By Yashwin Kandra ‘27
Members of Mr. O’Connor’s American Literature Honors Section 1 and Section 2 classes collaborated with the author on this article.
RAMSEY, NJ – Thursday of Spirit Week was Pajama Day. While many students availed themselves of the theme by sporting pajama pants, some of the stand-outs were a student in a gingerbread pajama, Senior Juan Alejo in a red “Tickle Me Elmo” outfit, and Senior Zenji Degenhardt in a blue Disney “Stitch” costume.
The end-of-the-day activities in the gym commenced with the 5 v 5 Basketball Final. Freshman Phoenix Evans lit up the board with two 3-pointers early in the contest, but the size, speed and strength of the Seniors proved too overpowering for our fledgling Ironmen. The icing on the cake was a long Freshman in-bound pass that was tipped and quickly rifled back down the court to a wide-open Nick Becker who put the punctuation point on the play with a spectacular dunk. Although he hurled it up from halfcourt just after the final buzzer sounded, Kyle Ramos also provided a moment of magic as his long-distance shot ripped the net.
In the opening round of the Hand Ball event, the Juniors easily cruised to victory over the Freshmen. The high drama of the event came at the end of the Senior-Sophomore contest, which ended in a 3-3 tie and which was decided with a sudden death shoot-out zinger by the Seniors. In the consolation match, the Sophomores bested the Freshmen, while the Seniors emerged victorious in the final match.
Tug -of-war was set up as a best of three competition with the usual class match-ups. The Freshman lost to 2-man Junior team in the opener, and the Seniors beat the Sophomores decisively. Then, the Sophomores defeated the Freshmen in 2 rounds. The Junior team, comprised of the DBP Varsity Football linemen, beat the Senior squad in the first round – the Seniors were awarded the point for the second round, despite the fact that Seniors came out of the beachers to assist their classmates. This momentum shift proved short-lived when the Juniors overpowered the Seniors fair and square in the final round.
Hand ball provided non-stop excitement as the day’s final event. The tempo of play on all levels was intense and fast-paced from the opening whistle, with blistering ball movement, showcase moves and rocket-powered shots. The Juniors opened play with a win over the Freshmen, and the Seniors quickly dispatched the Sophomores. In the consolation event, the Sophomores maintained their edge over the Freshmen. The Seniors’ “shock and awe” campaign left the Juniors in the dust, concluding with an 8-3 victory for the Seniors.
So, when the dust settled on Spirit Week – Day 4’s activities, the Senior class stood on the top of the heap with 360 points, the Junior class was firmly in second place with 320 points, the Sophomores claimed third place with 200 points, and the Freshmen languished in fourth place with 170 points.