Some Kosciusko County history was made Saturday night, as for the first time ever all three schools located in the county advanced to boys regional basketball action.

This was made possible because of the advent of class basketball.

While class basketball is as divisive an issue as any, prior to 1998 all three county schools would not be able to compete at the regional.

Warsaw and Wawasee competed in the same single-class sectional, while Valley did until 1991.

The three county schools have a combined 49-19 record (a .720 winning percentage).

"This is good for Kosciusko County," said Warsaw head coach Doug Ogle. "It's kind of like how it's been for Elkhart County in football."

Ogle is refering to Elkhart County's dominance in football with perennial 2A power Jimtown, this year's 3A state champion NorthWood and an always-tough Concord squad.

"Just think if we were like Huntington North," joked Warsaw senior John-Wesley Maierle.

Huntington North is the lone high school in Huntington County.

With kids who go to church together and play against each other during the summer, the fact that all three schools are still playing isn't lost.

"I go to church with (Wawasee's) Andrew Mock," said Maierle. "And we talked about making it to the regional. And I told (Valley's David) Lash I wanted to see in Monday's paper that they had won."

Lash and his team delivered as they advanced to this weekend's Blackford Regional where if they beat Jay County they may get another shot at Wawasee.

"I think they're a good team and we'll have to play well but we definitely want another shot at them," said Valley's David Lash of the chance to play Wawasee.

All three teams played each other during the regular season. And as much county camaraderie there may be, winning is still the endgame.

This season Wawasee is 2-0 against county schools while Warsaw is 1-1 and Valley finished 0-2.

Speaking of records, Valley coach Bill Patrick is looking to move higher up the all-time wins list this weekend. Patrick is 623-214 in his 37-year coaching career. Patrick is two wins behind Lewis Cass' Basil Mawbey. Mawbey picked up his 625th win over Southwood in last Saturday 2A sectional final at Cass. If Patrick and his team can win the regional and Cass is knocked out by Taylor in the morning game of its regional, the two legendary coaches would be tied for fifth all-time in the state for wins.

- For Patrick and Valley to win the regional, the Vikings must first beat Jay County. Valley and Jay County have never played each other. In the other game at Blackford, Wawasee takes on Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran. Concordia and Wawasee also have never played each other. In the Marion Regional, Warsaw takes on Muncie Central, as the two storied programs clash for the first time.

- With several upsets in 3A, Wawasee is now the second-highest ranked team left from the final Associated Press 3A poll. The Warriors, ranked sixth, are only behind third-ranked Batesville.

- For those interested in trying to catch all of the Kosciusko County basketball action Saturday, Marion High School and Blackford High School are just 22.5 miles apart. From Marion, take Ind. 18 E and it will connect with Ind. 3. Take that south as Blackford High School is located directly off Ind. 3.

- Along with full coverage in Monday's edition of the Times-Union, the broadcast of Saturday morning's Warsaw-Muncie Central game at 10 a.m. can be heard on ESPN 1480 while the Valley-Jay County matchup can be heard on WRSW 107.3 at 10 a.m. with the Wawasee-Concordia game scheduled for noon.