Hopewell Bocce Ball
Unifed Bocce Qualifies Both Teams for Playoffs
On February 5th, Hopewell High School hosted Moon Area High School and qualified their final team for the playoff game. The Bocce team managed to score a game-stopping 16-point match. This marked only the second occurrence that this remarkable thing happened.
“Unified Bocce pairs regular education students with Special Olympic eligible students and competes in the PIAA as an official winter varsity sport. The goal of Unified Bocce is to provide social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences.” Said Chris Nee, Head Bocce Coach. Allowing Hopewell Students the opportunity to experience a stress-free environment where they can do something they enjoy which s the main purpose of Bocce.
Students competed against Moon Area High School in all 4 of the games, resulting in a win for Hopewell. ” Going into Senior Night our gold team was the 3rd seed and the blue team was the 7th seed.” Said Chris Nee.
The Blue team had an amazing competition with their first round ending with a 16-point win for the first round and the second round with a shutout game. The Blue team finished their normal season with a 4-2 individual record. These individuals include Devin Botte, Jake Knobloch, Parker Hoth, Logan Butter, Payton Korker, Chris Shiel, David Rogerson, and Aiden Trasp. Congratulations to them for qualifying for playoffs and winning both of their games yesterday!
“Bocce has helped me grow my skills in communication. Bocce is something I enjoy doing” Said David Rogerson, one of the Unified Bocce members.
The Gold team finished with a 4-2 individual record for the normal season. These individuals include: Eileen Chen, Chris Nguyen, Addy Davis, Bella Ceccarelli, Sky Ross, Bri Inderelst, Jordan Sirianni, Hayden Opatchen, Jason Givens, and Kaitlin Moskes. Congratulations to the Gold Team for their victorious games, securing wins with scores of 7-3 and 4-2, and qualifying for the playoffs!
“Bocce has provided new learning opportunities for me. I enjoy competing in this sport without the constant worry of being stressed out. Bocce is more of a strategy game rather than physically demanding, which is nice for all members.” Said Eileen Chen.
Chris Nee stated in an interview he said “Going into senior night our gold team was the 3rd seed and the blue team was the 7th seed, the top four seeds qualified for the playoffs. Our blue team needed to win both games to qualify, and our gold team needed to win both to get the #1 seed. Fortunately, with great teamwork and good game strategy, both teams were able to win both of their games .”
“If we win the 4-team playoff, we will advance to the regional playoff the following week. This season has gone beyond our expectations. We have a lot of new players that have stepped up at key times! Hopefully, things go well next week in the playoffs and we can advance to the regional playoffs.” Chris Nee said optimistic for the win!
We will be hosting the first round of playoffs on February 14th, at 3:30 PM in the High School Gymnasium.
Get Ready, This Friday there will be a pep assembly at Hopewell High School Featuring Best Buddies Vs. Unified Bocce teams and Hopewell Sports Nation will be there!!!
BOCCE BALL SLIDESHOW-
