Viktor Rajkovic was named the Marin IJ Boys Basketball Player of the Year and Nye Day was named the Marin IJ Girls Soccer Player of the Year! Congratulations, Bulls!

Read about Victor.

Read about Nye.

Our girls soccer team, having already won the NCS championship, had made their way to the finals of the State Championship.

It was a beautiful spring afternoon, and because Branson’s team had been awarded the home field advantage, I was looking forward to strolling down to cheer on the girls, who had never lost a game on Branson’s turf field. As I arrived, I was surprised to see a sea of orange everywhere I looked--orange t-shirts and sweatshirts, orange hats, orange blankets, orange lawn chairs--in every direction I saw orange.  I honestly thought I had come to the wrong game, as hundreds of people in orange I had never seen lined our field four rows deep. I looked on the field and saw our girls, so I knew I was in the right place, but who were all these fans, cheering before the game even started? And where were the Branson fans? I quickly realized that orange was the color of the opposing team, Woodland High School, a town of outside of Sacramento.

I began to spot Branson parents, faculty, and students mixed throughout the crowd, and our stalwart parents were on their usual perch on the hillside. I found a place near the students to watch the game. It dawned on me as I stood there that, by getting to the field a good 90 minutes prior to the game and setting up shop, the Woodland fans had essentially made it their home game. And so began a spirited game with much cheering, yelling, shouting, cajoling, and screaming by all: the Woodland fans, the Branson fans, and both teams, and their coaches. The mood alternated equally between the two sides as the game progressed: sheer joy and triumph when one team made a great play or scored a goal, to hung heads, silence, and sadness when a chance was missed or a mistake made.  Throughout, there was among all of us a shared spirit of excitement, pride, and an intense desire to win.

In the end, Woodland won the game and the State Championship, the first team to ever beat us on our home field. Their fans stormed the field in joy, while our fans ran to hug and console our team. The Branson girls, most of whom were in tears, hugged one another and their parents and classmates, quietly and respectfully watching the jubilant celebration happening a hundred feet away. I, too, teared up as I watched the Branson coach line the girls up on the field to clap for each Woodland girl as she received her State Championship medal. He wanted to make sure they lost with the same grace and class with which they had won all season. Following his lead, all of our fans quieted and clapped for the Woodland girls, too. I was incredibly proud of Branson in that moment. I was also happy for Woodland--their joy was palpable and well-earned. In fact, I am not sure I’ve ever seen such an enthusiastic showing by fans in my 28 years of working in schools.  Both teams represented their schools beautifully and left everything on that field. Branson lost, but our girls could not have fought any harder.

After watching our girls soccer team compete in the NorCal Championship, many of us headed over to watch the boys basketball team play in the NorCal Semifinals. I was happy to see the girls soccer team in attendance, freshly showered, laughing, and having fun. They had already left the disappointment of the game behind. As I glanced toward the court, where the two teams were warming up, I was alarmed to see that at least five of the opposing players were a good bit bigger than Branson’s tallest boy. Our boys basketball team is a lot of things, but big is not one of them. As I watched one of their star players jump into the air, twirl around 360 degrees, and then dunk the ball, I thought, “Uh-oh.”

After a nervous start, during which the other team scored 9 straight points, the Branson boys settled and got down to business. As we entered the fourth quarter, we were not only holding our own, we were winning! Though we were not playing our best basketball, missing shots we’d made hundreds of times all season, we were successfully keeping Valley Christian’s big players from scoring. I love basketball games because there is something invigorating and infectious about cheering in an enclosed space that just isn’t the same with sports played outside. The Branson students were loud and sweaty as they cheered, and the entire gym was on its feet, giving the atmosphere a raucous, pumped-up feeling. Again, one could sense how much each team wanted to win by the sheer hustle and intensity of each person on the court.

With a few minutes left, Branson was in the lead and I assumed we had the win wrapped up, so I left for a moment. I could hear intense shouting, pounding, and screaming as I walked back and was shocked to see that the opposing team had almost caught up. As I entered the gym, Valley Christian tied it up. It was the only time all night that our student section fell silent. With ten seconds left, in what seemed like slow motion, Valley Christian brought the ball down the court and scored three, putting them ahead 38-35. Their crowd went wild. The ball was ours and with three seconds left, I saw at least three Branson players desperately signaling for a time out. For whatever reason, the referees did not see them and the clock ticked to zero. Game over. The Branson players and fans stood in stunned silence, wondering what had just happened, as the Valley Christian folks went nuts. I wondered to myself if we could protest, and then remembered that there were no replays in high school sports. Whatever happens, happens. There are no do-overs or replays, even if a team feels they got a bad or missed call. Knowing this better than I, the Branson players walked to their bench and then, like always, lined up to shake hands with the other team. They were bitterly disappointed and maybe even felt a little bit cheated, but they greeted the other team with dignity, humility, and class as they slapped hands and congratulated them.

The Branson girls basketball team won a thriller against Drake and captured their first MCAL win this year. Playmakers down the stretch were Ashley Yanabu '20 and Abby Wines '20, making two of the games four three-point shots in the last 41 seconds. You can read the article and the game summary under BULLhorn News below. Grace Dailey '18 returned strong after an ankle sprain--recording adouble-double of 13 points and 16 rebounds. Read the Marin IJ article.

With the header "Unbeaten Branson Shines v. Tam & More," the Marin IJ featured the boys basketball team for their recent wins and season to date. Read article.

Calling it a "battle of MCAL leaders," the Marin IJ featured the recent game between Branson and Tam, which ended in a tie. Photo above by Alan Dep of the Marin IJ.

Read the Article

Callie Jones '19 was featured in the Marin IJ under the header "Jones sparks Branson to win over Marin Catholic." A quote from the article:

"She shined brightly, scoring twice and assisting on another goal as the Bulls scored four unanswered goals en route to a 5-1 win."

Read the article

Last week we congratulated the All-League selections for girls tennis. All the fall teams have now been announced in the Marin IJ, and we congratulate the following Bulls on their being named to the following All-League Teams.

Boys Cross Country Second Team - Dani Prendergast '19

Girls Cross Country First Team - Grace Dailey '18 and Callie Jones '19

Second Team - Caitlin Evers '21

Girls Golf Second Team - Kirra Peery '18

Honorable Mention - Nadine Lee '18

Girls Volleyball - First Team - Amy Wentzel '18 and Amelia Browne '19

Second Team - Sophie Swett '20

Congratulations all!

See all the Selections