Trading Touchdowns for Field Goals: Redbank Valley Football Players Jump Right Back in Action on Basketball Court

NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. (EYT/D9) — The desire was there.

The legs just weren’t.

(Above, Bryson Bain angles for a rebound. Bain has scored 32 points in the first two games of the Redbank Valley basketball season, playing a day after quarterbacking the Bulldogs in the PIAA Class A football championship game/File photo)

With several football players on the roster, the Redbank Valley basketball team soldiered on this weekend. The Bulldogs gutted out a 58-44 win over Jamestown Friday, a little more than 24 hours after the football team suffered a heartbreaking 21-14 loss to Bishop Guilfoyle in the PIAA Class A championship game in Hershey.

Saturday night was a different story. All that mileage over the past four months — and 15 football games — was too much to overcome in a 55-39 setback to Bishop McCort.

“Our goal was to slow the game down, take the air out of the ball, because we have no legs,” said Redbank Valley coach Emmanuel Marshall. “They got off the football field Thursday in the state championship game and they were back Friday to play. We were able to overcome Jamestown and the second night — we just didn’t have it. They were good and they were in basketball shape.”

Redbank Valley is not.

At least not yet.

Bryson Bain, the senior quarterback, traded touchdowns for field goals and notched a double-double Friday against Jamestown with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He scored 13 points against Bishop McCort Saturday.

Bain said it was important to the football players to at least try to give it a go from the start of the basketball season. They played a physical football game Thursday afternoon. They are all sore and nursing some sort of injury.

“They deserve us football players to be there and give our best out there,” Bain said. “We feel like, as a team, that is on us to be there and give our best. It was for sure difficult. None of us are in (basketball) shape, which is definitely hard. And we were banged up from Thursday still.”

Aiden Ortz played Friday, but couldn’t go on Saturday. Marquese Gardlock, who had two touchdown receptions from Bain in the state title game, has also missed the first two basketball games.

Chris Marshall played Saturday against McCort and scored nine points.

Redbank Valley fell behind 17-8 after one quarter and 28-15 at the half and couldn’t recover. McCort hit six 3-pointers in the first half.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Bulldogs, who have three games scheduled this upcoming week.

“That’s going to be a challenge here for us over the next week or two,” Coach Marshall said. “Trying to get the cleats off and get focused on basketball and get over this emotional roller coaster they’ve been on. They’re still in football mode.”

(Aiden Ortz shoots a free throw Friday/Cortney Ortz.)

The football players were able to get in the gym after practices the last few weeks, but were limited to shooting and dribbling drills.

Still, Coach Marshall was pleased with the effort from his entire team this weekend.

“They showed up and put it all on the line,” Marshall said. “The legs just don’t listen to the brain sometimes. It just wasn’t there. We’re behind the eight ball right now. We’re about three weeks behind.”

Bain said he doesn’t think it will take long for the football players to get back into the groove.

“We’re committed to basketball,” Bain said. “We’ll get in shape as soon as possible.”