Jefferson County Sports Update

2010-03-02T16:02:00.000-06:00

Monday’s games (March 1)
Girls

2A substate quarterfinals
Oskaloosa 43, Lyndon 38
• The Bears outscored Lyndon, 12-4, in the fourth quarter to win and improve to 14-7. Sophomore Haley Pfau scored 23 and junior Hailey Kelly scored 14 in the win. They were set to play Lebo in Thursday’s semifinals in Lebo.

Lebo 59, Valley Falls 37
• The Dragons finished 8-13. Junior Abbey Kearney led the way with 12 points in the loss.

4A substate quarterfinals
Perry-Lecompton 59, Atchison 30
• The Kaws improved to 11-9 and moved into the semifinals versus Royal Valley Thursday on their home court in Hoyt. Junior Abbey Bays led the Kaws with 14 points, sophomore Natasha Carver scored 13 and senior Jessica Christman scored 10 in the win.

Hiawatha 46, Jefferson West 43
• A 15-4 third quarter gave West a lead they couldn’t hold as the Tigers’ season ended at 7-14. Senior BriAnna Ploude led the Tigers with 12 points.

Boys
3A substate quarterfinals

KC Christian 56, McLouth 18
• The Bulldogs finished the season 4-19. Sophomore Shawn Dailey led McLouth with 8 points.

Kaw varsity swept by Santa Fe Trail

2010-03-02T15:56:00.002-06:00

by Kenneth Lassiter
For one Perry-Lecompton varsity basketball team, it was a rough end to a good season. For the other, it was just another rough ending, as the Kaw varsities were swept by Santa Fe Trail on the final night of the regular season Friday in Perry.

The Kaw girls started the season 8-1 but finished with a 10-9 record after Friday’s 32-24 loss to Trail. Despite the late-season swoon, the record marks the first winning Kaw campaign and first 10-win campaign since the 1990s. The Kaw boys, on the flip side, have taken their lumps this season. A good effort went for naught Friday with a 60-57 loss to Trail to drop the Kaws to 2-18 to end the regular season.

The girls’ varsity game was a struggle for both teams at times. Perry-Lecompton would pull close only to see the Chargers stretch the lead out, until Trail finally came away with the 8-point win.

The game was tied at 3 more than halfway through the first quarter when SFT senior Korbynn Stallbaumer hit a 3-pointer and senior Megan Fischer hit a jumper to give the Chargers an 8-3 lead entering the second quarter.

The Kaws went nearly five minutes of game play before senior Emma Gantz broke their scoring drought with a jumper at the 6:02 mark of the second quarter. The Perry-Lecompton offense started to show some signs of life thereafter as two more Gantz scores cut the Trail lead to 12-11 with 3:24 left in the half. That was all the scoring they’d get, though, as the Chargers took a 14-11 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Trail started the second half with a 3-pointer from senior Shara Luther but Gantz and senior Jessica Christman hit shots to end another long Kaw scoring drought and cut the lead to 2 at 17-15 Trail. The Kaws cut the lead to 1 twice but Santa Fe Trail scored the final 4 points of the third quarter to take a 24-19 lead into the final period.

Frustrated with his team’s play, Kaws coach Justin Mayer would pull the starters with 5:30 left in the game only to send them back into the game less than a minute of gameplay later as Trail held a 6-point lead. The Kaw offense couldn’t score, however, as Trail’s lead reached 9 points at its pinnacle. The Kaws would only have 2 points in the final 3:08 as Trail took home the 32-24 victory.

Gantz led the Kaws in scoring with 8 points. Mayer said after the game he was glad to have a home game Monday for the first round of substate but the late part of the season hasn’t gone well for his team.

“It’s pretty cool that we get a home game in the first round of substate,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ve had one of those in a long time. We’ll try to make the most of it. The second half of our season has been pretty tough. I thought we looked sleepy out there tonight. We just can’t knock down shots right now. It’s become frustrating for us. We’ve got to have people who are confident enough to take good shots and make something happen.

“It’s been our best season in a while but I hope the girls aren’t satisfied with that. We’ve had six of our losses at 5 points or less. We have to figure out how to pull out these close games.”

The Kaws are the second seed in the Royal Valley 4A substate and were set to play host to Atchison on Monday.

Trail boys 60,
Perry-Lecompton 57

A frustrating regular season ended with a good effort Friday for the Kaw boys as they surged back from a big halftime deficit to have the ball with a chance to tie the game at the final buzzer.

The game was even through the early few minutes until Trail started to edge away on the scoreboard. A baseline 3-pointer by Kaw senior Kameron Hurd gave the Kaws the lead at 8-5 but Charger junior Dalton Abel hit a jumper and then converted a 3-point play to swing the lead to Trail. The Chargers ended the quarter on a 13-2 run as junior Anthony Perry hit a putback at the buzzer to make the score 18-10 Trail entering the second quarter.

Trail would stretch the lead in the second quarter thanks in part to a stifling press defense. Senior Logan Hurd hit an early 3-pointer for the Kaws to cut the lead to 7 but an 11-3 run increased the Chargers’ lead to 15. The lead eventually reached 19 as Trail senior Jason Lee got a steal on the press and hit a short jumper to make it 37-18 SFT. Kameron Hurd hit a 3-pointer with 1:35 left in the half but the Chargers would go to the locker room with a 39-21 lead at the half.

The Kaws began to chip away at the lead in the third quarter. Kameron Hurd hit another 3-pointer to start the scoring and senior Brad Phillips hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 10 at one point. Senior Shelby Politte scored off an offensive rebound with 3:19 left in the quarter to cut the lead to single digits at 44-35 but Trail would stretch it back to 13 at 48-35 entering the fourth quarter.

The Kaws kept on the offensive pressure as they started to beat the Trail press consistently. Politte scored off a Phillips pass on the Kaws’ first possession of the fourth quarter and it took more than two minutes of game time before Kameron Hurd drilled another 3-pointer to cut the lead to 10 with 5:41 left in the game. Another trifecta from Kameron Hurd cut the lead to 7 with 4:40 to play and, after a jumpball gave the ball back to Perry-Lecompton, senior Riley Shafer hit a baseline jumper to cut the lead to 5 at 55-50.

Trail began to stall on offense as Perry-Lecompton didn’t get the ball back until the 1:48 mark after two free throws from Trail senior Jesse Bahner. Politte scored with 1:02 left after a missed free throw by Chargers senior Stuart Kraus, and Shafer and Logan Hurd teamed up for a steal and Shafer lay-in to cut the lead to 3 at 57-54 with 44 seconds left in the game. Bahner hit 2 more free throws with 39 seconds left and the Kaws missed a chance to cut back into the lead as Lee pulled down a defensive rebound. He would hit only 1 of 2 free throws after being fouled and Politte nailed a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left to cut the lead to 60-57.

The Kaws got a key stroke of fortune on the ensuing inbounds play as the Trail inbounds pass sailed out of bounds to give the Kaws the ball on their offensive end with 2.1 seconds left. Shafer was fouled on an inbounds play with 1 second left, and Kameron Hurd took the ensuing inbounds pass but his desperation 3-pointer missed the mark as Trail escaped, 60-57.

Kameron Hurd finished his final home game as a Kaw with 17 points while Politte scored 16 points in the losing effort.

The loss brought the Kaws’ regular season to an end at 2-18. They entered substate play at Hoyt as the eighth seed and were set to play top seed Pleasant Ridge Tuesday in Easton.

Bulldog girls get comeback win over Oskie

2010-02-23T13:17:00.001-06:00

The McLouth Bulldog varsity girls’ basketball team made up for a lackluster first half Friday with a doozy of a second half as they overcame cross-county rival Oskaloosa, 56-52, in Oskaloosa.

The Bulldogs were down 8 at the half but turned up both the offense and defense in the second half to overcome a decided 39-22 rebounding advantage for Oskaloosa in the game.

The key was some scoring output from sources other than McLouth senior standout guard Missy Rome, although Rome made her presence felt in the second half as well. Sophomore guards Morgan Drinnon and Terri Stewart chipped in offensively while senior forward Kylie Shufflebarger had 6 fourth-quarter points to help the Bulldogs to victory.

The game started out all Oskaloosa as the Bears ran off the first 8 points of the game and the Bulldogs were still scoreless at the 4-minute mark of the quarter. Stewart put an end to that with McLouth’s first score with 3:34 left and the Bulldogs began the short climb back into the game. Stewart drilled a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left to cut the Bear lead to 3 and, after a 3-point play by Bears junior guard Hailey Kelly, Drinnon hit a 3-pointer with time dwindling to cut the Bears’ lead to 13-10 entering the second quarter.

Again, McLouth’s offense sputtered as the Bears built the lead to 9 points by scoring the first 6 points of the quarter. And again, the McLouth offense went scoreless until Rome hit 2 free throws with 3:55 left in the half. The Bears’ lead reached 11 late in the half before Drinnon sank another late 3-pointer to cut the halftime lead to 25-17 Oskaloosa.

Both offenses came out firing in the second half as the teams combined for four 3-pointers in the first 4 minutes. The Bears stretched the lead to 12 early but Drinnon nailed her third 3-pointer of the game. Bears sophomore guard Haley Pfau answered with a 3-pointer at the other end but Stewart hit a baseline 3 to cut the Bears’ lead to 8 with 6:18 left in the quarter. Stewart scored off a nice pass from Rome to cut the lead to 6 and Rome later cut the lead to 5 with a 3-pointer of her own. The lead continued to dwindle as Shufflebarger hit a free throw then Rome scored off an offensive rebound to cut the Oskaloosa lead to 2 at 35-33. The Bears were able to hold the lead at 4 as Drinnon hit 2 free throws but Kelly went coast-to-coast for a late layin to make the score 41-37 Bears entering the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs focused on working the ball inside to Shufflebarger throughout the game and, in the final period, the shots began to fall. She scored the Bulldogs’ first 5 points of the quarter and a Rome 3-pointer with 5:17 to play gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game at 45-43. A score from junior guard Logan Terry stretched the lead to 4 but senior Audrey Trowbridge scored off a Pfau pass and Kelly drilled a 3-pointer to give the Bears a 1-point lead with 3:28 to play. Terry answered with a 3-pointer and 2 Rome free throws made it 52-48 with 2:34 left.

Oskaloosa was unable to overcome the deficit as shots wouldn’t fall and the Bulldogs got rebounds when they needed them. The Bears had the ball down 3 with 23 seconds left but a long inbounds pass resulted in a turnover and Shufflebarger hit a free throw to make it a two-possession game for the Bears. Kelly missed 2 free throws but senior Kyra Coffman came up with an offensive rebound and hit both free throws after getting fouled. The Bulldogs would escape, however, as Rome took the inbounds pass and hit both free throws with 1.9 seconds left to give McLouth the 56-52 win.

Rome scored 18 points to lead the Bulldogs, with 14 points coming in the second half. Drinnon scored 13 points while Stewart added 11 points in the win. Shufflebarger finished with 9 points and also led the Bulldogs with 8 rebounds and 5 steals. Rome pulled down 6 rebounds with 3 steals.

Oskaloosa was led by 18 points from Pfau, who also grabbed 8 rebounds. Kelly added 16 points and 8 rebounds while Coffman pulled down 9 rebounds and senior Mallory Schmidt grabbed 7 boards.

The win improved McLouth’s record to 12-7 entering the regular season’s final week. The Bears fell to 10-6 but bounced back with a makeup shellacking of Wathena Saturday.

McLouth first-year coach Bob Good said his team benefitted from some close games this season, plus the players seem to step up their games in the second half.

“I told them (at halftime) we basically needed to get back on defense and be better at stopping their dribble penetration,” Good said. “Get back, stop the ball and rebound. I told them the shots would fall, we just need to keep doing what we’re doing on offense. They came on strong. Kylie came on late and the shots started falling. Morgan has grown up a lot this season and has gotten more physical with her game. Logan made a couple big shots for us. This team, for some reason, just has a different level of intensity in the fourth quarter. The game gets late and they get better. I like that demeanor.

“We’re working to get a home game that first round of substate. That’s our focus right now. We want to get down the road a little bit farther than they have (in recent seasons).”

Oskaloosa boys 44, McLouth 37

The boys game was a little bit of a mirror image of the girls’ contest as the Bulldogs established an early lead but couldn’t stop Bears junior guard Adam Bowser in the second half.

Bowser scored 17 second-half points as the Bears held on in the fourth quarter for the win. On the flip side, the Bears held McLouth leading scorer senior guard Cole Batman scoreless in the game to help their cause.

The teams got off to a slow start as it was 6-4 with 2:15 to play in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs finished the quarter on a 5-1 run as sophomore guard Shawn Dailey hit a 3-pointer to make it 11-5 McLouth entering the second quarter.

The Bears began to draw closer in the second quarter as senior Brandon Barnes hit a jumper to cut the lead to 11-9. Another Dailey 3-pointer helped the Bulldogs stay ahead but 2 Bowser free throws and a jumper from sophomore Adam Brien cut the lead back to 1 with 3:54 to play in the half. The scores sparked a 10-point Bears run as McLouth didn’t get back on the board until freshman Marc Walbridge hit a jumper with 1:20 left in the half to make the halftime score 19-16 Oskaloosa.

The Bulldogs hung around the lead in the third quarter as a Walbridge 3 tied the game at 22 with 3:55 left in the quarter. Bowser answered with a 3-pointer as the Bears were able to stretch the lead back to 5. Walbridge hit another 3-pointer with 37 seconds left to cut the Bear lead to 29-27 entering the fourth quarter.

The Bears couldn’t pull away from the Bulldogs until a Bowser 3-pointer and 2 Bowser free throws gave them a 6-point lead with just under 4 minutes left in the game. A 3-point play by McLouth sophomore Alen Kramer cut the lead back to 3 with 2:24 to play but the Bulldogs would get no closer. There was some late controversy as McLouth was in a must-foul situation late and junior guard Derek Wright was called for an intentional foul much to the dislike of Bulldog fans. The ensuing possession helped the Bears to a 6-pont lead and senior Adam Marshall got a key steal and hit a free throw with 14 seconds left to help the Bears to the 44-37 win.

Bowser added 7 rebounds to his 21 points to lead the Bears. Junior Braden McGinnis pulled down 7 rebounds as both teams had 24 rebounds in the game.

McLouth was led by 11 points from Walbridge and 9 points from Dailey. Sophomore forward Gavin Swearngin had 8 rebounds and junior forward Trevor Roberts had 6 rebounds.

Oskaloosa coach Rod Stottlemire said after several close losses this season, it was nice to see his team pull out a victory Friday.

“We’ve lost three overtime games and on a bank-in 3 at the buzzer, so any win we can pull off at the end is a good win,” Stottlemire said. “We’ve had a lot of close misses on the raod and the guys have worked real hard this season. McLouth is playing pretty well, so we’re happy to get the win. We’ve got to be more consistent on offense and step our free throws up a bit as well going into substate here.”

The Bears improved to 8-9 with the win while McLouth fell to 3-17. The Bears dropped their makeup game with Wathena Saturday to fall to 8-10.

County basketball update for Feb. 23

2010-02-23T13:07:00.002-06:00

Tuesday’s games (Feb. 16)
Girls

JCN 68, Wathena 22
• North led, 33-5, after one quarter en route to the easy win to move to 16-1. Sophomore Jordan Kramer led North with 22 points while senior Sara Navinskey scored 12.

Perry-Lecompton 53, Turner 22
• A 20-7 third quarter helped the Kaws to the win as they improved to 10-6. Senior Jessica Christman led Perry-Lecompton with 15 points while junior Abbey Bays scored 13 points and senior Katie Volle scored 10.

McLouth 52, Horton 49 (OT)
• McLouth came back from a 4-point deficit entering the fourth quarter and then scored the only 3 points in overtime to improve to 11-7. Senior Missy Rome poured in 26 points for the Bulldogs while senior Kylie Shufflebarger scored 11.

Oskaloosa 52, Valley Falls 44
• The Bears used a 16-10 third quarter to build a 9-point lead and then held on to improve to 10-5. Valley Falls fell to 6-11. Sophomore Haley Pfau scored 22 for Oskaloosa while junior Hailey Kelly scored 17 for the Bears. The Dragons were led by 18 points from junior Abbey Kearney and 12 points from junior Morgan Streeter.

Hiawatha 58, Jefferson West 38
• West trailed by 21 at the half in falling to 7-11. Senior Taylor Jaimes led West with 10 points.

Boys

Wathena 66, JCN 51
• Wathena outscored North, 40-26, in the second half to pull away and drop the Chargers to 10-6. Junior Jeff Hale led North with 17 points.

Valley Falls 55, Oskaloosa 51 (OT)
• The Bears used a 26-8 second quarter to take an 8-point halftime lead but the Dragons stormed back to tie the game in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Valley Falls then outscored the Bears, 6-2, in the extra period to win and move to 9-8. Oskaloosa fell to 7-9. Valley Falls was led by 13 points from junior Alex Nottingham, 12 points from junior Brooks Glassel and 11 points from senior Mitchell Streeter. Oskaloosa was led by 20 points from junior Levi Wade, 16 points from senior Brandon Barnes and 10 points from junior Adam Bowser.

Hiawatha 63, Jefferson West 44
• West fell to 5-13 with the loss. Senior Alex Baker led the way with 13 points while senior Austin Siess scored 11.

Turner 57, Perry-Lecompton 49
• Turner pulled ahead for good in the third quarter as the Kaws fell to 2-15. Senior Shelby Politte led Perry-Lecompton with 21 points.

Horton 44, McLouth 39
• The Bulldogs led by 4 at the half but were outscored, 33-24, in the second half to fall to 3-16. Senior Cole Batman scored 14 points to lead McLouth.

Friday’s games (Feb. 19)
Boys

Immaculata 54, JCN 52
• North lost a late lead in falling to 10-7. Senior Nick Clark led the Chargers with 17 points.

Jackson Hts. 51, Valley Falls 44
• The Dragons were outscored, 27-13, in the second and third quarters as they dropped to 9-9. Senior Riley Bunde scored 18 points and Nottingham scored 15 points for the Dragons.

Oskaloosa 44, McLouth 37
• The Bears held on for the win to move to 8-9. McLouth fell to 3-17. Bowser scored 21 points to lead Oskaloosa while freshman Marc Walbridge led McLouth with 11 points.

Nemaha Valley 51, Jefferson West 40
• The Tigers fell to 5-14 with the loss. Baker led West with 10 points.

Piper 44, Perry-Lecompton 31
• The Kaws fell to 2-16.

Girls

JCN 52, Immaculata 44
• The Chargers pulled out the game in the fourth quarter to improve to 17-1. Kramer led the way with 19 points for North.

McLouth 56, Oskaloosa 52
• The Bulldogs came back from an 8-point halftime deficit to pull ahead and win in the fourth quarter to improve to 12-7. Oskaloosa dropped to 10-6. Pfau scored 18 while Kelly scored 16 for Oskaloosa. McLouth was led by 18 points from Rome, including 14 in the second half, 13 points from sophomore Morgan Drinnon and 11 points from sophomore Terri Stewart.

Piper 39, Perry-Lecompton 35
• The Kaws dropped to 10-7.

Valley Falls 38, Jackson Hts. 29
• The Dragons outscored the Cobras, 21-11, in the second half to improve to 7-11. Senior Bailey Sherretts scored 13 points and Kearney scored 12 in the win for Valley Falls.

Saturday’s games (Feb. 20)
Boys

Wathena 61, Oskaloosa 43
• The Bears trailed by 12 at the half and Wathena pulled away for the win to drop Oskaloosa to 8-10. Bowser led the Bears with 16 points.

Girls

Oskaloosa 65, Wathena 35
• The Bears improved to 11-6 as they outscored the Wildcats, 33-8, in the second half. Kelly scored 25 points and Pfau scored 20 in the win.

Basketball update for Feb. 2

2010-02-02T13:56:00.001-06:00

Tuesday’s games (Jan. 26)
Girls

Santa Fe Trail 52, Jefferson West 32
• West fell to 4-8. Senior BriAnna Ploude led the Tigers with 12 points.

JCN Tourney
First round

JCN 64, Atchison 33
• The Chargers improved to 9-1 as they built a 29-7 lead after a quarter and coasted from there. Sophomore Jordan Kramer led JCN with 18 points while seniors Mallory GrandPre and Sara Navinskey scored 16 points each.

Perry-Lecompton 38, McLouth 37
• The Kaws had a 6-point halftime lead and held on to take a narrow win and move to 7-1. McLouth fell to 6-5. Senior Katie Volle led the Kaws with 18 points while the Bulldogs were led by 12 points from senior Kylie Shufflebarger.

Oskaloosa 56, Maranatha 40
• The Bears took a 20-point halftime lead and didn’t look back in moving to 7-2. Sophomore Haley Pfau led the Bears with 18 points as 10 different Bears logged points.

ACCHS 43, Valley Falls 29
• The Dragons fell to 4-5. Junior Abbey Kearney led Valley Falls with 16 points.

Boys

Perry-Lecompton 67, Oskaloosa 51
• The Kaws built a 7-point halftime lead and pulled away in the second half to improve to 2-8. Oskaloosa fell to 6-6. Senior Shelby Politte scored 24 for the Kaws while senior Logan Hurd scored 16 and senior Brad Phillips added 11. The Bears were led by 22 points from junior Adam Bowser and 11 points each from senior Brandon Barnes and junior Levi Wade.

Santa Fe Trail 65, Jefferson West 50
• West fell to 4-8. Freshman Cory Brown scored 12 points and junior Dillon Roy added 11 for West.

Thursday’s games (Jan. 28)
Boys

ACCHS 50, JCN 46
• North suffered its second loss in six days to the Tigers but made this one close before falling to 7-4. Junior Jeff Hale and senior Nick Clark led JCN with 10 points each.

Friday’s games (Jan. 29)
Boys

Bishop Ward 44, Perry-Lecompton 42
• The Kaws fell to 2-9.

McLouth 55, KC East Christian 26
• The Bulldogs led by 15 at the half and put the game away in the third quarter to improve to 3-11. Sophomore Shawn Dailey led the way with 14 points while junior Trevor Roberts scored 12 and senior Cole Batman scored 11.

Girls
JCN Tourney
Semifinals

JCN 47, ACCHS 40
• The Chargers defeated the Tigers for the second time in eight days as they pulled away in the fourth quarter to improve to 10-1. Kramer scored 15 for North while junior Katie Noll scored 12 points and Navinsky added 10 points.

Perry-Lecompton 37, Oskaloosa 35
• The Kaws defeated Oskaloosa for the second time this season as they built a 7-point halftime lead and then held on in the second half to move to 8-1. Oskaloosa dropped to 7-3. Senior Jessica Christman led the Kaws with 13 points. Junior Hailey Kelly led Oskaloosa with 12 points.

Consolation semis

McLouth 37, Maranatha 35
• McLouth led, 10-2, after a quarter and had to hold on the rest of the way to improve to 7-5. Shufflebarger and senior Missy Rome scored 14 points each to lead the Bulldogs.

Atchison 44, Valley Falls 42
• The Dragons led by 4 at the half but couldn’t hold on in the fourth quarter to fall to 4-6. Kearney scored 14 points and senior Bethany Myers scored 12 points in the loss for Valley Falls.

Saturday’s games (Jan. 30)
Girls

JCN Tourney
Championship

JCN 49, Perry-Lecompton 44 (OT)
• North didn’t lead in the game until overtime after coming back from a 9-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to force the extra period. The Chargers improved to 11-1 while the Kaws fell to 8-2 on the season. Kramer scored 17 points and Navinskey scored 11, including the game-tying basket with only seconds left in regulation. Christman led the Kaws with 15 points while junior Abbey Bays and Volle scored 9 each.

Third place

ACCHS 44, Oskaloosa 34
• The Bears were down by 10 after one quarter and couldn’t come back in the second half to fall to 7-4. Kelly led the Bears with 11 points while Pfau and sophomore Rachel Schmanke scored 9 each.

Fifth place

McLouth 43, Atchison 26
• The Bulldogs built a 10-point halftime lead and withstood an early Atchison run in the second half before pulling away to move to 8-5. Rome scored 15 points, sophomore Terri Stewart scored 12 points and Shufflebarger scored 11 in the win.

Seventh place

Valley Falls 46, Maranatha 37
• The Dragons led by 3 at the half and pulled away in the fourth quarter to improve to 5-6. Sophomore Macie Herrig led the way for the Dragons with 13 points.

North defeats Kaws in epic tourney finale

2010-02-02T13:55:00.001-06:00

It took Jefferson County North more than 32 minutes of gameplay to finally grab the lead in the title game of the Chargers’ own tournament Saturday in Winchester and it took a couple clutch plays to help North hold off a feisty Perry-Lecompton squad for a 49-44 overtime victory.

The win was more proof of a Charger team that, as coach Steve Noll put it, has a never-say-die mentality. Meanwhile on the other side, the Kaws continued the best basketball story in the county this season in a turnaround under second-year coach Justin Mayer. Despite the loss, the Kaws sat at 8-2 after the game. The Kaw girls last won 8 games in the 2000-01 season when they finished 8-13. They have only won 7 games one time since that season.

JCN earned a trip to the title game with wins over Atchison and ACCHS in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Perry-Lecompton took down McLouth and Oskaloosa in narrow wins to qualify for the tourney title game.

The Kaws held the momentum for the vast majority of the game with the Chargers but the keys to the Charger win were a resurgence of rebounding by North after the Chargers were outrebounded, 18-13, in the first half, and 22 Kaw turnovers compared to only 12 for the Chargers. At game’s end the Chargers had 37 rebounds to Perry-Lecompton’s 38. A big shot by North senior Sara Navinskey to force overtime also helped the Chargers’ cause.

Perry-Lecompton took control from the opening tip as junior guard Abbey Bays scored off an offensive rebound and the Kaws built a 7-1 lead midway through the quarter. North got its first field goal of the game on a Navinskey jumper with 3:40 to play in the opening quarter and got the game tied at 7 with just over a minute left in the period. A free throw by Kaws junior Taylor Akagi gave the Kaws an 8-7 edge entering the second quarter.

The game was tied at three points in the second quarter until Perry-Lecompton regained control with a 7-point run to force a North timeout with 2:31 left in the half. The Kaws had the ball and a chance to extend the lead but North sophomore guard Jordan Kramer came up with two key steals that were converted into a layup and then two free throws by senior forward Mallory GrandPre to cut the lead to 3 at 19-16 Kaws with 51 seconds left in the half. Kaws senior Katherine Frye added a free throw to give Perry-Lecompton a 20-16 halftime lead.

The Chargers cut the lead to 2 early in the third quarter but the Kaws churned out another 7-point run in a 90-second stretch of game time. Sophomore guard Natasha Carver got it started with a 3-pointer, senior forward Katie Volle added two free throws and Bays hit a jumper to make it 31-22 Kaws, which would be the score entering the fourth quarter.

JCN scored the first 5 points of the final quarter to get back in the game. Kramer scored off an offensive rebound on a missed GrandPre free throw and then hit a jumper on North’s next possession to cut the lead to 31-27. Kaws senior Jessica Christman scored on a short jumper but a Kramer 3 would cut the lead to 33-31 Kaws with 5:07 to go in the game. The Kaws were up 4 and had a couple chances to stretch the lead but were unable. Another Christman jumper with 2:10 to play kept the lead at 4 and the Kaws again got multiple chances to extend the lead but could not.

The Kaws still held the 4-point lead with 1:02 to play, however. GrandPre hit 1 of 2 free throws with 44 seconds to play but, for a third consecutive time, the Kaws missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw set and GrandPre pulled down the rebound. Kaws senior guard Katie Hirsch got a key steal with 33 seconds left and hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 38-34 Kaws. JCN junior Katie Noll scored off an offensive rebound and the Chargers took a timeout with 23 seconds left.

The Kaws made a key turnover on their next possession and, after another North timeout, Kramer and Navinskey executed a well-timed inbounds play with Navinskey scoring on a layup of Kramer’s inbounds pass. Kramer fouled Bays with 15 seconds left and the Perry-Lecompton junior hit both free throws to give the Kaws a 40-38 lead. From there, North had one more chance and, with time winding down, Navinskey threw up a shot from near the top of the key and it hit its mark to tie the game and force overtime.

North was still looking for its first lead of the game entering the extra stanza and got it as Kramer scored on a layup off the tip and was fouled. Hirsch hit 1 of 2 free throws on Perry-Lecompton’s next possession to cut the lead to 1 and, after a GrandPre short jumper for her first field goal of the game, Bays hit a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game at 44. North was able to take a 1-point lead on a GrandPre free throw and a traveling call on the Kaws gave the Chargers an opening. Navinskey hit 2 free throws to make the lead 3, but then missed both free throws after pulling down a defensive rebound and getting fouled. Kramer came down with a big offensive rebound on the second missed free throw but traveled, and then GrandPre made a key steal with time running under 20 seconds. Kramer missed 2 free throws with 10 seconds left but GrandPre got perhaps the biggest rebound of the game and put it back in for 2 points to secure the 49-44 North win.

North improved to 11-1 with the win as Kramer scored 17 points with 7 rebounds and 5 steals and Navinskey scored 11 points with 7 rebounds. GrandPre scored 9 points with 9 rebounds and 7 steals and Katie Noll grabbed 7 rebounds.

Perry-Lecompton fell to 8-2 and was led by 15 points and 11 rebounds from Christman and 9 points each from Bays and Volle. Bays added 6 rebounds and 3 steals while Volle grabbed 5 rebounds. Two Kaw starters fouled out late in the game to help North’s chances.

North coach Noll said he would take the win and tourney title, although he credited Perry-Lecompton for giving the Chargers all they could handle.

“They played well,” a relieved Noll said after the game. “They really gave us a heck of a game. We weren’t able to do what we wanted to do. I think Sara’s shot there at the end was maybe 10 feet, 1 inch, it was that close to the rim. The girls just kept plugging away.”

Noll credited the team’s full-court pressure with helping fuel the fourth-quarter comeback.

“We did go with a little more full court man-to-man defense, and we haven’t been able to run a lot of man defense recently,” he said. “Every time it looked like shots were there, they were in our face. We finally got to where we could move the ball and got fouled a couple times there. The girls have faced a lot of adversity at times this season and they keep plugging away. Hopefully we can build on this. We’ve got to work on shooting free throws better and pick it up on defense. We need to have offense that runs based on initiating it by good defense.”

ACCHS 44,
Oskaloosa 34 (third)

The third-place game of the JCN tourney went to ACCHS as the Tigers took control in the first quarter and fended the Bears off the rest of the game to drop Oskaloosa to 7-4.

The Bears had defeated Maranatha in the opening round before falling to Perry-Lecompton in Friday’s semifinals. ACCHS had defeated Valley Falls and then lost to JCN in the tourney semifinals.

The game was tied at 3 midway through the first quarter before ACCHS ended the period on a 12-2 run, including scoring the last 9 points of the quarter. Sophomore forward Tara Ellerman and sophomore guard Megan Vanderweide fueled the run as Ellerman scored 4 points and Vanderweide drilled two 3-pointers to help ACCHS to a 15-5 lead entering the second quarter.

Ellerman would continue to be a problem for the Bears as ACCHS spent most of the quarter holding off the Bears before extending the lead to 11 at the half. Ellerman finished the half with 11 points as a 3-point play midway through the quarter stretched the lead back to 9 and Ellerman scored the Tigers’ final 7 points of the half to make it 26-15 ACCHS.

Oskaloosa came out of the locker room firing in the second half as sophomore Haley Pfau started the scoring with a 3-pointer and would score the first 7 points of the half to cut the Tiger lead to 26-22. Ellerman notched another 3-point play to get ACCHS on the board and stymie the run. Oskaloosa wouldn’t go away, however, as junior guard Hailey Kelly scored the final 3 points of the quarter to trim the Tiger lead to 33-28 entering the fourth quarter.

The Tigers held Oskaloosa off the board in a key stretch of the final period as ACCHS went on a 6-0 run that extended the lead back to 11 points with 6:05 to play. Oskaloosa sophomore forward Rachel Schmanke got the Bears back on the board with 5:57 to play but the ACCHS lead would be too big to surmount. The Tiger bench salted away a 44-34 win.

Oskaloosa was led by 11 points from Kelly and 9 points each from Pfau and Schmanke. Pfau led the Bears with 4 rebounds. The Tigers controlled the boards with a 29-15 advantage.

ACCHS was led by Ellerman’s 18 points and 11 rebounds while Vanderweide scored 11 points.

In other tourney action, McLouth defeated Atchison, 43-26, for fifth and Valley Falls defeated Maranatha, 46-37, for seventh.

ACCHS torches JCN for MIT title

2010-02-02T13:24:00.001-06:00

Atchison County Community High School came out firing on all cylinders Saturday and it was much to the misfortune of Jefferson County North as the Tigers took home a 71-38 win in the title game of the McLouth Invitational Tournament.

ACCHS had advanced to the title game with double-digit victories over Valley Falls and Cair Paravel while JCN had made it an all-acronym final with a narrow win over Maranatha and then an 18-point win over Bishop Seabury in the varsity boys’ tourney.

The first quarter would set the tone for the game as the Tigers’ offense and misfiring North offense all but put the game out of reach. Two 3-pointers by ACCHS sophomore Austin Eckert gave the Tigers a 6-0 lead and forced North’s first timeout with 5:32 to play in the quarter. North sophomore Dominic Kingman got the Chargers on the board shortly thereafter but it would be North’s only score of the quarter. Eckert added two more 3-pointers before the dust settled on the quarter with an 18-2 Tigers lead.

Eckert answered a score by North sophomore Billy Noll with another 3-pointer to start the second quarter and ACCHS picked up where it left off after the first quarter. The lead reached 20 points a couple minutes of game time later and the Tigers finished the half on a 12-3 run to take a 39-10 lead into halftime.

A North comeback was highly improbable at that point, but the Chargers scored the first 4 points of the second half before the ACCHS offense kicked back into gear to stretch the lead to 34 at 50-16 midway through the quarter. The lead was 36 going into the fourth quarter as Tigers coach John Wetig cleared his bench for the fourth quarter as ACCHS won, 71-38.

After the early onslaught, Eckert, who was later named tourney most valuable player, finished with 17 points as he only scored 2 in the second half. Junior Ryan Martin also led the way for the Tigers with 19 points and 5 rebounds.

North was led by 10 points from junior Jeff Hale. Kingman scored 8 points and junior Spencer Wentz pulled down 8 rebounds in the loss. Both teams had 27 rebounds while North had 21 turnovers to only 14 for ACCHS.

JCN coach Jim Brickell said the result wasn’t what his team had hoped for after good wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals. One key blow to the Chargers’ chances came when sophomore Dalton Minor suffered a leg injury in the win over Bishop Seabury.

“It was a good week,” Brickell said. “We just didn’t come to play tonight, and they did. I thought it’d be a ball game, but we didn’t do what I had planned to do. We wanted to shut (Martin and Eckert) off, and obviously that didn’t happen. And we didn’t do our offensive game plan either. We’ve got to learn to be a lot more patient and not take so many treys. Things just snowballed on us tonight. But I give credit to them, Effingham played a heck of a ball game. We don’t see quality basketball teams like that enough. You learn a whole different kind of basketball playing good teams. ACCHS played hard and we got outhustled. Usually the team that hustles harder gets the win.”

Valley Falls fifth,
Oskaloosa seventh

The best any other county team could do after JCN’s second place finish was fifth, and Valley Falls got the job done with a double-digit win over Maranatha.

The Dragons had defeated county rival Oskaloosa in Friday’s consolation semifinals while Maranatha defeated McLouth to move into the fifth-place game.

Maranatha actually took early control of the game with a 5-0 lead before Valley Falls surged back with a 9-2 run to end the quarter. Senior Mitchell Streeter nailed a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 1 and senior Chase Lederer and junior Brooks Glassel scored the last 4 points of the quarter to give the Dragons a 12-9 lead.

The Dragons stretched the lead to 6 at halftime and then scored the first 6 points of the second half to extend the lead to 12 at 26-14. The lead held at 32-22 entering the final quarter.

Maranatha was able to get back within 7 points in the early fourth quarter but Glassel hit a 3-pointer to stretch it back to a 10-point Dragon lead. That was as close as Maranatha would get as the Dragons finished off the 43-31 victory.

Nottingham scored 15 points and Glassel scored 12 for the Dragons in the win. Valley Falls improved to 5-6 with the win.

