Submitted by
Nolan Krauss
On Saturday March 8 the Bluffton boy’s junior high basketball team returned to the Central West Alberta Jr. High Athletics Association (CWAJHAA) championship to defend the title they brought home last year, the first since 1983. The tournament was hosted by the Ponoka Composite High School and included eight of the top 1-J teams from Central Alberta that qualified for the tournament. 1-J schools are those that have a junior high population of less than 100 students.
The boys were excited for the opportunity to make it back to defend their title and in the first game they would face off against Coronation. The boys came ready to play and from the first jump ball they overwhelmed their opponents with precise passing, teamwork and aggressive defense. After wrapping up that game, next up for the boys was the winner of the game between Penhold and Alix.
As it turned out, the boys would face Alix in the tournament semi-final. The first two minutes of the game the teams were neck and neck and then our boys took control. The repeated takeaways and fast breaks by the Bluffton Stingers turned out to be too much for the Alix Mustangs and a large gap in score soon spread. In the end it was another convincing victory and a trip back to the final to take on Crestomere later that evening.
With much anticipation for this game, the players from both teams did not disappoint. It was a very exciting game from the start. The Bluffton boys jumped to an early lead and were able to hold onto it going into the half.
Again in the second half, the tempo of the game was amazing. Mike Steeves lead the team in scoring with 26 points and as it turned out each basket was of utmost importance in securing the victory. Dan Deal was next in team scoring with nine points. Strong defensive play by all players on the team was ultimately the catalyst to victory on this evening.
In the end, the Bluffton boys won the game by a score of 42-36 and in doing so secured the CWAJHAA banner for a second year in a row. Quite an accomplishment considering that it took 20-plus years to get to the championship last year. The boys set a goal of making it back before beginning the season. The team would like to thank all their fans and parents for the support throughout the season. It was indeed special season to be remembered for years to come.