History repeats itself: Shady Spring suffers heartbreak in the state championship game

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WVVA) - The past year had been about one goal for the Shady Spring Tigers and they had a chance to finish the job against the team that denied them back-to-back championships.

Shady Spring jumped out to a 10-2 lead over Fairmont Senior. Quick starts were a large part of Shady Spring’s success all season long and especially in the postseason. The Polar Bears weathered the early storm and eventually seized the lead.

The longer this game went on, the more it resembled the 2022 matchup. The lead changing hands, one team trying to pull away with the other answering each instance, plenty of physicality and just two elite teams battling it out.

Braden Chapman gave his all for Shady Spring. He scored 23 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. He just refused to give in and would not be denied. If he was going to go down, he was going to go down swinging his absolute hardest. Ammar Maxwell added 13 points and was the only other Shady Spring player with more than four points. The rest of the Tigers competed as hard as they could as well.

The Polar Bears ended the game on a 15-5 run and denied the Tigers a championship for the second year in a row. Fairmont Senior won 47-42. DeSean Goode led the Polar Bears with 18 points and Julz Butler contributed 10.

Shady Spring’s group of seniors, featuring Braden Chapman, Cole Chapman, Jaedan Holstein, Sam Jordan and Cam Manns, was the catalyst for an incredibly successful run that includes a state championship in 2021. Their collective impact on the community and program should overshadow the disappointing ending.

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