Earl Austin Jr: 25th anniversary of All-PHL State Championship Game

25th anniversary of All-PHL State Championship Game
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Earl  Austin on 02/03/2010 12:44:00
 
On March 9, 1985, the best of the Public High League was on display for the
entire state of Missouri to see as rivals Vashon and Soldan met for the Class 4A
state championship. Such a meeting was a rarity for many years because most of
the powerful PHL teams were put in the same district tournament at O’Fallon
Tech, thus nullifying many top teams from the state-title chase early.
Vashon and Soldan had met in two hotly-contested district games in 1983 and
’84, but Soldan was sent to another district before the 1984-85 season. As the
season unfolded, Vashon and Soldan had established themselves as the top teams
in the state and they were on a collision course for the Hearnes Center in
Columbia, the site of the Final Four. The PHL had long been the domain of some
of the best basketball played in the state. Now, a statewide television audience
would get the opportunity to see the best of the PHL, up close and personal.
Those mini-turf battles that had been taking place in inner city gyms all over
St. Louis was now being played on the state’s biggest stage for everyone in
the Show-Me State to see. It was electric. “It definitely wasn’t planned
because we were always in the same district for years,” said Vashon coach
Floyd Irons. “For some reason, Soldan was moved into another district. It
showed how strong the league was at the time to have two teams playing for the
state title.” The two teams had already played two spirited games during the
regular season. Soldan won the first meeting 60-59 in the championship game of
the Normandy Christmas Tournament. Senior point guard Patrick Price came through
for Soldan with 19 points to lead the Tigers to the victory. The rematch was
held two months later at Vashon and it was the Wolverines that got revenge with
a 61-57 victory in another hotly-contested game that eventually decided the PHL
title in the Wolverines’ favor. As the postseason came around, both teams
steamrolled their way to the championship game. Vashon defeated Hazelwood
Central and DeSmet to get to Columbia.