IN|All Sports 2018 Basketball Preview by KPC Media Group

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@kpc_sports Page 1

Angola Hornets boys basketball schedule Nov. 24

Wawasee @ Trine

Jan. 4

Prairie Heights

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 30

Central Noble

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 8-12

NECC Tourn.

TBD

Dec. 4

A @ Woodlan

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 15

DeKalb

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 7

Garrett

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 18

@ ’Busco

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 8

@ Northridge

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 22

Heritage

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 14

Westview

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 25

A @ Hamilton

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 15

@ Fremont

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 26

Fairfield

7:30 p.m.

@ Lakewood Park

Jan. 31

Dec. 20

7:30 p.m.

@ Concordia

Feb. 5

@ Leo

7:30 p.m.

6 p.m.

*Schedule subject to change

angola High School

Feb. 15

@ Eastside

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 16

H West Noble

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 19

@ East Noble

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 22

Lakeland

7:15 p.m.

755 S. C.R. 100E, Angola Colors: Purple and Gold

Slam Dunk

Class: 4A

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Angola boys seek to keep moving forward BY CHRIS REED

creed@kpcmedia.com

ANGOLA — The team that the Angola boys basketball team fields this season will look different than the one that reached the Class 3A regional semifinals a year ago. Team stalwarts such as Braxton Meek, Braydon Hart and Jarret Schultz graduated, and a mix of underclassmen and a few transfers now take their place. The mark of a strong program, though, is how a team handles these changes. “When I first took over this program, I looked at Westview and I admired how they were always at the top of the conference, year after year,” Hornets coach Ed Bentley said. “It took a while, but that’s where we are now. We don’t expect to take a step back. We only expect to move forward.” The team’s biggest hit comes in the front court, where Hart and Schultz leave two big holes behind. Bentley, however, said the Hornets may be even better in that area this year. Returnees Dyer Ball and Luke Honer return as forwards, while David Frank adds an even bigger body to the mix. “I think he is really going to surprise people,” Bentley said of Frank. “For how big of a guy he is, he has great footwork and is deceptively quick.” The Hornets finished fourth in the Northeast Corner Conference last season with an 8-4 record in league play. The usual suspects will be be atop the league in 2018-19, Bentley said, and he expects his team to be right up there with Westview, Fairfield and Lakeland. “We know we can play with those teams, and we know we can beat those teams,” Bentley said. “But we have to prove that. We know we will give our best when we play those teams, and you better believe they know that, too.” Senior point guard Jack Hilyard is battle-tested after taking on a lot of

FILE PHOTO

Angola’s Dyer Ball leaps into the air to take a shot against an East Noble defender during a boys basketball game played on Feb. 20.

responsibility on the varsity as a junior last season. A bunch of football players will also be battle-tested when they hit the hardwood, and that includes Honer, Frank and Ball. Bentley said 80 percent of Angola’s basketball players play football for the Hornets. “I know one thing under Andy (Thomas, Hornet football coach) and our football team, they know how to compete,” Bentley said to WANE-TV (Ch. 15, Fort Wayne) at the Northeast

Indiana High School Media Day in Fort Wayne on Oct. 18. “It’s not about getting them to compete. It’s just trying to get their legs back under them and get them focused on basketball again.” Angola opens its season Nov. 24 when it hosts Wawasee at Trine University’s MTI Center. “I’m excited to see how we’ll gel and do this year,” Hilyard said to WANE-TV at the Northeast Indiana High School Media Day in Fort Wayne on Oct. 18.

IN All Sports Basketball Preview • 2018 • kpcnews.com • ©KPC Media Group Inc.

Page 3

Angola Hornets girls basketball schedule Oct. 30

@ New Haven

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 6

Bishop Luers

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 9

@ DeKalb

6 p.m.

Dec. 5

@ Leo

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 12 H

Lakeland

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 18 H

West Noble

7:30 p.m.

Woodlan

7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

Norwell

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 16 H

Eastside

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 21 H

Nov. 20

@ Garrett

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 2

East Noble

NLC / NECC Shootout @ Northridge

Jan. 4

Prairie Heights

6 p.m.

Jan. 5

Fremont

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 8-12

NECC Tournament

NLC / NECC Shootout vs. Concord @ Northridge

3 p.m.

Jan. 15

@ Westview

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 18

@ ’Busco

6 p.m.

@ Fairfield

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 23

A @ Bellmont

Nov. 24

755 S. 100 E., Angola

Central Noble

Nov. 10 H

Nov. 24

angola High School

7: p.m.

Nov. 30 H

Nov. 27

11:45 a.m.

6 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

*Schedule subject to change

Colors: Purple and Gold

Slam Dunk

Class: 4A

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Hornet girls learned a lot from 3A sectional final loss

BY CHRIS REED

creed@kpcmedia.com

ANGOLA — Each coach handles a high-profile loss differently. Some choose to use it as a rallying cry for the next season. Some, meanwhile, opt to ignore it all together, saying it makes no difference in a new year. Angola girls basketball coach Brandon Appleton admitted he wasn’t quite sure how to handle his team’s loss — a 49-39 loss to Concordia in the Class 3A Bishop Dwenger Sectional final last year — ultimately choosing somewhat of a down-themiddle approach. “There were times I brought it up,” he said. “Sometimes I felt like I brought it up too much.” Appleton said his team took two key things away from that game. “First off, we just were not ready for that stage,” he said. “I thought we were going into the game, but we showed our youth. However, I also learned that we are a really good team that brings back a lot of good players.” One of those players, sophomore guard Hanna Knoll, will be the key to success in 2018-19, Appleton acknowledged. Knoll, who led the team in points, steals and shooting percentage, took the fall season off from playing soccer to focus on bettering her hoops game — an effort, the coach said, has proved fruitful. Other key players returning include guard Ally Lorntz and forward Sarah Duvendack. Senior Reace Peppler and juniors Kayla Fenstermaker and Breanna Worman will also play important roles. The team’s backcourt will be strong with Knoll and Lorntz, though the frontcourt will go through some changes with the loss of graduated senior Ali Cranston. Duvendack will be a key part of that transition. Regardless, Appleton said he won’t worry too much about traditional positions and measurements. He insists the best five players will play, no matter what position group they may fall into. Appleton said his team has its

FILE PHOTO

Angola’s Ally Lorntz drives around a Bishop Dwenger defender during last season’s sectional semifinal matchup with the Saints.

sights set on this season’s sectional final, where he hopes to get another crack at the Cadets. “They have owned that sectional for a while now. I hope we get a chance to meet them again,” he said. Angola will once again look to use its pressing full-court style of play and more efficient scoring to rise above teams with strong post players. The Hornets will hope to develop a

bigger paint presence as the season goes along. Angola added two of the top teams in the Northeast 8 Conference to its schedule. The Hornets will host perennial Northeast Indiana girls basketball power Norwell on Nov. 10 and travel to Bellmont for their regular season finale on Jan. 23. The Squaws are led by Northern Illinois commit Grace Hunter.

