Jefferson City gets a new life.
A season plagued by injuries and player dismissals led to a late-season fade that saw the Jays drop nine straight games to end the year. Now with Class 5 District 9 Tournament play set to get under way, Jefferson City gets a chance to start anew.
"It was up and down," Jays coach Blair Thompson said of his team's season. "Throughout the course of the season we were presented with some challenges as far as moving personnel around and getting comfortable and trying to develop some kind of rhythm.
"About the time we were starting to do that, we started getting hit with some injuries and I think that forced us to put some guys in some new roles and go forward quickly with those guys. I think they've done a great job adjusting to it, but it's a big and a hard jump."
The second-seeded Jays (7-17) take on third-seeded Hickman (14-10) in the district semifinals at 7:15 p.m. today at Sedalia Smith-Cotton. The two teams split the season series with the Jays picking up a 62-41 home victory Dec. 13, and the Kewpies evening things up with a 85-59 win Feb. 7 in Columbia.