With little more than 24 hours before tip-off, Midway Red Devils Head Coach Phil McNabb blew his whistle for the final time and gave the order for his team to toe the baseline. “Boys tomorrow night we’re going to play Coalfield for the district championship, Coach McNabb reminded. “We’re going onto their home floor and playing in front of their fans. You better believe they are having the same hard practice we are right now so we’re gonna have to give everything we’ve got. We have everything to gain, and nothing to lose.”

After running the table during the regular season and county tournament with a perfect 12-0 record, Midway still entered the Area II District Middle School District Tournament as the #11 seed, the lowest of any team. Their road began with an opening round 42-17 win over Elk Valley. The next stop would be at Coalfield, thrashing the pesky three seeded Fairview Rebels by more than 20 points. And then, the anticipated semi-final challenge against a stunned two-seeded Burchfield team that could never find any offensive rhythm due to a swarming Red Devil defense.

Even with eight seasoned eighth graders on his roster, Coach McNabb knew the championship game against the top seeded Coalfield Yellow Jackets would be a true test for his undersized Midway team. The Yellow Jackets were bigger, stronger and more physical at every position. The starting five all played in Coalfield’s state champion middle school football program. Fortunately, the Red Devils could rely on hustle, speed and deadly three point shooting.

In front of a rowdy Coalfield crowd, it appeared early that the Yellow Jacket’s size would be too much for Midway as they opened up a quick 7-2 lead with a strong inside game. Lengthy Coalfield point guard Ryan Hill demonstrated why he deserved to be selected as an all-star by driving the ball to the basket several times. But yet, the quickness of the Midway boys kept producing timely steals and layups to keep it close. With eight minutes remaining in the first half, Midway took it’s biggest lead by five on a shot by Paul Estep. The lead quickly changed again as Coalfield hit the boards and went up by eight with one minute remaining. But then with :07 in the half, Midway’s Dakota Brock hit a three from the right corner to cut the lead to five.

In the third, Brock kept Midway close early with back-to-back-to back three’s. Coalfield continued pounding the ball inside and took control with their board domination and accurate free throw shooting.

At the beginning of the 4th, the momentum was heavily in the Yellow Jackets favor. Midway appeared fatigued. The ongoing bumping and banging with its stockier opponents was taking its toll and the Coalfield fans smelled victory. Hill continued driving the ball from baseline to baseline and finishing strong. With 2:30 on the clock, Midway found themselves down by six. At the 2:20 mark, Midway center Nick Roberts cut the lead to four with a lay-up on a well ran in-bounds play. Midway continued their full court press. Guard Samuel Shipley dove on a loose ball giving it back to Midway on the alternate possession. Noe then cut the lead to two on a eight foot jumper with 1:10 left. The Coalfield team began to panic. With fifty seconds left, Brock stole the ball from the Coalfield point guard at half-court and finished strong on a contested lay-up. It was time for a Coalfield time-out! At the :35 mark, Coalfield had the ball to in-bound under the Midway goal. The Red Devils instantly applied their sticky man-to-man full court press. On a risky pass from Hill, Brock deflected the ball to point guard Paul Estep who stole the ball and was then fouled. With :20 left, Midway had the ball under their own goal with a chance to score. Coach McNabb opted not to call a time-out. Coalfield dug in deep looking for a quick steal or turnover. With :15 on the clock and the score tied at 39, the Red Devils patiently moved the ball around before finding the sharp shooting Triston Noe waiting on the right wing for a trey! Suddenly, Midway was up by three. With :01 on the clock, Hill was fouled on the in-bounds and made one of two free throws. Final score Midway 42 CoalField 40!

After the win, Coach McNabb talked about his team, “My kids have really showed lot of heart and toughness on the defensive end and kept us in games where we had a hard time with flow on offense. I still feel they haven’t played their best game. What makes this team so special is the way they share the ball. No one cares who gets credit. With that mindset, a lot can be accomplished.”

Dakota Brock, Nick Roberts, and Paul Estep were named to the all-district tournament team. Triston Noe was selected tournament most valuable player.

According to Coach McNabb, this is the deepest any Midway boys team has ever advanced in post season. The Red Devils will now move on to the TMSAA State Tournament on February 9th in Sevierville.