ROANOKE, Va. – There’s a lot of similarities between Tuesday’s practice at Cave Spring, and this day two years ago. Excitement and energy left over from a State Semifinal thriller, the Knights are a mere 48 hours away from the Class 3 Championship game. The difference between now and then though, is a healthy dose of gratefulness, and surely nothing standing in their way.
“The last time that bus was pulling in, Mr. Parker, our assistant principal, waved that bus away so it wouldn’t pull into our parking lot,” head coach Jacob Gruse said.
Thursday, Cave Spring will be back in the title game for the second time in three years, the last title was in 2020, where they were named Class 3 Co-Champions due to COVID, and never stepped foot in Richmond
“I don’t want to be overdramatic or take things out of context, as many people who have lost their lives, but in that moment, in our basketball lives, it was devastating, it was,” Gruse said of telling his team they wouldn’t be making the trip to the Siegel Center.
The Knights are 27-1, their last loss back in early December to rival Northside. But the journey hasn’t been easy, really it’s been two years in the making, but it’s made them better.
“We gotta fight through adversity, when adversity has hit, this team has been ready,” senior Bryce Cooper said. “We’ve stayed calm, kept our composure, get ready to fight.”
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that nothing is guaranteed, and head coach Jacob Gruse knows how quickly things could change between now and Thursday.
“I want to be able to take our guys into the Siegel Center, take a deep breath for about 20, minutes then get prepared again,” he finished.
Cave Spring will face Petersburg on Thursday at 8 p.m. in the Sigel Center at VCU.