After falling in the consolation semis Friday, Oskaloosa and McLouth were left to duel for seventh place on Saturday and the Bears came away with a 41-35 win.

Oskaloosa was led by 14 points from junior Adam Bowser while McLouth was led by 10 points each from junior Trevor Roberts and sophomore Gavin Swearngin. Oskaloosa improved to 6-5 while McLouth fell to 2-11.

In Saturday’s other game, Bishop Seabury defeated Cair Paravel, 61-46, for third place.

Dragon varsities split with Pleasant Ridge

2010-01-19T13:32:00.000-06:00

Nearly 60 combined turnovers and more than 45 fouls made for a less-than-pretty 43-29 win for the Valley Falls varsity girls’ basketball team Friday over Pleasant Ridge, but the Dragons and coach Todd Gish will take the victory.

The win improved the Dragons’ record to 4-4 going into midseason tournament play. A big turnover advantage for Valley Falls offset a Rams rebounding advantage to help the Dragons get the win.

The Dragons kept the Rams off the board for the first couple minutes of the game en route to building a 10-3 lead. The 7-point advantage held at 12-5 Valley Falls entering the second quarter.

The Dragons pulled farther away in the second quarter as they ended the half on a 7-3 scoring spurt to hold a 21-11 halftime lead. Eleven first-quarter turnovers for the Rams ended up as a total of 20 for the first half to help fuel the deficit for Pleasant Ridge.

Valley Falls struggled in the early going of the second half as the Rams scored the first 5 points of the third quarter to cut the lead in half. The Dragons regained control, however, as junior guard Abbey Kearney scored off a baseline drive and sophomore Macie Herrig scored off a steal and was fouled to stretch the lead back to 9. Herrig missed the free throw but senior forward Bethany Myers grabbed the rebound and Herrig hit an open 3-pointer to make the lead 12 at 30-18 Dragons. The Dragons would score the final 9 points of the quarter all together to take a 32-18 lead into the fourth quarter.

Fouls helped draw out the final quarter of play as neither team got on the board again until less than six minutes were left in the game. Senior Bailey Sherretts finally broke the ice for Valley Falls with a short jumper with about five minutes left in the game to keep the lead at 14. That’s the way the game ended as the Dragons salted away the 43-29 win.

Dragons’ leading scorer Kearney wasn’t at the top of her game and played through foul trouble but still led the way for Valley Falls with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 9 steals. Herrig added 7 points, and Myers scored 7 points with 6 rebounds for the Dragons. Pleasant Ridge was led by 8 points from senior Holly Skaggs and 9 rebounds from junior Cassy Roberts. The Rams had 35 turnovers and 25 fouls compared to 21 turnovers and 21 fouls for the Dragons.

Gish said the win was good as several players had to step up and look to contribute more.

“It’s never a question of effort for us,” Gish said. “The girls work hard. We’ve been trying to execute more consistently. Tonight it was hard to get into a rhythm with all the foul calls. I’m trying to get them sold on running the offense and making the other team play defense. We did enough tonight to get the win.”

Ridge boys 56, Valley Falls 28

The Ram varsity boys jumped out to an early lead and didn’t look back in dropping the Dragons to 3-5 on the season.

The difference in the game wasn’t abundantly clear through some statistics as the Rams outrebounded the Dragons, 25-21, and forced 17 Dragon turnovers while committing 10. It was a consistent offensive attack that got the Rams the win.

The Dragons scored the first basket of the game but the Rams put up the next 10 points to take a solid lead with about three minutes left in the opening quarter. Dragons junior forward Brooks Glassel hit a short jumper to get Valley Falls back on the board with 2:40 left in the quarter, then scored off a steal and ended the quarter with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to keep the Dragons in the game down, 15-9, entering the second quarter.

Glassel started the second quarter with a 3-pointer but those would be his only points of the quarter as the Rams went on a 21-4 run from there to close out the half. Keying the run were two 3-pointers from Rams senior Matt Hager and two 3-point plays from senior Terell Jordan. The Rams scored the last 11 points of the half to take a 36-16 lead into halftime.

The Dragons cut the lead to 16 early in the second half but the Rams pulled back away to lead by 23 at 49-26 entering the fourth quarter. The junior varsities played a chunk of the fourth quarter as the Rams held on to a 56-28 win.

The Dragons were led by 14 points from Glassel and 7 points from junior Alex Nottingham. Senior Riley Bunde pulled down 7 rebounds.

County basketball update for Jan. 19

2010-01-19T13:26:00.002-06:00

Tuesday’s games (Jan. 12)
Girls

Oskaloosa 56, Jackson Heights 34
• The Bears improved to 5-1 overall with the road win. Four Bears were in double figures led by 13 points from sophomore Rachel Schmanke. Junior Hailey Kelly scored 11 and senior Kyra Coffman and sophomore Haley Pfau scored 10 each.

KC Christian 62, JCN 51
• The Chargers suffered their first regular-season loss since 2008 as KCC avenged a loss in the league tourney semifinals. JCN moved to 4-1. Sophomore Jordan Kramer scored 16 points for North while senior Mallory GrandPre scored 14 points.

Perry-Lecompton 38, Bonner Springs 36
• The Kaws improved to 3-1 with the win.

McLouth 60, Wathena 35
• The Bulldogs outscored Wathena, 37-17, in the second half to improve to 4-3. Senior Missy Rome led McLouth with 25 points while senior Kylie Shufflebarger scored 11 points.

Immaculata 43, Valley Falls 34
• A 9-1 first quarter and 17-6 third quarter did in the Dragons as they dropped to 3-4. Junior Abbey Kearney led the way for Valley Falls with 17 points. Sophomore Macie Herrig scored 9 points.

Jefferson West 40, Nemaha Valley 35
• West came back from a 5-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to win and move to 2-5. Senior BriAnna Ploude led West with 16 points.

Boys

Jackson Heights 66, Oskaloosa 31
• The Bears dropped to 5-2 as Heights led, 25-2, after one quarter and didn’t look back. Junior Adam Bowser scored 13 points and junior Levi Wade scored 10 in the loss.

KC Christian 53, JCN 37
• North dropped to 3-2. Sophomore Dalton Minor led the Chargers with 14 points.

Nemaha Valley 45, Jefferson West 44
• West fell to 3-4 as the Tigers squandered an 8-point lead starting the second quarter and a 5-point lead entering the fourth quarter. Junior Dillon Roy led West with 13 points and senior Alex Baker scored 10 points.

Wathena 51, McLouth 35
• The Bulldogs dropped to 2-6.

Bonner Springs 68, Perry-Lecompton 36
• The Kaws dropped to 0-5. Senior Shelby Politte scored 10 points to lead the Kaws.

Thursday’s games (Jan. 14)
Girls

JCN 51, McLouth 35
• North got back on the winning track in a makeup game versus McLouth. The Chargers improved to 5-1 while McLouth fell to 4-4. Kramer scored 24 points while GrandPre scored 15 for North. McLouth was led by 16 points from Rome.

Boys

JCN 41, McLouth 31
• North improved to 4-2 while McLouth fell to 2-7. North built a 17-point lead entering the final quarter before McLouth tightened it late. Minor scored 10 points to lead the Chargers. The Bulldogs were led by 13 points from sophomore Alen Kramer and 12 points from senior Cole Batman.

Friday’s games (Jan. 15)
Boys

Doniphan West 50, Oskaloosa 48
• The Bears dropped to 5-3.

JCN 47, Horton 42
• The Chargers held off Horton to improve to 5-2. Junior Jeff Hale led the way for North with 18 points.

Royal Valley 52, Jefferson West 50
• The Tigers dropped to 3-5 as Royal Valley came back from a 9-point halftime deficit to win. Baker scored 14 points while senior Adam Fechter scored 10 points in the loss.

Pleasant Ridge 56, Valley Falls 28
• The Dragons fell to 3-5. Junior Brooks Glassel scored 14 points to lead the Dragons.

Immaculata 65, McLouth 59 (2OT)
• The Bulldogs dropped to 2-8 as a tight game was decided in double overtime. Batman scored 20 points and junior Trevor Roberts added 13 points in the losing cause.

Santa Fe Trail 58, Perry-Lecompton 26
• The Kaws fell to 0-6. Senior Brad Phillips was the high scorer for Perry-Lecompton with 5 points.

Girls

Oskaloosa 57, Doniphan West 28
• The Bears improved to 6-1 overall as a 22-6 first quarter set the tone in the win. Pfau led the Bears with 23 points while Kelly poured in 21.

JCN 58, Horton 48
• North improved to 6-1 with the victory. Kramer paced the Chargers with 29 points and GrandPre scored 10 in the win for North.

Perry-Lecompton 47, Santa Fe Trail 31
• The Kaws improved to 4-1. Junior Abbey Bays, sophomore Natasha Carver and senior Jessica Christman scored 12 points each to lead the Kaws.

McLouth 76, Immaculata 71 (3OT)
• The Bulldogs lost a 6-point lead entering the fourth quarter but got the game won in triple overtime to improve to 5-4. Rome set a school single-game record with 39 points and Shufflebarger scored 14 points in the win.

Valley Falls 43, Pleasant Ridge 29
• The Dragons improved to 4-4 with the win. Kearney scored 16 points for the Dragons.

Jefferson West 36, Royal Valley 35
• The Tigers improved to 3-5.

JCN girls best Oskaloosa for DVL Tourney title

2009-12-28T16:35:00.002-06:00

A slow start and a near-constant Jefferson County North offensive attack was the coal in the Christmas stocking of the Oskaloosa varsity girls’ basketball team Dec. 19.

The Chargers and sophomore standout Jordan Kramer capitalized on that slow start and commanded most of the game en route to a 58-41 victory for a third straight Delaware Valley League Preseason Tournament title. That streak will live in perpetuity as this is set to be the final year for the DVL tourney with the addition of ACCHS and Maur Hill Mount Academy to make the league 14 teams next season.

JCN had an advantage in most if not all facets of the game as they outrebounded the Bears, 28-27, and forced 15 turnovers while committing only 11.

The game belonged to the Chargers from the opening tip as senior forward Mallory GrandPre tapped the ball to Kramer, who drove for a layup to get the scoring started. Senior guard Sara Navinskey drilled a 3-pointer on the Chargers’ next possession and GrandPre and Kramer would add 4 more points to force an Oskaloosa timeout with a 9-0 North lead and 4:20 to play in the first quarter. Bears senior Kyra Coffman scored on a jumper coming off the timeout and sophomore forward Rachel Schmanke hit a short jumper to cut the lead to 9-4 as JCN went several minutes of game time without a score. GrandPre finished the quarter with two free throws and a jumper to give North back the 9-point lead at 13-4 entering the second quarter.

North stayed hot to start the second quarter as a 10-2 run made it 23-6 JCN. The quarter would belong to Kramer as she scored 14 points in the period compared to only 11 for the Bears as a team. The Bears pared the lead to 12 but Kramer scored the Chargers’ last 6 points of the half to make it 31-15 North at halftime.

The Bears put their offensive woes behind them coming out in the second half as junior guard Hailey Kelly started the third quarter with a 3-pointer. The score kickstarted a 16-point output for Oskaloosa in the quarter, but North almost kept pace with 14 points to allow only 2 points to be trimmed off the Charger lead. Oskaloosa cut the lead to 11 but North stretched it back to 15 and settled for a 45-31 lead entering the final quarter.

Needing a big offensive quarter to come back, the Bears didn’t get their first score of the fourth quarter until nearly the 6-minute mark as sophomore guard Haley Pfau nailed a 3-pointer. Kramer matched the score with a baseline 3-pointer to make the lead 16 at 50-34 North. The Bears couldn’t make much headway thereafter as a late Pfau 3-pointer made the final score 58-41 North.

Kramer led all players with 25 points in the game and added 4 rebounds. GrandPre scored 10 points, including going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line, and added 9 rebounds with 2 steals and 3 blocks for the Chargers. Junior forward Katie Noll added 10 points, all in the second half, with Navinskey scoring 9 points with 5 rebounds.

The Bears were led by a good night from Pfau, who had 19 points with 5 rebounds. Kelly scored 8 points with 6 rebounds and 3 steals, Coffman added 8 points, and Schmanke scored 6 points with 9 rebounds for Oskaloosa.

The win improved North’s record to 4-0 while dropping the Bears to 3-1.

North coach Steve Noll said he was very pleased with his team’s performance coming off a narrow opening-round win over Troy and a solid semifinal victory over KC Christian. He expressed the need for more practice after the KCC win and said the work had paid off Saturday.

“(Practice) did us a little better than I thought it might,” Noll said with a chuckle. “We gave them some second chances at times. One of our goals coming in was to control the boards and I thought we did that the second half. The girls really played well.

“I think Oskaloosa is a quicker team then we are, but we looked quicker tonight. I think that start helped our confidence a lot. They started out kinda tentative and we were attacking, and that’s pretty much the opposite of how we were in the Troy game. All around, having four players in double figures, I’ll take that any game. This is a fun group to coach. I like to say it seems like they could go without us coaches. They listen to me, and I trust their input. This was one of our goals, we knew it was the last one, and we wanted to get it.”

In other county girls’ action Saturday, McLouth fell to Jackson Heights, 41-36, in the fifth-place game to fall to 2-3.

In boys’ action, Pleasant Ridge took the title over KC Christian, 54-48, in overtime. Oskaloosa defeated Horton, 50-31, for fifth place behind 17 points from junior Adam Bowser, 14 points from junior Levi Wade and 10 points from senior Brandon Barnes. The Bears are 4-1. McLouth defeated Doniphan West, 61-45, for seventh place behind 24 points from senior Cole Batman and 12 points from junior Trevor Roberts to move to 2-3.

County girls hoops preview 2009

2009-12-28T16:32:00.002-06:00

Two new coaches join the ranks of the county high school girls’ basketball coaches as the county’s six teams follow up what was a notable 2008-09 season.

One team, Jefferson County North, finished last season with an undefeated regular season record, only to get beaten in the substate semifinals to finish 21-1, while another, Oskaloosa, posted only three regular-season losses and came within a game of the state tournament to finish 19-4. Jefferson West also had a winning season at 15-7, McLouth finished with a .500 winning percentage at 11-11, and only Valley Falls and Perry-Lecompton suffered down years at 9-13 and 3-17, respectively.

West and McLouth hired new coaches for the 2009-10 season in Steve Stallbaumer and Robert Good, respectively. Good is returning to coaching after almost 20 years away from the job following a seven-year stint at Sabetha in the 1980s. Stallbaumer comes to West as both coach and school counselor after a year as girls coach at El Dorado.

Following is a capsule review of each team entering the season in order of last season’s record.

JCN
Coach: Steve Noll, fifth year
Last season: 21-1

Noll is looking to reload with the Chargers this year as the team lost some key seniors from last season’s stellar squad, but returns quite a bit of firepower.

There are 22 girls out at North, including three seniors. The seniors – guard Sara Navinskey, forward Mallory GrandPre, and guard Beth Anne Brickell – have been a key part of the Chargers’ resurgence in recent years but Navinskey and Brickell are coming back off knee injuries that derailed their 2008-09 seasons.

“Losing the four seniors we lost costs us a big luxury we had last season in bringing people off the bench,” Noll said. “Right now we’re getting quality time from Anna Kern off the bench but we need a few others to step up. I think we were outplayed by Troy the other night all the way around other than in points.”

Noll said Navinskey and Brickell are at 100 percent in their comeback from injuries, but another Brickell, sophomore guard Kate, suffered a knee injury this summer and won’t return until after the Christmas break. Joining the group on the varsity roster are junior forward Katie Noll and sophomore guard and forward Jordan Kramer, both of whom contributed to the Chargers’ 2008-09 undefeated run, junior guard and forward Kern, freshman guard Kymee Noll, junior guard Gage Funk, and junior post player Kelsey Deviney.

“I’d like to think our strengths are pressure defense and pushing the ball up the court, but we’re not quite there yet,” Noll said. “We’ve got a long way to go before those are big strengths.”

Noll had a hard time picking a favorite in what he considers a tough DVL this season.

“There are a whole bunch of teams that are pretty comparable,” he said. “I think those top eight or nine teams could be right there with each other.”

North had a good win over Maur Hill Mt. Academy and a tight win over Troy under its belt going into DVL tourney play last weekend. Noll was hoping that time would help his team get to the level he would like to see them playing.

“We’ve got people who can step in, we just need to get some scoring off the bench,” he said. “Hopefully that Troy game was just an off night for us. We’ve had our ups and downs, but because of the weather we’ve only had 16 practices and two games. We’re not quite where we need to be, but we know what we need to address and we’ll go after it. The girls are working hard.”

Oskaloosa
Coach: LeeAnn Tufte, fifth year
Last season: 19-4

Tufte returns a small but relatively deep roster for her fifth year as coach of the Bears and has hopes of building on the momentum of a state berth in volleyball this fall.

The Bears lost one of the best players in the county a season ago, Nicole Rockhold, to graduation, but return almost everybody else that had varsity impact last season. There are 16 Bears out for basketball this season, including four seniors. Junior point guard Hailey Kelly is a key returner along with sophomore guard and forward Haley Pfau and sophomore forward Rachel Schmanke. Joining them in the starting lineup are senior forwards Mallory Schmidt and Kyra Coffman, who missed last season with a leg injury.

“I think what we have coming back definitely adds to our ability to continue on from where we left off last season,” Tufte said. “We’ve got more balance this season, and it’s tougher to play a team that’s well-balanced.”

Senior forward Audrey Trowbridge is joined by sophomore guard Jordan Miller and junior forward Katie Barnes in coming off the bench for the varsity rotation. Guard Sam Drinkard is the other senior on the team.

The Bears make the drop to 2A play after a few seasons at the 3A level and will join Valley Falls at the Lebo substate site. Tufte said as far as DVL play goes, she is looking for it to be a challenging schedule this season.

“JCN’s got a good solid team again, and McLouth will be up there along with Horton,” she said. “Jackson Heights and Troy have looked good, and then you’ve got KC Christian and Immaculata in there, too. It’s good. The stronger we can make the DVL, the better off we all are going into substate against other leagues.”

Balance and size are the factors Tufte pointed to that should help the Bears along the way this season.

“We’ve got pretty good size at several spots,” she said. “I’ve been very pleased with how the girls are developing. It’s nice to have that experience at the varsity level with sophomores. Plus they’re a great group of girls, and they get along well. Being able to play an inside game if we need to gives us some balance we haven’t had. I’m looking forward to the season.”

Jefferson West
Coach: Steve Stallbaumer, first year
Last season: 15-7

Stallbaumer inherits a West team that had a good run in 2008-09 but also lost four experienced seniors to graduation.

There are 18 girls out for basketball at West including four seniors. Stallbaumer was an assistant boys coach at El Dorado for three years before taking on the girls’ head coaching spot there for a season. He’ll look to form the team around senior guard and forward BriAnna Ploude, senior guard Taylor James, senior forward Morgan Scott and junior guard Monica Sanders. Joining them in the varsity rotation are senior forward Alexis Lauer, junior forward Tara Massey, and freshman guard Haley Siess.

“We’re gonna try to run with a purpose out there,” Stallbaumer said. “At the same time, we don’t want to throw the ball all over the place. We’ll transition if we can, and if not, we’ll run the half-court offense. Defensively we’ll press some but will mainly be a half-court defensive team.”

Stallbaumer pointed to quickness as a team strength.

“I think we have some athletic girls,” Stallbaumer said. “We’re not a real big team. The girls play hard, and we’ll need to stay out of foul trouble.”

Stallbaumer said, being new to the Big Seven League, he isn’t completely familiar with all the teams but is looking to Holton, Royal Valley and Sabetha to be the cream of this year’s crop.

He said there will be some growing pains this season as he instills his basketball system, but once the team is back from holiday break he hopes to get things running smoothly.

“The girls are working hard,” he said. “We still have a lot to learn. I’m putting in a new system here so we all need to get on the same page. Over these first few games we’ll learn where we’re at.”

McLouth
Coach: Robert Good, first year
Last season: 11-11

After coaching from 1983 to 1990 at Sabetha, Good made a career change and was in the military. Now that he’s retired from that career, Good decided to make the jump back into coaching and takes on a Bulldog team with some potential.

“I had my world adventures,” said Good, who lives in Topeka. “I’ve been to places like Iraq and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Once I retired I thought I’d get back into (coaching). I didn’t necessarily want a full-time job, and this allows me to coach without teaching too. I’ve always had a passion for basketball and that stayed with me even after I left coaching.”

The main weapon for McLouth is senior guard Missy Rome, who has been a three-year standout for the Bulldogs. She is joined by the twin towers inside of senior forwards Cassidy Bristol and Kylie Shufflebarger to form the team’s core. One factor not working in Good’s favor is that only 13 players are out for girls’ basketball at McLouth.

“It’s tough – we’re just on the margin of having a JV,” he said. “The girls we have have a lot of experience and they get along great, so we’ll make the best of it.”

The senior trio is joined on the varsity roster by sophomore guards Terri Stewart and Morgan Drinnon and junior guard and forwards Jessie Troupe and Logan Terry.

“We don’t have a lot of depth, and we only have a couple freshmen out, but we do have some positives,” Good said. “Missy has got star player qualities, and Kylie has a lot of agility for as tall as she is. Cassidy is solid inside. I want to play up-tempo and pressure the ball – speed the game up if I can. We’re not the most physical team, and we don’t have a lot of height, but we’re quick. We want to take advantage of that.”

Good admitted he’s fairly unfamiliar with the DVL but looks to county rivals Oskaloosa and JCN to provide some good competition this season.

“I think from what I’ve seen there’s a lot of strength up and down this league,” he said.

All in all, Good said it’s good to be back in the coaching ranks again.

“I welcome the opportunity,” he said. “I try not to take things too seriously, and keep engaged with helping them become better. We’ve got good balance, I think. We’ve got some speed, and they can get up and down the floor. We’ve also got good ball handling and I’ve been encouraged by that. I just hope we can do well. We’ll compete. We’ve got some tough competition but the girls are positive and they have a good feel for the game. We’ll be OK.”

Valley Falls
Coach: Todd Gish, fifth year
Last season: 9-13

Gish and the Dragons have the pieces for a solid team this season – it’s a matter of putting them together that’s going to take some time according to the coach.

The Dragons have 19 girls out for basketball, including four seniors. Four experienced seniors were lost to graduation a year ago and Gish is looking for some scoring help at the varsity level. Junior standout guard Abbey Kearney had scored half of the team’s points through the first three games.

“We’ve got a lot of kids that are interchangeable, almost,” Gish said. “I figured we’d struggle a little bit this year as far as scoring, and defensively we’re not where I’d like to be. That’s mainly because we’ve spent an inordinate amount of time working on offense.”

Kearney is joined by senior forward Bethany Myers, senior guard and forward Bailey Sherretts, junior point guard Morgan Streeter and junior forward Kaitlyn Speer in the Dragons’ starting five, with junior guard Monique Emery, senior forward Courtnie Watson, senior guard Skylar Nichols, junior forward Jade Edmonds and sophomore guard Macie Herrig coming off the bench.

“We just need to find one person who can get close to double figures in scoring every night, and that would be a big help,” Gish said. “Our seniors and juniors have been really going out of their way to practice hard and set an example. There have been times in the past that hasn’t been the case, and things have been kind of lax. I think it’ll pay off for them and pay off in terms of showing the younger girls, too, how it needs to be done.”

Gish pointed to JCN, Oskaloosa, and KC Christian as the DVL frontrunners for this season with Jackson Heights potentially also in the mix.

“There are a lot of pretty solid teams in the league this year,” Gish said. “There aren’t a lot of heavy hitters but there aren’t any cupcakes either.”

Experience may be the team’s biggest need in the early going as several players haven’t seen much varsity time going into the season. Gish said that the team has practiced well, which gives him hope for better things to come as the calendar turns to 2010.

“We definitely need the practices,” Gish said. “We’ve been shooting better in practice than in games so far, but I think as we keep moving along, things will even out. I was hoping we’d be better defensively, but we’re not there yet. In order for us to be successful, we’ll have to be better there. We have a little ways to go in a lot of areas. We just need to have all five players on the court on the same page at the same time.”

Perry-Lecompton
Coach: Justin Mayer, second year
Last season: 3-17

Mayer and the Kaws are looking to take a step forward in his second year as coach with only two seniors lost from last year’s squad.

A surge in numbers could help Mayer’s cause as he has 26 girls out for basketball this season, including six seniors. He is counting on a group of experienced players to help lead the Kaws to bigger and better things in the 2009-10 campaign. Leading the way are senior post player Katie Volle, junior guard Abbey Bays and senior forward Jessica Christman. They are joined at the varsity level by senior guard Emma Gantz, senior guard Katie Hirsch, junior guard Taylor Akagi, sophomore guard Natasha Carver, senior post player Katherine Frye and senior post player Angel Bayless.

“We’re counting on several players, especially Katie (Volle), and Jessica has also taken a step forward going into the season,” Mayer said. “I think defense is a strength, because we can mix it up, and there are a wide variety of offensive things we can do. I’ve bombarded them with offensive sets. I told them I think we have more offensive things I’ve asked them to learn for certain situations than anybody else in the state.”

The focus is on improvement for the Kaws despite a tough road to hoe in the Kaw Valley League. Mayer said he is looking to 5A teams Lansing and Mill Valley to lead the league this season, and said Piper also seems to have improved from last season.

“Our goal is to finish better than we did last year, and I think it would take a lot of things going wrong not to do that,” Mayer said. “We feel like we can finish in the top half of the league. That’s our goal.”

As it is, Mayer is hoping a year of instilling his system last season pays off as this season progresses.

“They’ve taken to my system,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll run and gun with anybody – we’ll probably slow the game down a lot. Defensively we’ll need to be there every night. We want to go into substate feeling good, and I think we can do that.”

Hoops update for Dec. 3-4-7

2009-12-08T13:22:00.001-06:00

Thursday’s games (Dec. 3)
Girls
DVL Tourney
Play-in games

Troy def. Valley Falls
• The Dragons started the season 0-1.

McLouth 59, Doniphan West 29
• McLouth took a 34-20 halftime lead and put the game away in the third quarter to start the season 1-0. Senior Missy Rome scored 28 points and sophomore Terri Stewart scored 10 in the win for the Bulldogs.

Boys
DVL Tourney
Play-in games

Oskaloosa 63, JCN 51
• The Bears trailed by 7 at the half but tied the game by the end of the third quarter and pulled away for the win late to start the season 1-0. North started the season 0-1. Junior Levi Wade led the Bears with 25 points, junior Adam Bowser added 13 and senior Brandon Barnes scored 12 for Oskaloosa. Sophomore Billy Noll led the Chargers with 11 points.

McLouth 43, Troy 35
• The Bulldogs came back from a 4-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to win and start the season 1-0. Senior Cole Batman led the Bulldogs with 23 points.

Doniphan West def. Valley Falls
• The Dragons started the season 0-1.

Friday’s games (Dec. 4)
Girls

JCN 65, Maur Hill Mt. Academy 33
• The Chargers started the season 1-0. Sophomore Jordan Kramer led the way with 17 points while junior Katie Noll scored 16, senior Mallory GrandPre scored 12 and senior Sara Navinskey scored 11.

Perry-Lecompton 40, Bishop Ward 37
• The Kaws started the season 1-0.

Silver Lake 44, Jefferson West 30
• The Tigers had a 1-point halftime lead but it was all Eagles in the second half as West started 0-1. Senior BriAnna Ploude led the Tigers with 14 points.

ACCHS 49, Valley Falls 43
• The Dragons led by 5 at halftime but couldn’t hold on to drop to 0-2. Junior Abbey Kearney led the way for Valley Falls with 29 points.

St. Marys 40, McLouth 25
• McLouth dropped to 1-1 as St. Marys pulled away in the fourth quarter to win. Rome scored 11 points in the loss.

Boys

JCN 43, Maur Hill-Mt. Academy 36
• North was up 2 at halftime and got the win to move to 1-1. Junior Jeff Hale led the way with 27 points in the win.

ACCHS 47, Valley Falls 42
• The Dragons dropped to 0-2 as ACCHS took a 9-point halftime lead and made it stick. Junior Brooks Glassel scored 9 points to lead the Dragons.

Bishop Ward 56, Perry-Lec. 44
• The Kaws started the season 0-1.

Silver Lake 70, Jefferson West 59
• West trailed by 11 after one quarter but trimmed the lead to 6 entering the fourth quarter. Lake pulled away to drop the Tigers to 0-1. Senior Alex Baker scored 24 in the loss for West.

St. Marys 60, McLouth 36
• McLouth dropped to 1-1. Batman led the Bulldogs with 9 points.

Monday’s games (Dec. 7)
Girls
DVL Tourney
Quarterfinals

JCN 44, Troy 40
• The Chargers moved to 2-0 and were set to play KC Christian in Thursday’s semifinals.

Oskaloosa 51, McLouth 37
• The Bears moved to 1-0 and moved into the semifinals versus Horton.

Consolation game

Valley Falls 53, Wathena 37
• The Dragons moved to 1-2 and were set to play Doniphan West for ninth place Thursday.

ACCHS sweeps Dragon varsities

2009-12-08T13:21:00.001-06:00

For one half, both the Valley Falls Dragons’ varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball teams had control of their first Friday night games of the season.

It was the other half that ended up being the problem in two narrow losses to the visitors from Atchison County Community High School. The Dragon boys ended up succumbing by 5 points while the girls ended up on the losing end of a 6-point margin.

For the Dragon boys, the first half was their downfall. The Tigers built a 6-0 lead to start the game and held the lead from there, although the Dragons closed the lead to 3 late in the quarter. A 3-pointer by Tigers sophomore Austin Eckert made the score 16-10 ACCHS after one quarter.

The Tigers had chances to stretch the lead to double digits in the second quarter as the Dragons went an extended period of time without scoring. Senior Chase Lederer drilled a 3-pointer with 1:23 to go in the half as the Dragons held the ACCHS lead to 9, 26-17, at halftime.

The Dragons came out of the locker room on a hot streak to start the second half as two scores by junior Alex Nottingham and, later, a 3-pointer by senior Tyler Wynkoop helped knot the score at 26. A Nottingham lay-in with 2:32 left in the quarter gave the Dragons their first lead of the game at 30-29. It was short-lived, however, as the Tigers ended the quarter on an 8-point run to take a 37-30 lead into the fourth quarter. Three late turnovers did the Dragons no favors in the run.

Midway through the final quarter, the Dragons had made no headway on the 7-point deficit and the lead eventually reached 10 points at 42-32. Three points by Dragons senior Riley Bunde trimmed into the lead, and a lay-in by junior Brooks Glassel cut the lead to 42-37 with 1:27 to play. The Dragons cut the lead to 3 on a late 3-pointer by sophomore Brock Watson but ACCHS junior Ryan Martin salted the game away with two free throws with 3 seconds left to make the final score 47-42 Tigers.

Eckert led the Tigers with 15 points while Martin added 10 in the win. Eckert and junior Blaze Hollands led the Tigers with 6 rebounds each. Martin also had 5 steals.

Valley Falls was led by 9 points from Glassel and 8 points each from Bunde and Nottingham. Bunde also pulled down 14 rebounds with 3 steals and 3 blocked shots in the loss. The Dragons outrebounded the Tigers, 28-27, but committed 20 turnovers compared to 17 from ACCHS.

Tiger girls 49, Dragons 43

The Dragons and junior guard Abbey Kearney ruled the first half of the game with ACCHS, but the Tigers surged back in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 6-point win.

Kearney scored 20 of her 29 points in the first half but the Dragons were outrebounded and outgunned in the game’s final minutes.

Kearney scored the Dragons’ first 10 points as they took a 10-5 lead midway through the opening quarter. A late 3-pointer from sophomore Macie Herrig helped the Dragons take a 14-7 lead into the second quarter.

The Tigers started the second quarter on a 9-1 run fueled by 4 points from sophomore Tara Jo Ellerman and a 3-pointer from senior Jennifer Harmon that gave the Tigers a 16-15 lead with 5:12 left in the half. Kearney snatched the lead back for the Dragons with a running jumper and then converted a 3-point play to give Valley Falls some breathing room at 20-16. Atchison County tied the score at 22, however, before the Dragons finished the half on a 5-point run thanks to 5 more points from Kearney to take a 29-24 lead into halftime.

Ellerman notched 4 points to start the third quarter but the Dragons clung to the lead until late in the quarter. An Ellerman jumper tied the game at 34 with 58 seconds left and a free throw by sophomore Katrina Reiss gave the Tigers a 35-34 lead entering the final quarter.

Neither team could pull ahead through the first part of the fourth quarter until an Ellerman jumper made it 39-36 Tigers with 4:48 to play. The Tigers stretched the lead to 5 but Kearney hit a 3-pointer with 1:58 left to cut the lead back to 2. The Dragons had two chances to tie the game but couldn’t cash in. Late Dragon shots wouldn’t fall and sophomore Brooke Fowler hit 5 free throws down the stretch to help the Tigers to the 49-43 win.

Ellerman led the way for ACCHS with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals while Harmon scored 12 points in the win.

The Dragons were led by 29 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks from Kearney. Only senior Bailey Sherretts joined Kearney with more than 5 points as she scored 7 for the Dragons. The Tigers outrebounded the Dragons, 28-22, and had 20 turnovers compared to 21 for Valley Falls.

County boys basketball preview 2009

2009-12-08T13:18:00.002-06:00

Only one county high school boys’ varsity basketball team could top a .500 winning percentage a year ago and the 2009-10 season dawns with each team facing its own set of challenges.

The 2008-09 season was a mediocre one at best for county boys’ teams as Perry-Lecompton led the way at 12-10, followed by Oskaloosa at 11-11, Valley Falls at 11-12, JCN at 10-12, Jefferson West at 6-14, and McLouth at 2-19.

All six teams got into action last week with middling results. Oskaloosa and McLouth were the two county teams to get wins to start the season as the Bears defeated county rival JCN and McLouth defeated Troy in play-in games to the DVL Preseason Tournament, which is set for this week in Oskaloosa.

Following is a capsule review of each team entering the season in order of finish last season.

Perry-Lecompton
Coach: Jeff Dickson, fifth year
Last season: 12-10

Whether it was the Kaw football team’s run to the state title game in 2008 or another factor, the Perry-Lecompton boys’ basketball team didn’t quite take the step forward Dickson was hoping for following a 19-3 record in 2007-08.

This year, he is faced with the task of reloading from the loss of a group of eight seniors, but Dickson said he feels the potential is there for another good season for the Kaws.

The Kaws have 28 players out for the team, including seven seniors. The main returnees in terms of experience are senior guard and forward Brad Phillips, senior point guard Riley Shafer, and senior guard Kameron Hurd, who averaged 14 points a game last season on the Kaw junior varsity despite saving some game time for the varsity side.

“We’ve been pretty successful in turning the program around,” Dickson said. “We’ve had three winning seasons in a row for the first time since the 1970s, and the kids are to the point where they play a lot in the summer. I think the team has some of the best senior leadership we’ve had. It’s way more positive in terms of feel than last year. There’s more of a friendly, team feel to it. That part’s exciting to me.”

Dickson is also counting on senior forward Shelby Politte, senior guard and forward Logan Hurd, senior guard Johnny Stewart and senior Brooks Christman to help lead the way on varsity. Some younger players in the varsity mix include sophomore guard Jeremy Immenshuch and sophomore post player Jon Denton.

“We’ve got some talented kids,” Dickson said. “The guys that have worked the best in the program are more of the blue-collar type. You have to work hard. The guys that are unwilling to do that fall by the wayside. You’ve got to play the summer games and lift the weights and put in some extra time.”

The Kaws fell to eventual 4A state champ and Kaw Valley League foe Basehor-Linwood in substate play to end last season and Dickson said Basehor, Mill Valley, Lansing, Turner and Piper to be the teams to beat in the Kaws’ last season in the KVL before moving to the Big Seven.

“Obviously you have to note Basehor-Linwood because they’re the defending champ and have a bunch back. A sleeper could be Santa Fe Trail. They’ve become a good rival to us in past seasons.”

Dickson said confidence building could be the key to how the Kaws do in the 2009-10 campaign.

“These kids have been doing the work, and I’d like to think they realize all that work is gonna pay off at some point. I think if we play hard every single time out, we should be right in games. They’ve dedicated themselves to proving something to people. Last season I think I underestimated how much effect that football run had on the team. We never got back to where I felt like we needed to be at. This year, I like the emotion of the team and how hard they’ve worked. It’ll be interesting to see how that translates to the floor. I’m hoping for us that the payoff comes a little earlier this time.”

