Last night, February 24th, the Pirates took on the #5 ranked team in the state, the Cole Cougars, in the second round of the playoffs and lost. The boys played hard the entire 32 minutes, but a bad shooting night only led to our 56 points. Sophomore Jordan Balderaz could not be stopped in the paint and led the Pirates with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Bryson Duty once again came off the bench, gave the team energy, and scored 13 points. As their coach, I was so proud of how hard the entire team played against the defending State Finalist the Cole Cougars.
Lytle 56 – Cole 86
I would like to give praise and recognition to Seniors Carson Aldridge, Mark Cantu, and Logan Wilson. These boys have accomplished so much since entering High School; playing every sport, being leaders and yes, helping me look like a football coach the one year I coached football their sophomore year. In basketball, these three went 1-10 as 8th Graders but told me they would work their tails off to be great. Last night, as they walked off the court as Seniors, these boys won 67 Varsity basketball games in 3 years, 1 District championship, three Bi-District championships and 4 playoff appearances making the playoff roster as Freshmen. That is greatness at its finest.
I would like to say thank you to my staff; Coaches Frank Hernandez, Michael Gomez, Frank Scotello and Kim Ortegon, for all the hard work and hours put in this season to make it a successful one. Thank You to the Nursing staff, Juanita Black and Liz Garcia, our administration Cumorah Eldredge, Laura Uribe-Center and Michelle Smith for going above and beyond this year with all the added safety guidelines and protocols with Covid. Amazing job Everyone!