a Christian, and someone who supported every sport and activity wherever he’s been. Anytime I would be announcing a game at Paul Taylor Field House, boys or girls, Danny would be there showing his support.
But the moment I became a true Danny Padron fan was at a football game I covered in the Alamodome several years back. O’Connor was playing Clark, and it was before the Panthers had become a football power. The game was unique in another way: Padron was coaching against his son Andy, who was the starting quarterback at Clark (where Padron had been an assistant).
Trailing by two touchdowns with two minutes left, O’Connor came back to win the game. Cheerleaders on the Panthers side were crying tears of joy, the O’Connor football program finally defeated their big brother school, and the Panther fans were going crazy. But as I was running on the field to grab a post-game interview with Coach Padron, there was only one place he was running.
To find and console his son, the senior quarterback of the Clark Cougars.
I actually found Andy before Coach Padron did. You see, in the midst of the on-field chaos, Andy was looking for his dad. And when the two met at midfield, Andy had the biggest smile on his face, for he was so proud of his father. There wasn’t a dry eye anywhere. I still get teary-eyed thinking about that moment.
They embraced. And Danny Padron knew at that moment, as did everyone that witnessed that incident, how good of a father he was.
So let’s forget about how TLU’s season ended this year; 0-10, players and a student assistant coach suspended for allegedly beating a UIW player and putting him into the hospital.
Because Danny Padron is coming. And everyone that know him knows that the University football program in Seguin has much brighter days ahead.
Clark stuns O’Connor in double overtime
Posted by
Mark Kusenberger on December 23, 2009 at 10:10 am
Trailing by 10 with 1:46 left, Cougars rally to victory
by Mark Kusenberger
SAsports.com Senior Writer
Jason Brickman scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and Sam Perez added nine in the overtime periods as the Clark Cougars rallied to take a 76-72 victory Tuesday afternoon at the Paul Taylor Field House.
Clark (16-5, 3-0 in 28-5A) closed regulation with a 10-0 run, with Brickman provided five of the points. Brickman’s two free throws with 43 seconds left sent the game to overtime.
Sam Perez, who scored only two points in regulation, hit his second three in overtime to put Clark ahead 69-66, but with a minute left in the first overtime, Brickman missed two free throws which could have extended the lead. Adrian Lozano, who kept O’Connor in the ball game with 11 first half points, missed two free throws which could have closed the gap, but Nathaniel Sisk made a pair to close the Panthers with 69-68. Sam Perez’s brother Adam made one of two free throws to put Clark ahead 70-68, but Troy Massie made a late bucket to the game at 70 and send it to a second overtime.
Sam Perez’s third trey in overtime gave Clark the lead for good with about 3 minutes left in the second overtime. Sisk scored to bring O’Connor with 73-72, but Adam Perez made three of four free throws to provide the final cushion. Raymond Hawkins, who replaced Ansley Benjamin when the latter fouled out, got a critical rebound to protect Clark’s lead.
Clark led 19-14 after one quarter, thanks largely to Jacob Palacios’s ten points. But then Clark’s shooting cooled down, and O’Connor’s passing game heated up. Three treys from Sisk helped O’Connor pull within 33-30 at the half, and O’Connor took the lead in the third on a basket by Massey at 39-38. O’Connor led 45-39 after three, and continued building their lead until Clark’s stunning rally.
The victory keeps Clark undefeated in district along with Stevens. O’Connor (9-8, 1-1 in 28-5A) falls into a three-way tie in the loss column for third with Taft and Warren.
O’CONNOR SCORING: Nathaniel Sisk 19, Kurt Russell 19, Troy Massie 13, Adrian Lozano 12, Michael Adenian 5, Jonathan Azzinaro 2, Jarrin Johnson 2, Jordan Kouremetis, Kevin Washington, Andre Pimental
CLARK SCORING: Jason Brickman 22, Elhad Emerllahu 12, Ansley Benjamin 12, Jacob Palacios 12, Sam Perez 11, Adam Perez 7, Manny Paz y Puente, Raymond Hawkins, Jake Chapman, Kyle Rutledge
Volleyball Regional Finals (UPDATED) - Seguin, Poth, Wimberley on to state; O’Connor, Fredericksburg fall
Posted by
Jay Tope on November 14, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Seguin has shocked the pundits, defeating Lake Travis three sets to one, and will now be headed to the state tournament.
Poth and Wimberley have been there before. Now they are heading back.
After a one year absence for both programs, the Pirettes and Texans are heading back to the state tournamnet, having defeated Freer and Fredericksburg, respectively.
For the Billies of Fredericksburg, the loss was especially hard to their district rivals. Leading two sets to one, Fredericksburg couldn’t put Wimberley away, and the Texans will now try to win their fifth state title in 11 years.
Poth had an easier time with Freer, sweeping the Buckaroos.
In other action, the O’Connor Panthers had their chances with a tough Austin Westlake team, but fell three sets to one Saturday at St. Mary’s University.
Westlake put the Panthers in a big hole, winning the first two sets. O’Connor took the third set, but the Chaps from Westlake put it away in the fourth set for the victory and berth in next week’s state tournament at Texas State.
Volleyball Playoffs: O’Connor vs. Reagan - In Pictures
Posted by
Jay Tope on November 11, 2009 at 7:56 am
Both O’Connor and Reagan had been waiting for this match since their first meeting back in August; both teams went unbeaten in their respective districts. And Reagan was looking to continue their dominance over the Panthers.
But this would be O’Connor’s night. Playing with a fire inside, partially because of wanting to finally beat Reagan, and partially in support of their principal Larry Martin who is battling thyroid cancer, the Panthers defeated the Rattlers 25-27, 27-25, 25-15, 25-21.
With the win, O’Connor moves on to the regional semifinals Friday at St. Mary’s, where they will play McAllen Rowe.
This was a team victory, but if an MVP were selected, it might have been Beth Soukup - she was a monster hitter.
As O’Connor celebrates their win, the Panther crowd goes crazy. This very well could have been the largest high school volleyball crowd ever to play inside UTSA.
Both Mike Carter and Yami Garcia show the respect and sportsmanship that makes parents and fans appreciate these teams.
