Patriots deserve pat on the back

One loss does not define you.
Yes, the Jay County High School boys basketball team’s loss Friday to Homestead was a tough one to swallow. It was difficult to see a group of athletes that talented go out in their first tournament game.
But the Patriots should be remembered not for falling short against a strong Homestead team in a game that came down to the wire.
They should be remembered for an outstanding regular season that saw them rack up more wins than any team in school history, tie the record for wins set by the 2005-06 Class 3A state runner-up squad and tie the record for longest winning streak set by the 2007-08 team.
This group of seniors should be remembered for helping lead the team to 55 wins over the course of the last three seasons and setting a new standard for competing at the Class 4A level.
Competing in Class 4A, especially as one of the smallest schools in the group, is just significantly more difficult than Class 3A.
In six seasons competing in Class 3A JCHS won 10 sectional titles — four in boys basketball, three in girls basketball, two in volleyball and one in baseball. Jay County is now in its 10th season competing in Class 4A and has won just two sectional championships.
The Patriot boys basketball team had a 1-7 tournament record in Class 4A prior to 2011. In the last three seasons it went 4-2 in sectional play and won its first Class 4A title.
The only other Class 4A sectional championship in any sport came from the volleyball team in 1997.
Coach Craig Teagle has said several times that this group is the best he has had in his 15 years at JCHS. I’ve been at The Commercial Review for 12 years, and agree that this is the best Patriot team I have ever seen.
Brock McFarland is the best scorer in my time here. He established himself as such in becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer this season, finishing with 1,177 points.
Only one other player in Jay County history has broken the 1,000-point mark.
The Patriots have had some strong point guards through the years, but I’ve never seen anyone pass the ball like Kegan Comer. He has incredible court vision and the ability to deliver the ball to his teammates in a position to score.
Scott Schwieterman is the best big man I’ve seen play for Jay County. He obliterated the single-season record for field goal percentage (62.2) this year, shooting 71 percent.
Tyler Back, Jacob Schlosser and Trey Teagle would all have been stars on less talented teams, but played their roles perfectly for the Patriots this season.
Jay County and Homestead went into the tournament evenly matched. Teagle knew that. Spartans coach Chris Johnson did as well. And so did the Patriot players.
The teams had met during the summer, with Homestead edging the Patriots in sudden-death overtime in the championship game of the Purdue Shootout.
Their tournament game came down to the wire as well, and it took a 3-pointer in the final seconds for the Spartans to sneak by Jay County again.
It was a tough loss, but it came against a quality opponent.
After McFarland’s desperation 3-pointer missed at the buzzer on Friday night, his brother, Chase, stepped onto the court to give him a pat on the back. That’s what every player on this year’s team deserves from all of us.
They deserve to know how much they’ve meant to us over the course of the last four years. They deserve to know how much fun we’ve had watching them throughout their careers. They deserve to know how much we appreciate all of their hard work.
And, most importantly, they deserve to know that we’re proud of them.
Our wins and losses do not define us. Our reaction to those wins and losses does.
A strong fan base not only cheers for its teams when they are at their best, but supports them when they are down.
The Patriots were heartbroken after Friday’s loss. It’s our job to lift them back up.[[In-content Ad]]