Photo by Kiera Classen

On Wednesday, January 18^th, the girls’ swim team competed against their rivals George Washington and Lincoln, coming in second place behind GW.  Although the girls didn’t win the meet, their coach still has good things to say about them.  “Everyone swam very well and we were prepared and professional,” said Head Coach Cindy Allen.  “They showed great integrity.”

A few days later, the girls swam in the Fountain Fort Carson Invite.  They came in 14^th out of 18 teams, but not all of their victories showed up in their score.  “It was a new meet and many of the girls bettered their times by three or more seconds,” said Allen.  Sophomore Sarah Orr improved her backstroke time from 123.43 seconds to 120.11 seconds, Junior Juliana Alford got 1^st place in the 100-breast stroke, and Freshman Angelica Hawley got 3^rd place in her heat in the 100 freestyle race.
Lastly, on Wednesday, January 25^th, the girls had a quad meet against West, South, and North.  The meet was held at North High School.  The girls came in second place behind South and beat West and North.  “The girls were nervous and quad meets are always hectic in a small area, but they swam really well and they stepped up and made me proud,” said Allen.  “They worked as team and were willing to make changes for their team.”

Wednesday 12/7 DPS Girls Relay Meet @Manual 4:15 p.m. (5^th Place)
Wednesday 12/14 Montbello/East @Manual 4:15 p.m. (2^nd Place)
Friday 12/16 Harrison @TJ 4:15 p.m. (1^st Place)
Saturday 1/7 Valor Invite @Colorado School of Mines 12:00 p.m. (16^th Place)
Wednesday 1/18 George Washington/Lincoln @TJ 4:15 p.m. (2^nd Place)
Saturday 1/21 Fountain Ft. Carson Invite @Fountain Ft. Carson 9:00 a.m. (14^th Place)
Wednesday 1/25 West/South/North @North 4:15 p.m. (2^nd place)
Saturday 1/28 DPS B Meet @Manual
Friday 2/3 DPS Girls League Swim Prelims @Manual 4:15p.m.
Saturday 2/4 DPS Girls League Swim/Dive Finals @Manual 9:00a.m

Artwork by Kiera Classen

I really circled the drain last week, seeing both Harbaugh Brothers defeated and sending me to 4-6 for the postseason, and no chance of finishing above .500. But, this is the Super Bowl, and if I get this one right it could be the saving grace of my postseason. Tom Brady is looking for his fourth Super Bowl ring in five starts, while Eli looks to earn his second championship. There are multiple parallels between this Super Bowl and the ’07 Super Bowl these two teams played in. But will it be the same result?

New York Giants vs. New England Patriots: Tom Brady brings in his offense clicking on all cylinders, even after a game against the tough Ravens’ defense. Brady apologized for his performance in the AFC Championship game, but why? He won the game and had a rushing touchdown. Apology accepted here. Brady is clutch and has the determination of a champion. He also brings along Rob Gronkowski who has the best hands in the Patriot receiving core. Gronkowski broke multiple tight end records this season, and has continued his path of destruction right into the playoffs. Gronkowski matches up well against a weaker Giants linebacking core and secondary. The Patriots defense has also been playing well since the playoffs started. They were ridiculed so much going into the playoffs, they had to step up for this team to go far. Vince “Big Boy” Wilfork stepped up and has single-handedly changed games for this team. Last week, Wilfork pushed the Ravens’ center straight back into Joe Flacco. Wilfork then took Flacco down with just one hand. The Ravens were off the field and the Patriots scored after the punt. Wilfork had a seven point turn around on that one play.

The Giants have just as good as a pass rush too. Jason Pierre-Paul, Osi Umenyiora, and Justin Tuck man the frontline and have combined for 30.5 sacks. They have gotten after the quarterback this postseason much like in ’07. This Giants team has heated up mightily over the last weeks in the run game. Amadaw Bradshaw has run over the Falcons, Packers, and 49ers defense. Why wouldn’t he against the Patriots? Then there’s Eli Manning, who has proven me wrong three weeks in a row. Manning has proven his elite status by winning games in the fourth quarter, and once in overtime in the NFC Championship Game. Eli will want this Super Bowl ring to finally one-up his brother and looked upon as the better quarterback.

