A tip of the cap goes to the Roosevelt High boys soccer team, which is currently undefeated and in first place in the Public High League. Coach Barrett Taylor’s talented team has a distinct international flavor with several players from Africa and other nations such as Nepal, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Burma. Having such a diverse international roster could cause potential communication problems, but those issues seem to disappear when it comes time to play.”
“They play pretty well together,” Taylor said. “Many of the kids are still learning English, but when you put the ball on the field, all of the language barriers seem to go away.”
Roosevelt’s top two offensive players are strikers Layna Nati and Semere Shewole, both Africans, who lead the team in scoring with at least 10 goals each. The Roughriders’ goalkeeper is Bal Chuhan, who is from Nepal. Taylor calls him the best player on the team who is “by far the reason we are still undefeated.” Chuhan has allowed only four goals all season. Supporting Chuhan on the defensive back line are Rajabu Obede and Zakaria Ahmed.
Congrats to the Roughriders. Job well done.
Mizzou wideouts
It was a heck of a weekend to be a wide receiver affiliated with the University of Missouri. Mizzou receivers past and present were off the chains last weekend with one sparkling performance after another.
It started on Saturday when current Mizzou and former DeSmet standout Wes Kemp caught 10 passes and scored two touchdowns in the Tigers’ 30-9 victory at Texas A&M to push the Tigers’ record to 6-0 going into this Saturday night’s Big XII Conference showdown against Oklahoma.
On Sunday, the pros took over as former Mizzou star Jeremy Maclin caught four passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a big victory over the Atlanta Falcons. And right here at home, former Mizzou star Danario Alexander came up huge in his debut for the St. Louis Rams with four catches for 72 yards and his first NFL touchdown in the Rams’ 20-17 victory over the San Diego Chargers. It was Alexander’s first pro action after recovering from a series of injuries which kept him from being drafted.
PHL prayer
It was an emotional Saturday afternoon at Gateway Tech as Sumner took on Beaumont in a PHL football game. Sumner won the game 52-20 to achieve its first victory of the season. It was the first time Sumner has taken the field since the death of teammate Rahmel McNeil, who was shot and killed on Friday, Sept. 24. Before the game, the two teams met at midfield and joined hands for a moment of silence in McNeil’s honor. The two teams also had a moment of prayer together in what was a very touching moment.
Softball Stars
I must give one final salute to the girls’ softball team at McCluer North High (my alma mater) on a wonderful season that has just been completed. The Stars finished the season with a 21-3 record, which included the Suburban North Conference championship and a district championship to boot.
The Stars had five African-American players in the starting nine and all were critical to the team’s immense success this season.
Starting at first base was senior Breanna Lockette, who hit a whopping .643 with seven home runs and 47 runs batted in. Third basemen Sam Jones hit .462 with three home runs and 29 RBIs while shortstop Aynai Burrow hit .397 with 16 RBIs. Anchoring the outfield was centerfielder Alexis Loggins who hit .301 with 17 RBIs. The fifth starter is Monica Vanhook, who hit .305 this season.
Last year, I featured the McCluer North boys soccer team, which reached statewide prominence with a large contingent of African-American players. Now, we have a strong softball program doing the same. It’s nice to see our young black athletes get it done in sports other than basketball, football and track.
Adidas basketball club
The Team STL Adidas basketball club will be holding a one-day basketball camp for girls on Saturday, Oct. 30 at the North County Recreation Complex (2577 Redman Road). The camp will be held in two sessions with Session I for grades 4-8 from 9-11 a.m. and Session II for high school players from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The fee for the camp is $50. You can register by going on line at www.stladidas.com or you can contact Tony Condra at (314) 368-1211 or via email at tcondra@stladidas.com.
(You can follow Earl Austin Jr. on his daily basketball website, www.earlaustinjr.com. You can also follow Earl on Facebook and Twitter).
