Fall Formal

From left to right: Augustin Palma, Maci Solario, Emi, Kennadee Bickerstaff, Caden Mitchell, Adilene Solario, Carlos Morales, and Peyton "Beans" Factor.

For weeks, Emilio told us he wasn't going to the Homecoming Dance. Then they talked him into it, and he presented Kennadee (who also plays soccer) with a poster that read "My goal is to take you to HoCo."

The evening started with photos (taken by Caden's mom, Kristi). Caden's parents then ferried everyone to Roma's for dinner. The dance was held in the Indoor Practice Field. The after party was at Caden's house, and everyone brought a change of clothes. Curfew: midnight.

Practicing the duck lips pose... 

The Duck Lips Portrait

NYC

Emi's favorites from his first trip to NYC:
1) Taking the East River Ferry to Brooklyn (see image below) and the ferry to Ellis Island;

2) Margherita Pizza at Grimaldi's near the Brooklyn Bridge

3) The taxidermy at the American Museum of Natural History

4) Seeing "To Kill a Mockingbird" on Broadway starring Jeff Daniels

5) Banana and coconut ice cream at Ammorino

Emilio's First Cross-Country Meet: Purcell

From left to right: Sam Rhynes (Jr.), Saul Palma (Sr), Carlos Morales (So.), Emilio Benton (So.), Elliott Riden (Jr.), Jose Palma (Jr.), Caden Mitchell (So.), and Carver Gregory (Fr.).

Before the race, the team walks the route using a map handout.

Looks like a prayer circle to me.

85 runners are about to clock an official time in this 2-mile race. I counted 13 team colors.

Emi reported later that at the start of the race his legs felt like jelly.

Emi said that when the race started, he wasn't sure he was going to be able to finish.  It was 93 degrees.

At this point in the race, Coach Jones urged Emi and Sam to pass ten runners, and Emi took off.

Emilio was flying at the end, and it looks like the guy ahead of him was somewhat concerned. One of the two guys behind Emilio is from Lexington. Because Emi beat him, Ada beat Lexington by a single point.

Emi finished 2nd on the Ada team and 25th out of 140 . His official time: 11 minutes, 53 seconds.

Emilio and Saul (#15, 11:35) finished in the top 25 and won medals!

The boys team finished in 5th place behind Seminole, Sulphur, Bethel, and Tecumseh and ahead of Lexington (we beat them by 1 point!), Washington, CHA (?), and Luther. Sam (#35, 12:09), Jose (#39, 12:18), and Caden (#52, 12:45) also scored for Ada. Carlos was immediately behind Caden (#53, 12:46). Elliot Riden finished #60, 12:53.

I was thankful that Nina joined me for the trip. We stopped afterwards at Sonic.

Seven on Seven in McAlester: Game Day Three

We played Atoka at 2pm. Caden's mom, Kim, took these photos.

Our starting line-up: Colton in goal; back line: Saul, Augie, Caden; front line: Sam, Emilio, Minh.

It wasn't too hot at the start of the 2pm game, but the temperature rose over the course of the afternoon.

 Emilio creates lots of chances that don't produce goals (or assists). Then, sometimes, he gets an assist for a long shot like this one by Caden, which is much more Caden's than it is Emilio's, but I'm posting it here for documentary purposes. I've also included a "chance created" below.

Emilio says this kid did not hit him with his knee.


Emilio threads the needle perfectly: Assist #2.

We beat Atoka 6-0.

At 5 pm, we played McAlester "A," without their best player (Diego?). While McAlester only had one reserve, Coach Jones gave our reserves a lot of playing time--including some 9th graders who were playing for the first time. I think we ended up losing by one, but this game felt more like a practice than a game.

Just when you think Emilio is going to go with a conservative back pass, he turns the corner and sets up a teammate. This is assist #3.

Emilio creates a great chance for Caden on this ball.

 
Assist #4.

Through 6 games, Emilio has 4 goals and 8 assists. Sam has 6 goals and 5 assists. Jonah has 7 goals (in 4 games). Minh has 5 goals (in 4 games). Saul has 2 goals and 1 assist; Caden has 1 goals and 1 assist. Tyler Taylor, Jose, and Korbin each have 1 goal.