The Lions have traveled the scenic route
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
There are a couple ways to travel to Athens from Highland County. My preference is what most call the "scenic route."
This has a little bit of everything mixed into the two-hour or so journey. There is the initial excitement of exiting Hillsboro by taking Route 50, onward to Ross County. Once crossing county lines, the speed limit drops in Bainbridge, followed by a pick-up of speed and traffic in Chillicothe. Follow that by twisting and winding through Scioto, Vinton and Athens counties.
Finally, you end up at a crossroad, and once you turn left onto Route 32, that's what I consider the home stretch … 10 miles away from Ohio University … a straight stretch of road taking you to the final exit to the Convocation Center, where anything is possible. Turn to the right, and it sends you in a direction back to Highland County.
In a way, the "scenic route" mirrors the season of the Fairfield Lions. Their path to Athens has seen some different speeds, sights and sounds, as they head to play in the 2013 Southeast District final against South Webster on Saturday at 9:30 p.m.
Before the season tipped off, junior Blake Hildebrant said: "This year, our goals are a lot higher, and we should do good things. But to do that, we have to come in every day at practice and work as hard as we can … if we do that, we should be able to accomplish our goals."
Those goals could be achieved this Saturday, as they continue their "scenic route."
The route to the district final has seen its high points (scoring 92 points in a game), worrisome moments (Quentin Williams getting injured), dramatic finishes (defeating the McClain Tigers by one point at MHS), slippery slopes (a stretch of losing five of six), cruise control (winning four of five) … and more moments that have mapped the way to their current location of being the lone team in Highland County remaining on the basketball court.
Getting to the district finals always has a starting point, and for the Lions, it began with a regular season that kicked off with a road game, where they defeated Southeastern Richmond Dale by a 70-55 score.
This team has won the close ones and lost a few by a couple points, but their third game of the year showed the capability of the Lions' offense with their aforementioned 92-point effort.
Following that game, the Lions entered some curves to their season as they lost three in a row, but losing to Miami Trace, Fayetteville and Eastern Brown in consecutive games turned out to be nothing to be looked down upon, as MT and EB each made their respective district final games as well.
One of the more respectable parts of this route to the Convo came in a three-game stretch where the Lions outlasted McClain, Ripley and North Adams. In this stretch of games, it wasn't the offensive scoring that was most impressive, but it was their defense as they held their opponent to under 60 points in all three of those games.
Another win that the Lions were proud of was the gaining of bragging rights against Hillsboro, when without their leading scorer, the Lions still were able to gain a win by a 44-38 score as that win came on the heels of a league loss.
[[In-content Ad]]That win proved the Lions were able to overcome obstacles.
Currently, the Lions are on a three-game winning streak with a regular-season finale win over Manchester and the postseason wins against Whiteoak and Eastern Pike.
Rewind back to the preseason, where Williams said: "We have to play more team-oriented. We have to support everyone and not get down on one another. If we come together as a team, then anything is possible."
And Gage Montgomery said, "If we all continue to put in the hard work that we are capable of ... only we can stop ourselves."
That hard work and teamwork was never more evident than in the district semifinal game on Tuesday, especially after the Lions lost a 12-point lead. That didn't matter … what stood out the most were the final minutes in the fourth quarter.
Think about it … look at all that occurred in the final moments of that game.
Williams was fouled shooting a 3-pointer. He sank the first two, and as the third attempt bounced off the rim, there was Joey Wilson in the paint, not only grabbing a rebound, but putting the ball through the hoop to tie the score at 51 with 1:12.
The Lions regained possession of the ball on a charge called on the Eagles, and with 24.6 seconds left in regulation, Cody Bennett was fouled with the score still tied at 51.
Bennett missed the front end of the double-bonus trip to the line but put the Lions ahead for good by draining the ball through the hoop for a 52-51 advantage.
Following a time out by the Eagles, Hildebrant gained possession of the ball, diving onto the court and getting fouled while having possession with 12.5 left.
Hildebrant took full advantage of the opportunity by not only keeping the Eagles from scoring points, but converting both shots from the free-throw line, extending the Lions' lead.
That sequence of events just doesn't happen. What are the odds of getting the rebound and put back under that type of pressure, while the trigger that began it all was being fouled when shooting a 3-pointer while trailing by four points?
These Lions are focused on winning, and on Tuesday, they didn't seem to feel that pressure.
None of us know how much longer this journey will last (that is why they play the games), but I do know it won't come to an end without the Lions leaving all they have left on the court … mapping out their path together, playing as a team, because from what I've witnessed this postseason, this team doesn't quit.
Maybe Elijah Carmean said it best before the season: "We want to be good role models all the time, and we want to show the others how to carry themselves on and off the court."
I think it is safe to say, win or lose, Carmean and his teammates have proved to be good role models this season.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.
