Rivalries battle head to head for the game
Heather Hasty
Valley Press
The Plains High gym was packed with patrons Jan. 16 for the game of the year. Long time rivals Thompson Falls Blue Hawks and the Plains Horsemen went head to head both hoping to take that rival pride with them when they walked off the court.
Trent Thompson was the top scoring player for the Horsemen with 17 points, 15 of which were rebounds. He wasn’t the only one making points though, Mitch Thompson, Ben Holland and Dillon Fryxell all made 13 baskets.
The game was a struggle though, Thompson Falls brought their A-game with them and weren’t about the let the Horsemen take a win. In the end despite the crowds cheering and encouragement the Horsemen took a loss, their first of the season, leaving them 8-1.
“We didn’t play very well,” John Revier, head coach, said, “I give a lot of credit to Thompson Falls, they played really well.”
Revier said that he felt that the physical effort that the team made was great it was the mentality that was the issue. He said that this added to the lack of concentration when running their sets.
“We just weren’t mentally ready,” Revier said, “but Thompson was and that’s why it’s a good rivalry game.”
Revier said mainly he thought that the kids were just excited and tight which had them missing a lot that they don’t normally.
They did go on the beat Mission on Jan 17 though, in a game that according to Revier all of but players scored and everybody saw time.
This week they will be working on blocking out and rebounding to prepare for Hot Springs and mentally get the players to where they need to be.
“They beat us last year on their floor,” Revier said, “So we are not taking them lightly at all. Kevin does a good job. It is tough for the kids though because we co-op football with them so half the year they are teammates and the other half they are rivals.”
Revier is also looking forward to the Superior game, who is leading they’re league right now.
“We’ll just try to be ready for them,” Revier said, “They know how to win so we definitely need to be ready for them.”