The crowd flocked to the gym. They flooded the bleachers. Both students and parents were anxious to see the varsity boys basketball players take on Howell, our rival, on Jan. 30.

Howell, immediately from the start, showed they were going to be a tough opponent to beat.  Activities Director, Mr. Scott Harris, , sat with the fans, eyes glued to the game. Every time the Spartans pulled a move, the crowd went wild.

“We had a very nice crowd, probably right at 1,000 total for the entire crowd and over 300 students alone,” Mr. Harris said. “I think the fact that both teams are having very good years and are the top two teams in the GAC South this year really had an impact as well.”

The crowd, in Mr. Harris’ opinion, was undoubtedly one of the most electric crowds he’d seen at Central.

“We had several celebrations lined up to honor the FHSD ‘Centennial Celebration,’ which brought back FHC Alum and current NFL player Pierre Desir, and we were able to turn the lights out for starting lineups before the game, all of this really played a big part in the atmosphere that night,” Harris said.

Through constant suspense of who will score and who will win, the crowd was relieved when the buzzer sounded, leaving the final score of 65-57 on the scoreboard in favor of Central. The crowd cheered and the proud Spartan basketball players marched off the court.

Senior Patrick Conley, the varsity boys basketball’s forward, was pumped for the Howell game and sees it as a great victory for his team.

“This game was probably our best defensive game of the year,” Conley said. “we caused them to turn the ball over more than any other game.”

Junior Clark Hepler, a first year varsity player, is extremely proud of his team.

“I think our team played pretty well. They’re our sister school and they’re our biggest rival, so we always play our hearts out when we play them,” Hepler said.

Even though the varsity boys were preparing for a game they knew would be huge, they stuck to their normal practice methods.

“We practiced like we usually do, but since we knew we were playing Howell, we all had a different mindset at practice, before, and during the game,” Hepler said.

The crowd also helped the team get pumped up.

“Having a big student section really helped out,” Conley said. “Whenever we would score, they would get really loud and into the game, which distracts the other team and gets us motivated.”