Weston County Civil War

Mother Nature thwarted the first weekend of basketball for the Lady Dogies, which meant they missed out on three games of their season. 
I was really happy that it worked out for both the boys and the girls to be able to find a time to make up their missed cross-conference games against Burns, and then the ladies were able to pick up another contest last week when our neighbors to the west, the Upton Lady Bobcats, also had an opening in their schedule.
Upton and Newcastle play each other through middle school, but once they get to high school, Upton plays in 1A division and Newcastle in 3A, so they don’t get the opportunity to go head to head any more.
I was excited to see the two teams meet each other on the court. And this year, both teams enjoy the No. 1 ranking in the coaches and media poll in their respective classes, and they are the top seed in their respective conferences as well.
I’m not sure the last time that Upton was ranked first in the state, but I know that the Lady Dogies have not been ranked No. 1 throughout my tenure here, which is 23 years.
Heck, the last time the Lady Dogies have put a banner on the wall was 43 years ago, so the chance that it will happen this year is pretty exciting.
As the Lady Bobcats and Lady Dogies are both approaching post-season play, getting the chance to throw in a game with no real effect on either’s record — especially when there’s only a 30-minute trip to get to play it — is pretty cool.
As the “Weston County Civil War” and the “Battle of the Number Ones” got underway, it was to a full house in the Dogie Dome. 
Fans were excited to watch both of these talented teams battle it out and though Newcastle ended up with bragging rights by the end of the game, it was fun and it looked to me as if the players were having fun on the court.
For Upton, I can only imagine that the opportunity to get in this game in the week before the 1A regional tournament was very valuable for them as they prepare to go on their state championship run. 
The same can be said for Newcastle who have one more tough week of regular season play before their 3A regionals gets underway.
I don’t know if we will get the opportunity to see these two teams take the court at the same time again, so it was a blast for the opportunity to present itself. 
Best of luck to the Lady Bobcats this week at regionals, and I hope you bring a state championship back to Weston County in two weeks — and I hope Newcastle is able to do the same in three weeks.
That would be pretty awesome!