{"id":48196,"date":"2022-03-07T09:16:34","date_gmt":"2022-03-07T14:16:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/?p=48196"},"modified":"2022-10-31T15:52:16","modified_gmt":"2022-10-31T19:52:16","slug":"first-flame-ems-makes-history-captures-visaa-division-iii-state-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/2022\/03\/first-flame-ems-makes-history-captures-visaa-division-iii-state-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"EMS Makes History, Captures VISAA Division III State Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Flames hosted the VISAA DIII quarter final game at home on March 2, a white-out pack-the-gym contest brought out so much support that the opposing team\u2019s coach told Andrew Gascho, EMS athletic director, he\u2019d never seen a better atmosphere for a high school basketball game. That game launched the Flames to a state championship win, a first in school history. Gascho planned a party and purchased 33 dozen donuts the Tuesday after the game for the whole school K-12, to celebrate the win and school spirit.<\/em><\/p>\n

The following articles about the Flames historic VISAA DIII state win on March 5, 2022 are by Cody Elliott for the Daily News-Record coverage. EMS parking lot photos by Daniel Lin\/DN-R. Game day photos by Andrew Gascho.<\/p>\n

More than 30 minutes following the completion of the game, Eastern Mennonite senior point guard Adam Hatter was still seen walking around the court, holding the trophy and taking photos with friends and family with a can\u2019t-miss smile.<\/p>\n

The third-seeded Flames never expected to be in this position with a first-year coach, a lack of depth and a young and somewhat inexperienced roster.<\/p>\n

But Eastern Mennonite accomplished history Saturday, winning the school\u2019s first-ever state championship in boys basketball with a 64-56 victory over top-seeded Fairfax Christian Academy in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division III title game at Virginia State University in Petersburg.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very special, man,\u201d said Hatter, who finished with 17 points in the win. \u201cIt\u2019s almost a whole new group from year\u2019s past and we\u2019ve learned to know each other better throughout the year. At the end, I guess it all just came together.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a matchup many expected to be a lopsided result in favor of the Cardinals, the Flames used their tenacious defensive effort and a disciplined approach on the offensive end to jump out to an early lead and never gave it up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew how good they were, but we really started to believe at that point,\u201d said senior guard Trey Gillenwater, who added 17 points in the victory. \u201cAt that point, we felt like it was a really winnable game. We were in control.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a team in its third state championship in four seasons, the experience paid off as Eastern Mennonite showed poise and confidence down the stretch.<\/p>\n

By the time the game\u2019s final buzzer sounded, a raucous celebration ensued.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a whole different feeling as a coach,\u201d said Eastern Mennonite first-year coach Eli Crawford, who won two Virginia High School League state crowns as a former standout player at R.E. Lee in Staunton in the early 2000s. \u201cAs a player, I\u2019m on the court and can control a whole lot of different things. As a coach, you\u2019re on the sideline and watching. It\u2019s a different feeling, but it feels so great. These guys have worked hard from the start. They\u2019ve earned this. I\u2019m so proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Flames fell in 2019 and 2020 in the VISAA Division III state championship. Last year, in a condensed season under COVID-19 guidelines, EMS came up short in the semifinal round.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Eastern Mennonite completed a long-term goal that former coach Chad Seibert, with Crawford as his lead assistant, set just three years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWinning a state championship alone is an amazing feeling,\u201d Gillenwater said. \u201cBut for us to have all the injuries this year, have all the freshmen on our team, have Coach Seibert leave last year and then having to go through such a difficult playoff schedule, it just makes it even better. No one thought we\u2019d be able to do this. We didn\u2019t even know if we\u2019d do this. That\u2019s what makes it all sweeter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crawford, who does not work in the EMS school system and has taken pride in being a hard worker since his playing days with the Leemen and at Eastern Mennonite University, took pride this season in continuing the tradition Seibert started while instilling a toughness that makes him unique as a coach.<\/p>\n

The Flames (17-10) fought through an up-and-down regular season that even saw Crawford himself sidelined for multiple games with illness and was filled with significant player injuries to play their best basketball late.<\/p>\n

