High School Basketball

‘Two teams, one dream.’ Rival schools band together in student sections

Murray High School students showed their support for the Mayfield High School boys’ basketball team during their game against Walton-Verona during the semifinals of the boys’ All “A” Classic state tournament at McBrayer Arena in Richmond, Kentucky, on Saturday, January 27, 2018.
Murray High School students showed their support for the Mayfield High School boys’ basketball team during their game against Walton-Verona during the semifinals of the boys’ All “A” Classic state tournament at McBrayer Arena in Richmond, Kentucky, on Saturday, January 27, 2018. jmoore@herald-leader.com

It’s hard to imagine University of Kentucky basketball fans ever jumping into the Louisville student section and cheering on the Cardinals, or U of L fans doing the same to help pull the Wildcats to victory.

Advantage: High school basketball.

A similar scenario played out during the All “A” Classic high school state tournaments this week. The Mayfield High School boys’ basketball team and the Murray High School girls’ basketball team each reached their respective fields.

The schools are separated by about 20 miles and are fierce rivals in the First Region. However, this week, the student sections for both programs decided to put the rivalry on hold.

Players for both teams even drew up signs and made faux-jerseys to show their support for the “enemy.”

Both sections also showed solidarity with Marshall County High School, another First Region program, where a deadly shooting occurred earlier in the week.

Murray High School students showed their support for the Mayfield High School boys’ basketball team during their game against Walton-Verona during the semifinals of the boys’ All “A” Classic state tournament at McBrayer Arena in Richmond, Kentucky, on Saturday, January 27, 2018.
Murray High School students showed their support for the Mayfield High School boys’ basketball team during their game against Walton-Verona during the semifinals of the boys’ All “A” Classic state tournament at McBrayer Arena in Richmond, Kentucky, on Saturday, January 27, 2018. Josh Moore jmoore@herald-leader.com

Josh Moore: 859-231-1307, @HLpreps

This story was originally published January 27, 2018 at 8:45 PM with the headline "‘Two teams, one dream.’ Rival schools band together in student sections."

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