No matter what, the Valley won

March 25, 2007

The Sullivan Arena in Anchorage is the site of the large-schools state basketball tournaments, but the focus is on the Mat-Su Valley.

On Friday, Valley programs earned three of the four spots in Saturday's state title games.

On the girls' side, Wasilla advanced to the final game for the third time in six years.

And thanks to Colony's Cinderella performance and Wasilla's ability to stay on the top of the basketball mountain, there is an all-Valley state final for the first time in the history of the boys' bracket.

Although this is the second time three Valley teams have advanced to the title games - both Colony squads and the Palmer girls earned spots in the championship games in 1997 - there are still many who believe the only Alaska high school hoops powers reside only within the borders of the Anchorage municipality or just miles from the state's capital building.

&#8220For a long time, I feel like we've been the step child to Anchorage,” Wasilla head coach Jason Marvel said. &#8220But we compete.”

Valley athletes continue to prove there is more to the Mat-Su than potatoes and methamphetamine. Some may believe these are just mere wins on the basketball court. But each time a Colony beats an East and a Wasilla beats a Dimond, it marks a huge victory for the Mat-Su Valley.

Regardless of ranking, the Valley programs are going to be underrated.

The Wasilla teams have been ranked No. 1 for virtually the entire season, but in the minds of the big city folk, there's always that doubt.

Even at No. 1, the Valley team is going to be the underdog.

But that's the same for the Valley off the court.

The Mat-Su community is seen by Anchorites on a tier one step below that of Alaska's largest city, with a soundtrack something like a ghetto version of &#8220Boondocks.”

But with each win on the court, the Valley scores a victory.

The play of the Valley teams on the court is a reflection of the Valley coaches. The work of the Valley coaches is a reflection of the Valley schools. The Valley schools are a reflection of our community.

The success of our athletic programs display the quality of the Mat-Su Valley.

Saturday, the Sullivan Arena was a sea of red and green. But there was also a heck of a lot of blue. And that's another thing I love about the Valley, and something you never see in Anchorage.

You never see Bartlett fans flooding a Dimond or Service game to cheer on their fellow big city programs. You don't see South faithful in the East or West corners.

But on Friday in the state semifinals, there were as many Wasilla fans, decked out in the traditional Warrior red and white Hawaiian shirts, on their feet screaming at the top of their lungs as the Knights put the finishing touches on heavily favored East.

As Colony senior Ryan Coffman stood at the free throw line in the final seconds of the win, every member of the Wasilla High School pep band had their hand in the air, waiting for that shot to drop. And when Coffman did hit that game-sealing free throw, the band kicked up to a decibel level that was sure to puncture every ear drum within 100 feet.

Although both Palmer teams were sent into the consolation side of the bracket after the first round, Moose faithful still added to a Valley contingent that ruled Anchorage's Sullivan Arena.

As soon as the final second ticked off the clock in Wasilla boys win over Dimond - a victory that ensured an all-Valley final - who would win the state boys' championship no longer mattered to me.

Because our community as a whole had already won.

Take that Anchorage.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.