Amid tight COVID-19 restrictions, McClatchy High tips off boys’ basketball season
The season opener for the McClatchy High School boys’ basketball team started on a high note Friday despite major COVID-19 restrictions. The Lions dominated Hiram Johnson 59-38 in front of a small masked crowd at McClatchy.
In the Sacramento City Unified School District, sporting events have been very different than what students and families are used to. Like all school districts, they have seen changes and guidelines implemented to try and keep people healthy.
“In our school district we are only allowing household members to attend sporting events, whether it’s the home team or the visiting team,” said McClatchy Athletic Director Rob Feickert. “That’s going to be our biggest issue that we have in the future. Because of our league, we have some teams over in Elk Grove and West Sac that have different policies and procedures. It’s going to be difficult for some of our parents and our fans to go back and forth depending on what school they’re going to, who can attend the games and who can not.”
There are many rules in place for the players as well. Since basketball is a sport played indoors, with everyone in close proximity, the guidelines are very strict.
“We make sure that we test weekly on Mondays, the whole team and staff,” McClatchy coach Antawn Greer said. “We wear masks on the bench during games, and then on the court they’re telling us we don’t have to wear masks ... so that’s what we’ve been doing.”
Even with all of the new guidelines and distractions, this McClatchy team showed a lot of focus Friday night. The Lions showed great ability to communicate with each other and play team ball against Johnson. There were many instances where McClatchy’s unselfish style of play was on display. Players passing up open shots to create a better one amid tons of communication.
“We don’t necessarily have a best player,” said Greer. “We’re kind of decent by committee. We have our seniors that I’ve had for a few years now like Carter Miles, Demetrius Ramsey, Jameel Pongyan, Ahmad Martinez, and Jared DeGuzman. We are going to try and make a little bit of noise with them. We also have some developing juniors and one sophomore on the team.”
Of the seniors Greer mentioned, the one that stood out the most Friday night was Pongyan. The guard led all players in scoring with 14 points and was very successful from behind the arc with three shots made. With his great vision and confidence from deep, he may be the Lion to keep an eye on if they begin to make some noise.
The other seniors contributed with Miles, Ramsey and Martinez scoring 9, 8, and 7, respectively.
“These kids have been sitting around for 18 months,” said Feickert. “Anything we can do to get them excited about being in school and coming to our athletic events, it’s just great to see.”
The Lions will face the Vista del Lago Eagles on Monday in Sacramento.