This will be the final week of football, and it honestly makes me a little sad. For six months, there won’t be any football played. But, this is also the best weekend in football because the entire season has boiled down to this. Patriots or Giants? If history repeats itself, Giants. If the better team wins, Patriots. At the end, I give my kiss of death to the Patriots. The Call: Patriots, 35-20

Photo by Ed Gloor

On Friday January 20th, the Spartan boys lost to George Washington by a score of 59-45 and didn’t have guard Jordan Roland playing.

“Jordan was out with an injury,” said Head Coach Grant Laman. “GW noticed that and quickly took away the outside shot.” Jordan isn’t only the highest scorer on the team averaging 11.5 points a game, but he also has made the second highest amount of three-pointers on the team. Jordan was sorely missed as the offense had its worse outing of the season with a season-low in points. “They collapsed in on (forward Eric Andres) and didn’t let him take over the game. We shouldn’t let this become an excuse though, we had to adapt,” said Laman.

The sequence of events that happened at the end of the game was also a big reason for TJ’s deficit. As the a Patriots player tried to shoot a three-point attempt, he was fouled by a Spartan. This gave George three straight free throws, and Laman called a dead ball timeout. Coming out of the time out, center Nate Brewer said some words to the ref and was handed a technical foul. This was Brewer’s fifth foul and he fouled out of the game, and as he went to the bench he inadvertently vented his anger by slapping a chair. This was another technical foul, but since Brewer fouled out it was handed to Laman. “They got seven straight free throws, made six, and kept the ball. They also scored on the play giving them nine straight points without touching the ball. That was tough on us,” said Laman.

TJ had the weekend off and played Kennedy on Tuesday, January 24, and played a sloppy game to end up losing 68-59 and had multiple players inactive.

“The inactives violated some team rules and didn’t play,” said Laman. “We had some new combinations on the floor and they didn’t have a lot of playing time with each other. Again, we have to adapt to the situation and still win.” TJ played good defense to stay in the game, and was even up by one point very early in the fourth quarter, before Kennedy guard Jordan Hunter took the game over. TJ was forced into fouling at the end of the game, and Kennedy was able to pull away.

The Spartans now sit at 6-11 and needs some wins to guarantee a playoff spot. “In order to get in we’ll need three or four more wins at a minimum with six games left. If we can do that, our strength of schedule should be able to get us into the playoffs. But, then we get in and play a top seed,” said Laman.

TJ next plays East on Thursday, January 26th at East at 5:30 p.m.

Photo by Kiera Classen

On January 20th, the lady Spartans played a greatly anticipated game against rival George Washington Patriots, pulling out the W, 55-35 .

The Spartans came through with a win against GW, but  the win did not come easy for the Lady Spartans.  They beat George after two tough losses against Range View and Wheat Ridge.

On January 17, the ladies suffered a tough loss against Wheat Ridge, 51-32. “The girls did not play well, in that game,” said Head Coach Steve Thomas. The Farmers, who have a 7-4 record, held the Spartans to only 35 points throughout the whole game.

The next day on January 18th, the same scenario came up when the Spartans came up short in a loss to Range View, 55-30. The Spartans tied the game, but the Raiders, who are 12-2 on the season, kept the lead for most of the second half.

In the past two seasons, the Lady Spartans lost to George Washington by over 30 points combined. This year, the Girls beat the Patriots, 55-35. “The game was great; the girls really worked hard, and they showed everybody that they really wanted this win,” said Coach Thomas. The ladies, for most of the game, did not let the Patriots catch up, and the Spartans held on to the lead. Junior, Brealah McGinnis, who had 20 points in the game explained that this win was needed. The girls worked together to combine for 55 points, and 31 rebounds.

The ladies have two essential games coming up this week: Tuesday,  the girls battle John F. Kennedy, and then East on Thursday. “These games we have coming up are important; we have to win these if we want to go to playoffs,” said Junior Cleora Kepoke.

January 12          Aurora Central                W 44-36

January 17          Wheat Ridge                     L 51-32

January 18           Range View                      L 55-30

January 20           George Washington     W 55-35

January 24           @John F. Kennedy

January 26           @East

February 3              South

Image courtesy of google images

Last week featured some of the best playoff football of the entire season. We saw the mighty Packers fall and fall hard, the 49ers had “The Catch” all over again to beat the Saints, the Ravens defense dominated and scratched out a win, and “Tebow Time” came to a bitter-bitter end. With all these events happening I found myself going 3-1, and raise my record for the playoffs to .500 at 4-4. I’m feeling another great week ahead with the Conference Championships. The Giants are going to San Fransisco to play the 49ers, and the Ravens take a trip north to take on the New England Patriots. I see two close games, but only two teams can play for the Lombardi Trophy.

Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots: The Ravens finally got their first home playoff game since 2006, and they took advantage. Though they couldn’t stop Arian Foster who ran for 132 yards and a score, the defense allowed only 140 passing yards and 17 points. But, Tom Brady is a bit better than T.J. Yates to say the least. Tom Brady went all Tom Brady on the Broncos and threw for 363 yards, six touchdown passes, and was able to let off the gas after throwing five of those touchdown passes in the first half against the Broncos defense. Brady has had his worst games in his career against this same Ravens defense. Last time these two teams played in New England in the playoffs, the Ravens’ Ray Rice ran over the Pats’ defense and Joe Flacco had a good day throwing for a couple touchdowns. In the end, the Ravens won 33-14. Joe Flacco proved himself as a playoff quaterback, and continued to stay this way.

I see more of the same for the Ravens in this game. This may be Ravens’ linebacker Ray Lewis’ final shot at a Super Bowl, and he will played inspired football against the Patriots. The Patriots have fallen the last few years at home in the playoffs, and it all started with this Ravens team. Ray Rice should have a big day, and carry the Ravens right to Indy for the Super Bowl. The Call: Ravens, 24-21.

New York Giants vs. San Fransisco 49ers: This looks like a matchup from the late 80′s and the early 90′s, but its this weekend’s game. The 49ers played an awesome game against the Saints last week. They forced Drew Brees to throw four interceptions, and forced six turnovers. The defense was gashed a couple of times, but that was when they decided to play a prevent defense. When aggresive, the Niners’ defense figured out the Saints and beat them fair and square. Candlestick Park was loud, and the Niners had a clear home-field advantage. They get to play at home agian this weekend against the New York Football Giants. Eli Manning played amazing last week especially on third down where it seemed like every time they threw, they converted. The defense showed up in the biggest way though. They were able to get Rodgers off his game, and the whole offense of the Packers seemed, off. Rodgers missed wide open receivers, and the receivers also dropped the ball. Anyways, the Giants were stonewall and wouldn’t allow any big plays.

This game certainly won’t be too exciting to watch because of the strong defenses on both teams. The Niners are in the comfort of the Bay, and the weather will benefit the better running team who is the Niners. I have gone against the Giants the last two weeks, and they have proven me wrong. Well, try it again Eli. The Call: 49ers, 17-10.

The Ravens and 49ers in the Super Bowl. John and Jim  Harbaugh are brothers, and the head coaches of the two respective teams. Dare I say it, the HarBowl?

Photo by Ed Gloor

TJ lost to Cherokee Trail 71-70 in the second meeting of these teams this season; TJ prevailed by one point in the first match-up, 51-50.

TJ lead at the end of each quarter on Saturday, only to be outscored by eight points in the fourth, and lose by one point. TJ was glad to have forward Eric Andres on the floor after an apparent knee injury, and he lead the team with 20 points and four steals. TJ neutralized the big men of Cherokee Trail, forcing  the issue to the floor for the Cougars, putting their shots away from the basket. The Cougars beat the Spartans from the free throw line, though. They shot 28 free throws and made 20 of them, a great percentage from what TJ has seen before.

Fans and players were disheartened after the loss. Longtime TJ Teacher and Spartan Sports Enthusiast Rose Young said, “I was unhappy. We gave up the ball multiple times at the end, and that is what did us in.” The Spartans shouldn’t be too unhappy after this performance, though. They played the most efficient offense all season, and had a good field goal percentage of 59% and four of the five starters were in double digit scoring.

The next game of the season is arguably the biggest for the team, the home game against George Washington. The last two years, George has jumped out to an early lead against the Spartans, and TJ hasn’t been able to make a comeback. This will be the first time TJ has hosted George in four years.

This year looks to be another fight for these two teams. The Patriots are coming into the game on a six game losing streak and averaging a lowly 39 points during the losing streak. The leading scorer of the Patriots is Guard TreVante O’Neal with 14.5 points and three assists.

This will be a pack the house night for TJ, and they want to fill the stands for not only the Boys’ game at 5:30 p.m. but the Girls’ game as well, which plays right after the boys at 7 p.m.

