Photo By Latoya Goseyun: The Alchesay boys basketball team pushes their bus through an icy intersection in Prescott with the help of some locals Thursday night.
By Jon Johnson
PRESCOTT – Teams, fans, and relatives dared life and limb to make it to Prescott for the state 1A/2A semifinals and championship basketball games in Prescott this weekend in what has been labeled as the worst winter storm in a century. Despite numerous road closures and states of emergency being called by mayors in Prescott and Flagstaff (which broke a 103-year-old record for most snowfall in a 24-hour period with more than 31.6 inches) the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) insisted the games go on as scheduled and they are. The Coconino County Board of Supervisors also declared a state of emergency.
The city of Prescott had its snow plows working overtime to help those get around once teams made it to the area. Snow totals are forecasted between 17 to 23 inches from Thursday to Friday.
Along with Alchesay’s issues inside Prescott, there were reports that the Chinle girls’ team bus had gotten stuck in Flagstaff and the Winslow girls’ bus had also gotten stuck in Camp Verde while attempting to get to Prescott as Arizona Department of Transportation officials urged people to stay off the highways and roadways if possible.
On Thursday, AIA Executive Director David Hines released this statement.
“There has been ongoing concern regarding traveling conditions to the Prescott area for the 1A and 2A AIA State Basketball Championships. The decision to keep the schedule as is was a difficult one to make.
The association had a conference call with all schools involved Wednesday morning. Without a consensus or a viable alternative from the call, including a recommendation for postponement, it was decided to keep the tournament as scheduled. With this, teams began making their way toward Prescott. Most northern schools had already made it to the area by Wednesday evening, and the rest arrived Thursday morning. Most of the schools arriving later were coming from the south.
It was conveyed to the schools on the conference call that the AIA will make every arrangement to accommodate teams that might not arrive in time for their first game. There would be options to move games earlier or later on Friday, and even the availability to play a semifinal on Saturday morning as a last resort. Only if a team could not make it all would it have to forfeit.
If fans cannot make it to the arena due to the weather, all games of the tournament will be streamed online at the following link: http://www.azpreps365.com/videos. The association once again encourages everyone driving to the Prescott area to be cautious.”
The No. 11 Pima Roughriders, which take on the No. 2 Alchesay Falcons at 12 p.m., arrived in Prescott on Wednesday.
In the 1A bracket, No. 3 Fort Thomas arrived safely late Thursday afternoon. The Apaches are scheduled to play No. 2 Tucson The Gregory School at 9 a.m. in the first game of the day.
No. 4 Thatcher and its opponent, No. 1 Scottsdale Christian, will reportedly depart from the Phoenix area Friday to travel to Prescott for a 6 p.m. start at the Findlay Toyota Center. Championship games for both 1A and 2A boys and girls are scheduled for Saturday.
