This time its very different and that was never more evident than tonight.

  Let’s go back to the classic moment in A League of Their Own when a drunken Tom Hanks shouts out are you crying 😢, there’s No Crying in Baseball.

  We are now in our fifth year here in Carroll County which if you look back you will see 👀 that our arrival timed out to the coronation of the Carroll County Girls Mini-Dynasty.

  No, I won’t babble on about the great book that was written about that group. I will simply acknowledge the fact that the torch 🔦 that had been passed from the team that Kris Richardson started and Marc Motley finished was absolutely a done deal by the time I arrived. I do love the fact that it turns out that it was Marion Harris that “discovered” Alyssa Ervin.

  Much has been made about the fact that my efforts for the School and the Community comes without me having what folks would call a Dog 🐕 in this Fight. None of my Children nor Grandchildren will attend School here.

  When you try to have everyone being treated as equal, it complicates things even a bit more. Let’s take this full circle now in regards to what took place tonight in the Gymnasium with the mounted Mascot on the Wall

  Everything about tonight’s two games was near picture 📷 perfect. The atmosphere, the opponent and the style of play on both ends. Amazingly to me anyway, is the fact that I manage to remain as Neutral as possible when I covering these games. It’s so much easier to write ✍ about things from that standpoint.

  Late in the third quarter of the Varsity game it became obvious to me that this group of Student Athletes makes it tougher for me because unlike the Ladies, I didn’t miss out on the period when this group developed.

  I started paying attention to Cody Reece when he first started trying to become a Basketball player. It has been an absolute pleasure to watch a young man grow from someone that had little if any court presence turn himself into the impressive young Man that played for Coach Barnes tonight. Couldn’t wait to give him a hug when he came out of the locker room.

Next on that same list is the duo of Ethan Richardson and Isaiah Easter. One of my favorite stories over the past few years was the one about these two upstanding young Men having to exist in the shadows of their Big Sisters Jewelry Boxes ( Ashton and Kaylee both have two State Championship Rings 💍).

  Both of the young Men have been around the game for most of their lives but they both faced a serious challenge. Easter has a Basketball 🏀 IQ that is through the roof but he was going to have to sculpture his body during the off season to play at the Varsity level. That next Summer, Easter did that to a point where someone could have made a video 📹 about it.

  Richardson matches Easter in regards to Basketball IQ but he needed to grow comfortable in being a team leader. Put a ✔✅✔✅ mark in that box 📦 and its been a treat to watch him develop in that regard.

Before the game tonight I mentioned to Russell Smoot that if we were going to beat Floyd at Floyd that Bryce needed a big game. The Buffaloes felt their best shot at ending the Carroll County dream run 🏃‍♂️ would be to knock Bryce off his game with ball hawking defense.

  Smoot accepted the challenge and responded with the Best 32 minutes that I have seen him play at CCHS. His composure outweighed his season, if not career high 35 points. Bryce led by example in the face of a team effort to keep it from happening.

My favorite part about watching Brayden Smoot grow up is his unconditional ❤ Love for his Brother. Not sure which one of them was actually born first but I know how much they mean to each other and it shows everytime they are on the court.

The Last Dance 💃 as Barnes likes to call this season as his six Seniors ride off into the Sunset 🌇 currently sits at 11-0 and now contains a road victory after falling behind by double digits.

  The six that I mentioned are surrounded by another Six that includes Landon Puckett and Trace Reavis. Both players are trying hard to give Barnes the best minutes possible each time he calls their number.

  Nobody has a Crystal 🔮 Ball that will tell us just how special this season will become. Patrick County and Galax will be the next contestants in let’s be the team to derail the CCHS Hype Train 🚂🚆.

  Tonight a well Coached, hard nosed experienced team tried and led 26-16 after the first quarter. It would have been an acceptable defeat but the Cavaliers did their best Lee Corso – NOT SO FAST.

  Could not be prouder nor happier for this Coaching Staff, the Parents and the Players !

Still to come – Gamer for the Carroll News and a Banquet recap !