Halloween brought another week of anticipation in RISD athletics, with a mix of a lot of celebrations, some tears and prepping for the playoffs.
On Tuesday, Nov. 1, the Berkner Lady Rams golf team walked away with multiple medals at the Joe Mounger Memorial Tournament. Karen Kim came in second, Catalina Malott placed third and Victoria Malott finished sixth. Great job Lady Rams! The RHS Eagles shot a 325 – its lowest score since 2016 – to finish fourth out of 16 teams. Freshman Will Bauer shot 78 and Lucas Blasco shot 79 leading the way for the Eagles! Way to represent, RISD!
Heading into Tuesday evening, the Richardson Eagles, Pearce Mustangs, and Lake Highlands Wildcats volleyball teams departed for their first match of the playoffs.
The Eagles were up first against District 8-6A champions Arlington Martin at Coppell High School in what was about to be a very long battle on the court. The Eagles fought continuously all night winning two sets, but they fell short dropping the fifth and deciding set 13-15.
Six Eagle volleyball players set season and career records during this playoff match, and the support from their fans was unmatched. Congratulations on a hard fought season!
While the Eagles battled, the Mustangs were up against South Grand Prairie at Newman Smith High School. In a fairly quick match, the Mustangs swept South Grand Prairie and were crowned bi-district champions! Great job moving on to the next round of the playoffs!
The Lake Highlands Wildcats were up next at Coppell High School against a tough Arlington High School team. The Wildcats took an early lead with Miller McDonald, Haley Pokorski and Brynn Winburne dominating for a win in the first set. The Colts bounced back quickly taking the second set, but then a powerful Wildcats team put it away with wins in sets three and four becoming the second RISD team to be crowned bi-district champions! Way to fight hard, Wildcats!
Wednesday took us to Lake Highlands and Richardson for two fun opportunities to meet the new 2022-2023 varsity basketball teams! Three-point shooting contests, dunk contests and team scrimmages allowed both communities a glimpse at what’s to come for this season! Thank you to both schools for providing these opportunities!
The Richardson wrestling team also returned to the mat Wednesday night with their purple and gold scrimmage. A huge turnout filled the gym to watch both girls and boys varsity teams battle it out. Looking great, Eagles!
Thursday morning at Pearce High School, students, parents and fans lined the breezeway out on Senior Way to send cross country star Charis Whittington off to state! Charis is the first cross country runner to compete at state for the Mustangs in 11 years!
Thursday evening, the Pearce Mustangs volleyball team headed into their second round of the playoffs, with Lake Highlands playing Friday. The Wildcats took on Prosper High school falling to the Eagles 3-1, while the Mustangs challenged Plano West but ultimately fell as well. Both RISD teams have so much to be proud of! We are all so proud of our two bi-district champion teams!
Later, Thursday Night Lights began for our Lake Highlands Wildcats and Richardson Eagles as they both concluded their regular season football schedules.
The Wildcats took on Irving for senior night at home and dominated, winning 42-0 to finish in District 7-6A. Congratulations on a strong season, Wildcats!
RHS took on the Jesuit Rangers at home for senior night, and played some of the best offense and defense we’ve seen all season. The Eagles came out strong scoring first and quarterback Howard Armstrong was on fire all night. It was a back-and-forth battle until the very end. Ultimately, the Eagles lost 38-28, but the future looks bright for Richardson Eagles football.
Rounding out the week in RISD athletics takes us into an action packed Friday with a pivotal win for a playoff spot.
First up, Charis Whittington competed in the UIL state cross country competition in Round Rock, finishing 25th out of top 150 6A runners in the state! We are incredibly proud of this moment and you, Charis! #RISDGreatness
The Pearce girl’s golf team headed into a rough weather day on Friday, but finished second overall in the CT Shootout! Addie Hardeman, Hailey Ashcraft and Bailey Davidson all finished in the top 10 with Addie and Jillian Goodman leaving with personal bests on the day! Congratulations, Mustangs!
Varsity girls basketball had an exciting Friday night with the Berkner Lady Rams taking on Naaman Forest and came away with an excellent 52-48 win! Great job, ladies! The Richardson Lady Eagles basketball team had a wild season opener against Bryan Adams at home, winning 79-18. Great start to the season, ladies!
Across the parking lot, the Pearce Mustangs played their final district football game against the Highland Park Scots. The Mustangs competed hard all night with Jack McGarry returning a kickoff for a Mustangs touchdown in the third quarter. In the end, the Mustangs couldn’t defeat the Scots but they – and new Coach Jarret Lambert – have a lot to be proud of this season and next year looks promising!
To conclude This Week in RISD Sports, we saved the most intense battle for last. The Berkner Rams played Irving MacArthur to determine the fourth spot in district and final playoff berth.
The Rams agility and speed showcased their defensive talent early in the game. It wasn’t until the second quarter when freshman Dameon Crowe scored, and the Rams headed to halftime leading 6-0. MacArthur scored in the third quarter, but also failed on the PAT, leaving the score tied at 6-6 momentarily … as Berkner returned the subsequent kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown! Berkner kept up the momentum on offensive and defense the entire game and Kaden Alcorn somersaulted into the endzone for another Berkner touchdown pushing the lead to 27-12.
Jamary Williams scored one final touchdown solidifying the 34-12 win for the Rams. Great regular season and welcome to the playoffs Rams!
The Lake Highlands Wildcats finish third in District 7-6A and Berkner finished fourth.
Lake Highlands will play South Grand Prairie this Friday at the Gopher-Warrior Bowl in Grand Prairie at 7 p.m. and Berkner will battle Arlington Martin this Friday at 7 p.m. at Choctaw Stadium in Arlington. Pick a game and go support your RISD football teams!
Congratulations to all of the players, coaches, parents, sponsors and fans! Let’s go Wildcats and Rams!
