With a roster full of talented upperclassmen, Head Coach Hanes Brindley knew his squad had a better than average shot at the District 9-5A title this season.

With a 3-1 win over Creekview, the boys captured at least a share of that title last night.

The ‘Cats can capture the title outright with a W.T. White loss tonight or a Wildcat win over Molina on Friday.

Last night’s win also gave the squad seniors a fond farewell, as the game was the last of their high school career at the Boneyard. Those nine seniors, along with their parents, were introduced and honored at halftime.

However, Senior Night wouldn’t have been as much fun without a win, and with the score tied 0-0 at halftime, the boys needed to string together some offense in the second half in order to capture their share of the district title.

While this year’s squad is chock-full of upperclassmen, it was their younger teammates who littered the box score at the end of the game.

Led by speedy sophomores Joel Mendoza and Reagan Dunk, the ‘Cats broke the 0-0 tie just over eight minutes into the 2nd half, when Mendoza assisted Dunk on the first score of the game.

The score went up 2-0 when Mendoza scored unassisted with just 10 minutes left to play. The goal was Mendoza’s 10th of the season, making him the lead scorer for the team.

The final goal scored at the Boneyard this season was tallied by yet another sophomore, Abdoublaye Faly. Faly was assisted by they young Swede, junior Jonathan Esselin.

Coach Brindley commented on the team’s performance and capturing at least a share of the district title.

“We have some big goals this season, and the district title is certainly one of them,” Brindley said. “We've enjoyed some success already, but there's a bigger prize we all want. If we play to our potential, we are very capable of making an extended run in the playoffs.”

I asked Coach Brindley about the young talent that appears to be coming into its own.

“I’ve been very pleased with the progression of some of the younger players,” he said. “Clearly, Joel Mendoza has turned on the switch this year. He has some nice speed and really knows how to set people up and get shots off.”

“Reagan Dunk has also stepped up his game and built on what he did as a freshman.”

“That said, as impressive as our underclassmen are, they probably wouldn’t be where they are without all the solid leadership of our seniors," said Brindley. "My hat is off to the seniors. They're all a great group of guys.”

The ‘Cat travel to Kincaide Stadium this Friday to face Molina in the final game of district play. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.

GO ‘CATS!