The last time the Kake high school boys basketball team appeared in a state championship game was more than two decades ago.
The team was competing in Division 2A and current head coach Anthony Ross, who went by Anthony Dolan at the time, was on the team that came up short in a 10-point loss to Angoon in the 2000 state title game.
In its first trip back to big stage since the turn of the century, Kake ended a nearly four-decade title drought by blowing out the Aniak Halfbreeds 67-49 in Division 1A play on Saturday afternoon at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.
The last time the Kake Thunderbirds won a state title was in 1987.
“It feels amazing to make history,” senior Ethan Kadake said.
Last year, Kake was in position to potentially end the title drought after qualifying for the 2022 1A state tournament, but after the whole team came down with COVID-19 they weren’t able to make the journey to Anchorage for a chance to compete.
Winning state this year “completely made up for everything,” Ross said.
The resounding win against Aniak marked the team’s 24th straight victory. “Going undefeated was just icing on the cake,” the coach said.
After having to come from behind late in the fourth quarter the night before to beat Tri-Valley and keep their record unblemished and championship hopes alive, the Thunderbirds were expecting a more competitive game. But thanks to Kadake and his 25 first-half points, they were able to coast to victory against Aniak.
Even though Kadake didn’t join his four teammates on the all-tournament team, he did receive player of the game honors. In the final game of his prep career, the senior finished with a game-high 31 points.
“It feels amazing to come out and play in front of all my family and friends that paid lots of money to come here,” he said. “It felt good to get MVP of the game that mattered.” Kake has a population of about 500 people.
The whole experience was especially meaningful for Ross, who got to help his son, Dominic, a member of the team, reach a goal that he fell short of reaching 23 years ago.
Being on the journey with his father has been a dream come true. “It’s been amazing,” Dominic Ross said. “We hoop at night, we hoop in the morning, and we hoop at lunchtime.”
As a junior, he can’t wait to get back to work and prepare to defend the title, and his father hopes that this triumph will be the first of many championships to come.
“There was a standard set in Kake for a long time to being winners and being state champions,” Anthony Ross said. “I think we set the new standard of being a state champion and also being undefeated.”
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