Oskaloosa
Coach: Rod Stottlemire, fifth year
Last season: 11-11

Stottlemire lost a crew of seven seniors but the cupboard isn’t quite bare for the Bears as they try to improve on an even record a season ago.

There are 24 players on the Bears’ squad, including five seniors. Stottlemire hopes to capitalize on a core of guards – junior Adam Bowser, senior Brandon Barnes and junior Levi Wade – for success this season.

“I think we’ll be OK at the guard spot,” Stottlemire said. “In the post, I think we’ll be OK in time, but we don’t have a lot of experience there. There may be nights we look good and other nights that we struggle.”

Joining that guard trio on the varsity roster are junior post player Sheldon Malicke, junior forward Braden McGinnis and senior guard Mitch Boucher. Stottlemire said sophomore forward Adam Brien and senior forward Kodey Martin may get worked into the rotation as the season progresses.

“I think you’ll see a team in February that is much different than how we were in December. It’s gonna be a tough go at times. We could be middle-of-the-pack.”

Stottlemire pointed to Pleasant Ridge, KC Christian and Valley Falls as the teams to beat in the Delaware Valley League this season.

“I think Valley Falls is kind of a dark horse this season,” Stottlemire said. “If things go right for them I could maybe see them winning the league.”

At least for the start of the season going into Christmas break, the focus at Oskaloosa is to get some experience and try and work out the kinks for a shot at a stretch run into substate.

“When you’re dealing with inexperience at a position, those are things you have to live through,” Stottlemire said. “There are times we may have a four-guard look on the floor, depending on what the other team has. There are times we won’t be able to do that. We have guards who can score the ball, and I think we’ll get a lot better ball movement this year. As far as points go, I think we’ll be OK, but rebounds and stuff like that, we’ve got to work on. We’re 2A this year, so that’s a little different too. I feel good about where we’re at.”

Valley Falls
Coach: Caleb Gatzemeyer, fifth year
Last season: 11-12

The improvement continued at Valley Falls last season as the Dragons followed up seasons of 0 and 7 wins with a near-even record at 11-12. Gatzemeyer returns five players who started at some point for that squad.

The 28-player squad at Valley Falls includes six seniors, including post standout Riley Bunde. Bunde will be joined in the starting rotation by junior guard and forward Alex Nottingham, junior forward Brooks Glassel, senior guard Mitchell Streeter, senior guard Tyler Wynkoop and senior point guard Chase Lederer. Gatzemeyer will have to await the return of senior guard Logan Wyn-koop, who broke his collarbone in the football team’s season-ending loss to St. Marys.

“I think with the nucleus we have coming back, we can fill the holes left by the seniors we lost,” Gatzemeyer said. “I think we’re in good shape, but it’ll be big when Logan gets back in there.”

Other players in the Dragons’ varsity mix include sophomore guard Brock Watson, senior guard Colby Herren, junior guard Nick Domann, junior post player Jordan Morrow and junior forward James Grey.

Gatzemeyer pointed to Pleasant Ridge as the Delaware Valley League frontrunner with KC Christian and Wathena also among the leaders. He didn’t shy away from touting his own squad as a potential leader in the DVL, and also cited Jefferson County North and coach Jim Brickell as a perennial team that is in the league lead hunt.

“I feel very confident about the team,” Gatzemeyer said. “Based on how the guys did over the summer, I think we can compete with anybody.”

Gatzemeyer said balance will hopefully give his team the edge this season.

“I feel the most confident in the balance of this team between our guards and post players,” he said. “We’ve been really solid in the post area in recent years but have had problems taking care of the ball. “This year the guards have really impressed me in the way they take good care of the ball. They really value it. We’ve got experienced seniors who have emerged as our leaders, and even the juniors who have had some varsity experience are stepping up. I’m looking forward to it. We’ve had some good practices leading up to the start of the season.”

Jefferson Co. North
Coach: Jim Brickell, 24th year
Last season: 10-12

An up-and-down season for Brickell and the Chargers ended slightly on the down side for North at two games below .500, but the longest-tenured county coach thinks his team has the athleticism to improve on that mark.

The Chargers’ squad of 24 players includes six seniors and Brickell gets some key experience back at the varsity level. Leading the way are senior forward Nick Clark, senior guard Austin Gaspard, junior guard Jeff Hale, senior forward Tyler Noll, and junior forward Spencer Wentz. Also set for varsity play are senior transfer Tyler Leakey from a Missouri high school and senior guard Cody McMahon.

“We’re a little more athletic and have a little more size than last year. We want to be able to run the ball up the floor. I still worry a little bit about us offensively. Our post guys are coming along, but we have to develop there.”

Brickell is also adding some youth to the mix potentially as four sophomores could see varsity time – post Dalton Minor, guard and forward Dominic Kingman, forward Billy Noll and guard James Priest. Brickell said freshmen forward Jacob GrandPre and guard Cory Noll also may get some varsity experience this season.

“I think we’ll be a little better defensive team than we’ve been,” Brickell said. “Hopefully we can get back to playing more man-to-man defense.”

Brickell pointed to Pleasant Ridge, KC Christian and Valley Falls as the teams to beat in the DVL and said he felt his team’s first opponent, Oskaloosa, could be a sleeper in the league race this season.

“I think Oskaloosa may be a little better than last season,” Brickell said. “I know we played them in summer ball and they thumped us, although we didn’t have a few of our key guys there.”

This year’s team is a work in progress going into the start of the season as Brickell said he hopes to have the team running at full strength by the time substate play rolls around.

“We’ve had good practices – our only problem is we’ve had some kids miss for various reasons,” he said. “We won’t be starting the lineup I think will be the starting lineup down the line. We added some conditioning drills we got from KU, and we’ll see how those work out for us. I don’t know that we’ll see the results immediately, but down the line I think they’ll help.”

Jefferson West
Coach: Matt Tinsley, second year
Last season: 6-14

Tinsley issued his returning Tigers a challenge following their substate loss a season ago, and he thinks the offseason regimen has been worth it.

The coach’s first season at the helm of the Tigers resulted in a 6-14 record in a tough Big Seven and 4A schedule. Only three seniors were lost, however, from that squad so the bulk of the varsity roster returns.

The Tigers have 28 players on the team, including seven seniors that make up half of a 14-player varsity and junior varsity pool. Leading returners include senior post player Alex Baker, junior post player Dillon Roy, who had his bright spots as a sophomore last season, and senior post player Tim Rhodd, who Tinsley is looking to as one of the vocal leaders of this year’s Tigers.

“We took a few positives from last season,” Tinsley said. “It was a rebuilding year. I told them at the end of last season we have to be better than that on the first day of practice this season, and they’ve done that. They’ve worked very hard all summer. We always look to our seniors for leadership and we’ve got seven great ones out this year.”

Added to the varsity rotation are senior post player Austin Siess, who missed last season because of injuries, senior guard Sam DeMaranville, senior guard Adam Fechter, senior guard Bryce Miller, junior guard Chance Higgins, and freshman point guard Cory Brown.

Tinsley knows the Tigers always have their work cut out for them with a Big Seven schedule. He is looking to Holton and Hiawatha as the teams to beat in the league this season.

“There’s never an easy game in this league. I think having a great senior class will give our younger kids more time to get seasoned on the junior varsity,” he said. “The kids know what I expect now and we can go out and continue to develop.”

The Tigers’ depth is one thing Tinsley pointed to as a strength of this year’s squad.

“We have a lot of kids who can play multiple positions,” Tinsley said. “I like who we have, although we’re still tinkering with the starting group. I feel like we’ve made a step forward from last season. I’m excited. The guys’ work ethic is great. We just want to build on what we did last year. The kids believe we can win. After a good football season, I think that confidence and competitive mentality has carried over.”

McLouth
Coach: Jason Schroeder, fourth year
Last season: 2-19

The Bulldogs and Schroeder took their lumps in a 2-win 2008-09 campaign, but a young team returns with only three seniors lost to graduation.

There are 22 players out for the Dawgs with only two seniors this season. Senior guard Cole Batman, who was one of the team’s leading scorers last season, is the main returnee along with sophomore forwards Gavin Swearngin and Alen Kramer, sophomore forward Alex Courtney and senior guard Tyler Drinnon.

“We’re still young team, but even though we’re young, we do have some experience back at the varsity level after last season,” Schroeder said. “I think we’ve got a lot better chemistry than we’ve had. The group all complements each other well.”

Added to the varsity rotation will be junior guard Derek Wright, sophomore guard Shawn Dailey, junior forward Trevor Roberts and sophomore forward Gentry Bignall. The youthfulness of the team may make for a roller coaster season but could also have benefits down the road for the Bulldogs.

“I expect another up and down season,” Schroeder said. “We’ll probably take some lumps. But everybody seems to know their role and are committed to it. We’ve got inside guys and outside guys and defensive guys. I think we’ve got a lot better in terms of ball handlers from the last two years. We’ve got three guys who can play point guard.”

Schroeder also pointed to Pleasant Ridge and KC Christian as the frontrunners in the DVL, and said Valley Falls, Jackson Heights, Oskaloosa and Horton could also be in the league title hunt.

As play began last week, Schroeder said he was ready to see how his team stacked up against the competition.

“We’ll see what we’ve got and how much we’ve grown,” he said. “The guys played together all summer and looked better, but we’ll see once we get into some games.”

St. Marys routs Valley Falls, 42-8

2009-11-10T15:03:00.001-06:00

The Valley Falls Dragons’ 2009 football playoff run consisted of a big win and a frustrating defeat, as the Dragons got past Troy in the bi-district round but got stifled by St. Marys, 42-8, in Saturday’s 2-1A regional round.

Valley Falls faced league foe Troy in the bi-district round Nov. 3 and came away with a 40-8 home win. That set up a home game Saturday with St. Marys, which trounced Wabaunsee, 50-16, in the opening round.

It wouldn’t take long for St. Marys to establish command in the game and Valley Falls’ best efforts to answer the Bears offense fizzled. The Dragons took the opening kickoff, but on the first play from scrimmage senior running back Tyler Wynkoop took a hard hit and fumbled with the Bears recovering at the Dragons 29.

A holding penalty backed St. Marys up on their first play but, two plays later, junior quarterback Mitch Baumchen connected with junior wideout Dorian Sills-Berry for a 33-yard touchdown pass. Baumchen ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 8-0 Bears with 10:52 left in the opening quarter.

The Dragon offense responded as senior running back Chance Gier had what would be his longest run of the night for a 32-yard gain on the next offensive play. Junior quarterback Alex Lederer then found senior Mitchell Streeter deep down the right sideline for a 42-yard touchdown strike but the Dragons were flagged for a chop block to nullify the score. The Dragon drive stalled there and Valley Falls was forced to punt.

St. Marys chipped away at the Dragon defense by mounting a 67-yard drive in 13 plays highlighted by a 16-yard run by senior back Luke Olsen, a 13-yard Baumchen run and a 7-yard touchdown pass from Baumchen to senior Derik Flerlage. Baumchen added the 2-point conversion again to make it 16-0 Bears with 1:44 left in the opening quarter.

The Dragons were flagged for another chop block, which is otherwise known as a block below the knees, usually, but not always, when the defensive player is dealing with another offensive player at the time of the block. The call helped stall the next drive and, after a punt, St. Marys got a 51-yard gain from Olsen to take the ball past the Dragons 15. Penalties backed the Bears up but the Dragons were flagged for a horse collar tackle to help the Bears’ cause. Olsen cashed in the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run to make it 22-0 Bears with 6:30 left in the first half.

The Dragons went three-and-out on the next possession and Lederer’s punt went off the side of his foot and out of bounds for a 4-yard loss on the play to give the Bears another dose of good fortune. Baumchen scored from 2 yards out and senior Chris Fiedler added the 2-point run to make it 30-0 St. Marys with 3:46 left in the half.

Valley Falls used the short pass to effectiveness on the ensuing drive as Lederer found four different receivers to take the ball to the St. Marys 25. The Bears were flagged for pass interference to give the Dragons first down at the 12 with 1:06 left in the half. On third down at the 12, Lederer’s pass was picked off in stride by senior Josh Decker inside the 10, and Decker returned the ball to the Dragons 16 to kill the momentum for the home side. Baumchen scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak three plays later to make the halftime score 36-0 Bears.

The Dragons defense stiffened somewhat in the second half as the Bears turned the ball over on downs at the Dragons 25 on their first possession of the second half. The short passing game worked for the Dragons again to take the ball to the St. Marys 18, but once again the drive stalled and the Bears took over on downs at their own 23. St. Marys had one more big play as Baumchen and Sills-Berry connected for a 55-yard pass play on the last play of the third quarter. Olsen scored from 1 yard out on the third play of the fourth quarter to make it 42-0 St. Marys.

The Dragons once again drove into Bears territory but stalled out at the 29 and the Bears ground down the clock before turning the ball over at the Dragons 30 with 1:18 to play. Lederer and senior tight end Riley Bunde connected for a 55-yard pass play and then a 15-yard scoring strike to deny the Bears the shutout. Gier added the 2-point conversion run to make it 42-8 with 56 seconds to play. From there, it was a matter of Bears backup quarterback freshman Kasey Clark kneeling out the clock.

The Bears amassed 418 yards of offense, including 291 rushing yards, compared to 247 total for the Dragons. Of the Dragons’ total, 210 yards came through the air. Lederer was 14-for-30 passing for 210 yards and a score and Bunde had 6 catches for 136 yards and a score in the loss.

St. Marys was led by 20 carries for 158 yards and two scores from Olsen and 13 carries for 61 yards and two scores from Baumchen. Baumchen also was 6-for-9 passing for 127 yards and two scores. Sills-Berry had 3 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. The Dragons were unable to take advantage of 10 St. Marys penalties for 93 total yards. The Dragons were flagged for 5 penalties for 50 yards.

The Dragons finished the season at 6-5 and were one of only two teams in the county to advance past the first playoff round along with Jefferson West, which also lost Saturday to Eudora in a 4A regional playoff.

High school football playoff wrapup

2009-11-10T15:01:00.002-06:00

Tuesday’s games (Nov. 3)

4A bi-district playoffs
at Basehor
Jefferson West 41. Basehor-Linwood 27
• West picked up its first playoff win since 1998 by taking down Basehor-Linwood on the road to improve to 7-3. Senior Austin Siess scored on a 7-yard run and a 22-yard pass from senior quarterback Alex Baker, junior Ethan Mumaw scored on runs of 1, 9, and 60 yards and junior Grady Tichenor scored on an 11-yard pass from Baker, who added five extra points.

3A bi-district playoffs
at Rossville
Rossville 51, Oskaloosa 8
• The Bears got rolled on the road to finish the season 7-3.

2A bi-district playoffs
at Valley Falls
Valley Falls 40, Troy 8
• The Dragons improved to 6-4 on the season by rolling to a 32-0 halftime lead and holding on for the win. Junior quarterback Alex Lederer scored on runs of 64 and 45 yards and connected with senior Riley Bunde on a 12-yard scoring strike. Senior Chance Gier scored on an 8-yard run and added two 2-point conversion runs and senior Tyler Wynkoop scored on a 4-yard run with senior Logan Wynkoop scoring two 2-point conversions. Lederer ran 9 times for 168 yards and Gier ran 21 times for 83 yards. Bunde had 2 catches for 48 yards and Lederer and Tyler Wynkoop had interceptions on defense.

Saturday’s games (Nov. 7)

4A regional playoffs
at Meriden
Eudora 23, Jefferson West 16
• The Tigers couldn’t generate a second-half comeback as Eudora ended their season at 7-4. Siess scored on a 7-yard pass from Baker and Mumaw ran for a 16-yard touchdown. Baker also added a 31-yard field goal and an extra point.

St. Marys 42, Valley Falls 8
• The Dragons were down, 36-0, at the half en route to the loss to finish the season 6-5. A report on the game can be found elsewhere on the blog.

Oskaloosa heads to state but falls short in pool play

2009-11-03T15:07:00.003-06:00

NOTE: This was supposed to be posted last week but didn't get done. The Independent apologizes for the omission from the blog.

Coach Tosha Landau and the Oskaloosa Bears entered their volleyball substate as the top seed for the third year in a row Oct. 24, but this time there would be no substate letdown as the Bears survived two three-game victories to win the 2A substate title on their home court and advance to this weekend’s state tournament in Hays.

The Bears cruised past eighth-seeded Wathena in the opening round, 25-11, 25-9, and faced county rival and fourth-seeded Valley Falls in the semifinals. The substate semifinals have been a thorn in the side of the Bears in recent years, as in each of the last two years the Bears have been the top seed in their 3A substates only to fall in that round. A drop in class to 2A and some home cooking, combined with a talented young team that includes only two seniors, must have done the trick, as the Bears fended off the Dragons, 25-19, 22-25, 25-20, to advance to the championship game against third-seeded Jackson Heights. The Valley Falls loss ended the Dragons’ season at 17-18.

More adversity awaited the Bears in the title match as the Cobras won the first game, 25-22, before Oskaloosa regrouped to win the second game, 25-17, and the third, 25-15, to celebrate what is believed to be the school’s first ever volleyball substate title with a 30-10 record. The last Oskaloosa team sport to make a state tournament appearance was the softball team in 1994.

Oskaloosa advanced to its first state volleyball tournament at Gross Memorial Coliseum on the campus of Fort Hays State University, as the seventh seed. Pool play started at 3:30 p.m. Friday as Oskaloosa was in a pool with second seed Lebo (35-4 record), third seed Uniontown (33-5) and sixth seed Moundridge (31-9). The other pool in the tournament included top seed Decatur Community from Oberlin (36-1), fourth seed Spearville (31-7), fifth seed Valley Heights (32-9) and eighth seed Sacred Heart (25-12).

The Bears' first ever trip to the state volleyball tournament ended in relatively short order Friday at Gross Memorial Coliseum in Hays as the Bears went 0-3 in pool play to finish the season 30-13. The Bears lost to Lebo, 25-22, 25-17, and went on to fall to Uniontown, 25-14, 25-20, and eventual state champion Moundridge, 25-23, 25-20, to finish out of the top two pool spots that advanced to Saturday’s finals. The Bears scored more points on Moundridge than either Valley Heights or Lebo would Saturday in the semifinals and state championship matches.

The Bears’ substate title makes it three consecutive seasons that a county team has advanced to state as the Jefferson County North Chargers had done it the past two seasons. The third-seeded Chargers ended sixth seed McLouth’s season in the quarterfinals of the 3A substate at Wellsville, 20-25, 28-26, 25-23, as the Bulldogs finished 22-16. JCN’s season ended, however, in the semifinals as second seed Osage City won in straight games, 25-7, 25-20, to finish the Chargers’ season at 30-10. In 4A action in Perry, the host and eighth seed Perry-Lecompton Kaws fell to top seed Hayden, 25-11, 25-12, to finish 14-24 on the season, and the fifth seed Jefferson West Tigers lost to fourth seed Wamego, 25-17, 25-20, in the opening round to finish the season 19-18.

High school football scores from Oct. 29 games

2009-11-03T15:00:00.000-06:00

Thursday’s games (Oct. 29)

Oskaloosa 42, McLouth 0
• The Bears had a 30-0 lead at half and rolled from there to finish the regular season 7-2 overall and 2-1 in district play. They were set to travel to Rossville Tuesday to play a 3A bi-district playoff game. That game hadn’t been played at press time. McLouth finished the season 1-8 overall and 0-3 in district play.

Holton 16, Jefferson West 13
• A report on this game can be found elsewhere on the blog.

Onaga 22, Valley Falls 16
• The Dragons dropped to 5-4 overall with the loss as Onaga took a 22-8 lead into the fourth quarter and held on to win. Senior Chance Gier scored on a 2-yard run for the Dragons while junior Alex Lederer scored on a 12-yard run. Senior Tyler Wynkoop added a 2-point conversion and Lederer connected with senior Mitchell Streeter on another 2-point conversion. Valley Falls was set to play host to Troy Tuesday night for a 2-1A bi-district game. That game hadn’t been played at press time.

Pleasant Ridge 47, JCN 0
• The Chargers finished the season 2-7 overall and 1-2 in district play.

Perry-Lecompton 55, Santa Fe Trail 2
• The Kaws finished the season 2-7 overall and 1-2 in district play. Senior Brad Phillips finished his high school career with a 4 touchdown night as he had three touchdown receptions of 45, 33, and 15 yards from sophomore Jeremy Immenschuh, plus a 27-yard scoring run. Sophomore Brandon Ball scored on a 6-yard blocked punt return, senior Shelby Politte scored on a 38-yard pass from Immenschuh, Immenschuh scored on a 6-yard run, and senior Brooks Christman scored on a 3-yard run. Senior John Mehl added seven extra-point kicks.

West falls short versus Holton, 16-13

2009-11-03T14:59:00.001-06:00

The scoring stopped at halftime of the 4A district-deciding tilt between Jefferson West and Holton Oct. 29 but the second half was still a nailbiter as the Wildcats escaped Meriden with a 16-13 win.

The deciding play ended up being a 36-yard field goal by Holton senior Mitchell Hampton with time dwindling in the first half. For the most part, the teams were evenly matched as Holton churned out 295 yards of offense, all on the ground, and West compiled 278 yards of offense with 233 of that total on the ground.

It was the yards that West didn’t get that cost them a game in which they controlled the action throughout the second half.

Holton picked up a delay of game penalty before its first offensive snap but, three plays later, senior Jackson DeLay broke free for a 62-yard touchdown run to give the Wildcats a 6-0 lead as Hampton’s extra-point kick sailed wide.

The teams traded stalled drives before a 16-yard run by West senior Stephen Skaggs set up a 25-yard scoring strike from senior quarterback Alex Baker to senior wideout Austin Siess to give the Tigers the lead with the Baker extra point, 7-6.

Holton converted a fourth-and-inches situation on its next drive and a 46-yard run by Hampton was the key play as junior Gunnar McKenna took the ball in for the score from 1 yard out to make it 13-7 with Hampton’s extra point. and 2:34 left in the opening quarter.

West drove inside the Holton 25 on its next possesson as junior back Ethan Mumaw had a 37-yard run on the drive, but Siess came up short on a run on fourth-and-3 to give Holton the ball at its own 20. Holton let the chance to grab momentum slip away as, on a rainy night, junior quarterback Bryce Barnett fumbled a second down snap and Skaggs recovered for West at the Holton 35.

The Tigers didn’t take long to capitalize on the miscue as Baker connected with Mumaw for a 20-yard gain on a screen pass and a 9-yard Siess run helped set up a Siess 2-yard touchdown run to tie the game as Baker’s extra point kick ricocheted off the right upright and cross bar before falling short.

Holton ground down the clock to drive 50 yards on its next possession before facing fourth-and-8 at the 18 with 26 seconds left. After a timeout, Holton coach Brooks Barta elected to kick the field goal and Hampton’s boot sailed true to give the Wildcats the 16-13 lead with 20 seconds left in the half. Tigers head coach Steve Johnson had Baker kneel out the clock and the teams went to halftime.

Neither team could do much on their first drive of the second half as West picked up a delay of game penalty on fourth-and-short and was forced to punt, and Holton went three-and-out on its first chance of the half. West was driving at the Holton 26 on its next possession but the Wildcats recovered a fumbled snap at their own 28 to kill the drive.

Holton got the offense going to drive the ball 45 yards to the West 27 but a holding penalty and an incomplete pass on the Wildcats’ only pass attempt of the game stalled the drive.

West responded with another drive into Holton territory as Mumaw broke a 27-yard run and a personal foul call on Holton gave the Tigers first down at the Wildcats 21 early in the fourth quarter. On third down at the Holton 14, Baker looked to find Siess on a pass in the back of the end zone but, despite Siess’ best efforts, he couldn’t make the catch in bounds and the Tigers faced fourth down. Baker looked for Siess again on fourth down but the pass sailed through Siess’ hands and off the top of his helmet as Holton took over on downs at the 14 with 10:06 to play.

West’s defense held strong to force another Holton punt and the Tigers mounted another drive. Mumaw, Skaggs and Siess drove the ball on runs to the Holton 19 with less than five minutes to play. West called a timeout with 3:21 to play facing third-and-7 at the Wildcats 20. A Baker pass intended for Siess fell incomplete at the goal line and, on fourth down, Holton Kane Lovvorn knocked the ball away from sliding Tigers senior Tim Rhodd at the goal line to give the ball to the Wildcats on downs at the 20 with 3:07 to play.

Needing another defensive stop, the Tigers stopped Hampton inches shy of a first down on third-and-9 with about 90 seconds to play at the Holton 29. On fourth-and-inches, Barta had to choose between going for the game-killing first down in his own territory or punting the ball away and chose to risk the former. Sophomore Rob Riederer plowed forward for two yards and senior quarterback Ashtin Meerpol was able to kneel out the clock to secure the 16-13 Wildcats win.

Mumaw was the key player for West in the game as he amassed 178 rushing yards on 27 carries on a soggy night. Baker was 2-for-7 passing for the Tigers for 45 yards. Holton was led by 100 yards rushing on 14 carries by DeLay with McKenna adding another 84 yards and Hampton adding 75 on the ground.
Johnson said his team had its opportunities but couldn’t make the best of them. The loss dropped West to 6-3 to finish the regular season. They advance to the 4A bi-district playoffs and were set to travel to Basehor-Linwood to play in that round Tuesday. The game hadn’t been played at press time.

“These were tough conditions to try and make plays in,” Johnson said. “I’d say on a dry field, 99 times out of 100 Austin makes that catch (on the first failed fourth down in the fourth quarter). We were forced to make some throws and it worked out for them. I might have gotten a little bit greedy there in the fourth quarter but the pass was there. Maybe I should have been a little more stubbron and ran the ball. We put in a good enough effort to win that game, and we’d love to play them agan, but it would have to be in the state semis. I thought our defense was absolutely awesome tonight. It’s a letdown but we’ll get back to work tomorrow.”

Odds and ends

2009-10-22T15:11:00.002-05:00

Volleyball update

The McLouth High School volleyball team improved to 18-12 by sweeping a recent triangular with Valley Falls and Pleasant Ridge.

The Bulldogs defeated Valley Falls, 25-21, 18-25, 27-25, and Ridge, 25-17, 25-23, to improve to 8-3 in Delaware Valley League play.

The Bulldogs followed that performance up with a fourth-place finish at the DVL Tournament Saturday. The Bulldogs went 4-3 on the day to improve to 22-15 overall.

They defeated Horton, 25-10, 23-25, 25-16, Valley Falls, 25-23, 25-21, Wathena, 25-20, 25-16, and Pleasant Ridge, 27-25, 13-25, 25-20, and lost to JCN, 25-13, 25-18, in pool play. They advanced to the semifinals and lost to Oskaloosa, 25-23, 25-23, before losing to KC Christian, 25-22, 25-19, to end the day on a sour note.

Kylie Shufflebarger had 78 kills on the day for the Bulldogs while Jeri Holwick had 60 assists and Courtney Chilcoat had 54 assists.

JCNMS wins league tourney

The JCNMS Volleyball team recently won the Delaware Valley League Tournament at Effingham Middle School. The girls won five matches to earn the title and finish the season 16-1. Team members include Jamie Navinskey, Amber McCown, Kayla Jobbins, Mallory Kramer, Bailee Deviney, Kylie Manville, Jacee Kramer, Cheyenne Johnson, Heather Polson, Coach Shawna Deviney, and Coach Beth Wilson.

County football scores from Oct. 16 games

2009-10-22T15:10:00.000-05:00

Friday’s games (Oct. 16)

Jefferson West 31, Hiawatha 14
• The Tigers moved to 5-2 with the win and 1-0 in district play.

Pleasant Ridge 36, Oskaloosa 22
• The Rams used a 14-0 third quarter to hold off the Bears and drop Oskaloosa to 5-2 overall and 0-1 in district play. Oskaloosa senior Brandon Barnes ran 27 times for 257 yards and two touchdowns, of 6 and 3 yards, plus added two 2-point conversions. Junior Levi Wade ran 15 times for 82 yards and a 7-yard score. Junior Mark Newell had 18 rushes for 85 yards.

Valley Falls 36, Lyndon 14
• The Dragons improved to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in district play as they took a 30-14 halftime lead and held on to win. Senior Chance Gier had scoring runs of 44, 4 and 30 yards plus a 2-point conversion run. Senior Tyler Wynkoop had a 42-yard touchdown run and a 2-point conversion run and junior Alex Lederer had a 98-yard touchdown run and a 2-point conversion run. Gier had 11 carries for 161 yards and 3 scores, and Lederer had 8 carries for 102 yards and a score.

Jeff. Co. North 27, McLouth 0
• The Chargers did all their scoring in the second half to improve to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in district play. The Bulldogs dropped to 1-6 overall and 0-1 in the district. Junior Jeff Hale had touchdown runs of 5 and 28 yards, and senior Breck McMillan had a 5-yard touchdown run and a 16-yard scoring catch from Hale. Hale added three extra points. McMillan ran 13 times for 99 yards and a score while Hale had 12 carries for 74 yards and two scores.

Eudora 45, Perry-Lecompton 14
• The Cardinals outscored the Kaws, 31-7, in the second half to drop the Kaws to 1-6 overall and 0-1 in district play. Perry-Lecompton got scores from junior Trent Robb on a 5-yard pass from sophomore Jeremy Immenschuh and a fumble recovery by junior Cody Amerine in the end zone. Senior John Mehl added the extra points.

Oskaloosa falls to P. Ridge, 36-22

2009-10-22T15:07:00.001-05:00

The Oskaloosa Bears gave the visiting Pleasant Ridge Rams all they could handle in the first game of 3A district play Friday but a couple key mistakes factored in to a 36-22 Bears loss.

The Rams only outgained the Bears by a few yards, 470-462, but while Delaware Valley League-leading Pleasant Ridge scored very easily at times on the Oskaloosa defense, the Bears offense was more methodical in grinding out 426 rushing yards on the night.

The tone for the game was set early as Oskaloosa took the opening kickoff and drove 68 yards to the Rams 5 thanks in part to runs of 13 and 28 yards by senior back Brandon Barnes. On second-and-goal at the 5, Barnes made a run close to the end zone but fumbled and the Rams came up with the ball in the end zone for a touchback.

The Rams got a 7-yard run from senior quarterback Matt Hager on first down, but then the next seven Rams offensive plays went for either a first down or score. Junior back Will Ryan had runs of 10 and 41 yards to set up a Hager 22-yard touchdown run with junior Gary Flack kicking the extra point for a 7-0 Ridge lead with 5:48 left in the quarter.

Oskaloosa answered with a more successful second drive of the game as the Bears went 67 yards in nine plays. The big play came on third-and-long at the Oskaloosa 26 when junior quarterback Adam Bowser connected with Barnes on a 26-yard play when Barnes caught a ball tipped by a Ridge defender. Junior Levi Wade followed with a 17-yard run followed by a 22-yard Barnes run that eventually set up a Wade 7-yard touchdown run to cut it to 7-6. Barnes ran the ball in for 2 points to give the Bears an 8-7 lead with 1:45 left in the quarter.

The Rams had a quick answer themselves as they went 66 yards in only three plays – two Ryan 15-yard runs and a Hager 36-yard touchdown run. Ryan added the 2-point conversion run to make it 15-8 Ridge only 59 seconds after the Bears’ score.

The Bears started another lengthy drive on their next possession after starting at their own 30. Runs of 16 and 12 yards by Barnes set the Bears up at the Ridge 10 and a 10-yard Wade run got the ball to the 2. A delay of game penalty on third down hurt the Bears by backing them up to the 7, but Barnes ran for 4 yards to set up fourth down at the 3. Barnes took the ball in from there to cut the lead to 15-13, but the 2-point conversion play came up short to keep that the score with 6:52 left in the half.

The Rams struck quickly again as Hager connected with senior Terell Jordan on a 71-yard scoring pass up the middle to make it 22-14 Ridge with Flack’s extra point and 6:37 left in the half.

The Bears converted a fourth down at their own 38 on the next drive and eventually faced another fourth down at the Ridge 37 with time dwindling. A Bowser pass to Wade fell incomplete and the Bears sideline’s plea for a pass interference call on the Rams went unrewarded and Ridge took over at the 37. Ridge almost drove for another score but an illegal block penalty called back a pass play that took the ball inside the Oskaloosa 5, and a holding call nullified a 26-yard scoring pass with time expiring. Ridge got one more play but Hager was stopped for a 9-yard run to send the game to the half with a 22-14 Rams lead.

The Rams got the ball first in the second half and Hager had runs of 27 and 12 yards before scoring from 1 yard out with Ryan adding the 2-point conversion to make it 30-14 Ridge with 9:24 left in the third quarter.

The Bears had their second stalled drive of the night on the ensuing possession as the Rams took over at their own 31. Hager took a big hit from Barnes on the next drive and would leave the game for good with an apparent leg injury. Backup sophomore Dalton Warden entered the game and the Rams relied on Ryan, who scored on a fumbled pitch from 6 yards out to make it 36-14 Rams with 58 seconds left in the quarter.

Oskaloosa got an 11-yard run from Wade and a 19-yard run from Barnes to help set up a 6-yard Barnes touchdown run, as Barnes also added the 2-point conversion to cut the Ridge lead to 36-22 with 10:10 left in the game.

The Rams forged another drive deep into Oskaloosa territory as Warden came through with a 42-yard run on the drive. Ridge eventually faced a fourth-and-1 at the 3 but Warden fumbled the snap and Barnes recovered at the Bears 5 with 4:54 to play.

Down 14 points with only that amount of time left to play, the Bears and coach Scott Whaley showed no sense of urgency on offense as they stuck to the running attack. Barnes had a 21-yard run and junior Mark Newell had a 16-yard run to take the ball past the Rams 40. Barnes ran for nine yards to take the ball to the Ridge 2 with under 30 seconds to play, but on the next play, Newell fumbled and the Rams recovered at their own 3. Warden then kneeled to run out the clock and conclude the 36-22 win.

Barnes had 27 carries for 257 yards and 2 scores for the Bears to go with 2 2-point conversions and 36 receiving yards, Newell ran 18 times for 85 yards and Wade ran 15 times for 82 yards and a touchdown. Bowser was 3-for-6 passing for 36 yards for Oskaloosa.

Ridge was led by Ryan’s 18 rushes for 164 yards and 1 TD and 9 carries for 126 yards and 3 TDs from Hager on the ground and 4-for-7 passing for 108 yards and a score by Hager.

The loss likely cost Oskaloosa, now 5-2 overall, its slim chances at a league crown as the Rams moved to 7-0. Some members of the Oskaloosa crowd were vociferous in their displeasure with the officiating throughout the game. Each team finished with eight penalties on the night.

Oskaloosa moves on to play host to JCN Friday with the second district playoff spot likely on the line, as JCN blanked McLouth last Friday. Pleasant Ridge plays McLouth in the other district game.

County football scores from Oct. 9 games

2009-10-13T14:08:00.000-05:00

Friday’s games (Oct. 9)

Oskaloosa 55, Doniphan West 28
• The Bears improved to 5-1 as they took a 36-8 halftime lead en route to the easy win. Senior back Brandon Barnes scored on runs of 1, 11, 6, 7, and 31 yards plus an 80-yard kickoff return score. Junior back Mark Newell scored on a 37-yard run and junior quarterback Adam Bowser connected with senior Mitch Boucher for a 46-yard scoring pass. Barnes and Newell added 2-point conversion runs. Cody Green added an extra-point kick.

Jeff. West 59, Maur Hill Mt. Acad. 14
• The Tigers improved to 4-2.

Valley Falls 46, McLouth 14
• The Dragons improved to 3-3 and the Bulldogs fell to 1-5. A report on this game can be found elsewhere on the blog.

Troy 34, Jeff. Co. North 12
• The Chargers dropped to 3-3 with the loss.

Piper 34, Perry-Lecompton 14
•The Kaws dropped to 1-5 as the Pirates outscored them, 13-0, in the second half. Sophomore Jeremy Immenschuh scored on a 10-yard run and junior Trent Robb scored on a 2-yard run with sophomore Luke Kellum scoring a 2-point conversion for the Kaws.

Odds and ends Oct. 13

2009-10-13T14:05:00.001-05:00

JCN XC teams place in top five at Ridge

The Jefferson County North High School cross-country teams recently competed in the Pleasant Ridge Invitational with the boys placing third and the girls placing fifth.

