With another high school sports year, my second, firmly in the rear-view mirror, I thought I’d take a few minutes to recall a few of the memories I’ll carry forward with me. The first thing was the Warsaw Tigers’ memorable boys basketball season. I had the privilege of covering several road games and a home contest or two, and the thing that stood out to me is the way the Tigers played when the game was close. Mentally, Warsaw kept its poop in a group, and physically they were as grinding a high school basketball team as you’ll ever see. There wasn’t a lot of flash and style points to be had; the Tigers just won. I covered the Tigers on both the eastern and western edges of the state. Lake Central’s Gage Ray, who had hit something like three treys in five games to date, hit seven that night in December. Kyle Mangas tied the game with a late free throw, then hit four more in overtime to secure the 42-38 win. A couple of months later, Carroll had a two-point lead a minute into the fourth quarter, then held the ball for what seemed like a basketball eternity, trying to force Warsaw to foul. The Tigers didn’t take the bait, and after Jeremy David intercepted a pass, Mangas got a hoop-and-harm three-point play and Warsaw went on to win. In a two-loss season, the Tigers won five times, including once in the regional, in games that went overtime. Warsaw proved, time and again, defense still wins championships, and it isn’t necessary to score 80 points per game to win big. Another part of the Tiger season I’ll remember is the sold-out game at NorthWood. That Friday night had the Hoosier Hysteria that was promised to me when I moved here from Kansas. And it wasn’t the only occasion I saw a sellout. Tippecanoe Valley’s girls basketball at Rochester in January was so much fun once I got the car parked. I arrived just after the junior varsity game tipped off, and felt the excitement in the air. Both sides cheered when the public address announcer said no more people would be admitted to the game; it was an official sellout. Granted, the backyard brawl that is Valley-Rochester helps a great deal, and having both teams among the top-ranked teams in the state makes a difference, but to be honest I never thought I’d see a regular-season girls high school basketball game sell out. All those World Cup soccer games I’ve watched paid dividends last fall, when I covered soccer for the first time ever. Most of the other sports I played as a kid, if nothing else, so there’s a little bit of background and point of reference. But kids in the 1970s didn’t play as much soccer as they do today, so I had to learn a lot. Really, I still have a lot to learn, but I really enjoyed the experience, much more than I thought I would. This was also the coldest, rainiest baseball and softball season I’d ever experienced. I’d have enjoyed Easter Sunday a lot more if I’d have known that one day would be the only spring we’d get this year. There were a lot of games, golf matches and track meets contested with lousy weather, but it was rarely used as an excuse. There were occasions when rain or wind played a factor, and it was acknowledged in a matter-of-fact way, without using it as a crutch for a team’s performance. I could go on and on, but there’s only so much space in the paper. Let’s just say it was a lot of fun, and I’m glad there’s a bit of a break before the next seasons begin, and the next batch of breathless moments start.
