By Richard Taylor
Led by seven talented seniors, Ocracoke’s varsity boy hoopsters remain undefeated in league play as they close in on the 1A Atlantic Conference regular season title for the third straight year.
Under Coach Frank Moore’s leadership, they have persevered, despite numerous weather postponements and ferry cancelations this winter.
With two conference games remaining, they are 11-3 overall and 7-0 in the conference. Their three losses, against higher division teams, Holmes Aces (Edenton) 64-59, Croatan Cougars (Newport) 86-36 and Manteo Redskins 53-47, occurred in the beginning of the season.
The Dolphin boys have won all the conference games by no less than 12 points.
East Carteret, a nonconference team, has always had Ocracoke’s number in past seasons. This time, the Dolphins turned the tables, stunning the Mariners 55-41 on their home court, Dec 14.
This boys’ team has seven seniors: Danny Badillo, Gavin Elicker, Landon Fuller, Uriel Guerrero Perez, Finn Kattenburg, Carter O’Neal and Noah O’Neal. They have played together on family backyard and driveway hoops and the school’s outdoor court since before Hurricane Dorian destroyed their gym Sept 6, 2019. They know each other’s moves and methods, their strengths and weaknesses, which is why during a game they make so many assists and how they pass, shoot and rebound so well.
These seniors, along with Nicholas Cole and Auggie Giagu who ran cross-country, and Sara Fanini, basketball and cross-country, were honored at the conclusion of the Hatteras game Feb. 7, which the Dolphins easily won, 61-36.
Ocracoke Dolphins history was made during the away game against the Columbia Wildcats on Jan. 31 when Landon Fuller scored his 1,000th point. He was honored at the next home game against Bear Grass Charter on Feb. 4. The Dolphins beat Columbia 60-37 and Bear Grass 67-55.
The Lady Dolphins varsity team is 4-6 overall and 2-5 in the conference, highlighted by their high scoring even when they lost. Of the nine-player roster, only Fanani, an exchange student from Italy, is a senior.
One of their most exciting games of the season came against the Hobgood Raiders on Jan. 30. The Dolphins were up comfortably at halftime, 29-10. Then the Raiders roared back with 25 points in the third quarter cutting the lead to just six points. In the fourth quarter, two high-scoring starters went out — Jami Martinez with a knee injury and Fanani on fouls. There was high drama as the clock wound down and the refs’ whistles blew every 10 seconds or so for fouls, balls knocked out of bounds and time outs. The Dolphins bench, especially the defense of Ammy Ortiz-Flores, held on to win 56-53.
WOVV radio broadcasters Chad Macek and Pete Vankevich were running out of superlatives in their audio highlight-reel descriptions of amazing Dolphin team cohesion, until a winning margin was assured as the clock ticked toward zero.
The two teams travel to the mainland today (Feb. 11) to take on the Raiders in the tiny southeastern Halifax County hamlet of Hobgood. Having taken the 7 a.m. Swan Quarter ferry and returning via Manteo to the Hatteras Inlet ferry, it will be one of the longest bus/ferry journeys of the season.
Ocracoke Athletic Director Mary McKnight announced at the Feb. 7 game against Hatteras that the athletic directors agreed to cancel the conference tournament due to numerous weather-related postponements. With the Dolphin boys sitting firmly in first place, it’s doubtful any other conference team could upset Ocracoke to win the tournament title anyway.
Both island teams dominated the Saturday, Feb. 8, home make-up games against the Washington Montessori Eagles, with the Lady Dolphins holding a 34-0 halftime lead against a hapless Eagles team, which brought only five players across the Pamlico Sound.
Since the Lady Dolphins held an insurmountable lead at the half, referees declared “running clock” to speed up the game–the scoreboard clock never stops, except for time outs.
The Eagles traveled to Ocracoke with only five girls suited. When aggressive Lady Eagle point guard Lia Crandle drew her fifth personal foul midway in the third period, officials and the Ocracoke coaches agreed to let her stay in the game so that Montessori could keep five girls on the court. Ocracoke fans in the stands roared approval, a sign of good sportsmanship.
Even though Montessori overcame their first half shutout to play better in the second half, the Lady Dolphis still cruised to a 67-23 victory, notching their fourth win of the season.
Fanani, an acrobatic ball-handler and dribbler, led all Lady Dolphin scorers with a season-high 34 points, mostly from layups in the lane. Fanani also hit two 3-pointers from beyond the arc. Sophomore Essie O’Neal, normally a substitute back-court guard, scored 10 points, her season best.
The Lady Dolphins were down two players with injured Lily Pacanins and Jami Martinez on the bench with crutches.
Several players, all seniors, started for the first time against Montessori in Saturday’s final boys game.
Noah O’Neal electrified the Tank with three straight trademark swishes from beyond the arc, for nine quick points early in the first period.
Senior Uriel Guerrero Perez sank his second contest 3-pointer as time expired, giving the Dolphins an overwhelming 71-27 rout over outmatched Montessori, much to the delight of Dolphin fans in the stands.
Uriel (nickname:Ooudie) racked up a game and personal season high 20 points. Walker Sallee came off the bench to score a season-high nine points while Uriel’s younger brother, sophomore Mau, contributed eight points, including two crowd pleasing long-range 3-pointers.
The teams’ 2024-25 regular season concludes with Hobgood today (Feb. 11), the final home game against Mattamuskeet on Friday, Feb. 14, and against Hatteras Feb. 20 in Buxton.
If the Ocracoke boys can close out their season with three conference wins over Hobgood, Mattamuskeet and Hatteras in the week ahead, the Dolphins will cap their season with a first-ever perfect 10-0 record in conference, 13-3 overall and will head into the state playoffs which begin Feb. 25.
With their conference record unblemished thus far, the boys should grab home court advantage for at least the first round of the state 1A playoffs. With seven seniors poised to enter the playoffs again, Dolphins are optimistic they could advance past the second-round roadblock this year.
Last year, the boys also won the regular season league title, finishing 10-1 in conference, 19-6 overall. Two 2023 losses came at the Patuxent Invitational Tournament last December in Maryland, where Moore formerly coached.
In 2022-23, Ocracoke boys again won the regular season, 8-1, before falling to Bear Grass in the tournament final.
Minus senior Fanani, all of this season’s Lady Dolphins will return for the next. They are Stephanie Flores Esparza, Dora Rosalas Goff, Heidy Garcia Lora, Essie O’Neal, Ammy Ortiz-Flores, Lilly Pacanins, Denise Hernandez Rubio, Sofia Vergara.
With an experienced good shooting Ocracoke girls’ team returning next fall, Vankevich thinks “the Lady Dolphins have lots of potential for next year.”
