Over the years, students at St. Edward wanted to form a recreation league basketball team, but never actually followed through with it, until this year. During this winter, many of the students took the initiative to form a rec league team called, “The Dirty E” that would go down in history. The roster consisted of St. Edward Seniors: Gabe Mincieli, Drew Walker, Josh Rosland, Drew Ramos, Jack Wright, Nolan Pomeroy, Jack Cozzi, and me. The team also had a few St. Edward Alumni join the team during winter break which included Michael O Brien, ’23, and Carson Busto, ‘23.
The games were played at the Bartlett Park District in a men’s league, and we were in for a rude awakening. During the first game, “The Dirty E” proceeded to lose the game by 81 points. The team was genuinely shocked at how good the competition was for a rec league. They decided to recruit Michael O’Brien and Carson Busto for the next few games since they were home from college on winter break. They helped the team significantly and Michael scored 30+ points in the second game. Though the team played much better, they still ended up losing by 2 points and things weren’t looking good. Following the second game they took another loss, and their record was 0-3. Week 4 was finally the breakout week for “The Dirty E.” It was a rematch against the team that outscored us by 81 points in week 1. With the newly assembled team and better morale, they were up to the challenge.
Gabe Mincieli, ’24, had one of his best games, scoring 15 points. He commented, “Our team was finally clicking. The offense was scoring and on defense we were finally able to get rebounds.” After losing to this team by 81 points, “The Dirty E” was able to beat them 51-39. The team gained some good momentum after that win, and it fed into the next game. Week 5 “The Dirty E” went up against one of the best teams in the league.
One of the more notable players during that game was Nolan Pomeroy, ’24, who had his best game yet. He scored 14 points and was able to play great defense against a team with such skilled players. The game ended up going into triple overtime and a contested shot from Jack Wright, ’24, gave the team a 70-68 win.
Jack commented, “I had a wide-open shot, so I knew I had to take it, and thankfully it went in.” The team is now on a 2-game winning streak and is hoping to make the playoffs for a chance to win a cash prize. This team has given kids who don’t play sports at St. Edward a way to shine and show off their basketball skills and many of us have grown closer together because of it. It has been a great way for this group seniors to bond before we all go our separate ways. Hopefully we can win the championship and bring home St. Edward’s first rec league title.
