SPORTSBEAT by Peter Jakey: Playing through the pain

It’s a good thing fans of Posen and Rogers City basketball had their eyes on the basketball court Tuesday and not me, because I was behind the basket making sure there wasn’t any dirt in my eyes. Maybe a speck of dirt flew into my eyes in a snowflake when I was walking in from the parking lot and blurred my vision, because there was Huron senior Chris Paschke on the floor, ready to help Rogers City win its third game in a row. This is a young man who went to two doctors and was told he had cartilage damage in his knee, and a possible torn meniscus, and that’s what was reported last week in my column that he was gone for the year. “It was a surprise to all of us,” said coach Karl Grambau. Paschke and his family went for a third opinion.

“I went to the knee specialist in Petoskey and he said everything was structurally fine and that it was a bad sprain,” said Paschke. “If I was off of it for a week on crutches, I could come back and play if the pain wasn’t too bad.

“WHEN I GOT the news that I could play, I was pretty happy, obviously. It’s the best sport in the world.” Paschke came back last Friday with four points in the basketball game of the year for Rogers City, a 66-64 win against St. Ignace. He also was the leading scorer against Posen with nine points. The knee doesn’t hurt when he’s running but does make its presence known when pressure is applied on it. With only half of his high school basketball senior season ahead, Paschke is willing to play through the pain. The county rivals played a fierce brand of basketball and players were hitting the court right and left, and that included Paschke, who got knocked down going in for a layup.

“I only came down on my elbow, so it wasn’t too bad,” said Paschke. The elbow hurt, but it kept his mind off his knee for a moment. The game between the Hurons and the Vikings was close when Paschke hit a field goal, putting Rogers City within two, but again my eyes seemed to be deceiving me again.

IS THAT number 44 coming off the bench for Posen or is that Curtis Beach with a new number? This player wasn’t smiling, so it couldn’t have been Beach. It was Aaron Hincka, the senior center who broke his foot against Hale 18 days ago. The big fellow made an instant impact, putting up two points off a rebound and extending the Viking lead to 11-5 on Posen’s next possession with another bucket. Hincka played about three minutes and was back on the bench before the end of the first quarter. “It’s painful, but you’ve got to play through the pain. The doctor said it was going to be painful if I want to play,” said Hincka, who scored 11 against Rogers City. “I want to help my team out, if it’s playing two minutes, one minute, or 10 minutes.” Coach Ron Misiak is looking at two or three minutes at a time this week, but it’ll be interesting to see how the coach handles next week when the ninth-ranked Vikings host Mio and Cedarville.

“He wanted to play and is a senior, and the doctor said it was okay to play,” said Misiak. “We’re happy to have him back.” Hincka said the foot is getting better every day and he expects it to be 100 pe

rcent against Mio. That might be a bit much to ask, but I’ve seen some amazing things the last couple of weeks.

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WHAT WASN’T a surprise to me was a letter of praise from an official from Schoolcraft who wrote to the Michigan High School Athletic Association after working the fourth annual Bill Barrett Memorial earlier this month. Jeffry Morgan returned home from the tournament and was compelled to commend the Rogers City coaching staff, the Huron wrestlers, volunteers, and the fans for making a positive statement for high school wrestling and high school athletics in general.

“As a wrestling official, I am exposed to a wide variety of wrestling programs and schools each year,” Morgan stated. “My hat goes off to coach Pat Lamb and his assistants Chad Coolman and Andy Centala for their efforts in working with their athletes.” Morgan said the coaches have done an excellent job of teaching the wrestlers the “art of the sport” and good sportsmanship. “I have enjoyed officiating their matches and trust that the school and community appreciates their work…they serve as a model for others to follow.” ”

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