Co-curricular results: Term 2, Week 4

Welcome to our weekly co-curricular wrap.

Soccer

Matikulas is the man again! After scoring 7 goals in the first two games of the season, Isaac Matikulas managed to score 5 against St Paul’s in round 3, sending Blackfriars First XI to the top of the ladder, with 3 wins from 3.

In the Open B game vs Intercol rivals, CBC, the Hounds had an emphatic 9-1 win.

The middle school teams travelled to Gleeson College for some tricky games in muddy conditions. On the back of 2 big wins, the Middle As faced a much tougher test. Some high-quality saves from Kaelan Venour late on and a missed penalty which, according to Kaelan, he “had it covered”, meant the boys finished 4-2 winners.

The Middle Bs also came away 4-2 winners, thanks to 2 goals from Yaseer Haidery.

After a busy few days at camp, the year 7s put in a huge performance to come away 6-1 winners. With some tired boys, it was a superb effort all round, which was topped off with two hat-trick heroes – Jackson Talbot and Steven Soda.

Basketball

After a week off, the Senior and Middle teams had tricky encounters with Cardijn College. Unfortunately, the Hounds couldn’t quite get over the line, despite some strong performances. The pick of the games included Senior As going down by 3 points and the Senior Bs just falling short by 2 points.

Year 5/6 Black were the only winners this week, as they finished 30-6 against St Peters.

Football

Finally, the football season has started for the Senior and Middle School boys. The First XVIII hosted a strong Cardijn College and came off 2nd best, despite some great efforts from the boys. This was the first time a lot of these boys have played together, so a great learning experience going forward for the rest of the season.

The Middle As travelled to Pulteney and produced a fantastic performance to come away 41 point winners. Coach Stanborough was especially pleased with the way the boys adapted to different positions and their willingness to embrace these challenges throughout the game.

The highlight of the football season so far was Tuesday afternoon at Grange Primary for the Year 5/6 knockout vs Grange (game 1) and Largs Bay (game 2). I had the privilege of watching a team develop their skills, tenacity and confidence right before my eyes. After a tricky 3 quarters against a very good Grange outfit, the boys managed to score 2 goals and hit the same post 3 times (nobody could quite believe it) in the final quarter to take some great momentum into their next game against Largs Bay. Final score vs Grange was 101 – 20.

Being undersized against the Largs Bay team didn’t faze the Hounds as they went about their business with a newfound confidence. The coaches were definitely more nervous than the players at the end, as the Hounds finished 1-point winners thanks to an unbelievable 2nd quarter where they kicked 6 goals (one from the pocket was Eddie Betts-like).

All in all, a great day out with fantastic memories made and some momentum to take into Saturday’s game against PAC.

Table Tennis

Once again, the home gym proved to be a fortress as Blackfriars saw off St Ignatius. On the road it proved to be much more difficult, as our 2 travelling teams went do to St Peter’s.

Lacrosse

The Blackfriars U11 derby game was the hottest ticket in town on Saturday morning. For those lucky enough to witness it, they weren’t disappointed. There were fantastic skills on show with some friendly banter exchanged between the two teams. At the end of the game the U11s Blue came away 6-3 winners, with Leo Downie and Archer Smith being the best on ground for their respective teams.

– Gareth Cox, Co-curricular coordinator