6-2-10 ECC sport
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3/10/10
1:38 AM
Ellis County Chronicle,
Page 1
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Sports
Bound for the playoffs Lady Hawks earn spot in coveted postseason tourney By ALEX RILEY Chronicle sports writer
It has been the mantra of the team all season. It was said in practice, on the bench, on the court and in the locker room. Anytime the squad needed focus, the saying was what they turned to. It was even written on the game ball itself. The Red Oak girls basketball team made “on a mission” the catch phrase for this season and with last Friday’s win over Terrell the Lady Hawks accomplished part of that goal. For the first time in five years, the girls program will be playoff bound and could finish as the No. 2 seed from District 15-4A. “Yes we’ve been on mission since the Photo by Alex Riley/The Chroniclet beginning of last year and we have succeeded Members of the Red Oak girls basketball team begin to celebrate as time runs and we’re (still) on a mission. And we finally out in last Friday’s win over Terrell. The Lady Hawks are in the playoffs for the got (to the playoffs) this year. It’s been a lot of hard work,” senior Danyel Harris said. first time in five years and could be a No. 2 seed.
That hard work came to a head on Friday night as players, fans and even the coaching staff could not contain itself from a little postgame celebration. Armed with a ladder and a pair of scissors, the Lady Hawks proceeded to cut down the nets in celebration of many things — a berth in the playoffs, a possible second place finish in the district, senior night and the final girls basketball game at the old Red Oak gymnasium. With the new high school set to open next fall, the victory and season accomplishments served as a backdrop to sending the old venue out in style. The hope is that the momentum will carry over into the new building. “We knew that if we took care of business See GIRLS , Page 9
Dynamic defensive duo Red Oak pair in running for personal accolades but putting team results first By ALEX RILEY Chronicle sports writer
Photo by Alex Riley/The Chronicle
Red Oak center Earl Graves is a shot blocking specialist. He leads the team in rebounds as well.
Ninth-grade girls basketball update The season ended on a positive note for the freshman Lady Hawk basketball team last week as it knocked off Terrell 49-34 to close out the season. Kristen Kistner’s 16 points led the way while Bailey Hebert added another 12. “They’re playing at a level that requires more ball movement and so they have to kind of learn how to manage the ball, we can’t just run plays all the time. That’s kind of where we were at the end of the season,” coach Brian Rogers said. “But definitely we’ve got some players that are ready to move up and take the game to whole new level.” For the season, Kistner scored a team-high 285 points while Hebert was just behind her with 273. Lauren Mclin led the team in rebounding with 123 and Bri Arriola recorded 76 steals. The team finished at 13-14 overall and 5-7 in district.
Junior varsity girls basketball update Three different players hit double-figures as the junior varsity girls basketball team just missed out on tying its single-game scoring record for the season with a 79-61 win over Terrell. “We got that final victory, we were so excited. We were actually going for 83 points to tie our allseason high but we didn’t get it,” coach Jane Laws said. “We blew a lot of easy lay-ups but you know what? A win is a win is a win and we are district champs.” Taylor McCollugh led in scoring with 26 while Sydnii Noland (15) and Kara Kistner (14) each had big days to close out the season. Red Oak finishes the year with a 24-3 record and was 10-2 in district.
MESQUITE – It’s probably a good thing Red Oak boys basketball coach Preston Foster can’t vote for his own players during post season district awards. Honestly, he’s not sure what he would do if he had to. In the race for District 154A defensive player of the year, the Hawks have a pair of standout players who make life miserable for opposing teams’ offenses. Gaylon Edwards and Earl Graves are imposing, hard-nosed players who make the team’s defense go. The problem — which one do you vote for? “I’m sitting there and to me, I’m not allowed to vote
on my own kids, but if I had to vote on them I don’t know who I’d vote for,” Foster laughs. Edwards, the defending 15-4A defensive player of the year, has lived up to his billing this season as the team’s primary front man on other teams’ ball handlers. With his long arms and quick hands, Edwards has developed a knack for poking the ball away from guards and converting the turnovers into easy buckets down on the other end. In a game last week against West Mesquite, Edwards’ prowess was on display as he squared off all night with Wrangle guard Javier Sora. In
Photo by Alex Riley/The Chronicle
Gaylon Edwards has lived up to his status as See BOYS, Page 9 2009 defensive player of the year for 15-4A.
