Basketball players at Butler Junior High ended the third quarter of the school year Thursday by getting a little revenge on the teachers.
A year ago, it was the teachers who had the best of the annual spring basketball game against players from the school’s girls and boys teams. But it was the students who led into spring break with a 26-16 win over a team full of teachers.
“We did lose last year, but we got them this time,” said 8th-grader Jimmy Coffey, who played for the students. “It’s fun to play against the teachers. I think everyone has a good time.”
Fellow 8th-grader Mia Gaddis, a member of Butler’s girls team, said she was looking forward to the annual game against the teachers.
“It’s fun, and it’s something not all schools do,” she said. “I think it makes it more fun because not everyone gets to play against the teachers.”
Butler students sat in the stands and cheered for both teams. A.J. Smith, a 6th-grader who wore the Viking mascot uniform for the game, didn’t care who won.
“You don’t really root for either team; you just do crazy stuff,” he said.
Social studies teacher John Hamilton was making his third appearance in the game.
“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “The kids really get into it. Everyone has a good time.”
While the team of teachers had a height advantage and more experience, the longevity it took to gain the experience wasn’t necessarily a positive factor.
“We make a lot more lineup changes,” Hamilton said, referring to the comparative lack of stamina for players on the teachers’ team.
“I play as hard as humanly possible at 52,” science teacher Jon Frank added with a smile. Frank has taught at Butler for the past 27 years and has played in many faculty vs. students basketball games during that period, he said.
Twitter: @chuckwriting
