By Mike Beas, Special to IHSAA.org
Jake McGraw and Ryan Harshbarger can’t put a number on how many years they’ve known one another.
The Clinton Prairie seniors just always have.
“We’ve known each other for a long time. It kind of goes along with the whole team,” said the 6-foot-5 McGraw, a guard who leads the Gophers (26-2) into Saturday morning’s Class 1A championship game with team-high averages in scoring (23.2), rebounding (7.9) and assists (4.5).
“We grew up together and we were friends. We’ve always played basketball, and that’s really what built us. Growing up together, the chemistry … we just all know what the others like to do. We know if they want to shoot a ‘3’ on a fast break or if they want to get to the rim.”
Such familiarity commonly occurs at small, rural schools. Kids grow up together, play sports together and win together.
And, in the case of the Gophers, believe together.
Clinton Prairie, a program that’s been part of Hoosier Hysteria since the 1960-1961 school year with only two Frankfort Sectional championships on its resume prior to this season (1964 and 1982), has broken through in a big way.
The Gophers blew through sectional play by winning its three games by an average of 24 points, scored an overtime victory against three-time Class 1A kingpin Lafayette Central Catholic at regional and then handled Triton and Kouts at the Lafayette Jeff Semistate.
But why this Clinton Prairie team?
“I think we had a complete buy-in across the board. It’s probably the deepest team we’ve had, as well, as far as any given night it can be somebody else,” said Clinton Prairie coach Chad Peckinpaugh, now in his sixth season. “Obviously, Jake’s been our leader for a number of years, but definitely this year we’re more diverse.
“We’ve had four different leading scorers in a game in our playoff run, so that makes a big difference.”
The Gophers’ opponent for all the 1A marbles, the Orleans Bulldogs (24-4), fall into the same category.
Making its first State Finals appearance in – wait for it – 111 years, Orleans’ charge to Gainbridge Fieldhouse has the town of approximately 2,100 residents eight miles north of Paoli counting the minutes until tipoff.
Needless to say, none were around when the program advanced to the 1912, 1913 and 1914 State Finals.
When it comes to the current version of Bulldogs’ hoops, coach Tom Bradley, now in his 26th season with a 424-211 career record (.668) to show for it, features 6-1 senior guards Rylan Crocker (16.1 ppg) and Bryce Jones (10.1), along with 6-3 junior center Alex DeWitt (14.0).
Last week’s Seymour Semistate saw the Bulldogs take down second-ranked Hauser in a semifinal, 69-67, and top-ranked Clay City in the championship game, 50-47.
Don’t for a minute think Orleans wasn’t due.
After all, this is a program that last season absorbed a five-overtime loss to Barr-Reeve, 75-67, in the title contest at the Loogootee Sectional. Moreover, from 2004 to 2024, Bulldogs squads were bounced from the postseason by five or fewer points on 11 occasions – including a trio of one-point setbacks.
That mountain, finally, has been scaled.
“Well, I was really hoping for it, and it’s always been every kid’s dream on our team,” said Crocker. “We talked about it a lot the past few years, and it’s just a dream come true, really.”
Bradley, who is ranked 16th in career victories among active boys basketball coaches in Indiana, is about as Orleans as it gets. He graduated from the high school in 1979 as a three-sport standout (basketball, baseball and golf) before graduating from Indiana University.
He began his coaching career at Southwestern (Shelby) High School in the early-1980s, was a longtime assistant for the Paoli boys during one of that school’s more-memorable runs (the Rams made it to five semistates while he was there) and returned to his alma mater in 1999.
Orleans takes the floor allowing a mere 39.8 points a game, making it one of the state’s stingiest ball clubs defensively. That reputation will be tested greatly by the Gophers, who average 66 points per outing.
Clinton Prairie and Orleans. Somewhat different, but yet so much alike.
“It’s big for our community,” said Harshbarger, a 6-3 guard who averages 9.6 points for Clinton Prairie, and whose twin brother, Kyle, is also a member of the team. “We hadn’t won a sectional in 43 years. Won the first regional championship. Won the first semistate, and now we’re here.”