MC completes first year of intramural caroling 

Since Mount Carmel’s inception as St. Cyril College in 1900, people have been clambering for a better way to celebrate the holidays while keeping that good ol’ competitive MC spirit pumping. This year, a solution was made to the delight of many: the school’s first ever intramural Christmas caroling competition. And boy, what a first season it was. Now, strap on your hopalong boots and hold on to your two front teeth, because there is a lot to talk about.

A total of eight teams signed up this year. Those teams include: The Silent Knights led by junior Kenny Groen, The Voices of the Caravan led by senior Matt Malloy, The Carmel Chorus led by sophomore Gavyn Williams, The Snow Ballers led by sophomore Nicholas Lodato, We Put the Harm In Harmony led by junior Claude Henderson, The Egg-Moggers led by senior Leonard Siegal, The Naughty List led by junior Adam Stanislawski, and Team 8 led by freshman James Weber. These eight all faced each other at least once before playoffs begin and a champion is crowned. Each match consisted of each team singing (or even dancing with) three holiday carols of their choice in front of the three judges: fine arts teacher Mr. KC Perlberg, theology teacher Mr. John Stimler, and principal Mr. Scott Tabernacki. Thirty points could be given to each song, with the maximum score for a round being ninety. Each judge could give up to ten points per song, Dancing With the Stars-style.

“These kids don’t know who they’re up against,” junior Claude Henderson said. “I’m about to go goofy with some Christmas Spirit and crush everyone.”

Before long, the regular season started. All eight teams sang their souls out like those souls themselves were on the line. Falsettos were hit, runs were run, and harmonies were hammering for weeks upon weeks. Once it ended, the only thing left on each team’s mind was the only thing that mattered: the playoffs.

Going into the playoffs, all eyes were on The Egg-Moggers. They dominated, to say the least, going 6-1 in the regular season, losing only to Team 8 by forfeit due to lack of people. Their unity and unmatched Christmas spirit seemed insurmountable. The Naughty List and The Voices of the Caravan were also strong contenders with good chemistry and solid voices all around. One dark horse that was worth looking out for was We Put the Harm in Harmony, however. They had either won their matches with utmost ease with the precision and tone of a professional choir or lost due to sounding “like pure hell” as Tabernacki describes it.

And so, the playoffs began. The Egg-Moggers won their first match against The Silent Knights with relative ease, winning 87-78. Next, the Naughty List won against The Carmel Chorus and We Put the Harm in Harmony won against The Snow Ballers. Now, for the biggest upset of the playoffs thus far, Team 8 won 77-75 over The Voices of the Caravan despite their sole win in the regular season.

“I mean, we didn’t do anything crazy,” Weber stated. “It just took some grit, elbow grease, and a little bit of magic to get the job done.”

Unfortunately, the Cinderella run ended there for Team 8, losing an association-low 45-83 to We Put the Harm in Harmony, continuing their run to the cup as the dark horse (or more festive, dark reindeer) of the league. On the other side of the bracket, The Egg-Moggers won their match with ease once again, winning 88-85 against the greatly formidable The Naughty List, despite making the series interesting. 

Now, the time for the finals had finally come. The entire student body came out rowdy and cheering all to watch one last showdown between the powerhouses in song: The Egg-Moggers and We Put the Harm in Harmony. Both quintets stepped up to the plate, leaving it all on the battlefield, willing to die for the championship. 

The first round began, and the Egg-Moggers got out to an early lead, finishing 28-25 after an incredible performance of Here Comes Santa Claus. Heading into the second round with a disadvantage and a desire for victory that burned brighter than a Yuletide log, WPtHIH stormed back with a commanding 29-24 victory, cementing themselves firmly in front. This was all thanks to a jaw-dropping arrangement of O Holy Night that stunned everyone with an awe-inspiring solo from Henderson.

“That boy can sing,” Stimler added.

Down by two and facing a fired up We Put the Harm in Harmony, the Egg-Moggers desperately needed something great to get them back in the game–some tactic, some strategy, some secret weapon even. Maybe, just maybe, they needed a Christmas miracle.

And a miracle came. For the first time all season from any team, the Egg-Moggers earned a perfect thirty on a performance. The entire audience was in complete and utter disbelief after their final rendition of “Jingle Bell Rock” rocked the entire caroling world and everything beyond that. And, with a final score of 82-81, this historic nail-biter of a series ended with the Egg-Moggers being crowned as the first champion ever of Mount Carmel Intramural Carolling. 

Overall, this first year for MC Caroling was extremely successful and a total joy for both those singing and those merely along for the ride. Songs were sung, tears were cried, losers were made fun of, and winners were crowned. Most importantly, however, Mount Carmel as a community grew closer together all through song.

“I just can’t wait for next year,” Groen adds, “In the meantime, I’ve gotta work hard this off-season to really get down Ariana Grande’s ‘Santa, Tell Me.’ They don’t wanna see us next year when we finally master that five part harmony.”