Following are the individual medalists for the Chargers:

Boys – Brad Bengel, 11th, Billy Noll, 13th, Landon Noll, 15th, Tyler Leakey, 18th, Dallas Edwards, 19th, Ed Huyghebaert, 20th, Jacob Schrick, 24th, Brett Manville, first in junior varsity, Kyle Polson, fourth in JV, Steuart Hensleigh, fifth in JV, Cory Noll, eighth in JV, and Lance Leakey, 10th in JV.

Girls – Emma Bassette, 16th, and Tori Lange, 23rd.

Volleyball update

The McLouth High School volleyball team improved to 16-12 by sweeping a triangular with Doniphan West and KC Christian.

The Bulldogs defeated West, 24-26, 25-17, 25-9, and KCC, 26-24, 21-25, 25-23. Senior Kylie Shufflebarger had 37 kills on the night while Jeri Holwick had 27 assists and Courtney Chilcoat had 16 assists.

Valley Falls rolls past McLouth, 46-14

2009-10-13T14:04:00.000-05:00

In their final tune-up before district play begins this Friday, Valley Falls had an all-around solid game but suffered a key injury, and McLouth continued to suffer its own growing pains in a 46-14 Valley Falls victory.

The Dragons churned out more than 350 offensive yards while the host Bulldogs managed only 119 on the game. Those stats were proven out by the fact Valley Falls had no trouble moving the ball while McLouth struggled to gain yardage until making a couple good drives in the second half.

The Dragons took the opening kickoff and drove 72 yards in 13 plays punctuated by a 2-yard touchdown run by junior quarterback Alex Lederer. Lederer connected with senior back Mitchell Streeter on a 2-point conversion play to make it 8-0 Valley Falls with 7:19 to play in the opening quarter.

McLouth gained 4 yards on its first possession as an unsuccessful fake punt gave the Dragons the ball at the McLouth 39. An illegal block penalty backed the Dragons up but senior back Chance Gier broke free for a 44-yard run and then scored on a 1-yard run before adding the 2-point conversion to make it 16-0 Dragons with 4:25 left in the opening quarter.

McLouth went backwards for 3 yards on its next possession and the Dragons started another possession in McLouth territory at the 47. Gier ran for 7 yards on a third-down play and didn’t get up with an apparent leg injury. He wouldn’t return to the game. The drive continued, though, as senior back Tyler Wynkoop scored from 6 yards out on the second play of the second quarter and then added the 2-point conversion to make it 24-0 Dragons.

The Bulldogs scratched out only 2 yards on their next possession and the Dragons drove 44 yards on four plays as sophomore back Taylor Anderson picked up a fumbled pitch and ran it in for an official 4-yard touchdown run to make it 32-0 with Lederer’s 2-point conversion run.

The tough night for the Bulldogs, whose roster includes only four seniors and three juniors, continued as another stalled drive ended with the Dragons blocking a punt and Lederer returning it 20 yards for a score to make it 38-0 with 7:14 left in the first half.

The Dragons didn’t stop there as they recovered an onside kick but, for the first time in the game, were stopped by the McLouth defense at the Bulldogs 33.

This time the Bulldogs began to move the ball as a late hit penalty on a run by Bulldogs freshman quarterback Marc Walbridge gave McLouth first down at the Dragons 34. Walbridge connected with senior back Chris Culter on a 9-yard play on fourth-and-7 and, on the next play, found Culter deep down the right sideline for a 22-yard scoring pass. Walbridge connected with senior E.J. Field for the 2-point conversion to make it 38-8 Dragons with 1:09 left in the half.

The Dragons almost added another score before halftime as Lederer broke free on a run but stumbled at the McLouth 5 as time expired.

The scenario continued for much of the second half as the Bulldogs went backward on their first possession of the second half and Lederer ran for a 31-yard touchdown and then hit senior Riley Bunde for the 2-point conversion to make it 46-8 Dragons.

With the deficit over 35 points in the second half, the running clock then went into play. McLouth would add a fourth-quarter touchdown on a 58-yard Culter run to make the final score 46-14 Dragons.

The Dragons were led by 11 carries for more than 100 yards by Gier in slightly more than a quarter of action, plus 5 carries for 78 yards and two scores by Lederer and 9 carries for 50 yards and a score by Wynkoop.

Culter had the touchdown run plus 3 catches for 43 yards and a score, while Walbridge was 8-for-11 passing for 92 yards and a score.

The Dragons improved to 3-3 and will take on Lyndon in the first game of district play Friday. The Bulldogs fell to 1-5 and will take on the JCN Chargers in a road game Friday for game one of district play.

Odds and ends Oct. 6

2009-10-06T14:46:00.000-05:00

Volleyball update

The McLouth Bulldogs went 1-4 at last weekend’s Valley Falls Invitational volleyball tournament.

The Bulldogs defeated Axtell, 25-21, 25-20, but lost to Valley Falls, 23-25, 25-19, 25-16, B&B, 25-20, 25-23, Maranatha, 25-18, 25-23, and Oskaloosa, 17-25, 25-15, 25-19. Kylie Shufflebarger had 60 kills on the day while Jeri Holwick had 49 assists and Jessie Troupe had 48 digs.

JCN teams finish in top 3 at Centralia XC

The Jefferson County North High School cross-country teams recently ran at Centralia and came away with top three finishes.

The boys were second and the girls were third overall.

Individuals receiving medals were as follows.

Boys – Brad Bengel, 11th and team, Landon Noll, 12th and team, Tyler Leakey, 13th and team, Dallas Edwards, 15th and team, Ed Huyghebaert, 16th and team, Billy Noll, 19th and team, and Jacob Schrick, 21st and team.

Girls – Emma Bassette, 13th, Mary Kern, 15th, Tori Lange, 18th, Lincoln Kingman, 22nd, and Luise Bellgardt, 23rd.

County football scores for Oct. 2

2009-10-06T14:45:00.002-05:00

Friday’s games (Oct. 2)

Wathena 20, Oskaloosa 14 (OT)
• The Bears suffered their first loss of the season to drop to 4-1. Wathena took a 14-0 halftime lead but Bears senior Brandon Barnes scored on a 1-yard run and added the 2-point conversion run to cut the lead to 14-8 in the third quarter. Barnes scored from 6 yards out to tie the game in the fourth quarter but coach Scott Whaley elected to go for the 2-point conversion rather than the go-ahead extra point kick. The run failed and the game went to overtime, where Wathena scored and held Oskaloosa off the board to get the win.

Jeff. Co. North 41, Jackson Heights 6
• The Chargers improved to 3-2 as they took a 27-0 halftime lead en route to the win. Sophomore Dalton Minor scored twice on a 9-yard pass from junior Jeff Hale and a 42-yard pass from senior Austin Gaspard. Senior Lucas Page scored on pass plays of 13 and 10 yards from Hale, and Gaspard scored on runs of 3 and 57 yards.

Jefferson West 26, Nemaha Valley 21
• A report on this game can be found elsewhere. The Tigers improved to 3-2.

Valley Falls 44, Horton 8
• The Dragons improved to 2-3 as they scored 28 unanswered points from the second quarter on. Senior Tyler Wynkoop scored on a 5-yard run, junior Alex Lederer scored on runs of 18 and 10 yards, plus a 17-yard pass to junior Alex Nottingham, and senior Chance Gier scored on runs of 11 and 5 yards. Gier added three 2-point conversion runs and Lederer ran for another. Gier had 18 carries for 149 yards while Lederer had 12 carries for 127 yards in the win.

Doniphan West 33, McLouth 0
• The Bulldogs fell to 1-4. Sophomore Shawn Dailey ran 25 times for 71 yards in the loss.

Perry-Lecompton 21, Lansing 19
•The Kaws improved to 1-4 as they held off the Lions in the second half. Junior Trent Robb scored on a 1-yard run while senior Brad Phillips scored on a 4-yard run and sophomore Jeremy Immenschuh made a 34-yard scoring pass to sophomore Luke Kellum. Senior John Mehl added three extra points.

West scores in final minute to pick up 26-21 win

2009-10-06T14:36:00.001-05:00

In a game that included an unconventional touchdown play for both teams, the Jefferson West Tigers turned a late Nemaha Valley miscue into a drive for the game-winning score with less than a minute to play for a 26-21 win.

The win improved West’s record to 3-2 with one game left before district play begins, and marked the Tigers’ first win over the Raiders since 2003. The teams weren’t that far apart in performance as West gained 348 yards on offense compared to 323 for Nemaha Valley. The difference came down to the Raiders committing two turnovers to West’s one.

The Raiders grabbed the early momentum as they forced a three-and-out on the first Tiger possession and then blocked the punt with West recovering the ball at the Tiger 35 and turning it over on downs. Four plays later, senior Jacob Nordhus took the ball into the end zone from 13 yards out to make it 7-0 Raiders with the extra point.

West ground out a scoring drive on the next possession as the Tigers went 63 yards in 13 plays, including a conversion on fourth-and-short, as junior running back Ethan Mumaw scored on a 5-yard run to tie it at 7 with the extra point by senior Alex Baker.

West was driving again early in the second quarter, and the possession culminated in a 5-yard Mumaw touchdown run. Baker added the extra point to make it 14-7 Tigers with 8:12 to play in the half. Nemaha Valley would have an answer, though, as senior quarterback Dane Brinker and junior wideout Kevin Burdiek connected for a 48-yard gain and junior running back Keegan McKernan would score on a 1-yard run to cut it to 14-13 as McKernan’s extra point try fell short.

The Tigers got the ball back with 2:42 to play in the half and a 22-yard run by freshman fullback Cylus Tichenor got West a chunk of yardage. Baker found senior wideout Austin Siess for an 18-yard gain to take the ball to the NV 42, and West would take a timeout with 22 seconds left and facing a second-and-16 at the Raider 38. The resulting play was a big one as Baker found senior wideout Tim Rhodd open on a hook pattern along the left sideline, but Rhodd lateraled the ball to Siess, who took it the rest of the way for a 38-yard score to make it 20-13 West with 12 seconds left in the half.

The score would hold at halftime. Both teams stalled on their first drives of the second half as a 42-yard Brinker run resulted only in the Raiders turning the ball over on downs at the West 18, and West picked up one first down before punting the ball away.

The Raiders would drive 57 yards on the ensuing possession. The key play came on fourth-and-3 at the West 23 as Brinker threw a deep pass to junior back Thomas Enneking, who fell down but managed to come up with the catch from the ground in the end zone to cut it to 20-19. Brinker found McKernan on a pass for the 2-point conversion to make it 21-20 Raiders with 11:14 left in the game.

West would drive 59 yards to the Nemaha Valley 30 on the next possession only to see a fumbled pitch recovered by the Raiders at their own 33 with 6:08 to play. The Raiders converted a fourth down as the clock ticked down, but McKernan fumbled a pitch on the next play and West junior Clint Lee fell on the ball at the Raider 44 with 3:31 to play. A 14-yard Mumaw run gave the Tigers a first down at the Raider 23 and Siess broke free for a 12-yard run to get the ball to the 10 with 1:26 to play. On third down at the 6, Mumaw came through with a touchdown run to make it 26-21 West as the 2-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful with 37 seconds to play.

The Raiders ended up getting only two plays as a Brinker pass fell incomplete and another pass on second down was intercepted by a diving Mumaw at the Raider 47 with 28 seconds to play. The Raiders tried to stay alive by using their timeouts but Mumaw ran for a 28-yard gain on third-and-long to put the game away for the 26-21 win.

Mumaw finished the game with 29 carries for 173 yards and three touchdowns and also had 2 catches for 14 yards. Tichenor had 12 rushes for 55 yards, and Baker was 7-for-9 passing for 95 yards and a score. Siess had 4 catches for 63 yards and a score.

The Raiders were led by 13 rushes for 91 yards by Brinker and 12 rushes for 83 yards by Nordhus. Brinker was 5-for-9 passing for 106 yards, a score and an interception.

Tigers coach Steve Johnson said he was happy to see his team’s resilient effort Friday to get them over a .500 winning percentage at 3-2.

“Our focus all year has been to try to get them to play harder,” Johnson said. “They stood up and played tonight. Mumaw is a horse, and he was strong for us tonight. He was mad at himself for that fumble but kept his head in the game and made a couple big plays.

“I’m glad to see us making plays through a full game. Nemaha Valley’s a good team. It’s nice to see us have some bad things happen but come back and get the win.”

Odds and ends Sept. 29

2009-09-29T14:09:00.000-05:00

North girls pace field at Troy XC invite

The Jefferson County North High School cross-country teams recently competed at the Troy Invitational with the girls placing first and the boys placing third.

Individuals receiving medals were as follows.

Girls – Mary Kern, third; Emma Bassette, fourth; Tori Lange, sixth; Lincoln Kingman, eighth; Gage Funk, ninth; Jordyn Mize, 12th; and Luise Bellgardt, 13th. Boys – Ed Huyghebaert, 12th; Tyler Leakey, 13th; Billy Noll, 14th; and Landon Noll, 15th.

The JCN boys tied for first at a meet in Wabaunsee Sept. 26. Medalists there were Tyler Leakey, third and team, Dallas Edwards, fifth and team, Brad Bengel, ninth and team, Steuart Hensleigh, 10th and team, Brett Manville, 11th and team, Tyler Noll, 18th and team, and Spencer Wentz, 21st and team.

Volleyball update

The McLouth Bulldogs improved to 12-7 on the year and 6-2 in league play by sweeping a triangular with Troy and Horton. The Bulldogs defeated Troy, 25-8, 25-11, and Horton, 25-14, 25-8. Senior Kylie Shufflebarger had 20 kills on the day with Jeri Holwick adding 14 assists and Courtney Chilcoat adding 9 assists.

County football scores for Sept. 25 games

2009-09-29T14:07:00.001-05:00

Oskaloosa 8, Troy 0
• The Bears posted their second straight shutout to improve to 4-0. Junior Mark Newell scored the only touchdown of the game on a 2-yard run in the second quarter. The other 2 Oskaloosa points came on a safety. Senior Brandon Barnes had 105 rushing yards in the win for the Bears.

Jeff. Co. North 40, Immaculata 19
• The Chargers improved to 2-2.

Jefferson West 28, ACCHS 0
• The Tigers evened their record at 2-2 with the shutout.

Pleasant Ridge 40, Valley Falls 22
• The Dragons fell to 1-3 as Ridge led, 28-22, at the half and pulled away in the second half. Senior Riley Bunde scored on receptions of 36 and 63 yards from junior quarterback Alex Lederer and senior Chance Gier scored on a 54-yard run. Gier scored two 2-point conversions as well, and had 103 rushing yards in the game, which was delayed to Saturday by weather.

Wathena 41, McLouth 8
• The Bulldogs fell to 1-3. The Bulldogs’ score came on a 55-yard kickoff return by E.J. Field. Cody McHenry added the 2-point conversion.

Atchison 24, Perry-Lecompton 21
• A report on this game can be found elsewhere on the blog. The Kaws fell to 0-4.

Atchison keeps Kaws winless, 24-21

2009-09-29T14:06:00.001-05:00

The Perry-Lecompton Kaws came into Friday night’s football game with Atchison in search of their first win of 2009 but the Kaws couldn’t get a defensive stop when needed and the Redmen came away with a 24-21 road victory.

The win gave Atchison a small measure of revenge for two losses to the Kaws in 2008, including one on the Kaws’ 4A state playoff run that ended the Redmen’s season.

Both offenses made headway at times in the game as Atchison racked up more than 400 yards of offense, the majority coming thanks to senior quarterback Charlie Schneider. Perry-Lecompton got a big special teams play in the second half and had a couple productive drives but finished with less than 300 yards of offense. The game was bogged down by a combined 23 penalties, including 14 on Atchison.

Atchison got off to a good start as the Redmen took the opening kick and drove 77 yards in only five plays, including a 24-yard pass from Schneider to sophomore Chris Edwards and a 39-yard run by senior fullback Jacob Camp. Schneider finished the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run and senior Jesus Teran Porras booted the extra point for a 7-0 Atchison lead.

The Kaws answered with some offensive momentum of their own to drive inside the Atchison 30 before senior Brad Phillips fumbled the ball on a run and the Redmen recovered at their own 14. The Kaw defense forced a punt and Phillips got the ensuing drive off to a good start with a 23-yard run to take the ball to the Atchison 40. A personal foul facemask penalty on the play gave the Kaws first-and-10 at the Redmen 25. The Kaws got to the 13 and a Phillips TD run was called back by a holding penalty.

Another holding penalty backed the Kaws to the Atchison 28 and a key Atchison mistake would open the door for Perry-Lecompton. Faced with fourth-and-long at the 25, an incomplete pass by Kaws sophomore quarterback Jeremy Immenschuh was accompanied by a flag for a personal foul on Atchison for roughing the passer, which gave Perry-Lecompton first down at the 12. Phillips ran the ball in on the next play and senior John Mehl added the extra point to tie the game at 7 early in the second quarter.

Atchison got to the Kaws 19 on the next possession but Kaws senior Ethan Moe picked off a Schneider pass and returned it to the Kaws 11 to stop the drive. The teams traded punts before Perry-Lecompton threatened once again.

The Kaws took over at their own 47 with 3:24 to play in the first half and a Phillips 20-yard run took the ball into Atchison territory. Runs by junior Trent Robb got the ball to the Redmen 21 but the Kaws were faced with third-and-nine at the 20. Immenschuh’s ensuing pass was picked off by Atchison junior Spencer Bauman at the 14 and the clock ran out on the next Redmen drive to make it 7-7 at the half.

The Kaws threatened again after taking the opening second-half kickoff as a 35-yard Phillips run gave them first down at the Atchison 20. Immenschuh was sacked on fourth down, however, to give the ball over to the Redmen on their own 29.

Atchison took advantage of the opportunity as a third down was converted when Schneider threw a lateral to his left to junior Cezanne Burns, who found senior Brennan Pruett up the left sideline for a 21-yard gain. Camp ran for a three-yard gain on fourth-and-short to keep the drive alive and Schneider and Burns hooked up for another 24-yard gain to take the ball to the Kaws 14. Camp ran for 13 yards to put the ball at the 1. On third-and-goal at the 3, Schneider rolled out to his right and finally found senior Brett Norris in the end zone for a three-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-7 with the Porras extra point.

The momentum was short-lived for the Redmen, as Phillips took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 89 yards for a touchdown with the Mehl extra point tying it at 14.

That was the score entering the fourth quarter, but the Redmen were driving once more. A 27-yard Schneider run put Atchison in Kaw territory and he connected with senior Corey Ochoa for a 32-yard pass play to take the ball to the Kaw 23. Schneider scored on a 23-yard jaunt on the next play to make it 21-14 with the Porras extra point and 10:37 left in the game.

The Kaws were forced to punt and Atchison had a long gain brought back by a holding penalty on the first play of the next drive. Ochoa broke loose for a 31-yard run and a 25-yard Camp run took the ball to the Perry-Lecompton 6. Faced with fourth down at the 5, the Redmen opted for a field goal and Porras kicked it true for a 21-yard field goal to make it 24-14 Atchison with 2:44 to play.

The Kaws needed a quick drive and responded with their best one of the night as another roughing the passer flag on Atchison aided the cause. Immenschuh ended the five-play drive with an 18-yard touchdown run with Mehl’s extra point cutting it to 24-21 with 1:50 left in the game.

Two tries at an onside kick resulted in Atchison taking over at the Kaw 44 and Schneider made a key play with a 36-yard run to get the ball to the Kaw 8. The Redmen turned the ball over on downs at the 3 with 12 seconds left and two Immenschuh passes fell incomplete as the clock ran out.

Schneider had 182 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries and was also 8-13 passing for 105 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Camp had 10 carries for 84 yards for the Redmen.

The Kaws were led by 117 rushing yards and a touchdown on 12 carries by Phillips and 8-16 passing for 72 yards by Immenschuh. Phillips also had the touchdown kickoff return plus two catches for 35 yards receiving to rack up more than 200 all-purpose yards. Robb had 13 carries for 61 yards for the Kaws.

The loss dropped the Kaws to 0-4. They play host to Lansing this week for homecoming.

Odds and ends

2009-09-22T13:40:00.000-05:00

Volleyball

The McLouth High School recently split a triangular with Jackson Heights and Jefferson County North. JCN was 2-0 on the day with a 25-20, 25-11 win over Heights and a 25-21, 25-15 win over the host Bulldogs. McLouth defeated Heights, 26-24, 25-21 in the other match.

Cross country

JCN girls second, boys third at Holton XC

The Jefferson County North High School cross-country teams recently placed in the top three at the Holton Invitational.

The girls were second, five points behind the winning team from Holton, while the boys were third, four points behind the top two teams of Holton and Cornerstone.

Medalists for the Chargers were as follows:

Girls – Mary Kern, fourth and team medal, Emma Bassette, fifth and team medal, Jordyn Mize, 11th and team medal, Lincoln Kingman, 13th and team medal, Tori Lange, 16th and team medal, Gage Funk, team medal, Anna Kern, team medal, and Luise Bellgardet, second in junior varsity.

Boys – Brad Bengel, sixth, Landon Noll, 16th, Ed Huyghebaert, 17th, Billy Noll, 18th, Jacob Schrick, 19th, Dallas Edwards, first in the junior varsity race, Cory Noll, second JV, Kyle Polson, third JV, Lance Leakey, fifth JV, and Monte Baker, sixth JV.

County football scores for Sept. 18 games

2009-09-22T13:38:00.001-05:00

Friday’s games (Sept. 18)

Oskaloosa 39, Jackson Heights 0
• The Bears took a 20-0 halftime lead en route to the shutout win to keep rolling at 3-0. Senior Brandon Barnes had 16 carries for 108 yards and a 10-yard touchdown run. Junior Mark Newell had 17 carries for 94 yards and touchdown runs of six and two yards. Junior Levi Wade had a three-yard touchdown run and an eight-yard touchdown score from junior Adam Bowser. Wade added a 2-point conversion run and senior Cody Green kicked an extra point. Senior Andy Gritz also scored on a 47-yard run.

Valley Falls 44, Jeff. Co. North 8
• A report on this game can be found below on the blog. Both teams are now 1-2.

Royal Valley 47, Jefferson West 19
• The Tigers were outscored, 34-0, in the second and third quarters as they fell to 1-2.

Troy 35, McLouth 0
• The Bulldogs were shut out for a second straight week to fall to 1-2. Marc Walbridge was 4-for-9 passing for McLouth for 35 yards.

Tonganoxie 14, Perry-Lecompton 0
• Perry-Lecompton was shut out to fall to 0-3 on the season.

Valley Falls dominates Chargers, 44-8

2009-09-22T13:37:00.003-05:00

Whether it was Valley Falls’ converted fourth downs or JCN’s bad snaps in shotgun or punt situations, whatever could go wrong for the Chargers on homecoming night did, as Valley Falls got its first win of the season, 44-8.

JCN was the one with a 1-1 record coming into the county rivalry tilt while Valley Falls was 0-2 after two close losses. It became evident in the first quarter, however, that the Dragons were laying that losing streak to rest.

The Dragons took the opening kickoff and drove to the JCN 30 before a holding penalty and a fumbled third-down pitch gave them fourth-and-16 at the JCN 36. An offsides penalty on the Chargers shaved five yards off that down and distance, and Dragons senior Chance Gier broke free for a 31-yard touchdown run on the next play. Gier added a 2-point conversion run to make it 8-0 Valley Falls with 7:51 left in the quarter.

JCN was able to get one first down on its first possession but then the Chargers’ first dose of bad fortune struck as a punt snap sailed over the head of sophomore punter Dalton Minor, who fell on the ball at the 12 to turn it over to Valley Falls. Gier scored from one yard out four plays later and added a 2-point conversion run to make it 16-0 Dragons.

The situation repeated itself on the Chargers’ next possession as Minor picked up a bad punt snap and ran for a yard but Valley Falls took over at the JCN 15. This time, Dragons senior Tyler Wynkoop did the offensive work with a five-yard touchdown run that made it 22-0 Valley Falls.

A fumbled pitch hampered JCN’s next drive and the Chargers got a punt off, but on the ensuing Dragons third-and-long, Valley Falls junior quarterback Alex Lederer connected with Wynkoop on a 40-yard touchdown pass play to make it 28-0 early in the second quarter.

A bad third-down shotgun snap forced another JCN punt and, after Lederer connected with senior Billy Morris on a 55-yard screen pass, Gier scored from two yards out to make it 36-0 with the Wynkoop 2-point run. Gier added another touchdown on an 11-yard run on the Dragons’ next possession with Lederer running for 2 points to make it 44-0 at halftime.

With the margin as it was, a running clock was instituted to start the second half, which made for a quick half of football. The Dragons’ junior varsity couldn’t move the ball on the Chargers and, after a bad punt snap by Valley Falls, JCN had perhaps its best scoring chance, taking over at the Dragons 22. The Chargers had first down at the Dragons 4 but the defense held strong and the Chargers turned the ball over on downs at the 1. The situation wasn’t all bad for JCN, though, as they stopped the Dragons in their own end zone on the next play to get a safety and get on the scoreboard, 44-2.

The Chargers faced third-and-eight after the ensuing safety punt and junior quarterback Jeff Hale found senior Lucas Page deep over the middle for a 48-yard scoring strike to cut the lead to 44-8 early in the fourth quarter. The Chargers got one more chance on offense but the Dragons recovered a fumbled pitch and ran out the clock.

The Dragons outgained the Chargers, 226-112, on the night offensively. Five bad snaps cost the Chargers 63 yards on the night.

Gier led the Dragons with 129 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns and Lederer was 2-for-3 passing for 95 yards and a score. Wynkoop had both a rushing and receiving score in the game.

JCN was led by 17 carries for 42 yards from senior Breck McMillan. Hale was 7-for-16 passing for 104 yards and a score, as Page had 3 catches for 71 yards and a score.

The Dragons improved to 1-2 while JCN fell to 1-2 with the loss.

County football scores for Sept. 11 games

2009-09-15T14:51:00.002-05:00

Friday’s games (Sept. 11)

Oskaloosa 50, Immaculata 20
• The Bears surged to a 30-0 first-half lead en route to the easy win to move to 2-0. Senior Brandon Barnes had touchdown runs of 57 and 93 yards and a 10-yard TD catch from junior Adam Bowser. Junior Mark Newell had TD runs of 3 and 64 yards, junior Levi Wade had a 15-yard TD run and Bowser snuck in a TD run of 1 yard. Senior Mitch Boucher had two 2-point conversion runs while Barnes had another. Senior Cody Green added two extra-point kicks. Barnes finished with 23 carries for 291 yards and 2 TDs while Newell had 13 carries for 118 yards and 2 TDs.

Jeff. Co. North 7, Doniphan West 6
• The Chargers improved to 1-1 as they scored on a 23-yard pass from junior Jeff Hale to senior Austin Gaspard in the fourth quarter, with Hale adding the winning extra-point kick.

Jefferson West 21, Sabetha 13
• The Tigers improved to 1-1 with the win.

Jackson Heights 22, McLouth 0
• The Bulldogs dropped to 1-1 with the blanking at the hands of the Cobras. Sophomore Alex Courtney had 16 carries for 62 yards in the loss.

Bishop Ward 25, Perry-Lecompton 15
• The Kaws held a 7-6 halftime lead but were outscored, 19-8, in the second half to fall to 0-2. Sophomore quarterback Jeremy Immenschuh had touchdown passes of 10 yards to Cody Amerine and 29 yards to Ethan Moe, plus a 2-point conversion pass to junior Trent Robb. Senior John Mehl added an extra-point kick.

ACCHS 21, Valley Falls 20
• The game was tied at halftime and was decided in a 7-6 fourth quarter going in favor of the visiting Tigers to spoil Valley Falls’ homecoming and drop the Dragons to 0-2. Sophomore Taylor Anderson scored on a 1-yard run, senior Chance Gier scored on a 6-yard run and junior Alex Lederer scored on a 5-yard run for the Dragons. Gier added a 2-point conversion run.

Oskaloosa tramples Immaculata, 50-20

2009-09-15T14:50:00.000-05:00

When two of Oskaloosa’s first three plays from scrimmage went for long touchdowns, it became readily apparent that Immaculata might not be able to hang with the host Bears, and that held true as Oskaloosa came away with a 50-20 home win Friday.

The Bears didn’t run over the Raiders on every possession, and at one point it appeared Immaculata had a chance to get back in the game, but a late first-half Bears score and strong start to the second half made that chance next to none for the visitors from Leavenworth.

The Bears’ first possession of the game started with a 5-yard run from junior Mark Newell on first down and then a 57-yard touchdown run by senior Brandon Barnes as senior Mitch Boucher added the 2-point conversion run to make it 8-0 Bears with only 24 seconds clicked off the game clock.

Immaculata got one first down before punting and pinned the Bears back at their own 7 for their second possession. That possession was one play as Barnes sprinted down the right sideline for a 93-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 Bears with, now, 1:16 having ticked off the clock in the first quarter. That gave Barnes 2 carries for 150 rushing yards and 2 TDs at that point in the game.

The Bears’ third drive stalled but the fourth drive resulted in a 15-yard touchdown run by junior Levi Wade with Boucher adding another 2-point run to make it 22-0 Bears. On Oskaloosa’s next possession, it was Newell’s turn to break a big run as he went up the middle for 64 yards and a score with Barnes adding a 2-point conversion run to make it 30-0 early in the second quarter.

Immaculata got a little momentum going its way, however, as they finally got on the board on a 23-yard touchdown pass play from sophomore quarterback Corey Leintz to junior Brett Seaba. A 90-yard touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff by Bears sophomore Chris Garst was called back by an illegal block penalty and the Bears ended up fumbling the ball away at their own 44. Seaba had runs of 14 and 10 yards on the short drive and finished it with a 1-yard touchdown run to make the score 30-14 as senior Greg Ponder added extra points on both Raiders TDs.

The Raider momentum stopped there, though, as the Bears ground out a 52-yard drive finished by the only pass play of the drive, a 10-yard scoring strike from junior Adam Bowser to Barnes. The score made it 37-14 Bears with the extra point by senior Cody Green and only 16 seconds to play in the first half.

Immaculata would make no more momentum swings in the second half as Bowser snuck in a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and the Bears tacked on a fourth-quarter score on a 3-yard Newell run. The Raiders did get one more score in the fourth quarter but that only made the final score 50-20 Oskaloosa.

Barnes and Newell chewed up the Raider defense as Barnes had 23 carries for 291 yards and 2 TDs, plus another score on the pass from Bowser. Newell had 118 rushing yards on 13 carries and scored 2 TDs.

The 2-0 Bears will play host to their homecoming game this Friday as league foe Jackson Heights, also 2-0, comes to town.

County football scores for Sept. 3-4

2009-09-08T14:04:00.003-05:00

The Perry-Lecompton Kaws matched Holton touchdown for touchdown to end the first quarter tied at 14 Friday night, but it was the last time the Kaws would cross the goal line. Holton’s defense dug in and the Wildcats scored 7 points the next three quarters to end 35-14. Sophomore Jon Denton is the ball carrier for the Kaws in this photo. The two schools were meeting again for the first time with new ball teams after the Kaws’ powerhouse team dominated the Wildcats in last fall’s 4A state semifinal on Perry-Lecompton’s march to state. Photo by Clarke Davis

Thursday’s game (Sept. 3)
McLouth 18, Immaculata 13
• The Bulldogs led, 12-0, after a quarter and held off the Raiders in the second half to win their season opener. The running game was a key for McLouth in the win as sophomore Alex Courtney ran 25 times for 79 yards and 2 touchdowns and senior E.J. Field ran 12 times for 105 yards and a score. Freshman Marc Walbridge was 4-for-11 passing for 63 yards in the win.

Friday’s games (Sept. 4)
Oskaloosa 24, Valley Falls 21
• A report on this game can be found below.

Holton 35, Perry-Lecompton 14
• In a rematch of last season’s season opener and also the 4A state semifinal, the Kaws and Wildcats were tied after the first quarter, 14-14, but it was all Holton thereafter as the Kaws got out to an 0-1 start. Sophomore Jeremy Immenschuh had a 16-yard touchdown pass to senior Brad Phillips and junior Trent Robb had an 11-yard TD run with senior John Mehl adding both extra-point kicks. The Wildcats outgained Perry-Lecompton, 378-91 yards on the ground. Immenschuh was 10-for-21 passing for 92 yards. Robb led the way on the ground for the Kaws with 12 rushes for 47 yards. Phillips had 5 catches for 51 yards.

Wathena 28, JCN 6
• North avoided a shutout on a fourth-quarter 25-yard scoring pass from junior Jeff Hale to senior Lucas Page. JCN is 0-1.

Abilene 35, Jefferson West 7
• West fell to 0-1 as the Tigers’ only score came on a 9-yard run by senior Austin Siess in the third quarter. Alex Baker added the extra-point kick.

Bears slip past Valley Falls in season opener, 24-21

2009-09-08T14:02:00.000-05:00

If the first game of 2009 sets the tone for the football season for Oskaloosa and Valley Falls, it’s going to be an exciting ride for the two teams as Oskaloosa took advantage of penalties and turnovers for a 24-21 win Friday in Valley Falls.

The game was equal parts a won game for the Bears and a lost game for the Dragons as the Bears and standout senior running back Brandon Barnes made plays when they needed them, while Valley Falls had a couple key penalties, including one that nullified a 52-yard touchdown run, and couldn’t take advantage of some fourth-quarter momentum.

The game got off to an exciting start, as Valley Falls senior Chance Gier fielded the opening kickoff and rambled 80 yards for a score with junior Nick Domann adding the extra point for a 7-0 Dragons lead.

Oskaloosa looked to match the score as the Bears drove to the Valley Falls 23 but the drive stalled there and Barnes was stopped on fourth-and-2 to turn the ball over to the Dragons on downs.

The Bears drove to the Dragons 40 on their next possession when a 7-yard run by junior Mark Newell turned into a 31-yard gain thanks to two penalties on Valley Falls senior Blane Brosa, who was ejected from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Dragons held to force a fourth-and-goal at the 11 but junior quarterback Adam Bowser and Barnes turned a short pass into an 11-yard touchdown to cut it to 7-6 as the 2-point conversion run fell short.

The Dragons were driving at midfield early in the second quarter when senior Logan Wynkoop lost a fumble and Oskaloosa recovered at the 50. Bowser fumbled the snap on the next play and Valley Falls got the ball back in Bears territory but, three plays later, a pass by Valley Falls junior quarterback Alex Lederer was picked off by Bears junior Levi Wade at the Oskaloosa 22.

Fourteen plays later, Barnes punched the ball across the goal line from a yard out to make it 12-7 Bears as the drive spanned 78 yards and included runs of 16 and 29 yards by Barnes. Barnes and Newell converted fourth downs into first downs on the drive.

With time winding down in the first half, the Dragons appeared to get a big momentum swing as senior running back Mitchell Streeter broke free for a 52-yard touchdown run, only to see Domann flagged for an illegal block in the back at the 20, well behind the play. The Dragons instead found themselves with first-and-10 at the Oskaloosa 30 and the drive stalled at the 29, where Oskaloosa took over on downs and ran out the clock to take a 12-7 lead into halftime.

The Bears chugged out another scoring drive on the first drive of the second half as Barnes returned the opening kick to the Bears 40 and, 11 plays later, took the ball in from 10 yards out to make it 18-7 as the 2-point conversion pass fell incomplete. The key play on the drive was an offsides penalty on the Dragons on fourth-and-2 at their own 15 and Barnes’ score came on the next offensive snap.

The Bears continued their policy of short kickoffs following Gier’s opening score and the Dragons put together perhaps their best drive of the night as they scored on a nine-play, 61-yard drive. They overcame an 11-yard loss on a bad pitch as Gier got the yardage back and more on a 20-yard run, then scored on an 11-yard run with 54 seconds left in the third quarter. Senior Tyler Wynkoop ran for the 2-point converstion to cut the Oskaloosa lead to 18-15.

Oskaloosa’s next drive saw the Bears convert fourth-and-short at the 50 and Barnes run for a 9-yard gain on third-and-8 at the Valley Falls 33. A holding call helped stall the Bears drive as they went for it on fourth-and-long only to see a Bowser pass intended for Barnes intercepted by Logan Wynkoop at the Oskaloosa 8. Wynkoop returned it to the Dragons 30 and the Dragons had a chance to regain the lead with 5:11 left in the game.