IN All Sports Basketball Preview • 2018 • kpcnews.com • ©KPC Media Group Inc.

Page 5

central noble cougars boys basketball schedule

central noble High School

Nov. 20

Canterbury

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 16

East Noble

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 30

@ Angola

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 18

Eastside

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 4

@ Whitko

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 25

’Busco

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 8

A @ Westview

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 11

@ Hamilton

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 31

@ Prairie Heights

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 14 H

West Noble

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 8

Lakeland

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 21 H

Wawasee

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 12

Heritage

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 22 H

Bremen

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 15

@ Fremont

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 19

Lakewood Park

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 22

Fairfield

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 28

@ DeKalb

Jan. 2

Bluffton

Jan. 4

@ Garrett

Jan. 8-12

NECC Tourn.

TBD 7:30 p.m. TBD

302 Cougar Court, Albion Colors: Maroon and White

*Schedule subject to change

Class: 2A

Slam Dunk

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Central Noble boys cagers have need for speed BY TAYLOR LEHMAN

tlehman@kpcmedia.com

ALBION — Central Noble wants to play fast. That’s how head coach John Bodey grew up playing and how he wants his Cougars to play as well. “With the way we want to play, it’s an advantage,” Bodey said about Central Noble’s lack of size on the inside. “I want to play fast, so having a lot of perimeter players with some skills is an advantage for us.” Bodey said his team is full of “twos and threes,” meaning plenty of guards and shorter forwards. Senior Jacob Thompson will be the only post player, but that lack of depth on the inside hasn’t presented too many issues for Bodey and his team, he said. “With the work we’ve done in the offseason and progress we’ve made, we can play as fast as I want us to play,” Bodey said. “That’s kind of where the game is going.” Bodey said he believed his team performed better than how many people outside of the program anticipated it would last season. He said most expected the Cougars to finish fifth, sixth or seventh in the Northeast Corner Conference, but Central Noble tied for fourth with a record of 13-11 overall and 7-4 within the conference. Bodey said if his team can get back junior guard Lucas Deck, who suffered a back injury and an ACL tear last season, stay healthy and take some offensive burden off leading scorer Ridley Zolman, his team can remain near the top of the conference. “We relied on one person a lot to do a lot of the scoring,” Bodey said. “I think we have more people to put the ball in the basket. Ridley is going to have some help. For us as a team, it would be better if Ridley doesn’t have to score 20 every night for us to win.” 2017-18 record: 13-11 overall, 7-4 Northeast Corner Conference First game: Fort Wayne Canterbury at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 20 in Albion Key returners: Senior Ridley Zolman, sophomore Sawyer Yoder and senior Jacob Thompson

FILE PHOTO

Central Noble’s Ridley Zolman drives down the baseline during the Cougars’ win over Fairfield.

Key losses: Zach Brazel, Trey Phillips and Braxton Dial Strengths: Central Noble’s speed and agility will be crucial this year. Playing quickly requires a lot of passing upcourt and composure with high speeds. Central Noble certainly has the bodies to maintain that level of play, more so than most teams. Avoiding mistakes will be the issue at that speed. Turnovers can plague a team that works at high speeds, but Central Noble has the experience within its system to potentially muffle turnovers. Areas to work on: Making up for the lack of much of a post presence will be big for the Cougars, finding ways to incorporate their guards on

the inside without posting up in order to help Thompson. That lack of depth on the inside can be a liability against some of the better teams in the NECC. Losing an integral post figure like Thompson to injury could be enough to topple any team’s season in the NECC. Keys to success: Finding creative ways to use guards and mastering the art of playing quickly will be important for Central Noble’s success this year. The Cougars will also need to stay healthy, especially on the inside, to win in the back half of the season. If the Cougars can find productive ways to present a roster of shooting guards and small forwards, they can be a dangerous team.

IN All Sports Basketball Preview • 2018 • kpcnews.com • ©KPC Media Group Inc.

Page 7

central noble cougars girls basketball schedule Nov. 3

Bishop Luers

Nov. 6

@ Whitko

Nov. 10

Prairie Heights

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 13

Bethany Christian

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 16

@ Fremont

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 17

@ DeKalb

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 20

@ Lakeland

7:30 p.m.

Triton Central @ New Castle

11 a.m.

@ Angola

6 p.m.

Nov. 24

central noble High School

Nov. 30

302 Cougar Court, Albion

7:30 p.m. 7 p.m.

Dec. 4

@ Lakewood Park

6 p.m.

Dec. 7

Westview

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 14 H

West Noble

6 p.m.

Dec. 18 H

Goshen

6 p.m.

Dec. 21 H

Wawasee

6 p.m.

Dec. 28 H

Bremen

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 4

@ Garrett

6 p.m.

Jan. 8-12

NECC Tourn.

6 p.m.

Jan. 15

Fairfield

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 18

Eastside

6 p.m.

Jan. 25

’Busco

6 p.m.

*Schedule subject to change

Colors: Maroon and White Class: 2A

Slam Dunk

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FILE PHOTO

Central Noble’s Sydney Freeman attempts to drive past Bremen sophomore Dellenira Duran during the Class 2A Central Noble Sectional final last season.

