Category: Sports

On Saturday night, the Varsity Girls’ Basketball team played against the Carondelet Cougars in the 2024 CIF State Girls’ Basketball tournament. McClatchy had a large turnout of friends and family cheering them on.

It was a nail-biter. At the end of every quarter, both teams were within 5 points of each other. McClatchy’s starting five were #1 Sianna Squires, #3 Norret Lewis, #5 Kaela Stancil-Williams, #22 Nina Cain, and #24 Daisy Throckmorton.

The first quarter started with McClatchy winning the tipoff, the ball going to #22 Nina Cain who promptly scored the first points of the game setting the Lions ahead. Both teams truly brought their A-game, but the Lions pulled ahead in the first quarter, leaving them ahead 12 to 8 going into the second quarter.

Quarter two had Carondelet inbounding the ball. McClatchy kept their cool and played some excellent defense, while still being able to rush down the court and keep themselves in the lead. The Lions went into the 3rd quarter 22 to 16, but at this point in the game, the Cougars began to pull themselves back. Both teams played very well, but the Cougars picked up their tempo, scoring 15 points to McClatchy’s 7.

The Fourth Quarter was when the game got serious. Although the Lions were down 2 points going into the fourth, they never stopped fighting for the win. So many free throws were shot in this quarter, with both teams fighting tooth and nail for the win. As time ticked down, both teams continued to battle, and with seconds left, a single foul from McClatchy put one Carondelet player up to the free-throw line. Scores tied 48-48, all that was needed was a single point. The silence was deafening as the player shot their shots, but the pressure was too much as they missed both, taking this game to overtime.

Overtime was the straw that broke the camel’s back for McClatchy. A few open three-pointers and a couple of unfortunate layups led to McClatchy being down 54-62. As the game drew to a close, so did the season. Having made it so far McClatchy keeps their spirits and reflects on a great season.

On Saturday night, the McClatchy boys varsity team played in the CIF Sac Joaquin finals against Jesuit. They had a great season, and everyone was excited for this final game.

The first few minutes of the first half were a close battle between both teams; all the boys wanted this win and did everything they could to get it. With 23 minutes left in the first half, Jesuit scored, making it 1-0.

Starting the second half, both teams seemed tired, but they did not give up. McClatchy students, family, and staff did not stop showing support and still had hope they could win this game.

The intensity of the game picked up, with both Jesuit and McClatchy attempting shots but missing. Time kept getting shorter, and McClatchy was losing their chance to make a comeback.

With only two minutes left, Jesuit scored again, making the score 2-0 and McClatchy losing their chance at winning the title.

Although they did not win, McClatchy had a great season, ending at #1 in the league with 11 wins and only 1 loss. It wasn’t the ending everyone was hoping for, but McClatchy fans showed love and were extremely proud of how far they made it this season.

McClatchy’s varsity boys soccer team has made it to the semi-finals of the CIF Sac Joaquin sections. They have worked so hard to get where they are, and they had a challenging opponent to beat to advance to the finals.

McClatchy started strong from the beginning to when the whistle blew, and their opponent, Whitney High, had the kick-off. McClatchy knew that they had to win this game to make history.

Whitney High had a corner kick. McClatchy made a mistake with their communication, which led to a goal against them, but that did not stop them. It only made them play harder. But soon after McClatchy had a corner against them on their side, they went in strongly, crashing the box with a header to the back of the net, which Kevin Miller made. All the boys gathered around cheering each other on while the crowd went wild.

The score was 1-1, making a very intense game. A little bit before halftime was about to end, McClatchy had another corner kick beautifully crossed into the box with a header straight to the back of the net by Ethan Roach. The boys all cheered Roach on, pushing him around, giving each other high-fives, and heading back to their side of the half.

Half-time began, McClatchy gathered around talking strategy for the next half so they were well-prepared and fixed their communication from earlier in the game. The whistle blew to alert the boys that the half would begin and the crowd started to cheer on both sides as the boys started to get ready to head onto the field. McClatchy had the kickoff this time, and as the whistle blew they kept position and good control over the ball, getting the other team tired.

Later into the half, Kevin Aguilar had a magnificent goal; he struck the ball low and with a lot of speed on the ball straight to the right side of the net and the crowd went crazy. McClatchy had secured their spot in the finals! The whistle blew, and McClatchy fans cheered. The team all congratulated one another and shook hands with Whitney, who also had an amazing season.

McClatchy is on their way to the finals after a great game. Now, we wait for the final match on Saturday, February 24th.

