Owens goes out in style, helps Staple to first title at Scott County Central

~ The senior scored 26 points in his final game at Scott County Central

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- As soon as the final buzzer sounded on the Scott County Central boys basketball team's Class 1 state championship win against Meadville, an emotional coach Frank Staple embraced senior Juwan Owens near the bench.

It was an exciting time for the Braves, who had just won the school's 17th state title and fifth in six years after losing in the quarterfinals last season, but it was also bittersweet.

"I think beyond last year, I've had these guys -- this was my first bunch here," Staple said. "I had them since eighth grade. We just had a lot of good times, a lot of hard work. I've yelled at them a lot, I've got on their butts a lot, but it's all love. I'm just proud of them. Any time you get to this point, it's a lot of joy, but I'm really sad to see them go."

When Owens said he was "at a loss for words" to explain what was going through his mind during a news conference after the game and leaned his head down toward the table, Staple reached over, patted him on the back and gave him a comforting "good job."

Staple, who was an assistant coach for the past three SCC championship teams, won his first title as a head coach Saturday, but he was quick to turn the spotlight back on his players.

"It's just kind of indescribable," Staple said after the 69-39 win in the title game. "It's great to win it as an assistant, but it's totally different as a head coach. It's not about me, though, it's about the players, and I'm just happy for them. I love them, and I'm glad that we could do it for them."

Of those 11 players, six are seniors and Saturday's game was their last in a Braves' uniform.

"I've played with these guys since I was about 6 or 7 years old, and we always played together in grade school, so it's going to be sad for us to split up," senior Kendall Blissett said. "But at the same time it's tears of joy that we came up here and got the job done. We've done something that everybody else said that we couldn't do, so it's a great feeling."

They all remember losing last year in the Class 1 quarterfinal round to eventual state champion Eminence -- the loss snapped a string of four consecutive state championships at SCC.

"You know, I always knew he was a good coach even though sometimes people put us down and told us things that we couldn't do. I never lost faith in him," Blissett said. "You know, after last year I think we came together as a stronger team, and we said we wasn't going to go out like we did the past year and we was going to come nothing short but a champion, so we just had to come up here and get it done and prove people wrong."

Before the Braves proved doubters wrong with their win Saturday, Staple talked about the pressure to win titles at SCC.

"I think any time you go to a place with such tradition, the pressure's going to be there," Staple said at a news conference following his team's 69-63 semifinal win over Stanberry on Thursday. "At Scott Central, you know, they don't get too excited about district championships or sectional championships or quarterfinals. ... They want to hang banners. So the pressure's there, but I've got a lot of support and my main thing is I just love my team and I want to do my best for them."

So does this state title lift any of that weight off of Staple as he finishes his second season as a head coach?

"You take a deep breath and get ready for next year. That's kind of what it is," Staple said. "But, I mean, I'm going to savor this and enjoy this, and I just, I thank God truly for putting me in this position.

"I always say it's an honor to be here at Scott Central, and now to be able to have my name on that banner as a head coach is just something I'll cherish forever. But it's not about me, it's about the kids."