By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
With mixed emotions I watched four - at least parts of four - games Thursday
evening at Calhoun Middle/High School.
On the one hand I wanted to watch my daughter Elizabeth cheer on the Calhoun
High School girls team against No. 6 Clay County.
I was not kidding myself
about Calhoun's chances of knocking off the Panthers so I went to the
Calhoun Middle School gymnasium to watch my next-door neighbor's son play
against Walton.
It turned out that game was the most exciting of the night - a 15-13
overtime win by the Red Devils.
And while Dr. Z - Zack Stump - didn't score any points in the game he did
have one key steal that stymied a late Walton attack, which sent the game
into overtime.
And in overtime Calhoun won.
Down the hall the Calhoun girls junior varsity team had lost a close 35-29
game despite the 14-point effort or Krista Moss, who may have played her
best game of the season.
I had not expected the Calhoun girls to beat No. 6 Clay so when the middle
school B game went into overtime I stayed to watch it.
After that I decided to stick around a little while longer because I wanted
a chance to see the Red Devils' eighth-grade phenom (Zack Moore) play. By
the way he is as good as advertised.
When I left that game is was already halftime at the Calhoun-Clay varsity
girl's game.
A look at the scoreboard told me all I needed to know: Clay 44,
Calhoun 8.
I sat down next to my wife and next-door-neighbor and said, "Ya know, I
think that 36-point deficit is a little too much to overcome."
But I stayed and watched the second half and it was a good game as the Red
Devils hung in there with Clay and were only outscored by one point -
22-21 - in the second half as Clay sent the Red Devils to a 66-29 loss,
their 16th loss in 17 games.
This came despite the 14-point, 10-rebound effort by Dani Church.
Ironically it was a game that saw Calhoun County take no free throws.
Nothing sinister . just kind of interesting.
The sad part of the game came when the Panthers, a very talented team, lost
starter Linsley Thompson to either a fractured ankle or an ankle sprain.
When she suffered her injury in the second half her team was up by 36
points. Tragic.
While all this was going on there was an injury in the CMS boys A game.
According to reports, one of the Calhoun players suffered a neck injury. The
player lay on the court for several minutes waiting for medical assistance
to arrive.
Sad and strange that things like that have to happen to youth who have
enough gumption to do something with themselves - such as coming up with the
discipline to participate in interscholastic sports.
On the one hand it was exciting.
On the other hand it was sad.
And my daughter and her cheerleader friends were in fine form.
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