P-Town Pride displayed at state Class D semifinals
While Detroit Rogers may have earned its third straight Class D state championship Saturday, there’s one thing the Rangers’ efforts on the court couldn’t get them at Michigan State’s Breslin Center in East Lansing: the support of an entire region. Attendance at the late semifinal game last Thursday when Posen tried to knock off number one-rated Detroit Rogers was listed at 6,952. Most of them were there to cheer for Posen.
It didn’t matter if they were from Rogers City or Alpena, basketball fans from across northeast Michigan were in East Lansing to follow the Vikings on their magical run through the 2005 playoffs. Bellaire fans, who had seen their team win its semifinal game earlier in the evening, cheered for Posen, so the boys actually had support from across northern Michigan. Senior Matt Ponik said after the game he heard the people from Bellaire rooting for them during the contest.
EVEN FAIRVIEW showed its support, making a sign and placing it in front of their school building, so the players and coaches could see it on their way to the finals. Assistant coach Steve Hentkowski said they didn’t miss it when the team went by the school on their charter bus. Ponik said, “The fans have behind us all year. It’s been great. We couldn’t ask for better fans.” “It’s incredible they way they’ve traveled with us,” said senior Aaron Hincka. “Posen and Rogers City must have been deserted. It’s been great and they’ve treated us well.” At Monday’s Posen Consolidated Schools Board of Education meeting a resolution was unanimously passed commending the team for its perfect regular season record of 20-0, district and regional trophies, and the school’s first-ever state quarterfinal victory.
ATHLETIC DIRECTOR CLIFF KELLY said, “It was a very gratifying time of my life, I must say, even though at times it was extremely hectic.” Kelly said a lot went into making everything run smoothly. “It took a concerted effort on the part of the coaches, first of all, the basketball team, the central office and my secretary,” said Kelly. “We needed to, within 48 hours, get tickets from Lansing for the final game and then distribute them to the people in the area.” There were a lot of forms that needed to be faxed to the Michigan High School Athletic Association and with everyone’s help Kelly said everything got in on time. “Believe me, we had questions,” Kelly said. “This was my first time with (basketball) finals.” The support from within Posen was “extremely helpful and unbelievable at times,” Kelly said.
There was monetary support from various businesses and individuals which helped pay for the charter buses and for the players to stay an extra night in East Lansing for the Class D championship game.
“THE COACHING STAFF and the players appreciated the efforts of everyone, especially the community, the graduates and others who came forth and said ‘what can we do besides attend the games,’ ” said Kelly. The Posen AD has been spending part of this week and will spend part of his Easter break catching up with work that was set-aside during the tournament run. “It’s not that I’m complaining, it’s that I wanted to do a good job with the various tournaments we were involved i
Even though junior Richie Kroll will have a shot at returning next year, he realizes the experience of playing in the state finals is something he’ll be able to tell his kids about. Kroll, with other members of the Viking squad, soaked up one last moment on the floor of the Breslin Center floor after they showered following the game. They all laid on their backs in the center circle and quietly talked and looked up at the giant scoreboard high above.
“To be able to be a part of this team has been great,” said Kroll. “It was a great run, a great year, with some great teammates.” And nobody wanted to let go of that feeling.