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Sports
By Patrick Browne
The Forest Park Trojans have lost three games this season by a total of 11 points. In each of the games the team has gotten off to an uncharacteristically slow start and, despite battling back, could not overcome the early deficit. This is their Achilles' heel and they are working hard to overcome it.
As the 15 and 2 Trojans suited up to take on the Knights of Norway (13-5), on Feb. 13, they knew it would be a battle. The contest would showcase two teams with height, ball handling prowess and impressive shooters against one another. In many ways it would be a preview of the competition which will begin on Feb. 26 with the first game of the District playoffs.
From the opening jump, the flow was not in the direction of Forest Park. Despite having ten exceptional athletes, the Trojans were outscored 23 to 14 in the first eight minutes of the game and went into halftime trailing by 13, 36 to 23.
“It was a rough start,” stated Senior point guard Felix Quevedo.
As the teams emerged from the locker room, the Trojans came out energized and fought their way back into the game. Buoyed by seven steals by their feisty point guard and impressive three point shooting by Senior Gaven Rintala, the Trojans chipped away at the lead, pulling to within two by the end of the third quarter.
As the fourth quarter began the tide seemed to be turning. The Trojans were visibly hungry to take back the lead and, on more than one occasion forced a turnover when pressing the Knights inbound pass. Unfortunately, the opportunities which materialized were not capitalized upon as a shot was missed or an errant pass missed its intended receiver.
In the final quarter, the Trojans were outscored 17 to 14 and the final tally favored the Knights, 62 to 57. Despite a slow start, despite a tenacious effort to overcome a 13 point deficit, despite being within striking distance myriad times, the Trojans fell for the third time this year.
“We got pretty deep and it was difficult to get back into the game,” stated a disappointed Quevedo. “We got close, but they are a good team that doesn’t give up. There was some emotion after the game, but we have to look back and learn from it and just work harder to get ready for the tournament.”