How did JC get here? (03/23/06)

Think back two months. What did you think of the Jay County Patriots?

At that point they were 9-2. They were getting votes in The Associated Press state poll. They were off to the best start in school history.

There was hope for a great year. Some fans were talking about running the table for an 18-2 finish.

Then the problems started cropping up. Injuries and illnesses kept Tyler Rigby, John Retter and Randy Evans out of several games each. Other players were dinged up as well and not playing at full strength.

From Jan. 27 through Feb. 9 the Patriots lost three of five games by a total of five points. They blew a 10-point, fourth quarter lead against Anderson Highland, turned the ball over on a play in the closing seconds against Fort Recovery and gave up a 7-0 fourth-quarter run to Delta — all losses.

They won the next two games, but then fell 50-41 at Norwell Feb. 21 in what most would agree was the their worst performance of the year.

The optimism had faded.

“I think with any team you just have stretches where you either have bad luck, sickness, injuries, you have some sort of adversity,” said JCHS coach Craig Teagle. “I can’t think of a season I’ve coached where you didn’t have adversity of some sort.

“The thing about adversity is it either makes you stronger and better or it overwhelms you.”

Even after a sectional-opening beat down of Elwood, Teagle said his team still wasn’t back to playing as well as it had at the beginning of the year. The possibilities for his team were wide-ranging: It could go out as early as sectional Friday, or, if things came back together, it could make a deep tournament run.

The Tipton Blue Devils, Jay County’s sectional semifinal opponent, hadn’t been much of a challenge the first time around. And the Patriots were in control in the fourth quarter of the sectional game, but Tipton would not go away without a fight.

Blue Devil point guard Dejan Nedelkovski hit three 3-pointers and scored his team’s final 11 points, leaving the game tied at 44. After Scott “Scotter” Bruggeman missed a pair of tries at the end of regulation, the season came down to a four-minute overtime.

Given the chance again, Bruggeman came up big. He scored all eight of Jay County’s overtime points, including the game-winning shot with three seconds left.

That victory was the spark the Patriots needed.

“At the end, making plays to win a game gave them the belief,” said Teagle. “If you remember that stretch where we struggled, we didn’t make plays at the end of the game. Once we got into the Tipton game and we were able to make those big plays that we needed, either offensively or defensively, then I think just collectively as a group we knew every possesion there was the capability of having a positive outcome.”

The win over Tipton almost seems like ancient history now, even though the team is less than three weeks removed from the dramatic overtime triumph.

Jay County went on to win its third sectional in four seasons, topping Mississinewa 54-49 a night later. Seven days later the Patriots brought home the first regional title in school history by beating Tippecanoe Valley and No. 6 Wawasee in the same day.

And Saturday they topped seventh-ranked Plymouth for the semi-state title at Lafayette Jefferson and the team’s first state berth.

“In the summer we thought this could be a special group,” said Teagle, whose squad will battle No. 7 New Castle at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for the Class 3A state title Saturday at 6 p.m. “We knew we didn’t have any superstars, but we’d seen that they just battle every possession. When you battle every possession you never know what is going to happen, but from a coaching standpoint it’s a delight ... because they’re giving you everything they’ve got.”

“We truly thought we could compete for a regional championship. That was on our goal sheet from day one ... and I don’t put that on there every year.”

Did he think they’d be competing in the state finals?

“No, but you always dream of it,” Teagle said. “Every coach, every player, when they’re growing up dreams of being a state champion. And once you win a regional championship, which was a goal, you’re only two games away ...”[[In-content Ad]]