DESTINY FULFILLED: EP WINS FIRST LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP IN PROGRAM HISTORY
By DJ Yokley
HANOVERTON, OH- There are times over the past year, that we’ve all said: “2020, right?” and smiled or smirked and went on with our business. It’s been a year like we’ve never seen before. North is south, right is left, up is down (sorry, that’s from Frozen 2, but it still applies.) We’ve seen teams taken off the floor before state championship opportunities, seasons canceled in the spring with NO games being played, we’ve witnessed more schedule changes this season than wardrobe changes at a Beyonce concert. However, in the midst of all of that adversity, one component comes out in a way that had been declared years ago and had come to be expected from this season: The first-ever championship on the wall of East Palestine gymnasium for the Girls Basketball Program.
Thursday night, East Palestine fulfilled their destiny. While scrolling through my timeline, you could feel the pride on pictures, and well wishes on posts everywhere you looked:
However, to say it was as they drew it up, that’s another story.
East Palestine’s season has been plagued with stoppages, lack of practices, unorthodox training, and conditioning, playing teams that had 10 or more games than you had under your belt, and exorcising their own demons of battling through adversity when things became challenging-something this group had struggled with.
Thursday night, East Palestine flipped the script on all of that. They defied the odds.
The EOAC held a special meeting earlier this week to discuss the plan for championship play in the girl’s division. It had been discussed and decided that two different championships would come from this season per a report. A “first-half champion” and “overall champion” would be crowned due to circumstances with scheduling and the ability to (for the moment) make-up games in the conference. So, from this: Valley Christian would be crowned the “First-Half Champion” with a 6-1 record the first time through the schedule. However, the second part of this equation became a bit more opaque (*a word I never thought I’d remember, or use. Thanks Mrs. Boyles) Going into Thursday’s game, Columbiana and Valley had 3 losses on the season, United had a pair of L’s, as did East Palestine. So, if the Lady Eagles were to beat EP in their 22nd and final game of the year, they were the lone wolf at the top of the mountain. If East Palestine were to win, they would take the lead for the championship and win AT LEAST a share of the title with only Columbiana remaining on the schedule. Meaning: when Columbiana and East Palestine meet next week, if the Clippers win, there will be a 4-way tie for the EOAC Title, and if EP wins, they are the outright champion.
Got all that? Good.
The issue that I saw when this game was rescheduled was the timing. It’s always great to play meaningful games going into the tournament (cough, TOURNAMENT, cough) but this was a game that was thrust upon BOTH teams in 24 hours. So, all the scouting, all the preparation goes out the window and you just have to be who you are.
When these two teams got together on February 6th, it was United’s day. Coach Josh Sigler brought the fans in full force, the decibel level in that gym on the United side was something to behold- I hadn’t seen or heard anything like it since this time last year before the pandemic. It was intimidating. United executed a perfect game plan of making the five starters (who play the majority of minutes) for EP run as if they were late for practice. United wore out the legs of the Lady Bulldogs in that first matchup and EP had no legs left to shoot the basketball or use their signature defense to create offense. It just wasn’t there.
Fast forward to Round 2, The Eagles crowd showed up in force again- as it was a home game. However, somebody forgot to tell East Palestine that they didn’t have a chance. The Fans showed up as well for the big game, and even with limited capacity- they let their voices be heard. It was a sight to be seen: BOTH SIDES with raucous crowds, you remember those, right?
PHOTO CREDIT: LOOKING AT LORIS VIEW
Once the game started, United picked up right where they left off. Coach Sigler went 9-10 players deep in a rotation, constantly subbing in and out as if they were line changes in hockey. East Palestine could not build their conditioning up in less than a week to keep up with the changes, right? The Nest was jumping, United was cruising, going into the locker room at halftime up double digits (23-13) and to that point, the 3 seniors (Sherry, Rutledge, and Fristik) that start only had 5 of those points. After all, United closed the half on fire with a 12-0 run.
In the locker room, something happened. Something clicked. Almost as if East Palestine had seen enough. They had enough of others holding the pen on the story they wanted to write. They had enough of “body language” and the newspaper clippings (or lack thereof) and the “haters.” This team was different than years past, and they were out to prove it. There was no secret that keeping Joclyn Fristik from shooting was also a high priority for United. There was no hiding that Morgan Rutledge was under attack because she’s the engine, and if you break the spirit of Payton Sherry, the walls will crumble because she’s the leader.
Coach Franklin had something left. Call it what you want, call it magic, faith, fate, destiny, or anything along those lines- whatever you call it, just know he had it on his side, and he was digging back to the days of where these girls started- the hours they put in, the sacrifices they made to get to this moment. He presented his team with two options- embrace what they fought for most of their athletic lives, or watch another team celebrate and live the rest of their days blaming COVID and “what could have been?”
In the most incredible display of resiliency you may ever see in amateur sports, the Lady Bulldogs came out with swagger, they looked fresh and determined. It was like a scene from a Disney movie where a certain hockey team comes out of the locker room with a different jersey on and plays to superhuman levels. The Bulldogs created 16 turnovers in the second half with their speed and positioning. They didn’t put all the pressure on their go-to scorers. They passed the rock to the open player, which much of the time was Patience Champney (scoring 8 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter.)
That mix, along with the crowd’s regained energy put EP in a spot they’d been waiting for. With 45 ticks left on the clock, the ball was placed into Joclyn Fristik’s hands to bring it home. For those who don’t know, beyond not playing games, the cancellation of games more than likely cost Fristik the chance to become East Palestine’s first thousand point scorer in decades. So, with the ball in her hands, determination in her heart, and season on the line- Fristik delivered. She delivered in the biggest way for her family in attendance, and those who couldn’t be. For the adversity this team had faced- the struggles they’d been through, and the sacrifices that were made every day to get to this point.
As the time continued to fall off the clock, United tried as they may, but the bite of the Bulldogs was just too much at the end, they had executed THEIR plan to the highest level. Payton Sherry was masterful on the boards with 8 rebounds (5 offensive) and Patience Champney was phenomenal in the final quarter, splashing shot after shot. Morgan Rutledge commanded respect in the post and drilled 4/5 at the free-throw line to set the tone. Fristik came up as big as she ever has in the biggest moment of her career, and didn’t shy away from the spotlight- but embraced it as she should, and gave the Bulldogs their first-ever conference championship in program history.
However, when all is said and done- the unwavering leadership of Will Franklin must be commended. Coach Franklin has built this program from the ground up. He’s rebuilt this program in the middle of a pandemic and put this group of special young ladies in a position to know what hard work can do, and that average should never be an option.
While the Bulldogs now hold the pen to their story in the postseason, the pages may be blank-but there’s now a spot on the wall in East Palestine’s gymnasium that never will be again.
It was their time, it was their moment, it was their destiny.
Congratulations, Bulldogs.
FINAL:
East Palestine: 37
United: 36
EAST PALESTINE SCORING: Patience Champney 7-0-14, Payton Sherry 1-2-4, Mia Lee 3-0-6, Leila Martin 0-0-0m Joclyn Fristik 2-0-5, Morgan Rutledge 2-4-8. TEAM TOTALS: 15, 6-11: 37.
UNITED SCORING: Madison Kibler 1-2-4, Mickey Shasteen 3-0-6, Addy Blazer 0-0-0, Colby Burton 2-3-7, Grace Knight 1-0-2, Morgan Birceland 0-1-1, Destiny Hill 4-0-8, Taylor Cope 3-2-8. TEAM TOTALS: 14, 8-12: 36.
