And the Crowd Goes Wild
Westerville South takes state basketball championship
The Westerville South High School boys’ basketball team has won the school its first-ever state title.
The Wildcats took the 2016 OHSAA Division I state championship Saturday, March 19 at the Schottenstein Center.
“This year was obviously a rewarding year, for it followed a great but heartbreaking season last year with our loss in the championship game,” says Ed Calo, head coach.
After falling to Huber Heights Wayne High School in the 2015 finals, the South team redeemed itself this year, topping Lima Senior High School 57-55. The game-winning shot – with a 55-55 score and 1.8 seconds left on the clock – was put up by senior Jordan Humphrey.
Humphrey, who was named MVP of the state tournament, led the team with a game high of 19 points. He was followed by senior Andre Wesson with 14 points.
The team had to make adjustments during the season due to injuries and losing its starting point guard, Jelani Rogers, but that led to opportunities for other players who normally wouldn’t have had as much playing time, Calo says.
“As a result, they became better players,” he says.
The state title comes at the perfect time for Calo, who retires at the end of the 2015-16 school year. Calo has coached the team for 29 seasons, having taken over the program in 1987.
“Every year has been special, as it was an opportunity to work with some very special young men,” says Calo. “Our players had to fight through some adversity as well this season, which also made it special.”
The team finished with a 26-4 record for the season.
Zoe Zeid is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
