Going Up A Weight Class

By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

MILWAUKIE, Ore.– The freshman of the IBC’s ’99 Problemz’ came out with a mission to show they belong with the Varsity division Saturday afternoon at La Salle High School.

They beat Premier 14-7 and pulled away from the Valley Capitals in their second game of the three-game pod.

“I think we did pretty good, especially compared to last week when we did good…I think we did better,” said South Salem’s Jamal Wilson. “We showed them up.”

“It was fun. I didn’t think we were going to do as good as we did, but we came out here and balled out,” adds McKay’s Kyrin Fuimaono.

In their finale against the Lillard Platinum team, they kept pace with the squad but were just a stop here or there from actually edging out the stacked team in front of them. Falling 40-21 after pulling the game to 27-21 a few moments earlier.

“It was kind of hard because I know they got some D(ivision)-1 guys. We played well all day entering that game…Just keep working I guess,” smiled Fuimaono.

The IBC Elite (White) went 3-1 on the day at La Salle Prep, falling only to the EForce Black team on a last-second interception (Picture By Jeremy McDonald)

It’s not too often you get a fourth-game in during Winter 7-on, but nonetheless the IBC Elite consisting of seventh-, and eighth-graders almost pulled off the 4-0 weekend on this sunny Saturday morning going into early afternoon.

Having pulled off wins against Sherwood, EForce Red and the Hellcats, the IBC Middle Schoolers had a breather before taking on EForce Black to close out the morning sessions as fatigue began to sink in for the young athletes.

“The first three games we did probably the best (we can), and the last one…not so great. We let it slip away,” said Silverton’s Sawyer Teneey. “It was just, we were getting too comfortable.”

Teneey caught the tying score from Chase Dominguez, and the IBC Elite got a big defensive stop to possibly go in for the win. But a costly interception had spelt doom and was the difference in the game as the morning became the afternoon. It’s been a while since their four-or-more games during the Fall, so they knew the challenges entering it as they exited the field knowing they can improve.

“It was a challenge,” starts Dayton’s Tristan McGann. “But we fought through it, lost one. Tough one, but we’ll get back at it.”

The IBC ‘Varsity’ team, GymClub, went 2-1 on the day. Falling to Peak on the last play after pulling off wins over Lillard Gold and Legends Saturday afternoon.

Photos By Jeremy McDonald