MANSFIELD, Ohio — Two teams relished in their two shared loves on Saturday: basketball and a chocolate Lab puppy named Flame.
The on-court rivals — Lucas and Mansfield Christian — met Saturday in a game won by the Flames, 57-44, thanks to a strong fourth quarter.
The better story came directly following the contest, when girls from both teams doted on Flame, the puppy presented to Elizabeth Yirga on Dec. 15.
The Mansfield Christian girls squad each chipped in to buy the puppy for Yirga as a show of support — one week before the Lucas athlete was subjected to her 25th surgery for a rare bone disease afflicting her left foot.
The surgery ended her sophomore basketball season with the Cubs. Yirga already has two varsity letters and academic letters.
The girl’s mother, Sharisse Yirga, said the gift struck her family.
“This has brought so much joy and happiness to our house in such a dark time,” Sharisse said after the game.
Flames’ coach, J.R. Wilson, learned of Elizabeth’s condition and surgery in December 2015. After talking it over with the team, he decided to buy the family a puppy, which would replace the family dog they had for six years before it died.
The two teams are rivals. But Wilson said that fact didn’t get in the way of supporting the Yirga family.
“I’ve been blessed with coaching a lot of different players, a lot of different teams, and this group of girls honestly has a such a big heart,” Wilson said. “Lucas is a rival of ours, and yet the girls see the big picture.”
Sharisse Yirga is glad the Flames’ have that kind of perspective.
“There’s an old saying that says, ‘don’t fraternize with the enemy.’ I’m glad that they’ve broke that old saying. They’re fraternizing. To me, this is wonderful, it’s great,” Sharisse said as the opposing teammates admired the lovable puppy.