This has a little bit of everything mixed into the two-hour or so journey. There is the initial excitement of exiting Hillsboro by taking Route 50, onward to Ross County. Once crossing county lines, the speed limit drops in Bainbridge, followed by a pick-up of speed and traffic in Chillicothe. Follow that by twisting and winding through Scioto, Vinton and Athens counties.
Finally, you end up at a crossroad, and once you turn left onto Route 32, that's what I consider the home stretch … 10 miles away from Ohio University … a straight stretch of road taking you to the final exit to the Convocation Center, where anything is possible. Turn to the right, and it sends you in a direction back to Highland County.
In a way, the "scenic route" mirrors the season of the Fairfield Lions. Their path to Athens has seen some different speeds, sights and sounds, as they head to play in the 2013 Southeast District final against South Webster on Saturday at 9:30 p.m.
Before the season tipped off, junior Blake Hildebrant said: "This year, our goals are a lot higher, and we should do good things. But to do that, we have to come in every day at practice and work as hard as we can … if we do that, we should be able to accomplish our goals."
Those goals could be achieved this Saturday, as they continue their "scenic route."
The route to the district final has seen its high points (scoring 92 points in a game), worrisome moments (Quentin Williams getting injured), dramatic finishes (defeating the McClain Tigers by one point at MHS), slippery slopes (a stretch of losing five of six), cruise control (winning four of five) … and more moments that have mapped the way to their current location of being the lone team in Highland County remaining on the basketball court.
Getting to the district finals always has a starting point, and for the Lions, it began with a regular season that kicked off with a road game, where they defeated Southeastern Richmond Dale by a 70-55 score.
This team has won the close ones and lost a few by a couple points, but their third game of the year showed the capability of the Lions' offense with their aforementioned 92-point effort.
Following that game, the Lions entered some curves to their season as they lost three in a row, but losing to Miami Trace, Fayetteville and Eastern Brown in consecutive games turned out to be nothing to be looked down upon, as MT and EB each made their respective district final games as well.
One of the more respectable parts of this route to the Convo came in a three-game stretch where the Lions outlasted McClain, Ripley and North Adams. In this stretch of games, it wasn't the offensive scoring that was most impressive, but it was their defense as they held their opponent to under 60 points in all three of those games.
Another win that the Lions were proud of was the gaining of bragging rights against Hillsboro, when without their leading scorer, the Lions still were able to gain a win by a 44-38 score as that win came on the heels of a league loss.
[[In-content Ad]]That win proved the Lions were able to overcome obstacles.
Currently, the Lions are on a three-game winning streak with a regular-season finale win over Manchester and the postseason wins against Whiteoak and Eastern Pike.
Rewind back to the preseason, where Williams said: "We have to play more team-oriented. We have to support everyone and not get down on one another. If we come together as a team, then anything is possible."
And Gage Montgomery said, "If we all continue to put in the hard work that we are capable of ... only we can stop ourselves."
That hard work and teamwork was never more evident than in the district semifinal game on Tuesday, especially after the Lions lost a 12-point lead. That didn't matter … what stood out the most were the final minutes in the fourth quarter.
Think about it … look at all that occurred in the final moments of that game.
Williams was fouled shooting a 3-pointer. He sank the first two, and as the third attempt bounced off the rim, there was Joey Wilson in the paint, not only grabbing a rebound, but putting the ball through the hoop to tie the score at 51 with 1:12.
The Lions regained possession of the ball on a charge called on the Eagles, and with 24.6 seconds left in regulation, Cody Bennett was fouled with the score still tied at 51.
Bennett missed the front end of the double-bonus trip to the line but put the Lions ahead for good by draining the ball through the hoop for a 52-51 advantage.
Following a time out by the Eagles, Hildebrant gained possession of the ball, diving onto the court and getting fouled while having possession with 12.5 left.
Hildebrant took full advantage of the opportunity by not only keeping the Eagles from scoring points, but converting both shots from the free-throw line, extending the Lions' lead.
That sequence of events just doesn't happen. What are the odds of getting the rebound and put back under that type of pressure, while the trigger that began it all was being fouled when shooting a 3-pointer while trailing by four points?
These Lions are focused on winning, and on Tuesday, they didn't seem to feel that pressure.
None of us know how much longer this journey will last (that is why they play the games), but I do know it won't come to an end without the Lions leaving all they have left on the court … mapping out their path together, playing as a team, because from what I've witnessed this postseason, this team doesn't quit.
Maybe Elijah Carmean said it best before the season: "We want to be good role models all the time, and we want to show the others how to carry themselves on and off the court."
I think it is safe to say, win or lose, Carmean and his teammates have proved to be good role models this season.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press. He can be reached at sforsha@gmail.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter @hcpsportseditor.