The momentum boost didn’t last long as, on second-and-6, Lederer fumbled the snap and Oskaloosa recovered at the Valley Falls 34. This time it wasn’t Barnes but Newell who made the score on a 10-yard run to give the Bears a 24-15 lead with 2:32 left in the game.

With the Dragons on the ropes and time dwindling, the Valley Falls offense came through again as Tyler Wynkoop returned the ensuing kickoff to the Dragons 48. The Dragons faced a fourth-and-5 at the Bears 35 with 1:42 to play when Lederer found Logan Wynkoop on a short pass across the middle and Wynkoop took the ball in for the score to cut the lead to 24-21 with 1:33 to play.

The score meant the Dragons would need to attempt an onside kick and Domann’s kickoff ricocheted off Newell’s knee with a Dragon recovering the ball at the Valley Falls 47. Wade was flagged for a pass interference penalty, only Oskaloosa’s third of the game, on the next play and the Dragons had a first down at the Bears 38. A 13-yard pass from Lederer to Streeter gave the Dragons first down at the Bears 25 with 1:18 to play and the game came down to a fourth-and-7 at the Bears 22. Lederer tried to make the pass on the left-middle side of the field and Barnes jumped in to knock the pass away to allow Oskaloosa to run out the clock and escape with a 24-21 win.

Barnes toted the ball 22 times for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns along with three receptions for 21 yards and a touchdown for the Bears. Newell had 23 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown. The Bears outgained the Dragons, 317 yards to 222, on offense not including return yards.

Valley Falls was led by 9 carries for 68 yards for Gier, who also had the kickoff return TD, and 8 carries for 54 yards by Streeter. Lederer was 5-for-11 passing for 70 yards and a TD. Logan Wynkoop had two catches for 41 yards and a score. The Dragons incurred 10 penalties for 60 yards compared to only 3 for 30 for Oskaloosa. The Dragons also committed one more turnover than the Bears, 3-2.

Oskaloosa coach Scott Whaley said both schools should be proud of the way the teams performed.

“It doesn’t get much better than that,” a relieved Whaley said after the game. “You’ve got two teams that absolutely played their hearts out, and two communities that can be really proud of their kids. I take my hat off to them for how they came back.”

Whaley said he was happy with how his offensive line, which was somewhat of a question mark for the Bears entering the season, stepped up to allow for all but 21 yards of the team’s offensive output on the ground.

“They took over a little bit at times in the second half,” he said. “We have some big kids, but they’re pretty inexperienced. I was pleased with how they did tonight.

“When they recovered that onside kick, it was like they kicked me in the gut. Then, there at the end, Brandon made the play. He’s got a nose for the ball. He’s a heck of a player.”

County high school volleyball preview 2009

2009-09-08T13:59:00.002-05:00

The county’s six high school volleyball teams will be hard-pressed to top a 2008 season that saw three teams easily eclipse 30 wins and one place fourth at state, but the six returning coaches will do their best to lead their teams to success as season play recently began.

As in 2007, the Jefferson County North Chargers had the third-best winning percentage in the county in 2008 behind Oskaloosa and Jefferson West, but were the only squad to advance to state play before settling for fourth at the 3A state tourney in Salina. The Chargers’ final record was 35-10 and the state berth marked the school’s fourth in the last five seasons.

Oskaloosa and Jefferson West, meanwhile, were top seeds at their respective substates but faltered in the semifinals to finish with 34-6 and 33-6 records, respectively. Valley Falls saw a two-win improvement over 2007 to finish 22-16 in 2008, and McLouth turned around a losing 2007 record to go 22-15 last season. Perry-Lecompton also saw a seven-win improvement to finish 11-27 in 2008.

There were no coaching changes at the head spots among the six county teams, although McLouth is making use of a former JCN standout as an assistant under Erika Houk.

All six county schools got into action last week. Oskaloosa plays next at the Baldwin Invitational Tournament Saturday, Jefferson West will travel to Royal Valley in Hoyt tonight (Thursday) for a triangular with Holton and Royal Valley, JCN plays next in a triangular at McLouth Sept. 15, McLouth plays at the Nemaha Valley Invitational Saturday, Valley Falls plays next at a triangular with Troy and Kansas City Christian Sept. 15, and Perry-Lecompton plays host to Bishop Ward and Eudora in a triangular tonight.

Following are capsule previews of each team entering this season in order of their finish last season.

Oskaloosa Bears
Coach: Tosha Landau, fourth year
2008 record: 34-6

Landau lost a couple key components from a very good 2008 squad but has a mixture of experienced youth and seasoned upperclassmen back to make another run at a state berth.

Gone are seniors Nicole Rockhold, Whitney Artman and Keri Heston, but Landau does return four starters. Her squad of 16 players includes only two seniors.

The OHS varsity rotation includes senior right hitter Kyra Coffman, who was lost late last season to a knee injury but has returned, senior left hitter Allison Lloyd, sophomore middle hitter Haley Pfau, junior libero Hailey Kelly, junior left hitter Kristen Brey, sophomore middle hitter Rachel Schmanke, sophomore setter Jordan Miller, sophomore back row specialist Brooke Beach and junior Jessie Beach.

“I think we have good offense and a lot of good hitters, plus an experienced libero and a really good setter who’s only a sophomore,” Landau said. As of Sept. 4 the team was 2-0 in the early going. “We’re a young team and don’t have as much experience as others may, but the girls are very talented.”

Landau said she looked for the Delaware Valley League to be competitive this season. She’s hoping the team’s athleticism and chemistry can combine to form a good follow-up season to another near miss at substate a year ago.

“We have a lot of athletic girls,” Landau said. “They work well together and have good chemistry, which makes a difference. I know we have quite a few new coaches in the league, so I have no idea how it’s gonna go. I know we have some hard workers and they were in the weight room together this summer getting ready. The best thing is that they all know they have a part to play and they do their best to play it. We don’t have anybody expecting to be the star.”

Jefferson West Tigers
Coach: Sara Becker, fourth year
2008 record: 33-6

Becker has the numbers but has some rebuilding work to do as only two starters return from last year’s standout team.

There are 33 girls out for volleyball at West, which is up from 31 a year ago, but 13 are freshman while 20 are in the junior varsity and varsity mix. There are four seniors on this year’s team.

Becker said the varsity squad was a work in progress coming off a season-opening West Invitational that saw the Tigers go 1-4.

“There’s a lot of room for competition this year,” she said.

Seniors on the team include libero Morgan Scott, setter Marissa Goodrich, right hitter BriAnna Ploude and Kaitlin West. The rest of the varsity mix includes junior hitter Jessica Wells, junior setter Monica Sanders, junior middle hitter Danielle Steffey, sophomore Marci Greene, junior defensive specialist Cece Liby and junior left hitter Taryn Brees.

“Up until last Friday (Aug. 28) we were still figuring out who was going to be on varsity,” Becker said. “This is kind of a rebuilding year, so we’ll see how it goes. Next year we should be really good too.”

Becker said she expects ACCHS and Holton to be the class of the Big Seven but thinks her team should be competitive down the stretch as the group progresses.

“Definitely, although we started off slow, we can be competitive down the stretch,” Becker said. “Right now I’d say our strength is our defense, especially on the back row. We’ve got pretty solid defensive players, and they make good reads. We’ve got some big kids, too, but we’re working on coordination.”

Becker said she and the team were disappointed with their showing at the home invitational but she did note some ground to build on.

“This is the ultimate team game,” Becker said. “The main thing is that, as hard as it is to come out 1-4, it didn’t really show how well we played. We were right there with all the teams, so it showed we’re not that far away.”

JCN Chargers
Coach: Jeremy Gish, ninth year
2008 record: 35-10

Gish made his fourth trip to state in eight years as North’s coach with the 2008 squad and hopes a squad trying to rebound from some injuries can keep the good times rolling in the Charger program.

North’s group of 25 players includes six seniors and four returning starters. Key varsity contributors Lisa Weishaar, Amelia Noll and Devin Gigstad were lost to graduation, but senior setter Sara Navinskey is back from a knee injury suffered during last basketball season, and junior middle hitter Jordyne Seichepine returns along with 2008 starters junior Kelsey Deviney and senior hitter Molly Lyon.

The rest of the varsity mix for JCN includes senior libero Sara Peres, who has also suffered a knee injury in the past, junior hitter Katie Noll, senior Beth Anne Brickell, senior back row specialist Krista Weishaar, and sophomore hitter Jordan Kramer. Another senior who played on last year’s squad, Lexie Kiser, suffered a knee injury and is out for the season.

“There are a lot of factors that go into how successful you can be,” Gish said. His team is off to a nice start (through Sept. 3) at 6-1. “We had an opportunity to lose a couple more matches there in our first tournament but the girls pulled them out. I think we’re still trying to find ourselves a little bit.”

Gish agreed that the DVL is anybody’s to win this season.

“It’s hard to get a grasp on the league this season for some reason,” Gish said. “Overall I think the league is stronger than it’s been.”

Gish points to experience as the main strength for the Chargers.

“We have four starters coming back from a team that went to state, so that’s obviously a strength,” he said. “They showed that by not tensing up in a couple close games early on.”

Despite the change in personnel, the goal is again the same at JCN.

“It’s still our goal to get to state and see what we can do, but we’ll see what happens,” Gish said. “So far, we still have a lot of work to do, so it’s hard to judge. The record is a positive at this point but I don’t think we look like a state team right now. If we improve the way I know we can, we’ll definitely have an opportunity.”

McLouth Bulldogs
Coach: Erika Houk, third year
2008 record: 22-15

A former Oskaloosa Bear in Houk has brought in a former JCN Charger in assistant Jessica Seichepine to help try to get the McLouth team to the next level with the most returning experience in the county.

The Bulldogs improved by eight wins in 2008 to post a winning record and return eight girls who started at some point last season on this year’s squad. The Bulldogs have 20 players out with five seniors.

The headliner returnee is 2008 Lawrence Journal-World area player of the year senior hitter Kylie Shufflebarger, but she is joined by returnees senior hitter Cassidy Bristol, senior setter and hitter Courtney Chilcoat, senior hitter Taylor Rush, and senior hitter Alexa DePriest. The rest of the varsity includes junior setter Jeri Holwick, junior libero Logan Terry, junior defensive specialist Katy Perry, junior hitter and back row specialist Jessie Troupe, and sophomore hitter Terri Stewart.

“We should be very strong this year,” Houk said. “This group has played varsity together the last two years, plus some club volleyball, so they work well together.”

The Bulldogs are off to a middling start at 4-3 but Houk is optimistic about the team’s chances in an even DVL.

“We’ve played well, but the girls just need to finish,” Houk said. “The number one thing they need is to learn to have confidence going out to win, rather than to not lose.”

The addition of Seichepine, who was a member of a state team at JCN before going on to play in college, adds more strength in experience to the coaching staff. Houk said the team knows if they can bring it all together, this could be a special year for the Bulldogs.

“They know this is their year to shine,” Houk said. “Confidence will be a huge factor for us. The girls have been working really hard, so I’ve been hapy so far. They’ve taken these early matches and I think we’ve learned from it.”

Valley Falls Dragons
Coach: Seth Cooper, fourth year
2008 record: 22-16

The Dragons also for a second straight year have some strength in numbers with 28 girls out for volleyball, including six seniors.

Despite the good numbers, Cooper has only three returnees that saw major playing time for the Dragons in 2008.

Leading the way are seniors hitter Bethany Myers, setter Brenna Lane, libero Jessica Landman, hitter Bailey Sherretts, hitter Hannah Navinskey, and hitter Courtney Watson. They will be joined in the varsity rotation by junior hitter Abbey Kearney, junior setter Jade Edmonds and junior hitter Kaitlyn Speer.

“We’re still figuring out who goes where,” said Cooper. The Dragons are 2-5 to start the season. “I think our hitting should be a strength along with our defense.”

Cooper said the team already ran into experienced groups that should be among the tops in the DVL this season.

“We’ve still got to work on our serving and passing,” he said. “I’d like to think we can be better than how we started.”

Last year’s 22-win mark was a two-win improvement over 2008 and Cooper said his team just needs to get up to varsity speed, as although the upperclassmen are in place, they weren’t able to get a great deal of varsity experience.

“We played with the good teams at times early on,” he said. “I think this group can be better about getting over mistakes and putting them behind us and move on. Once the girls figure out how fast the game moves at the varsity level, they’ll be better off, but they have to gain some experience and play together to do that. I think we’ll get better as the season goes along.”

Perry-Lecompton Kaws
Coach: Jill Bradney, third year
2008 record: 11-27

Bradney is in her 10th year overall as head coach at Perry-Lecompton, although this three-year stint is 13 years removed from the first seven years of her tenure at PLHS.

The Kaws won double-digit games for the first time in a while in 2008 after three straight seasons with only four victories. This year’s squad has 26 girls out with a group of six seniors.

The Kaw varsity includes seniors Shelby Erickson, Katie Volle, Jessica Christman, Shea Visser, Caitlin Callahan and Amber Smith. Junior Abbey Bays, sophomores Sierra Morgison and Josey Hurd and freshman Jordan Erickson are also in the varsity mix.

The Kaws are 1-1 after defeating Piper and falling to Jefferson West in their first triangular of the season.

Efforts to reach Bradney for comment on the team were unsuccessful.

County high school football preview 2009

2009-09-01T14:01:00.002-05:00

The 2008 county high school football season was a remarkable one as, for the first time in a long time, a county team played for a state title. The 2009 season will see that coach try to regroup while the other coaches try to take their program to the next step.

All six head coaches return for the 2009 season in Jefferson County. Perry-Lecompton was the undisputed best story of the 2008 season as the Kaws finished the regular season 6-3, squeaked into the 4A playoffs and then went on a memorable four-game winning streak before falling to Hayden in the 4A state title game. Despite the 10-4 finishing record, the Kaws didn’t have the county’s best regular-season record in 2008. That honor belonged to Valley Falls at 7-2, but the Dragons fell in the first round of the 2-1A playoffs to finish 7-3. Oskaloosa also made a playoff appearance in 3A but lost in the first round to finish the 2008 season 6-4. Jefferson West had a second straight 4-5 season while Jefferson County North and McLouth finished at 2-7.

Two county teams start the season head-to-head once again as Oskaloosa plays at Valley Falls in week 1. Jefferson West plays host to Abilene to open the season while JCN makes the long bus ride north to Wathena, McLouth travels to Leavenworth to face Immaculata, and Perry-Lecompton enters a home rematch of last year’s 4A state semifinal against Holton. All games begin at 7 p.m.

Pictures and schedules for all the fall sports teams in the county can be found in the annual fall sports preview section in this week’s edition of the Independent and Vindicator.

Following are capsule reviews of each team in order of their finish in 2008.

Perry-Lecompton Kaws
Coach: Mike Paramore, ninth year
2008 record: 10-4

The 2008 season looked like a potential lackluster follow-up to an 8-2 2007 season going into the 4A playoffs but, this time, there would be no bi-district game letdown as the Kaws rolled past DeSoto, Atchison, Louisburg and Holton to reach the state title game in Salina.

Coach Mike Paramore lost a great deal of his offensive production from that team as a group of 17 Kaw seniors graduated in May. The Kaws return only two offensive and three defensive starters but Paramore is approaching the 2009 season as an exciting challenge.

“We want to get to the point the program can be competitive, year in and year out. We put things together at the right time last year,” Paramore said. “Last year’s seniors were good guys and did the right things in the locker room as to ‘This is how it’s done, this is how you work hard.’ We’ve got a great practicing team this season. I’m excited to get started.”

The main returning skill position player for the Kaws is senior Brad Phillips, who was a wideout last season but will see time in the Kaws’ backfield this year. The team of 56 players includes 11 seniors. The job of replacing standout quarterback Shane Gimzo will go to senior Ethan Moe and sophomore Jeremy Immenschuh, who Paramore said were battling it out for the starting job. Phillips will be joined in the offensive backfield by junior fullback Trent Robb, sophomore Luke Kellum and sophomore Branden Ball, who is a transfer from Santa Fe Trail. In the mix at receiver are junior Dalton Bahnmaier, senior Tyler Banton and junior Ty Williams with senior Shelby Polite, junior Cody Amerine and sophomore Jon Denton working at tight end to replace graduated senior Joel Gantz. Sophomore Trevor Hastert will also be in the receiving mix. The offensive line will include senior Logan Hurd, senior Wes Boaz, senior Mason Durkes, junior Tyler Bedford, junior Logan Elliott, senior Gage Bergman, junior Nathan Turpin, junior Austin Naramore and junior Dalton Jantz, who is a transfer from Free State.

Boaz, Bergman, Turpin, Elliott, Jantz and Bedford will be in the defensive line corps with junior Trevor Madorin. Linebackers include Hurd, Durkes, Ball, Denton, Polite, Amerine, Kellum, and junior Chris Callahan. The defensive secondary will include Phillips, Moe, Banton, Bahnmaier, Immenschuh, and senior Brooks Christman with Robb and Hastert at the safety spots. Paramore also has to find a new kicker this season with Neng Artwichai lost to graduation. He said seniors John Mehl and Kameron Hurd will fill that role.

“It makes it hard to find playing time for everybody,” Paramore said of his team’s depth. “I really like the way the kids go about it at practice.”

The Kaws are in their final season as a member of the Kaw Valley League as a move to the Big Seven League is set for the 2010 season. Paramore said he knows, as always, the going will be tough in a league in which Perry-Lecompton is one of the smaller schools.

“It’ll be a tough season,” he said. “There’s nobody you can look at and say is a huge favorite, but nobody is a sure win, either. I don’t see anybody running away with the league this year. It’ll be a battle every game.”

Paramore said consistency will be a key for the Kaws as they try to follow up what was the team’s best season since 1980.

“It’s fun to see the carryover (from last season),” Paramore said. “We depended on Shane so much last year. I really look at us to be a bit more balanced offensively. Last year our defense was up and down, hot and cold, and we just got hot at the right time. We need to get more consistent. I want to prove we’re better than that. Last season was a lot of fun, just to see the team make that progress. But last year was last year, and we can’t live on that. We want to go out and do things the right way. This group of kids wants to put their mark on this program.”

Valley Falls Dragons
Coach: Rod Bunde, 17th year
2008 record: 7-3

Valley Falls was looking to complete a turnaround from a winless 2006 and 4-5 2007 season and made that happen with an athletic squad that won the most regular-season games in the county.

Bunde and the Dragons had the misfortune of running into a good Troy team in the first round of the playoffs, however, and that brought the season to a grinding halt. The good news is the Dragons return the bulk of their skill position players back, including one who has made a position change.

The biggest loss for Valley Falls was the graduation of senior standout running back and kick returner Josh Kearney, but Bunde has made the move to switch senior Mitchell Streeter from quarterback to running back to help fill that role. This year’s starting quarterback will be junior Alex Lederer with Streeter there if needed and sophomore Brock Watson also on the depth chart.

Bunde has good numbers for a 2A program with 44 players, including 11 seniors. He returns eight starters on either side of the ball. Streeter will be joined in the backfield by senior Chance Gier, senior Tyler Wynkop and junior Nick Domann. The receiving corps will include senior Billy Morris and senior Logan Wynkoop along with tight ends senior Riley Bunde and junior Alex Nottingham. Bunde does return some experience on the offensive line with senior Justin Sales, senior Kyle Heuertz, junior Brooks Glassel, junior James Grey and senior Tyler Miller.

Riley Bunde, Glassel and Sales will lead the defensive line cadre with Domann, Nottingham, Lederer and sophomore Bryson Smith in the mix at linebacker. Streeter, the Wynkoop brothers, and Gier will lead the secondary corps.

“We’ve got senior leadership and experience,” Bunde said. “We had some rainy days early on where we had to just run through plays inside and, normally that’d be a bit rough, but this group of guys know the plays and there was no problem.”

Bunde said there are a couple teams that stand out in the Delaware Valley League this season but a lot of the final outcome will be up in the air.

“Until we start playing and figure out who has what, it’s hard to say,” Bunde said.

Bunde said despite the returning experience his team still has room for improvement entering a season that has good potential.

“We’re making progress. I hope we continue to improve each week,” Bunde said. “We’ve still got a lot of room to grow. There’s a lot of excitement coming off last year’s success. All the guys have great attitudes, and that makes a difference.”

Oskaloosa Bears
Coach: Scott Whaley, fourth year
2008 record: 6-4

Whaley turned the need for replacement of his starting quarterback and two running backs into a 1-win improvement from 2007 last season, and this season he’s hoping a couple key returnees can lead the Bears to more success.

The Bears fell to Rossville in the bi-district round of the 3A playoffs a year ago but do return an experienced quarterback and arguably their best tailback for the 2008 season.

Whaley’s team of 28 players includes seven seniors and five returning starters from a year ago. Junior Adam Bowser returns at quarterback with senior Brandon Barnes the key returner in the backfield along with junior Mark Newell. Whaley said junior Levi Wade and senior Mitch Boucher will also be in the group of running backs. Wade will also see some time at receiver along with junior Sheldon Malicke and senior Adam Marshall. Whaley said the line is what suffered the most from losses to graduation as this year’s mix includes junior Jake Buscher, sophomore Austin Trowbridge, sophomore Daniel Rhodes, senior Kodey Martin, and senior Cody Green will step into those spots this season.

The defensive line will include the same mix of players as the offensive line with the addition of junior Doug Obrock. Newell, Buscher, Rhodes and Wade will be at linebacker while Bowser, Barnes and sophomore Chris Garst will be in the defensive secondary.

“We’re pretty inexperienced at a lot of spots, but the only way to fix that is to play some games,” Whaley said. “I will say this, we’ve improved a ton from where we were at the start of practices.”

Whaley pointed to Pleasant Ridge, Valley Falls, Troy and Wathena as the teams to beat in the DVL race with JCN and Jackson Heights on the rise.

The Bears get an early challenge at Valley Falls to open the season. Whaley said what the team has in experience will be needed this season, as taking care of the ball will also be very important.

“We need that experience in the backfield to come through for us,” Whaley said. “We had problems last year in giving the other team a short field because of turnovers. It’s even more important we don’t do that this season. We’re really gonna rely on those guys coming back, and hopefully we’ll find some other guys to give us some good time. The guys are working hard. I’m happy with them and the way they’ve come to play so far.”

Jefferson West Tigers
Coach: Steve Johnson, fourthyear
2008 record: 4-5

Work on developing a solid program with the middle school have paid dividends for Johnson as the numbers in the JWHS football program are better than ever going into the 2009 season.

The Tigers have 60 players out for football including a strong group of 13 seniors. Johnson returns nine defensive and seven offensive starters from a team that had an up-and-down 2008 season in the perennially tough Big Seven.

One position change leads the way as senior Alex Baker moves from wideout to starting quarterback at West. Sophomore Dalton Dean will be his backup. The backfield returns some good experience in junior Ethan Mumaw and senior Stephen Skaggs with junior Grady Tichenor also set to see some time there. Senior Austin Siess is the main returning receiver along with senior Tim Rhodd and junior Clint Lee. Johnson had to do some shuffling on the offensive line with junior Cameron Langston, senior Steven Vaught, senior Hunter Rouse, senior Paul Brink, senior Matt Shenk and junior Jordan Hunt in that group.

Those players will be joined on the defensive line by junior Joe Miller and junior Scott Hutchinson. Linebackers include Skaggs, Mumaw and senior Capp Wood with Siess, Tichenor, Lee, Rhodd and Dean in the secondary.

“We had to fill two spots up front (on offense),” Johnson said. “I think we all feel really good about the decisions we’ve made to get the program to where we’re not having to rely on playing young kids every year. This year we’ve lost some good kids to graduation and got some good kids back. Alex (Baker) is a big, smart kid, and he knows the offense well, so I’m comfortable there. We’ve also got some good kids to develop who can see some spot play on varsity.”

Johnson pointed to perennial frontrunners Holton and Sabetha as teams that stick out in the Big Seven,

“Those two teams you know will always be ready to play,” he said. “Nemaha Valley also is a team we always have problems with, and we get a tough game right off the bat versus Abilene.”

Johnson’s hopes of getting the team over the .500 mark for the first time in his tenure fell just short in 2008 but hopes abound that the Tigers can get on the overall winning side of the ledger for 2009.

“I’d say we have better leadership this year than we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Johnson said. “This is the best it’s been. We still have our ups and downs but everybody is going through that. So far everything has gone pretty well, I’d say we’re farther along at this point than we were last year. Defensively we should be a much stronger team. The core of our line is back. Offensively, we have some different kids in there but they’re kids who can make plays. We want to use our mobility and make people play in the space of the field.”

JCN Chargers
Coach: Mark McMillan, 16th year
2008 record: 2-7

Two straight 2-7 seasons aren’t what Charger fans have been used to over the history of the JCN football program, and McMillan has made some adjustments to try to break that string of records.

Once again the Chargers have 40 players out for football, including a big group of 13 seniors. McMillan points out he only has three juniors, however, so the bulk of the team is underclassmen. The Chargers return 10 lettermen from last year’s squad.

One change is at quarterback as junior Jeff Hale steps in and senior Austin Gaspard, last year’s starter at QB, takes a spot in the backfield along with senior Breck McMillan and senior Cody McMahon. Sophomore Dalton Minor will be the backup quarterback. Wideouts include senior Quentin McAfee and senior tight end Lucas Page among others.

The core of the offensive and defensive lines will be senior Andy Swoyer, senior Tyler Noll and senior Hayden Minor with Swoyer also seeing some time at linebacker along with Gaspard and McMahon. Dalton Minor, McAfee and junior Spencer Wentz will be in the secondary mix as McMillan said he was still making up his mind with a week of practice left who would fill out the depth chart.

“I really think we should be more salty this year,” said McMillan, who was begrudging the absence of the hot early season weather he often uses to get his team in shape. “The last couple years we’ve had some injury problems and things just haven’t worked out. Always in the past we’ve worked extra hard in the heat to really outlast teams those first four games. We haven’t had that heat this year.”

Despite some personnel changes on the field, McMillan said he hopes the Chargers can be in the top shelf of the DVL along with Pleasant Ridge and the other contenders.

“This senior bunch is turning into good leaders for us,” McMillan said. “I think versatility is a strength for us. We’ve always been that ‘Three yards and a cloud of dust’ type offense but this year we’re gonna try and balance the offense out some. Defensively we have a few question marks but we’re going full speed. We start the season young at a couple positions but that happens sometimes.”

McLouth Bulldogs
Coach: Chris Stewart, second year
2008 record: 2-7

Stewart’s first year as head coach after four years as an assistant at McLouth had its share of frustrations but still resulted in a 1-win improvement over the 2007 season, so Stewart is hoping the Bulldogs can make the most of the lowest numbers of players in the county.

There are 25 players out for football at McLouth, including only four seniors and two juniors, but there are five returning starters on either side of the ball. Stewart said two other returning players saw good playing time in 2008 but weren’t starters.

The team’s youth means Stewart faces playing sophomores and freshmen in key spots, including quarterback, where sophomore Calvin Booth and freshman Mark Walbridge are battling it out for the starting spot.

“Quarterback is a question mark but we’re getting close to a decision there,” said Stewart with a week of practices left before opening night. “Playing a sophomore or freshman to start isn’t something a coach likes at all most of the time. Unfortunately we don’t have that level of play from upperclassmen at that position.”

Sophomore Alex Courtney may be the team’s best overall returnee at running back and is joined in the backfield by senior Tyler Drinnon and senior Chris Culter. The receiving mix will also include sophomores Tim Culter and Cody McHenry.

Another group of young players will try to shore up the offensive and defensive lines with sophomore Alen Kramer, junior Shane Cassatt and senior Dacoda Reusch joined by some undetermined other young players. Cassatt will join Courtney at linebacker with sophomore Shawn Dailey leading the secondary.

“We do have a few guys with some experience on the line but that’s probably going to be our youngest area, which is tough,” Stewart said. “Alex (Courtney) worked hard this offseason and I’m very optimistic about how he’s improved over one year. I think Shawn (Dailey) will come along well along with some others.”

Stewart pointed to Pleasant Ridge, Wathena, Troy, Doniphan West and Valley Falls as teams that could and should shine this year in the DVL. He said the focus at McLouth will be improving as the season progresses.

“I want to try to keep improving. Even though we have a lot of younger kids, they’re committed to playing and they enjoy playing,” Stewart said. “They’ve been enthusiastic about coming out and doing the work they need to do. I think our strength will be the effort we put out each week. The guys will give it everything they’ve got. I’ve told them that it does make a difference, putting out an effort like that. I’m confident the kids are gonna do that.”

Substate wrapup 3/10

2009-03-10T16:10:00.002-05:00

Tuesday’s games (March 3)
Girls

4A substate quarterfinals
Jefferson West 44, Royal Valley 40
• The fourth-seed Tigers took a 16-9 lead after one quarter and held on to win and improve to 15-6. They moved on to face top seed Holton in Friday’s semifinals in Perry. Junior BriAnna Ploude led West with 13 points and senior Audrey Mullins scored 11 in the win.

Holton 70, Perry-Lecompton 25
• The eighth-seed Kaws fell to Holton for a second straight year to end the season at 3-17. Junior Katie Volle led Perry-Lecompton with 9 points.

2A substate quarterfinals
Burlingame 46, Valley Falls 44
• The sixth-seed Dragons fell behind, 11-3, after one quarter and couldn’t come back for the win to end the season at 9-13. Sophomore Abbey Kearney led Valley Falls with 16 points, senior Chelsey Correll scored 12 points and senior Shelbie Glissman scored 10 in the loss.

Boys

3A substate quarterfinals
Silver Lake 75, Oskaloosa 58
• The fourth-seed Bears trailed by 11 after a quarter and Lake pulled away in the second half to end Oskaloosa’s season at 11-11. Senior Chase Tenpenny led Oskaloosa with 14 points, senior J.T. Thurston scored 12 points, sophomore Adam Bowser scored 11 points and sophomore Levi Wade scored 10 points in the win.

Marysville 66, JCN 36
• The sixth-seed Chargers were down, 27-11, at the half en route to the loss to end the season at 10-12. Senior Riley Noll, junior Austin Gaspard and senior Brendan Stevens led JCN with 7 points each.

KC Christian 71, McLouth 31
• The Bulldogs’ season ended at 2-19.

Thursday’s games (March 5)
Boys

4A substate semifinals
at Perry
Basehor-Linwood 60, Perry-Lec. 57
• The Kaws’ season ended at 12-10 as Basehor-Linwood took a 7-point lead into the second quarter and made it last. Senior Andy Bowman led the Kaws with 23 points, senior Shane Gimzo scored 13 points and junior Riley Shafer scored 11 points in the losing effort.

2A substate semifinals
at Lyndon
St. Marys 72, Valley Falls 42
• The Dragons trailed by 20 after one quarter and St. Marys pulled further away each quarter to end Valley Falls’ season at 11-12. Junior Mitchell Streeter led the Dragons with 13 points while senior Ray Cook scored 10 in the loss.

Girls
3A substate semifinals
at Marysville
Riley County 46, JCN 43 (2 OT)
• The Chargers trailed by 6 at the half but outscored Riley County, 9-0, in the third quarter to take a 3-point lead. Riley County came back to force overtime and outscored North, 7-4, in the second extra period to end the Chargers’ undefeated run and season at 21-1. Freshman Jordan Kramer was the only Charger in double figures with 10 points.

at Silver Lake
Oskaloosa 57, KC Christian 40
• The Bears rolled past KCC to move on to the substate title game Saturday. Senior Nicole Rockhold led the Bears with 19 points while freshman Haley Pfau scored 17 points and sophomore Hailey Kelly scored 13 points. The Bears improved to 19-3.

Rock Creek 54, McLouth 22
• The Bulldogs trailed, 33-3, at halftime in ending the season at 11-11. Junior Missy Rome led the Bulldogs with 10 points in the loss.

Friday’s game (March 6)
Girls

4A substate semifinals
at Perry
Holton 58, Jefferson West 33
• Holton took a 10-0 lead early and withstood a couple Tiger runs before pulling away in the second half to win and end West’s season at 15-7.

Saturday’s game (March 7)
Girls

3A substate championship
at Silver Lake
Rock Creek 50, Oskaloosa 30
• The Mustangs took an 11-point lead out of the first quarter and slowly pulled away to end Oskaloosa’s season at 19-4. Rockhold scored 17 points in her final high school game to lead the Bears.

State hopes dashed in county

2009-03-10T16:09:00.000-05:00

Substate play, the six-team Mid-East League and Jefferson County competition didn’t mix well this past week as all 12 county girls’ and boys’ basketball teams came home without a state berth.

In all, MEL teams were the demise of five county teams, including the previously undefeated Jefferson County North Charger girls and the Oskaloosa Bear girls, who were the lone team to reach a substate final this season. The Valley Falls boys, Oskaloosa boys, and McLouth girls also fell to MEL teams. Overall, the county was 3-5 against the MEL this postseason, as Oskaloosa and McLouth’s girls and the Valley Falls boys did overcome one MEL team each.

After that, Holton’s teams were the biggest poison to county state tournament hopes as both Jefferson West teams and the Perry-Lecompton girls fell to the Wildcats.

The Oskaloosa girls had the most successful run of any county team as they rolled past Rossville and KC Christian to reach the 3A Silver Lake substate finals Saturday versus the top-seed Rock Creek Mustangs, who took down McLouth by 32 points in the semifinals to end McLouth’s season at 11-11.

Against the Bears, Rock Creek would establish an early lead and use consistent rebounding and good defense to pull away for a 50-30 win. The Mustangs ended up outrebounding Oskaloosa, 26-12, in the win, which counteracted the Mustangs committing only 1 less turnover than the Bears.

The Mustangs took an early 4-1 lead and two scores from senior forward Dana Elliott made it 8-1 and forced an Oskaloosa timeout with 4:33 to play in the opening quarter. Senior Nicole Rockhold finally got the Bears their first field goal of the game with under three minutes left in the quarter but the Mustangs ended the quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 17-6 lead into the second quarter.

Rock Creek extended the lead to 13 in the early part of the second quarter and Rockhold, Oskaloosa’s leading scorer, had to leave the game because of an injury. She returned just more than a minute of game time later with the 13-point Bears deficit still intact. She responded with a 3-point play to cut the lead to 10 at 23-13 and Rock Creek came away with a 27-14 lead at the half.

Elliott started the second half scoring with a 3-point play for Rock Creek but Rockhold responded with a 3-pointer to keep the lead at 13. She picked up her third foul with 6:37 left in the quarter and was pulled to the bench. When she returned with 3:48 left in the quarter, Rock Creek had inched away to a 38-21 lead. The Mustangs scored the last 3 points of the quarter as they began to stall on offense to run off the clock. Elliott finished the quarter by dribbling time off the clock at half court, then driving and hitting a lay-up with 3 seconds left to give the Mustangs a 41-23 lead going into the final period.

Rock Creek kept up the offensive stall in the fourth quarter and Oskaloosa couldn’t take advantage of chances to trim the lead. The Bears couldn’t get closer than 16 points the rest of the way, and Rockhold was pulled for the final time to a standing ovation from Bears’ fans with 54 seconds to play. The Mustang bench finished off the 50-30 victory.

Rockhold led the Bears with 17 points, but no other Bear scored more than 4 as their season ended with a 19-4 record. Freshman Rachel Schmanke was the team’s rebounding leader with 4 rebounds. Two Mustangs were in double figures led by 14 points and 7 rebounds from Elliott. Junior guard Taylor Ebert also scored 14 points in the win. Junior post player Becky Lightfoot pulled down 8 rebounds, all in the first half, for Rock Creek.

Oskaloosa coach LeeAnn Tufte said she was proud of her team’s efforts both this season and in Saturday’s loss.

“Our shots just weren’t going in, and they’re a good team that plays strong defense,” Tufte said. “They slowed down the game and we weren’t able to transition like we’re used to doing. To think about it, we’re losing one senior that was healthy at the end of the year, and we’ve got a lot coming back for us. I’m proud of how we did.”

JCN’s girls entered substate play in Marysville as the undefeated number one seed and coasted past Pleasant Ridge in the first round but ran into Riley County of the MEL in the semifinals, where the Chargers lost a heartbreaker March 5 in double overtime, 46-43.

