By Gene Schallenberg
Staff Reporter
HUNTSVILLE — As the final seconds ticked off the clock in Saturday’s Region III championship game against Anahuac, the Bulldogs knew they just punched their ticket to that state tournament for the third year in a row.
While most teams wear grins from ear to ear as they hoist the region championship trophy and cut down the net, the Bulldogs, on the other hand, didn’t have the typical reaction one would expect.
Instead, a couple of players started to head back to the locker room immediately following the game before being reminded to remain on the court to pose for pictures with their latest trophy.
“Usually teams are out there celebrating,” Bulldogs senior post Kyren Watts said following practice Monday. “It’s not that we didn’t care, but I wasn’t even aware that we had to celebrate. We’ve been here before. I just thought it was a regular game. We’re definitely fortunate to get (to the state tournament) again, now we just have to win it.”
While getting through the regional playoffs and back to the state tournament was a major goal for the Bulldogs, it wasn’t the highest aspiration they set for themselves.
After playing in the state semifinals the past two years and the state title game last March, the Bulldogs have had their sights set on bringing back the one piece of hardware, a championship ring, that has eluded their grasp.
“We’ve already got two medals,” Watts said. “I don’t want another medal. I want a ring this time, something different.”
As the Dogs got back in their gym for practice Monday afternoon, they quickly went to work and treated it like any other practice they’ve had.
“Coming in today and seeing the guys work is kind of like right after Christmas and preparing for the first district game,” New Waverly head coach Bill Goffney said. “We hadn’t talked about regionals. You couldn’t tell they were preparing for the state tournament.
“They just came in focused and went right to work. We’ve got a blue-collar work ethic. The guys know what they have to do and what they have to improve on.”
Since before the season, the Bulldogs have had returning to the state tournament at the forefront of their goals. Needless to say, the expectations were high.
“If we would’ve lost to Kountze (in the regional quarterfinals) or in the region tournament, that would’ve been a big disappointment,” Watts added. “Anything short of Austin would’ve been a big disappointment. Our expectations are pretty high and we’re almost there. We just need two more games.”
For players that haven’t played with active roles on the previous state tournament teams, they have shared the burden of playing with and through those high expectations.
“When you’re the number one team in Texas, everybody’s gunning for you,” junior guard Dillian Scott said. “A lot of people thought we were going to slip up against Kountze and Arp and Anahuac. But look where we are.”
The Dogs will have just a couple of more practices before they make their way to Austin and try to advance to the state title game again.
While a heavy emphasis will be on defense, the seniors will spend the rest of the week trying to let the underclassmen know what playing at the Erwin Center will be like so that when Friday morning’s semifinal game rolls around, nervousness won’t be a problem.
“We just try to tell the younger guys to play just like it’s another practice,” Watts said. “Yeah, we’re preparing to play in the state tournament, but all you’ve got to do is go out and play basketball like you would be playing after school.”
