Stories serve as a vessel through which humans convey emotions.
The stories told about the team tend to have an amused, hokey, feel-good note: it’s been 104 years since the Solomon Boy’s Basketball team made it to the state tournament.
Isn’t that something?
The last time they made it, Woodrow Wilson was president.
The team is led by a first-year coach who is only 23 years-old!
The adjective being thrown around to describe the team is “Cinderella”--as if any of it were a fairytale.
But it’s not a fairytale–it’s life, it’s basketball, and it’s about gaining respect for a small school whose staff and community have worked tirelessly for the last decade to turn its image around.
The thing the Solomon Boy’s Basketball team hasn’t always been garnering with these stories is the respect of being seen as a viable contender for a 1A state championship.
But last night’s game against the Norwich Eagles may have changed all that.
The seventh ranked Gorillas knocked the second seeded Eagles off their perch, ending their season with a last second bucket by senior Dylan Hynes.
Hynes was plagued by foul trouble most of the game, removing a key to the Gorilla’s rebounding prowess. He had to be benched for most of the third quarter after he picked up his fourth foul early in the second half. Without Hynes’s defensive presence, the team also began to flounder and at one point was down by double digits to the Eagles. In order to overcome this deficit, the team made some defensive decisions that turned the game’s tide.
“We started pressing at half court,” said senior Caden Acosta. “They obviously struggled. Sometimes to turn a game around all you need is a few defensive stops.”
The Gorillas slowly chipped away at the Eagle’s lead, and Hynes’s last shot was the nail on the proverbial basketball coffin for Norwich. A befuddled looking Eagles front-court brought the ball up with four seconds on the clock, but their off-kilter attempt at a shot missed, and Norwich was unable to tie the game. The Gorillas catapulted themselves into the respectable position of continuing into the path toward a state championship, the final score 45-43.
Tournament time means a whirlwind turnaround in basketball and the Gorillas have little time to prepare for their next game where they face off against the Montezuma-South Gray Rebels. South Gray is a familiar opponent for head coach Kyler Stein.
“I played against them and Coach Applegate all four years in high school,” Stein said. “He is one of the greatest coaches in the history of Kansas basketball. I look for us to keep the momentum rolling Friday night at 6:00. We will need to play a very complete ball game.”
Stein notes that Solomon will have to play great defense, run the floor in transition, and be very efficient on offense because the two teams match up well.
“They like to play an extended zone and play fast, which is very similar to us,” Stein said. “[For] every athlete they have we have one very similar. I think this game could be a back and forth battle till the very end.”
For assistant coach Zach Douglas, the key to preparing for South Gray will involve the team maintaining focus and treating the game as they would any other.
“We will use Thursday to enjoy part of the day and stay relaxed and take the evening to practice and have a team dinner,” Douglas said. “When we wake up Friday it will be business as usual and we look forward to the next challenge ahead of us.”
The Solomon Gorillas have proven that they can play respectable basketball. While this is evident and a source of pride for any school, community, and coaching staff, what truly matters is why they play.
“The kids are coming together at just the right time and playing so well for each other right now,” Douglas said.
Additional reporting by Caden Acosta
Editing by Caden Acosta and Dawson Duryea
Photo by Jodi Howard, courtesy of the Solomon High School Yearbook staff.