Panther Challenge Redskins
The Battle of the Bridge is one of the biggest sporting events each school year. Coming in second would probably be the basketball game against the enemy from across the bridge. Loudon and Lenoir City have been rivals for eighty-eight years. This year the basketball game was at Loudon. Loudon’s student section was all painted up, including one of Lenoir City’s own students, Jordan Herron. This act was treason in the eyes of the Lenoir City students. Our student section shouted angry chants at him all game.
Girl’s Varsity had an outstanding game. They had great teamwork, perfect passes, and powerful shots. One of the toughest opponents on the Loudon team was Aspen Jordan, who is 6’1”. Michaela McFalls got into foul trouble by trying to out rebound her. They were fighting each other for the ball all game. Amberlee Zeller was a crucial part of this game. She had countless points and was always running for rebounds. Ashlyn Zeller was another vital player. She had multiple steals and lay-ups. Because she was so quick, she was down the floor before the other team could catch up. The game was coming to a close, and Loudon was up by five points. We hit our free-throws causing the Panthers to be down by three. Muncy called a timeout and told the girls to foul. This would give the Panthers a chance of getting the ball back. With 7 seconds on the clock, the ball goes out of bounds. It is the Panther’s ball, but only 3.7 seconds remains. Marissa Ballinger hustles down the court and does her best to feed the ball to Jordan Brewster at the three point line, but it is too late. The clock runs out leaving the Panthers in defeat.
Boy’s Varsity also had a strong game. Two seconds in, however, Matt Hamilton knocks over a water cooler, spilling water onto the court. The game is postponed until it could be cleaned off of the court. Embarrassed, Hamilton took his seat with a burning red face. The spill was cleaned up and off the boys went. Rashawn Tallent had many points. He had a great game all around. He did well rebounding and stealing the ball. Trey Courtney did his best to rebound, but the sound of the referee whistle was constant. The referees called anything and everything they thought that they saw. Because of the terrible calls, the boys had trouble keeping the scoreboard close. Fouls were called repeatedly, resulting in free throws that the Redskins just did not miss. Soon, the Panthers caught fire and began closing the gap between the scoreboard. As the game ended, the score was closer and closer until the Panthers were only down by three points. Dylan Brewster was left with the ball. He had three options: pass, shoot a three-pointer, or drive in and get an and-one. He chose to drive, and unfortunately, there was no foul or shot. Lenoir City lost by three points in Girl’s and Boy’s Varsity.