HISTORY!! Jets Rip Broncos For 66th Straight Win
POWERS---It was perhaps the most hyped regular season basketball game for many years in the Upper Peninsula as the North Central Jets hosted the rival Bark River-Harris Broncos in Powers. Not only was it a "rivalry game", but the Jets were looking to add another chapter to their basketball storybook: a state record for consecutive victories. And nearly six decades later, the Jets broke the record Friday night with a dominating 76-29 win over a good Bark River-Harris team. It was the two-time defending Class D state champion Jets' 66th straight victory, one more than the 1950's Chassell boys. And if anyone thought that the Jets would come into this game over-confident, well, they don't know Coach Adam Mercier or the boys. The Jets methodically came out and took care of business, just as they have the previous 65 times, and it was just another 'W' in a long string of 'W's'. "The community support was just awesome," NCA senior Jason Whitens said. "You don't understand just how many people were here, unless you were here. It was crazy in this gym. The atmosphere was great. There was a lot of people from Bark River here, a lot of people from North Central and other communities here. You've just got to love it." "I mean, we've been playing ball together since the second grade, in 4-on-4's and 3-on-3's (tournaments). This atmosphere, I loved being out there with my family. With my brothers." If the Jets were nervous at all, it didn't show, as they scored the game's first eleven points and raced to a 28-6 lead after the first quarter. The Jets shot a blistering 12 for 15 from the floor in those first eight minutes. And in the second quarter, the beat continued as the Jets eventually took a 41-6 lead by completing a 13-0 run over three minutes. And then came a special moment on a night filled with special moments. Dawson Bilski stepped to the free throw line after blocking his fifth shot at one end of the court and scoring his 18th point on a driving lay-up. This free throw was special because, when he made it, it was Bilski's 1,000th career point. It happened with 31 seconds left in the second quarter, making it a 48-11 game. "Every day coming into practice, with the team that we've got, we know what we want, we want another state championship," said Bilski, who has earned a scholarship to play at Michigan Tech University next fall. "We're going to keep working every day just so that we can accomplish that." Even with Win #66 in the bank, the Jets are still only halfway through this 2016-17 season. "We've got the record, but it's not over with," NCA senior Bobby Kleiman said. "We worked hard for irt, but now, we've got to look on to bigger and better things. We've got to take every game, and work hard, game by game, never overlook an opponent, and we know we will be facing some good teams coming up. We can't take anyone for granted." Bark River-Harris fell to 9-3 on the season, with its only other losses coming to larger schools Escanaba and Iron Mountain. The Jets are now 11-0, and will face Carney-Nadeau in another rivalry game Tuesday night. The game will be broadcast live on WUPF-FM (107.3), and on-line at www.radioresultsnetwork.com/eagle-107-3/ . Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box above to see photos taken by Bill Krachinski, and to hear post-game interviews with the six Jets senior players, and with Coach Adam Mercier. NCA JETS RETIRE GRANQUIST NUMBER---The North Central High School honored 2015 graduate Rob Granquist by retiring his #15 uniform jersey during halftime of Friday night's junior varsity game. Granquist was part of the Jets' first state championship team and is now playing college football at Concordia University in Chicago. He is pictured below with his dad (Bob) and his mom (Wendy). |