Boys basketball: First Baptist getting hot at just the right time

After struggling through a four-win regular season, it would have been easy to write off First Baptist as it began play in the Ohio Christian School Athletic Association tournament. However, it turned out the Sabres were just getting started. Wins against Temple Christian and Massillon Christian earned First Baptist a regional title and has the Sabres headed to the state tournament at Ohio Christian University in Circleville for the first time since 2020, where they will face top-seeded New Hope Academy at Ohio Christian University tonight at 7:30. "The Lake Effect Conference is the best preparation we could ask for for the OCSAA Tournament," Sabres coach Loren Allbaugh said. "We're outmatched almost every night. Once we see a team that is our size and our strength the morale goes up. We know they haven't played as physical of a schedule as we have." Although the wins didn't come as often as they would have liked this season, the Sabres never lost hope. "We've worked really hard for God's honor and glory all season but to make it to the state tournament is something I don't think any of us expected," sophomore Caleb Allbaugh said. "It's encouraging to see that even if we can't beat some of the teams on our schedule, we're capable of playing well and competing against schools our size. "At first I was upset that we had to play all of these Cleveland teams. None of us are as tall as them and they have bigger student bodies to choose from. Now the entire team sees it differently, we see how those games prepared us for the OCSAA tournament. The teams we've seen aren't nearly as big and physical as the Cleveland schools. We may not have enjoyed those games a lot but they've been crucial to our success." The Sabres kicked off the postseason with a 37-17 win over Temple and followed it with a 55-50 win last week in Massillon to advance to the Final Four. "We've had a few tough years in the Lake Effect Conference but between the boys' hard work and God's blessing we've been able to go far this year," Loren Allbaugh said. "By the end of the year we were noticing we were in games we wouldn't have been at the beginning of the year. We went into the Christian school tournament really coming into our peak." Even coming off a 6-18 season, the Sabres still had a number of players with championship experience. Seniors Derek Burman, Sam Gravley, Jed Wilcox and Drake Patton were all part of the 2020 Final Four team and six of the players on the roster were also on the school's soccer team that advanced to Circleville last fall. "We hoped that we would make it back and God gave us the opportunity to have a few good games so we could have that chance," said Patton, the Sabres' leading scorer. "It means a lot for all of us to be heading to the state tournament. Last year was a rough year and we've really improved, especially in the second half of this season. We peaked at the right time." Everyone on the team credits assistant coach Sam Goodrich with helping them get to this point. "We have to do everything we've been working on in practice," Patton said. "If we go down there and stay disciplined I think we have a good chance to win this game." This state tournament appearance will be unlike any other in First Baptist history because for the first time the Sabres girls team is also headed to the state semifinals. "It's very exciting, the first time the boys and girls are both going down," Patton said. "I have a few classmates on the girls team. It's so good we can all get this experience." Drake's sister, Kaylen, a sophomore, is on the girls team, along with Gravley's sister, Kara, a freshman, and Burman, whose sister, Kate, is also a freshman. Freshman Stephen Meng has a sister, Chloe, who is a senior on the girls team. "It would be probably one of the best moments of all of our lives if we could win the state championship," Caleb Allbaugh said. "And it would be so great for the seniors going out. They're such a great group of hard-working guys. They really deserve it." If the games get tough this week, Coach Allbaugh is hoping his players can rely on their faith to get them through. "We have the luxury at a Christian school that we teach the boys to play their best for the glory of God," he said. "Even basketball can be a form of worship. As the boys accepted that truth and kept playing their best, eventually the team got better and better. The team has worked hard and prepared for what's ahead this weekend." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.