COMMENTARY: NFHS fans: Don’t jump just yet

March 11, 2007

By Nate Beutel The Niagara Gazette Sun Mar 11, 2007, 10:47 PM EDT

After stewing over Niagara Falls’ loss to Sweet Home in the Sectional finals the past week or so, there’s times I’m still stunned.

But then again, there’s times when I think to myself — maybe the Falls just wasn’t that good.

To be honest I think the answer lies somewhere in between.

When I break down a matchup, especially in high school athletics, I like to look at three things: 1) talent, 2) experience and 3) heart.

So let’s take a look at what transpired last Saturday at the Buffalo State Sports Arena in regards to those three things.

I think it’s obvious that the Wolverines have the advantage in talent with McDonald’s all-American Jonny Flynn and Division I prospect Rahshon Tabb on their roster.

The second factor, experience, I think is where the tides begin to turn believe it or not.

As much as Flynn and Tabb usually save some of their best performances for the big lights at BSC, let’s not forget that the other three guys on the floor most of the time — Kelvin Agee, Mike Crumpton and Eric Spanbauer — had never played on this stage before. In fact, Agee and Crumpton had never played at the arena before the Wolverines’ semifinal win over Jamestown. They hadn’t even played varsity hoops before this season.

Conversely, Sweet Home’s top six players — Terrell Rankin, Glenroy Carr, Eric Schnirel, Steven Roberts, Ali Ramadan and Earl Jackson — each were on the team and saw action in some capacity during the Panthers’ run to the Class A state finals a year ago. They’re all seniors, too.

Thirdly I like to talk about heart, sweat, tears, emotion, desire and guts. In no way am I putting down Niagara Falls — anyone that knows me will attest that I think the world of the players, coaches, fans and their program as a whole — but I just believe Sweet Home had a little something extra on this night.

Eric Schnirel, who I absolutely love as a player, did the best job any defender did all season on Flynn. Roberts was his usual sneaky-self and Josh Parker came off the bench and out of nowhere really to nail a few daggers. Sure, Carr had a team-high 22 points, but it was the energy, emotion and vibes of these three that was the overall difference in my eyes.

All this being said, maybe this loss isn’t as bad a thing as everyone in the Cataract City is making it out to be.

It’s really unfortunate Flynn’s career along with fellow seniors Ricardo Rose, Will Patterson and E.J. Fuller had come to an end, but surely the rest of the Wolverines’ roster and a good number of players up from a JV team that went 19-1 won’t forget the taste this loss left in their mouths.

So, while a lot of things have to fall into place, how does a starting lineup of Tabb, Agee, Crumpton, Spanbauer and Dennis Crittenden — a three-year varsity player — sound for the 2007-08 season.

To me, it sounds like another run at Glens Falls.

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COMMENTARY: NFHS fans: Don’t jump just yet After stewing over Niagara Falls’ loss to Sweet Home in the Sectional finals the past week or so, there’s times I’m still stunned.

But then again, there’s times when I think to myself — maybe the Falls just wasn’t that good.
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