![Phoenix gets in position to initiate the beginning of an intense game. “It's coming to the end of the season here, so [our goal] is to just focus on working harder,” senior lineman Ryan Abbondanza said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/DSC_0042-1200x800.jpg)
On Friday, March 13, Rock Ridge High School’s Student Council Association (SCA) organized its annual Student vs. Staff Basketball game in the main gym during fourth block. The students managed to score a victory over their teachers this year, with a final score of 30-27 .
The student team comprised of seniors Raheem Richardson, Jaden Haynes, Arjav Iyer, Paxton So, Kendrix Singleton, Domonick Nelson, Derrick Forney, Taylor Woody, Bhanuteja Alluri, Lucas Wisley, Yovan Ambore, Akash Vangala, Dawson Boupha, Dylan Chemoiwa, Siddharth Donthireddy, and Moussa Koroma; juniors Rithvik Ravishankar, Vishaal Omkaram, and Ohene Akenteng; and sophomores DJ Burgess and Traeden Peeples.
The staff team included science teacher Dylan Cashman, business teacher Michael Canfield, football coach Kabryn Williams, world languages teacher Sarah Seitz, history teacher Steven Mobley, family & consumer sciences teacher Christopher Berger, Math teacher Logan Flannigan, physical education teacher Robert Lalli, co-curricular coach Meghan Groah, and junior varsity basketball head coach Nicholas Ondrus.
Although the rivalry between the students and staff seemed intense, Ondrus found that the experience enjoyable. “[It’s] lots of fun to get [out] there with the youngsters and give them some work,” Ondrus said. “[It’s also fun] to get students out there, supporting the school, and showing school spirit.” Williams expressed a similar sentiment. “It was good to compete against the kids [because] they were talking junk all week, so it was good to humble them,” Williams said.
The most valuable player of the game was senior Lucas Wisley. He was the MVP because of his defensive plays and team leadership. “[The] game [went] great,” Wisley said. “The energy was great. Everyone was working hard, [with] great energy [and a] great atmosphere.”
For their victory to be possible, the student team had to utilize different strategic tactics. “We had a pressing strategy, so on every basket we were playing defense as soon as they inbounded, [and then] called a compress,” Wisley said. “That definitely seemed to work. [We] got a couple steals off that, which led to some easy buckets.”
Senior Derrick Forney, who had previously played last year and participated in numerous other SCA events, also noted that certain players were kept open more often for the sake of better plays. “We used a lot of different plays to get our better players open, because the adults are getting older, and they can’t comprehend [our next moves,]” Forney said.
Wisley felt enthusiastic about the win and proud of how much the team had improved from last year. “I think we were probably a little less selfish this year. We were all sharing the ball, and [all of] our teammates [were] involved,” Wisley said.
During halftime, there was a hoops shoot-out for spirit points. Each grade level had a representative student from the grade to shoot for a basket to get spirit points. After several attempts, no one won any points.
SCA Executive Vice President Srihitha Akula enjoyed the process of planning the event and watching it as well. “[The student vs. staff basketball] has always been one of my favorite events, [as] it’s always fun to watch, [and] it was fun to see the students win,” Akula said.
Although the students took home the win during this event, for all parties involved, it was an enjoyable experience. “At the end of the day, we are all friends, we are all family,” Forney said. “We all come from the same school, and you’ve got to be kind to everybody and have fun.”
