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He was referring, of course, to a conference championship. Unfortunately, the Oilers never did bash that door in and win a title. Phillips was prone to making such statements.

It's unlikely Kalkaska softball coach Rik Ponstein will be heard uttering a remark remotely resembling Phillips' famous quote.

But he will say the Blazers are capable of winning a high school regional softball championship.

Just don't ask him to predict the exact year it will happen. Kalkaska won its fourth consecutive district title this past spring, and then did something that it hadn't done before ... win a regional game.

All that remains to be accomplished is winning the championship, and that could come as soon as next spring, if all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place.

Since the Blazers hosted the regional, it would be tempting to claim they managed their 6-1 victory over East Jordan in the semifinal round simply to playing on familiar ground.

Playing at home certainly was an advantage. But it was only a small part of the whole picture for the victorious Blazers.

They hit the ball well, ran the bases aggressively, moved runners up with well executed sacrifice bunts, played exceptional defense and had outstanding pitching.

Gladstone ended the Blazers' run in the regional championship game, 7-1.

Any team that was capable of keeping Kalkaska's explosive offense in check deserved to win, so hat's off to Gladstone.

The loss in the final doesn't take any luster off a fantastic regular season which saw the Blazers compile a 25-11 record. It doesn't take the shine off their fourth straight district championship trophy, now proudly displayed at school.

Few teams can claim the kind of success Kalkaska has enjoyed over the last four years. So there is a good reason for the Blazers to smile about their recently completed season.

The Blazers expect to be back in the regional again next year, and there's good reason for that, too. Kalkaska loses only catcher Courtney Kooistra and designated player Amber Huddleston, who were seniors this year.

Marissa Taylor, the team's number one pitcher, will be back for her senior season in 2008. And with the balance of the team coming back with her, it would seem the Blazers will be primed for another run at the regional title.

The Blazers had lost seven seniors coming into this season, and yet managed to toss out the theory they would be struggling through a "rebuilding" year.

Who would doubt what the Blazers are capable of doing next year? Finding a new catcher of Kooistra caliber will be difficult, but transition is part of the game in high school ball, and Ponstein no doubt has a replacement in mind.

Taylor's presence on the mound gives the Blazers instant credibility, and with Ponstein stressing solid defense and aggressive hitting and base running, the Blazers are never going to play themselves out of a game.