Battle of Tigers: Graceville prepares for Chipley
FRANKLIN COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Coming off their first playoff win since 2020, the Graceville boys basketball team is getting set to face the Chipley Tigers in the Rural Region 1 Final.
Two years ago, Graceville alum Mike Gates came back out of retirement after 30 years of coaching for the Chipley Tigers and headed back to his alma mater to coach the Graceville Tigers.
'To come back and coach them and get them in the playoffs and let this team have success means a lot,' Gates said.
Last year the Tigers fell short of their goal of making it into the playoffs but this year they snuck into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in Region 1.
The Tigers upset No. 1 seed Bethlehem in the District 1 semifinal.
Entering the postseason with a similar record to last year, senior forward Bryson Reynolds said it took everyone buying into the process to reach the Region Final.
'We came into practice and had a little talk about it, saying that we need to do better, we're losing. And Coach Gates told us the same thing, that we need to up our game, start winning, practice harder, and play harder,' senior guard Jamaris Gainer said.
Graceville will now have to beat Chipley one more time if they want to win the regional title and fulfill their goal of reaching the state semifinals for the first time since 2017.
The game will be played at Chipley High School on Monday, February 17.
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