Bridgette Gray (25) attacks the basket against the Winchester Golden Falcons during the IHSAA Class 2A state championship girls basketball game last season.

Central Noble hopes to have the tools to defend state title

BY TAYLOR LEHMAN

tlehman@kpcmedia.com

ALBION — Central Noble enters its 2018 season with a large target on its back, and it remains tooled to defend its Class 2A state title. The Cougars return all but one major contributor, as Calista Rice graduated. Head coach Josh Treesh and Central Noble bring back senior leading scorer Sydney Freeman, who averaged 17.3 points per game last season and played in the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star game during the offseason. In the post, the Cougars also return senior Meleah Leatherman, who averaged a doubledouble last year with 14.3 points and 10 rebounds per game. In addition to their two leading scorers, the Cougars will see the return of sophomores Bridgette Gray and Lydia Andrews as well. Andrews and Gray played every game — along

with Freeman, Leatherman and junior Sam Brumbaugh — as freshmen last season and combined for 6.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. In just under 23 minutes per game last season, Rice stacked up 4.3 points per game with just more than two rebounds and just less than two assists. But in an understanding and guidance role, Rice was one of the better players that kept the Cougars glued together, which is a role that became important for Central Noble during its postseason run. 2017-18 record: 23-5 overall, 9-2 Northeast Corner Conference First game: Bishop Luers at 6 p.m. on Nov. 3 in Albion Key returners: Seniors Sydney Freeman and Meleah Leatherman, junior Sam Brumbaugh and sophomores Lydia Andrews and Bridgette Gray Key Losses: Calista Rice

Strengths: Central Noble proved that it could score, rebound and move the ball as well as anyone last season. Bringing back the majority of that production makes the Cougars a favorite for another title run. The Cougars rebounded well offensively last season, as Leatherman brought down 3.7 offensive rebounds per game. Offensive rebounding at the high school level can be enough to offer wins in itself, let alone paired with Leatherman’s 14.3 points per game. Areas to work on: Rice won IHSAA’s Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude Award in Class 2A girls basketball last season, so replacing that team-bonding type of a personality in a player is never easy. But it’s certainly something Treesh and the Cougars will need to do early in the season.

IN All Sports Basketball Preview • 2018 • kpcnews.com • ©KPC Media Group Inc.

Page 9

REPLAY

Cougar breakthrough results in Class 2A state championship

KPC NEWS SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS — Once they had the chance to break through, they did. The Central Noble girls basketball team broke through a midseason struggle, through semistate to the state finals and through the Winchester defense en route to its first-ever state championship in school history. The Cougars defeated Winchester 46-42 to win the girls basketball IHSAA Class 2A State Championship on Feb. 25, and it was perseverance through adversity during a game where neither team led by more than eight points. “Well, the thing that we talked to the girls with before the game was these girls have put in a lot of hours, and a lot of days, and a lot of weeks, and a lot of months and a lot of years to get to this stage,” Central Noble head coach Josh Treesh said. “And so I’m happy for them, because it takes a lot of sacrifices along the way more so than some of the other sports. “I’m just proud of them. We battled through ups and downs through our season. We stuck together. We believed that we had the pieces to get here, and we just put ourselves in a good position through the postseason.” Sydney Freeman led Central Noble (23-5) with 14 points, seven rebounds, six steals and four assists. Meleah Leatherman finished with a doubledouble of 11 points and 12 rebounds. Freshman Lydia Andrews scored nine points off the bench. Winchester’s Maddie Lawrence led her team with 20 points and eight rebounds. The size of Winchester (26-3) was a big concern for Central Noble coming into the matchup. The Golden Falcons played three girls six-foot tall or higher during the game. The Cougars settled for three-point jumpers in the first half, taking nine shots beyond the arc. They connected on three of them in the first 16 minutes, but were struggling to get production from in the paint. But the strategy didn’t change for Treesh. “Well here’s what we told them, we basically just said you’re going to have to keep going to the basket, because Page 10

those girls aren’t going to move and that’s what makes Winchester so dangerous,” Treesh said. “Man, I hate that defense.” Central Noble outscored Winchester 20-16 in the paint and kept the rebound margin close throughout the game. The Falcons outrebounded the Cougars 34-33 when it was all said and done. “I think what happened was we got caught up where there was a lot of stoppage in play. Part of that was our fault,” Treesh said. “Once we were able to force them into a little bit lower percentage shots from the outside, it helped us rebound a little bit better. “They’re huge. They are a lot bigger in person than they are on film. And it allowed us, what we thought was going to be the key to the game, it allowed us to get out in transition. And I thought Sydney did a good job of pushing it there during that third quarter.” “I think we really had to focus on boxing out because of their height, so defense and boxing out and just the fact that we were all able to help each other on the help side with the tall girls and everything. I’m really proud of (the team),” Leatherman said. The Cougars built a 10-4 lead by the midway point of the first quarter after Andrews hit a three. Leatherman hit a pair of free throws to push the lead to eight with 2:32 left in the first quarter, but the Falcons quickly closed the gap to one with a 7-0 run to end the quarter. Winchester took the lead after a jumper by Lawrence, and kept it for awhile. The sophomore scored two more baskets to give the Falcons a 22-15 lead with 2:10 left in the first half. During the second quarter, the Cougars had their worst quarter shooting the ball by going 3-for-13 (23 percent), while Winchester was 6-of-15 (40 percent) from the field. Leatherman and Sam Brumbaugh each made a basket to keep the lead at seven heading into halftime. Treesh said the mood in the locker room halftime wasn’t bad. Out of the break, the Cougars kept

