Dodgeball Champions (from left to right):  Josh Davis, Matt Thompson, Jansen Adams, Matthaus Klute, Jacob Bennett and Jake Stevenson

“Team Jo’dan” repeated as champions, but the real winner in Saturday’s Carl Junction Dodgeball Tournament was the Special Olympics.  The one-day event, sponsored by the Carl Junction Student Council, raised $600 for the worthy cause.

Twelve teams competed for three hours, with a round robin format determining the seeds for bracket play.

With the first and second rounds out of the way, the field was narrowed to the final four.  Three senior-dominated teams, “Team Jo’dan”, “DTA” and the “Wonder Women” were joined in the semi-finals by “The Ninja Bunnies”.

“The Ninja Bunnies” had knocked off the “Senior Beaters” in the quarterfinals, denying the “Senior Beaters” a chance to actually beat any seniors.  The “Senior Beaters” had finished 4-0 in pool play before the upset.

“The Ninja Bunnies are perfect for dodgeball,” according to the event’s announcers.  “You’ve got ninjas that are just hard to defeat, because, hey, they’re ninjas.  And then the bunny part – well bunnies are always hopping all over the place.  Did you ever try to hit one with your car?  It’s nearly impossible.”

“Team Jo’dan” then defeated “The Ninja Bunnies” 2-0 in the best-of-3 match to move to a perfect 6-0 heading into the championship.  Having won the tournament last year, they were either feeling generous or perhaps somewhat cocky this year as they actually won an earlier pool play game against the Bunnies with nearly all left-handed throws.

“DTA”, who went 4-0 in pool play, brought the dream run of the “Wonder Women” to an end in the other semi-final match with a 2-0 win.  The “Wonder Women”, with a sophomore, junior and four seniors, went 3-1 in pool play.  One of the seniors is Lauren McRae, who arguably has the best arm in the senior class.

At one point during the match, the announcer exclaimed, “The Wonder Women are struggling a bit, but they do still look good!”

With the Ninja Bunnies and Wonder Women eliminated, the tournament advanced to its final round.

The championship match was set, a best-of-five battle between two all-senior-boys teams.  Some viewed it as football versus basketball, with “DTA” consisting of CJ gridiron greats Zach Waranch, Chase Price, Brandon Ray, Brandon McCoy, Coury Ferson, and Andrew Wheeler.

The roster of “Team Jo’dan” was made up of this year’s five senior basketball players, plus Matt Thompson (a footballer and former basketball player).  Roundballers Jacob Bennett, Matthaus Klute, Josh Davis, Jake Stevenson and Jansen Adams joined Thompson.  But based on the whole “football versus basketball” thing, “Team Jo’dan” appeared to be the favorite with Stevenson and Adams on their roster, with both having also competed on the turf of Bulldog Stadium this past Fall.

“Team Jo’dan” took game one, but “DTA” came roaring back with a pair of wins and appeared on the verge of taking the title.

Facing elimination, “Team Jo’dan” battled to a game four victory and evened the match at 2 games each.

In a winner-take-all final game, “Team Jo’dan” showed they owned the courts and walked away with a perfect 7-0 record, first-place medals and a claim to back-to-back championships.

Kristi Headen, the CJHS Stuco sponsor, was proud of her students’ fund-raising efforts.

“We raised $600 today,” Headen said after the event.  “These are great kids.  Their behavior today was awesome.  They were competitive, yet everyone knows why we are really here doing this.  We had our fun, but our real goal was raising money for Special Olympics.”

Headen said Stuco members will also be participating in the Polar Bear Plunge on February 20, plunging into Shoal Creek to raise money for Special Olympics.

Great job everyone for a well-organized fundraising event that was quite enjoyable from this spectator’s point of view.