Going undefeated for an entire season is a Herculean feat for any team in any sport. For the current members of the St. Dominic’s eighth-grade boys basketball team, going undefeated for an entire season is a routine.

This current group of Knicks went 10-0 when they were in fifth grade. As sixth graders, they went 11-0. Last year, the team went 11-0 again. Now getting ready to wind up their careers at St. Dominic’s in Benicia, the Knicks are 8-0 with only two games remaining.

“I like being undefeated,” said forward Nathan Olmes. “We’re all just having a blast.”

“We don’t want to lose in our last year,” added Mathew McDaniels.

Coach Luis Morales, along with coaches Shedrick McDaniels and Marc Rose, have been with the team since fifth grade and have guided the Knicks to a 40-0 record thus far.

“When I started out with them, I was just trying to teach them basketball,” Morales said. “But then you could see that they had a lot of skills. They have a great heart. They always come out and give 100 percent.”

Morales’s son – Luis Morales Jr. – is one of the leading scorers on the team and can play almost any position. The younger Morales has great ball-handling skills and loves to drive the lane on his way to the hoop.

Guard Charlie Rose also possesses excellent ball-handling skills and is a great passer and defender. Rose also is one of the team’s best 3-point shooters.

“Our rivals would love to give us our first loss so we always have to play our best,” Rose said. “If we lost, we’d feel terrible.”

“There’s a lot of pressure,” added forward Nolan Fey. “Everyone’s always reminding us that we’ve never lost and that helps keep us motivated.”

“It’s really fun knowing all the other teams are after you,” Mathew McDaniels said.

The younger McDaniels is often paired with Rose in the backcourt and helps quarterback the team. Like all of the Knicks’ guards, McDaniels can handle the ball, shoot, pass and play defense.

“They understand their roles really well and they can get the ball to our big guys underneath,” coach Morales said of his guards. “They don’t have to score to make us better.”

“We just have great chemistry,” Rose said. “We all know our assignments and work as a team.”

Julian Argonza is another solid guard who plays club basketball with the local Renegades. Olmes and Fey usually start in the post. Both are aggressive rebounders on both ends of the floor.

“We’ve been together for four years and we know how each other plays,” Olmes said. “We understand what each other can do.”

“Our secret is how hard we work and the friendships that we have,” Fey said. “We really work well together.”

“We’ve been playing with each other for such a long time that we all know our roles,” McDaniels added.

Andrew Maichel is a solid post player with good rebounding and defensive skills. Patrick Dold is a wing who can penetrate to the basket or pull up and nail a 3-pointer. Wing Kirk Ruble is good at shooting and passing and may be the most vocal player on the squad. Fellow wing Alex Pappas has great speed and can handle or pass the ball.

Other key post players for the Knicks include Dominic Chin and Craig Guila, who are each aggressive in the paint.

“No one cares who takes the credit,” coach Morales said of the team’s success. “All they care about is playing hard for each other. I think this has been the main reason why we are still undefeated.”

The Knicks take on Notre Dame in Vacaville on Wednesday. A win there would set up a shot at a fourth straight undefeated season in the regular-season finale Jan. 30 against Holy Spirit in Fairfield.

Even if the Knicks accomplish their goal of another perfect season, the team will feel a bit empty knowing it’s likely their final season together as a group.

“It’ll be really sad when the season’s over,” Olmes said. “We’ll probably all go to different high schools like De La Salle or Justin-Siena or St. Pat’s. But I’m sure we’ll stay in touch and stick together.”