Victory for SCS
February 29, 2008 on 7:10 pm | In Local |
It’s great to watch a well fought basketball game at the lower levels. Yesterday I went to HVRHS with both my kids to see Salisbury play Cornwall in the finals of the Region One elementary schools boys basketball tournament.
I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t recall the score, but from the photo at right of SCS’s Parker Rawlings holding aloft the trophy, it should be evident that Salisbury Central won (I think it was 45-34, give or take …).
The place was packed and it actually appeared that tiny Cornwall had a few more fans than Salisbury. It was an exciting and very physical game. I was struck not only by how hard the kids were playing but by how well coached the SCS team was. Head Coach Anthony O’Neil and his capable assistant Joe Kremer obviously know a lot about the game and both their knowledge and enthusiasm were infectious.
But try as I might to focus on that game, I couldn’t help but remember my own battle for the Region One championship in that very gym 37 years ago. My God, am I that old?
I was in my 8th-grade year at Kent Center School. With a season record of something like 2-7, we did not have a particularly strong team. Indeed we even suffered the indignity of losing to Cornwall, which at that time had a gym about the size of my bedroom and was a perennial doormat.
But once the tournament started, we stomped all over everyone, eventually advancing to the finals against North Canaan. I think they beat us by about 10 points, but what a thrill it was to play in that high school gymnasium, with those hulking bleachers and legions of adoring fans.
The legendary Ed Epstein was our coach. Ed was quite possibly the best math teacher I ever had, but alas he was promoted a few years later to principal, a job which he held for 25 years until retiring in 2002. I say “alas” because too often the only way for gifted teachers to advance themselves is to move into administration and farther away from the very thing that made them brilliant in the first place: inspiring kids to learn. But I digress …
I recall that in that season, I became one of the leading career scorers in KCS history. I was nipping at the heels of the great Bob Stoddard, who had graduated the year before and was a much better player than I could ever hope to be. I wonder what ever happened to him. At any rate, I’m glad my career path brought me back to the Northwest Corner to live, work and raise my children.
So as the buzzer rang to signal the end of yesterday’s game, I thought I could hear Ed’s voice exhorting us back to the bench to cheer North Canaan for a job well done. Then I heard Ed congratulate me on my seven consecutive free throws and those two steals.
Then my son told me it was time to go home and my trip through the Time Tunnel was over …
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Nice story, Terry. Enjoyed that.
Comment by Terrence McCarthy — February 29, 2008 #
One of your better, Terry! Watch out for that time tunnel!
Comment by Geoff Brown — February 29, 2008 #
Hi Terry!
Thanks for being there for the big victory. Just wanted to let you know that Joe Lamb was the Assistant Coach all season for SCS and John Kelly and Michael Tabor were the Captains for SCS. Parker Rawlings is an 8th grader who earned the right to pick up the trophy because his season was cut short due to a fractured hand - after cheering his team on most of the season he actually returned for the final game! We were thankful to have him! It was a tough road for SCS due to ongoing illnesses and injuries - I believe the final game was the ONLY game that we actually had all our team members able to play.
But really . . . thank you for being there to take notice of our young kids working hard.
Comment by Dana — March 1, 2008 #
Dana,
Thanks for that clarification. At the end of the game, Craig Toensing called for the captains of the two teams to present the trophies and, naturally, I assumed Parker was the chief since Craig gave it to him first. I have fixed the wrong identification in bold above.
As you noted, a remarkable achievement for SCS with all their injuries. Wonder what their season would have been like if they had stayed healthy.
Comment by Terry — March 1, 2008 #
Congrats to the SCS basketball team!
Great story Terry!
Just to set the record straight, while I’ve heard Ed Epstein was an excellent math teacher, I’ve also heard that the peter principle did not diminish the quality of his many contributions to Kent Center School. He was also a superior principal.
Comment by Mark — March 1, 2008 #
makes me want to recall my high school sports memories when our varsity b-ball team went to the PA State playoffs in 1996.
We were undefeated in our league and district and had to play Lower Marion (i think) in the semis… The team that Kobe Bryant played for as a high school senior. Kobe kicked out butts. Not the whole team… Just Kobe. Kobe was the team.
But it was pretty cool to make it that far.
Comment by fred — March 1, 2008 #
Great story..
Reminds me when I was co-captain for Don Humeston’s baskeball team in the old Legion
Basketball Leage in Sharon…
We only won one game all year..but in the playoffs we went on a winning streak and wound up winning the championship!!
Thanks for the memories Terry..and congratulations to both of the teams
Comment by Marshall Miles — March 1, 2008 #
Dana,
One more clarification: I just checked with the coach, Anthony O’Niel, who told me Parker did not “earn the right to pick up the trophy because his season was cut short due to a fractured hand,” but that Parker was actually selected for the honor because of his exemplary leadership and work ethic.
Comment by Terry — March 5, 2008 #