ST. MARIES — Brawl for the Ball was everything the students, staff and fans could’ve asked for.

Lots of school spirit, terrific action on the hardwood, the live music from two pretty good pep bands, and the sense of two communities trying to better the areas they live in.

But it almost didn’t happen.

The winter storm that punished the area on Friday night had everyone anxiously watching their phones early Saturday morning until a simple but exciting message came across everyone’s screens…

BRAWL IS ON!

It was like a sudden and instant mobilization happened as the Wildcat faithful loaded up multiple buses and filled their cars to make the 50-mile trek to St. Maries.

Brawl for the Ball is an annual event between Kellogg and St. Maries high schools that combines school and community service and spirit with basketball in one long, fun day.

Last year it was Kellogg who held onto the coveted Ball, but this year the Lumberjacks reclaimed it after one of the tightest competitions in event history.

Kellogg didn’t quite hit their 22,000-pound goal for the food drive, but brought in a respectable 20,279 pounds.

St. Maries however, brought in 28,000 pounds of non perishable food.

The Wildcats did dominate the raffle ticket sales, out selling their green and gold counterparts $5,186 to $3,172.

“We had such an outpouring of generosity from the entire community. So many local businesses donated both food and money, and the Dirty Dog Saloon held a fundraiser night for us in December,” said KHS Leadership Teacher Kelton Enich. “Senior president, Cierra Brandt, took it upon herself this year to revamp our process to sell tickets and allowed any student in the school to contribute to the sales.”

$2,000 of that money will go to the SAVE Coalition.

Kellogg won the cheerleading competition, battle of the bands and the mascot dance off.

“A huge shout-out to coach Lori Sawyer and the cheerleading team for stepping up their game this year,” Enich said. “They also cheered non-stop for the entirety of the day and kept our student section lively and on their feet the entire time as well. They were so dedicated to practicing their routine, that they had 5 a.m. practices at the school the week of Brawl.”

St. Maries won the pep rally, school spirit and sportsmanship competitions.

Kellogg’s boys and girls JV teams lost their games, but the Wildcat varsity teams dominated the Lumberjacks (game coverage in our Sports Recap).

In the end it was really the food drive that allowed St. Maries High School to pull off the win, but the real winners were the two communities who once again showed how much they care about one another.