History in the making

Jeff Harrison
The Edmond Sun

May 09, 2008 12:06 am

— Playing basketball for Oklahoma Christian School this season was a rewarding yet exhausting task for junior Hank Holland. After losing a host of talent last season, Holland and company exceeded all expectations with another run to the state title game.
Holland has again helped OCS commit a similar feat on the soccer field, but this time without a little less stress.
“Soccer is more relaxing, basketball is really tense there’s more pressure,” Holland said. “This we’re just relaxed and we just go out and play our hardest.”
That laid-back approach coupled with an balanced lineup, has transformed the No. 9-ranked Saints (13-5) from an unknown in the beginning of the year, to a playoff contender batting with Cascia Hall on Saturday night for the Class 4A state title.
“What makes them special is the team chemistry, we have the right combination of experienced and young players,” OCS coach Greg Andrews said. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence this year, they’ve improved throughout the year and we’re at our peak right now.”
“Our defense has played well all year long, our offense stepping up is the biggest thing that we’ve got going for us now,” senior captain Joey Fallon said. “Now I’m just looking forward to the last game, and excited for the opportunity.”
While success is nothing knew for the OCS boys, their incredible run through the soccer postseason is something unique. Before this season, the boy’s team had never made it out of the second round, let alone to final game.
“It’s been exciting because the last few years we’ve just gone to the first round and been knocked out,” senior captain Tyler Jones said. “It’s good to finally make it through the first round, and then when we get through the second round you start to get the feeling that you can win state, it feels good to finally get there.”
Ending that playoff drought this year looked improbable for the Saints, who drew No. 2-ranked Bishop McGuinness in the first round. But Holland gave OCS all the offense it’d need, as he hit the only goal of the night to down the defending Class 5A state champions.
The win served as a confidence boost for the Saints, as they followed up their first round heroics with a 3-2 win over Woodward, and punched their title ticket with a 4-2 drubbing of Verdigris on Tuesday night.
“After we won that it clicked in our heads, hey we actually have a chance to win state,” senior captain Taylor Frost said about the win over McGuinness.
But the Saints are not ready to end their record-breaking season yet. They still have their sites set on some hardware.
“Basketball was a lot of fun, but I just want a gold ball this time,” Holland said.

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