The Petersburg High School gym was packed as community members – and a small group of Wrangellites – cheered for their home teams. Petersburg’s varsity teams and the boys’ JV team played over two days on Feb. 27-28.
The varsity boys took wide leads against Wrangell during both games, winning 53-20 on Friday and 50-31 on Saturday. Head coach Rick Brock said Friday was one of their better games this season.
“Just from the beginning, it seemed like we had a nice rhythm offensively,” he said. “I liked the energy level.”
Wrangell took both games against the varsity girls, winning 44-31 on Friday and 39-31 on Saturday. Petersburg varsity girls’ head coach Matt Pawuk said some of Wrangell’s offensive strategies took the team by surprise.
“We made some mistakes as a team that we haven’t made in a month,” he said. “It was definitely a step back for us.”
He said there were a lot of factors that could have contributed to the team’s performance, and pointed to the nerves of playing in front of a full homecoming crowd.
But the games were about more than just the final outcome; they were also a chance to recognize the 22 seniors who participated in basketball, cheerleading, and pep band. The seniors were celebrated by families and friends as Athletic Director Jamie Cabral read statements about each student’s favorite memories and where they were going after graduation.
Senior Noah Pawuk said it hasn’t really hit him that his final high school basketball season will be coming to a close.
“But I’m excited, I’m ready for a new chapter of life,” he said. “Just getting to experience this last year with all my best friends… and competing [in] basketball, going to school every day with all my friends, it’s really nice.”
He said he feels like all of the hard work through the years has paid off, and it shows when the seniors play on the court.
Senior Rikka Miller said playing her final high school basketball home games brought up a lot of feelings.
“It was emotional, but also it was really fun,” Miller said. “I feel like the environment was really fun, and even though we didn’t win, it was a super fun game.”
She said she’s had a great season, and said the team has grown a lot since their first game.
But the season isn’t over just yet. Now, both varsity teams will travel to Juneau to compete in the regional tournament where the boys are seeded first and the girls are seeded fourth. Both coaches say the teams are in a good spot heading into regions.
The girls play their first game on Wednesday, March 4, at 3 p.m. against Haines. The boys play on Thursday, March 5, at 10:30 a.m. The boys will play the winner of a Wednesday game between Craig and Wrangell. KFSK will broadcast the varsity games live.