]]> http://www.tjjournal.com/2012/01/19/spartans-lose-close-one-open-league-play-against-george/feed/ 0 http://www.tjjournal.com/2012/01/19/just-keep-swimming/ http://www.tjjournal.com/2012/01/19/just-keep-swimming/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:47:48 +0000 Sadye Hazan http://www.tjjournal.com/?p=19373 The girls’ swim team has done well in their recent meets as they prepare for their upcoming competition.

Photo by Kiera Classen

Before the well-deserved break, the girls’ swim team competed in two meets—Montbello/East and Harrison—and one meet after the break in the Valor Invite.

The Montbello and East meet was on December 14^th and the Lady Swimmers took second place.  East came in first place and Montbello came in third place.  “We went to East and we had a good meet and swam well.  The girls were prepared and confident,” said Head Coach Cindy Allen.

Swimmer and Junior Rachel Uyemura agreed with her coach.  “Besides the DPS relay, it was our first real meet and we did pretty well.  East had a lot more girls but we put up a good fight.”

Two days later, the girls swam against Harrison High School at home.  “Harrison is a great team and we were equally paired in ability,” said Allen.  The girls came out on top and earned first place.  “It was a fun meet and there was good sportsmanship.”

Lastly, the girls competed in the Valor Invitational swim meet on January 7th.  Out of 24 teams, the Lady Swimmers placed 16^th.  The meet took place at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden.  “The Valor Invite is always hard because it is such a small facility and there are so many teams and I think that affects the girls’ performance,” said Allen.  Although it may be challenging, Coach also has her reasons for participating in the invite. “I like to go to the Valor invite so our athletes can see what other athletes around Colorado are like.  I also like that it is at a college and the girls get to experience the workout facility,” said Allen.

The Lady Swimmers will have their next meet on Wednesday, January 18^th.  They will be competing against their rivals at George Washington and Lincoln.  Uyemura believes it will be a good meet.  “We should be evenly matched with Lincoln, but I’m expecting GW to bring their all.  GW is always really competitive.”

Wednesday 12/7 DPS Girls Relay Meet @Manual 4:15 p.m. (5th Place)

Wednesday 12/14 Montbello/East @Manual 4:15 p.m. (2^nd Place)

Friday 12/16 Harrison @TJ 4:15 p.m. (1^st Place)

Saturday 1/7 Valor Invite @Colorado School of Mines 12:00 p.m. (16^th Place)

Wednesday 1/18 George Washington/Lincoln @TJ 4:15 p.m.

Saturday 1/21 Fountain Ft. Carson Invite @Fountain Ft. Carson 9:00 a.m.

Wednesday 1/25 West/South/North @North 4:15 p.m.

Saturday 1/28 DPS B Meet @Manual

Friday 2/3 DPS Girls League Swim Prelims @Manual 4:15p.m.

Saturday 2/4 DPS Girls League Swim/Dive Finals @Manual 9:00a.m

Photo by Kiera Classen

After two tough pins, and then two times of losing by virtue of mere points, TJ wrestling couldn’t have won even in the last match when Junior Marcus Allen pinned his matchup quickly.

“I’m not sure what happened,” said Head Coach Mike Laurita. “I just think the guys got jittery with this being the first match at home, and wrestling in front of their fans.” TJ wrestlers Ron Feiber and Joe Johnson put forth valiant efforts against their opponents, but found themselves pinned at the end of the match. “Their guys just got them down,” said Laurita. There were bright spots in the match for TJ, with Allen and Junior Corey Hernandez having the fastest pins on the team.

TJ has to turn around quickly after a bad loss. “I just have to get them back into the saddle, and get them back on the mat for our next meet.” TJ next faces Heritage at Heritage on January 20, at 6 p.m.

Photos by Jeff Coleman

On January 6th, the Spartans won their next home game against Rock Canyon by a dominating score of 82-68, with a huge performance from forward Eric Andres who had a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) in the game.

“We had a great team meeting on Thursday,” said Head Coach Grant Laman. TJ suffered a bad loss two days before to D’Evelyn in front of the home crowd were the Spartans appeared flat. “We found some great inspiration from Billy Sprague,” said Laman. The visiting Sprague was a perennial team leader on the basketball team, graduated in 2010, and now attends the School of Mines. TJ beat down Rock Canyon on the boards, out-rebounding them by a behemoth total of 27. Forward Trey Andres was a big factor for the Spartans hitting three of four, three-pointers, all at times in the game when the Spartans needed it most.

