PREP BASKETBALL: Ervinton girls enjoying history-making season

They came from nearly everywhere in Dickenson County.

Nora. Trammel. McClure. Clinchco. Fremont. Hazel Mountain. Plus countless other small communities nestled in the mountains of the Southwest Virginia coalfields.

The residents of those hamlets made the trek to Bristol last Saturday afternoon to watch the Ervinton High School girls basketball team make more history.

“We have a lot of supporters,” said senior team member Autumn Bond. The Rebels suffered a 53-44 loss to J.I. Burton that afternoon in the Region D, Division 1 championship game, but it didn’t dampen the mood or overshadow what has been a milestone season.

For a school that hasn’t had much athletic success in recent years, Ervinton’s varsity girls basketball team has put together their own success story.

People have taken notice and the Rebels will play Bland County today at 11 a.m. in the quarterfinals of the VHSL Group A, Division 1 state tournament at the Salem Civic Center.

“We’re a small school and we hardly ever get recognized for anything,” said senior Kelly Rasnick, the team’s star player. “It just feels really good.”

The school
In the annals of Southwest Virginia sports history, Ervinton High School hasn’t exactly been at the forefront. Heck, most people still think the school’s name is “Ervington” instead of the actual name, which is spelled E-R-V-I-N-T-O-N.

The school has had some flashes of brilliance on the local athletic scene, but not too many.

Trazel Silvers was a star for the school’s hoops team in the early-1990s and later had a standout career for the East Tennessee State University men’s team and briefly suited up for the famed Harlem Globetrotters.

The Rebels’ football program has had the occasional strong showing, most recently a playoff berth in 2006.

As for the girls basketball program, nothing much of significance had really occurred until the prospects began to brighten a few years ago.

Four years ago, the team won the Cumberland District’s junior varsity title.

Most of those players moved up to the varsity the following season and reached the regional semifinals. Last year, was a disappointing season as Ervinton experienced an early exit from the postseason.

But this winter, everything fell into place.

The Rebels claimed the Cumberland District regular-season and tournament titles for the first time in school history.

That was soon followed by a state tournament berth, another first for the 200-student school.

“It’s been a great season,” said head coach Jason Edwards. “I don’t know if we could have scripted it any better. We would have liked to come out with a regional title, but so far, so good. I’ve just been so excited for these girls.”

The 29-year-old Edwards, a Haysi native, has provided the Rebels with a steadying influence. He’s Ervinton’s fourth head coach in the last three years, but his players have bought into his plan.

“He’s done great,” said senior Emma Spangler. “We’ve worked hard and it’s paid off.”

The three seniors and the six juniors have come to rely on one another as well.

“This has been one of our goals since we first started playing together and we finally accomplished it,” Rasnick said. “It’s been fun. We’ve had some ups and down, but we’ve stayed
together and practiced hard.”

The state tourney
Ervinton got the red-carpet treatment Friday afternoon before it left for Salem.

The team got well-wishes from fans, family members and some town leaders. The team planned to practice at Roanoke College on Friday in preparation for today’s much-anticipated matchup.

The expansive Salem Civic Center will certainly catch the eyes of Ervinton’s players, who have never played in a facility as grand as the 7,000-seat arena.

“It will be different,” Spangler said. “It will be big.”

For the three Ervinton seniors, this could be the last hurrah of their prep careers. The Rebels should be solid again next year – six juniors dot the roster – but this season has
certainly been an interesting journey for those involved.

“It’s really special just to be a part of this team,” Spangler said. “Just to be able to say we did this and we were the first.”

Something else will also unfold today. Once again, cars from Dickenson County will clog Interstate-81 as the blue-clad fans travel to support their team.

“We have a lot of fans and they come to a lot of our games and cheer very loud,” Rasnick said. “It gets us pumped up.”