If this sounds odd then odd I am: last season in the first game, Lincolnton put absolutely everything they had into that particular game. It had to be done for us to defeat a team that was clearly better than us, and then we only won by a point, in overtime!
I’ll always be grateful for the effort our guys put into that memorable game.
This time, I’m hoping our guys will go over to Shelby, and simply give a solid commendable effort. Hopefully we win, but if not, we come back and get ready for another opponent that will be as tough or nearly as tough, namely Cramer.
This is my opinion only, I believe Lincolnton’s preparation for that first game (last season) was nothing short of extreme and must have required great effort from players and staff, both.
After that game we lost decisively to Cramer
(if this sounds like an excuse, it isn’t meant to they just beat us).
The next two really good teams we faced were Hendersonville then Mountain Heritage winning each game by only a point.
When we got back around to Shelby, I feel like with our team knowing how hard it was to prepare for them and beat them in the first game, the thought of such preparation along with how tough their last 3 out of 5 games were was just too much; And I mention again, Shelby was better than us and completely focused on winning when they came back here for their second game (Semi-finals), no matter how prepared we were.
This season, and looking at the long haul, just have it in my head we might do better if we make a good effort to win and get ready for what’s to come. It’s great to have home playoff games but the wolves fare pretty good on the road. As far as byes, I worry about those, too. Nevertheless, got a lot of faith in our staff. They surely know better than me. I’ll be picking the Wolves by 7.
Side note: My friend Cheerduck (Hickory fan) once said to me “Not everything you say makes good sense,” and being the good man he is he said it to my face (wouldn’t have minded if he said it on here). I didn’t say anything, but thought to myself “Dear friend, if everything I say starts making sense, you might need to consult your family doctor.” Oh, I forgot, they aren’t doctors anymore, but Primary Care Provider GMAB.
