Sports Recruited College Athletes

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Nico Gonzalez, Franklin and Marshall College D3 Soccer Superstar Nico Gonzalez will continue his passion at Franklin and Marshall College. When asked when he started playing soccer, Nico said, “I’ve been playing soccer for as long as I can remember. It’s a huge part of my family’s culture given my Spanish background, so my dad wanted me to get into it at a young age. I feel like I was mainly playing for fun when I originally started with the Rye Brook youth team. However, by the time I was ten, I knew I wanted to take it more seriously, so I moved to my club team, FC Westchester.” When asked why he chose Franklin and Marshall, he said, “During the recruiting process, I was mainly looking at small, high-level academic division 3 schools that were pretty close to home. I quickly loved Franklin and Marshall after touring its campus and meeting the coaching staff, so I went to a soccer camp this past summer, where I received an offer to join the team.” Nico is very excited to further his academic and ath-

Ethan Taerstein, Colby College D3 Ethan started playing lacrosse when he was in third grade, and fell in love with the sport very quickly. When asked when he knew he wanted to get serious about lacrosse, Ethan said, “Around middle school, my passion for lacrosse became so tremendous that I promised myself that I’d play college lacrosse. I wanted to start a culture here at Blind Brook that proves that kids who attend smaller, public schools still have the opportunity to play college sports, even if the odds aren’t in their favor. I stayed determined to

Wild Card Weekend

By: Jacob Moore

As another year goes by, it's time that the NFL hosts the playoffs for its 103rd season. From Justin Jefferson’s ridiculous catch against Buffalo late in the 4th to the ridiculous ending of Patriots vs Raiders, the NFL brought us the purest form of football this season that fans know and love. While the regular season brings us our Sunday comfort, fans buckle in for what really matters: the playoffs. These playoffs, between the ultra-competitive AFC and top seeds of the NFC, were shaping up to be one of the best.

To kickoff super wild card weekend, the second seed San Francisco 49ers faced their divisional rival, the seventh seeded Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks led 17 to 16 against the 49ers going into halftime, but an explosion of offense mixed with a couple turnovers overs on defense allowed for the 49ers to crush their foe 41 to 23. The following game was the fifth seeded Los Angeles Chargers vs the fourth seeded Jacksonville Jaguars. At around halftime, it seemed Jacksonville’s “cinderella” run was coming to an end, as they trailed 27 to nothing following four Trevor Lawrence interceptions. Coach Doug Pederson wasn't having it, as he and his team rallied back down 27 to beat the Chargers 31 to 30. One of the greatest comebacks in playoff history, the Jaguars knew they weren't going home. The Sunday games started with the second seeded Buffalo Bills vs the seventh seeded Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins started the season red hot, but after some injuries, and a second concussion to up and coming quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, they came into Buffalo short staffed. This showed as Buffalo moved on with a 34 to 31 win. Our third to last game saw the three seed Minnesota Vikings face the sixth seeded New York Giants. The Giants up until this point were a miracle story; no one had them doing this well before the season. That said, the Giants upset the Vikings 31 to 24. The second to last game of wildcard weekend was the three seeded Bengals facing the sixth seeded Ravens. This was a close battle throughout its entire duration, but a Sam Hubbards 98 yard fumble return touchdown towards the end sealed Baltimore’s fate. The last game of wildcard weekend was the fourth seeded Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs the fifth seeded Dallas Cowboys. Tampa Bay had been disappointing all season, and that didn't stop here, as the Cowboys cruised to a 31 to 14 win. Tom Brady favor. I stayed determined to the promise I made myself, and after years of hard work on the field and in the classroom, my dream finally became reality.” ends his illustrious career with a lackluster finale.

Ethan has been playing varsity lacrosse since 8th grade and is also a multi-sport athlete, as he also plays on the Blind Brook Varsity Soccer and Basketball teams. When asked what made him choose Colby, he said, “After receiving a variety of interest from colleges in my junior year, I visited Colby in July. After learning more about their program, I wanted to challenge myself academically by pursuing a degree in economics and also wanted to push myself to be the best lacrosse player possible by competing in the NESCAC (New England Small College Athletic Conference) league. The team culture that their program is based on felt like a great fit for me to grow into the best scholar-athlete possible.” Ethan’s values of good team culture are shown as he continues to contribute to establishing one here at Blind Brook.

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The Divisional Round was anticipated to be even more exciting than the wild card. To open the divisional round, the one seed Kansas City Chiefs faced the Jaguars. The Jags put up a fight, but they proved no match for the veteran combo of Reid-Mahomes-Kelce. The Giants faced the one seed Eagles next. While the Giants had momentum, the Eagles dominated the trenches, and demolished the Giants 38 to 7. The Sunday games started with the Bills taking on the Bengals. Two of the most exciting offenses in the league, this game turned out to be rather mellow, as the Bills couldn't get anything to work offensively, while Joe Burrow and Jamarr Chase did what they did best. The Bengals advanced to their second consecutive AFC championship game with a 27 to 10 win. The most anticipated game of the week was 49ers vs Cowboys. The 49ers were on their third quarterback, the last pick of the draft Brock Purdy. The Cowboys wanted revenge, as the 49ers had beaten them last year in the playoffs. The game turned out to be a defensive one, as both teams only combined for two touchdowns. Following a ridiculous George Kittle catch, a Christian McCaffery touchdown early in the fourth, and two Dak Prescott interceptions, the 49ers bested the Cowboys again, with a 19 to 12 victory.