Raiders boys ready to play, but King Cove a no-show

VICTORIA BARBER

February 29, 2008 at 8:58AM AKST

A battle of the Raiders vs. the T-Jacks turned into an inter-squad scrimmage between juniors and seniors when the King Cove team was weathered out of Dutch Harbor on Friday, Feb. 22.

"I think that the kids were really disappointed," said Mimi Fernandez, whose son, Michael Fernandez, plays on the team. "This was their last chance to play a home game."

The seniors and their families were presented with flowers in a short ceremony before the scrimmage began. It was to have been the final chance for senior Raiders to play a home game this season.

While most teams play 20 to 21 games in a season, the Raiders boys have played only eight. They are scheduled to fly to Bethel for games on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 29-March 1, if the weather permits.

It’s their last chance to play another team in their region before the district tournament begins in Dillingham on Wednesday, March 5.

Wilson said that he feels confident in his team would do well at regionals, despite its difficulty getting in to play other teams this season.

"I think that we have a chance to get in the mix and be competitive (at regionals)," said Jim Wilson, the boys’ team coach. "We’ve played two tough tournaments with a high level of competition, and if we play we’ll play competitively."

The girls’ team has played only 10 games this season,

Expense is the biggest reason – flying a team out costs at least $8,000 per trip, and many teams won’t come to Dutch Harbor because it’s too expensive. Even when teams schedule a trip, their flights are often canceled due to weather.

Only one team, the girls’ team from Bristol Bay High School in Naknek, made it in to Dutch Harbor this season.

To compensate, the girls’ and boys’ teams have scrimmaged with each other and adults in the community. Wilson said that while playing against adults gets his players used to going up against bigger, physically stronger players, it lacks certain advantages to playing another high school team.

"Adults may be good individual players, but they don’t play together as a team," Wilson said. "It doesn’t resemble what we’ll face in a high school competition, where we can expect to see specific strategies."

In Alaska, "regions" are determined by population, not location, so the Raiders will compete against 29 teams from schools with 101 to 400 students, including Nome, Bethel and Barrow.

Girls’ coach Alan Haskins said that it is a tough crowd to compete in, as basketball is the bigger focus for many communities in their region.

"In a lot of communities, the gym is where everyone wants to be," said Haskins. "But here kids have jobs, or other extracurricular activities and basketball may not be their top priority."

However, the Raiders will move into the regional tournament with some victories under their belts. The boys’ team won the Cordova Tip-off tournament in January, with the girls coming in second.

Victoria Barber can be reached at (907) 342-2424 or toll free at (800) 770-9830, ext. 424.