Prep Boys Basketball: R.A. Long, Mark Morris gear up for frothy Friday rematches
TGIF Hoops — Longview will host a pair of pivotal 2A GSHL contests tonight
Nick Sisson for Blast Zone Media
The talk of the town in Longview over the last two months has revolved around a couple of age old questions; which boys basketball team has the best chance of winning league this season and who is going to win the Civil War games?
One of those questions has already been partially answered after R.A. Long captured round one of Longview’s greatest rivalry last Wednesday at Mark Morris 69-58 after a spectacular comeback effort at Bakamus Gymnasium.
However, with a little more than a week left in the regular season the former of the two questions is far from being answered. In an attempt to provide more clarity we need to go back to review some insider coach talk before the season began.
Fair warning: Columbia River has entered the chat.
Between coaches Jeray Key of R.A. Long, Ken Kelly of Mark Morris, and Justin Gabbard of Woodland, every 2A GSHL coach from The Blast Zone had Columbia River pegged as one of the favorites to capture the league title. And when coaches talk, we should listen.
The league slate is more than halfway over now, and as of this moment Columbia River would be your league champions if the season ended today. But it doesn’t doesn’t end today. In fact, the 2A GSHL docket is just beginning to crank up the intrigue for what promises to be a riveting home stretch.
The Rapids and Lumberjacks are tied atop the standings at 7-1, but Columbia River currently owns the head-to-head tiebreaker after knocking off the Jacks 56-55 in a meeting in Hazel Dell in mid-December. On that same dark night the Monarchs also suffered their first loss of the season in a 58-53 defeat at the hands of Ridgefield.
Tonight both Longview teams will be looking for redemption in front of their home fans, with a chance to even their respective season series against the same teams that dealt them those early season losses. And even though both R.A. Long and Mark Morris are once bitten, they will be anything but twice shy with the stakes amplified this time around.
Let’s look at each matchup for what figures to be a “frothy Friday” in The Planned City.
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