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2007 District 22 North Division Champs!
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AMERICAN LEGION CODE OF SPORTSMANSHIP
I WILL
Keep the rules,
Keep faith with my teammates;
Keep my temper;
Keep myself fit;
Keep a Stout heart in defeat;
Keep my pride under in victory;
Keep a sound soul; A clean mind;
And a Healthy body
Costumes to uniforms: Post 126 reflects
HARRISBURG – As the Alton Post 126 Senior Legion players and their coaches gathered around the pitching mound Thursday night at Dorris Heights Complex, they could only cherish the final moments that they would spend together.
Not long after Alton's 16-12 defeat to Belleville Post 58 in the Fifth Division Tournament, manager Todd Haug, general manager Dennis Sharp and coaches Steve Haug and Gary Bost were deep in thought.
It was time to reflect, time to reminisce and time to say goodbye.
"There are different wins in life," Todd Haug said. "We may have lost 16-12, but what we gained is immeasurable. These boys grew up before our eyes. ... We gave them costumes at the beginning of the year, told them they have to earn the right to call them uniforms. They were wearing uniforms at the end."
Alton, which closed its best season since 1989 at 25-15 when it last reached the Fifth Division, was left for dead early Thursday night after an explosive, offensive-minded Belleville squad grabbed the lead. Belleville had just posted a nine-run second inning and another in the third to grab a 10-2 lead.
Game over?
Fans who followed Post 126 this summer knew differently.
"You hear people saying, ‘Leave everything on the line’ and ‘Play like it's your last (game),’” Alton outfielder Matt Owens said. “I feel like every one of us did. From the bench, the field, everybody. Just amazing.
"We just have heart and we didn't lay down. It was easy for us. We were down 10-2, whatever it was. But we just kept battling, kept chipping away and we had ourselves a ballgame at the end."
First, Alton put up four runs in the fifth to get themselves back in the game, and then in the sixth, team leader Charlie Mohr belted a three-run home run deep into the Harrisburg night to knot the game up 10-10.
They were back, and if they were going to go down, it would go down to the final pitch.
"We just kept battling and kept putting the bat on the ball," said Mohr, who swatted two homers on the night and drove in five runs. "Nobody ever had a thought of quitting out there. ... We were in a hole early, but we knew if we could get a couple runs back, we could be in the game. We knew it could be some people's last game and we didn't want to go home."
"It's easy to get back in games when you've got two guys like Matt Owens and Charlie Mohr that won't let the team roll over and die, two player-coaches that are just phenomenal individuals," Haug said. "They looked everybody in the eye and said, 'We're going to do everything we can.' I couldn't count how many times I heard that we're going to give them 27 hard outs. That's all you can ask of these guys."
A team built of players from Alton High, Roxana, Civic Memorial and East Alton-Wood River could be a recipe for rivalries to get in the way. But egos didn’t get in the way.
"Some of us have played against each other for so many years and hearing about how good we're going to be," Owens said. "We put it together and made great friendships. I love all these guys."
And it was guys like Owens and Mohr that stood in front of the line, invited their friends to join behind them and lead with pride and dignity.
"I tried to lead by example, lead as best as I could," said Mohr, who will be a sophomore at LCCC this fall. "Also, the coaches are great. Dennis has been there for everything for me. They've helped me out a lot. It's a good group of guys."
"The leaders on this team left their mark," Haug said. "No matter if we were going on or if we were going out tonight, this was their show. They didn't go quietly."
A team that started slowly finished with a flourish. It was just a shame to see it end.
"It's real hard because there's some of these guys that I've been playing with since we were little," Owens said. "Many of us will be moving on and we still have other games, but it will never be like this again.
"The coaches said after the game this will be one of the greatest teams to ever come through Alton. We're proud of that."
But as Haug huddled up the troops one final time, he wanted his final speech to this group to be one they would take with them.
"I think that they know what we established will last a lifetime," he said. "Tonight, we earned some respect."
And they did it together, just like any close-knit family would do.
"We were soft early. We just turned it on too late," Mohr said. "We had so much fun this summer. They're like my brothers, every last one of them."
For a complete schedule listing, click here!
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