Edison takes 7th and 8th crown
PARKERSBURG — A thrilling 7th and 8th grade boys’ championship game is in the books, and the Edison Eagles grinded out a hard fought 35-30 victory to end their undefeated season on a high note over the VanDevender Blue Devils. The crowd at the Parkersburg High School Memorial Fieldhouse was rowdy throughout the entirety of this one, and it was easy to see why.
The game was an offensive stuggle in the early going, as it was knotted up at seven apiece after one quarter, but business sooned picked up. With the score a 12-9 advantage for Edison, the clock was winding down in the first half. Dominic Wallshauser found Cyrus Traugh for a buzzer-beating 3-ball to double the Eagles’ lead to six at the break.
The Blue Devils needed a big third quarter to get back in the game, and that’s exactly what they got.
Back-to-back baskets from A.J. Ellis started a big run for Vandy, and they just got started. Consecutive makes from Dylan Stone (with the latter basket coming at 2:50) gave Van Devender its first lead since it was 1-0 in the opening minute of the game.
Seth Meadows ended the 8-1 run with a jumper to give his Eagles a one-point edge, but a couple Blue Devil buckets with inside a minute left gave them a 21-18 lead with the final six minutes yet to play.
Victory was in Vandy’s grasp, as Stone matched a Jeremy Daggett bucket to keep his team ahead by three with only five and a half minutes left. On the next Edison possession, Meadows found Jackson Smith on an inbound pass under the basket to cut the deficit down to one.
The two squad traded possessions and baskets unitl 1:31 left, when Aiden Vega hit an and-1 layup to give Vandy a 30-27 lead.
Edison needed to dig deep, and they did by reeling off eight unanswered points for the win. Following a key 3-ball from Traugh with a minute left, Daggett hit a fadeaway jumper while being double-teamed in the paint to give his team a lead that proved to be enough in the big win. Edison coach Rusty Miller knew his team had to dig deep for the tight victory.
“It was all heart,” Miller said about his team’s determination. “We’ve had a lot of games that weren’t so close, and we had a couple games that were close. It’s all good experience, and we’ve got a lot of good ball players that play together. They just battled and didn’t give in.”