attacking the basket and it paid off. Freeman hit a layup to open the half and then attacked the rim again and missed, but she drew a foul going for a rebound. The Falcons went scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half, and after a three by Lawrence, the Cougars’ offense came alive thanks to their defense. After a steal by Andrews, Leatherman hit a shot and drew contact for the foul. She hit the free throw to complete the three-point play. Less than a minute later, Freeman grabbed a steal and found Bridgette Gray, who was fouled. Central Noble took the lead at 30-28, which was its first lead since the first quarter, after a steal and layup by Freeman. The Cougars finished with 12 points off turnovers, compared to six by the Falcons. In the final quarter, the Falcons took an early lead but the Cougars went on an 8-0 run to take the lead and keep it for good. The lead was extended to five after jumper by Rice with 1:33 left. The Falcons answered with a three-point play by Lawrence. Leatherman was switched on Lawrence for the final 3:36 of the game and held her in check. “Not to necessarily prevent her from getting to the basket, but we thought if we put someone a little bit taller on her, she’d have to shoot over that and it affected her shot a little bit,” Treesh said. Treesh called a timeout with 43 seconds left after Winchester’s pressure almost forced a turnover. Out of the timeout, Freeman got the ball near the baseline and was almost stripped by Lawrence. Freeman was able to corral the ball under the basket and put up a floater that hit the bottom of the net. “I was looking to pass it out and she hit it back, so I didn’t really have anyone in front of me so I just kind of shot it up and said a prayer,” Freeman said with a laugh. “My mind, well after it went in, it was a sigh of relief,” Treesh said with a smile. “It was a very stressful

IN All Sports Basketball Preview • 2018 • kpcnews.com • ©KPC Media Group Inc.

FILE PHOTO

Central Noble’s girls basketball team will be defending its Class 2A state championship this season, led by star players Meleah Leatherman (20) and Sydney Freeman (10).

43 seconds. Someone always told me when the game is on the line, you need to make sure your players go out and make plays. Again that’s a situation she’s been in many times, and she came through tonight.” Winchester missed two shots in the final 27 seconds, and after the final buzzer sound, the Central Noble bench rushed the floor to hug their teammates and celebrate the final breakthrough of the season. “I think we kind of felt a lot of pressure. We had some ups and downs during the season where that pressure finally hit us, and we just had to remember that just to play how we normally play,” Leatherman said. “Like we don’t have to listen to all of the outsiders and what they tell us to do because we’re the ones on the court, not them.

“And I think just doing what we normally do and not listening to all of that on the outside and just focusing is what got us here, and listening to our coaches is what got us here and the feeling is amazing.” Gray and Rice each finished with five points, and Brumbaugh added two. Central Noble’s defense is what got it here and it was the defense that stepped up in the second half. The Cougars outscored Winchester 27-17 in the second half. The Cougars were 16-of-42 (38 percent) from the floor and 3-for-10 (30 percent) from three, and Winchester was 14-for-49 (29 percent) overall and 5-of-15 (33 percent) from distance. At the free-throw line Central Noble 11-of-14 (79 percent) and Winchester was 9-for-16 (56 percent). The win also gave Treesh his 100th career win, even he if didn’t know it.

“It is my 100th win?” Treesh asked during the postgame press conference. “I’ll be honest with you I don’t really look at that stuff. But sure, I guess if it’s going to be a state championship then I’m going to let it. It absolutely feels outstanding. I’m just excited for these guys, who we expect so much out of them and finally to get to this point. It’s paid off.” Of Treesh’s 100 wins, 98 of them have come with the Cougars. While he appreciates the credit given to him, he is quick to put it all on his players. “This is all on them. I mean they go out and they believe and they work hard, so that went they get to these moments or these situations, they’re ready for them,” Treesh said. “And I thought tonight was just another game where they adjusted well, they believed in each and they got it done.”

IN All Sports Basketball Preview • 2018 • kpcnews.com • ©KPC Media Group Inc.

Page 11

churubusco eagles BOYS BASKETBALL schedule Nov. 20

@ Adams Central

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 28

@ Leo

Nov. 30

Dec. 4 Dec. 8

Fremont

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 8-12

NECC Tourn.

TBD

Westview

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 18

Angola

7:30 p.m.

Columbia City

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 25

@ Central Noble

7:30 p.m.

@ West Noble

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 31

A @ Lakeland

Prairie Heights

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 1

Smith Academy

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 8

Hamilton

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 15

@ Bishop Luers

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 12

@ Garrett

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 18

@ Heritage

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 15

@ Fairfield

7:30 p.m.

@ South Adams

7:30 p.m.

Whitko

7:30 p.m.

1 Eagle Drive, Churubusco

Dec. 28

Feb. 16 Feb. 22

Eastside

7:30 p.m.

Colors: Old Gold and Black

Jan. 2

Woodlan

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 14

Churubusco High School

Jan. 4

7:30 p.m.

*Schedule subject to change

Class: 2A

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Churubusco boys ready to rise BY KEN FILLMORE

kfillmore@kpcmedia.com

CHURUBUSCO — Churubusco’s boys basketball team is still fairly young, and there might be a wait on football players. But the Eagles are more prepared to get going from the opening tip. “For the first time in my three years here, I don’t have to reteach,” Churubusco coach Chris Paul said. “They know what to expect and know the terminology.” Eagle sophomore guard Jackson Paul said, “It’s going to be flowing well. I’m excited to get back. We have a lot of good pieces coming back. The main thing is sticking together.” Churubusco (12-12, 6-5 in the Northeast Corner Conference, last season) lost a couple quality role players to graduation in Garrett Horn and Dalston Duff. Young impactful guard Zane Burke is also gone, transferring to Blackhawk Christian after averaging 12.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a freshman for the Eagles last season. But plenty return, including Paul and senior post player Brayton Bonar. Last year, Bonar was out due to injury to start the season, and the Eagles scuffled early, losing their first six games. Paul has a new running mate in the backcourt in senior Mason Garland. Garland transferred from Carroll and had to play on the junior varsity last season until the Class 2A South Adams Sectional. In his second varsity game last season, Garland scored 18 points in the Eagles’ 75-59 semifinal loss to Canterbury. “Mason has played with us all summer and fits in pretty well,” Bonar said. “He’s a good ball player and he’s going to help out a lot.” Key returners: Sophomore guard Jackson Paul (12.5 points, 4.5 points, 4.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game last season), senior forward Brayton Bonar (12.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg), junior guard Gage Kelly (5.8 ppg, 2 rpg) and sophomore guard Luke McClure (5.4 ppg, 1.9 apg). Promising newcomers: Senior guard Mason Garland and junior guard Jake Fulk. Strengths: The blend of good guard play and productive physical players inside. Areas to work on: Handling late-game situations. This could be the difference in finishing high in the Northeast

FILE PHOTO

Churubusco’s Brayton Bonar posts up in the paint during a game last season.

