In the midst of an unforgettably historic Kinston High School basketball season, the school’s administration hosted a pep rally to remember.
The bleachers in the school’s gymnasium were flooded with audible student and community support. The audience was pumped up by cheerleaders, band music and, of course, the stars of the show: the boys and girls basketball teams.
Both are headed to North Carolina High School Athletic Association championship 2A games today, albeit with a new entry in the Kinston High basketball annals. The boys — in the state championship game for the fifth time in seven years — will defend their title. However, the girls are in their first title game appearance.
“It’s a history-making event,” said Angela Bryant, Kinston High principal. “Our boys and girls have never been here at the same time. This is our girls’ first time ever, (and) we really want to celebrate everything about Kinston High School. Our basketball teams are a great way to do that.”
After the two teams were introduced one player at a time before a full gym, Bryant led the Vikings in the viral “Harlem Shake” dance routine — the final bang before the teams square off today in Chapel Hill’s Dean E. Smith Center.
“It’s a dream come true,” said guard Monique Lofton, Kinston’s leading scorer in her senior year. “It feels so good. My emotions are everywhere right now. I’m not sure if I should be nervous or excited — I don’t know.”
In their first championship run, the Lady Vikings (26-4) will play Pisgah High Schoolof Canton. After Friday’s livened pep rally, head coach Hubert Quinerly said the girls can’t change how they’ve played this season.
“They have to do everything that we normally been doing,” he said of how to win today’s game. “The nerves will get to them a little bit early, but I think they’ll settle down. They’re ready.”
He said many people have sent emails, text messages and made phone calls to show their support for the team.
“Our community is our backbone,” Quinerly said. “They just want it for our ladies. … Our girls have worked extra hard to get to this point.”
Lydia Rivers, a sophomore forward, also said her team needs to play smart today and is glad to be part of this year’s team.
“Just to make it this far is awesome,” she said. “I just thank God for this opportunity and to be able to be in the team.”
Brandi Coples, a Kinston High School alumna came out to the mid-afternoon rally to show her support for both teams.
“For the boys, I’m going to be excited,” Coples said about a championship victory. “But for the girls, I’m going to be ecstatic because it’s their first time making it there.”
She said hosting a pep rally is a way to get Kinston fired up for today’s games.
A Kinston High cheerleader, Qyteisha O’ Neal, said when the teams see how strong the community and school rallied behind them, it can heighten their victory chances.
“(Pep rallies) are a part of our school spirit and getting the school hyped,” she said after a floor performance with her team.
The boys’ team (27-2) is squaring off in a rematch against last year’s contender: the Waxhaw Cuthbertson Cavaliers, a team who handed the Vikings one of their only two losses this season.
“I think their team is the same team coming back,” said head coach Perry Tyndall, who is in his first year leading the team. “For the most part, we’ve got some of the same returners, so I don’t think there’s going to be a whole lot of differences. They know a lot about us, we know a lot about them.
“I think it’s going to come down to execution and some of the simple things.”
He was an assistant coach the past eight years and said he was able to coach the team to a championship because of his dynamic players.
“I had guys that came in and were willing to work hard and give everything they had,” he said, adding that some guys already knew the hard work it took to get to that level.
“Getting to the state championship is very, very hard,” Tyndall said. “For both teams to get there, our community is extremely excited. … It’s good for our school, it’s good for our students, and it’s good for our community.”
While supporters exited from the gymnasium where both teams went undefeated this year, it opened up the practice floor to some Vikings who’d be spending their last day in the Kinston gymnasium.
“The whole gym means a lot,” said senior guard Josh Dawson, who’s played on the varsity for four years. “The fact that I’ve been here since ninth grade, the fact that I’ve been getting better and better every year, and the fact I can lead my team to a state championship this year just means a lot.”
Dawson, who won state championships with the team in 2010 and 2012, said he’d miss his teammates when he moves on this year, but winning a title two years in a row would be a grand way to exit the team and end his four-year Kinston High basketball career.
Dawson is one of the team’s eight seniors.
“They are very important to this year’s team,” said junior guard Andrew Lopez of key seniors Dawson and forward Denzel Keyes. “We’re just gonna have to be able to step up … next year and play their role. We’ve had the opportunity to have a good team two years in a row.”
Tyndall said to win today, the team has to play through adversity.
“I believe in our guys, I believe in our abilities, but with this game, you never know,” Tyndall said of today’s matchup. “But I believe — and I’m very, very happy to have the team that I have.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at jessika.morgan@kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
BREAKOUT BOX:
2013 NCHSAA prep basketball championship:
- Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill
- Today
- Kinston High School (2A)
- Girls: Noon
- Boys: 2:30 p.m.
- Tickets $10 at the door
Unable to attend today’s games but want to keep up with the teams? Visit Kinston.com for live play-by-play of both contests.