One school will present two dramatically different challenges tonight as the boys and girls basketball teams each play Taft High School on the same night, in the same place. Tonight, Leyden will host its first Pack the Place at West Leyden High School.
Girls varsity plays first at 6 p.m. with the boys game following at 7:30 p.m.

“Pack the Place is an opportunity for both teams to come together to show school spirit and support each other against a mutual opponent,” stated Leyden’s starting lineup Antonio Lemon, a new addition to the team. Lemon did not play basketball last year but quickly earned a starting spot. He’s looking forward to the game against Taft.

“I’m pretty confident we can beat them tonight because we beat them both times this summer; we just have have to stop their two best players: 1 and 3.” Taft has a tough point guard on their squad who scored 30 on powerhouse Evanston, while Leyden has returning PG Robert Wisniewski, who is an outstanding passer with an ability to find the open man on the court.

Leyden also has added a lot of height this year to their roster. JoQuil Meeks, Devinn Wood, and DeAndre Williams all stand over 6’3” helping with rebounding, and Leyden might have to rely on second chance points to get the win tonight.
However, don’t underestimate Leyden’s perimeter players either. Along with Wisniewski, Michael Wilms, Adrian Guerrero, and Lemon are all scoring threats.

The girls basketball team has started off the season with a 3-2 record. Last year, they went 8-12 but beat Taft 45-49 for one of those wins.
One of the biggest challenges the girls will face tonight is the fact that they will be facing a brand new team, with new players. Although they’ve played this team on various occasions in the past and won, they will be facing a new challenge. Knowing this, it hasn’t broken the girls confidence or given them any doubt that they will win tonight. “I’m really confident that we will win,” starter Giana Grande said.

Both boys and girls teams have watched film on Taft’s teams during practices so they feel prepared and since both Leyden’s and Taft’s school mascot is an eagle, so this game is for bragging rights over who can represent it best.