Lots of things generate excitement at Londonderry High School, from varsity sports teams getting all the way to their divisions’ championship games to theater productions, and high-profile guests.
But among many of the LHS students there’s a special kind of excitement generated by the school’s annual dodge-ball events, especially the fall charity tournament that enables students to form teams and shoot for the coveted LHS tournament title, with raging competitiveness and trash-talking adding to the fun.
The 2015 Londonderry High School Charity Dodge-ball Tournament took place from Monday through Wednesday of last week – Nov. 16 through 18 – with more than 20 teams starting out with hopes of going the distance before the squads were whittled down to two finalists.
The 2014 champs – The Baller-inas – hoped to repeat and made it deep into the late rounds of the 2015 competition. But they ended up being eliminated by the Ball of Duty crew, which later went on to win the championship.
That title-winning contingent consisted of players Peter Navarro, Nick Vanini, Nick Salcito, Merrill Neiman, and Sean Snyder. They took the tourney crown by defeating the previously-unbeaten Jumpmen in final round, sudden-death action.
Late on the final night of play, the final squads left vying for the championship included the Ball of Duty, The Jumpmen, The Baller-inas, the uniquely-named 100 Percent Testosterone crew, and a contingent called Pinkerton Academy, which consisted of LHS student/athletes evidently intent on summoning the rivalry aspect of athletic competition with that Derry school.
But when the title round was all that was left to tourney play on Wednesday night, Nov. 18, Ball of Duty and The Jumpmen were the only squads left standing.
The latter team, which included players Eric Doran, Jon Meskell, Nick Scarfo, Cam Reddy, and Sean Cotter and was coached by Matt Corey, took game one of a championship match that went six games before the officials put sudden-death play into effect.
In that decisive round, each team was only allowed to have two players on the court rather than the usual handful, and The Jumpmen had Reddy and Scarfo face off against Neiman and Salcito with the title on the line. And Ball of Duty ended up walking away with the crown and bragging rights.
The event was directed by LHS Athletic Leadership Council head Crystal Rich with help from many students and Londonderry High staff members.
The tournament raised nearly $1,000 for the Little Acts of Kindness charity.