Corner Conference standings and/or winning a sectional championship. “There were times where we fell apart late in games. We’d miss a free throw or make a bad turnover,” Chris Paul said. “We need to value the basketball and make better decisions then.” Keys to success: Starting the season faster, or at least weathering it better than it did last season. It’s a tough schedule to start, playing the likes of Leo, Columbia City, Westview, West Noble, Bishop Luers and Heritage before Christmas. But the Eagles are better equipped to come out of that stretch over .500 before celebrating the holidays because Bonar is in the mix from the start (unlike last season), and the younger players know what to expect at the high school varsity level.

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churubusco eagles GIRLS BASKETBALL schedule Dec. 14 H

Prairie Heights

Dec. 22 A

@ Bluffton

1:30 p.m.

Jan. 3

@ Columbia City

7:45 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 4

Fremont

6 p.m.

Woodlan

7:30 p.m.

@ Adams Central

7:30 p.m.

NECC Tourn.

6 p.m.

Jan. 8-12 Jan. 11

@ Canterbury

7:30 p.m.

@ Blackhawk Christian

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 15

Lakeland

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 18

Angola

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 23

@ South Adams

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 25

@ Central Noble

6 p.m.

Nov. 8

@ Lakewood Park

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 10

@ Whitko

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 13

Lakeland Christian

7 p.m.

Nov. 15

Fairfield

Nov. 20

Nov. 27 Nov. 29

Churubusco High School

Dec. 1

@ Westview

Dec. 5

@ Eastside

7:30 p.m.

1 Eagle Drive, Churubusco

Dec. 7

West Noble

7:30 p.m.

Colors: Old Gold and Black

Dec. 12 H

Garrett

7:30 p.m.

Class: 2A

6 p.m.

*Schedule subject to change

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Churubusco girls look to improve BY NICOLE MINIER

nminier@kpcmedia.com

CHURUBUSCO — After jumping into the Churubusco girls basketball program weeks before the start of the season last year, head coach Nate Zastrow is looking forward to the 2018-19 season after a successful offseason. “I came in pretty late last year. It was a big transition,” Zastrow said. “I was trying to get the girls to enjoy basketball and get my philosophy in.” By the middle of the season, the girls bought into Zastrow’s program and have only continued to grow since then. “We had a full offseason together this spring and summer through workouts and playing in leagues,” Zastrow said. “We’re looking to compete more this year.” Churubusco finished 3-20 last season, but has key pieces in place to pick up more wins this year. Junior Myah Bear and sophomore Mariah Hosted were underclassmen last season who saw a good deal of playing time and are expected to play important roles again this year. “I don’t think any player in the conference plays harder than Mariah,” Zastrow said. “She’s all over the place. Her motor doesn’t stop.” Last year, Hosted played well as an individual, and this year Zastrow is looking to hone in her skills and get her teammates involved. Zastrow said Bear worked hard in the offseason. “Those two will be great key players,” Zastrow said. Additionally, senior Abigail Erwin returns to the team after not playing her junior year. “That will really help things. She’s very athletic and a smart basketball player,” Zastrow said. Churubusco lost five seniors last year, including starters Brien Gross and Callie Lemper, as well as Katelyn Johnson and Delaney Peters, who had significant playing time. In addition to Bear, Hosted and Erwin, the Eagles have other experienced players returning, such as Brooke Nondorf, Alayna Fulkerson and Makenzi Tonkel, another starter last year. Zastrow’s main goals this season include picking up more wins, playing hard for the full 32 minutes, lowering its 22-per-game average of turnovers and improving on its

FILE PHOTO

Churubusco’s Myah Bear battles against a Fremont player for a rebound.

11th-place pick in the Northeast Corner Conference. “We realize we’re not in the running for a conference championship, but I want us to be in the middle of the pack,” Zastrow said. The Eagles will see what they’re made of in the first week of the season with four games in seven days, starting with Lakewood Park today.

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Page 15

dekalb barons BOYS BASKETBALL schedule

dekalb High School

Nov. 21

Northrop

6 p.m.

Jan. 15

@ Angola

6 p.m.

Nov. 24

@ Eastside

6 p.m.

Jan. 19

@ Columbia City

Nov. 30

North Side

6 p.m.

Dec. 6

Lakeland

6 p.m.

Jan. 26

@ Huntington North

6 p.m.

Dec. 7

Manchester

6 p.m.

Dec. 11

Bishop Dwenger

6 p.m.

Jan. 31

Leo

6 p.m.

Feb. 5

@ Prairie Heights

Dec. 14

Norwell

6 p.m.

Dec. 18

@ Snider

6 p.m.

Feb. 8

@ Bellmont

6 p.m.

Dec. 28

Central Noble

6 p.m.

Feb. 12

@ Concordia Lutheran

6 p.m.

Jan. 5

Jan. 8

@ New Haven

6 p.m.

Feb. 15

Garrett

6 p.m.

@ Carroll

6 p.m.

Jan. 11

Feb. 19

Homestead

6 p.m.

East Noble

6 p.m.

Feb. 22

Northridge

6 p.m.

