My View

If… then

Liberty-Burke epic clash: a rite of passage

By RICHARD A. ROSS

LIBERTY, NY—Words are my stock and trade. I trust that when I need them to convey what is in my heart, they will never fail me.

But I also know that others with gifts, far greater than my own, have better expressed the things that I feel must be said.

And so I ask you to find a copy of Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” and read it as a salute the young men of Liberty and John S. Burke who took to the floor on February 23. That Burke won the seesawing battle of nine lead changes by a mere basket to clinch the Division IV title, or that Liberty came up just short of making it back to sectionals may seem to some to be all that matters about what took place.

But nothing could be further from the truth.

To face up to a challenge with everything on the line, to give your all and never yield, to marshal the will when others may no longer believe in you, and to accept victory or defeat with equal grace, these are not only the rites of passage into adulthood, these are the very essence of what it means to face life with courage, dignity and grace.

Such experiences dwarf the evanescence a game’s final score.

And it was with those enduring values that the players from the rival teams shook hands and departed the gym with laughter and tears.

Still resonating from the intense fray and with their emotions raw and exposed, these young men, still children in their own right, looked to the adults.

For the Liberty players, the hugs, cheers, words of praise and thanks were an affirmation that what they did was appreciated and respected. For the Burke players, the words spoken by their coach and to each other were powerful and would have to suffice in an environment so vastly different from their fan-friendly home. To the challenge of playing in perhaps the most intense and hostile atmosphere and to hear their own voices of “I can,” over the din of “you can’t,” was a tribute to their resiliency and their self-discipline so well imparted by their coach Doug Janeczko.

Respect and sportsmanship were the hallmarks of the night.

The life-long-impact of what took place was not lost on Liberty coach Jason Semo, whose appreciation for the game’s joy and vigor outstripped the disappointment he felt at having come so close.

“That was fun, that’s the bottom line. I’m so proud of my team in terms of how they started and how they finished. They had a chance to be a part of something great…. For kids, many of whom have very little, to hear people tell them how proud they were of them and how well they did after giving everything they’ve got was a great lesson,” Semo said.

“Sometimes when you lose, you really win.”

Great winners included seniors Steve Hewlett, Chris Lake, Matt Hersh Ryan VanLieu, Connor Hinton and Dashwawn Williamson.

Here is the skinny on the game: Liberty led 10-7 at the end of the first quarter, but Burke outscored the Indians 15-8 in the second frame to take a 22-17 lead into halftime.

Liberty trailed 29-20 early in the third quarter before it put on its greatest of runs. By the end of the period, the fired-up tribe led by Wiliamson and Chris Lake, with scoring help from Hinton and Herman Drayton and the super-human efforts of VanLieu, led Burke 35-32 heading into the final frame.

The lead would change hands five times during the fourth quarter. Liberty trailed 46-45 with 36 seconds remaining and the ball in hand. A valiant three pointer by VanLieu missed its mark and drama ensued at the other end as neither team realized that a Matt Cooney trip to the line was a one and one and neither team jumped in for the rebound.

Trailing 47-45, Liberty had one final chance as Williamson fired up a three with 1.5 seconds remaining. The potential game-winner bounded off the back iron.

Liberty (6-13, 3-5 OCIAA) out rebounded Burke (14-6, 7-1 OCIAA) 30-26. That rebounding edge was six in the second half.

Williamson led Liberty with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Matt Cooney and Dante Cowart each had 10 points for Burke.

Semo’s final comments resonated with the larger meaning. “Coaching is about coaching kids for life. It’s not about wins and losses. It’s about what they take from the season and a great game like this, and to know that sometimes even when you give your all, you come up just a little bit short. It’s our job to impart that to them. Their world just collapsed around them out there, but they know how people admired and respected them.”

Kipling’s closing words contain the bright promise of the future:

“Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And-which is more-you’ll be a Man, my son!