Author Archives: Bill McDonald '68

NIU cashes IOU

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QB Thomas Castellanos scores a two-yard TD against Northern Illinois.

According to ESPN Radio College GameDay, BC paid Northern Illinois University $1.1 million to come to Chestnut Hill to open the 2023 football season yesterday. As one of the show’s commentators said about NIU’s 27-24 win in overtime, “They left with the money and they left with the win.”

BC fans left deflated. This was the second successive disappointing opening game loss against an underdog opponent. Last year, BC led Rutgers 21-15 in the fourth quarter, but allowed the Scarlet Knights a 12-play 96-yard drive to close out the game, 22-21. It was the first act in a 3-9 season. NIU’s win yesterday was its first in four games with BC.

The tone of the game was set early, as the Eagles had the ball for only three minutes in the first quarter, less than half of the time NIU had possession. Of the four quarters in the game, the Huskies possessed the ball more than twice as long as BC in three of them and for three minutes more in the remaining quarter. Overall, NIU had possession for 36 minutes, 53 seconds, BC for 20 minutes, 47 seconds. The Eagles ran only 66 plays in the game, compared to 78 for NIU.

Neither team scored in the first half until the Huskies passed seven yards for a touchdown with 2:44 remaining and took a 7-0 lead into halftime. Receiving the kickoff to start the second half, NIU went on an extended, methodical drive, often aided by untimely penalties by BC, to take a 14-0 lead. In the game overall, BC had 10 penalties for 93 yards.

The Eagles’ fortune and performance changed when BC recovered a NIU fumble on their 25 yard line with 6:53 left in the third quarter. BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos finished a five-play drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Lewis Bond to cut the deficit in half, 14-7.

Castellanos was a surprise participant in this game. He alternated with last year’s starter, Emmett Morehead, in the first half, but played nearly all of the second half. He is a transfer from University of Central Florida. He’s 5-10 sophomore, from Waycross, Ga. The TD pass in the third quarter was the first of his collegiate career.

NIU pushed its lead to 21-7 with 9:24 to play in the game. And then, for BC fans, it got interesting and then exciting. Near midfield on the ensuring BC drive, Castellanos faced fourth-and-five. Retreating from the pressure, Castellanos kept going back and back, swerving, faking, and then running forward to complete a long pass for a 10-yard gain and first down. He had a much shorter run on a two-yard run for a touchdown to make the score 21-14 with 5:59 left.

The Huskies got two first downs, but punted back to BC on its 17 with 3:23 minutes left in the game. It took Castellanos less than two minutes to get the tying touchdown. He had runs for 16 and 10 yards and threw a 22-yard pass to Ryan O’Keefe to get BC to the NIU 30. A 30-yard pass to Jaden Williams sealed the deal. Tied 21-21.

On offense first in overtime, Eagles gained only four yards in three plays and Liam Connor kicked a 39-yard field goal. NIU scored a touchdown for the win in four plays.

With BC rejuvenated in the second half, the teams were close in total offense, 338 yards for NIU and 314 for the Eagles. Castellanos finished 13 of 28 passing for 138 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. He also rushed for 67 yards, leading the team, and a touchdown. Running back Patrick Garwo added 44 yards on 10 carries.

The Eagles play ancient foe Holy Cross Saturday, September 9, at 9 am PT.

 

Oak Canyon hike

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L-R: Walid Soussou ’95, with his son and dog; Caitlin Mahler ’11, CGSOM’17; Bill McDonald ’68; Lori Mahler P’11; Joe Mahler ’74, P’11; Brian and Lissa Tsu, both ’00, with their daughter; Heather Berryhill ’13 and her two dogs; and Seth Clark STM’15 and his children.

Several San Diego Eagles and members of their families started July off with a hike yesterday in Mission Trails Regional Park, located between Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and Cowles Mountain in East San Diego. For locals, spring and early summer had featured much marine layer and relatively cool temperatures. By late morning, July 1 was “toasty.”

Among the several trails in what is considered one of the largest urban parks in the United States, we walked the Oak Canyon Trail. It’s a 3.2-mile round trip over what’s considered “moderate” terrain. Oak Canyon is a ravine lined with sycamore and oak trees winding north from the Old Mission Dam. The dam itself was built between 1807 and 1816, under supervision of the San Diego Mission, and was considered a major engineering feat of its day. You can see it to the right in the group photo at the top of the post.

(Before we set off, but after the group photo was taken, we were joined by hardcore hiker Justin Niles ’09.)

Before the hike even started, we had a helpful reminder to stay alert. At the trailhead, just on the other side of a low line of rocks, a rattlesnake sat coiled. At least that’s how the person taking pictures described it. By the time I looked, the snake was moving slowly away. The photo below shows the back end and rattle. Other prospective hikers noticed it in the same area for some time.

Here’s a gallery of images from the hike out. Just click on one to enlarge.

Heading_out
Walkway
Supineoak
Ravine

Near the turnaround point of the hike, we came upon one of California’s common natural landscapes.

CA 52 bridges the ravine just north of the park.

And here is a gallery of scenes from the hike back in.

Return
Pond2
Heading_in

Following the hike, most of the group recovered and refreshed at the nearby San Diego Brewing Company. While there, we encountered Marianne Russo ’99 and her husband, Damon Halback, and children. They had hiked another trail in the park, but knew where to find us afterward.

More hikes are on the agenda, but probably in cooler seasons. Stay tuned for info on another beach bonfire in August. This is a scene from the one last year.

 

Eagles fall to Wildcats

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#1 Northwestern, winners of 20 straight after a one-goal opening-season loss to Syracuse, dominated Boston College today in an 18-6 victory to take the NCAA women’s lacrosse title.

The Eagles never led in the game. After three Wildcat goals in the first quarter, BC cut the lead to 3-2 and that was the closest they got. Northwestern led 6-2 at halftime and then exploded to a six-goal lead in the third quarter and entered the final quarter leading 11-4.

In the tournament, BC used the fourth quarter either to catch up to teams or pull ahead for victories. Not to be today. Northwestern finished strong, outscoring the Eagles 7-2 in the final period. (Need to mention, though, that the final Wildcat goal as the horn sounded to end the game seemed more than a little tacky. They had an 11-goal lead!)

Kayla Martello scored three goals in the game, with Belle Smith adding two, and Jenn Medjid one.

The Eagles ended the season with a 19-4 record. This was their sixth consecutive championship game (the 2020 season was canceled because of Covid) and their fifth loss. BC won the national championship in 2021. Go Eagles!