HERSHEY, Pa. — Busses of fans walked into the Giant Center on Thursday morning, but they were not there for any basketball games that would tip off later in the day.
"This is unlike anything else," said Northern York Bocce Coach Lauren Berry. We've made it to states once before, but it was in a completely different atmosphere, so being here in the Giant Center has been really cool."
The PIAA Unified Bocce State Championships rolled on at 9 AM, with Northern, the eighth seed in the tournament, taking on Schuylkill Haven, the No. 1 seed.
"We've had 297 schools across the entire state participating this year, with 400 teams competing in regional rounds and they've now brought the top eight here to Hershey to compete in the state championship," said Matt Aaron, the President and CEO of Special Olympics - Pennsylvania.
The Polar Bears overcame a lot of crowd noise to beat Haven, Schuylkill 6-3, after jumping out to a 4-0 lead.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so proud," exclaimed Coach Berry. "We came in seated eighth, took on the first place, first seed team right off the bat and we're able to come out hot and we just kept that ball rolling. I think we came out and showed them who Northern was."
In the second round, everything came together for another Northern York win, much like how the team came together throughout the season. It's clear that Northern found a lot to love about bocce, most happening off the court.
"Having that time with your friends and making new friends," said bocce player Sierra Ramsey.
"We got a lot closer and just to see everyone's confidence rise during the season was really neat to see," added teammate Alana Beaty.
Northern York met Peters Township in the third round for the state title. The Polar Bears were just edged out but still brought home some hardware as the PIAA State Runner-Up.
"Just being able to see all the relationships that are fostered through this is just something that you're not going to get in any other PIAA sport," claimed Berry. "So being able to be a part of that, it's so special and it's unlike anything else."