Should that be illegal, like doping?

By Michael Ashcraft and Kirollos Abdalla --

It was a game the Lighthouse Christian Academy wanted desperately to win. Not only were they fighting for second place, they were avenging their wounds from last year when Beacon Hill executed a stinging shutdown of Saints prowess.

So when two key players got injured, everyone was biting their lip worriedly.

Allie "Everything" Scribner sprained her wrist, and Clara "Fireball" Czer sprained her ankle. Allie got injured when Dahlia Gonzalez smashed the ball too hard at her hand during practice, and Clara got injured when a boy crossed the lie during a pickup game and landed on foot.

A few voices on the sidelines fumed: What were you thinking?!? Shouldn't you have taken care of yourself better??? Can't the boys...

But then something weird -- miraculous -- happened. Pastor Charlie Foreman, who loves to pray for the sick and injured -- prayed. It wasn't illegal sports doping. But it was, people say, outside of the normal purview of natural events.

It was another kind of PT. Not Physical Therapy. It was Prayer Therapy.

Allie recovered. On Monday against Panorama High School she actually was flinging herself all over the court diving for balls as if she needed to prove her body with a thorough thrashing. She played unrestrainedly and unaffected.

Meanwhile, Clara was sidelined on Monday. But she got prayer on Tuesday just before the big game. The pain left, she said. It was hard to believe, even for a believer.

At the game, Clara was smashing blazing balls that made Beacon Hill Classical Academy's coach Manny de la Huerta twitch -- by his own admission -- everytime she touched the ball.

"Number 10 was hitting some screamers," he remarked. "She was a damn good player. She could hit the ball and she was doing it from all over the court."

Ultimately, Beacon Hill prevailed after four thrilling and emotional sets in front of 60 raucous Saints fans.

"It was a hard-fought game," de la Huerta said. "Lighthouse was good."

It came down to serving, Coach Jessica Scribner said. Lighthouse made too many poor serves.

"I think we gave it to them on our serves," Coach Jessica says. "Honestly, I think we were the better team, but we gave it to them with our mistakes. One person didn't show up today in their ability.

"It was a highlight that Clara even played today. She got prayer today, and she said she was going to give it no matter what. That was a miracle in an of itself."

The Saints lost Games 1 and 2 by the same score: 20-25.

But the Saints surged in Game 3 and buried Beacon Hill 25-15.

Hoping to carry their momentum into Game 4, the Saints continued to play aggressive but also smart, not taking risky shots, as they're wont to do.

But Beacon Hill played their game calmly until they finished off Lighthouse 22-25.

Clara cried. She had given her all and it was not enough.

Lighthouse's last game is played this Friday against Ojai Valley.

Read about LCA's other games:

She's Pho Real

Poker Face
War of the Battleships

Four more inches, please
God save the Queen!
Is Tuesday the 13th a Thing?
Zeus Showed Up
Michael Ashcraft teaches journalism at the Lighthouse Christian Academy in Santa Monica.