By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

I think I speak for all of Portage County when I say, “Thank you, Rootstown.”

The Rovers’ girls basketball team’s run to the Division VI state championship game captured the heart and imagination of fans of all ages and from all corners of the county.

Even 16 days after the state final versus Columbus Grove at the University of Dayton Arena, splashes of memories from the tourney run will still occasionally pop into my head.

During the course of a season, there are times when it is too difficult to root for your rival.

That should be expected.

That is sports.

There are other times, though, like when a team from a nearby community accomplishes something so special and historic that the rivalry is trumped by the desire to support them.

That is what it felt like when I talked to people all over Portage County when the conversation would turn to the Rootstown girls basketball team.

And how could the conversation NOT turn to the Rovers.

Playing for a state championship does that.

Messages received by players and coaches, as well as multiple messages posted to social media platforms, proved just how many people were standing behind Rootstown.

On March 15, at 2 p.m., everybody seemed to transform into a Rover.

The result fell opposite of what Rootstown — and its faithful fans — had hoped for, losing 65-46 to Columbus Grove, but the team did not fall short in creating a powerful legacy.

A legacy that will not only be felt by the program and its future teams and players, but for the entire Rootstown community.

They were buckled up for the ride, too.

And what a ride.

Surely, the loss that Saturday afternoon still stings.

The loss was real, it was emotional and it was painful.

Inside all of that heartbreak, though, were a series of momentously special accomplishments and moments that created some of the biggest smiles the county has ever seen.

For me, personally, it was incredible to be part of the journey.

Coverage throughout the tournament includes some of the most exciting games I can remember covering.

Not only in the tense moments many of the contests featured, but, obviously, also because of the weight of consequences each game and moment carried.

The Rovers just always seemed to have the right answer.

The right player ready in the right moment to make the next right play.

The next big play.

My notes from all of the games prove that.

My notes also reminded me that the last Portage County basketball team to reach the Final Four was the 2005-06 Windham Bombers boys, who advanced to the Division IV state semifinal at Ohio State University. Ironically, they, too, lost to Columbus Grove by a final of 75-62.

As for the 2024-25 basketball season, it started on Nov. 2 for me when the Rootstown girls basketball team graciously invited me to be the keynote speaker at the program’s preseason family banquet dinner at the Immaculate Conception Hall.

One hundred thirty three days later, on March 15, my basketball season ended with the same Rovers.

Thank you, Rootstown.