Sports in The Dominion Post

This article appeared in the Dominion Post Newspaper on February 17, 2004.
There's an 'us' in this MHS team

JUSTIN JACKSON

You take a quick glance at the Morgantown High boys' basketball team and something just doesn't add up.

It doesn't score enough, averaging 68.4 points and scoring 70 or more points in a game just six out of 17 times this season.

The leader in field goals, Kameron Law with 83, is the third leading scorer on the team.

How in the world can this team be the unanimous No. 1 team in the state?

And then you listen to Law talk about his teammates following the Mohigans' 78-58 victory over No. 3 Martinsburg on Saturday night.

"The great thing about this team is we play team ball," Law said. "Everybody understands the team concept. If somebody is having an off night, there's somebody to pick up the slack.

"We've got guys coming off the bench who are very talented players, yet they understand their roles and they do a great job once they're on the floor."

In short, maybe this team isn't the most talented as individuals. You could surely find five more players in this state at each position with better stats.

From top to bottom, though, is where this team wins games.

The Mohigans have done it with defense. While they may not score into the 70s or 80s, they don't have to, allowing opponents to score just 49.9 points per game.

They've done it with chemistry. There are no attitude problems, nobody that coach Tom Yester has to cater to, not that he would anyway.

Practice sessions are a get-together for friends, but it's what happens after practices that really keeps this team together. Following the final whistle, it's a mad dash to the locker room to hook up the PlayStation 2.

You won't find any personal rivalries on the court, but you will in that locker room. "NCAA College Football 2004" seems to be the hot game right now and everyone has his own bragging rights.

Dusty Kerns, the team's point guard, is the leader of the pack.

"Dusty is the king right now," Law said. "but, we're gaining on him. Well, at least I'm gaining on him."

What about the rest?

"Everybody gets theirs," Law said with a smile. "Except for maybe Tyler (Benson). He still needs some work."

Benson wasn't too happy to hear that.

"Law's talking trash on me?" Benson asked. "That's not true. Hey Kameron, what's our series?"

"16 to 12" Law relies.

"See, it's pretty close," Benson adds. "I'm right there."

They've created themselves and put themselves into the game. In the new "NCAA March Madness 2004," Law said he's created the entire MHS team, including Yester, and guided them to the national championship.

"That's my game," Law said. "Nobody can touch me on that game."

And it appears nobody in this state can touch the Mohigans.

"The same thing that is guiding us this year is the same thing that's been guiding the program since I was a freshman and that's how close everybody on the team is," Benson said. "It's been that way for a long time. It's a lot easier to go out there every day for practice or for games when everybody is getting along. We're all like brothers."

It's the things you can't see that may push this team to the school's first-ever state title. While on the outside, they may appear to be too lanky or not quick enough or whatever, but this team is proving you have to have more than just talent to win.

JUSTINJACKSON covers high school sports for The Dominion Post. Reach him at jjackson@dominionpost.com