The Brantley Bulldogs varsity basketball team left the Alabama High School Athletic Association 1A State Championship game with the runners-up title Thursday, Feb. 27. The team suffered a slim loss, 69-67, to R.C. Hatch, ending their season with the championship bid.

Before the game, the Bulldogs battled challenges when two senior starters left mid-season. Despite these losses, the Bulldogs pulled through and gain the chance to grab the state championship. Head basketball coach Andre Parks expressed his pride in the team of players who persevered through the season’s challenges.

“Just being able to have the journey to get here [means a lot],” Parks said. “[In the] first round of the area tournament we were a little nervous about that game. Our season could’ve ended there three or four weeks ago.

“This team,  every time they’re faced with adversity, we find a way. They found a way to just keep going and keep winning and I’m just so proud of them.”

The Hatch Bobcats from Uniontown, were coming into the game with a 24-4 overall record compared to the Bobcats 22-4 season.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game; we faced a tough opponent – R.C Hatch – but I thought our guys responded well and we played well all night long,” Parks said. “I was really proud of our guys and how we competed”

According to the coach, this state championship game was extra special, as only three teams from Brantley made it into the final four, and two were able to compete in a state championship in the past 30 years. 

For three of the seniors — starting forward Jon Harper Kilcrease, forward Daylan Davis and point guard Jayden Parks — this is their second time competing in the state championship. 

“My freshman year was the first time all three of us had [gone] to the final four,” Kilcrease said. “But this senior year was the second time that us three were blessed enough to be able to get there and it was an awesome experience. It was even better than the last.”  

During the game, Brantley held the lead in the first half, with a score of 30-28 in favor of the Bulldogs. The team fought hard to maintain their lead, with Jayden Parks scoring 44 points out of 43 shot attempts throughout the game. 

Following Jayden was power forward Julius Sylvester with nine points and Kilcrease with eight points. 

“We did a good job of defending, especially early in the game,” Jayden said. “We were out rebounding them, making shots and just playing fast, playing our tempo, playing the way we wanted to.

“I think they started to speed us up, and our shots, they stopped falling. We weren’t finishing as well. We weren’t rebounding as well and the game started to get away from us. We were playing more of their style of basketball instead of ours.” 

In the second half, the Bobcats started gaining and defending against Brantley, winning the game with a two-point lead. For the Bobcats, the victory was their first championship title since 2008. 

Despite the loss, players like Kilcrease and Jayden Parks said they celebrate the opportunity to return to the state championship and are proud of how they played. Andre Parks called the season a “magical run.”