Road to Gold: Stewartville BBB makes it back-to-back State appearances

The Tigers will face #1 Totino-Grace on Wednesday, March 20 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis

Back-to-back for Stewartville Boys Basketball

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(ABC 6 News) — There’s clearly something special going on in Stewartville when it comes to sports.

First, the football team wins the Class AAA State Championship, now for the second year in a row, Both the girls and the boys basketball programs Have made it to the State Tournament.

This week, the boys team takes another crack at the Big Dance, getting #1 Totino-Grace to start the quarterfinals. It’s a steep challenge that only serves to fuel the fire for head coach Parker Lyga’s crew.

“I mean, if we come in with the mentality that’s what we want, I mean, that’s the energy they’re going to bring,” Coach Lyga said. “And we have the experience, we have the leadership we have what we need and now it’s time to put it all — and just play the game.”

Many on the team are already state champs in football, but one more bit of hardware never hurt. The team believes its trust in each other can ensure this trip to Williams Arena will last longer.

“We’re so close together and the teamwork that we have, that we’ve built through the years, that’s big,” senior Tegan Malone noted. “We can trust one another when making a play or just playing, we don’t have to rely on just one person to have that chemistry together.”

“Well, we’re a very experienced team, we’ve been there before,” junior Parker Wangen added. “(I) feel like we have a better chance, knowing that gym, we’ve played in that gym before, feel like we can do some damage this time.”