Red Oak ISD Round-up glass to go up 59-43. Varsity girls basketball While Lockhart’s 19 and Junior varsity boys Robinson’s 15 led the way in scor- soccer update update ing, it was the play of the seniors The Lady Hawks also stayed in the playoff hunt with a 62-52 road win over Mabank. In all, 10 of the 11 players on the team had points in the game. Freshman Diamond Lockhart finished with a team-high 18 while Kiona Robinson, Raquel Dent and Daphene Ward had eight points each. With flash bulbs popping, cheers flying and a step ladder in hand, the Lady Hawk basketball program capped its regular season by ceremonially cutting down the nets in celebration of a turnaround season. A 73-58 win over Terrell ensured the team would claim either the second or third seed from District 154A in the upcoming playoffs, gave the team it’s first berth in the post season in five years and turned out to be the final girls game played at the old gymnasium as the new high school opens next fall. And if all that wasn’t enough, it was senior night. Six players took the court for their final home game in a high school uniform and all six made the most of their farewell evening. The
Photo by Alex Riley/The Daily Light
Bailey Hebert finished the season with 273 points for the ninth-grade girls team as it closed out with a win.
that stole the show. Dent led the group with eight and those 12 boards while Jackson, Ward and Kaitlyn Smith each had six. Wendy Martinez (six) and Harris (three) rounded out the senior group.
Photo by Alex Riley/The Chronicle
Taylor McCollugh scored 26 points as the JV closed out the season with a win. group combined for 36 of the team’s points as all six scored at least three points. They also helped force numerous turnovers and grabbed key rebounds along the way. Of the six seniors who took the floor, Dent made the biggest impact defensively as the 6-foot-4 post player narrowly missed out on a double-double with eight points and 12 rebounds. When the night started, it appeared as though Red Oak (1911, 8-4 district) was about to get a hard charge from Terrell. After taking a 4-0 lead, the Lady Tigers responded with a 10-0 run and held a lead until Danyel Harris hit a pullup jumper to tie the game at 16. Robinson’s shot off the glass gave Red Oak an 18-16 lead it would not give back the rest of the way. Lockhart sank a pair of free throws then stole the inbounds pass and hit a jumper just before the half to give Red Oak a nine-point lead. After Terrell cut the lead back to single digits in the third, seniors Ward, Symone Jackson and Dent went to work, starting with a 3pointer from Ward to make it 53-41. Ward then dished to Dent for a layup followed by a Lockhart jumper and a Jackson tough shot off the
Varsity boys basketball update Nine players finished with four or more points as the Red Oak boys rolled past Mabank 93-68. Five Hawks posted double-figure scoring as Earl Graves and Gaylon Edwards each had 16 while Dominique Bonner added 15. Brothers D.J. and Brandon Brady had 14 and 10 points respectively. The Red Oak boys basketball team earned its 20th win of the season on Friday night with a 68-54 victory at Terrell. Led by Earl Graves’ 22, the Hawks broke a fairly tight game open in the third period by outscoring the Tigers 15-8. Over the first three periods, Red Oak (20-9, 6-4 district) led Terrell in scoring each time before both teams combined for 41 points in the fourth period. Gaylon Edwards was next in line with 16 while Brandon Brady added 10. The victory ensures the Hawks of a trip of to playoffs where they are currently locked in a third seed from District 15-4A.
The JV boys soccer team fell to Rockwall 3-1 on Friday. The teams were tied at 1-1 going in at the half before Rockwall scored early in the second to take the lead and go on to win.
Varsity boys soccer update Goals by Josh Mrozinski, Dillon Malke and Richie Barrientos helped the Red Oak boys soccer team pick up a big 3-1 win over Mansfield Timberview. The Red Oak boys soccer team finished the early portion of its season with a 10-1 record by defeating Rockwall 2-0. Timely offense and stellar defense continue to be the team’s calling card. In 11 games, the squad has given up just four goals in regulation all season. Friday’s game was no different as the squad pitched its fourth shutout in the last five games. Goals by Preston Hancock and Ramen Lopez were all the offense the team would need to get the win.
Varsity girls soccer update Ashley Gonzales’ goal against The Colony forced a 1-1 draw for the Lady Hawks last week. While the boys were at home hosting Rockwall, the girls made the trek to play the Yellowjackets on the road. The Lady Hawk offense was stymied by Rockwall in a 1-0 loss.
Photo by Alex Riley/The Chronicle
The Red Oak junior varsity soccer squad dropped a tough 3-1 game to Rockwall.