Posters rose and parents lined the walls of the Ventura College gym as the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) boys’ basketball team prepared to face Villanova Preparatory School on Senior Night. The energy stirred as the crowd grew bigger, all students supporting their Dragon classmates. 

Coach Jamaal Brown silenced the crowd to introduce the seniors with heartfelt messages that left all parties emotional. The senior celebration included a spotlight on Kai Wilkes, Aden Robles, David McCarthy, Matt Kyle, Chase Nielsen, Alex Sanchez, Ethan Sequeira and Joseph Potteracke. 

Owen Housten ‘23 had some kind words to say about his older teammates, saying, “those guys are some of the best people I’ve ever met and I’m going to miss them so much. But it’s been a blessing playing with them.”

With the commemoration over, the tipoff began, Villanova starting with possession. They quickly obtained a lead, not letting the Dragons gain any points. With a score of 4-0, Robles took a shot that barely missed. With Nielsen getting the rebound, he passed it to Wilkes who also was unable to get on the scoreboard. 

Brown knew that this would be a difficult game for the Dragons saying, “we knew Villanova was a tough team.” He continued by saying, “Senior Night has a lot of different emotions for these kids and I’ve seen it bring out the highest of highs and I’ve seen it unfortunately bring out some lows, and we had a pretty low first quarter.”

The beginning of the game did prove to be a difficult one for the Dragons, as Villanova was shutting them out. Brown called two timeouts in attempts to regroup, but the first quarter ended in a score of 21-0 in favor of Villanova. 

The second quarter sparked a greater energy from the Dragons, with Robles scoring from a pass from Houston to get their first points on the scoreboard. The ball swiftly moved back and forth on the court, both teams earning baskets.

A long ball from Robles launched down the court to McCarthy who scored off an easy layup. The Dragons seemed to have momentum, resulting in a Villanova timeout with 50 seconds left. The quarter ended shortly after with a score of 34-16.

The second half commenced and both teams were fired up. Robles had a comment about the aggressiveness of play, saying, “the other team was playing a lot more physical and they came out a lot harder than we did.” 

Villanova sank several baskets before Sam Noah ‘23 was able to gain two points for the Dragons. Robles then went on a scoring streak, controlling the game and leading his team.

The quarter ended with a score of 50-21, the Dragons hoping to close the gap in the final quarter.

With only eight minutes remaining in the game, the trend continued for both teams. Villanova continued to score and Foothill Tech trailed from the same distance. Many fouls proved the effort from both teams, but the Dragons were unable to prevail, the game ending 63-30. 

The boys, although disheartened by the loss, gained memories and had an earnest Senior Night to conclude their season.