Bluejays have memorable experience in Des Moines

They didn’t come away with a victory, but members of theVillisca boys basketball team came away from their game at Wells Fargo Arena with memories that will last a lifetime.

After a pep-rally sendoff in Villisca on Sunday, March 8, the Bluejays took a two-hour van ride to Des Moines, where they stayed overnight. They had a nice meal together, went swimming and even had a late-night ice cream run. On game day, they had photo opportunieis with teammate Joel Herzberg, who hasn’t played with the team since a snowboarding accident on Jan. 2.

The Bluejays were relaxed when they arrived at Wells Fargo Arena Monday afternoon for their game against Rock Valley. After putting on their game gear, they came back out of the locker room and waited patiently for the start of the fourth quarter of the game that was going on before their matchup with the Rockets.

As they were waiting, Bluejay senior Ryan Focht said, “I am not really nervous at all. I think was more nervous about a game versus Stanton than I am about this game.”

With the buzz in their ears, the basketball team got up from their court seats and walked over to the coaches standing in the tunnel for a pre-game huddle.

The Bluejays ran out on the court for the pre-game warmup as a sea of blue and white filled the Villisca side of Wells Fargo Arena. Villisca won the opening tipoff and got possession of the basketball. Focht made the first two points of the game.

The Bluejays kept up with Rock Valley for most of the first quarter, but the Rockets pulled away in the second quarter.

Villisca came away from its first state tournament game with a 77-49 loss, but the experience is one the Bluejay players will never forget.