Game, atmosphere was historic

Had you arrived early enough, you may have mistaken the junior varsity game for the main event jug game on Tuesday in Wrenshall. It was raucous, but not nearly as loud as it would get. The Carlton JV won going away.

Wrenshall’s varsity players chose Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” and Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” for warmup music, oldies of more than 20 years ago, but a far cry from “Come on-a My House” by Rosemary Clooney, which could have been on the radio of a DeSoto as fans drove to the first jug game in January of 1951.

New eras. Ends of eras.

Coach Jon Bartczak rather unceremoniously placed the jug atop the Wrens logo at center court as the teams shot around in warmups.

He gave a fiery pre-tipoff speech that could only be heard by players leaning into him, such was the din of expectation in the bandbox of a gym.

“We have it,” you could hear the coach say in full throat. “After this, it’s done. It stays here. Let’s go.”

That the final jug game took place in Wrenshall is fitting. It’s been the site of rivalry games all along. Same gym. Same pole obstructing views on the visiting side. Same open end with a stage.

Over in Carlton, they moved games next door to the original gym. The “new” gym could also be called ancient these days.

Some who have watched such games over the years said they think of the film “Hoosiers,” about fans wild about their wee teams. The excitement. The drama. The small-town saga.

After the game, one Wrenshall alum said he had never heard the gym louder than he had heard it Tuesday night.

His fellow alum chimed in, brimming with Wren pride borne in the 1990s. “Except maybe when we played.”

In the lobby outside of the gym, a huddle of people were going over the lineups for both teams. There were 22 players, only four of them seniors. Visions of fat times for Raptors teams danced in their heads.

That’s solace Carlton coach Shawn Filipiak will bask in after the disappointing loss.

“Two young teams,” he said. “And the battle you saw out there is going to be what practice is next year. That will make us better. We’re going to be great together.”

Now, as both school districts consider merging much more than sports in the coming years, it’s only fitting that one jug sits at each school.

The girls’ jug will be in Carlton after the Bulldogs dominated Monday night at home. It wasn’t unexpected, given the lopsided nature of the rivalry since the vessel was introduced in1980.

But that Wrenshall keeps the boys’ jug is a real coup. Across 73 meetings, Carlton held the jug 47 times to Wrenshall’s now 26 times.

Carter Woodall tried to settle his team down when the Wrens were behind by double digits Tuesday night before storming back.

“We gotta stay in it,” the captain said in recalling what he told his team as the Wrens were reeling. He thought of the jug the program won in Carlton last year. He thought of how jugs games will never be happening again. He told his teammates: “We just can’t give it up.”