Valley girls State runners-up, welcome respite from week of Panhandle fires

CARING CHAMPIONS After winning the state semifinal basketball game, theValley Lady Patriots team and coaches sent out a message of support for the Panhandle towns fighting wildfires throughout the week. SEE SPOTLIGHTONSTATEBASKETBALL, PAGE 9 | COURTESY PHOTO
CARING CHAMPIONS After winning the state semifinal basketball game, theValley Lady Patriots team and coaches sent out a message of support for the Panhandle towns fighting wildfires throughout the week. SEE SPOTLIGHTONSTATEBASKETBALL, PAGE 9 | COURTESY PHOTO

Across Caprock Country last week, life played out across split screens. The Valley Lady Patriots captured the hopes and aspirations of small-town residents across the region, but as these townfolk watched the trek of their hometown heroes’ bus to the Alamodome in San Antonio, locals also kept their thoughts and prayers on their neighbors to the north in the Panhandle who were battling the largest …