Sports Writer

The Goshen Junior High School basketball team recently completed a successful undefeated season during the month of November without a blemish on its resume.

Despite not being in the spotlight while the varsity football team was in the 2A State Playoffs last month, the Eagles finished with an 8-0 record under the leadership of first year head coach Major Lane.

Lane, who is also the head coach of the varsity team, took over the junior high program following a revolving door of coaching changes over the past few years.

Despite having to sacrifice extra time away from his other duties as assistant principal at Goshen High School, Lane said it was important to prepare the younger players for the future.

"It was a decision I made myself because I wanted

to take the challenge of developing my own young kids because when they get to the varsity level, the players will know our system," Lane said. "It was in the program’s best interest for me to coach the team."

Lane said it was a major advantage to be able to teach the same system to the junior high players so they can pick it up quickly on the next level.

"We used the same system so guys can come in and fit into what we’re doing," Lane said. "They grasped the system quickly because we explained it in detail and they are good students academically. So it wasn’t difficult for them to pick up on what we were doing."

During the regular season, Lane said the Eagles won several of their games in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. Among the opponents GHS defeated twice each this season included Luverne, Brantley, Highland Home and Banks.

Lane said the Eagles showed lots of poise and maturity for seventh, eighth and ninth graders throughout much of the season in several of their close victories.

"The players showed tremendous effort in each game and they performed with a certain type of passion of not wanting to get beaten," Lane said. "They showed excellent poise and determination which are excellent traits of a championship team. I think maturity and experience from participating helped them become outstanding players."

Among the players on this year’s Goshen Junior High School basketball team included guard Lonnie Maddox (9th grade), forward Tyrone Crawford (8th grade), guard Derrick Foster (8th grade), guard Davin Pelton

(7th grade), Kevin Siler (9th grade), forward Amos Wilcoxion (9th grade), guard Derrick Williams (8th grade), forward Earl McNeil (8th grade), guard Trez Woods (7th grade), guard Deangelo Powell (9th grade) and Josh McCullough (8th grade).

Lane , who never imagined the Eagles finishing without a loss when the season started, said the accomplishments by the junior high team proves the future is bright on the varsity level.

"I never envisioned us being 8-0 because several players played football and didn’t get a chance to practice," Lane said. "But they displayed some tremendous heart and did well

for us. Obviously they set the right mode because several of these players are now on the B-Team. This is something that’s attractive to the future of Goshen High School basketball from a coaches perspective."