While both Cassopolis and Edwardsburg were defeated in the state football semifinals over the weekend, that does not mean that these two teams and their communities did not make us all proud.

The fan support in Edwardsburg and Cassopolis has been tremendous throughout the regular season and the postseason.

Both villages ramped up the excitement for the players as they hosted or traveled to various sites throughout the playoffs.

Law enforcement and first responders alike helped lead the teams in and out of town as they celebrated the success of winning district and regional championships.

Then they braved the first snowfall of the season, along with extremely windy conditions at times, to show the players and coaches just how special they were.

I have said it for years. Nothing brings together a community better than a successful sports team.

At this time of year it happens to be football in Cassopolis and Edwardsburg.

In Buchanan it was a run by to the state semifinals by the Bucks’ volleyball team.

Game after game the fans flocked to the gyms, lined up along the highways and filled stadium and arenas to cheer on these young men and women as they played their hearts out.

I have always been a huge fan of high school athletics.

Not only does it teach our youngsters lifelong lessons on how to deal with success, failure and adversity, it shows they how to play hard and give if their best shot.

It also shows them that if they do that and are successful they will be rewarded with the admiration of their coaches, classmates, teachers and their community.

On the flip side, high school athletes can teach us adults a lesson or two along the way.

As much as we were divided by the recent election, sports teams in Brandywine, Buchanan, Cassopolis, Dowagiac, Edwardsburg and Niles came together several nights a week to focus their attention on a single thing — “their team.”

We owe much to these young athletes who put themselves on the line for us throughout the school year.

We repay them by showing up for their games and cheering them on, win or lose.

In the communities of Buchanan, Cassopolis and Edwardsburg last week, fans showed up, screamed at the top of their lungs and applauded the Bucks, Rangers and Eddies as they tried to achieve the ultimate goal of winning a state championship.

None of them reached the top of the mountain, but that does not make us any less proud of these athletes, who went out there and represented our communities with style and class.

 

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com.