January 12, 2016 at 5:30 p.m.

Leave warm blankets behind

Rays of Insight

By RAY COONEY
President, editor and publisher

It’s one of those weeks.
Winter has finally arrived. We’ve got a few inches of snow on the ground. Temperatures have fallen to well below freezing.
School has been closed in Jay County for back-to-back days now.
It’s a time when many of us might much rather sit at home under a warm blanket at night with our favorite TV show, book or Netflix selection instead of even thinking about going out and dealing with the elements.
But it’s a big week athletically for the Patriots as they compete in the Allen County Athletic Conference boys and girls basketball tournament, with Jay County High School hosting opening-round games. (They were scheduled for tonight, but have been pushed back to Wednesday with the girls game against South Adams at 6 p.m. and the boys to follow.)
Semifinal games, which could also be played at JCHS depending on Wednesday’s results, are scheduled for Friday. And the championship contests will be Saturday at South Adams.
Other home events scheduled this week include South Adams swimming and wrestling Thursday, and Fort Recovery boys basketball on Friday and Saturday. The Jay County gymnastics team, which has just one home competition this year, is hosting a mock meet at 6 p.m. Thursday to give parents and other fans another chance to see the Patriots in action.
In the ACAC tournament, the Patriots are the favorites to win both the boys and girls championships.
The JCHS girls (13-3) have already proven themselves on the court, having beaten five conference opponents by an average of 20.8 points per game. The only team they have not played is Southern Wells, which has a 3-14 record.
The Patriot boys (5-4) have won both of their conference games thus far and are ranked as the top team in the group by both Jeff Sagarin and MaxPreps. (Bluffton is also undefeated against ACAC?teams at 3-0 and has an 8-2 record overall.)
So not only do we have a chance to see some tournament basketball, but there’s a good chance it’ll be winning basketball as well.
That was the case last season too, and still the second half of the 2015 ACAC girls basketball championship was a little depressing. Despite a close game — the Patriots trailed by two at the intermission before rallying for a 40-37 win over Leo — most of the crowd disappeared during halftime. During the second half, a mere three fans remained in the student section.
We can do better than that.
So as tempting as your couch may be this week, leave it behind and come out and support our athletes (as long as the roads make it safe to do so).
It’s these times when fans are likely to stay away that the support of those dedicated enough to show up stands out.
PORTLAND WEATHER

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