7 Gladiators receive all-district accolades, Callahan co-Coach of the Year

Barry Byers Posted Italy Gladiator Basketball
Image: Italy’s Senior point guard Jase Holden(3) and his teammates had Franklin on the ropes in the first half.

Italy’s Senior point guard Jase Holden(3) and his teammates had Franklin on the ropes in the first half. (Barry Byers)

After a suspenseful basketball season, the Italy Gladiators ended district tied with Whitney for the co-district championship and then entered the playoffs as the number two-seed after Whitney won the bonus game between the two schools to decide seeding.

In bi-district action, Italy traveled to China Springs where they lost a heartbreaker to the Franklin Lions, despite a 26-point effort from senior Gladiator Devonta Simmons. Simmons started the game with back-to-back slam dunks to set the tone early which helped the Gladiators build a four-point advantage at halftime.

Despite one of, Gladiator point guard, Jase Holden’s best performances of the season, Franklin managed to contain Italy’s Larry Mayberry, Jr. inside and take the lead going into the fourth. Defensively, Gladiators, Cole Hopkins, Jamal Lewis, Trevon Robertson, Caden Jacinto and Eric Carson did what they could to slow the Lion’s, but momentum was on the side of Franklin who shot effectively from the free-throw line to secure a 58-50 round-one win over Italy.

Italy’s Playoff Roster:

Jersey Gladiator Class
1 Trevon Robertson Soph.
2 Caden Jacinto Jr.
3 Jase Holden Sr.
5 Reid Jacinto Jr.
10 Devonta Simmons Sr.
12 Eric Carson Soph.
13 Larry Mayberry, Jr. Sr.
15 Zain Byers Soph.
20 Brandon Souder Sr.
21 Cole Hopkins Jr.
22 Jalarnce Lewis Jr.

District 15 Conference 2A 2011-2012 Honors

District MVP:

  • Manuel Gonzalez / Junior / Keene

Offensive Player of the Year:

  • T.Q. Echols / Junior / Whitney

Defensive Players of the Year:

  • Alik Aaron / Senior / Keene
  • Austin Martinez / Senior / Grandview

Newcomer of the Year:

  • Danzill Walter / Senior / Whitney

Sixth Man of the Year:

  • Trevon Robertson / Sophomore / Italy

Coaches of the Year:

  • Aidan Callahan / Italy (Assistant coaches: Larry Mayberry, Sr., Josh Ward)
  • Troy Doyle / Whitney

First Team All-District:

  • Connor Albrecht / Senior / Clifton
  • Josh Bradford Senior / Maypearl
  • Ryan Breton / Junior / Grandview
  • Brandon Brown / Senior / Keene
  • Ryan Jimison / Junior / Rio Vista
  • Keith Lindsay / Senior / Axtell
  • Larry Mayberry Jr. / Senior / Italy
  • Michael Milburn / Sophomore / Axtell
  • Devonta Simmons / Senior / Italy
  • Stephen Stewart / Junior / Grandview
  • Adam Strawbridge / Senior / Whitney

Second Team All-District:

  • Tyler Allen / Senior / Rio Vista
  • Dylan Bartosh Senior / Grandview
  • Chad Hill Senior / Maypearl
  • Jase Holden / Senior / Italy
  • Cole Hopkins / Junior / Italy
  • Noah Kirk / Junior / Whitney
  • Tavaris Owens / Sophomore / Whitney
  • Thomas Shields / Junior / Axtell
  • Moses Thomas / Senior / Keene

Italy’s All-District Honorable Mentions:

  • Caden Jacinto / Junior
  • Jalarnce Lewis / Junior