The Year That Was......

It's been one hell of a season for the Bonner and Prendie athletic squads. There were the usual highs and lows of a grueling season, as well as some unexpected twists and turns, some good and some bad. It's been a great year, and here is one final recap of the 2009-2010 athletic year...

The year began way back in August. The fall sports teams began practice in the dog days of summer, twice a day for about two weeks. The football team shocked the Bonner, and Upper Darby community, with a 24-12 to defeat their neighborhood rivals. They followed that up two weeks later with a win over Inter-Ac's Episcopal Academy. The Friars lost a nail-biter to bitter rival O'Hara, but came back to destroy Father Judge. Although they just missed the playoffs, they had wins in their final three games over Ryan, Springfield (Delco) and Carroll to finish at 6-6, the first time the football team finished at .500 in quite a long time. The future looks bright for Bonner though, with the return of QB Sean Quatermar and All Catholic Tyler Ramirez. It's a good time to be a Bonner football fan.

Bonner's soccer team struggled once again. They opened the season filled with promise, but it was not fulfilled. The Friars, led by All Catholics Mike Moran and Conor Canavan, were able to keep games oh so close, falling to North Catholic 1-0 and 3-1 (while holding a lead in that match), 2-0 to LaSalle, 3-1 and 1-0 to Roman, and a 5-3 loss to O'Hara, all of which were extremely hard to swallow. But there was much improvement under first year coach Jim Strandberg. The defense helped myself, the goalie, out all year and kept the goal total down. The squad looks to earn a couple wins next season, and turn around the Bonner soccer program.

On the girls side, the Prendie soccer team rebounded from a tough 2008 to make the playoffs in 2009. Led by Alex Topa and goalie Miranda Schieler, the Pandas had big wins over West Catholic and Kennedy-Kenrick to help them clinch their playoff berth. They would unfortunately lose to Lansdale Catholic, but the team made big strides for the future, and hopefully 2010 will bring another successful season.

The volleyball team also made the playoffs, only falling to St. Hubert's. I'll be honest, I don't have a lot of volleyball info, but if anyone wants to help fill me in I'd be grateful. But a playoff appearance bodes for a pretty great season in my book.

And who could forget the Field Hockey team? They didn't do anything really. They only won the Catholic League championship and District XII titles. What a season they had. The team made the playoffs as the fourth seed. They won their first playoff match before having to face top seeded Carroll. No problem. The Pandas disposed of the Patriots to advance to the finals against....O'Hara. The Lions, the number two seed, and Prendie felt like making it a little nerve racking. So they took the game in overtime. In an intense match, Brooke Stretch was able to put the ball past O'Hara's goalie to earn the Catholic League title 1-0. They clinched the District XII title over Northeast, and appeared in the school's first ever state playoffs.

With the winter came the colder months, but so did the hockey and basketball seasons. The basketball team, led by Jamal Melvin and Keefer Francis, earned their fourth consecutive playoff berth in surprising fashion by knocking off North Catholic. Big wins over O'Hara helped pave the way, where the would ultimately fall to St. Joe's Prep.

The hockey team advanced to the championship game after having a successful year, finishing at 12-8. They fell in an intense game to Roman, and again to Roman a week later in the Flyers Cup to end the season. But after going winless the year before, it was great to see the hockey team get back on track.

Prendie basketball also made the playoffs with a successful season. They would win their first round game, but fell to eventual state runner-up Archbishop Ryan in the next round.

And finally, we arrive with the spring. Both lacrosse teams had a tough year, but for Bonner, Rick Reid was the major bright spot, scoring in just about every game played. JP O'Conor held strong all year in net, and the defense of Kevin Mathis helped the Friars all year.

The softball squad, led by Devon Beese and Emily Moran, made the playoffs. They would win their opener over Neumann-Goretti but fell to Lansdale Catholic by a score of 1-0, a heartbreaking loss.

Bonner's track squad was led by Max Curran, and Marcus Collins made states for the hurdles.

The baseball team, well, we all know about them.....

So this is my final thoughts and writings for this year. I can't believe this is over, but good things have to end. I'm graduating this year and it's hard to believe I won't be at Bonner next year. Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who followed me all year long. I enjoy writing, and it was a lot of fun doing so. I'm glad people actually read what I write (smile). Maybe you'll be reading my articles in USA Today or as part of the Associated Press, or hey maybe even see me as a reporter on television. You never know.....

Anyway, thanks again to all. It's been a hell of a ride. Let's Go Bonner!