Tonight is when I made my return to a Tiffin Columbian Boys Basketball game. I graduated from Columbian in 1999 and all four years I was a basketball manager. I saw many games there from behind the players’ bench. This was my first game watching from the stands. It brought back a lot of memories. I noticed some similarities and some differences. I will get to those thoughts after the game notes.
The Tiffin Columbian Tornadoes battled the Norwalk Truckers in a NOL (Northern Ohio League) match up. This was a matchup of the #4 Tornadoes going up against the #2 Truckers. The Truckers were tied with Bellevue at the top of the conference going into tonight. In the first quarter, Columbian came out firing with the first 5 points being scored by Jared Kuhlman from the perimeter. At first, Columbian was unable to get into the paint but with the persistence they were able to score short baskets. Norwalk seemed very flat and not very aggressive. The Tornados were able to get two big steals and widen their lead. The only weakness Columbian had during the 1st quarter was leaving either wing open for the Truckers to have a free shot on the three point line. Columbian was able to rebound successfully on both sides of the ball.
Norwalk was still flat during the 2nd quarter. They did not rebound at all on the offensive side of the ball. They were however getting more aggressive as the half came to a close. On the other hand, Columbian started to get sloppy and take unsecured shots which most of the time were unsuccessful. Columbian’s perimeter shooting was not working as well in the first quarter but they were able to get underneath the basket for layups. At halftime the score was 30 – 20 Columbian leading Norwalk by 10.
The start of the 3rd quarter Columbian again came out aggressive but was still sloppy. Norwalk came out using more strategy and making easy baskets to build their confidence. Norwalk moved the ball around until there was an opening and started to climb back into the game. Columbian was still getting turnovers but were unable to covert the turnovers into points. Their shooting inside the arc was declining. Norwalk by the end of the quarter was making baskets and getting rebounds while Columbian was staying aggressive but losing their lead.
The start of the 4th quarter Columbian was leading Norwalk 42 – 39. Columbian’s ten point lead was down to only 3 points. The 4th quarter started right where Norwalk and Columbian ended the 3rd quarter. Columbian was sloppy while Norwalk was executing plays. Tiffin was not taking secured shots. Most of the shots were taken way too fast and off balance. Columbian started to play more aggressive, most of Columbians takeaways came in the 4th quarter, and they turned them into points. With two minutes left Norwalk had to start fouling so the game would not get out of reach. At the time, the score was 54 – 50 with Columbian still holding onto a lead. Unfortunately for Norwalk, they decided to foul Columbian’s Derek Kneeskern who by that time had 24 points. He made 3 out of 4 of his free throws to end the game with a total of 27 points and leading the Tornadoes in scoring. In the end, the Tiffin Columbian Tornadoes beat the Norwalk Truckers 59 – 52.
Again, for me this was a night for a different point of view, a spectator and not a high school manager. The seats were as hard as I remembered and the warm-up drills were the same just without the tear away pants back in my time. After the singing of the national anthem, I was reminded of Curly and Shannon always saying “Play Ball!” The line of students and young children lining up on the court to slap hands with the home team starters when they were announced still continues each game. And yes, even in the present time seeing a student dressed up in a costume this time it was “Captain Tornado.” I still think back when the visiting team was being announced my class would hold up newspapers like the other team did not exist. I did enjoy the honoring of the seniors. Each senior had to pick a teacher who they thought helped them the most throughout their time at Columbian. Two of them were my old teachers and always enjoyed their class.
I was disappointed though at some things. The student section was not standing the whole game or was cheering the whole time. Only three rows of students stood and not for the whole game. They were not loud or crazy as they used to be. They were sitting down most of the 4th quarter when the score got close. The gym was not as filled as it used to be for a Saturday night game either. The band did not play during timeouts or breaks in the game. They played before the 1st quarter and at half time. The band did play “Come Sale Away” but it was not as moving as “Sweet Child of Mine” from Guns N Roses or “Come out and Play” from Offspring. I did not feel the energy like I used to. It felt somewhat empty without all the energy from the crowd. There were parents who made noise but not as much as the student section should have. I enjoyed the game but left feeling like something was still missing.
