A RANKLE IN TIME
Del City seniors deal with pandemic disappointment
The Del City basketball team sat on a bus in a McDonald's parking lot on March 12. The Eagles were a few miles and a few hours from tipping off against Tulsa Bishop Kelley in the Class 5A state tournament.
Then came the phone call that delivered the toughest life lesson the Eagles ever hope to receive.
The tournament was off. The season was over. Del City's state championship dreams were gone.
“Real disappointing,” is how Del City senior Nate Goodlow described it. “We had a really good chance of winning. Not being able to play, it hurt.”
The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked chaos across America. Lives have been lost and disrupted. The affected are many.
But in terms of opportunity vanquished, few groups deserve more sympathy than high school seniors. Graduations. Proms. Performances of the arts. Athletic championships. Those are events that can't be replicated.
Wait til next year? There is no next year for high school seniors. Collegians can adjust their schedules and their lives. Younger students
have the promise of better days. But you get only one crack at a senior year of high school.
And for the Eagles on that bus, all they had worked for was gone.
“I was really wanting to play,” said Del City's Carlos Moore. “It was my senior year. We had a great chance to win a gold medal, a chance to bring something to our city and our school we could be proud of.”
That's another heartbreak in the Del City story. For all the prominence of the Smith wrestling family and the Eagles' familiarity in the vaunted rivalry with Midwest City, Del City hasn't exactly been filling up its trophy case. Among the marquee sports, Del City has won one football state title (1976), one boys basketball state title (1980) and one girls basketball state title (2009).
That figured to change in March. Lenny Hatchett's Eagles were 24-1, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A and the heavy favorites to win the state tournament. Goodlow and DeMontreal Crutchfield eventually made the all-state team. This was a loaded and talented team.
“It was always fun,” Moore said. “I put in the work every day, and to see it actually come out in a good way, seeing us get wins, seeing us get recognition, something we didn't have in the past, felt good to know it actually paid off.”
And then came that phone call on the bus at McDonald's.
“It hurt,” DeMontreal said. “It still sticks with me to this day.”
It will stick with DeMontreal to his final day. But give the Del City kids credit. They don't seem to be wallowing in pity. They claim they will use the frustration to fuel future success. They say they will cherish the memories that were made, regardless of the rug being pulled away.
OBCA All-State games
Saturday at UCO's Hamilton Field House in Edmond
Large schools: 3 p.m.
Small schools: 4:30 p.m.
If you go: Fans are allowed be will be required to undergo a temperature check before entering facility and must wear a mask once inside.
Tickets: $7 for adults; $5 for students and senior citizens
“It'll always be a story of what could have been, but there is no doubt I will never forget the memories I made with my teammates and my coaches,” Moore said. “No doubt at all.”
Games won. Practices survived. Nights spent doing nothing more than hanging out. Not every great memory has to include a gold ball.
“I wouldn't trade it for the world,” Crutchfield said. “We goofed around. We hung out outside basketball. Coach Hatchett put it in our head, when it was time to do business, do business. When we had time to hang out, we hung out. Just the most enjoyable time ever.”
Crutchfield is headed to Seminole State Junior College, Goodlow to Northern Junior College in Tonkawa. Both are part of the Large West team that plays in the All-State Game at 3 p.m. Saturday at Hamilton Fieldhouse in Edmond.
“When I look back and see what all got took away from me, I just add it,” Crutchfield said. “Keep it on my shoulder as anger, a good anger. Take out my anger and show `em what Del City basketball is all about.”
Don't worry. Crutchfield and his pals showed us what Del City basketball is all about. Wish they had a gold ball to prove it.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at oklahoman.com/berrytramel.