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Old Jocks, Young Hawks entertain at student-staff game
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Physical education instructor and varsity football coach Tim Garcia was showered with boos during pregame introductions of Central Valley High School's First Annual Student-Staff Fundraiser Basketball Contest on March 18.

Garcia, of course, got the last laugh. Tim put on a 3-point shooting clinic. He made 10 treys and scored 34 points in the Old Jocks' 97-86 win over the Young Hawks.

Darryl Dickson, Shannon Donnelly and Alan Calpito contributed 17, 14 and 12 points, respectively. Capri Chavez, Mike Reynolds, Michelle Parrish, Julie Gant, Juan Vallin, Veronica Giddens, Omar Leon and Joe Stewart also broke into the scoring column for the Old Jocks. Chavez and Reynolds tallied five and four points apiece. Parrish, Gant, Vallin, Giddens and Leon all had two points. Stewart added one point.

"It was fun to go out and compete against the kids," Garcia said. "Everybody thought we were going to lose."

Senior sharpshooter Yama Noorzai paced the Young Hawks with 15 points. Robert Morgan, Brian Blunt, Sean McLeod, Trevor Mew, Ross Henry, Latrisha Jordan and Tony Marques tallied 11, 10, nine, eight, seven, six and five points, respectively. Marissa Cabusas and Brooke Davis chipped in four points each. Eric Esquivel scored three points. Giselle Mendoza and Chris Beleele had two points apiece.

"It would have been nice to win because all week long we were talking trash in the locker room," Noorzai said.

From tip-off to the final buzzer, players from both teams entertained everyone in attendance.

The first half ended with the Old Jocks leading 56-55. They rallied from a nine-point deficit on the strength of a 17-7 run in the closing minutes. Garcia scored nine points on three 3-pointers. Calpito and Donnelly both collected four points.

At intermission, Central Valley staff members worked the crowd into a frenzy while performing a dance routine to a medley of songs. Katherine Reynolds, Roy Adame, Lynn Pistante, Mary Ramer, Natalie Rowell, Megan Muirbrook, Julie Gant, Tamara Warren and Cesar Maldonado put on quite a show.

Before the start of the fourth quarter, Central Valley principal Fred Van Vleck auctioned off Hawk sports memorabilia for a grand total of $290.

A football helmet containing the signatures of 2007-08 varsity and frosh-soph team members fetched $110.

Autographed varsity softball, baseball, girls soccer and boys soccer balls sold for $50, $40, $30 and $25, respectively.

Participants from the fundraiser game autographed a basketball that sold for $35.

After Cabusas made a basket to even the score at 86-all with 7:02 left in regulation, the Old Jocks caught fire. They outscored the Young Hawks 11-0 in the final 5:06. Donnelly and Calpito led the way with four points each. Garcia chipped in three points.

"I started feeling it in the fourth quarter," said Tim, who buried three 3-pointers en route to tallying 11 points in the final period. "I had to dig down because I didn't want the kids to get bragging rights."

"He just went off on us," Noorzai said. "He killed us."

Garcia and more than a dozen of his students made friendly wagers over the outcome of the game.

"I bet a couple miles," said Noorzai, who is in one of Tim's weight training classes. "I guess I'll have to run them."

Added Marques: "I heard Yama has to take Garcia to dinner at Outback Steakhouse."

The student-staff game was a fundraiser for Central Valley High School's athletic programs. The event drew more than 400 people and raised over $1,700.

It was worth the price of admission.

More importantly, no one got injured, excluding sore muscles and joints.

The Old Jocks also won the water consumption battle as their players made numerous trips to the 3-gallon Gatorade Cooler during breaks. Paper cups littered the area around the orange jug.

"I'm tired," Garcia said afterwards.

A multiple-sport standout at Grace Davis High School in the late-1990s, Tim once scored 38 points against Ceres High. He buried eight treys.