Submitted report
The Marbridge Longhorns proved to be a force to be reconned with at the Special Olympics state competition this past weekend. The A-Team Marbridge Longhorns soundly defeated the Dallas Area Special Friends 48 to 19 in the tournament’s first game before going on to trounce Garland 36 to 25. Their final victory for the state championship came against Pearland, where they prevailed with a score of 26 to 19.
The road to the championship was particularly poignant this year as the team dedicated each game to the memory of a team member’s father. Clay Dunnam lost his father, Tom Dunnam, on May 17, a week before the competition.
“This was a very tough weekend for our team. When Clay, one of our key players, lost his father, he was not able to play in the tournament. The team decided they would dedicate the tournament in memory of Tom and save Clay’s place on the bench with his number 20 jersey,” said Scott Cary, volunteer coach for the Marbridge Longhorns and a Hays County justice of the peace. He has spent the past 20 years donating his time to the team as a coach and mentor.
Assisting Judge Cary as coaches are his wife, Merridith Cary, a teacher at Buda Elementary, and Daniel Shugart, also a long-term Marbridge volunteer.
“The three wins for the gold medal in the highest Special Olympics basketball division were hard fought,” Cary said. “The team stayed focused, played like we practiced, which was hard, and came away with the three victories. I am very proud of them.”
