Already plenty of snapshots for a local scrapbook
So much has been going on the past few weeks.
Football ended, cross country held a Nike-financed national championship, winter sports got under way.
Too much to cover in depth, and even a lot to go through an inch deep.
But, because I don’t know how to swim – literally – I’m just the guy to wade in. …
Tears are common on the sidelines after state playoff games, but usually on the losing side. Friday night, they flowed freely on the Lind-Ritzville sideline after the Broncos had raced back from a 21-0 deficit to defeat DeSales. The tears came from the joy of sending coach Mike Lynch out with a state championship win, in the last of the 312 high school games he coached.
Lynch made self-deprecating jokes, as is his way, but also produced genuine tears as well, especially as he hugged player after player. The improbable victory sent him out with 216, not bad for a guy who says he knows why Jim Sweeney’s Coug teams had such poor records: he played on them. No matter how much Lynch talks it down, he’s a success not because of his record, but because of the kids his program has produced. …
There were other tears as well, and those shed by Columbia (Hunters) coach Chuck Wyborney burned deep.
Wyborney, who also serves as principal of the K-12 school, teared up after the Lions’ B-8 championship loss to LaCrosse-Washtucna. But not because of the football game. That was insignificant when compared to the other loss the school has suffered last weekend, the loss of one of its own, 17-year-old David Mendoza, killed in a car crash on Friday.
The tears shed Saturday afternoon came from a man who obviously cares for his students, football players or not. He does his job because of the lives that job touches. We need more like he. …
The six state championship games served to cement a two-part belief I’ve held since the 1970s. No, not that In-n-Out makes the world’s best hamburgers and fries (though that one’s true, too), but that high school games are won by seniors and by the team that hits the hardest.
A senior-laden team that knocks the opponent’s turf shoes off is the best of both worlds. That’s the main reason Gonzaga Prep went so far into the State 4A playoffs, why East Valley will do even better next year and why Mead and Ferris will join the Knights as Greater Spokane League favorites next fall. …
Speaking of the GSL, it’s about time to lay off maligning the league. With Evergreen of Vancouver running past Skyline to win the 4A crown, it shows the best of the GSL can compete with, and is probably better than, the best teams in the rest of the state. It may be harder to prove next season, though, as the GSL and Big Nine will combine for just three 4A berths instead of four. And Pasco has its entire big, fast, punishing O-line back, Southridge returns 17 starters including 6-foot, 6-inch quarterback Jason Munns. …
One last note from the Gridiron Classic. Freeman fell victim to Royal (a senior-laden team that hit them “harder than anyone we played,” according to the Scotties’ Kevin Hatch), but it may have had the most versatile manager.
Wylie Patton, a sophomore, spent the Scotties championship game perilously perched next to the coaches in the press box, one foot on a chair, the other on the press table, videotaping the game. She looked so vulnerable that some West Side sports writers were making bets on when she would fall.
She never did. Nor did she fumble when called upon to sing the national anthem prior to the B-8 championship game. In fact, her performance was the best of the weekend. …
Hoops kicked off last week as well, with almost everyone playing non-league games, even the GSL, which usually gets started right away. The new schedule calls for five non-league games against GSL opponents before the new year, leaving room for two games against outside competition.
Many of the GSL teams, especially the girls, are using the non-league portion to face some of the best competition the state has to offer. The most impressive wins the GSL girls posted came from the two preseason favorites and both came last Friday.
University hosted Snohomish, ranked sixth in the Seattle Times’ preseason poll. The Titans were ranked No. 2 in the same poll, so their 68-56 win shouldn’t be much of a surprise. But it is in a way, because U-Hi lost Jami Bjorklund, bound for Gonzaga, early in the game because of a leg injury. Not many teams could lose a player of Bjorklund’s ability and still post a 12-point win over a team as talented as Snohomish.
Lewis and Clark traveled to Redmond, ranked ninth by the Times. A 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Tigers the 58-55 win in a hostile environment against an aggressive, talented team.
Such wins bode well for the GSL girls in postseason competition.