Shark Attack
New Shadow Creek having hoops success
Ashton Jeanlewis
Jan 26, 2018, 11:45 am
Shadow Creek may not have much varsity experience, but the Sharks are hungry. Vype
Originally appeared on Vype.com
It’s not often a new high school is born. A chance to build school spirit and create a culture is rare.
In Alvin ISD, that rare opportunity has come along and its name is the Shadow Creek Sharks – a school just nine miles away from the powerhouse, now-rival Manvel High School.
Shadow Creek has long been rumored to be a school that could not only rival but also surpass the athletic excellence in every sport that Manvel has garnered. Granted, the football teams’ first varsity season is just around the corner in late 2017, the basketball team has made some major waves early in the season.
Shadow Creek boy’s basketball finished its inaugural varsity season 3-9 in district play just a year ago. Ironically, you could say they were in a shark tank of 23-5A last season with four of the state’s Top 25 teams in Elkins, Texas City, Manvel and state finalist Marshall Buffs.
For a team with no varsity experience or established culture, it’s safe to say it was an uphill battle. Even Tyron Henry, Shadow Creek senior guard, would agree.
“Last year, we were a young team that just got thrown in the fire and wasn’t ready. It was a tough year,” Henry said. “Now, we have learned from the little things from last year, which can help us win games.”
With only three district wins in 2017, the playoffs weren’t in the cards for the young Sharks, but last season gave signs of the things to come.
A 53-50 win over rival and state- ranked Manvel for the first time in any sport was a great consolation prize for a rough first season.
Shadow Creek started the 2017- 2018 season with a bang, running through some of the best teams in not only the city, but also the state. They defeated Manvel and Marshall – last year’s regional finalist in Region 3 of the UIL Playoffs.
With 10 wins already this season, the Sharks have set the foundation for their best varsity season yet.
According to Henry, he and his teammates don’t expect to just start the season hot, but have bigger goals in mind.
“We expect to keep doing what we’re doing and keep winning games to make it to the playoffs,” Henry said.
The Sharks are ready for the weekly battle inside 23-5A, and are not led by one prolific player, but as a unit.
The ability of skilled guards Elijah Brand and Henry, add the range of Akin Newton and combine the experiences of last year’s inaugural season, District 23-5A could turn into shark bait.
This article appears in the January Issue of VYPE Magazine. Pick up your copy at any one of our locations today!
What looked like a minor blip after an emotional series win in Los Angeles has turned into something more concerning for the Houston Astros.
Swept at home by a Guardians team that came in riding a 10-game losing streak, the Astros were left looking exposed. Not exhausted, as injuries, underperformance, and questionable decision-making converged to hand Houston one of its most frustrating series losses of the year.
Depth finally runs dry
It would be easy to point to a “Dodger hangover” as the culprit, the emotional peak of an 18-1 win at Chavez Ravine followed by a mental lull. But that’s not the story here.
Houston’s energy was still evident, especially in the first two games of the series, where the offense scored five or more runs each time. Including those, the Astros had reached that mark in eight of their last 10 games heading into Wednesday’s finale.
But scoring isn’t everything, not when a lineup held together by duct tape and desperation is missing Christian Walker and Jake Meyers and getting critical at-bats from Cooper Hummel, Zack Short, and other journeymen.
The lack of depth finally showed. The Astros, for three days, looked more like a Triple-A squad with Jose Altuve and a couple big-league regulars sprinkled in.
Cracks in the pitching core
And the thing that had been keeping this team afloat, elite pitching, finally buckled.
Hunter Brown and Josh Hader, both dominant all season, finally cracked. Brown gave up six runs in six innings, raising his pristine 1.82 ERA to 2.21. Hader wasn’t spared either, coughing up a game-losing grand slam in extra innings that inflated his ERA from 1.80 to 2.38 in one night.
But the struggles weren’t isolated. Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort, and Steven Okert each gave up runs at critical moments. The bullpen’s collective fade could not have come at a worse time for a team already walking a tightrope.
Injury handling under fire
Houston’s injury management is also drawing heat, and rightfully so. Jake Meyers, who had been nursing a calf strain, started Wednesday’s finale. He didn’t even make it through one pitch before aggravating the injury and needing to be helped off the field.
No imaging before playing him. No cautionary rest despite the All-Star break looming. Just a rushed return in a banged-up lineup, and it backfired immediately.
Second-guessing has turned to outright criticism of the Astros’ medical staff, as fans and analysts alike wonder whether these mounting injuries are being made worse by how the club is handling them.
Pressure mounts on Dana Brown
All eyes now turn to Astros GM Dana Brown. The Astros are limping into the break with no clear reinforcements on the immediate horizon. Only Chas McCormick is currently rehabbing in Sugar Land. Everyone else? Still sidelined.
Brown will need to act — and soon.
At a minimum, calling up top prospect Brice Matthews makes sense. He’s been mashing in Triple-A (.283/.400/.476, 10 HR, .876 OPS) and could play second base while Jose Altuve shifts to left field more regularly. With Mauricio Dubón stretched thin between shortstop and center, injecting Matthews’ upside into the infield is a logical step.
*Editor's note: The Astros must be listening, Matthews was called up Thursday afternoon!
The Astros are calling up Brice Matthews, their top prospect on @MLBPipeline
via @brianmctaggart pic.twitter.com/K91cGKkcx6
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 10, 2025
There’s also trade chatter, most notably about Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, but excitement has been tepid. His numbers don’t jump off the page, but compared to who the Astros are fielding now, Mullins would be a clear upgrade and a much-needed big-league presence.
A final test before the break
Before the All-Star reset, Houston gets one last chance to stabilize the ship, and it comes in the form of a rivalry series against the Texas Rangers. The Astros will send their top trio — Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez, and Hunter Brown — to the mound for a three-game set that will test their resolve, their health, and perhaps their postseason aspirations.
The Silver Boot is up for grabs. So is momentum. And maybe, clarity on just how far this version of the Astros can go.
There's so much more to discuss! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
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