2A Prep Boys Basketball: R.A. Long pushes Mark Morris aside for seat at Civil War roundtable
New Narrative— Could the Lumberjacks and Monarchs meet again in Yakima? Yes.
Sam Barbee and Jordan Nailon / blastzonenews@gmail.com
Let’s talk about tradition. Institutional memory. Internal standards. Call it what you want to call it.
When doing word association on Longview High School Boys Basketball, you would be forgiven for thinking of Mark Morris first. Can you name another local school that ran out of space listing its All-State players? You cannot.
It’s a paradox R.A. Long coach Jeray Key knows all too well, having grown up just blocks from the clock and bell tower he now coaches beneath, and yet he is a Mark Morris alumnus.
“When I was a Monarch, the one thing about being there is you wanted to be a part of a tradition,” Key said, dripping with water in the hallway at Kelso High School after his Lumberjacks defeated Mark Morris, 57-52, for the District title last Friday.
“And so being part of a tradition, when I got over here, I wanted to bring that back,” Key continued. “I wanted guys to know, from the past, who was around here. Adam Perry, Dexter Griffin and Kyle Fowler and Scott Pisapia… I want those guys to come back so everyone knows how they are.”
As the Lumberjacks cut down the net on Big K court — a sweet feeling in and of itself — the team urged others not officially listed on the roster to get involved by taking their turn climbing the ladder with scissors in their hands.
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