Three is no charm for Faith Warriors

Orangewood Christian plays nearly flawlessly to deny Bayshore Christian its third straight title.

By KEITH NIEBUHR
Published November 12, 2005

LAKELAND - In the middle of the court, Maitland Orangewood Christian celebrated with high fives and hugs. On the other side of the net, a dejected group of Bayshore Christian players slowly walked toward the bench. Courtney Weisman, one of two Bayshore seniors, covered her face with a towel. Heather Johnson wiped away a tear. Adria Mullaney shook her head in disgust.

In stunning fashion, Bayshore's run at the top was over.

On a day in which their opponent was nearly perfect, the Faith Warriors admittedly weren't their best. The result was a disappointing 26-24, 25-12, 25-16 loss Friday in the Class A final that kept Bayshore from winning its third straight championship.

"I'm proud of my girls," Bayshore coach Melanie Humenansky said. "I'm proud of what they've accomplished. My girls never gave up. Not once. For that, we can be proud. It just happened to not be our day. (Orangewood) had a burning desire and they pretty much played a flawless game."

The title Bayshore won in 2003 came against Orangewood, which made Friday's win extra sweet for the Rams, who claimed their first championship.

"We just had more weapons," Orangewood coach Diane Langmo said. "But they made us work."

The coach was right, even though the score might not indicate it. Bayshore (27-6) fought for every point, but it simply wasn't enough. Orangewood (30-1) answered seemingly every Faith Warriors shot with a better one of its own, took advantage of Bayshore's off day on offense, and at times was overpowering at the net.

Bayshore fell behind 7-1 in the opening game, but quickly found its groove and rallied to take its first lead at 20-19. A Jannica Mollett kill put the Faith Warriors ahead 24-21, but Orangewood survived three game points and took a one game to none lead on a Bayshore miss.

"That was crucial," Humenansky said. "Had we won that game, we might have seen a different outcome."

From that point on, it was all Rams. "It hurts a lot," Mullaney said. "It hurts so much I have no tears."

[Last modified November 12, 2005, 00:55:15]