The McClatchy Lions played against the Davis Blue Devils on Tuesday, February 13th. McClatchy had a huge crowd cheering them on as they stepped onto the pitch; the audience included family, friends, coaches, and even college scouts!

The starting lineup was as follows: #8 Alexis Ramos, Goalkeeper; #22 Vicente Robles, Right Center Back; #15 Reid Paskey, Left Center Back; #11 Joseph Gray, Right Outside Back; #21 Kevin Miller, Left Outside Back; #6 Adali Parra, Defensive Midfield; #13 Ethan Roach, Left Winger; #10 Darwin Mendiola, Right Winger; #18 Kevin Aguilar, Center Midfield; #17 Nathaniel Ochoa, Center Field; and #9 Frank Thao, Center Forward.

McClatchy started with the ball in the first half, and the game started off strong. In no more than 20 minutes, McClatchy scored a beautiful goal by Kevin Aguilar with a chip that had speed on it, and all the boys got up and yelled and ran to the side of the field, cheering on their teammate Kevin. The crowd went crazy and chanted; McClatchy was up 1-0.

Both teams were getting fouled from left to right, and McClatchy got fouled in the box, which caused a penalty kick for them.

A memorable moment came when Nathaniel Ochoa stepped up to the box ready to take the kick. Everyone went silent, and then the whistle blew. Bottom left, straight to the back of the post; therewent one heck of a penalty for Nathaniel Ochoa.

 McClatchy’s goalkeeper, Alexis Ramos, came off the field limping when he had hurt his knee during one of the plays but chose to stay in and battle it through for the team for the rest of the half. 

McClatchy was sitting at 2-0 right in time when the 1st half was done.There was a switch goalkeepers, and Israel played in goal as the 2nd half began. The crowd cheered so loud that the other side of the field could hear them. McClatchy unfortunately got caught off guard and made a mistake, and the Davis Blue Devils scored a goal, making the score 2-1.

But McClatchy did not let that get to their heads and instead used it as a tool to make sure they won this match with everything they’ve got! McClatchy got the ball from the defense up to Emilio Godnick, and he got past the last line of Davis and had a one-on-one moment with the goalkeeper and shot a magnificent mid-air ball to the right of the goalkeeper. Everyone was so hyped and jumped around, and the boys all gathered together to celebrate the amazing goal.

The whistle was blown for the game to be over in 10 minutes after Emilio’s goal, and everyone celebrated getting ready to shake hands with the opposing team. McClatchy gave it their all out on that field. It was a great game for the Lions!

The McClatchy boys’ soccer varsity team had a match against River City to take home the Metro League title earlier this Tuesday. It also was McClatchy’s senior night, with 14 amazing seniors leaving the field this year with a great future ahead. 

The game started with McClatchy having the ball for kickoff. They started strong and maintained control over the ball. The boys had a big section of supporters on the other side of the field, cheering them on as they kept possession among the other team. River City came in hot with their tackles while getting frustrated with the McClatchy boys’ talent.

McClatchy had to play their match not only against River City but also against the referee; it was a hard game to work through while the referee made unfair calls against McClatchy, allowing their opponent to gain ball control a few times. But the boys did not let that stop them from playing their game.

The first half ended with a score of 0-0, with the crowd cheering them on. They all headed over to their coaches to have a brief discussion with their team about what they could be doing better and what they had done so far 40 minutes into the half. The whistle blew to alert both teams that they would begin the match soon. The second half started with River City kicking off, but they didn’t keep the ball for long as McClatchy gained control over the game, taking them into River City’s half of the field and having shots on goal back to back.

A mistake happened with McClatchy’s defenders, which led to a goal for River City. It was unfortunate, but McClatchy took that into their own hands, knowing that they needed to score as soon as possible. McClatchy had a corner kick on River City’s side, giving them a better chance to score. McClatchy did not happen to score on the first corner kick, but then River City got a touch on the ball, leading us into another corner kick. They played the ball short to Emilio Godnick, who dribbled past 2 defenders and sent a beautiful ball to the center of the box, giving Nathaniel Ochoa a chance to score. He did it with a volley straight to the back of the net, too fast to get a reaction out of the goalkeeper. The boys all gathered around, cheering each other on while heading back to their side of the field.

It was such a nail-biting moment, knowing that both teams were tied 1-1 with River City and McClatchy desperately wanting to win the game for our seniors! Minutes went by and BAM, McClatchy was in their box once again, and everyone was in a scramble trying to get the ball in the goal while it was being kicked around and blocked. But then there goes Angel Mendoza-Ramirez, another senior, with the goal that hit the post and crossed the line. Everyone waited with such intensity to see if the referee would count it, and he did! The crowd erupted while Angel and his teammates gathered to run to their coach and cheer. The score was now 2-1, and McClatchy was up by one goal with 5 minutes remaining.

