Our View: Congrats to Box Elder on winning state title

There was something especially exciting about hearing that a police escort met the Box Elder High School boys basketball team in Big Sandy as they returned from Butte Sunday afternoon.

The Bears won the state Class C championship and deserved the fanfare.

That greeting and the reception they received when they returned to the school were especially fitting.

We are always excited when Hi-Line teams do well, in athletes, music, debate or any other endeavor, but there was something special about Box Elder’s triumph. The exhilaration being felt by the school, Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation and all of the Chippewa Cree Tribe is well deserved.

Special praise should go to coach Jeremy MacDonald, who predicted three years ago when he assumed the helm that it would take three years to get the program in shape. He certainly lived up to his promise.

But the real stars are the young people who did such a good job living up to the coach’s high expectations of sportsmanship and dedication.

Basketball has not been a sport but a lifestyle for the players in recent months. It’s been a lot more than nightly practice. They have worked out in the weight room, they have worked around the clock. They were physically and psychologically ready for the championship series.

It’s been a tough year at Box Elder. Severe budget cuts had to be imposed because of federal budget shortfalls, but the student body, and especially the basketball team, has persevered and prospered.

Congratulations to the basketball team and the entire study body.