The South East rivalry stretches all the way back to when South first set foot on the court in 1969. Since then, everything, whether it be sports or academics, has been a competition. For the most part, the rivalry all comes down to one thing. Basketball. This year, South came out on top, for both games.
It’s 2013 and the rival still continues. “East Week” is one of the most important weeks for Raiders. This year, unlike many years in the past, South only got to play East once instead of twice. Typically it goes one game played at South, and one game played at East, but this year was different. South only played East once, and they had to do it on East’s home court without their home court advantage. Their gym was filled wall to wall with spectators. Students and parents from South, East, West and multiple other schools came out to watch one of the most anticipated games of the year. East Week is constant bashing and arguing between the two teams on which team will come out on top.
Before last friday, the Lady Raiders were 10-9. It was expected that the game would end up being a close one. It was a fairly low scoring game, when both teams entered the half with the Raiders up 10-9. Things started to slightly change during the second half when the Raiders found themselves struggling with a 10 point deficit. The game shifted as the Raiders found themselves down by one with a minute left to go in the game. They let the clock run down, and with three seconds left, senior Hayden Roberts received the ball for a layup and put the Raiders up by one with two seconds left on the clock. The place went wild. East then attempted a quick half court shot but were unsuccessful and the Lady Raiders brought home an exciting, and heart pounding win.
The boys game was one of the most anticipated games of the year. South entered the game with a perfect 19-0 record, while East entered the game with an almost perfect 18-1. It was expected to be a close, low scoring game, but it was anything but that. Throughout the entire game, South was never behind. The game was East playing catch up to South. At times, East shortened the deficit and looked as if they were going to come back but South always bounced back with more points. South players, like sophomore Dainan Swoope, and junior Devin Newsome, were dropping threes left and right. Senior Josh Pedersen almost had his usual game dunk, before he was tackled by East player Connor Relihan for a technical.
Towards the end, the Raiders were ahead by a large margin and the game was practically over. Varsity coach Brett McFall ended up putting in JV players. As the clock ran down and the buzzer rang, the student section rushed the court to congratulate their players for a 65-47 win against their rival Shawnee Mission East on their home court. The place went wild. The boys played a perfect 20-0 season and became Sunflower League champs. It would be an understatement to say they’re ready for State.
