In The Battle Of Eagles Vs. Eagles, Apollo Wins

March is when the madness begins. It just so happens high school players get the first crack at all the glory. I find it ironic my alma mater, Ohio County High School has the same mascot as Apollo High School: Eagles. The Ohio Co. Eagles came into this year's 3rd Region tournament with an impressive 29-2 record, their best since the team made it all the way to the KY State championship game in 1969. That '69 squad lost to Louisville St. Xavier in the finals. My Dad was there as a spectator, it was his Senior year. In my Senior year (1994), the Lady Eagles went to state and made it all the way to the quarterfinals. In other words, Ohio Co. has a fair tradition of March success. So why couldn't this boys' team make the big trip to Lexington happen? I can't answer that question. Maybe we were too confident, maybe we felt the pressure of being ranked in the top 10 in the state, nevertheless, the other Eagles were not intimidated and they simply outplayed the OC Eagles.

I arrived at the Owensboro Sportscenter with about five minutes left in the first quarter, and the OC Eagles had a double-digit lead. I went up into the upper level to find my sister and my brother-in-law. Did I mention the Sportscenter becomes a sweltering sauna when tournament time rolls around? It was hot, and the unseasonable weather seemed to make just a little bit worse. I almost always find myself getting the latest gossip and scanning the crowd of familiar faces before I actually start watching the game. Big mistake! I look up and we were starting to lose our lead and we did lose it, OC was trailing 29-26 at the half. Ohio County gained a 6 point lead in the 3rd, but Apollo wouldn't go away. They kept chipping away at the lead in the 4th, and with 24 seconds left, OC lead by one, 51-50. It would all fall on the free throw line and OC's Trevor Lewis missed both. Apollo junior Hunter Bivin, who dominated inside all night, pushed into the lane again and made a field goal and gave the other Eagles the lead, 52-51 with about 7 seconds left.

Ohio County came down and tried a three, but the horn sounded before the ball reached the rim and it was off anyway. The Apollo Eagles, who had arrived with a .500 record (14-14), had accomplished the unthinkable, they took down the best team in the region and they silenced the massive crowd of OC fans, me included. I was speechless.

As I was leaving, a good friend of mine said to me, "I just wanted to stay in Lexington!" Better luck next year and congratulations to the Apollo Eagles and the Daviess Co. Panthers, both teams will play in the semi-finals on Saturday afternoon. Daviess Co. will play the second favorite team in the tournament, Muhlenberg Co., then Apollo with take on Meade Co. at the Sportscenter.