MARK NANCE/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Loyalsock's Alaina Dadzie (30) is congratulated by team mates after being taken out during the fourth quarter.

It was 367 days ago when Loyalsock departed Shamokin High School, having raised the program’s bar, yet leaving disappointed.

Flash forward and the Lancers have raised the bar even higher, set a program record for wins and again reached the state’s Class AAA Final Four. And while the ultimate goal is to keep going, there is another vital one tonight when Loyalsock (28-2) plays Imhotep in the state semifinals.

“The message is don’t say, ‘What if?’ after the game,” Loyalsock coach Curtis Jacobson said. “Don’t say, ‘What if I had don this?’ Believe in yourself, believe in each other and do whatever it takes.”

Everybody wants to win and Imhotep (23-6) wants it as badly as Loyalsock does. But if one can look at themselves after the game and know that they put forth every ounce of effort they had into pursuing victory than they cannot be defeated.

Loyalsock has embraced that philosophy all season and especially during the postseason. Yes, the Lancers have won all their district and state playoff games but even had they lost one, they would never have had to question their approach, nor effort. That remains the idea tonight.

“That’s almost every game. Before the game he (Jacobson) always tells us if you put everything out there and you do the best you can, you can’t leave the gym feeling down about yourself,” senior Julie Ellis said. “No matter the outcome, if you know there was nothing else you could do, you can’t be upset with the outcome.”

So, as much as these games are against the opposition, they also are against the athlete in the mirror. Time after time, Loyalsock has won that game, whether in practices or competition.

“We’re in the gym every day and if we’re not in the gym we’re in the class room watching film,” Ellis said. “On our off time we’re all watching film. We all put so much time into all of this. It really helps to see it all pay off.”

And that is what games like tonight’s Final 4 encounter really are–rewards. Postseason glory comes with a price and Loyalsock has paid it over the last 367 days, many attacking the gym again soon after the 2024 season ended.

Loyalsock has built itself into a powerful program, reaching nine consecutive state tournaments and advancing to the quarterfinals in three of the last five years. That success adds a target to its collective back every season and the Lancers often have received the opponent’s best shot this season.

No matter how good this team looked on paper entering the season, Loyalsock had to earn everything it has the hard way. This is a well-coached, well-rounded, talented group but it’s emptying their collective tanks and playing with that no regrets mentality which has really provided a monster push toward another Final 4 appearance.

Like Kurt Russell, portraying legendary hockey coach Herb Brooks said in the movie, ‘Miracle,’ great moments are born from great opportunities. Paraphrasing the Hall of Famer again, that is what Loyalsock has tonight; that is what it has earned.

The Lancers have earned the kind of game which so often are reserved for players’ dreams. They are among the fortunate ones who get to experience moments like these which they will always remember. And that goes beyond the games. It’s about the friendships, the bus rides, the support they have generated throughout the community. It’s all great stuff.

I’ve often said I would match rather be playing in the games I cover than writing about them. This certainly is one of those nights. To this day, I wish I could go back in time and experience those high school sports memories again.

I’ve also said before here that my biggest high school regret is leaving something on the table and never finding out how good I could be. That’s my fault for not putting all my heart into those athletic pursuits.

This Loyalsock team never has to look back this season and question its effort. The team has displayed its heart all season. It intends to do so again tonight.

It’s about enjoying the moment it has earned; it is about taking the opportunity all in; it’s about letting everything go and pouring out that effort again.

Do that, and whether the scoreboard favors it or Imhotep by game’s end, Loyalsock can leave Parkland, heads held high.

“Now we lean on experience. We have lots of players who were there last year; lots of players that got experience,” Jacobson said. “They got a taste of it. We’re going to play a really good team and we know that, but we think we’re a really good team, too. It’s all about trying to be one point better.”

Carpe Diem.

Chris Masse may be reached at cmasse@sungazette.com. Follow him on Twitter at @docmasse.