Quakers Thump Byram Hills, 57-30

Around 150 students, parents, friends, and family came out on Tuesday to watch the Horace Greeley Quakers play against the Byram Hills Bobcats.

After a performance of the Star Spangled Banner by the Byram Hills High School Jazz Choir, the game began with Horace Greeley winning the tip-off. Like their win last week against John Jay, the Quakers kept a big lead for most of the game and came away defeating the Bobcats 57-30.

Although Quakers were missing one of their captains and key players, Adam Honig, they were able to step it up and remain strong. Honig is just one of several Greeley players who have been sick with a stomach virus in the past week. "It's been one of those years," said Quakers Head Coach Dave Fernandes. "We've had multiple injuries and now this stomach virus."

Besides the absence of Honig, one could not tell that the Quakers were suffering illnesses or injuries. They were fast and determined. Hustling and rebounding won the game for the Quakers. By the end of the first quarter, Horace Greeley already had a 17-6 lead.

It wasn't a very high-scoring game because both team's defenses played remarkably well. The Bobcats' passing game was certainly on, but they just couldn't put the ball in the basket. Jeff Lynch, No. 2 for Byram Hills, had some great lay-ups but he and his teammates could not push through against the Quakers.

The second quarter was long, with very few points scored. At the half the score was 24-13. The half time show featured Byram Hills dancers and cheerleaders trying to gather the crowd's support. After the half, both teams seemed fired up, and compared to the rest of the game the third quarter was action-packed.

In the third quarter the Byram Hills seemed to come alive, but it was too little, too late. The hustle that Bobcat Jordan Pollack brought, along with Lynch's lay ups and a big three-pointer by No. 23, Charlie Murphy couldn't get the Bobcats back on their feet. The relentless persistence by the Quakers allowed for a 15-point lead for much of the game.

For the Quakers it was Matt Townsend, Earl Graves and Billy Sadik-Khan who really showed presence on the court. Their constant hustle and unyielding rebounds made the Quakers a force to be reckoned with. "Our younger guys are really coming along too," Fernandes said. "I told them, that's the level you need to be playing at."

Illness and injuries aside, Horace Greeley brought havoc to Byram Hills. They played with confidence and intensity and they will need to keep up the momentum as they face Port Chester this Thursday.