C.R. 427, Waterloo

*Schedule subject to change

Colors: Red, Black and White Class: 4A

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Baron boys bring back experience for 2018-19 BY BRICE VANCE

bvance@kpcmedia.com

WATERLOO —The DeKalb boys basketball team showed improvements from the first year to the second under head coach Rod Cone. The key for Cone will be to continue that trend going into his third season as the head coach of the Barons. After the graduation of four seniors — Logan Kruse, Boone Bacon, Jonah Webb and Isaac Brown — DeKalb will have four more to take their spots as leaders of this team. Dalton Smith, Kyle Dunham, Jon Bell and Cade Molargik all return for DeKalb, and the Barons will have a good mix of younger talent that got to play quite a bit last year due to the injury bug biting the team all season long. “I feel pretty good about what we have coming back. Last year through all of the adversity due to injuries, some people had to step up and the response to those injuries was what I was interested in. I thought the guys did a tremendous job,” Cone said. “With those injuries, we got some people some playing time that they might not have received without those injuries.” Karter Dick, Caleb Nixon, Easton Rhodes, Cole Richmond and Evan Snider all appeared in varsity games last season and will be asked to contribute to this year’s team. Nixon and Richmond were good outside shooters for the Barons last year, and Cone sees that as being a strength going into this season. “I think we are going to be a pretty good shooting team. I think we’re going to be able to spread it out against teams. I think we are going to be small, but with that comes quickness, so I think we’ll be a quicker team this year,” Cone said. With the smaller lineups, coming down with rebounds will be an even bigger focus for the Barons. “I think from day one we are really going to have to focus on rebounding. That’s the one thing about being small, your advantage is your quickness but the disadvantage is you’re going to be outsized and run into teams a little bit more athletic than we are,” Cone said.

Dalton Smith is one of four seniors for the Barons this season.

“So we’re going to have to really develop that toughness, find bodies and as a team be committed to getting the ball.” Once DeKalb gets the rebound, it will try to use its speed and score more quickly this season. “I think the character of this team is to get up and try to get some early offense going. We’ll see with the identity of this team,” Cone said. Newcomers to DeKalb are junior Jordan Shields and sophomores Nolan

BRICE VANCE

Nack and Treston Kern. The freshman class includes Brantley Hickman, Connor Penrod, Brody Hiteshew and Jackson Barth. “It’s a really strong incoming freshmen class. I’m not saying that they are going to be at the varsity level starting out, but they have lot of potential. The excitement they bring is nice to see,” Cone said. The Barons begin their season hosting Northrop on Nov. 21.

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Page 17

dekalb barons GIRLS BASKETBALL schedule

dekalb High School

Oct. 30

@ Heritage

Nov. 2

Lakeland

6:30 p.m. 7 p.m.

Nov. 6

@ North Side

7 p.m.

Dec. 11 A

@ Prairie Heights

6 p.m.

Dec. 15 A

@ Norwell

6:15 p.m.

@ Goshen Holiday Tourn.

10 a.m.

@ Eastside

6 p.m.

Nov. 9

Angola

7 p.m.

Dec. 29 A

Nov. 10

@ North Side

6 p.m.

Jan. 2

Nov. 16

@ Garrett

6 p.m.

Nov. 17

Central Noble

6 p.m.

Nov. 23

@ Northrop

6 p.m.

Nov. 27

Carroll

6 p.m.

Dec. 1

Bellmont

6 p.m.

Dec. 4

@ Concordia Lutheran

6 p.m.

Dec. 7

@ Leo

6 p.m.

Jan. 4

New Haven

6 p.m.

Jan. 8

Northridge

6 p.m.

Jan. 12

@ East Noble

6 p.m.

Jan. 18

Columbia City

6 p.m.

Jan. 22

@ Snider

6 p.m.

Jan. 25

Huntington North

6 p.m.

*Schedule subject to change

C.R. 427, Waterloo Colors: Red, Black and White

Slam Dunk

Class: 4A

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DeKalb moving on from All-Star Leigha Brown BY BRICE VANCE

bvance@kpcmedia.com

WATERLOO — All of the area’s basketball teams will have questions about them going into the 2018-19 season. But there might be none bigger than this question: What will the DeKalb girls basketball team look like without Indiana All-Star Leigha Brown? We all remember the stat line of 28 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5 assists and 1.7 steals per game. But now, the Barons have to move on from Brown, who is with the Nebraska women’s basketball team. DeKalb did see what life would be like without Brown for three games last season and it wasn’t pretty. The Barons lost to Carroll, Bellmont and Concordia by an average of 54 points. It wouldn’t be fair to say that is what the season will look like for DeKalb this year, because head coach Brett Eltzroth and his team had an entire offseason to adjust and learn how to move on without Brown. “I told them at the beginning of the summer that there’s no way one of you is going to replace Leigha Brown. It needs to be a collective responsibility,” Eltzroth said. “I think all of these girls have bought into that. They put a great summer together.” Three seniors will lead DeKalb this season in Kyrsten Butler, Bethany Kelley and Brooke-destinee Lockwood. All three have plenty of varsity experience. Junior Addison Ruby is the team’s leading scorer who returns from last season. She averaged seven points per game and grabbed three boards per contest. Ally Stuckey, Bree Doster and Mackenzie Cox make up the rest of the junior class. The second highest scorer who returns from last year is sophomore Sarah Brown (3.2 ppg). However, she is out this season with a knee injury suffered during volleyball season. Paige Pettis is another sophomore who gained a lot of varsity experience as a freshman, starting several games

FILE PHOTO

DeKalb’s Addison Ruby drives to the basket during the first half of a game against Heritage last season.

for DeKalb. She averaged 2.9 points per game and 3.7 rebounds per game. Morgan Leslie appeared in 19 games as a freshman and also returns this season. “It’s good because every single one of them got varsity experience last year, so we like to think they got good experience and that it won’t be new to them this year,” Eltzroth said. Some of the newcomers to the program include freshmen Jade Allen, Jamie Gentis, Keri Timbrook, Aliya Kern and Kaydence Hoffman, and sophomores Jade Michael and Carla Hicks. Eltzroth said the strength of his team going into 2018-19 is its

chemistry. He would like to see defense improve for this upcoming season. The Barons gave up an average of 57.2 points per game last season, the most a DeKalb team has allowed since Eltzroth took over in 2014-15. “I think one thing we need to do is for our defense to be better, we’re going to have to be better offensively,” Eltzroth said. “We’re going to have to work the ball a little bit more. Because sometimes we would take quick shots last year, and that’s fine, they were open. And I’m not saying we’re going to hold the ball and play keep away or anything like that. We just need to get better shots offensively.”

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Page 19

east noble knights boys basketball schedule

Nov. 20 H

West Noble

6 p.m.

Jan. 2

Nov. 24 H

6 p.m.

Lakeland

6 p.m.

Jan. 3

Westview

6 p.m.

