Will Plays With the Varsity

Flight Coach H knew Saturday night’s varsity game was against a young, undermanned Atlanta Christian Academy team, so he invited the JV players to play. Seniors Ben Hoffer and Willis Norman didn’t even suit up. With 14 Flight players to work with, Coach H played seven in the 1st & 3rd quarter, and the other seven in the 2nd & 4th quarter. Even then the better players forsook shooting, instead working the ball to less experienced players.
In the first quarter varsity substitutes David and Walker led the way, playing with JV players Connor, Josh, Isaac, Max, and Joel. Connor continued to struggle from the outside, and the quarter ended with Flight leading 13 – 11.

DJ and Josiah then helped extend the lead to 13 at the half, though they often fed Will, Holt, Kevin, and Jonathan. Coach H made sure to give more playing time to the JV players who hadn’t gotten as much time in the last two competitive JV games…so Will only played about one full quarter in total.

Will had two nice steals…one in the frontcourt while guarding his man one on one. He had a rebound and swished his first foul shot of the game. Will made several nice passes, but had no assists because shots were missed. He only took one shot from the field.

David had 8 points in the third quarter, and Flight’s lead swelled to 18. The team ended up scoring 53 points, despite not making a single three-point shot.

The 1st and 3rd quarter team…

…Walker had 9 points, making both the three pointers he attempted…and 4 rebounds.

…David had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 steals and blocks.

…Connor only had 2 points, missing all 8 three-point attempts.

…Josh had a basket, rebound, and steal.

…Isaac had one basket and 2 boards.

…Max had 2 points, 3 rebounds, and a steal…all in the 3rd quarter.

…Joel added an assist.

The 2nd and 4th quarter team…

…Josiah had 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals.

…DJ had 7 points, 5 boards, and an assist.

…Kevin had 4 points and 6 rebounds.

…Jonathan had a rebound, assist, and steal, but missed all his shots.

…Holt had 3 points and 7 rebounds.

I sat with Connor’s dad Brett. He and Connor went to the Friday night game between the # 2 and # 3 teams in the state, local teams Wheeler and Centennial. Wheeler won easily. Brett noticed that Lefty Driesell was sitting in front of him, there to watch his grandson play. He got to talk to him, but Lefty wasn’t making a big deal of himself.

During halftime the varsity girls team played “Ring Around the Rosey” with the little team mascot Cassie. Middle-schoolers Charles and Spencer joined in. Living Science founders Lance and Penny Davis attended for the second week in a row.