GRANDVIEW — Not only did the Zebras and Lady Zebras each have their own respective outstanding seasons, but the Grandview boys and girls basketball teams were also each other’s biggest fans.
On Feb. 23, the Zebras were scheduled to face Whitney at 6 p.m. in the Class 3A area playoffs in Hillsboro with the Lady Zebras slated to play Woodville at 7:30 p.m. in the regional semifinals at Waco Midway.
After the Zebras beat Whitney, 65-48, the coaches and players quickly loaded the team bus and hurried down to Waco Midway to catch the second half of the girls game, a game the Lady Zebras won to advance to the Class 3A Region III final before falling to Marlin one win shy of state.
“On our way to their game, we were all huddled around one phone listening to the game on the Zebra Sports Network going crazy cheering on the bus on our way to the game,” Zebra senior Michael Masella said.
That night was indicative of how dedicated the two teams were to support the other. And the Lady Zebras returned the favor when the Zebras followed suit by competing in the regional finals at Waco Midway the following week, then when the Zebras advanced to state in San Antonio.
“The support not only in this community but between the boys and girls sides was unbelievable,” Lady Zebra senior Hanna Hudson said. “There are relationships between the people on each team that we will hold on to for life. The boys did their best to be at everything they could for us because they loved their Lady Zebras. And the girls loved their Zebras. Everyone on the girls team drove to San Antonio on Thursday to watch and support our boys at state.”
Hudson said the support even goes beyond the court in Grandview.
“The special support throughout the two programs isn’t just when one team does great things or even just in the athletic world,” Hudson said. “The support between everyone is so much more to each aspect of life. That’s part of what makes playing with ‘Grandview Zebras’ on your uniform so special.”
Grandview Girls Coach Steve Montgomery said the support system in Grandview from sport to sport has been unique this year.
“I think that’s really important,” Montgomery said. “I know there’s been that support in the past, it just seemed like this was a special year. We felt good about our kids coming together. They all got along really well. I think that started with the success in football and volleyball. It just carried over.
“That support is key to an entire program, not just one side or the other, being good. I think that’s important in that it showed everybody wanted each team to be good.”
Grandview Boys Coach Joel Moore said he believes in the old saying, success breeds success.
“I’m just a big believer that success breeds success,” Moore said. “It helped us when we had big crowds there and it motivated us. We made an effort to be there for them as much as we could. When you include all the sports up to this point, all the teams have been making runs and all of the support between the programs has been pretty amazing.”
Masella said he believes the support each program shows one another is because of how close the student-athletes are to each other.
“The support for each other is unheard of,” Masella said. “You can go to any other 3A playoff game and you won’t see near the student section that Grandview has. The reason is because we are all friends and we all support each other. We always want to be there for one another. It makes the atmosphere of the game a lot more electric and shows the support from your school and your whole city, and it’s not even the kids, it’s also the coaches. Everyone in the city of Grandview enjoys supporting the athletic teams.”