TJ also found great games from their bench, like guard Amari Williams who had three points and six assists. TJ’s crowd was a key factor in the game, and seemed to get into the heads of the Rock Canyon players, who became more and more frustrated as each offensive possession came up empty for them. The highest point total from Rock Canyon was by guard Austin Noyles who had 15 points, and really was an outlier compared to rest of his team.

TJ then had to play Columbine on Saturday, and had a rough game losing by a large margin of 74-52, and TJ could produce little to no offense in the game.

The Spartans got a good game from guard Jordan Roland who had 14 points, but was slow in the front court where the starters only combined for 15 points. Forward for the Columbine Rebels Jonathan Snow had the clear height advantage over TJ at 6’7″, and scored 23 points on the Spartans. Laman wouldn’t have any excuses for the team though, saying, “They are a big team, but so are we.”

TJ never hit double digits in the first two quarters, only scoring eight and nine respectively. Another rough point of the Spartans game was shooting beyond the arch. They had only five makes in 21 attempts, and those misses brought up empty offensive possessions.  With TJ unable to find its stroke and not produce a lot of offense, the Rebels had their way inside and scored on high percentage shots.

On Tuesday, January 10th TJ played the top ranked team in 5A in Highlands Ranch and lost 61-53.

The Spartans were hit hard in the second quarter, scoring only two points, and went into the half with only 27 points compared to Highlands Ranch’s 31. Other than that abysmal second quarter, the Spartans scored fairly consistently, and stayed in the game most of the way.

In the end, what really hurt the TJ Hoop Squad was the missed three-pointers. The Spartans only made five three-pointers in 24 attempts, a lowly 20% from beyond the arc.

TJ rebounded well and beat a ranked Aurora Central Trojans team on January 12th by a score of 66-61 with a great effort from Treyvon Andres with 19 points and four three-pointers.

Aurora Central has a great shooting guard in Carlton Hurst, who is averaging 22 points per game this year, and put up 28 against the Spartans. Hurst got 10 of those points from free throws that he earned by driving against this Spartan team. TJ remained persistent though, getting a basket when it was needed most. Going into the half, the score was tied at 33 and TJ knew that they could ride the momentum of the crowd to a win.

Coming out at the half, TJ played a stingy defense and allowed only nine points in the third quarter and scored 13 points. Aurora Central had to resort to intentional fouls at the end of the game to try and stay in it, but TJ guard Antonio Clark would get the ball when fouled, and make his free throws.

The Spartans had a scare at the end of the game when Eric Andres went up for a layup and hurt his leg on the way down. The entire Spartan family collectively held its breath as Andres was helped off the court. Andres should be fine, and will start against Cherokee Trail.

“We have good confidence (going into playing Cherokee Trail). We’ll see where it’s at afterwards,” said Laman.

]]> http://www.tjjournal.com/2012/01/16/tj-ends-home-stand-at-1-2-play-two-straight-ranked-opponents/feed/ 0 http://www.tjjournal.com/2012/01/16/girls-basketball-drop-2-after-break/ http://www.tjjournal.com/2012/01/16/girls-basketball-drop-2-after-break/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:12:16 +0000 Halen Alemseged http://www.tjjournal.com/?p=19286  The Thomas Jefferson Spartans Girls’ Basketball Team lost Wednesday’s non-conference game against the D’Evelyn Jaguars by a score of 89-34 on the first game back from break.

Photo by Kiera Classen

The Spartans came back from break and this week went 0-2 as the team goes 5-6 overall this season. “We have not played to our potential yet.  We started off the season hot and we have tapered off a little,” said Head Coach Steve Thomas. D’Evelyn shot a season high 43%, and had 28 three-point field goal attempts. The Jaguars also had 19 free throw attempts and scored 89 points, defeating the Spartan Girls’ Basketball Team.

“This team was hard to beat and we had a hard time staying consistent.  It really messed us up, and we were too worried about the previous loss against Thornton; it just really got us out of our game,” said Junior Brealah McGinnis.

The Spartans also fell short against Columbine on January 7^th, 49-39. “This game we were more focused and we put the D’Evelyn game behind us and focused on this game,” said McGinnis, who feels that this loss isn’t as bad at the D’Evleyn game.

As the season progresses Spartans are ready to turn it around and get some more W’s on the board. “Our goal is to begin to peak right about the time we start our play January 20^th vs GW,” said Coach Thomas.