CHAMPIONS Never Quit

STORY BY QWANZI SAMUELS, KEITH LONG, KEMARTE JEFFERSON & AMARI WATSON, FNN REPORTERS. PHOTOS BY GABBY STEWART, CHAMBERLAIN BUREAU

APRIL 22, 2014.  Meet the Chamberlain Boys B-ball team. Deonte Wideman, Qwanzi Samuels, Larry McPherson, Keith Long (all 8th graders); Nate Lemons (7th grader) and Angelo Jordan (6th grader) all had a challenging season. Despite all the ups and downs, the boys worked as a team to win their Championship game. This photo was taken March 6, 2014 at the end of the game. They earned the title for 2014 PCSAA Middle School Championship for the first time this year!

Down by ten at halftime, Mr.Little motivated our champions to play the way champions do. To gain the title of “Champions” we had to outscore Paul public school in the third quarter (9-2). The Chamberlain Champions were down by 3 in the fourth quarter in the game against Paul. The Champions played hard in the fourth quarter with both teams having no signs of giving out. With the champions down by 3, Angelo Jordan hit a big 3 to make the crowd go wild.

With thirty seconds left, the team captain Qwanzi Samuels had the ball. Qwanzi attacked hard but missed the go-ahead layup, but Nathan Lemons saved the day when he made two foul shots. With the score now 32-31 Qwanzi Samuels made a defensive play with the steal. Paul fouled Qwanzi and Qwanzi made 1 out of 2 foul shots to put Paul away and win the game. Coach Richard Little summed up the season saying the boys worked hard and never quit.

Amari shared how they became a winning team. He said that everyone practiced very hard everyday. They went over plays at practice, worked out and learned how to work together and be a team. “Every Monday and Wednesday we had a game. We beat a lot of teams. During the season we lost once to Paul, the team we played against in the Boys 2014 Middle School Basketball Championship Game. By listening to Mr. Littles coaching advice and from our experience, the boys basketball team defeated Paul and proved that even though they won a game we could still win the Championship.”

Qwanzi Samuels, Keith Long and Gabby Stewart are 8th graders; Kemarte Jefferson and Amari Watson are 6th graders at Friendship Chamberlain Academy.