Fan favorites head to the Siegel Center

While Madison may be a quiet town, the local high school’s fans are quite the opposite. On Saturday, the Mountaineer faithful filled both bleachers at Monticello High to capacity — a feat that had both VHSL officials and members of the press in awe.

Today, coach Tim Taylor and his Madison County team head to Richmond and the Siegel Center, a much bigger venue for their Group A, Division 2 semifinal game against Dan River — and the whole town is hoping to join in.

“It’s been an uproar,” Taylor said. “We got parents and teachers talking about getting out of school early to see this game. Everyone wants to come.”

This isn’t a new thing. Taylor saw this excitement before as a player for the Mountaineers.

“One of my favorite anecdotes is from when I was a senior,” Taylor said. “We were heading to Lexington, and at the border of Madison and Greene County someone had left a sign that said, ‘Last one out, turn the lights off.’”

Taylor’s players are now getting that same treatment and then some, — partly because they’re undefeated, but also because they reflect the outlook of the town — a blue-collar work ethic.

“This community has been great,” Taylor said. “They’ve adopted this team and we feel very blessed because of it. There aren’t a lot of teams that have this. We’ve got people coming to games that haven’t been to the high school in 25 or 35 years.

“I think that’s because these kids have been very active in the community. They’re winning because they practice hard, they play hard. They play the right way, the honest way. I think everyone appreciates that. And we’re very grateful for that.”

While this group is making its first trip to the state tournament, Taylor doesn’t expect to see wide eyes when his team hits the court.

“We went to a VCU camp [at the Siegel Center] to prepare for that kind of thing.” Taylor said. “We wanted them to see the place and make it seem not so unfamiliar. Hopefully that’s what will happen.”

One thing that will be familiar is Dan River. The Mountaineers beat the Wildcats 56-48 in the Region B championship on Feb. 28. Taylor expects this second bout to be rough and tough.

“You’re going to see a war out there,” Taylor said. “It’ll be hard fought and about attacking the glass. I think who ever wins the rebounding battle will win this game.”

That’s nothing new to Taylor’s players, who’ve been told on a consistent basis that winning basketball comes down to just a couple of factors.

“We’ve stressed this since Day 1,” Taylor said. “There are three keys — play defense, rebound, and make more free throws than the other team attempts. If you do those things, you should win.”

Of course, that’s all Madison has done all year. The entire team thrives on the competitive nature of the sport, from the players all the way up to the coaches. But as a former player himself, Taylor hopes his team soaks up the atmosphere.

“As coaches, we all get that competitive itch,” Taylor said. “There’s an edginess and nervousness. We’d all just love to be out there playing. So we tell our kids that it’s okay to be nervous — just have fun — and they do. And if you watch us, we don’t get rattled.”

The good news for the Mountaineers is that there shouldn’t be much to be rattled about. By the time the game starts, there should be more than a few recognizable faces among the crowd, and certainly no shortage of vocal support, despite being some distance away from home.