This is an opinion piece.

Vigor girls coach Andrea Powell doesn’t feel any better about what happened in her team’s South Regional semifinal loss to Eufaula last week.

That didn’t stop her – or half of her team – from making the trip back to Montgomery on Wednesday to support the Vigor boys team in their regional final against Charles Henderson.

“We were not going to miss supporting our boys,” Powell said. “They have a good set of coaches, and we are all closeknit. We are a family. They hugged me through all this and just told me, ‘Coach, we are going to get it for both programs.’ We have a boys program that can go get it. I’m proud of those guys and those coaches, and I appreciate those guys will always have my back.”

The Vigor boys did pull through, knocking off Charles Henderson 63-48 to reach next week’s Class 5A final four in Birmingham. The girls didn’t have that chance, losing a 1-point overtime game to Eufaula after a scoring error in the fourth quarter apparently erased a Wolves’ free throw that could have made the winning difference in regulation.

Powell twice politely pointed out the error during the game but — in the end — the point was taken away. The initial error happened with approximately five minutes left in regulation.

“I was asking all the questions but also trying to be calm and professional,” she said. “Like I told (AHSAA Director of Officials) Ken Washington, the only thing I didn’t do was lay in the floor and make sure the game didn’t start back. I did everything I was supposed to do.”

The AHSAA, in a statement earlier in the week, said “per NFHS rules, the score once the game is completed is the final score.” That is understandable. Changing the outcome of a game after it already has finished would be a sticky situation. However, it is unfortunate that the apparent error wasn’t corrected during play.

Would Vigor have won by 1 point in regulation? Would the game still have gone into overtime? We can’t know that for sure.

What I do know is Powell has handled the entire case in impressive fashion. She apparently never thought of not making the trip back to Montgomery to support the Vigor boys on Wednesday and even went on the floor to accept an all-tournament certificate for one of her players after Gulf Shores defeated Eufaula in the 5A girls final.

“That was big,” Vigor boys coach Jairus Jackson said of Powell’s support. “I hate the situation happened to them. We wanted to try to carry the school and keep the whole school encouraged today. We want to continue be positive regardless of what happened.

“Sometimes, life throws blows at you. But you have to find a way to stay positive throughout. Hopefully, those senior girls can find a way to continue their careers if they want but, if not, we hope they go to school or do something positive. My message is just to stay positive throughout. I hate what happened, but I want them to stay positive and get something out of it.”

The Vigor girls lose two seniors to graduation – guard Jamyia Washington and forward Jerrimeshia Williams.

“For them, it’s painful because they can’t say, ‘You know what, we will come back next year and fight hard to get back next year,’” Powell said. “They can’t say that. They are done.”

For the returning players, the work on the 2024-2025 season will start soon. Very soon.

“This has given us a lot of fuel to the fire, and they are ready to do the work, ready to come back with a vengeance,” Powell said.

Powell complimented Gulf Shores after its regional win Wednesday, and that trademark smile never left her face. Her message for her students and anyone who encounters a tough situation is the right one.

“I just tell them that this is a hard lesson in life, and it’s a hard pill to swallow,” she said. “You want to tell them to learn from this experience, and I think what to learn from this experience is we had to be the team to be sacrificed for change to happen, hopefully.”

Time will tell on that, but Powell has certainly taught us all a lesson on how to handle a tough situation with grace and humility.

Thought for the Week

“Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger and do not give the devil an opportunity.” – Ephesians 4:26-27

(Yes, I realize this is the same thought from last Friday’s column. It seemed fitting here).

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.