North trailed by 6 at the half, 18-12, but outscored Riley County, 9-0, in the third quarter to take the lead. Riley County answered to force overtime and, after both teams scored 10 points in the first extra period, Riley County outscored North, 7-4, in the second overtime to end JCN’s season at 21-1. JCN freshman Jordan Kramer led the Chargers with 10 points in the loss while senior Amelia Noll scored 9 and senior Lisa Weishaar scored 8 in their final high school game.

The Perry-Lecompton Kaw boys got the benefit of playing on their home court in substate play but fell to top-seeded Basehor-Linwood, 60-57, in the March 5 semifinals to end the season at 12-10. The Kaws trailed by 7 after a quarter but trimmed the lead to 1 at 46-45 entering the fourth quarter before the Bobcats pulled out the win. Senior Andy Bowman scored 23 points for the Kaws while senior Shane Gimzo scored 13 points and junior Riley Shafer scored 11 in the loss.

Substate update 3/3

2009-03-03T15:16:00.000-06:00

Monday’s games (March 2)
Girls

3A substate quarterfinals

JCN 65, Pleasant Ridge 37
• The top-seed Chargers took an 18-6 lead after a quarter and coasted to the win to improve to 21-0. They were set to play Riley County in Thursday’s semifinals in Marysville. Sophomore Katie Noll led the Chargers with 13 points while senior Amelia Noll and junior Mallory GrandPre scored 12 each, freshman Jordan Kramer scored 11 points and senior Lisa Weishaar scored 10 points.

Oskaloosa 47, Rossville 36
• The second-seed Bears pulled away each quarter to win by 11 and improve to 18-3. They moved on to play KC Christian in the semifinals in Silver Lake Thursday. Senior Nicole Rockhold led the Bears with 21 points and sophomore Hailey Kelly scored 12 in the win.

McLouth 48, Silver Lake 45
• The fourth-seed Bulldogs trailed by 2 at halftime and 1 after three quarters but came back to win and improve to 11-10. They moved on to play the winner of Rock Creek and Mission Valley, who were playing Tuesday. Junior Missy Rome led McLouth with 19 points while junior Kylie Shufflebarger scored 16 points.

Boys

4A substate quarterfinals

Perry-Lecompton 48, Hiawatha 34
• The fourth-seed Kaws led by 5 at halftime and pulled away in the fourth quarter to win and improve to 12-9. They moved on to take on top seed Basehor-Linwood in Thursday’s semifinals in Perry. Senior Shane Gimzo led Perry-Lecompton with 12 points while senior Joel Gantz scored 11 points.

Holton 59, Jefferson West 54
• The sixth-seed Tigers’ season ended at 6-14.

2A substate quarterfinals

Valley Falls 55, Wabaunsee 51
• The Dragons took the lead in the second quarter and held off Wabaunsee in the second half to move to 11-11. They were set to play top seed St. Marys in Thursday’s semifinals in Lyndon. Junior Riley Bunde led the Dragons with 14 points while senior Ray Cook scored 13 points and sophomore Brooks Glassel scored 11.

Hoops update 3/2

2009-03-03T15:14:00.001-06:00

Tuesday’s games (Feb. 24)
Girls

JCN 68, Pleasant Ridge 30
• North led, 37-13, at the half on the way to the win to move to 19-0. Freshman Jordan Kramer led the Chargers with 17 points, senior Amelia Noll scored 16 points, junior Mallory GrandPre scored 12 points and sophomore Katie Noll scored 11 in the win.

Oskaloosa 52, KC Christian 38
• The Bears took a 9-point halftime lead and stretched it out in the second half to move to 16-3. Senior Nicole Rockhold led the Bears with 16 points while freshman Rachel Schmanke scored 10 in the win.

Jefferson West 44, MHMA 25
• The Tigers ended the regular season at 14-6 with the win over Maur Hill Mount Academy.

Doniphan West 38, Valley Falls 33
• Valley Falls fell to 9-11 with the loss.

McLouth 61, Jackson Heights 36
• The Bulldogs outscored the Cobras in each quarter to roll to the win and move to 9-10. Junior Missy Rome led McLouth with 28 points while junior Cassidy Bristol scored 10.

Basehor-Linwood 36, Perry-Lec. 27
• The Kaws trailed by 5 at the half and couldn’t overcome the deficit to fall to 3-15. Junior Katie Volle led the Kaws with 12 points.

Boys

Basehor-Linwood 62, Perry-Lec. 37
• The Kaws were outscored, 34-18, in the second half as Basehor-Linwood dropped them to 10-9. Senior Andy Bowman led the Kaws with 9 points.

Oskaloosa 55, KC Christian 50
• A 12-4 advantage in the third quarter was the difference for Oskaloosa in the win as the Bears improved to 11-9. Senior J.T. Thurston scored 21 points and senior Chase Tenpenny scored 14 in the win.

Pleasant Ridge 53, JCN 44
• North led after the first quarter but Ridge pulled away in the fourth quarter to drop the Chargers to 10-10. Senior Riley Noll led North with 15 points while sophomore Jeff Hale scored 14 points.

Valley Falls 68, Doniphan West 55
• The Dragons pulled away a little each quarter in improving to 9-11. Four Dragons were in double figures led by junior Riley Bunde with 18 points. Senior Ray Cook scored 14 points, sophomore Alex Nottingham scored 11 and senior Jake Massey scored 10.

Jefferson West 72, MHMA 62 (OT)
• West took a tight game from Maur Hill by outscoring the Junior Ravens, 19-9, in the extra period to end the regular season at 6-13. Senior Willie Barnett led the Tigers with 28 points while junior Alex Baker scored 14 points and senior Jared Frye scored 13 points in the win.

Jackson Hts. 53, McLouth 48
• McLouth trailed by 1 at the half and was unable to overcome the Cobras in falling to 2-17. Senior Derrick Crouse scored 19 points and junior Cole Batman scored 18 points in the loss for the Bulldogs.

Friday’s games (Feb. 27)
Boys

Perry-Lec. 35, Santa Fe Trail 31
• The Kaws led by 8 entering the fourth quarter and held on to win and end the regular season at 11-9. Bowman scored 14 to lead the Kaws.

Horton 56, Oskaloosa 50
• The Bears trailed by only 1 entering the fourth quarter but couldn’t pull out the win to end the regular season at 11-10. Thurston scored 16 points and Tenpenny scored 14 in the loss.

Valley Falls 50, JCN 39
• The teams combined for 46 fouls as the Dragons took the lead at the half and held on to win as both teams ended the regular season at 10-11. Cook led the Dragons with 13 points while Bunde added 10. Riley Noll led JCN with 20 points.

Don. West def. McLouth, score n/a
• McLouth finished the regular season at 2-18.

Girls

JCN 52, Valley Falls 37
• North held off the Dragons in the second half to finish off a perfect regular season at 20-0. Valley Falls finished the regular season at 9-12. GrandPre led North with 22 points while Kramer scored 12 in the win. Senior Chelsey Correll led the Dragons with 11 points while sophomore Abbey Kearney scored 10 in the loss.

Oskaloosa 56, Horton 49
• The Bears took a 5-point lead after a quarter and made it stand to finish the regular season at 17-3. Rockhold led the Bears with 25 points, sophomore Hailey Kelly scored 12 points and freshman Haley Pfau scored 11 in the win.

Jefferson West 50, Nemaha Valley 38
• West led by 12 after one quarter and made it stick to improve to 12-6. Ploude scored 12 points and seniors Audrey Mullins and Hayley Hypse scored 10 each in the win for West.

McLouth 49, Doniphan West 42
• The Bulldogs outscored West, 31-26, in the second half to finish the regular season at 10-10. Rome led the Bulldogs with 15 points while freshman Morgan Drinnon scored 13 points and junior Kylie Shufflebarger added 10.

Santa Fe Trail 46, Perry-Lec. 44
• The Kaws had an 8-point halftime lead but were outscored, 29-19, in the second half to finish the regular season 3-16. Volle led the Kaws with 18 points.

JCN girls finish undefeated regular season

2009-03-03T15:12:00.001-06:00

In one fell swoop, the Jefferson County North Chargers girls’ varsity basketball team achieved two goals Friday with a 52-37 win over Valley Falls – a Delaware Valley League title and an undefeated regular season.

One, the league title, was a goal of the team all season long. The other, an undefeated regular season, just became a goal as the wins kept piling up for the Chargers and coach Steve Noll. Noll had continued to talk throughout the season about taking it game by game, but he admitted as the season wound down and the team still had a 0 in the loss column, the thought of going undefeated began to gain importance.

“(Going undefeated) kinda became the focus for us the last couple days,” Noll said. “More importantly, we wanted to win the league outright. Our goals this year were to win the league tournament, win our own tournament, win the league regular season title, and another goal we have in front of us this week. We’ve done the first three.”

Noll came into Valley Falls expecting a tough game from the Dragons after getting just that from Valley Falls in their first meeting in the JCN Tournament championship game. North looked like this game would be easier for them in the first quarter but the Dragons would fight back to make the going not so easy.

A 13-2 North run keyed the first quarter as Valley Falls struggled to score and keep from turning the ball over on North’s pressure defense. The Dragons ended up with 10 turnovers in the first quarter alone as North used 3-pointers from freshmen Jordan Kramer and Kate Brickell and 6 points from junior forward Mallory GrandPre to build a 15-4 lead entering the second quarter.

The trend would continue but with more offense from the Dragons as they would commit 8 turnovers in the second quarter but also score 8 points. North held a 19-6 lead midway through the quarter and the advantage reached 15 points before the Dragons trimmed it to 26-12 by halftime.

The Dragons pulled back within striking distance in the third quarter thanks in part to the shooting of senior guard Shelbie Glissman as a jumper from the senior cut the lead to 11 at 27-16. Three possessions later, Glissman hit a 3-pointer to keep the Charger lead at 11 with 2:32 left in the quarter. She hit another 3 with 38 seconds left to cut the lead to 9 at 33-24, which held as JCN’s lead entering the fourth quarter.

The Chargers would put the game away in the fourth quarter thanks mostly to a 13-4 run. Kramer hit a baseline jumper then scored off one of her 8 steals to make it 37-24 North. Senior Amelia Noll scored and was fouled with 5:20 left to make the lead 15 and, after Noll missed the ensuing free throw, GrandPre came through with an offensive rebound and short jumper to give North their largest lead at 17 points. GrandPre would follow with a 3-point play on the Chargers’ next possession to make it 46-28 with 4:39 to play. The Dragons ran off 7 unanswered points to cut the lead to 11 and force a Charger timeout, but it would be too little, too late for Valley Falls. The Chargers were 6-of-7 from the free throw line from then on to salt away the 52-37 win.

GrandPre and Kramer were the offensive standouts for North as GrandPre finished with 22 points and 8 rebounds while Kramer scored 12 points with 8 steals. The Chargers finished the regular season 20-0.

The Dragons were led by 11 points and 6 rebounds from senior post player Chelsey Correll and 10 points and 5 rebounds from sophomore guard Abbey Kearney. The Dragons finished the regular season at 9-12.

Noll said his team will need to be better offensively if North wants to make it through a tough 3A substate field this week in Marysville.

“We played well coming off that third quarter,” Noll said. The Chargers are the top seed at Marysville but haven’t played three of the teams in the field, including third seeded Sabetha and fourth seeded Riley County. “We’ve got to attack better on offense and hit free throws better. We weren’t hitting them very well that first half. We had a good finish to the game, I thought. It was a whole team effort, again, which you like to see as a coach. We got concerned when Glissman started hitting those threes, but luckily they cooled off a bit. We’re hoping everything goes well this week for us.”

The North girls are the only county team in the Marysville substate as fellow 3A teams Oskaloosa and McLouth are in the Silver Lake substate. North defeated Pleasant Ridge in Monday’s opening round in Winchester.

Valley Falls’ girls are the sixth-seed in the 2A Lyndon regional and were set to take on third-seeded Burlingame in the quarterfinals Tuesday.

Valley Falls boys 50, JCN 39

The boys’ game was filled with fouls as the Dragons took command in the second quarter and held on to defeat their county rivals.

That looked to be anything but the case starting out as North ran to a 6-0 lead broken only when Valley Falls senior Ray Cook finally got the Dragons on the board with a 3-pointer with 2:37 to play in the opening quarter. North ended up taking a 9-5 lead into the second quarter.

The Dragons got back in the game in the second quarter as they tied the game at 9 with 5:05 left in the half and took their first lead of the game on their next possession. They would outscore North, 13-2, in the quarter to take an 18-11 halftime lead.

From there, it was a matter of the Dragons keeping pace as their lead reached 12 midway through the quarter. A 3-pointer by North senior Riley Noll cut the lead to 9 but the Dragons would take a 29-19 lead into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter saw a foul called seemingly each possession. The teams would combine for 46 fouls in the game. The Dragons upped the lead to 14 points on a 3-point play by Cook with 6:45 to play and North would be able to get no closer than 8 points the rest of the way in a fourth quarter that saw 41 points scored. Free throws helped the Dragons pull out a 50-39 win.

Cook led the Dragons with 13 points and junior Riley Bunde scored 10 points in the win as Valley Falls finished the regular season at 10-11. North was led by a game-high 20 points from Riley Noll as the Chargers also finished 10-11.

Valley Falls coach Caleb Gatzemeyer acknowledged the game wasn’t pretty but his team would take the win.

“A win’s a win,” Gatzemeyer said. “We’ve gotta do better at knocking down our free throws. It comes down to concentration and a little lack of focus. Inside defensively we’re pretty rock solid, so if we can knock down our shots that’s a big difference for us. We’re getting down to the time of the season where there’s no tomorrow. We’ve got a tough team coming in here, so I’m glad we have some home court advantage. We need to come in fired up and ready to play.”

The Dragons, who are the fourth seed on the boys’ side in Lyndon, defeated Wabaunsee in Monday night’s opening round. JCN’s boys are the sixth seed in boys’ play at Marysville and were set to travel to play Marysville in the opening round Tuesday.

Hoops update 2/23

2009-02-24T15:14:00.001-06:00

Tuesday’s games (Feb. 17)
Girls

JCN 71, Wathena 12
• North rolled to a 46-11 halftime lead on the way to the win to move to 17-0. Senior Amelia Noll led the way for North with 15 points, sophomore Katie Noll scored 14 points, freshman Jordan Kramer scored 11 points and junior Mallory GrandPre scored 10 points.

Oskaloosa 64, Valley Falls 45
• Oskaloosa used a 20-8 edge in the second quarter to take a 36-21 halftime lead and held on to win and improve to 14-3. Valley Falls fell to 9-8. Senior Nicole Rockhold led the Bears with 32 points and moved to 1,016 points in her high school career. Sophomore Hailey Kelly had 12 points while freshman Haley Pfau scored 11 in the win. Valley Falls was led by 8 points from sophomore Abbey Kearney.

Jefferson West 55, Royal Valley 47
• The Tigers trailed by 3 at the half but came back to outscore the Panthers, 32-21, in the second half and improve to 11-6. Junior BriAnna Ploude scored 20 points and junior Taylor Jaimes scored 14 points in the win.

Horton 45, McLouth 38
• McLouth trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter and couldn’t come back in dropping to 8-9. Junior Missy Rome led the Bulldogs with 18 points in the loss.

Perry-Lecompton 54, Turner 28
• The Kaws rolled past Turner to improve to 3-13. Sophomore Abbey Bays scored 12 points and freshman Natasha Carver scored 10 points in the win.

Boys

Perry-Lecompton 55, Turner 44
• The Kaws took command in the second half to win by 11 and improve to 10-7. Senior Shane Gimzo led the Kaws with 20 points while senior Andy Bowman scored 14 points and junior Brad Phillips scored 10 in the win.

Valley Falls 50, Oskaloosa 45
• The Dragons led by 10 after one quarter but had to outscore the Bears, 20-11, in the fourth quarter to pull out the win and move to 8-10. The Bears dropped to 9-9. Junior Riley Bunde led the Dragons with 18 points while senior Chase Tenpenny led Oskaloosa with 15 points and senior Adam Paavola added 13 points in the loss.

Wathena 42, JCN 39
• North led by 10 at halftime but Wathena surged back to win and drop the Chargers to 9-9. Sophomore Jeff Hale scored 20 points and senior Riley Noll scored 11 in the loss for North.

Jefferson West 64, Royal Valley 46
• West led by 11 at the half en route to the win to improve to 5-12. Senior Willie Barnett led West with 20 points while senior Cole Buckman scored 12 in the win.

Horton 47, McLouth 35
• McLouth lost the game in the final period as Horton outscored the Bulldogs, 19-7, in that quarter to drop McLouth to 2-15. Senior Derrick Crouse scored 15 points and junior Cole Batman scored 13 points for McLouth.

Friday’s games (Feb. 20)
Boys

Piper 55, Perry-Lecompton 50 (OT)
• The Kaws led by 8 entering the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold the lead and then lost in overtime to fall to 10-8. Phillips scored 15 points, senior Joel Gantz scored 13 points and Gimzo scored 10 in the loss for the Kaws.

Oskaloosa 53, McLouth 21
• The Bears led by 8 after one quarter and didn’t look back in improving to 10-9. McLouth fell to 2-16. Tenpenny led the Bears with 14 points while Batman led McLouth with 7 points.

JCN 42, Immaculata 27
• A 16-7 second quarter opened a 10-point halftime lead for North en route to the win to improve to 10-9. Junior Nick Clark led North with 15 points while Riley Noll scored 11 in the win.

Jackson Heights 64, Valley Falls 55
• The Dragons trailed by 2 at halftime and Heights pulled away in the fourth quarter to drop Valley Falls to 8-11. Senior Ray Cook scored 13 points while Bunde scored 10 in the losing effort.

Nemaha Valley 68, Jefferson West 39
• West trailed by 8 after one quarter on the way to dropping to 5-13 with the loss. Barnett and junior Alex Baker scored 9 points each in the loss.

Girls

JCN 45, Immaculata 31
• North led by 16 at the half en route to the win to improve to 18-0. Freshman Jordan Kramer scored 18 points in the win for North.

Oskaloosa 52, McLouth 43
• The Bears had a 25-9 lead at one point in the second quarter and held off the Bulldogs to improve to 15-3. McLouth fell to 8-10. Rockhold scored 25 points and Pfau scored 17 in the win for Oskaloosa. McLouth was led by 19 points from Rome and 11 points from junior Cassidy Bristol.

Jefferson West 50, Nemaha Valley 38
• West led by 12 after one quarter and made it stick to improve to 12-6. Ploude scored 12 points and seniors Audrey Mullins and Hayley Hypse scored 10 each in the win for West.

Jackson Hts. 62, Valley Falls 58 (OT)
• The Dragons led by 2 entering the fourth quarter but the Cobras forced overtime before pulling out the win to drop the Dragons to 9-9. Kearney scored 27 points and senior Chelsy Lassiter scored 11 for the Dragons.

Piper 66, Perry-Lecompton 33
• The Kaws trailed by 14 at the half on the way to falling to 3-14. Junior Katie Volle led the Kaws with 9 points.

Bears varsities sweep 'Dogs

2009-02-24T15:12:00.001-06:00

A strong first quarter with an early second-quarter run piled on added up to enough elbow room for the Oskaloosa varsity girls’ basketball team in a 52-43 win over county rival McLouth Friday in McLouth.

The Bears built a 16-point lead early in the second quarter but saw the Bulldogs hang in to cut the deficit back to single digits several times, but the home Bulldogs couldn’t get all the way back in the game.

The teams were struggling at 4-3 Oskaloosa with about 3 minutes left in the opening quarter when Oskaloosa freshman Haley Pfau hit 3-pointers on consecutive Bears possessions to make it 10-3 Oskaloosa. The 7-point lead held at 14-7 as the game went into the second quarter.

Oskaloosa took off as the second quarter began as Pfau hit a baseline jumper on the Bears’ first possession and sophomore guard Hailey Kelly turned a steal into a short jumper from senior Nicole Rockhold to make it 18-7 Oskaloosa. The run would end up at 11-2 as another Pfau 3-pointer and a Rockhold short jumper made the score 25-9 midway through the quarter. McLouth went on a 7-point run, however, punctuated by a 3-point play from junior post player Cassidy Bristol to cut the lead to 25-16 with 2:13 left in the half. Bristol converted another 3-point play with 34 seconds left and Oskaloosa’s lead was cut to 29-21 at the half.

The trend of Oskaloosa stretching out the lead only to see McLouth trim it back down continued in the second half. The Bears scored the first 7 points of the second half to extend the lead back to 36-21 but the Bulldogs made a late surge to cut the lead to 38-31 on a Bristol short jumper with 33 seconds left. Pfau hit a jumper at the buzzer to make the score 40-31 Bears entering the fourth quarter.

Turnovers were the thorn in McLouth’s side throughout the game as they committed 18 compared to only 11 for Oskaloosa. Rockhold scored on consecutive steals by herself and Kelly in the early going of the fourth quarter to make the score 46-34 Oskaloosa. McLouth had chances to trim the lead back under 9 points but couldn’t do so until junior guard Missy Rome hit a 3-pointer with about 90 seconds left to cut the lead to 48-40. Oskaloosa held on, however, and only a Rome 3-pointer with 22 seconds left kept the final deficit at single digits at 52-43 Bears.

Rockhold led the Bears to victory on her 18th birthday with 25 points and 4 steals. Pfau added 17 points and 5 rebounds while sophomore Kristin Brey pulled down 6 rebounds. Kelly had 5 steals. The Bears improved to 15-3 with the win.

McLouth was led by 19 points and 9 rebounds from Rome while junior post player Kylie Shufflebarger pulled down 9 rebounds. Bristol added 11 points and 5 rebounds in the loss. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Bears, 30-24. McLouth fell to 8-10 with the loss.

Oskaloosa head coach LeeAnn Tufte said she credited McLouth for staying in the game as her team just couldn’t keep them put away.

“That’s a good ball club,” Tufte said. “Their record doesn’t show it. A lot of times you get a team down early like that and they kind of fold, but they stayed right there and kept competing. I think we had a few too many missed opportunities tonight. I think we were just stronger throughout the game. Our transition game was also big tonight. We’re getting our posts healthy, so I’m glad to see that. I’m pleased with the win and how we did.”

Oskaloosa boys 53, McLouth 21

The Bulldog boys got down early and a big Bears run in the third quarter all but put the game out of reach.

Oskaloosa jumped out to an 8-2 lead thanks to 3-pointers by sophomore Adam Bowser and senior J.T. Thurston and McLouth struggled to score as the Bears took a 12-4 lead into the second quarter.

McLouth cut the lead down to 4 to start the second quarter but the Bears ended the quarter on an 11-4 run as junior Brandon Barnes hit a 3-pointer. McLouth junior Cole Batman was fouled as time expired and hit one of two free throws to make the halftime score 27-14 Bears.

Oskaloosa scored the first 13 points of the second half and the rout was on. After Oskaloosa senior post player Chase Tenpenny scored on a steal and lay-in with 5:32 left, McLouth coach Jason Schroeder called a timeout to put in his bench because of his team’s play. Oskaloosa built the lead to 40-14 before McLouth finally got back on the board on a jumper by senior Jarrod Bechard with 2:10 left in the quarter. The Bears held a 43-19 lead entering the fourth quarter.

The offensive struggles continued for McLouth in the final period as the Bears held the Bulldogs to 2 points and finished off a 53-21 win.

Tenpenny led the Bears with 14 points as they improved to 10-9. Thurston and sophomore Levi Wade scored 9 points each.

McLouth was led by 7 points from Batman as the Bulldogs dropped to 2-16 on the season.

Hoops update 2/16

2009-02-19T15:10:00.001-06:00

Tuesday’s games (Feb. 10)
Girls
JCN 57, Doniphan West 46
• North held an 8-point halftime lead and pulled away in the fourth quarter to improve to 15-0. Freshman Jordan Kramer scored 14 points, junior Mallory GrandPre scored 12 and senior Amelia Noll scored 11 in the win.

Oskaloosa 64, Immaculata 45
• Oskaloosa ran to a 17-5 lead after a quarter en route to the easy win to improve to 12-3. Sophomore Hailey Kelly paced the Bears with 24 points while senior Nicole Rockhold scored 16 points.

Holton 77, Jefferson West 30
• The Tigers trailed, 50-10, at the half in falling to 9-6 as Holton stayed undefeated on the season. Senior Katie Bigham scored 13 points and senior Audrey Mullins scored 10 in the loss.

KC Christian 51, Valley Falls 35
• The Dragons were outscored, 30-14, in the second and third quarters in falling to 9-6. Sophomore Abbey Kearney led the Dragons with 12 points in the loss.

McLouth 38, Troy 25
• McLouth used a 15-0 second quarter to take a 20-2 halftime lead and improved to 8-7. Junior Missy Rome outscored Troy with 29 points.

Silver Lake 28, Perry-Lecompton 21
• The Kaws led by 1 at halftime but staggered in the second half to fall to 2-12. Junior Katie Volle and senior Megan Elder led Perry-Lecompton with 6 points each.

Boys
Silver Lake 63, Perry-Lecompton 59
• The Kaws led by 5 at the half and had a 15-point lead entering the fourth quarter before Lake stormed back with a 28-9 fourth quarter for the win. The Kaws fell to 9-6. Senior Joel Gantz scored 12 points and senior Andy Bowman added 11 in the loss for the Kaws.

Oskaloosa 57, Immaculata 46
• The Bears pulled away in the fourth quarter to improve to 9-7. Senior Chase Tenpenny scored 14 points, sophomore Adam Bowser scored 11 points and senior Adam Paavola scored 10 points in the win.

KC Christian 60, Valley Falls 53
• The Dragons trailed by 11 at halftime and a second-half comeback wasn’t in the cards as Valley Falls dropped to 7-9. Sophomore Brooks Glassel led the Dragons with 15 points.

JCN 41, Doniphan West 38
• North led by 6 after a quarter and held on to improve to 8-8. Junior Nick Clark scored 14 points, and senior Riley Noll and sophomore Jeff Hale scored 11 each in the win.

Holton 63, Jefferson West 42
• West led by 2 after a quarter but was outscored, 49-26, thereafter to fall to 4-11. Sophomore Dillon Roy led West with 10 points.

McLouth 46, Troy 41
• McLouth won the game by outscoring Troy, 26-21, in the second half to improve to 2-13. Junior Cole Batman scored 22 points to lead McLouth to the win.

Friday’s games (Feb. 13)
Boys
Mill Valley 54, Perry-Lecompton 43
• The Kaws led by 4 points into the fourth quarter but were outscored, 24-9, in the final period to drop to 9-7. Bowman scored 17 points in the loss.

Pleasant Ridge 66, Oskaloosa 49
• The Bears trailed by 11 at the half en route to the loss to fall to 9-8. Sophomore Levi Wade scored 13 to lead the Bears.

JCN 52, Troy 40
• North outscored Troy, 20-7, in the third quarter to take command and held on to win to move to 9-8. Riley Noll scored 18 points and Hale added 14 in the victory.

Horton 59, Valley Falls 43
• The Dragons fell to 7-10.

Hiawatha 68, Jefferson West 53
• West fell to 4-12.

KC Christian def. McLouth, score n/a
• The Bulldogs fell to 2-14.

Girls
JCN 43, Troy 29
• North pulled away a little each quarter in improving to 16-0. GrandPre scored 14 points and Amelia Noll scored 10 in the win.

Oskaloosa 71, Pleasant Ridge 35
• The Bears outscored Ridge, 50-14, in the second and third quarters en route to improving to 13-3. Rockhold poured in 33 points while freshman Haley Pfau scored 20 in the win.

Jefferson West 53, Hiawatha 38
• West improved to 10-6.

Horton 42, Valley Falls 29
• The Dragons led by 2 after one quarter but trailed by 8 at the half and didn’t put together a second half comeback in falling to 9-7. Senior Chelsy Lassiter scored 10 points in the loss for Valley Falls.

Mill Valley 57, Perry-Lecompton 40
• The Kaws trailed by 12 at the half on the way to the loss to fall to 2-13. Volle scored 11 points and Elder and freshman Natasha Carver scored 10 each in the loss.

Hoops update

2009-02-10T16:18:00.000-06:00

Tuesday’s games (Feb. 3)
Boys

Lansing 41, Perry-Lecompton 32
• The Kaws fell to 8-5 with the loss despite leading by 2 entering the fourth quarter. Senior Shane Gimzo led the Kaws with 13 points.

JCN 48, Oskaloosa 45 (2 OT)
• The Chargers finally beat the Bears on their third try of the season in a see-saw game. North led by 1 at half but Oskaloosa led by 1 entering the fourth quarter. The Bears missed a would-be game-winning lay-up in regulation and then forced a second overtime before North pulled out the win to improve to 7-7. Oskaloosa fell to 7-7. Senior Riley Noll scored 13 points while sophomore Jeff Hale scored 10 in the win for North. Oskaloosa was led by 14 points from junior Brandon Barnes and 12 points from senior Chase Tenpenny.

Troy 45, Valley Falls 34
• The Dragons led by 2 at halftime but were outscored, 16-5, in the fourth quarter to drop to 6-8. Sophomore Alex Nottingham led the Dragons with 9 points.

MHMA 57, Jefferson West 51
• West led Maur Hill Mount Academy by 2 at halftime but couldn’t keep up in the second half to drop to 3-10. Senior Willie Barnett scored 19 points and sophomore Dillon Roy scored 12 in the loss.
Pleasant Ridge 67, McLouth 41
• Ridge rolled to a 21-7 lead after one quarter and pulled away in the final period to drop McLouth to 1-12. Senior Derrick Crouse scored 17 points and junior Cole Batman scored 10 in the loss.

Girls
JCN 37, Oskaloosa 28
• North made it 2-0 versus Oskaloosa and 12-0 overall this season as the Chargers trailed by 1 after one quarter but outscored Oskaloosa by 10 from there. The Bears fell to 10-3. Freshman Jordan Kramer and junior Mallory GrandPre led North with 9 points each while Oskaloosa was led by 10 points from freshman Haley Pfau.

Jeff. West 37, MHMA 28
• The Tigers used a 13-2 second quarter to get the needed elbow room to improve to 8-5. Senior Audrey Mullins scored 15 points and junior BriAnna Ploude scored 10 in the win for West.

Valley Falls 39, Troy 32
• The Dragons trailed by 2 at the half but used a 14-4 fourth quarter to pull away for the win and improve to 8-5. Sophomore Abbey Kearney scored 10 for Valley Falls in the win.

McLouth 60, Pleasant Ridge 36
• McLouth led by 19 at halftime en route to the win to improve to 7-6. Freshman Terri Stewart and junior Missy Rome scored 13 points each while freshman Morgan Drinnon scored 11 and junior Kylie Shufflebarger scored 10 for McLouth in the win.

Friday’s games (Feb. 6)
Boys
Perry-Lecompton 49, Tonganoxie 45
• The Kaws came back from a 6-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to win and improve to 9-5. Gimzo scored 19 points while senior Joel Gantz scored 13 in the win.

Oskaloosa 57, Wathena 48
• The Bears improved to 8-7 with the win.

Valley Falls 69, McLouth 46
• The Dragons held a 16-point halftime lead and pulled away in the second half to improve to 7-8. McLouth fell to 1-13. Senior Ray Cook led the Dragons with 14 points while sophomore Brooks Glassel scored 12, senior Jake Massey scored 11 and junior Mitchell Streeter scored 10. McLouth was led by 11 points from Batman and freshman Alen Kramer.

Jackson Heights 60, JCN 55
• North led by 4 at the half but was outscored by 9 in the second half to drop to 7-8. Riley Noll scored 18 points and Hale also scored 18 in the loss for North.

Jefferson West 64, ACCHS 62
• West led by 1 at the half and held on to pick up the narrow win to improve to 4-10. Barnett scored 17 points, junior Alex Baker scored 16 points and Roy scored 12 in the win.

Girls
JCN 52, Jackson Heights 38
• North coasted to the win in the second half to improve to 13-0. Kramer scored 19 points, GrandPre scored 18 points and senior Amelia Noll scored 11 in the win for North.

Oskaloosa 55, Wathena 16
• The Bears rolled to a 27-6 lead after one quarter and didn’t look back in moving to 11-3. Senior Nicole Rockhold scored 21 points, Pfau scored 14 and sophomore Hailey Kelly scored 11 in the win for the Bears.

Jefferson West 48, ACCHS 29
• West racked up a 28-9 halftime lead on the way to moving to 9-5. Mullins scored 16 points and senior Hayley Hypse scored 11 in the win.

Valley Falls 45, McLouth 41
• The Dragons led by 1 at the half and made the lead stand to improve to 9-5. McLouth fell to 7-7. Kearney led Valley Falls with 21 points. McLouth was led by 16 points from Rome, 12 points from Shufflebarger and 11 points from Drinnon.

Tonganoxie 46, Perry-Lecompton 36
• The Kaws went on a scoring drought in the fourth quarter as they fell to 2-11. Senior Megan Elder led the Kaws with 13 points.

Monday’s game (Feb. 9)
Girls
JCN 66, Maranatha 36
• The Chargers improved to 14-0. GrandPre scored 22 points, Kramer scored 19 and Amelia Noll scored 10 in the win.

Kaw boys come back for win, Kaw girls fade

2009-02-10T16:16:00.002-06:00

A poor offensive third quarter had the Perry-Lecompton Kaws boys’ varsity basketball team against the proverbial ropes at home Friday against Tonganoxie, but some strong team defense and clutch offense from senior guard Shane Gimzo turned the tables for a 49-45 Kaw victory.

Both teams had their small advantages in the game. Perry-Lecompton outrebounded the visiting Chieftains, 22-17, but also committed 11 turnovers compared to 9 for Tonganoxie.

Neither team had much of a lead on the other throughout the first half. Tonganoxie grabbed a 3-point lead in the opening quarter only to see Perry-Lecompton come back and take the lead. Tonganoxie junior Brandon Yoder banked in a 3-pointer to make it 12-8 Chieftains but two Gimzo scores tied the game. Gimzo scored 4 more points before the quarter was finished to give the Kaws a 16-14 lead entering the second quarter.

The Kaws’ lead reached 6 early in the second quarter on an offensive rebound and putback by senior post player Joel Gantz but Tonganoxie sophomore Jeremy Carlisle drilled a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 3 at 20-17. The lead remained in Kaw hands for much of the remainder of the quarter before Yoder scored 4 late points, including a fadeaway jumper with 24 seconds left, to make the halftime score 25-25.

Tonganoxie grabbed the momentum coming out of the locker room as the Kaws couldn’t get the ball in the basket. A 3-pointer by Tonganoxie senior guard Jace Waters made it 30-25 with 5:50 to play in the quarter and a Yoder 3-pointer with 2:43 left gave the Chieftains a 33-27 lead. The 6-point lead would hold at 35-29 Tonganoxie entering the fourth quarter.

The Chieftains’ hold on the lead strengthened on a lay-in by senior post player Austin Smith to start the fourth quarter but the Kaws got a lay-in from senior post player Andy Bowman and two free throws from junior forward Brad Phillips cut the lead back to 4, and following a traveling call on Smith, Gimzo scored on a short jumper to cut the lead to 37-35 Tonganoxie. The Chieftains would commit another turnover and, again, Gimzo would answer with a running jumper to tie the game with 5:37 to play.

Tonganoxie regained a 4-point lead on scores by Smith and junior Keaton Schaffer and the Kaws’ twin towers, Gantz and Bowman, would pick up their fourth fouls within 49 seconds of each other as the quarter neared the three-minute mark. Two Gantz free throws cut the Chieftains’ lead to 1 at 42-41 and, after an offensive foul call on Carlisle, Phillips hit a jumper with 2:14 left to give the Kaws their first lead of the second half. Smith missed two free throws as Bowman fouled out with 1:16 to play but would hit two free throws with 50 seconds left to tie the game at 44.

Gimzo came through with a lay-in with 35 seconds left and, at the other end, Gantz would come up with a tough rebound and call a timeout from the floor with 24 seconds left. Coming out of the timeout, Gimzo would hit one of two free throws with 22 seconds left to make the score 47-44 Kaws. The Chieftains would have a chance as Gimzo was whistled for a foul on a 3-point shot by Schaffer, but the Tonganoxie forward would hit only one of the three free throws with 13 seconds left to keep the deficit at 2. The Kaws caught the Chieftains off guard as Gantz threw a long inbounds pass to Phillips for a short jumper with 10 seconds left, and Tonganoxie couldn’t get the needed two possessions as the Kaws escaped with a 49-45 victory.

