CINCINNATI — Taft High School's boys basketball team used the success of other local teams as inspiration on their own state championship run.
Before the team left Cincinnati for the state tournament in Dayton, head coach Demarco Bradley wrote eight letters on a board inside the team facility.
CB ... UC ...WW ... PG
The letters, respectively, stand for:
- Cincinnati Bengals
- University of Cincinnati (football)
- Winton Woods (football)
- Purcell Girls (basketball)
All of the above teams have won championships in the last year. Bradley also wrote the words "Why not us?" which is the same phrase the Bengals used as a rallying cry on their run to the Super Bowl.
"We took their championships and how far they made it as motivation," said Rayvon Griffith, a junior on Taft's basketball team.
Taft won Ohio's Division III state championship on Sunday with a 48-45 win over Ottawa-Glandorf.
The Taft basketball team met up with the Purcell Marian girls basketball team on Monday night at Wing Champ in Cincinnati to celebrate their state championships together.
A lot of state champions in this room.
— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) March 21, 2022
The light is blinding, reflecting off all the medals 😄
Celebrating state championships for Taft boys & Purcell Marian girls — Both teams are here at Wing Champ, with @onimpact3/@CoachOzie. pic.twitter.com/eeTCADamxC
"You never know who is watching," said Purcell Marian's girls basketball coach, Jamar Mosley.
"Just to know that state champions on the boys side were following us the entire season; and after we won, we were their inspiration – they write us up on the board. It's a really good feeling," said Mosley.
