Debt paid in full

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Crenshaw Coach Ed Waters is like his legendary predecessor Willie West in some respects. Neither is overly demonstrative on the sideline; both coach the entire game, no matter the score.

But you know Waters had to be smiling -- at least on the inside -- as his Cougars (17-6), seeded 10th, pulled away in the fourth quarter for an 87-65 victory over host and seventh-seeded Jordan (16-6) in a City Section Championship Division first-round playoff game Friday.

I’m sure Waters also noticed the dejected Bulldogs fans looked like Dodgers fans exiting after the seventh inning to beat the traffic -- even if he didn’t show it.

‘There were a lot of our alumni here tonight,’ Waters said. ‘We had a history of never losing to Jordan until that playoff game four years ago. A lot of them really wanted to see this game, and we wanted to win it for them.’

When I asked Waters if he felt the debt was paid in full, he smiled. Not a condescending smile, or a we’re-the-winners-let’s-rub-it-in smile.

But a smile nonetheless.

-- Mike Terry

- Image by: npanola.k12.ms.us/