Living the Dream

the Dragons have long trips, deep into the southwestern mountains.
The long road trips make it tough on the parents too.
"We've definitely seen parts of Colorado I've never had an excuse to go to before," Kelley said with a smile.
Basketball makes it worthwhile
Matt and Kasey's sacrifices quickly fade away when they take the court with the rest of the Dragons.
Last year, Kasey played junior varsity for Rifle while Matt never even made the team. They are now key pieces to DeBeque's 14-3 team and are perched just one win away from the 1A state tournament.
In a recent game against Ouray, Matt scored 16 points. Throughout the game, he demonstrated his value to the Dragons by grabbing loose balls, key rebounds, scoring crucial baskets and playing tough defense.
Kasey struggled in the game, scoring just three points but floated in a gorgeous little 8-footer on the baseline. He has had his moments during other games, and can easily pick his most memorable time on the court this season - a crucial blocked shot near the end of a game against Telluride. "One of my teammates fell down at midcourt," Kasey recalled. "The other team picked up the ball and I raced down and pinned the ball against the backboard. My heart was pumping."
For second year DeBeque coach Jason Hatter, the additions of Kasey and Matt have helped the Dragons in many areas, and he sees plenty of potential in the two juniors.

for a pair of Garfield County teens, it's the land of opportunity.
Matt Pfalsgraff and Kasey Cox are new to DeBeque High School this year. They came to the school chasing a dream and with hopes of getting off the sidelines.
It's a simple dream. One that so many youngsters have growing up. The dream originates with a round ball, a court and a 10-foot high hoop. Matt and Kasey wanted to play high school basketball.
The two juniors have now taken their dream off the playgrounds and onto the high school basketball courts.
Now that Matt has moved from Rifle High to DeBeque High, he's gone from the sidelines to the court. And he's definitely taken advantage of the
opportunity. Averaging more than 10 points a game this season, Matt has blossomed into a hard-nosed, hustling player with the Dragons. As one of the outstanding young players in the region, the 6-foot-2-inch forward has even been invited to play at the U.S. Junior National All-State competition in Colorado Springs this April.
Not bad for someone who didn't play high school basketball before.
"It's really exciting, because I never got the chance to play at Rifle," Matt said.
Kasey, a gangly 6-foot-3-inch, 135 pounder, is usually the first sub off the bench and has started a few games this season. But statistics or stardom matter little to Kasey. Simply getting the chance to play is what thrills the 16-year-old.
"It means a lot," Kasey said about playing. "My whole dream is to play basketball. Just to play and be out there with my teammates means a lot."
To fully understand the magnitude of Matt and Kasey's migration to DeBeque, one must venture 50 miles east, to the town of New Castle. This
is a story about two friends who love basketball; who grew up as best friends since kindergarten; who grew up as basketball teammates since pee
wees; who both found high school in Rifle a foreign experience. Then, they both faced a tough decision and a crossroads at a very early stage in life.

Difficult adjustment to high school
After going to school and playing basketball at New Castle's Riverside School, the 14-mile trip west to Rifle High School was awkward, frustrating and uncomfortable.
Struggles that came with the larger school setting took their toll on the teens. They were unhappy, unsatisfied and realized that their dream of playing basketball was slowly dissolving into the hardwood.
That's when Matt and his parents decided to look into another school. Since Matt's aunt lives in DeBeque, the decision was finalized rather easily.
A 1991 ruling allows Colorado students the luxury of attending any public school they want regardless of which school district they reside in.

Cindy and Gene Pfalsgraff, Matt's parents, knew something had to happen or their son was headed down the wrong road. A dead end road with no
opportunities and maybe not even a high school diploma.
"Basically he lost heart in Rifle," Cindy said. "He struggled with his classwork and he always wanted to play basketball. Now, he's got a new start, a new outlook and a new attitude."
So the road he took instead was Interstate 70, as he packed his bags and became a DeBeque Dragon. He stays with his aunt during school nights and
returns to his Silt Mesa home during the weekends. It's been a sacrifice for both Matt and his parents.
"It's been difficult," Cindy said. "Our oldest just went to college, so it's been different.
"We have concerns over the weather and the vehicle - he now drives mom's car," she said with a laugh.

"The worse thing is the drive and the gas money," Kasey said.
Kelley laughs when she agrees with Cindy about the vehicle situation. "Kasey has the best car in our family too."
He usually leaves for school at 7 a.m. and fills up his Subaru Legacy twice a week at 14 bucks a tank. With only one court at the school, the day gets very long when the boys practice late. That's when some of the team heads down to Jack's Store to kill a few hours playing the primitive game of pinball.
"Yeah, we put a lot of quarters in the machine," Matt said with a laugh.
Kasey said his fellow students think "he's crazy" to drive that far just for school.
During the home games, Kasey said he usually gets back to New Castle around 10 p.m. The road trips are long and longer. With trips to Ridgway,
Ouray, Norwood and Crested Butte, to name a few,

of kids," Kasey said.
Kelley said there was no pressure on Kasey, saying they left the decision up to him.
"When he first came up with the idea I had butterflies because I never considered a change," said Kelley, who is a New Castle native. "But when I saw how enthusiastic he was I felt better about it."
The decision to attend DeBeque was easy. The logistics were not. Kasey didn't have a relative living in DeBeque, so his sacrifice would be steep. If DeBeque was going to be Kasey's school, he was going to have to commute. Fifty miles - which takes about 45 minutes - was now his daily commute to school.
Like most teen-agers with a car, Kasey cranks up his stereo and cruises off to school in the morning. It just takes him a little longer to get there.
But as long and torturous as 45 minutes from home sounds, Kelley said the interesting part is that it's actually a quicker trip home during regular school days.
"School at DeBeque ends at 3 p.m. so his school day is actually 15 minutes shorter than when he was riding the school bus (from Rifle to New Castle)," she said.
But it was still a bit unnerving for Kelley and Mike, to see their son hit the road every morning with 50 miles in front of him.
"The only downside is the drive and knowing that my 16-year-old is on the road so much, but the drive doesn't bother him at all," she said. "He's so motivated to get up and out the door."
Another thing that helped settle Kelley and Mike's worries was the other parents at DeBeque.
"They told us, if Kasey ever needs a place to stay he's welcome," she said. "We felt like our child had a place to stay if he needed it and that put our minds at ease."
Kasey has accepted that offer on a few occasions this year. Kasey agrees that the drive and getting up earlier than most kids his age is a pain but it's a small sacrifice when there's a hoop dream at stake.