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For once, I arrived very early at a sporting event, a very important one for the Hauser Jets and the Switzerland County Pacers.  

As I entered the South Ripley High School, I was greeted by friendly people. When stating I was representing the Hope newspaper, I was immediately allowed to continue, even without signing a paper. Then I grabbed some food and a drink at very reasonable price.  As I made my way to the top of the bleachers, I noticed Sam Simmermaker, long-time local sports enthusiast, with Jon Titus, Hauser graduate, preparing to broadcast the game. Fans for both teams gradually filled the gym hoping their team could secure the Sectional Championship.  

Each team entered the gym with cheerful support, circled the perimeter, and huddled in the center with hopes of extending years of dedication and practice to another game. (As they huddled, I thought about how I was witnessing multiple reasons for smaller high schools despite some recent articles suggesting otherwise.) Music set the stage for the battle.  Which team would find the right rhythm to pull the victory out after 32 minutes of competitiveness?

Switzerland County chose to play a 2-3 zone which briefly switched to a 1-3-1, and Hauser elected to play man-to-man defense the entire game. The first quarter was a search for rhythm and concluded with Hauser leading 8-4 with neither team scoring from the outside. That changed in the second quarter with both teams hitting several three pointers and scoring more. Switzerland banked in a mid-court three pointer at the end of the quarter, and the score was 24-22, Hauser. Hauser led all the time in the first half with the exception of one moment when they were briefly behind one point.

The Jets gained some momentum in the third quarter outscoring the Pacers 13-9 and extended their lead to six points, 37-31. The last quarter found both teams scoring more frequently with Hauser up until the final seconds when Switzerland County somehow found a way to pull out a one-point victory 57-58 with another 3-point bank shot late in the quarter certainly being a factor.

The game was hard-fought by both teams with few mistakes, solid defense, good rebounding, and unselfish offense, with each team hitting nine 3-point shots and demonstrating excellent free throw shooting; Hauser 12-13 and Switzerland County 11-14 while purposely missing the last one with around two seconds remaining on the clock. The ending of the game was an emotional high for the Pacers, their cheerleaders, and their fans and an emotional low for the Jets, their cheerleaders, and their fans. I don't know how any fan could have been disappointed with the play and the heart displayed by each team.

Hauser had a great season and should not allow this game to deter from that point. They won the Mid-Hoosier Conference, the first time since the 2017-2018 Season, Trent Moorhead was named Coach of the Year, and five players were named All Conference: Kameron Blair, Ledger Gelfius, Stryker Gill, Taeshaun Tungate, and Alex Cord, Honorable Mention. And these players know being named All Conference would not have been possible without all the other players. Like the entire Hauser Nation, I am extremely proud of the 2023-2024 Jets and look forward to next season. Congratulations!