|
Tri-Village
senior was on the wrong end of this elbow Saturday during
the
Lady Patriots game with Jefferson. Linkous said it was just a
scratch afterwards
but the pain was evident as she left the floor in
tears (below).
CNO Photos by Doug Randolph
|
|
It was brutal
in the end
By George Starks
BROOKVILLE- Was it intentional or was it an accident?
It was obvious that the ladies from Jefferson were getting a little
aggravated Saturday as Tri-Village was putting a pounding on them.
Maybe it was not intentional and it happened in the heat of the battle.
Who knows but it was obvious every time a Broncos player went to the
foul line for foul shots, the ball was being bounced so hard to the
floor, I’m surprised the air was able to stay in the ball. The
frustration of a bad season was coming out and it wasn’t getting any
better every time the Patriots scored. It was obvious that the anger
was building up and before it was all said and done, someone was going
to pay, one way or the other.
Granted, Jefferson had not won a game all year and it was certain they
weren’t going to win this one but what is a coach to do, tell his kids
to roll over and not score anymore? I don’t think so.
When Tri-Village’s Kayla Linkous took a shot to the face off an elbow
from Jefferson’s Derekka Allen, that may have been the blow that popped
the cork that released the steam.
My question is, if Linkous would have been hurt and not been able to
play this week against Bethel, what then?
Patriots coach Brad Grey has said off and on all season that his team
is not a one trick pony but if Linkous is removed from the line-up,
even just for a game, how much of an affect does that have on this
team? I really think the Patriots could beat Bethel without Linkous and
could possibly win the sectional without her.
But what happens after that in the districts?
The Patriots have a good shot at getting to Columbus with this team but
in the district final, they could get one of three teams out of the
Monroe sectional, Cincinnati Country Day, Miami Valley or Seven Hills.
That trip to Columbus goes through the district game.
These are the top three seeds in that sectional, all with very good
records. If Linkous were not able to go in Tipp City, how bad are the
Patriots hurt? Teah Richards, Krystal Falknor, Echo Brown, Lexi Bruner
and the rest of the bunch are good enough to beat most teams out there.
This is something no one in Darke County wants to know though. Maybe
this is the difference between the country kids and the city kids.
The country kids take their whipping and go home. The city kids take
their whipping and take someone else with them before they go home.
Maybe that’s the difference between a team that come from the west side
of Darke County and the west side of Dayton.
No matter, there’s no place for this silliness. The possible loss of an
eye is no laughing matter.
Over the course of my career, I’ve seen a lot of games get brutal,
especially the ones that were close and there was something on the
line. In this case, Jefferson had nothing riding on this game. It was
the 21st loss of the season.
That’s it!
The Broncos would not have been much of a match for the Patriots junior
varsity team or maybe even the junior high teams for that matter. I
hear the seventh grade girl’s team at T-V is very good.
Even with that thought in mind, there’s no reason to take out a year’s
worth of frustration on any team or player.
|
|
|
|
