Against Lift for Life Academy on Saturday, senior guard
Peyton Hill was the high scorer with 24 points.
Senior guard Peyton Hill scored 24 points Saturday night to help Incarnate Word Academy knock off Lift for Life Academy and tie the national record for consecutive wins at 138. (FILE PHOTO: David Smith)
Incarnate Word Academy can break the national record with a victory Jan. 7 against
St. Dominic (O'Fallon, Mo.).
The path to the all-time wins mark has been rocky over the past nine months after head coach Dan Rolfes suffered a near-fatal heart attack following his team's Class 6 semifinal win over Rock Bridge in March. With Rolfes in the ICU, the Red Knights decided to forge ahead and won a tear-filled championship game against
Kickapoo (Springfield).
It was the 13th title for Rolfes and the seventh straight championship for the program.
Rolfes spent more than a month in the hospital and had no idea that his team had won the title, but vowed to return to the sideline.
"When I got home from the hospital, I thought ‘How am I going to coach
when I can barely walk?'" Rolfes told MaxPreps. "There's a lot of self-doubt
wondering if you're going to recover and if you're going to be the same.
"First
and foremost, I want to be there for my family and kids. Then
basketball is a huge part of my life and passion. It's not a job, it's
what I want to do. For a lot of people a quota or checked box. It's a
mandatory thing for me to be a coach."
