George Ferguson Column: No surprise, the 9C was memorable

Another District 9C tournament is in the books. And what a magical ride it was. It goes without saying that the 9C tournament isn’t just one of the most exciting tournaments on the high school basketball tournament, it’s also one of the best.

And this year was no exception to that. There were a ton of magical moments last week inside the HHS gymnasium — perhaps none bigger than the Turner girls, who placed third and are headed to the Northern C Divisional for the first time in ages.

How can you not root for the Tornadoes? It’s just an swesome story, and in my humble opinion, it was THE story of the 2018 9C tourney.

That’s not to take anything away from the rest of the teams in attendance, and the other great storylines last week produced.

The girls championship game was one for the ages, while on the boys side, all three teams that got trophies, Chinook, North Star and Fort Benton, all had special moments along the way. It was cool to see Chinook hoist a 9C championship, and it was really cool to see, even in defeat, how happy the North Star Knights were. They not only battled the Sugarbeeters for the 9C title but, for the first time in 12 years, they’re headed to the Northern C as well. Seeing this North Star team have so much fun and have so much success, I couldn’t help but think of Charlie Robinson all week long. I know he’s smiling, up above, happy as heck to see the Knights doing what they’re doing.

And that’s what the 9C is all about. It’s about triumph and trophies, but it’s also about kids playing their hearts out for the town they represent. It’s about honor and basketball tradition, it’s about great sportsmanship and fun, and about communities coming together and being together. Yes, at the 9C tournament, we all know each other, and that makes for a great and special week.

And speaking of communities coming together, this is the part of my annual 9C column where I end with thank-yous. And I have plenty of people to thank. But this year, I’m going to start with all eight schools’ bus drivers.

This last 9C week was a rough one because of the horrible winter weather Havre and the Hi-Line has been buried in. Terrible roads, terrible driving conditions and terrible timing. So my first thank-you goes to all of the bus drivers. You guys and gals deserve a ton of credit for getting these great kids and coaches to and from the 9C all week. I know it was stressful. I know it wasn’t easy. So thank you to all of you.

All of us should also thank Shawn Rismon for doing an incredible job of getting the Havre High parking lots ready. That’s a lot of snow to move, but thanks to Shawn, parking was never an issue. Thanks to Shawn, I didn’t even freeze my butt off that bad coming to and from the gym.

I’d also like to thank Havre Daily News photographer Colin Thompson. By my count, Colin shot 22 games over four days. That’s a lot of basketball and a lot of photos to go through. It’s part of what we do here at the HDN — we try to make 9C week feel like the 9C tournament for all of you, and we certainly couldn’t do it without Colin’s efforts.

Also, thank you to Havre High activities director Dennis Murphy, North Star activities director Brian Campbell and Chinook acitvities director Paula Molyneaux. The three of you do a great job running the 9C every year, and you certainly help make our job easier.

And lastly, thank you to the players, coaches and fans. Without all of you, the 9C and my job wouldn’t be what it is. You guys all put on another great show last week, and it was fun to watch and fun to write about.

So that’s it, another 9C has come and gone. It was a blast, and it was memorable. And, it’s less than 12 months until we’re back in the Blue Pony Corral to do it all over again.