— Today’s episode finds us in a place that is all too familiar, which is to say it is a good place — a very good place, indeed. However, we most certainly have an aim to put ourselves in an even better and more rarified place as this afternoon, everybody’s favorite nemesis awaits.
Baltimore’s Dunbar Poets, stars of stadiums, legend and gyms, are playing near a Comcast Center near you, and for what seems to be an annual and sometimes bi-annual occurrence, they will be playing a team from Cumberland, with today’s opponent being the undefeated Allegany Campers, who will take their best shot in the 3 p.m. Maryland Class 1A semifinal.
As a basketball program, Allegany is 0-4 all-time against the Poets, and as a football program 0-1. The Campers’ friends on the other side of town have had similar, though not exact results. The Fort Hill Sentinels are 0-1 in basketball against Dunbar, and 1-3 in football.
Regardless of how circumstances vary, nine of the 10 encounters have been routinely painful ones for both schools, but then, why should Allegany and Fort Hill be any different than most other schools in the state of Maryland? The Dunbar legend has become what it’s become because the Poets have made a habit of winning basketball and football games, regardless of who they play: 11 state titles in basketball and six in football after winning a couple of mythical national basketball championships before joining the MPSSAA in 1992.
Dunbar shouldn’t be in the MPSSAA? Sorry, not going there today. For wherever there is a conversation involving Dunbar-Baltimore athletics amongst non-Dunbar folks, the key words of said conversation are normally “unfair,” “wrong” and “recruiting.” Today, however, is not the day for that debate. Today is a day to really appreciate what a great basketball season the Allegany Campers are in the midst of.
And don’t for one moment think the Campers view it in any other way. When most teams have an undefeated regular season, and make it through the regionals for the uh ... ahem ... privilege of playing Dunbar, you usually hear them say, “We’ve had a great season.” That’s not what we’re looking at here and, most importantly, that’s not what the Campers are looking at here. The Campers are having a great season and, as my friend Jess would say, “they’re fixin’ to play and win two more games,” before they begin to talk about the season they had.
“Are” indicates “not over”; “had” indicates “over.” And what is it our old friend Sen. John Blutarsky might say?
“Over? Did you say ‘over’? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
“And it ain’t over now. ‘Cause when the goin’ gets tough ... the tough get goin’! Let’s go!”
Of course, Allegany won’t be running out there alone the way Sen. Blutarsky once did. The Campers will be running out there together as they have become a wonderful basketball team in reaching the state semifinals, an undefeated team. They shoot the ball well, which they are going to have to do today. And if they do, anything is possible.
Allegany is also an excellent defensive team, something that often gets lost when a team has an offense as good as Allegany’s, but as Coach Tedd Eirich points out in Mike Mathews’ preview article today, they are an excellent defensive team and the tempo for that is established by Dustin Wharton, who I want on my team regardless of the sport we’re playing, disrupting opposing ballhandlers. If the Campers are able to do that, they might be able to unsettle Dunbar’s tempo, then establish the kind of tempo they like when they have the ball. If they do, anything is possible.
So, no kidding. Allegany must shoot the ball well and they must play great defense. And rebound, don’t forget rebound. They have to rebound today as Jordan Grady pointed out earlier in the week. They do all of this and we’re saying anything is possible?
We’re saying Allegany has to do this, and against today’s opponent, even more. But this is where the Campers are well equipped to do just that.
Allegany, you see, is a confident team — not cocky, confident. There’s a huge difference there, because the Campers’ confidence has nothing to do with the team they’re playing, no matter who that team’s jerseys say they are. The Campers’ confidence has everything to do with themselves. Each other. They know each other like a book. They understand what each other needs. They trust one another, which means they believe in one another, which means they believe in themselves.
Most fans don’t appreciate what an accomplishment it is to enter the state tournament undefeated. My guess is the Allegany Campers haven’t given that much of a thought. They’ll save all of that for when the season is over.
And you know what? Nothing is over until they decide it is.
Mike Burke is sports editor of the Cumberland-Times-News. Write to him at mburke@times-news.com
Mike Burke - Sports
Campers in an ‘are’ state of mind
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