When Jaguars and Wildcats come together, there’s always the possibility of a claw-back of some sort, but Thursday’s tilt in volleyball between the visiting Opeongo Wildcats and the host SJCHS Jaguars took that whole idea to the maximum limit.
After jumping ahead to 2-0 margin after the first two games, the Jaguars made life interesting, and the Wildcats obliged by scratching their way back into the match with a pair of consecutive victories of their own, forcing the deciding and pivotal fifth game.
While exciting, I suppose, from a raw entertainment point of view, such things generate a level of excitement for coaches as well, the quality of excitement dependent upon which coach you happen to be.
For Jaguars coach Trent Skelhorn, it’s the kind of excitement you can probably do without.
“I guess the guys, for whatever reason, decided they wanted to play more volleyball,” Skelhorn said, referring to his team’s reluctance to close out Opeongo after building up all the momentum that comes with a 2-0 lead in games.
The Opeongo comeback extended well into Game 5, and it was only after some gut-wrenching volleyball that the Jaguars emerged with a Disney-type finish, finally dispatching the Wildcats by a 17-15 margin.
The win over Opeongo extends the Jaguar’s record to 5-2 on the season.