Gimzo led the way for the Kaws with 19 points while Gantz added 13 points and 8 rebounds. Only four Kaws, with Bowman and Phillips added in, scored in the win. Tonganoxie was led by 14 points from Yoder and 11 points and 9 rebounds from Smith.

Kaws coach Jeff Dickson said his team knew what to expect after taking a double-digit loss in Tonganoxie earlier in the season.

“They really took it to us the last time – they beat us by 15 at their place – so this is a good win for us,” Dickson said. “It had a lot of bearing both in the league and in our substate, because they’re in there with us. (In the fourth quarter) that was about Shane Gimzo taking the game over. He was just not gonna let us lose. We need to improve defensively – we play too much defense with our hands and not our feet, and that makes a difference. Our big guys need to learn they’re not in the NBA and you can’t try to block every shot. You have to play smart defense. Offensively we need to do a better job of knocking down our free throws and taking advantage of our opportunities inside. That’s gonna make a big difference in substate.”

The Kaws improved to 9-5 with the win.

Tonganoxie girls 46, Kaws 36

The Kaw girls stayed right with Tonganoxie for the first three quarters but an offensive drought proved lethal to their chances in the fourth quarter as Tonganoxie pulled out a 10-point win.

The game was rife with turnovers as the teams combined for 42, including 23 from the Kaws, which countered a 24-19 rebounding advantage for Perry-Lecompton.

Perry-Lecompton grabbed the early lead but a 3-pointer from Tonganoxie junior guard Andie Jeannin tied the game at 7 midway through the first quarter. The Chieftains would open a 4-point lead but Kaws junior Katie Volle would hit a jumper in the lane to cut the lead to 11-9 Tonganoxie entering the second quarter.

The Kaws stayed close and took the lead on a 3-point play by senior forward Megan Elder with about 5 minutes left in the half. Elder added two free throws on the Kaws’ next possession and Perry-Lecompton had an 18-15 lead. Another Elder score made it 20-15 but the Chieftains cut it back to a 2-point deficit with free throws. Another Elder 3-point play would make it 23-18 with under 2 minutes left but the Chieftains would score the last 4 points of the half to cut the Kaws’ halftime lead to 23-22.

Tonganoxie grabbed the momentum to start the second half with 7 straight points to build a 6-point lead but Kaws junior guard Emma Gantz converted a 3-point play to stop the run. Tonganoxie coach Randy Kraft would be hit with a technical foul after arguing an offensive foul call and Elder hit one of two technical free throws, then scored on a short jumper to tie the game at 29. Andie Jeannin would hit another 3-pointer to spark a 7-2 run to end the quarter as Tonganoxie took a 36-31 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Kaws went scoreless for the last couple minutes of the third quarter and the drought would be even longer in the fourth quarter as the Chieftains stretched their lead to 15 points. Turnovers and an inability to make a shot kept the Kaws off the board until Elder hit two free throws with 1:22 to play in the game, which cut the lead to 46-33. Freshman Natasha Carver would hit a 3-pointer with 1:04 to play but the damage was done as the Chieftains put away a 46-36 win.

Elder led the Kaws with 13 points and 9 rebounds with 3 steals but no other Kaw scored more than 5 points. Tonganoxie was led by 13 points each from Andie Jeannin and senior Chrissie Jeannin, who also grabbed 5 rebounds with 7 steals. Senior forward Veronica Grizzle led the Chieftains with 7 rebounds.

Perry-Lecompton fell to 2-11 with the loss.

JCN defends home court, keeps perfect record intact

2009-02-03T16:18:00.001-06:00

A defensive battle ensued Saturday between county rivals Jefferson County North and Valley Falls in the championship game of the JCN girls invitational tournament, but when the dust settled, the home Chargers emerged with a tourney title and perfect record intact.

An early fourth-quarter run helped North put away a game that still seemed closer than the final 48-34 score, and tough JCN full-court pressure defense was the key in a game in which both teams seemed to be running out of gas physically down the stretch.

JCN moved to the title game with wins over Perry-Lecompton and McLouth, while Valley Falls defeated ACCHS and Bishop Ward to move to the championship game.

Valley Falls took the early lead but North went on an 8-point run to close the quarter and take a 10-5 lead into the second quarter. A 3-pointer by senior Lisa Weishaar gave the Chargers a 7-point lead early in the second quarter but Valley Falls sophomore guard Abbey Kearney struck back with a 3-pointer shortly thereafter to cut the North lead back to only 2 at 15-13. An offensive rebound and short jumper by North junior forward Mallory GrandPre gave the Chargers a 6-point lead with under two minutes to play in the half but a late Dragons score made the halftime score 21-17 JCN.

The North lead hovered around 5 in the early going of the third quarter and Valley Falls would cut into the lead only to see JCN stretch it back out. Kearney scored on a reverse lay-in to cut the lead to 25-22 but North stretched the lead to 7 to end the quarter as senior Amelia Noll scored on a short jumper and, following a Dragons turnover, GrandPre hit a short jumper with 10 seconds left to make it 30-22 JCN entering the fourth quarter.

North used its stifling press to turn the tables in the first quarter and the high-pressure defense continued to pay dividends in the late stages. A steal and score by Amelia Noll gave North its first double-figures lead at 33-22 and Valley Falls wouldn’t cut it back to single digits again. A GrandPre short jumpshot made the lead 15 at 41-26 and North was able to salt away the last three minutes of the game and come away with the 48-34 win. The final score was initially reported at 47-34 but a point was determined by scorekeepers to be missed in the third quarter to make the final 48-34.

GrandPre led the Chargers with 17 points and freshman Jordan Kramer scored 11 points in the win. Both were named to the all-tourney team along with Amelia Noll, who scored 18 in the semifinal win over McLouth. Valley Falls was led by 10 points from Kearney, who was also named to the all-tournament team.

JCN coach Steve Noll said the win wasn’t easy but he would take it all the same. North improved to 11-0 while Valley Falls dropped to 7-5.

“I think we might have been a little tired after playing the game at the level we did last night (versus McLouth in a 53-27 win),” he said. “We missed a lot of bunnies and a lot of free throws, but we played well enough to win. It was really an all-around team game. We won, and that’s the key thing. Our first goal was to repeat at the DVL tourney, and our second was winning this one. We just need to maintain our focus and go from there. I never really thought we’d be 11-0 right now. It just seems like each game we still see things we’ve gotta work on.”

McLouth fourth, Oskaloosa fifth

The McLouth Bulldogs found the going rough in the semifinals and third-place game as a beating at the hands of North in the semis was followed by a tough 9-point loss to Bishop Ward in the consolation game.

McLouth held the early lead on Ward but Ward closed out the first quarter on a 13-2 run to take a 15-8 lead into the second quarter. The lead reached 10 in the second quarter but McLouth junior standout guard Missy Rome helped tighten the game with 4 late points to cut Ward’s halftime lead to 24-19.

McLouth cut the lead to 3 early in the third quarter but Ward went on a 6-point run to stretch the lead to 9 and McLouth couldn’t consistently stop Ward junior guard Kylie Burns or sophomore post player Allison Dorr. A 3-pointer by junior guard Liddy Maurin gave Ward a 39-25 lead and the lead was 39-27 going into the fourth quarter. The lead reached 15 points early in the fourth quarter and McLouth wasn’t able to cut into it quickly enough to make the game close. The Bulldogs chipped the lead to 8 with under a minute left but Ward came away with the 51-42 win.

Burns scored 17 points and Dorr added 13 points for Ward in the win. McLouth was led by 20 points from Rome, who was named to the all-tournament team along with Burns. McLouth dropped to 6-6 with the loss.

In the fifth-place game, a rematch between Oskaloosa and Perry-Lecompton didn’t go exactly like their first meeting this season for the Bears.

Oskaloosa defeated the Kaws, 52-32, on Jan. 20 but, in Saturday’s fifth-place game, the Bears received a much tougher welcome as a slow Kaw start would factor in to a narrow 42-40 Oskaloosa victory.

The game was tied at 4 deep into the first quarter when Oskaloosa freshman Haley Pfau hit a 3-pointer to give the Bears a 7-4 lead that was 9-4 by the end of the first quarter. The Kaws started the second quarter on a 10-4 run as a jumper by Kaws junior guard Katie Hirsch gave Perry-Lecompton its first lead at 14-13. Oskaloosa responded with a 6-point run punctuated by a jumper by senior standout guard Nicole Rockhold and took a 19-15 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Kaws came out gunning in the second half as a Hirsch jumper would cut the lead to 23-22. A short jumper by senior forward Megan Elder regained the lead for the Kaws at 28-27 and they eventually built a 3-point lead. It was short-lived as a Pfau jumper gave Oskaloosa a 31-30 lead with under a minute left in the quarter. Elder responded with a jumper to give the Kaws back the lead but Oskaloosa sophomore guard Hailey Kelly hit a big 3-pointer at the buzzer to make the score 34-32 Bears going into the final quarter.

Kaws sophomore guard Abbey Bays hit a 3-pointer to cut the Bears’ lead to 1 early in the fourth quarter and it stayed that way until Rockhold hit one of two free throws with just over a minute left to make it 39-37 Bears. Carver stepped up for a 3-point jumper with 50 seconds left to give the Kaws a 40-39 lead but Rockhold drew a foul and made one of two free throws with 28.4 seconds left to tie the game at 40. The Kaws called a timeout with 21.8 seconds left and, in a key play, Carver was called for traveling off an in-bounds pass to give Oskaloosa back the ball. Pfau ended up being the hero with a jumper with 9.6 seconds left and then a blocked shot at the other end of the court to seal the 42-40 win for the Bears.

Rockhold led the Bears with 14 points and Pfau scored 10 points in the win. Both were named to the all-tournament team. Perry-Lecompton was led by 11 points from Carver, and Kaws junior forward Katie Volle was named to the all-tournament team after leading the Kaws in scoring in their other two tournament games. She scored 8 versus Oskaloosa.

Oskaloosa improved to 10-2 with the win while Perry-Lecompton fell to 2-9.

Bears head coach LeeAnn Tufte admitted her team had its sights set on better than fifth place, but a hot-shooting Ward team dealt them their second loss of the season in the first round. She said she was happy to see her team respond and play well to take fifth.

“(Perry-Lecompton) was ready for us,” Tufte said. “We’re battling some injuries and sicknesses, and that’s affecting some of our players, but they looked much improved from the first time we played them. It’s also tough for us with only 10 players. We played a good game, and I thought we played really strong defensively. We just need to make sure we stay focused moving forward and play better offensively. I’m happy with the win.”

In the seventh-place game, ACCHS rolled past Atchison, 61-39.

Late run seals Bears' fate at MIT

2009-01-27T16:02:00.001-06:00

For about 26 minutes of the 32 minutes of game time in Saturday’s championship game of the McLouth Invitational boys’ basketball tournament, ACCHS and Oskaloosa were neck-and-neck.

Then the Tigers – more specifically, guard Ben Hawk – took their side of the game into another gear and Oskaloosa was forced to settle for second with a 53-37 ACCHS victory.

Hawk scored 10 straight points at one point to turn a 2-point ACCHS deficit into an 8-point Tigers lead early in the fourth quarter and the Bears didn’t respond. More than 25 turnovers for the Bears didn’t help their cause despite a 27-12 advantage in rebounding. ACCHS committed only 15 turnovers.

Oskaloosa made their way to the championship game with a quarterfinal win over Maranatha and a 1-point semifinal win over county rival Jefferson County North. ACCHS took down Valley Falls in the first round and the host McLouth Bulldogs in the semifinals to reach the title tilt.

The first three quarters of the game were very competitive as Oskaloosa took the early lead but ACCHS came back to tie the game. Oskaloosa took another 3-point lead at 11-8 but ACCHS forward Troy Wehking scored 5 late points to give ACCHS a 13-11 lead entering the second quarter.

The Tigers’ lead reached 6 points in the early part of the second quarter and hung there for most of the quarter. Oskaloosa got a 3-pointer from junior guard Brandon Barnes with 40 seconds left in the half that cut the ACCHS lead to 23-20 at halftime.

Oskaloosa hung in the game throughout the third quarter and eventually regained the lead. Senior post player Chase Tenpenny notched a 3-point play and the Bears turned defensive rebounds into points to tie the game at 27. A Barnes jumper gave the Bears the lead with 2:36 left in the quarter and Barnes added a lay-in to give the Bears a 4-point lead. Wehking scored off an offensive rebound to cut the lead back to 2 and the Bears had a chance for a final shot in the quarter. The inbounds pass from sophomore Adam Bowser sailed out of bounds without any other Bear player touching it, however, so ACCHS got an inbounds opportunity along the sideline on their end of the court. The ensuing inbounds pass went to Wehking, who hit a turnaround jumper at the buzzer to tie the game at 31 entering the fourth quarter.

Two free throws by Bears senior J.T. Thurston gave Oskaloosa a 33-31 lead with 6:47 to play but that’s when Hawk went to work. He started what would be a single-handed 10-point run with a 3-pointer to give ACCHS a 34-33 lead. The Bears had several chances to respond but couldn’t get back on the board. After a Bears turnover, Hawk hit a running jumper and, after a rebound went out of bounds off Oskaloosa, Hawk converted a 3-point play to make the Tigers’ lead 6 at 39-33. Hawk got a steal on the Bears’ next possession and took a hard foul before sinking two free throws to give ACCHS an 8-point lead.

The Bears’ offensive woes continued as ACCHS pulled down another defensive rebound and two free throws by Tigers guard Riley Hundley made the lead 10 points with 3:43 to play. Tenpenny scored off a putback and Bears senior Adam Paavola hit two free throws to cut the lead back to 6 but a Hawk jumper and two Hundley steals kept the Tigers in command. Hawk was 8-for-8 at the free throw line in the quarter as the Tigers were able to salt away a 53-37 win and a tournament title.

Hawk led the Tigers with 28 points and 4 steals in the win while Wehking added 15 points. Oskaloosa was led by a big game from Tenpenny, who finished with 13 points and 17 rebounds. No other Bear reached double figures in scoring.

The loss dropped Oskaloosa’s record to 7-5 on the season.

JCN third, Valley Falls fifth

The third place game between JCN and McLouth started out looking like a replay of JCN’s runaway win in McLouth in January but ended with a Bulldog surge before JCN pulled out a 48-37 win.

The Chargers jumped out to a 7-0 lead and would lead 12-4 after the first quarter as McLouth struggled offensively. JCN stretched the lead to double digits in the second quarter as McLouth continued to be unable to get points. The Chargers’ lead was 25-8 at halftime.

The Bulldogs showed signs of life on offense in the third quarter to start the second half on a 6-point run but JCN rattled off 7 straight points and maintained a 16-point lead at 39-23 going into the fourth quarter. The roles of the first half were reversed in the fourth quarter as McLouth went on an 8-point run to cut the Charger lead to 8 on a lay-in by freshman forward Gavin Swearngin.

Free throws helped JCN maintain the lead at 8 but Swearngin scored on a putback to cut the lead to 6. After a steal by senior Jarrod Bechard, junior guard Cole Batman hit one of two free throws to cut the lead to 5 at 41-36 with 1:47 to play. That was as close as the Bulldogs would get, though, as JCN senior Dalton Speer hit one of two free throws and sophomore Jeff Hale did the same to stretch the lead back to 7. The Chargers got the ball back and got a free throw from senior Matt Perry with 51 seconds left to make the lead 44-36. The Chargers would go the entire quarter without a field goal but free throws and McLouth’s inability to keep up the offensive pressure helped JCN put the lead back to double digits and finish off a 48-37 win.

Three North players finished in double figures as Hale scored 11 points and Speer and senior Riley Noll scored 10 points each. McLouth was led by 16 points from Swearngin but no other Bulldog scored more than 6.

JCN coach Jim Brickell said his team was fortunate that McLouth didn’t have a better first half. He credited both teams at times for good play.

“The main thing is the result,” Brickell said. “We didn’t anticipate having that big of a lead at the half. I credit McLouth for coming back there in the fourth quarter but I also credit our guys for getting that margin and holding on. They scored 8 points the whole first half and then 15 points in the third quarter. We knew they were better than 8 points in a half. We had some letdowns defensively and didn’t make free throws like I’d like to see. Both teams battled hard. I’m pleased getting out of here with third place. That’s two wins out of three games.”

The win improved North to 5-6. McLouth fell to 1-10.

In the fifth place game, the Valley Falls Dragons avenged an earlier defeat at the hands of the Cair Paravel Lions with an overtime 59-56 victory.

Cair Paravel went into the second quarter with a 10-4 lead and stretched it to 15-6 before the Dragons mounted a comeback to tie the game at 17 on a short jumper by junior post player Riley Bunde. Senior forward Josh Kearney gave the Dragons the lead with a short jumper with 1:04 left in the half but Cair Paravel scored the last 3 points of the half to take a 20-19 halftime lead.

The Dragons came out firing offensively in the second half as two 3-pointers by junior guard Mitchell Streeter helped the Dragons to a 27-24 lead. A 3-pointer by sophomore Alex Nottingham helped stretch the lead to 32-24 and the Dragons ended the quarter with a 37-28 lead.

The Dragons’ lead reached its peak early in the fourth quarter as Streeter drilled another 3-pointer to make it 40-28. Cair Paravel surged back, however, as senior Lucas Bider hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 41-35 with 3:37 left. A lay-in by senior Jeremy Wynne cut the lead to 42-38 with 1:33 left but the Dragons still held a 6-point lead at 46-40 with 47 seconds left. A Wynne running jumper cut the lead to 4 with 33 seconds left and Wynne got a quick steal and a lay-in by senior Taylor Petrik cut the Dragons’ lead to 2 shortly thereafter. Valley Falls freshman Brock Watson hit a free throw to make the lead 3 with 19 seconds left but Wynne answered with a 3-pointer to tie the game with 10 seconds remaining.

The Lions came up with a steal with time running down but a desperation shot sailed wide and the game headed to overtime. Petrik hit a 3-pointer to give the Lions a 1-point lead in the early going and a Wynne lay-in made it 52-49 Lions. Streeter answered with a 3-pointer to tie the game and a Nottingham short running jumper off a Bunde defensive rebound gave the lead back to the Dragons. A Kearney score stretched the lead to 4 with 57 seconds left but Wynne answered with a drive and lay-in to cut the lead back to 2. Streeter hit two free throws with 27 seconds left and, this time, there would be no late heroics for the Lions. Dragons sophomore Brooks Glassel hit a free throw with 7.9 seconds left to make it a 5-point game and a Lions putback score at the buzzer was meaningless as the Dragons escaped with a 59-56 win to improve to 6-7.

Streeter led the Dragons with 17 points while Nottingham scored 15 and Bunde added 12. Kearney was also in double figures with 11 points. The Lions were led by 17 points from Wynne and 16 from Petrik.

Dragons coach Caleb Gatzemeyer said he was happy to get two wins at the tournament after an opening round loss to ACCHS.

“Effingham (ACCHS) is a good team and they took us out of what we wanted to do that first game,” Gatzemeyer said. “We thought we might see Cair Paravel in the championship if we could have made it, so we knew they were tough going into this game. We talked at halftime about being more methodical with the ball and being patient. If we slow down with the ball and knock down some free throws down the stretch, we win in regulation. Alex Nottingham really got us going tonight. Riley had a big game last night (in the semifinals) so we’ve had some real team efforts here. This is a good win for us. It’s been an up and down season but we’ve been in most every game we’ve played. The guys finished well today.”

Maranatha defeated Bishop Seabury in the seventh-place game.

Tenpenny, Riley Noll, Bunde, McLouth’s Cole Batman, Thurston, and McLouth’s Derrick Crouse were named to the all-tourney team.

Bears sweep Doniphan West

2009-01-20T17:22:00.000-06:00

A second quarter surge helped the Oskaloosa varsity girls’ basketball team stay perfect in league regular season play as the Bears rolled past Doniphan West, 46-26, Friday in Oskaloosa.

The win improved the Bears to 7-1 with their only loss coming in the Delaware Valley League preseason tourney against Jefferson County North. Games in the tournament don’t count toward the DVL teams’ league records.

Defense was the name of the game for OHS Friday as the Bears forced 19 West turnovers while committing only 9 themselves, including only 2 in the second half. This outweighed a rebounding advantage that was 31-20 in favor of the visiting Mustangs.

The score was 2-2 for a chunk of the first quarter as neither team could find the mark offensively. Oskaloosa senior Nicole Rockhold finally broke the stalemate with a baseline jumper with 2:43 to play in the quarter and the teams played to a 7-6 Oskaloosa lead entering the second quarter.

Rockhold got the Bears started with a short turnaround jumper with 6:18 left in the half and the Bears went on a run. They rattled off the final 9 points of the half including 5 points from Rockhold to make the halftime score 22-9 Bears.

Doniphan West played better offensively in the third quarter but Oskaloosa edged further away. The Bears scored the first 4 points of the half and extended the lead to 16 at 28-12 before the Mustangs began a comeback. Two 3-pointers by senior Taylor Twombly helped trim the lead to 9 at 28-19, but the Bears responded with an 8-2 run to end the quarter with a 36-21 lead as Rockhold and freshman Haley Pfau scored 4 points each on the run thanks in part to quick transition offense.

From there, it was a matter of time as Oskaloosa’s lead reached 19 early in the fourth quarter. Bears coach LeeAnn Tufte put in the reserves to finish off the 46-26 win.

Rockhold led the Bears with 20 points in the win and added 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Sophomore Hailey Kelly was the other Bear in double figures with 11 points and also had 3 steals. Pfau added 6 rebounds in the win to lead the team in that category. Doniphan West was led by 12 points and 6 rebounds from junior Lisa Scholz and 10 rebounds from junior Jessica Gartner.

Tufte said all around it was a good win for her team.

“We played solid defensively,” she said. “During those times like the first quarter where our offense isn’t running well, defense like that keeps us right there. I’m very pleased. Our bench also did well so I’m happy to see that.”

Oskaloosa boys 46, Doniphan West 31

The Bear boys used a strong second half to pull away from the Mustangs and get their first league win.

Rebounding was a key for Oskaloosa as the Bears pulled down 30 rebounds compared to only 16 for West. They also forced 18 turnovers while committing 17.

West grabbed an early 7-4 lead but saw the Bears go on a 10-2 run to take the lead thanks to 4 points each from senior Chase Tenpenny and sophomore Adam Bowser. The Bears took a 14-11 lead into the second quarter.

The Bears lead hung in the area of 3-4 points through the second quarter as neither team could gain ground on the other. Oskaloosa’s lead reached 6 but a 3-point play by West senior Travis Twombly cut it back to 3 and the Bears took a 22-18 lead into halftime. The Mustangs suffered a key loss in the quarter as senior guard Zach Lee collided with Oskaloosa senior J.T. Thurston and hit the floor hard and left the game with an apparent cut on the back of his head.

The third quarter would prove pivotal as a Thurston 3-point play helped the Bears build the lead to 29-20. West cut the lead back to 5 but Oskaloosa built it back to the point the Bears held a 35-26 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The Bears finished the game strong as they outscored the Mustangs, 11-5, in the final period. The lead reached 11 early in the quarter and free throws helped the Bears pull away for a 46-31 victory.

Thurston led the way for Oskaloosa with 15 points along with 5 rebounds. Tenpenny notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go with 5 steals and Bowser added 11 points in the win. West was led by 10 points and 4 rebounds from Twombly.

The win improved Oskaloosa to 5-4 following league losses to Troy and Jackson Heights. Bears coach Rod Stottlemire said he was glad to get the win but his team needs more consistency if it wants to make an impact in the postseason.

“We turned the ball over too much in the first half, but we played real hard defensively,” Stottlemire said. “We’ve figured out that if we can hold the other team under 44 points we can win. That’s our magic number. We got some good looks there in the second half and had some layups. We’ve gotta do better at being consistent in rebounding and on offense. We did better tonight about not letting them have second chance points. If we can get that consistency, we’ll be OK.”

JCN girls take nailbiter from McLouth, 60-58

2009-01-20T17:21:00.001-06:00

Last season, an upstart McLouth Bulldogs’ girls’ varsity basketball team went into Winchester and took down the Jefferson County North Chargers on their home court. This year, it was JCN’s chance to turn the tables.

The Chargers did so Friday in McLouth, but it wasn’t easy as a 13-point JCN halftime lead dwindled to the point McLouth led by 1 with less than 10 seconds left. North freshman Jordan Kramer hit the biggest shot of her high school career thus far with a game-winning 3-pointer to give JCN a 60-58 win.

A combination of rebounding and defense helped the Chargers build their healthy halftime lead but McLouth fought back with rebounding and standout play from juniors Missy Rome, Kylie Shufflebarger and Cassidy Bristol.

McLouth came out of the gate flat on offense in the early going as North built a 12-2 lead thanks in part to two 3-pointers by Kramer. McLouth got its first field goal on a 3-pointer by freshman Terri Stewart with time running out to cut the lead to 12-5 entering the second quarter.

JCN’s lead reached double digits again before McLouth trimmed it to 7 midway through the second quarter. North senior Lisa Weishaar hit a 3-pointer with 57 seconds left in the half to make it 35-22 JCN and that held at halftime.

McLouth quickly proved to be playing better in the second half as Shufflebarger hit a short jumper and Rome answered a score by North junior Mallory GrandPre with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 10. The Bulldogs cut the lead to 6 on a 3-pointer by freshman Morgan Drinnon but the Chargers again built it back to 10 points at 43-33. Rome hit a turnaround jumper off a Shufflebarger defensive rebound, Bristol scored off a Stewart defensive rebound and a Shufflebarger blocked shot was turned into a 3-pointer by Rome and the lead quickly shrank to 43-40 JCN with 1:17 left in the quarter. Two Kramer free throws made the score 45-40 North entering the fourth quarter.

McLouth kept the pressure on going into the final period as Shufflebarger started the quarter with a jumper to cut the lead back to 3 and then scored off a Rome blocked shot to cut the lead to 1. McLouth had a chance to take the lead but turned the ball over and GrandPre hit a jumper in the lane to make it 47-44 North. Drinnon answered with a bank-in 3-pointer to tie the game for the first time since the game’s start with 6:37 left in the game.

After a JCN timeout, North junior Sara Navinskey hit a 3-pointer to give North back the lead and senior Amelia Noll scored off an offensive rebound to make the lead 5 for the Chargers once more. North was able to build the lead back to 9 on scores by sophomore Katie Noll before the Bulldogs made another run. A Shufflebarger score was followed by a Shufflebarger blocked shot that turned into a Rome 3-pointer, Amelia Noll was whistled for an offensive foul and Bristol scored off an offensive rebound to cut the JCN lead to 56-54 and force a Charger timeout with 1:35 left.

GrandPre hit one of two free throws to make the lead 3 but McLouth cut the lead back to 1 and then took the lead on a steal and lay-in by Rome as JCN tried to run down the clock. The score came with 35 seconds left and Rome came up with another steal on North’s next possession as McLouth took a timeout with 22 seconds left.

North was forced to foul three times to get the Bulldogs to the bonus free throw situation and Drinnon drew a foul with 10 seconds left and McLouth up by 1 at 58-57. The freshman missed the front end of the one-and-one free throws and GrandPre pulled down the rebound. The Chargers advanced the ball to half-court before calling a timeout with 5.8 seconds left. The ball was inbounded to Kramer on the left wing and, with an uncontested shot, the Charger freshman sank a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left to give JCN a 60-58 lead. McLouth called a timeout immediately to set up a final attempt to tie the game or win it. The ball was inbounded to Rome, who passed up a long desperation shot to pass the ball downcourt. The Bulldogs couldn’t get a shot off and North took home the 2-point win to improve to 5-0. McLouth fell to 3-3.

JCN head coach Steve Noll said the final play that resulted in Kramer’s winning shot was set up for Kramer to get the ball and, when the defender came out to cover her, look to pass the ball inside for a better shot. When no defender came out to cover Kramer, she stepped up and made the winning shot.

“We had our ups and downs tonight, but it was a whole team effort,” Noll said. “We were up 13 at halftime, which was nice, but I knew they were gonna make a run. We got a little shaky there. I think that month layoff here really made a difference on both sides. We had Amelia covering Rome and she was getting worn down, which is dangerous when you’re playing Rome. Everybody did their part in their own way tonight. We need to play teams that are good like this. We’ve talked about playing all the way through and how you can’t get down when you have downs. It’s a good win for us.”

GrandPre led the way for North with 20 points and 7 rebounds. Kramer added 13 points and Katie Noll chipped in 10 points, including some key scores down the stretch.

Rome led all scorers with 25 points for the Bulldogs and pulled down 5 rebounds with 5 steals. Shufflebarger added 14 points and 4 rebounds and Bristol scored 7 points with 9 rebounds.

North led the rebounding battle, 13-11, at halftime, but McLouth flipped it around to lead overall in the game in that category, 26-24. This was balanced by 14 McLouth turnovers compared to only 11 for North.

North boys 49, McLouth 26

The varsity boys’ game was a close contest for about the first quarter-and-a-half before North ran off with the game to improve to 3-2.

McLouth dropped to 0-6.

One key to the game came on the boards as JCN outrebounded the Bulldogs, 26-8, in the game. The Chargers also got 17 McLouth turnovers while committing only 10.

The game was tight throughout the first quarter as both teams held a 3-point lead at one point. When the dust settled, a late jumper by North senior Matt Perry gave North a 13-12 lead entering the second quarter.

North began to pull away in the second quarter as the Chargers scored the first 7 points of the quarter to build the lead to 20-12 with 5:27 to play in the half. The lead reached 11 before McLouth cut it back to 6 on a 3-pointer by senior Derrick Crouse to make the halftime score 24-18 JCN.

Both teams got out to a slow start in the third quarter as JCN’s lead was 27-18 with 5:28 left in the quarter. McLouth kept the deficit in single digits for the most part but JCN had a 35-24 lead going into the fourth quarter.

McLouth scored the first 2 points of the fourth quarter but wouldn’t score again as North finished the game on a 14-point run to go home with a 49-26 win.

JCN junior Nick Clark led North with 10 points as 10 different Chargers scored in the win. Junior Tyler Noll added 8 points and grabbed 6 rebounds for the Chargers. McLouth was led by 10 points from Crouse.

JCN head coach Jim Brickell said it was nice for his team to start the post-holiday schedule on a good note.

“We lost our last two games coming in, so you worry a little bit about that first game coming back,” Brickell said. “We clicked better offensively the second half and the boys played hard. That’s a key for our team – playing hard the whole game. I also thought defensively we played much better the second half, too.”

JCN girls bring home hardware

2008-12-16T13:46:00.001-06:00

When the dust had settled Saturday on the Jefferson County North girls’ 50-30 win over KC Christian in the championship game of the Delaware Valley League Preseason Basketball Tournament in Oskaloosa, head coach Steve Noll didn’t focus on the fact the win marked his 100th varsity victory.

He was happy to focus on his team’s second straight DVL Tourney title instead.

The Chargers used a mix of strong pressure defense and tenacious rebounding to rack up a 12-2 second quarter that gave them all the room they needed for the 20-point win.

North dominated the Panthers on the boards, with a 27-10 advantage in rebounds in the first half and a 47-23 advantage overall. The Chargers also forced 25 turnovers while committing only 15 themselves.

The win capped a tournament run that saw the Chargers rout Immaculata and come back from a double-digit deficit to beat the host Oskaloosa Bears in the semifinals.

The Panthers stayed close in the first quarter and led midway through on a 3-pointer by senior Sarah Hawthorne. JCN regained the lead on a turnaround jumper by junior Mallory GrandPre and, after a steal by senior Devin Gigstad, junior Sara Navinskey drilled a 3-pointer to make it 12-8 North. After a jumpball gave the ball back to North, GrandPre scored on a lay-in to make it 14-8 and force a KCC timeout. North stretched the lead to 16-9 but Hawthorne hit another 3-pointer and North settled for a 17-12 lead entering the second quarter.

JCN cranked up the full-court pressure defense in the second quarter and it paid off, as 3 points by senior Amelia Noll stretched the Charger lead to 8. The Panthers didn’t get their first point of the quarter until the 5:01 mark and they wouldn’t hit a field goal attempt in the quarter. JCN ended the quarter on a 7-2 run to take a 29-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.

JCN’s 17-rebound advantage in the first half continued to hold true in the third quarter as North grabbed two offensive rebounds on its first possession of the half. On the Chargers’ next possession, senior Lisa Weishaar hit a 3-pointer that made the score 33-14 JCN. A Gigstad lay-in off an Amelia Noll pass pushed the lead to 21 and reached 22 at its peak before a late KCC score cut it to 40-20 entering the fourth quarter.

North held the line in the fourth quarter as Steve Noll cleared the bench with his team up 20 and about 5 minutes left in the game. The bench extended the lead to 23 but Hawthorne hit a final 3-pointer to make the final score 50-30 JCN.

Gigstad led the way for JCN with 13 points and finished just shy of a double-double with 9 rebounds. Amelia Noll and GrandPre finished with 7 points each and grabbed 7 and 8 rebounds, respectively. Freshman Jordan Kramer also had 7 rebounds for North. KCC was led by Hawthorne’s 9 points and 6 rebounds from junior Danielle Trott.

Noll said the only person who knew the game would be his 100th varsity win was his wife, and he said with a laugh he was hoping she would have kept the fact under her hat.

“That other stuff doesn’t really matter,” he said. North moved to 4-0 with the win. “I was really wanting to win two tournaments in a row, though. We expected them to come out a lot more aggressively than they did. We got down a bit coming out of the chute versus Oskaloosa but we need to start coming out at the start like we did today. We had three goals coming in – contest every shot, keep the pressure on them and control the boards – and I thought we did all of those things. Devin hit the boards really well for us. For the most part I’m pleased with everybody today. We’ll enjoy tonight and tomorrow and come back Monday ready to practice. It was a whole team effort today.”

In other county action, Oskaloosa defeated Horton, 42-41, for third place and McLouth defeated Jackson Heights, 62-56, for fifth place. Valley Falls placed 10th with a 40-35 loss to Troy in the ninth place game.

Oskaloosa boys defeat Valley Falls for fifth

On the boys’ side, the top county game came down to the fifth-place matchup between the host Bears and the Valley Falls Dragons, which Oskaloosa took by a 47-44 count.

Both teams entered with a 2-2 record on the season. Oskaloosa fell to Wathena in the first round while Valley Falls lost to eventual tourney champion KC Christian in the quarterfinals. Oskaloosa bounced back to win a tight game over JCN in the consolation semifinals while Valley Falls outlasted Horton by 4 points to set up the intracounty rivalry game for fifth.

The first half was nip-and-tuck as the teams traded scores throughout the first quarter to enter the second quarter tied at 12. Valley Falls got a 3-pointer from sophomore Alex Nottingham to open the scoring in the second quarter but the teams continued to stay close. The Bears took a 4-point lead with about 3 minutes left in the half but Dragons junior Riley Bunde hit a hook shot and senior Josh Kearney scored off a Bunde defensive rebound to tie the game. Nottingham hit a jumper to give the Dragons a 2-point lead with 1:20 left in the half but Bears sophomore Adam Bowser hit a 3-pointer with time dwindling to give Oskaloosa a 24-23 halftime lead.

Oskaloosa got some breathing room in the third quarter as the Bears started the half on a 6-point run to open up a 7-point lead. Dragons senior Ray Cook scored off a steal by junior Mitchell Streeter to get Valley Falls on the scoreboard with 4:34 to go in the quarter. The Dragons would have multiple chances to cut into the Bears’ lead, which held at 7 and became 9 on two free throws by senior post player Chase Tenpeny. The lead held there as the Bears took a 38-29 advantage into the fourth quarter.

The Dragons wouldn’t go away, though, as senior T.J. Breese hit a 3-pointer to start the scoring in the fourth quarter and a Cook short jumper cut the lead to 6 with about 4:30 to go in the game. Nottingham scored off a steal and then hit two free throws on the Dragons’ next possession to cut it to 43-41 Bears with 2:28 left. Dragons senior Dylan McKnight scored off a Cook steal to tie the game with about a minute to play but Bears senior guard J.T. Thurston hit two free throws with 53 seconds left to give the lead back to Oskaloosa.

Kearney hit one of two free throws with 33 seconds left to cut the lead to 1 but Tenpenny hit two free throws on the other end with 16 seconds left to make it 47-44 Oskaloosa. The Bears had a chance to put the game away but Thurston missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw situation and Bunde pulled down the rebound with 4 seconds left and the Dragons called a quick timeout.

