Eagles, Squadron battle in area tournament
Published 5:14 pm Thursday, February 4, 2010
Very rarely do two teams meet four different time in one season.
Goshen and Highland Home are about to break that norm.
For the four time in the 2009-10 season, the Eagles and the Flying Squadron will meet however this team a team’s season is on as the two will meet in the 2A Area 5 tournament today in Reeltown.
HHHS leads the season series 2-1, but it was the Eagles who won the last meeting, a 66-63 thriller at Goshen last month.
That was a win that GHS head coach Jonathan Deveridge said may give his team the advantage going into the game.
“[the win] was definitely a confidence booster for us,” he said.
“I was disappointed that we blew an 18-point lead, but we still didn’t give up and fought hard – which prepared us well for this situation.
“I think we have the edge mentally going into the game,” the coach added.
The Eagles finished with an overall record of 3-15 and 3-3 in area play, which is tied for second best with the flying Squadron.
“To be honest, it is both easy and stressful [preparing for HHHS],” Deveridge said. “Both these teams know everything there is to know about each other.”
With this being the case, Deveridge said he added a little twist to this week’s practices leading up to the big game.
“We have been focusing on us, working on situational stuff and not worrying about anything else,” he said. “We are making sure that we get better.”
Some of the examples the coach the coach talked about were different scenarios like how the team should react if it is down by six points with two minutes left.
The result, according to Deveridge has been “very upbeat.” “The guys have seemed to really enjoy this week of practice – and they are getting better,” he said.
The Eagles and the Flying Squadron will meet for the final time this season at 4:30 p.m. in Reeltown.