Nov. 27

Snider

6 p.m.

Jan. 11

@ DeKalb

6 p.m.

Dec. 1

Carroll

6 p.m.

@ Homestead

6 p.m.

@ Northridge

Jan. 12 Jan. 15

Goshen

6 p.m.

Huntington North

6 p.m.

Jan. 16

@ Central Noble

6 p.m.

Dec. 14 A

@ Columbia City

5 p.m.

Jan. 19

Leo

6 p.m.

@ Norwell

6 p.m.

Dec. 20 A

Holiday Tourn. @ Elkhart Central

Jan. 26

6 p.m.

Jan. 31

Bellmont

6 p.m.

Feb. 6

@ Bishop Dwenger

6 p.m.

Feb. 8

New Haven

6 p.m.

Dec. 21 A

Holiday Tourn. @ Elkhart Central

6 p.m.

Feb. 15

@ Wawasee 6:15 p.m.

Feb. 19

Angola

6 p.m.

Warsaw @Grace College

6 p.m.

Feb. 22

Elkhart Memorial

6 p.m.

Dec. 6 Dec. 8

east noble High School

@ Wawasee

Dec. 29 A

901 S. Garden St., Kendallville Colors: Royal Blue and Gold

6:15 p.m.

*Schedule subject to change

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Class: 4A

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Knights ready to step forward BY TAYLOR LEHMAN

tlehman@kpcmedia.com

KENDALLVILLE — East Noble is tired of thinking about its 60-59 sectional semifinal loss to Carroll, head coach Ryan Eakins said. The Knights are hungry to begin the 2018-19 season and continue their step forward as a program. “Guys have been talking about that game nonstop, and I think they’re kind of ready to stop hearing about it,” Eakins said. “They’re ready to get after it and put that game behind them.” With junior point guard Hayden Jones and senior forward Ali Ali — who recently committed to Akron — returning to the team, the Knights maintain the majority of their firepower from a season ago when they went 21-3. Four of their five starters return, and six of their top eight contributors are back as well. Now, Eakins said they’re pairing it up with a tougher schedule to better prepare themselves for the tougher competition when the postseason time rolls around. East Noble has scheduled Carroll, Homestead, Warsaw and others to maybe not bolster its record but to better understand what it will take to find wins late in the season. “I think we saw two years ago in the sectional at Carroll, we played Carroll and we had a 3-point lead with five minutes to go,” Eakins said. “We kind of fell apart, and it was because we saw something we hadn’t seen all year. Hopefully these changes will give us challenges that we’ll see in November, December, January that will get us ready for that first week of March.” East Noble lost Scooby Robinson and Drew Devers to graduation last year. Devers represented 22 minutes of play per game last season and 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Robinson got in for 15.4 minutes per contest and had four points and three rebounds per game as well. East Noble begins its season by welcoming West Noble into the Big Blue Pit Nov. 20 and playing Carroll as soon as Dec. 1. Key returners: Seniors Ali Ali, Michael Bender and Brent Cox and junior Hayden Jones Key losses: Drew Devers and Scooby Robinson Strengths: East Noble has two facilitators, where many teams have only one. Jones and Ali both move the ball freely around a half-court offense, which can lead to beneficiaries outside of the two leaders. Jones being a point guard makes that strength even more prominent since he is always touching the

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FILE PHOTO

East Noble’s Hayden Jones looks to pass the ball during the first quarter of last year’s Fairfield Holiday Tournament championship game.

ball. Most good high school basketball teams have a point guard that can score and pass, and Jones can do both of those things and proved it at a young age. Areas to work on: Eakins has said in the past that he wants Ali to become more selfish with the ball and attack the basket more than he has in his career at East Noble. If he can do that, and East Noble can rebound better than last season, the Knights might find a seamless transition between the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. Keys to success: The returning starters from a 21-3 team will want to advance beyond a sectional semifinal this season. That hunger from experienced players with a memory of last season will propel this team toward improvement.

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Page 21

east noble knights girls basketball schedule Nov. 1

Westview

6 p.m.

Dec. 18

@ Wayne

6 p.m.

Nov. 3

Goshen

6 p.m.

Dec. 28

Holiday Tourn. @ Northridge

Nov. 6

Bishop Dwenger

10 a.m.

6 p.m.

Dec. 29

Holiday Tourn. @ Northridge

Nov. 13

@ Concordia Lutheran

6 p.m.

10 a.m.

Jan. 2

@ Angola

6 p.m.

Nov. 17

North Side

6 p.m.

Nov. 19

@ Carroll

6 p.m.

Jan. 4

@ Huntington North

6 p.m.

Nov. 27

@ Lakeland

6 p.m.

Jan. 12

DeKalb

6 p.m.

Dec. 1

A @ New Haven

6 p.m.

Jan. 15

6 p.m.

Dec. 5

@ Northrop

6 p.m.

@ Prairie Heights

Dec. 7

@ Bellmont

6 p.m.

Jan. 18

@ Leo

6 p.m.

Dec. 11

Snider

6 p.m.

Jan. 22

West Noble

6 p.m.

Dec. 15

H Columbia City

Jan. 25

Norwell

6 p.m.

1 p.m.

*Schedule subject to change

east noble High School 901 S. Garden St., Kendallville Colors: Royal Blue and Gold