With 2.9 seconds left and the ball at three-quarter court, Nottingham inbounded the ball and Tenpenny knocked it out of bounds with 1.5 seconds left. Nottingham got the ball to Cook for a game-tying 3-point attempt at the buzzer but two Bears got over on defense and blocked the shot to secure the 47-44 win.

Oskaloosa was led by 18 points and 6 rebounds from Tenpenny and 10 points and 5 rebounds from Thurston. Valley Falls was led by 15 points and 8 rebounds from Bunde and 11 points from Nottingham. Cook added 7 points and 5 rebounds.

The game proved to be a tight one even in the stats as both teams grabbed 17 rebounds and Valley Falls had 14 turnovers compared to 11 for the Bears.

Bears coach Rod Stottlemire said his team had its hopes set on better than fifth place but he was happy overall with his team’s performance.

“We only have three kids that played varsity last year,” Stottlemire said. “We’re still trying to find ourselves a little bit out there. I’ve been a lot happier with our defense the last couple games. I think the tournament showed the league this year is really even. We got a little crazy with the ball there in the fourth quarter but we play too fast sometimes. If I can get them to play 90 percent fast rather than 110 percent fast, we do a lot better.”

In other county action, Horton routed JCN for seventh place, 76-42, and, in the 11th place game, Jackson Heights defeated McLouth, 59-46.

County boys hit hardwoods

2008-12-16T13:40:00.002-06:00

Two weeks into the season, there are already no unbeaten county high school boys’ varsity basketball teams but the six county coaches have hopes to piece together a postseason run once next February rolls around.

One new coach joins the lineup of coaches as Matt Tinsley moves east from the post at St. Marys to take over the Jefferson West boys from David Overstreet. Other than that, no county boys coach is in less than his third year at his school.

Perry-Lecompton was the best team in the county a season ago in finishing with a 19-3 record but dropped a tight substate semifinal game to Holton. After that the records get much closer to the .500 winning mark as JCN finished 11-10, Oskaloosa finished 11-11, Valley Falls and McLouth were 7-15 and West finished 6-15.

The six teams have gotten off to up-and-down starts as Perry-Lecompton has dropped games to Bishop Ward and Hayden while beating West to start 1-2; JCN started 2-0 but lost three straight in the Delaware Valley League Preseason Tourney to drop to 2-3; Oskaloosa led all county teams with a fifth-place finish in the DVL Tourney to move to 3-2; Valley Falls fell to Oskaloosa in the fifth-place game at the tourney to drop to 2-3; McLouth has stumbled to an 0-4 start; and West has dropped its first 3 games. All records are as of Monday, with Tuesday games pending at press time.

Following is a capsule review of each team entering the season in order of finish last season.

Perry-Lecompton
Coach: Jeff Dickson, fourth year
Last season: 19-3

This year’s athletic group of Kaw seniors were freshmen when Dickson came to Perry-Lecompton and the team has its sights set on advancing further into the postseason this season.

One early factor that works both positively for the players and somewhat against the team’s early chances was the run of the Kaw football team to the state football title game. The season wrapped up Thanksgiving weekend with the basketball players on the football team getting only a week to ready for action when the season started Dec. 5. The Kaws’ early record may reflect some rustiness, in part for that reason.

“These guys put a lot of work in and it paid off for them,” said Dickson of the football team’s efforts this season. “It’s a partnership here, 100 percent, between (football) coach Mike Paramore and I, so I don’t look at it like it cost me something here. If we got the chance to be in the football state championship every year, I can live with that. It’s one of those things where the kids see all their work come to fruition, and it’s fun to see them go against what has been the norm at this place.”

Dickson has good numbers in the program with 30 players out but said he would like to see even more out for the team. The squad includes eight seniors, including “twin towers” Andy Bowman and Joel Gantz. Other key returnees include senior guard Kyle Morgison and senior guard Shane Gimzo. Dickson said he is looking to junior Brad Phillips, junior guard Riley Shafer, senior forward Caleb Wege, junior guard Kameron Hurd, and senior guard Eric Hastert to also fill roles on the varsity.

“Andy Bowman has stepped up big time for us so far,” Dickson said. “He had a stat line versus Jeff West of 25 points, 13 rebounds, 4 steals and 6 blocks and he’s capable of doing that every night. Losing Caleb Denton to graduation was a big loss for us, because what he did for us leaves a void. We’ve got a lot of other great kids though. Brad Phillips is Mr. Fundamentals and plays hard, Riley handles the ball great to give us the ability to slide Kyle Morgison over to give him more opportunities to shoot, Caleb Wege is a really hard worker, one of those blue collar hard hat types of player, and Kameron has a great shot and has been a JV all star for us.”

Dickson said the team is sticking to his tenet of aggressive defense.

“We’re all about defense and getting it done with our pressure defense and doing that the right way,” Dickson said. “I’d like for us to get up and down the floor a little more. I think we have the most depth we’ve had since I came here.”

As the Kaws enter one of their last couple seasons in the Kaw Valley League before a move to the Big Seven, Dickson points to Mill Valley, Lansing, Piper and Basehor-Linwood as the front runners in this season’s KVL.

“I think we’ll be in the mix, too,” Dickson said. The team made the move from the midseason McLouth Tournament to the Baldwin Tournament in order to face more comparable sized schools to help prepare for substate. “It should be an extremely competitive league, but if we play like we’re capable, we can and should win it.”

Dickson said his squad still isn’t playing up to capability but will hopefully be in prime shape when the games really start to count.

“We’re not where we need to be but we’re getting there,” he said. “We’ve played pretty poorly as a team so far but we’ve had a couple good individual performances. The guys have proven that if we’re willing to put in the same amount of work kids in other districts do, including in the offseason, we can create a lot of excitement.”

Jefferson County North
Coach: Jim Brickell, 23nd year
Last season: 11-10

Brickell returns for his 23rd year as coach at North with only three seniors lost from last year’s squad that scratched out a winning record at 11-10.

Those seniors were key players for the Chargers but some underclassmen did make somewhat of a name for themselves last season and return to key this year’s team.

North’s 32 players include six seniors led by guard Riley Noll, guard/forward Dalton Speer and guard Matt Perry, who is bouncing back from an early injury. The varsity rotation also includes sophomore guard Jeff Hale, who saw quite a bit of varsity time as a freshman last season, junior guard Austin Gaspard, junior forward Nick Clark, who missed last season with an injury, junior post player Tyler Noll, senior forward Brendan Stevens, and sophomore forward Spencer Wentz.

“We’re still a work in progress,” Brickell said. “Riley has stepped his game up for us already and hit some big shots in games. Defensively we’ve been very good, but we haven’t been scoring very well. Some of that has to do with our deliberate style we play and some of it comes down to us not making shots.”

Despite their scoring problems the Chargers started the season by winning their first two games and then lost their third game in double overtime to Pleasant Ridge, who Brickell points to as one of the top teams in the Delaware Valley League along with Troy, Oskaloosa, Wathena and, potentially, Valley Falls.

“We had a couple opportunities to beat Pleasant Ridge there and couldn’t get the shot knocked down,” he said. The loss came in the quarterfinals of the DVL Preseason Tournament. “I think Valley Falls will be much improved, and Jackson Heights also looks improved from last season.”

Brickell said the team has impressed him with its mentality and thinks good things can happen if the offensive wrinkles are ironed out in the Chargers.

“We’re working a lot on man defense and we haven’t played it very much, if at all, so far but we’ve got to be able to play it. We need to start working on shooting. We’re not shooting well outside and that’s a big part of our game. Actually, I thought we might really struggle early but the guys have really impressed me. They play so darn hard. We talk about doing what it takes to win and they really want to win. They aren’t concerned with points, and who’s getting what, they want to win, and I like that.”

Oskaloosa
Coach: Rod Stottlemire, fourth year
Last season: 11-11

Stottlemire has some rebuilding to do with the Bears after losing a group of nine seniors, but a couple solid varsity players return to help this season’s cause.

The Bears have 21 players out for basketball, including seven seniors. Varsity leaders include senior guard J.T. Thurston, senior post players Chase Tenpenny and Adam Paavola and senior guard Lakota Coffman. Stottlemire said he is also looking to sophomore guards Adam Bowser and Levi Wade, and junior forward Brandon Barnes to step up as the season moves along.

“A lot of our success comes down to our ‘other’ guys stepping up,” Stottlemire said. “I think Levi and Brandon will improve quite a bit as the season moves along. We’re a young team, somewhat, so we look like a million bucks one night and not the next. Most times I want to play fast but with this group I’m trying to temper that speed a bit and keep it reined in.”

Stottlemire pointed to Wathena and KC Christian to lead the DVL this season, although he said it should be competitive all-around.

Stottlemire said the key for the Bears will likely be developing some on-court chemistry with the mix of a small amount of returning varsity experience and a batch of players new to the varsity level.

“We’ve gotta get more familiar with one another and learn what all of our roles are,” Stottlemire said. “There are times we’ve looked good and times we haven’t, but we’ve had a couple days in a row with some good practices. I’m hoping as they play together more that happens more and more.”

Valley Falls
Coach: Caleb Gatzemeyer, fourth year
Last season: 7-15

Gatzemeyer and the Dragons recovered well from a 0-win season in 2006-07 by winning 7 games last season, and Gatzemeyer has the sights set on taking that next step with an athletic group of players this season.

Gatzemeyer paces all county teams with 37 players out for basketball this year in Valley Falls, including a solid group of eight seniors. Perhaps his top two returnees are senior guard Ray Cook and junior post player Riley Bunde, who already has a 31-point game this season, but Gatzemeyer also mentions junior guard Mitchell Streeter, senior forward Josh Kearney, junior guard Logan Wynkoop, sophomore guard/forward Alex Nottingham, senior Ridge Glassel, senior Dylan McKnight, senior T.J. Breese, senior Cole Edwards, junior Blane Brosa, and sophomore Brooks Glassel as other parts of a deep Dragon varsity.

“I’m looking to the upperclassmen for the leadership this season,” Gatzemeyer said. “Riley had a good scoring game that first game and has been good at consistency in rebounding but has struggled a little bit scoring lately. Our last game (a loss to KC Christian) I thought we took a couple steps back but we’ve had some good practices the last couple days and are feeling pretty confident.”

Gatzemeyer also pointed to Wathena and KCC as the teams to beat in the DVL along with Pleasant Ridge. Overall he said the league is pretty level, however.

Gatzemeyer said he has solid expectations but is focusing on a game-to-game basis with a busy schedule before the Christmas break.

“I’ve seen good signs in terms of our athleticism and effort,” he said. “We’ve established a good run of classes of kids coming through that look sound, so hopefully we can get a good season under our belt here and move on. When you think about it, you don’t get a whole lot of practice time until you hit that break. We’ve got some big tests coming up over the next couple weeks. We’ll try to keep things rolling our way.”

McLouth
Coach: Jason Schroeder, third year
Last season: 7-15

The Bulldogs had their ups and downs last season and lost a good group of seniors from that squad as Schroeder enters his third season as head coach at McLouth.

Gone are graduated scoring leaders Mike Rome, Mark Stewart and Ryan Smith from last year’s squad, so Schroeder is looking to senior forward Derrick Crouse, senior forward Jarrod Bechard and junior guard Cole Batman to take up the slack this season. McLouth has 24 players out for the squad, including only three seniors. The other senior, guard Vinny Gonzalez, is another role player Schroeder is expecting production from along with freshman post player Gavin Swearngin, junior guard Tyler Drinnon, freshman guard Alex Courtney and freshman forward Alen Kramer.

“We’ve got some young players in the mix,” Schroeder said. “We’ve had a couple tough games early, but the last game we played (a loss to Immaculata), I felt we let one get away. I feel a bit better about how the team is going.”

Schroeder echoed Stottlemire’s and Gatzemeyer’s assessments of the DVL in naming Pleasant Ridge, KC Christian and Wathena the top teams of the DVL. He said a group of Troy, Horton, Valley Falls, Oskaloosa and JCN could also step up.

“I think the league is in three or four little tiers this season,” he said.

Schroeder said time may be the team’s friend this season as he feels some experience for the younger players with the core of upperclassmen leadership may help the season play out favorably for the Bulldogs.

“We keep working on individual skills. We may try a little bit more pressure defense this season,” Schroeder said. “I put in a new offense this season and the guys are still getting used to that, so I’m being patient there. The guys are working hard, and as long as we keep doing that, I think good things will start to happen. All they can do is their best and that’s what I ask for.”

Jefferson West
Coach: Matt Tinsley, first year
Last season: 6-15

The Tigers lost one of the best players in the county in post player Tom Shirley to graduation, but Tinsley’s first squad of Tigers gives him some ingredients to work with as he makes the transition to the job.

Tinsley spent the last two years as boys’ coach at St. Marys after some time as a graduate assistant coach on the Washburn University men’s basketball team. He has 25 players out for basketball at West, including only three seniors.

Tinsley said he is looking to those seniors – guard Willie Barnett, forward Cole Buckman and guard Briar Ploude – as the team leaders. The rest of the varsity squad is fleshed out by junior forward Alex Baker, junior forward Aaron Starr, junior point guard Sam DeMaranville, sophomore forward Dillon Roy, junior guard Bryce Miller and junior guard Tim Rhodd and junior guard Adam Fechter.

“We have quite a bit of injuries early but I thought it was a complete 180-degree turnaround from our first to our second game,” Tinsley said. The Tigers were routed by Silver Lake in the first game but bounced back to give Perry-Lecompton all it could handle. “We led Perry-Lecompton with two minutes left, so I was pleased with our effort in that game. If we play with that effort every game, we have good things ahead of us.”

Tinsley mentioned Nemaha Valley and Sabetha as two of the teams to beat in the Big Seven this season.

“I’d like to think we have a shot,” Tinsley said. “We’ve got some good tests early to show where we’ll be but I expect us to be near the top.”

Tinsley said he favors an up-tempo style of play.

“I want us to be tough on the defensive end and get after it from a team aspect. I want the guys to know what it takes to play hard all the time. Once they get that figured out I think we’ll be looking for better things.I was very pleased with how we bounced back from that first game. I think they’re understanding what we’re teaching them in practice. Hopefully we get all that together and can do some good things this season.”

New coach joins HS girls' hoops ranks

2008-12-09T15:59:00.002-06:00

One new coach joins the group of county high school girls’ basketball coaches this season as the five returnees try to build on winning or near-winning seasons.

Justin Mayer is the new coach of the Perry-Lecompton Kaws as he succeeds Mark Armstrong, who coached the team for four seasons. Mayer teaches at Eudora High School and has spent the last six years as an assistant coach for the Eudora girls’ squad.

Following a 2006-07 season in which no team won 10 games, all but Perry-Lecompton had double-digit wins in 2007-08. Jefferson County North, Oskaloosa and McLouth fought down to the wire in the Delaware Valley League race with Oskaloosa coming out on top. JCN finished with the best overall record at 18-6 while Oskaloosa was right there at 17-6 and McLouth was 13-8. Jefferson West matched that 13-8 record and Valley Falls finished 11-11 last season. Perry-Lecompton finished with a 4-17 record.

All six teams started play last week, as Oskaloosa started off with a win over Nemaha Valley while JCN did the same with a win over Maur Hill Mt. Academy. McLouth fell to St. Mary’s Academy, Jefferson West lost to Silver Lake, Valley Falls lost to ACCHS following a Dec. 4 loss to Immaculata, and Perry-Lecompton lost to Bishop Ward.

The teams continue play this week with Oskaloosa, JCN, McLouth and Valley Falls competing at the Delaware Valley League Preseason Tournament, which will be held in Oskaloosa this year. West and the Kaws were set to face off Tuesday before West returns to action Friday to play host to Sabetha.

Following is a capsule review of each team entering the season in order of last season’s record.

JCN
Coach: Steve Noll, fourth year
Last season: 18-6

The turnaround Steve Noll had been waiting for happened last season as North’s underclassmen-laden team got the farthest of any county team before falling to ACCHS in the 3A substate title game.

The best news out of that loss was that North’s only loss to graduation was one senior. Noll also has some strength in numbers this season as he ties West for the most players out with 23. That group includes a core of four seniors plus some talented juniors that were key to last season’s run. The seniors are guard/forward Amelia Noll, forward Devin Gigstad, guard Lisa Weishaar and forward Haley Hoffman, and junior guard Sara Navinskey and junior forward Mallory GrandPre are two other returning leaders for the Chargers.

Junior guard Beth Anne Brickell is slated to return from a knee injury after Christmas while sophomore forward Katie Noll also returns after seeing ample varsity playing time last season. Noll said he has a couple new weapons in stow in the form of freshmen Kate Brickell and Jordan Kramer, who he says he plans to work into the varsity rotation over the season.

“The girls have been working hard,” Noll said. He said some nagging injuries are taking their toll early on but he hopes to have everyone in full health by the return from Christmas break. “They had good volleyball and cross-country seasons so it’s good to be able to build on that a little bit. We don’t have a lot of size, but I think all the girls play a little bigger than what they are.”

Noll said several teams could be in the running for the DVL title after a season in which North fell short to county rival Oskaloosa by a slim margin.

“I think the league is gonna be tough,” Noll said. “We return a lot but so do Oskaloosa and McLouth. I think Valley Falls might surprise a lot of people. Then you’ve got teams like KC Christian and Horton that are always up there. It should be a fun race.”

After coming so close to a state bid last season, Noll said he hopes the team can take the next step this time around.

“The girls have been with me since they were in seventh and eighth grade, and they’ve been competitive every year (at the middle school level),” he said. “I guess it’s all kinda fallen into place. We’ve got some pretty high goals this season. I think we’re ready to go, we’ve just gotta go out there and play our game.”

Oskaloosa
Coach: LeeAnn Tufte, fourth year
Last season: 17-6

Tufte’s Bears also took a step forward last season and return quite a bit of the scoring punch from that team.

The Bears won the DVL title and went into substate as one of the frontrunners but stumbled versus ACCHS in the semifinals to finish a great season on a sour note.

It’s not often that a coach with 15 players out for a sport, seniors to freshmen, can point to depth as a strong point but Tufte said she feels that’s the case with this year’s team. Senior standout guard Nicole Rockhold and sophomore guard Hailey Kelly are the two top returnees for the Bears, whose roster includes two other seniors – forwards Jordan Cross and Rachell Hicks.

The Bears lost the inside presence of seniors Emily Heston and Myla Heston to graduation, and junior Kyra Coffman will miss the season with a knee injury, but Tufte has some players with some returning experience, plus a couple freshmen ready to do their part. Junior Mallory Schmidt, junior Audrey Trowbridge and sophomore Kristin Brey all got solid playing time last season and Tufte plans to work freshman forward Haley Pfau and freshman forward Rachel Schmanke into the mix. Sophomore guard Abby Thurston and sophomore forward Katie Barnes also saw some varsity time in the team’s opening win over Nemaha Valley Friday.

“I was very, very pleased with last season,” Tufte said. “We’ve picked up some freshmen and our numbers are pretty thin, but I really think you could field two varsities with our top 11. This early part of the season we’ll be figuring out rotation questions and see how everybody fits. We might be having to play some starters on varsity in junior varsity this year.”

Staying healthy will be a key, but Tufte said she also focused more on shooting going into games this year. A poor offensive effort was a main reason behind the season-ending loss to ACCHS last season so, looking at another tough schedule this season, Tufte said she wanted to see improvement in that area.

“Our shooting percentage and ability to shoot from outside was key last year, and that last loss really showed us how important that is,” Tufte said. “I’ve been really pleased with how that has come along. The other big thing is defense. We’ve got to play strong defense. If we can use that to transition into offense that will take a lot of the scoring stress off Nicole and Hailey.

“I think the DVL race is gonna be close. JCN and McLouth have most of their players back, and teams like KCC and Horton are always strong.”

Tufte said she thinks her squad is ready to get into games and leave scrimmaging behind.

“I think we’ll be able to put people in this year and, really, not skip a beat,” Tufte said. “I’m excited about this season. I know the girls are anxious to get going and see how they match up.”

McLouth
Coach: Todd Cossman, second year
Last season: 13-8

Cossman had few to no complaints about his first year as head coach at McLouth as his team was in the thick of the DVL hunt throughout the season before also losing to ACCHS in substate play.

Numbers are still low for the Bulldogs as Cossman has 14 players out, but only one senior. The main returnees are junior standout guard Missy Rome, junior post presence Kylie Shufflebarger and junior post player Cassidy Bristol. Cossman also pointed out returnees sophomore guard Logan Terry and sophomore Jessie Troupe, and said freshmen Terri Stewart and Morgan Drinnon will also see varsity playing time. The lone senior on the team is forward Haley Holwick.

“The girls have been playing well in practice,” Cossman said. “We’re keeping it pretty much the same this season. We want to build some continuity, and move forward in what we started last season – take that next step.”

The Bulldogs got started on the wrong foot with the season opening loss to a solid St. Mary’s Academy team Friday but Cossman is hoping his team is in the hunt once more for a DVL title.

“The league looks pretty solid. Oskaloosa is right up there, JCN is up there. I think Immaculata and Horton could be good,” Cossman said.

Cossman lost two solid seniors in Abby Annis and Sam Farris from last year’s team. He said he expects some learning is still left to be done but he likes his chances with his squad.

“Missy can play with just about any guard in the state,” Cossman said, “and we’ve got two really good inside players in Kylie and Cassidy. We’ve got some questions to answer and we may have some growing pains early on, but I’m pretty happy so far. Hopefully we can get going full swing by Christmas break.”

Jefferson West
Coach: Dan Hypse, third year
Last season: 13-8

Returning players are also a strength at West as Hypse returns quite a bit of experience from a team that lost to Hayden in 4A substate play to finish last season.

Hypse has a little strength in his numbers as a squad of 23 includes nine freshmen and 14 junior varsity and varsity players. Seniors and juniors form the core of the team, as Hypse has four seniors on the squad. Daughter guard/forward Hayley Hypse is joined by fellow seniors forward Audrey Mullins, forward Katie Bigham and guard/forward Michelle Bowen, who transferred to West last season from Oskaloosa. Hypse and Mullins have extensive varsity experience while Bigham had a standout season as a freshman but has seen her last two basketball seasons derailed by injuries. Joining those four will be junior guard Taylor Jaimes, junior forward Morgan Scott, junior guard and forward BriAnna Ploude, junior post player Jessica Martin, sophomore post player Jessica Wells and sophomore guard Monica Sanders.

“Hayley, Audrey and Katie have all played at the varsity level for a while now,” Hypse said. “We know what style we want to play – aggressive man-to-man defense. We want to get after people and create turnovers and turn those into baskets on the other end.”

West finished among the top three in the Big Seven League last year and said, after the frontrunner Holton, the league is a good race.

“Hopefully we can move up after finishing third last year,” Hypse said. “Holton is the top team, but we’re gonna have to play well every night or get beaten.”

West lost a narrow contest to Silver Lake to start the season 0-1, but Hypse said he hopes his team will be tested and improved by the time the games really count in February.

“I feel like we play a good schedule,” Hypse said. “I’d like us to be farther along offensively going into games. We’ve been really stressing defense in practice. Hopefully by the time we get to Christmas break the offense is starting to click.”

Valley Falls
Coach: Todd Gish, fourth year
Last season: 11-11

Gish’s team improved to a .500 record last season but had troubles with consistency before getting bounced from the 2A substate semifinals by Valley Heights.

The biggest loss for the Dragons from that team is graduated post player Rebekah Bunde, but Gish is hoping a group of other players can step up to fill the inside void left by Bunde’s departure. Gish has 22 players out for basketball, which includes four seniors. All four have seen significant playing time the last couple seasons, led by guards and forwards Tess Robinson and Chelsy Lassiter. Senior Chelsey Correll will be looked to for more production in the post this season and senior guard Shelbie Glissman returns to try and give Valley Falls an offensive boost. Other key returnees include sophomore guards Abbey Kearney, who had a standout freshman season, and Morgan Streeter, who also saw plenty of playing time as a freshman. Gish said junior guard Brenna Lane, junior forward Bethany Myers, junior guard and forward Bailey Sherretts, junior Courtnie Watson and sophomore Kaitlyn Speer would also likely see varsity time.

“Abbey was big for us last year, so we’ll lean on her quite a bit,” Gish said. “Really we’ve got about eight more girls that are fairly interchangeable. I’m hoping Chelsey (Correll) can step up a little on the offensive end, and Chelsy (Lassiter) had games in spurts last year where she was in double figures, too, so hopefully she can be a little more consistent with that.”

The changes add up to a drive for more aggression defensively from Gish.

“We played a little more soft zone defense last year so I’d like to work more man-to-man in. We’re challenged in size but we’ll have to make up for that,” Gish said.

Gish pointed out last year’s DVL top three – JCN, Oskaloosa and McLouth – as the main three to watch again this season.

“Oskaloosa will be tough, and JCN has everybody back, and McLouth maybe has the best player in the league in Rome,” Gish said. “Some things will have to go our way, but part of the challenge is changing the mindset here. The girls aren’t used to seeing a lot of success.”

The season is off to a rough start as the Dragons have dropped single-digit-deficit games to Immaculata and ACCHS to start 0-2. Gish said he’s hoping the good feelings he has had about the team entering play pan out.

“Practices have been going pretty well early on,” Gish said. “I think overall they’re quite a bit better at this point than they were last year at this point. We’ll know a lot more after a few games.”

Perry-Lecompton
Coach: Justin Mayer, first year
Last season: 4-17

The Kaws have struggled in recent years but Mayer is hoping he can get the outlook turned around for the Kaw girls.

Mayer’s wife, the former Chrissy McClure, is a mid-1990s graduate of Perry-Lecompton so, when he heard of the job’s availability, he looked at it as a challenge.

“I had wanted to be a head coach and, since my wife is a graduate of Perry-Lecompton and her family is still close, I figured this was a good place to start,” Mayer said. He has spent the last six years as an assistant at Eudora, and also teaches there.

Mayer has only 15 girls out for basketball but only two are seniors. He said he is looking to junior guard Emma Gantz, junior post player Katie Volle, senior post player Megan Elder, junior guard Katie Hirsch, senior guard Sydney Allen, sophomore guard Taylor Akagi to lead the way on varsity. He pointed out junior post player Jessica Christman, sophomore guard/forward Kerry Neil and junior guard Abby Bays as other players who will see varsity time.

“It’s kind of an unsolved mystery, why more girls aren’t coming out for the team,” Mayer said. “We had situations where some girls who hadn’t been out went out for the team and others who had, didn’t. We’re taking the time to figure out what works best with this group.”

Mayer said this is very much a transition year as he settles into his first head coaching job, which is also a building project in turning around the Kaw girls.

“We’re gonna have to outwork teams on the defensive end. That’ll be our staple,” Mayer said. “We’re getting to know each other and that’s gonna take some time.”

Mayer said Lansing, Tonganoxie and Basehor-Linwood should be the top teams in the perennially tough Kaw Valley League. He said he hopes this year is a chance for him to lay the foundation for years to come.

“We’re suiting up everybody,” Mayer said of varsity games. “We’re working on getting to know my philosophy and relaxing and making good decisions on the offensive end. You’ve got to be able to handle defensive pressure. Hopefully we can get better as the year goes on. I think the girls have the tools, it’s just a matter of putting them together.”

JCN settles for fourth at state volleyball

2008-11-10T12:59:00.002-06:00

The line between tears of joy and tears of frustration was thin at times for the Jefferson County North Chargers volleyball team as the squad slipped through pool play only to have a frustrating Saturday for a fourth-place finish Nov. 1 at the 3A state tournament in Salina.

The Chargers entered play on Halloween afternoon at the Bicentennial Center as the fifth seed in a pool with top-seeded Phillipsburg, fourth-seeded Osage City and eighth-seeded Hoisington. Hoisington knocked off Phillipsburg in an upset in the first match of the day and the Chargers got started versus Osage City.

The Indians, who entered the tourney at 35-5, jumped out to a 14-6 game 1 lead but saw North fight back to whittle the lead to 21-17 and, eventually, 23-21, on a kill by North senior Lisa Weishaar. After Osage City’s second timeout of the game, a North player made contact with the net to give Osage City game point and an illegal hit call on North gave Osage City a 25-21 win in the first game of the best-of-three match. North took the early lead in game two by surging to a 14-3 advantage and rolling to a 25-13 win to force a deciding game 3.

The game would be close as North took a 6-3 lead but Osage City came back to take a 15-9 lead. JCN responded to tie the game at 18 on a kill by senior Devin Gigstad and force an Indians timeout. JCN made it a 6-point run to make the lead 21-18 but the Indians tied the game at 22. The Indians had a match point at 24-23 but JCN junior Sara Navinskey came through with a kill. At a 24-all tie, JCN sophomore Jordyne Seichepine scored a kill to give North a match point but Osage City retied the game. A Seichepine block gave North a second chance and an Osage City kill attempt hit the net and fell on the Indians’ side to give North the match.

North stayed on the court to face top seed Phillipsburg and found the Panthers focused after their opening loss to Hoisington. The Panthers led most of the way as they pulled away to a 4- or 5-point lead most of game 1 to take the game by a score of 25-20. JCN established the early lead in game 2 and was ahead, 14-9, before the Panthers started to creep back into the game. They got the game tied at 16 before moving ahead with a run of 4 straight points to make it 21-17. A Weishaar kill cut it to 22-20 and the Chargers got within a point before the Panthers scored the next 3 points to take the game and the match, 25-21, and drop JCN to 1-1 in pool play.

Hoisington and Phillipsburg both defeated Osage City to knock the Indians out of contention at 0-3 and set up a pivotal match between North and 2-0 Hoisington with a shot at advancing to Saturday’s Final Four on the line. North pulled out its best match of the day to dispatch the Cardinals, 25-21, 25-18. On the tiebreaker, Phillipsburg came through as the pool’s top seed while North came out ahead of Hoisington based on the amount of games needed to win its 2 matches.

The Chargers were then slated to face Rock Creek as the top qualifier in the other pool in Saturday’s semifinal match. North would play a tough game 1 but wouldn’t recover from a close loss in that game in game 2.

The Mustangs jumped out to a 5-2 lead and forced a North timeout at 9-4. The Chargers responded to tie the game at 11, 12 and 13. Rock Creek would creep ahead again only to see North tie the game at 16. Rock Creek again took a 3-point lead at 19-16 but North wouldn’t go away to cut the lead back to 20-19. Again Rock Creek tried to put the game away at 23-19 and 24-21 but a Mustang serve sailed long and a good serve by North junior Molly Lyon wasn’t returned by Rock Creek to keep North in the game.

After a Mustang timeout, a Gigstad tip fell in to tie the game at 24. Rock Creek had another chance to win the game but North scored two straight points including a Weishaar kill that forced a Mustang illegal hit to give North a game point. After another Mustang timeout, Rock Creek survived to tie the game but North fought off another game point before Rock Creek eventually won the game, 29-27, as a Seichepine kill fell just long.

JCN held an early 8-5 lead in game 2 and led, 9-6, when Rock Creek rolled off 9 straight points to take a 15-9 lead. The Mustangs extended the lead to 7 points before North was able to make a run to cut the lead to 21-18. Rock Creek would score the final 2 points of the match to move into the state title game with a 29-27, 25-19 victory.

With dreams of a state title dashed, the Chargers were forced to refocus on a rematch with Phillipsburg, which fell to Garden Plain in the other semifinal. The second match with the Panthers would play out much like the first one as a tight game 1 saw Philipsburg pull ahead in the teens to take a 19-14 lead. North cut the lead back to 20-19 but the Panthers rattled off 5 straight points to take game 1 by a 25-19 count.

In game 2, Phillipsburg took a 6-1 lead and extended it to 11-5. JCN got as close as 13-10 before the Panthers went on another run to make it 19-10. The Panthers got match point at 24-12 and North fought off three points before the Panthers were able to take home a 25-16 game 2 victory for third place in the tournament.

With the season in the books at 35-10, North coach Jeremy Gish huddled his players as they emotionally dealt with a tough end to another successful season. The team waited and watched as Garden Plain defeated Rock Creek in two games for the state title and then the Chargers got their fourth-place medals and took time for some team photos by the cadre of parents, students and supporters that made the trek west on I-70 to Salina.

Gish said despite the unfavorable outcome of Saturday’s matches, he and his team wouldn’t second-guess themselves.

“We don’t have any regrets,” Gish said. “The girls played extremely hard and they left all they had on the court. Against Rock Creek, we probably got our best defensive match of the year. The girls just refused to let the ball hit the floor at times. Rock Creek is a good team but, really, we don’t match up well. With Phillipsburg, we knew what they liked to do, we just couldn’t get it going. I think the girls were extremely motivated. I didn’t feel like we were getting too many breaks today, and there’s not much you can do about that.”

Navinskey was later named to the Kansas Volleyball Association’s all-tournament team for the 3A tourney.

County football scores from Oct. 24, 2008

2008-10-26T12:03:00.003-05:00

Oskaloosa, 41, vs. Jefferson County North, 0
Pleasant Ridge, 48, vs. McLouth, 6
Atchison, 35, vs. Jefferson West, 14
Baldwin, 35, vs. Perry-Lecompton, 28
Valley Falls, 54, vs. Immaculata, 6

Valley Falls blanks McLouth, 33-0

2008-10-15T12:04:00.001-05:00

When one player on a team outgains the opposing team as a whole by more than three times, that’s a pretty good sign of which team came out on top of a matchup.

Such was the case Friday in Valley Falls as Dragons senior Josh Kearney ran over, around and through the McLouth defense for more than 250 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a 33-0 Valley Falls victory on homecoming night.

To top it off, Kearney was even crowned homecoming king at halftime.

The Dragons defense also played well in holding McLouth to seven first downs in the game. McLouth finished with 101 yards before taking into account three bad snaps for a total loss of 32 yards to leave the Bulldogs with total offensive yardage of 67 on the night.

The game was scoreless through four possessions until Kearney picked up two first downs and scored on a 34-yard run with 1:26 left in the first quarter to make it 6-0 Dragons. After McLouth’s third three-plays-and-out on their first three possessions, Kearney scored on a 60-yard run on the Dragons’ next play from scrimmage and junior quarterback Mitchell Streeter booted the extra point for a 13-0 Dragons lead with 11:39 to go in the first half.

The Bulldogs picked up two first downs on their fourth possession of the game but stalled at their own 42. Kearney rushing gains and a 19-yard pass from Streeter to senior Ridge Glassel took the ball to the McLouth 17, and three plays later, Kearney scored from 7 yards out to make it 20-0 with Streeter’s extra point. That would hold as the halftime score.

McLouth picked up a first down on its first possession of the second half but turned the ball over on downs at the Valley Falls 40. The Dragons’ offense went back to work as four different rushers took the ball to the McLouth 26. Kearney ran the ball 25 yards to the Bulldogs 1 and scored on the next play to make it 27-0 with Streeter’s extra-point kick.

Dragons sophomore Alex Lederer cut the Bulldogs’ next possession short with an interception. The Dragons had another Kearney touchdown run called back by a holding penalty before turning the ball over on downs at the McLouth 21 early in the fourth quarter.

A Kearney 43-yard run set the Dragons up again on their next possession and Streeter finished the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run to make it 33-0 with 5:54 left in the game. From there, it was only a matter of time. Two more McLouth drives stalled, and Lederer came in at quarterback and had a long touchdown run called back on an illegal block penalty with time dwindling. He followed that play with a 20-yard run that ended up being the final play of the game.

Kearney finished with 23 rushes for 258 yards and 3 TDs while Streeter had 10 runs for 39 yards and a score and was 2-for-4 passing for 41 yards and an interception. Three other rushers combined for 71 yards for the Dragons as they racked up 409 yards in offense.

McLouth was led by 14 rushes for 37 yards from senior Jake Hullinger and 10 rushes for 18 yards from senior quarterback Derrick Crouse. Crouse was 7-for-17 passing for 42 yards and an interception.

Dragons coach Rod Bunde said his team played well but he still saw a couple areas of improvement as district play begins this week.

“We’ve had a lot of kids hurt but the guys stepped up and played a good game tonight,” Bunde said. “We had a couple touchdowns called back because of penalties, but the kids played hard. We’re hoping to get healthy and get a couple kids back from ineligibility going into district play.”

The win improved Valley Falls to 4-2. McLouth fell to 2-4 with the loss. The Dragons play host to Lyndon in the first game of their 2A district play Friday. McLouth plays host to JCN in the first game of those teams’ 3A district schedule.