How a bus driver helped inspire Gibsonburg girls basketball to a district championship
Jerry Fork will always drive the bus for Gibsonburg.
Fork died Saturday of pancreatic cancer. Later, when Gibsonburg allowed the first seven points in the second half to fall behind, Fork was there in spirit for the Golden Bears' 49-41 win over Toledo Christian for the first district championship in program history.
"I thought of him a couple times in tough times," Gibsonburg coach Bo Evarts said. "He was in the back of my mind. 'Hey, help us out.' He was part of this. He was special to the community. He was a bus driver. He was always part of the community support, all the teams.
"He was Mr. Gibsonburg. We'll miss him. We dedicated this to him."
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Fork attended as many games as he could, even when he was battling his illness. One of the last things Fork did was watch a live stream of Gibsonburg's district semifinal victory over Lakota while at home in hospice care.
"My family is close," Golden Bears freshman Elly Evarts said. "My dad was in his fraternity. It was sad to hear. We dedicated this game to him and we hope he was watching from heaven."
Evarts scored 31 points for Gibsonburg. Evarts was most outstanding performer in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division, which also sees Danbury and Tiffin Calvert at regional.
Gibsonburg (23-2) plays Columbus Grove in a Division IV regional semifinal at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Elida Fieldhouse.
Coach Evarts bumped into history on the court immediately after the game.
"It's funny, the first two people I saw were ladies from the team in 1976," he said. "They couldn't believe it. They're so excited for us to take it to the next level. These seniors won two games as freshmen, to get to regional we couldn't have dreamed of.
"This is special. The passion here for Gibsonburg basketball and the support we have. It's changed over time."
Gibsonburg lost in the district final in 1976.
"We wanted to make history," Elly Evarts said. "The league was nice; we wanted district. We didn't want to let the seniors go."
Toledo Christian's Kendall Braden scored 17 points Saturday, but Gibsonburg senior Jaz Morant embraced the challenge. Braden was Toledo Area Athletic Conference player of the year.
"Going in, people said she can't be guarded," Coach Evarts said. "Jaz took it personal. You saw how hard she worked and the other girls helped out. Kendall can do so much. If you can make her give up the ball.
"Kendall is Kendall. To do that in this environment was big. If we play that kind of defense we'll be tough to beat."
They've already done what no girl in Gibsonburg history was able to do. Morant grew tired of the signage in the gym staring at her, almost mocking her.
"It's the biggest moment I've experienced," Morant said. "I always look at the board on our wall — 1976 conference champions; 1976 sectional champions. Now, it will say the same thing for us for two things, district and conference champions.
"We worked so hard to get here and we expected nothing less. Every girl on the team deserves to say they're the reason we got here. I'm proud of my girls. Next up is regional."
Fork is still on the bus for Gibsonburg's journey. He will be a passenger with Bo Evarts whenever times get tough for the Golden Bears.
mhorn@gannett.com
419-307-4892
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This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Gibsonburg OHSAA girls basketball
