Mega Bowl! Italy Gladiators vs. Whitney Wildcats for district title. Mega Bowl!
Gladiator Devonta Simmons(10) helps elevate Italy to a key victory over the Maypearl Panthers. (Barry Byers)
With both teams tied for 1st place with 11-3 district records, the Italy Gladiator varsity boys (19-11) will duel with the Whitney Wildcats (22-9) on Friday, February 17, starting at 7:00 p.m. inside the Midlothian High School Basketball Arena to decide who will be crowned the 2A Region II District 15 District Champion and enter the playoffs as a first seed.
Being hyped as the Mega Bowl (Taking from the movie Semi-Pro to help promote a matchup between the Flint Tropics and San Antonio), Gladiator head coach Aidan Callahan is calling on Italy’s legion of fans to show their support and make the trip to Midlothian Friday night.
Recently, the Gladiators and Lady Gladiators’ varsity and JV squads celebrated senior night with all four Italy teams collecting wins over Keene. While the Lady Gladiators were playing district spoiler, the boys used the win to aid in their taking partial claim of the district’s top spot.
The Lady Gladiator senior honorees were:
- Jimesha Reed
- Megan Richards
- Alyssa Richards
- Kaitlyn Rossa
The Gladiator senior honorees were:
- Jase Holden
- Larry Mayberry
- Devonta Simmons
- Brandon Souder
Special thanks to all the coaches who have guided their teams to several exciting wins this season:
- Randy Parks – Head coach varsity girls
- Tina Richards – Head coach JV girls, assistant coach varsity girls
- Aidan Callahan – Head coach varsity boys
- Josh Ward – Head coach JV boys
- Larry Mayberry, Sr. – Assistant coach varsity boys / JV boys
Deserving kudos as well for going above and beyond are Rita Garza, Misty Escamilla, Greg Richards, IHS Principal Lee Joffre, Craig and Jenny Bales, Birdie Bell, Doug Nelson, Jeff Richters, Kelly Lewis and managers Reagan Adams and Gary Escamilla.