For years, schools in central Virginia from James River to Matoaca have participated in what’s known as the Medford Basketball League. The Medford League consists of high school students with intellectual disabilities playing in their own competitive basketball league. On January 5, 2017, Midlothian High School hosted its first ever Medford basketball game against the Clover Hill Cavaliers. Midlothian Boys Basketball Head Coach David Brohl also works with the ID students as their gym teacher. He, along with the Exceptional Education teachers, worked with Midlothian students to build Midlo’s first Medford team.

Midlothian’s Gabe Greene started the game off strong as he led all scorers with 22 of Midlothian’s 40 points. Joshua Burkes also contributed off the bench as he scored some surprisingly acrobatic buckets down the stretch. For Clover Hill, Natalya Robinson scored 16 points and accounted for more rebounds than anyone could have counted. With a back and forth game, however, the clock slowly bled down to zero, and Midlothian ended victorious 40 – 36.

Athletes from the Midlothian Boys Basketball team helped as well. Seniors Thomas Jackson and Sam Maguire officiated the game, along with help from Will Pomeroy and Will Brown at the scores table. Due to the support of administrators, staff, and students, this event could not have gone better.

The game was played during A lunch and for a portion of B lunch as well. The fast paced game, however, didn’t take long to attract a crowd. The stands filled up quickly, with students either stopping by during their lunch period or watching the game with their classes. Senior Robert Marker stopped by to catch the last couple minutes of the game and thought “it was a very cool experience.” Other students chimed in on Twitter, as Kaylee Botset tweeted, “The basketball game today was the best thing Midlo has ever done.” With a positive reaction from both fans and players, surely much more excitement will build as Midlothian continues its winning streak, defeating Monacan at Monacan on Thursday, January 12th. Overall, Midlo’s first ever Medford team can be described in one word: Awesome.