The whistle blew, and the boys started yelling and cheering, just as the parents did the same. They got together and formed a line to say good game to River City as they headed home, number 1 Metro League Champions, and with 2 seniors leaving the field having accomplished what they needed to do it was a great game for the boys’ varsity soccer team. Now, they head off to the playoffs.

The Pro Bowl was once known as an entertaining game to watch, with 44 of the best NFC players going against 44 of the best AFC players. But the Pro Bowl changed from a full-contact game to a flag football game. Why is that?

By the start of 2013, the NFL started to get worried about the injuries occurring during the Pro Bowl. Around this time, players began to make less effort to tackle each other, some people say that it almost seemed as if they were “pillow fighting.”

After the 2021 Pro Bowl was canceled due to COVID-19, the NFL started dropping little hints that there was going to be a big change in the Pro Bowl. After many seasons and players complaining about the injuries happening during the Pro Bowl and how they didn’t like how it was played, the NFL finally decided to make a change to the Pro Bowl.

Towards the end of the 2022 NFL season, they announced that they were going to take all of their players and injuries into consideration, and there was going to be a big change in the Pro Bowl.

At the start of the 2023 season, the NFL announced their changes to the Pro Bowl. The first major change was that the Pro Bowl would no longer be a full-contact event between some of the best players but a flag football game. Although this may be less entertaining to watch for some people, the NFL also announced that there will be more “Pro Bowl Games.”

Although this is a big change for the NFL, the award of being picked to be in the Pro Bowl is still one of the more honorable things a player can have during the season. Being selected to be in the Pro Bowl can show how good a player is, especially if they were picked more than once to be there.

Players are selected in multiple different ways; one way a player can be selected is by the voting system from the fans. Another way a player can be selected is by the head coach individually selecting a player to be a part of the Pro Bowl. One last way a player can make the Pro Bowl is by multiple other players voting for them.

Although a player is voted to be a part of the Pro Bowl, they still have to wait to be selected to play in it. The coach of the NFC, Eli Manning, and the coach of the AFC, Peyton Manning, will pick 44 players each. Eli must pick 44 from the NFC teams, and Peyton must pick 44 from the AFC teams.

If a player is planning to participate in the Pro Bowl, but their team goes to the Super Bowl, then they are forced to forfeit their spot in the Pro Bowl since they cannot risk the chance of injuries before the biggest game of the year. For example, if Brock Purdy, the quarterback for the 49ers, which is the NFC side of the NFL, is selected to play in the Pro Bowl and goes to the Super Bowl, they are forced to forfeit their spot in the Pro Bowl, and a new quarterback is selected to participate.

In all, these are the reasons why the NFL changed the Pro Bowl from a full-contact game amongst the best players in the game into a flag football game, and how players are selected to participate in the Pro Bowl.

The McClatchy Lions played the Kennedy Cougars at Kennedy High School last Thursday, and it was a clean sweep. The first half went by slowly, with Kennedy starting with the ball. The game was rough, with a lot of dirty plays. Within the first ten minutes, McClatchy scored off of a corner kick, leading 1-0. After we scored, it started getting more technical, with players sliding into each other purposely, causing fouls, and even arguing with the refs. After our goal, the half went by slowly, with the ball going back and forth. The half ended 1-0, with McClatchy still up.

The second half started off at a good pace, with McClatchy having the ball and moving it around Kennedy. It went back and forth until eventually, Kennedy caused a foul inside the penalty box. Nathaniel took this penalty and scored, leading McClatchy 2-0. After this goal, Kennedy took the kick-off, and it started getting rough, with Kennedy causing fouls, crowds yelling, and the ref getting frustrated. The ref made calls more towards Kennedy’s side, not giving McClatchy fair play. A foul was created in the box by a Kennedy player, and a McClatchy player was down injured. The ref didn’t make this call and decided to play on. Kennedy took the ball for a quick counter-attack, but McClatchy’s defense quickly shut it down and took the ball back to their half. Kevin scored, leading McClatchy 3-0.

The game got worse as it went on, with players from each side getting hurt and the referee not stopping any of these plays. Things got hot quickly, but Reid scored his second goal of the game, leading McClatchy up 4-0. Within the last five minutes, the rest of the game went on, and McClatchy won 4-0.