Photo by Raymond Link’20 | The Church competing at Talking Sticks Resort Arena for the League Final Game.

By Jacob Cross Mayhew ’20

Over the past three months, a new sports team has emerged on Brophy’s campus. Not the esports team, not archery nor quidditch, but several Brophy students’ YMCA recreation basketball league team, “The Church of Jaelen House”.

“One day me and Asher Josephs [’20] were talking about making a team in January of this year,” said team founder Dean Papadapolous ’20.

“We would play every week in the park after school on Fridays, and we decided to make a team and name it ‘The Church of Jaelen House’,” Papadapolous said.

Named after former Shadow Mountain and current ASU basketball player Jaelen House, the team has rapidly grown its fan base throughout the season.

Starting out with only five players and a few fans at each game, the team ended the season in the league finals, taking place at the Talking Stick Arena where the Phoenix Suns play. At the final game, more than 250 students, friends, and parents packed the lower stands.

Logan Abele ’20, a longtime member of the team said that “so many people come to our games because we just don’t care who comes or who doesn’t. We go, we just want to have a good time, we welcome anyone who comes. It’s a great way for our senior class to show support for one another.”

Papadapolous said, “We have people together who you’d never otherwise see hanging out while outside of school. People like the openness and the energy.”

Henry Barber ’20, the acting coach of the team, said that the fans are the ones who propelled the team to its victories.

Videos from playoff games feature crowds of people waving flags, yelling chants, saying prayers and making tons of noise.

The team lost the finals game by ten points, marking their only loss in the season. The next season begins in December, and the team expects to bring the same energy.