The gold ball trophy has made its long awaited return to Chattanooga. The Chattanooga Prep Sentinels ended a long title drought in the Chattanooga area by winning the TSSAA BlueCross Class 1A championship Saturday. Patrick MacCoon covered each of the team’s games in Murfreesboro and lists five lasting memories of the Sentinels’ run to glory.
1. Brother’s keeper
Every standard in the Sentinels basketball program was established by Christoffer Collins, who was at Chatt Prep from day one. While life’s circumstances prevented him from returning this season as head coach, his twin brother, Christian, made a promise to not let him down after agreeing to step in.
After the final buzzer sounded in Saturday’s 64-41 state finals victory over Frank Hughes, a tear-jerking moment occurred behind the state champ’s bench where the twins shared a lasting embrace. Instead of boasting about his accomplishments in his first-year as head coach, Christian pointed out after the game that the championship was dedicated to Christoffer, who had helped set the program up for the ultimate triumph.
2. Amazing comeback