JFK’s upset of Glenville earns first title since 1969 

Mike Peticca Plain Dealer Reporter , February 01, 2008 11:19 p.m.

As the play quickly unfolded, William Marrow II did his best to treat the 22-foot jumper the way he would any late-game basketball shot. “I knew I had to let it fly,” said Marrow, a 6-2 sophomore guard. “That’s my job. Just follow through.” Moments after the 3-point shot swished through the net at South High on Friday night, giving John F. Kennedy a 59-57 win over Glenville in the Senate Athletic League boys title game, Marrow began to understand the magnitude of what had happened. The shot, made with 14 seconds left, had given the Eagles their first league championship since 1969. And, it was what dreams are made of. William Marrow Sr. is JFK’s coach and the father of the game-winning hero. “I feel great,” Marrow II said, grinning. “Me being here, and with my dad being the coach here for seven years .¤.¤. I know what it’s been like for him to lose to Glenville so many times. We did this for all the seniors and for my dad.” Marrow Sr. said the win was his first-ever against the Tarblooders. Glenville, ranked second in The Plain Dealer’s seven-county poll, is 16-2. “Yes, my son hit the 3-pointer, but [senior guard] Bryant Blair played a great second half,” Marrow Sr. said as he was surrounded by happy Eagles’ fans outside the locker room. “Leonard controlled the tempo and Fred controlled the boards. Taurus and David did a lot of things to help us win.” Blair, whose pass set up Marrow’s shot, scored 16 points for 21st-ranked JFK (14-4). Fred Chatmon, a 6-7 junior forward, scored 11 points and blocked eight shots. Senior guard Taurus Baker tallied 10 points and senior point guard Leonard Patterson Jr., combined nine points with his usual superb playmaking. Senior forward David Roberts scored five key points and played stellar defense, and Marrow II finished with eight points. Glenville, which led, 39-28, early in the third quarter, was led by 6-6 senior forward Rayshawn Goins (15 points), senior point guard Kendall Holt (14 points) and junior guard Maurice Catney (11 points). “Our team has shown a lot of character this year,” said Tarblooders coach Michael Holt, Kendall’s father. “We’ve won some big games down the stretch. It’s not going to always happen.” JFK trailed, 57-56, when Eagles’ sophomore guard Sean Spraggins forced a Glenville turnover by deflecting the basketball to Blair, who drove more than half the length of the court to the left baseline and then under the basket, from where he passed to Marrow II near the right baseline for the game-winner. Holt’s 3-pointer had given Glenville a 55-50 lead with 3:30 to go, but JFK tied it on Roberts’ putback and three free throws by Blair. Holt fed Goins for a layup before Chatmon’s foul shot with 35 seconds left cut the Glenville lead to 57-56. 