Sherman title creates a solid community bond

The 2015-16 Sherman Huskies can now take pride in knowing they accomplished something that not very many Husky teams have been able to — only the 1988-89 group featuring many of the fathers of the current champions, like Joe Justesen (Jacob), Travis Lawrence (Luke) and Doug Martin (Treve).

“I think we all came together as a family and got it done for this community,” said Jacob Justesen. “It is a huge deal to every single member of the community and the last team that won the championship happened to have my dad and Treve’s dad and a few other dads and it meant the world to all of them that we could bring this home for them this season.”

That old team, coached by Ron Townsend and assistant Jim Martin, went 13-0 in Big Sky play and amassed a 23-2 overall record, going 3-0 in state play with an average margin of victory of 9.3 points.

Sherman’s newest champions posted 26 wins, had a 14-0 league record and went 3-0 at state with an 11.3 point-per-game win edge.

Joe Justesen knows how much has to go right in order for a team to hoist championship blue.

“It was awesome having all the support from the people that the kids looked up to when they were growing up,” Joe Justesen said. “It’s a great feeling having my son win with all his great friends. I can’t believe it has been that many years, there were so many good teams. It just shows everything has to align to get it done. Great coaching, great support, and a little luck never hurts.”

With a championship pedigree raising expectations for this year’s group from a young age, there was a pressure to fulfill those promises to a community starved for a title.

“The foundation for this team was built many years ago, as these kids started playing in the Sherman County Junior Hoops program in the first grade,” said Sherman coach Bill Blevins. “Some of my players have parents who have won state championships and have had high expectations for their kids. They have been very supportive of our efforts over the past few years to get to this point.”

The football team nearly captured a 1A title in 2014, but with the return of Kyle Fields and Maverick Winslow and a healthy Treve Martin, the Huskies won 21 games in a row.

“Getting Kyle Fields back for the state tournament was huge for us,” Blevins added. “To Kyle’s credit, he worked his tail off rehabbing his shoulder, stayed in shape, and went to every practice. When he was finally cleared to play, he was ready. He didn't try to do too much, but was a defensive force for us in the key.”

Even as former names such as Jordan Anderson, Andrew Olsen, Riley Brown and Scot and James Stroud were unable to clinch a title, the Huskies paid homage once they were finally able to get to the top.

There’s an unbreakable brotherly bond from all players, past and present.

“This title means so much,” said Luke Lawrence. “All of the hard work pays off, from each and every year and each and every shot we practice. This is the greatest moment of my life, to go out a champion in my senior year. But none of this would be possible without the help of Austin Kaseberg. He’s our brother.”

The Huskies return all but Luke Lawrence and Alex Fields next season, as they look to venture into more unchartered waters.

Treve Martin knows the Huskies will have to deal with the label of being the hunted as opposed to being the hunter.

“Of course we will have the target on our backs, but we know what we are capable of and we are going to do as much work needed and more to get a shot at another state title,” said Treve. “Don’t get me wrong, we are going to work as hard as we can to better ourselves, individually and as a whole, but in the end, talent means nothing, while experience, acquired in humility and with hard work, means everything and I think we really embrace that as a team. That is why we are state champions.”