Junior High Teams Compete with Hoxie
The junior high boys traveled on Hoxie on Thursday, November 17, to compete in basketball. St. Francis won two of the three games played. St. Francis won the B-Team contest 42-12. Hoxie won the A-Team contest 33-36. The St. Francis C-Team defeated Hoxie 28-18.
St. Francis took an early 10-2 lead after one quarter of action in the B-Team contest and extended the lead to 19-4 by halftime. The Indians led 32-8 after three periods and cruised to a 42-12 victory.
Coach David Morrow had the following comments on the game, "These guys had control of this game from the very beginning. Once again, our success in the game started with the great play of our three guards. Taylor Rogers had a great game and was able to penetrate the defense essentially at will. The other two starting guards also had great games. Joel Hill ran the court very well, scoring several of his baskets in transition. Quinton Cravens was also able to find some holes in the Hoxie defense and attack the basket. Travis Rogers had a great defensive game, but also made it to the foul line and connected on one field goal. Our post players, Austin Patton and Francisco Fernandez, also played very well. Patton has improved steadily throughout the year and had maybe his best scoring night. Fernandez also played maybe his best game as an Indian. Francisco made it to the foul line twice in the 3rd quarter."
Scoring for St. Francis in the B-Team game were: Taylor Rogers, 12; Joel Hill, 8; Travis Rogers, 3; Quinton Cravens, 3; Francisco Fernandez, 7; and Austin Patton, 9.
The A-Team Indians trailed early in the contest, but the Indians worked their way back to make the game close in the final minutes. The Indians fell behind 5-12 after one period and trailed by five (13-18) at halftime. The Indians still trailed by 5 after three quarters (23-28) but cut the lead to two late in the contest. Hoxie sealed the win at 33-36
Coach Morrow commented, "This was another game that we’ll look back on with a lot of regret. Having trailed Hoxie throughout the entire contest, the guys were able to come within two points in the final minutes of the game. During the entire fourth quarter, we were able to come up with numerous steals and convert some of them into points. The ones we didn’t convert were most certainly costly missed opportunities. In that same stretch, we had some lapses in defense that cost us some easy points. The game illustrates how important each mistake can be when competing against a good team."
"All that being said, I was extremely proud of these young men. They are tough competitors and have grown immensely since last year. The Hoxie game was fast and physical, and our athletes represented themselves well. It would been very easy to give up in the third quarter and tap out, but they put themselves in a position to win. The quiet leaders on this team, who lead mostly by example, exerted themselves in the fourth quarter and made this a very exciting basketball game."
Scoring for the Indians in the A-Team game were: Garrett Brunk, 11; Carl Fabre, 9; Jakob Church, 2; Lane Hobrock, 4; Justin Pacheco, 5; and Clay Cassaw, 2.
The C-Team game was tied at 4-all after one quarter of play. By halftime, Hoxie had earned a 6-10 lead. The Indians played well in the third period and regained the lead 18-16. The Indians opened up the lead even more in the fourth period and won the contest 28-18.
Coach Morrow commented, "We played a full, regular C-team game against Hoxie, which gave these guys another chance to shine . . . and shine they did. Chris Hoard had and outstanding, 19-point scoring night. To say the least, it was a breakout game for him, one in which he made his first three-point shot. Some of the other guys also really got on track, especially in the second half. J.R. Landenberger is getting some great experience handling the ball and did pretty well against Hoxie. Zach White also had a breakout game. In the second half, he attacked the basket and really tried to create some motion on the offense. Payton Beims had a good night in the post area, scoring two baskets and earning a two-shot opportunity at the line. Our other post players, Jeremiah Neitzel and Ryan Grover, also played well in this game. Neitzel hit two shots from the baseline which helped us keep our momentum in the third quarter."
Scoring for St. Francis in the C-Team contest were: Chris Hoard, 19; Payton Beims, 4; Jeremiah Neitzel, 4; and J.R. Landenberger, 1.
The junior high teams will play Rawlins County in Atwood on Monday, November 21 at 4:30 PM.
