Blow-out Defeat

Will's Flight JV team was blown out this afternoon 84 - 39 by the North Cobb Christian School. For most of the first three quarters Coach H kept his best players on the court, but Cobb also played their top six, employing a full cout press the entire time. Under tough conditions Will played perhaps his best game, helping handle the ball when DJ and Connor were covered. He made several good passes and once leaped up to block a pass, forcing a turnover. He also fell to the floor and wrestled a loose ball away from a Cobb player. His good play kept him on the court for most of the rest of the game.

When I arrived at the North Cobb gym I saw a familiar face. Jim, the head groundskeeper at Mt. Paran baseball, was the ticket-taker. He had seen Will earlier. During the baseball season when I had told Jim that Will was missing a baseball game for a basketball retreat, he deemed the excuse as worthy. The Flight JV girls led in the third quarter 22 - 1. Abby was running up and down the court, getting more playing time than usual with the big lead. With eight JV girls dressed out, the best three were on the bench. Cobb made several more foul shots in the fourth quarter as well as one basket, but Flight won something like 25 - 9.

Jim said that all four Flight teams had won that day: the middle-school boys and girls, the 6th-grade boys, and now the girls. Little Charles said he scored 13, Abby's brother Spencer sheepishly admitted to "only" scoring four. As the JV boys teams warmed up, a ball bounced into the stands. I picked it up and tossed it back to the small long-haired player wthout thought. Moments later my friend Jim came up the steps. His son Clay used to play baseball with Will...he was the long-haired boy I hadn't recognized.

The North Cobb Christian School is located in northern Kennesaw and has great facilities, including a nice football field. Banners hung from the gym rafters (I noticed championships in basketball, soccer, tennis, and track dating back to 2000). Another banner touted the school mission statement, which included knowing God’s Word and going out in the world with it.

Jonathan, Will's long-time Living Science classmate, was tapped as the fifth starter, but was soon taken out as it became apparent the game would be tough. Under constant defensive pressure Flight did a good job working the ball downcourt, but it seemed like two of every three possessions resulted in a turnover. Connor and DJ made several clutch shots to keep the game within reach. DJ closed out the first-quarter scoring with a long three-pointer to keep the deficit to 5 points.

Cobb extended the lead in the second-quarter, first to 10 points, then to 15. Will was next off the bench and played a majority of the quarter. Flight battled, not quite letting the game get out of hand. Later Clay said at halftime in the locker-room the young coach "railed" on Cobb’s defense of DJ, ultimately assigning his best defender to cover him in the third quarter. It didn't slow down DJ much, as he most often drove to the basket, drawing many fouls.

The aggressive Cobb starters would act shocked if an obvious foul was called on them. To their credit they did run several plays that resulted in easy layups, but that was mostly after the will of the Flight team had long been broken. Well into the third quarter Cobb's lead reached 30 points. Still they pressed, fast-breaked, and pumped three-pointers. Had the shoe been on the other foot Coach H would've never run up the score, instead running the clock and emptying his bench. Merifully he emptied the Flight bench, leaving Will and Connor on the court with Joel, Max, and Jonathan.

As the fourth quarter began the pressing and three-pointers continued. Joel showed some flustration while committing a pushing foul. Only when the lead reached 40 points with 4 minutes remaining in the game did the Cobb coach insert Clay, his eighth player. It took him another minute to put in his ninth. Clay took a couple of shots. I'd wished he made his first shot, to show the coach he should've been put in earlier. Will finished the game with as many minutes played as anyone. After the game both teams prayed together at centercourt.

Both the Flight varsity girls and boys were blown out as well. As defending state champs, Cherokee may have tough games coming up, and needed to practice their press under game conditions. There are numerous reasons why players got more or less playing time…injuries, conditioning, discipline, missed practices, not being ready to play, sickness, etc. I recognize this is high school sports as opposed to a rec league. The young coach could’ve been caught up in the game. But as a first-time visitor to North Cobb Christian School, I left with the impression their Mission Statement banner was just for show.