by Mimi Rowland

Jonah Moore has done it again! Morrisville’s Second Annual Alumni Basketball Event was a great success, with even more people in attendance this year than last.

The event was developed and organized by Jonah. His concept was to have the alumni of the Morrisville High School’s basketball program return to the school to reminisce and play ball together. “It’s a Morrisville cultural thing,” he says.

He wants to highlight the pride of the Bulldogs. “It’s a small town with big hearts.”

The proceeds from the event go towards Morrisville’s sports program, to be spent on whatever the program may need. Last year, between admission and raffle tickets, $750 was donated to the school. Jonah hopes to collect even more this year.

New to this year’s lineup was the women’s game. About 30 alumni from the classes of 1997 to 2012 came back to run the court for a good cause.

“We had a lot of word-of-mouth buzz,” said Jonah.

Amanda (Sutcliffe) Goodwin from the class of ’98 came out for the game even though she couldn’t play due to medical issues. “It’s fun to see old teammates,” she said.

She found out about the event on Facebook and then got in touch with Jonah. She played in college at Gwynnedd-Mercy and on a team at the Newtown Athletic Club, but hasn’t played in two years since she had her son. “It’s for a great cause,” she noted.

Also in attendance were current girls’ basketball coach Dave Howell, serving as coach for the women’s blue team, and former player Lisa Colon coaching for gold.

Athletic Director John Hubiak came out for the games as well. During his 25 years in the Morrisville School District, Hubiak was the basketball coach from 1998 to 2002. “It’s nice to see everyone back,” he said. “The younger players can see the people (whose names are) on the banner and put faces with the names,” such as 1000-Point Club member Bree Skitsko.

Some of the oldest players were Patience Danquah and Jasmine Frank who graduated in 1997, and younger 2012 graduates Katherine Brown and Shalay Johnson also came to play.

After the women’s game came the men’s event, with some players returning from last year and some new ones showing up for the first time.

John Smith, class of ’99, said that he heard about the game from friends on Facebook. “It’s my first time back for an event,” said Smith.

He still hangs out with people from Morrisville, even though college took him to Millersville University where he played football.

The sense of community was tangible throughout the night, and the players’ loyalty to their school was evident in their support of this outstanding event.

PHOTO CAPS: 1. All the participants of the Alumni event posed for a picture between games.

2. Dave Howell (left) coached the women’s blue team.