March 20, 2022

In December I thought I’d try my hand at shooting some basketball games, just to see it how it would go. Five months later, I’m courtside at the Class B New York State Championship Game. Didn’t see that one coming. But boy am I delighted that things worked out this way. When I was hired to shoot some of Ichabod’s games, I was thoroughly unfamiliar with the team. But I quickly noticed that there was something special about this team. And to prove my instincts correct, they won the state championship.

The game started poorly as Friends Academy quickly established a fifteen point lead. And worse yet, Ichabod’s master of the double double, Brett Richards went down with an apparent ankle injury and had to be helped off the court. Things looked bleak. The Cool Insuring Arena, full of Ichabod’s raucous fans, suddenly got real quiet. Remember how I said there was something special about this team? They didn’t panic and methodically started chipping away at that lead. The crowd got loud again. And then Richards tapped back into the game and the Riders dropped that deficit down to a mere five points at the half.

Ichabod spent the third quarter working to pull even. And in the fourth quarter they tied it up and then took the lead. They widened that lead to seven points but Friends Academy was not giving up either and pulled to within a single point but time finally expired on them. The arena erupted in cheers as Ichabod Crane claimed its first state championship. Later I’d learn that Ichabod’s Alex Schmidt had been playing with a badly injured wrist since the regional game in Plattsburgh. Apart from the tape on his wrist, he gave no indication of the injury until late in the championship game when the pain grew to much to hide further. But on he played. Like I said, this is a special team that play with a relentless will. It’s inspiring to watch and I loved every minute of it.