Reznet

Eagles’ potential yet to be discovered

            Venturing
on the backroads from Ronan to Hot Springs, over dirt roads, around 90 degree
corners, and feeling lost in outer space was all worth it to watch the Two
Eagle River School Eagles take on Hot Springs last Friday.

            Upon
arriving to Hot Springs and seeing that only seven players were suited up and
the remaining members of the team, including two seniors and top scorers, Arley
Grandchamp and Matt Hewankorn, cheering in the bleachers due to a one-game
suspension had cast doubts that the game would be any good. However, the game
was a battle from the start.

            The
Eagles, led by leading scorer in the 14-C district, Kyle Stensgar, seemed to be
doing everything right and even getting lucky when they didn’t. Hot Springs,
uncomfortable in transition on offense and defense threw the ball out of
bounds, got the ball stolen, or fouled an Eagle player. The Eagles, meanwhile,
played as though they were scared to breathe on a Hot Springs player. With only
seven players and two never playing in a varsity game before that night, the
Eagles couldn’t afford to be in foul trouble.

            Things
seemed to be going okay for the Eagles in the first half, as the halftime score
read 35-24 in favor of the Eagles. In the third quarter, Hot Springs came out
with a fight. Halfway through the quarter, Hot Springs scored 13 points, while
the Eagles could only tally five points.

            Clinging
to a three-point lead, the Eagles went to the ground as they dove for loose
balls and hustled on defense to get steals leading to lay-ups. Jerod Tanner,
Kyle Stensgar, James Maestas, and Nate Drennan all scored in a furious
two-minute long 9-0 run that put the Eagles ahead, 49-37.

            Answering
back, Hot Springs went on a 6-0 rally to end the third quarter with the score
reading, 49-43. At the quarter’s end, the fouls were pretty much the same as
the Eagles had four team fouls to Hot Springs’ three. That all changed in the
fourth quarter and it wasn’t a good thing for the Eagles.

            Two
minutes into the fourth, the Eagles’ lead dwindled to three points. A minute
later and four fouls later, the Eagles were down by one point as the score read
50-49. Another minute later, the Eagles were down by two and had yet to score
in the fourth. At this point in the quarter, the Eagles fouled more than they
had scored. The Eagles’ team fouls total read nine, while Hot Springs was
whistled for one foul so far in the quarter.

            It
was shortly after this that Kyle Stensgar leapt through the air, slapped the
backboard, then came down and rolled his ankle in an attempt to block an
opponent’s shot. He would play no more minutes in this game, as he was carried
off the court.

            At
this point, the Eagles could have given up. The refs seemed to, all of a
sudden, hate the Eagles, their leading scorer was out for the rest of the game,
and other players who would have normally carried the scoring load were in the
bleachers wearing street clothes. However, not once did these boys put their
heads down or get mad at each other.

            After
Stensgar was carried off the court, the Eagles took possession of the ball.
Freshman, Jerod Tanner, drove to the hoop with authority and made a lay-up.
Instead of dwelling on all the obstacles guarding the Eagles’ path to success,
the players all simply seemed to adapt to the situation and do what they had to
do in order to try to win. With 1:25 remaining in the game, the score read
57-51 in favor of Hot Springs. The refs had finally began to even out the fouls
called as Hot Springs was whistled for two fouls and the Eagles were whistled
for one more.

            The
Eagles scored six more points in the last minute of the game, but Hot Springs
went on to score four more. The final score read 61-57 in favor of Hot Springs.

            While
the score wasn’t in favor of the Eagles, they still scored a major victory. The
potential for the Eagles to come up with big wins in the district tournament
beginning in Ronan on Thursday is there.

            With
the regular season over, it’s tournament time. Conference standings, previous
wins/losses, and home court advantage mean nothing. It’s as though all the
teams in the tournament are 0-0 and all that matters is who wins now.

            In
previous games against the leading teams in the district, the Eagles were
ahead, but small things like fouls or a lack of rebounding gave those teams an
advantage. These boys should know they can beat these teams and they should
acknowledge the potential inside of themselves to deal with tough situations
given to them, especially after the way they played against Hot Springs.

            People
don’t realize it, but to see these boys play hard and together the way they do
is an amazing feat considering that these boys didn’t grow up together or
possibly even know each other until they went to school at Two Eagle River
School. Some of these boys may be rezball champions, but may not have played
organized basketball until they came to Two Eagle River School. Most of the
teams the Eagles play, those kids grew up together in the same small town and
have played organized basketball together since middle school and maybe even
elementary school.

            It’s
always great to recognize our young Native athletes for the obstacles they
overcome everyday just to be on a team, playing in a game, and representing our
reservation. I know some of these kids don’t have fairytale lives and may come
from circumstances that are less than ideal, however, it’s like none of that
matters when they step out onto the court wearing their uniforms and basketball
shoes proudly and put their heart into the game of basketball. 

A little background info....I'm from the Flathead Rez in Montana and the all-Indian school on my rez is called Two Eagle River School. Not enough respect is given to the students or the school itself. While not all the kids there are picture-perfect or come from picture-perfect families, they still persevere and overcome incredible odds simply by going to school. A lot of their parents didn't graduate high school, let alone college. Some of the students are raising children already. I think it is incredibly awesome that some of these kids choose to work hard on the basketball court with little to no family support...Truly, these kids are an inspiration.