Drager Receives A Final Trip To State

For the final time in the 33-year love affair between coach John Drager and Mullan, the town may shut down for four days and follow the Tigers to the A-4 boys state tournament.

At the beginning of the season, Drager said that if his team made it to state, the city would roll up the carpet, lock all the doors and head south. The Tigers have a chance to find out if that prediction will come true after beating Falls Christian 56-38 Saturday in the consolation final of the A-4 District I tournament.

“I’ve been at Mullan 33 years and coached some great kids, but the fan support has been just as special,” Drager said. “We’ll all head down there and have a good time.”

Mullan (17-6) will face North Gem, the District V runner-up, at 2:15 p.m. (PST) Wednesday at Bishop Kelly High School.

The Tigers were in control throughout Saturday’s game, holding Ben Larson of the Eagles to 12 points. Larson had scored 38 the night before, but Mullan’s Dan Fritz held him scoreless in the first half.

“They focused on Ben tonight, but we had open outside shots that didn’t fall,” Falls Christian coach Wesley Davis said.

Mullan’s Al Sisk scored 21 points and when he was taken out of the game with 4:30 remaining, he had singlehandedly outscored Falls Christian (10-12). The Eagles had 20 points at the time. The Tigers got a 19-point effort from Chris Angle.

“This could have been Drager’s last game, so we had to win,” Sisk said.

Mullan had extra incentive to win because Drager had promised his players he would take them to Las Vegas if they made it to state in his final season. After being beaten soundly Friday by Lakeside, Drager wasn’t certain he would be gambling any time soon.

“We went from an all-time low last night to a real good effort tonight,” Drager said. “We’ve planned on the trip to Vegas for a while, and now that we’ve made it to state we definitely plan on going.”

Mullan 56, Falls Christian 38

Mullan 11 14 14 15 - 56

Falls Christian 6 4 8 20 - 38

Mullan - Fritz 0, Chavez 6, Angle 19, Sisk 21, Morris 1, Greenfield 9.

Falls Christian - Baker 0, Staggs 2, Bligh 7, Burns 2, Walker 7, Wild 8, Larson 12.