The result was a four-game winning streak, capped with a state championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys feed off of what I do,\u201d Crawford said. \u201cThey see me come into practice with my work pants on, my work boots on. They see that, if he\u2019s putting himself out here and putting that work in after working 10 or 12 hours, we can give him the same thing. These guys are blue-collar. They\u2019re a product of me. It\u2019s not to sound cocky or anything. They just work hard like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the seniors, Gillenwater, Hatter and Schuyler Harmison, the moment was a bit surreal as they watched their career with the Flames end on a high note.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely made it feel like it was all worth it,\u201d said Gillenwater, who transferred to Eastern Mennonite after starring as a sophomore two-sport standout at Turner Ashby in 2019. \u201cA lot of people were questioning and making comments when I went to Eastern Mennonite, but that\u2019s the reason why. There\u2019s been a lot of ups and downs over the years, but it was all worth it for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hatter ends his career with 108 games played \u2014 the most in program history.<\/p>\n

After coming up short multiple times before, the senior point guard and leader for the Flames finally got to hold the winning trophy in his hand Saturday.<\/p>\n

And as he walked around the arena on the campus of VSU, he wasn\u2019t giving it up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so special,\u201d Hatter said. \u201cA lot of my family comes to the games. They know I\u2019ve been at this for five years now and there\u2019s just nothing like it. I can\u2019t even describe it.\u201d<\/p>\n

ELLIOTT: Persistence Paid Off For Gillenwater, Hatter<\/strong><\/p>\n

Year after year, Adam Hatter stood in the hallway outside of a locker room inside Virginia State University in Petersburg and vowed that he\u2019d be back.<\/p>\n

Most years, the Eastern Mennonite senior point guard got there. He had played in two previous state championship games at VSU and fell in the semifinal round of the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division III boys basketball tournament a year ago during a condensed, COVID-impacted season.<\/p>\n

So as the clock winded down to zero Saturday and Hatter joined fellow senior Trey Gillenwater for an emphatic celebratory hug, it was a moment of rejoice.<\/p>\n

Both Hatter and Gillenwater have been with this program through its best years.<\/p>\n

Losses in the state title game in 2019 and 2020 were enough to make the passionate fanbase proud. Even a semifinal appearance a year ago was nothing to frown upon for a program that\u2019s suddenly one of the best in Division III.<\/p>\n

But another setback in the championship on Saturday would have been a tough pill to swallow for someone like Hatter, who has played in 108 games with EMS, or for Gillenwater, who transferred to the school with this particular goal in mind.<\/p>\n

A win, though? Man, that just seems like a movie-like ending and the perfect fit.<\/p>\n

And it sure was.<\/p>\n

Gillenwater developed into the team\u2019s primary scorer this season after sitting behind talented players such as Chance Church, Aviwe Mahlong and others.<\/p>\n

And Hatter? Well, his importance goes beyond the stat sheet with his late-game poise, locker room leadership and impressive range from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n

The hours that duo spent in the EMS gym over the past four years is hard to match. Late-night shooting sessions, early-morning workouts, endless amounts of drills and film sessions kept these two dedicated to one common goal.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Gillenwater and Hatter were able to accomplish just that.<\/p>\n

Winning a state championship, in any sport and at any level, is difficult.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s something that shouldn\u2019t be taken for granted and the Flames know that.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it was easy to brush it off each year when Hatter and his Eastern Mennonite teammates promised that, eventually, they\u2019d get a ring of their own.<\/p>\n

But on Saturday, the Flames put their money where their mouth is.<\/p>\n

And, in many ways, it seems like the appropriate end for two of the program\u2019s most storied players.<\/p>\n

****************************<\/p>\n

See<\/strong> WHSV TV-3 coverage<\/strong><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the Flames hosted the VISAA DIII quarter final game at home on March 2, a white-out pack-the-gym contest brought out so much support that the opposing team\u2019s coach told Andrew Gascho, EMS athletic director, he\u2019d never seen a better atmosphere for a high school basketball game. That game launched the Flames to a state\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":48200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,80],"tags":[33],"class_list":["post-48196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","category-news","tag-basketball"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48196"}],"curies":[{"name":"gracias","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}