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Class: 4A

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East Noble girls cagers look to overcome youth BY TAYLOR LEHMAN

tlehman@kpcmedia.com

KENDALLVILLE — As if the Knights weren’t already young enough last season, some upperclassmen from last season’s team decided not to play this season, meaning head coach DeAnn Booth and East Noble are coming into the season with one junior and a slew of freshmen and sophomores. Booth understands what that means for her team and has openly expressed it with her players. “We just tell them every day that we’re going to be frustrated,” Booth said. “You’re going to be frustrated. We’re going to be frustrated. We’ll learn new things and learn more about each other. Stay positive, take a deep breath and we’ll just try to work together to get better.” Early in last year’s 5-19 season, Booth said she felt that close losses — like a 5-point loss to Goshen and a 6-point loss to Eastside — forced her players to feel less confident, a feeling that remained with her team throughout the rest of the season. Had it gone the other way, Booth said, East Noble’s confidence could have taken a turn and resulted in more wins. Regardless, the youth isn’t worrying Booth too much, as many of the sophomores on the team already gained minutes last season, so the Knights aren’t sending out a lineup of players without much varsity experience. Booth and her staff, however, have not determined who will likely be the leaders of the team, as she said it will be a process to discover who can lead a team that lost all of its potential seniors. “It’s not always something that a coach can appoint necessarily, but the girls are going to follow the leader,” Booth said. “We’re still in the process. All but five or six of our kids played a fall sport, so we didn’t get to see them much in September or August. We’ve got a short amount of time to figure a lot of things out. Our success is going to depend on how fast we get that figured out.” 2017-18 record: 5-19 overall, 2-5 Northeast 8 Conference Key returners: Sophomores Avan Beiswanger, Kylie Garton, Karly Kirkpatrick and Carly Turner Key losses: Leading scorers Corie Jones and Kara Kline to graduation and seniors Halle Beiswanger, Grace Erwin and Maddie Pfafman Strengths: The Knights’ speed can provide some type of advantage. Turner is considered a post player for the Knights,

KEN FILLMORE

Sophomore Avan Beiswanger is part of the youth movement taking place on East Noble’s girls basketball team.

and she is 5-foot-9. Booth will have quite a time trying to coach post schemes without much size, but if speed can be used in any way, East Noble could prevail on that end in most games. Areas to work on: Gaining experience should be the highest priority for the Knights at this point. Booth said junior Rylee Cripe is the oldest player on the team but still saw limited varsity minutes. Players will eventually need to rise to the occasion and act like they have more than one year and change of experience as they all attempt to learn the high school game together. Keys to success: Booth said it — East Noble just needs to sort out who its leaders are. Once that is determined and a scheme and each player’s role is understood, then the group can move forward with what Booth hopes will be confidence.

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Page 23

eastside blazers BOYS basketball schedule

eastside High School 603 E. Green St., Butler

Nov. 24

DeKalb

6 p.m.

Nov. 30

Edgerton

6 p.m.

Jan. 8-12

NECC Tourn. @ Eastside

Dec. 24

A @ Bellmont

6 p.m.

Jan. 18

8 p.m.

Dec. 8

@ Prairie Heights

@ Central Noble

6 p.m.

Jan. 22

@ Fremont

6 p.m.

Jan. 25

A @ Westview

6 p.m.

Dec. 11

@ Lakewood Park Christian

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 31

Hamilton

6 p.m.

Feb. 8

@ Garrett

6 p.m.

Dec. 14

Lakeland

6 p.m.

Feb. 9

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 18

@ Hicksville

@ Adams Central

6 p.m.

Feb. 12

Woodlan

6 p.m.

Dec. 28

H West Noble

6 p.m.

Feb. 15

Angola

6 p.m.

Dec. 29

Heritage

6 p.m.

Feb. 19

6 p.m.

Jan. 4

Fairfield

6 p.m.

@ Smith Academy

Feb. 22

@ ’Busco

6 p.m.

Colors: Kelly Green and White

TBD

*Schedule subject to change

Class: 2A

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Eastside boys counting on grit, depth this season BY JEFF JONES

jjones@kpcmedia.com

BUTLER — Last season, it wasn’t unusual for Eastside’s boys basketball team to play just six or seven players in a varsity contest, due to injury or ineligible players. Despite the lack of numbers, the Blazers managed to finish with a respectable 10-13 record. This season, returning head coach Ryan Abbott has a number of possibilities, with returning seniors Alex Yoder and Chase Franz and sophomore Phoenix Smyth, who lettered as a freshman. With more than 20 players out for basketball, the Blazers have plenty of options. Abbott expects to use 8-10 players at the varsity level this season. “Alex and Chase bring us experience and leadership,” Abbott said. “They have been through the highs and lows of a varsity season and witnessed firsthand what it takes to be successful, and even what can cause difficulties in games and throughout the course of a season.” “Alex has tremendously improved himself as a basketball player and as a leader,” Abbott added. “I hope his gritty, hard-working attitude becomes the identity of this team.” Franz missed about half of last season recovering from an injury, but Abbott believes he is ready to go. “Chase has persevered through injuries and challenges throughout his basketball experience,” Abbott said. “I’m excited to see him get his feet under him and get back to the basketball form he’s capable of playing at this year.” Several players who transferred from Hamilton prior to the 2017-2018 season played reserve basketball for Eastside last year because of transfer rules, but are now eligible to play at the varsity level. As reserves, they compiled a 14-8 record. Those players are full-fledged Blazers, both Yoder and Noah Johnson, one of those transfers, said. The biggest improvements they made last year, Johnson believes, were

Eastside’s Alex Yoder leads a fast break during a game in the 2017-2018 season.

moving the ball and playing together. “We learned that moving the ball and playing as a team was huge,” he said. “Most of the kids that came from the JV (junior varsity) were at Hamilton the previous year. We developed more of a team chemistry at Eastside, and I think that helps.” “(I’m excited about) just getting started and playing together as a team,” Yoder said when looking ahead to this season. “We didn’t get to play with (the Hamilton transfers), but with them moving up to varsity, I think it will be a good transition.” Yoder sees ball movement and

JEFF JONES

leadership as key ingredients. “Leadership is a huge thing. If you have a few guys who can bring leadership to the team, it just helps everybody develop,” Yoder said. “Your team chemistry is better that way. “What I’ve noticed in the summer is that as a team, we move the ball pretty well, and when we did that, we were successful.” Abbott said, “I’m excited about the identity of our team. I love our grit and tenacity. If we can devote ourselves to the team above our own individual desires and goals, this team will be a tremendous group to coach.”

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Page 25

eastside blazers

girls basketball schedule

eastside High School

Oct. 30

Adams Central

6 p.m.

Nov. 2

Fremont

7 p.m.

Nov. 6

Blackhawk Christian

7 p.m.

Nov. 13

Hamilton

6 p.m.

Nov. 16

@ Angola

7 p.m.

Nov. 27

@ Woodlan

Dec. 1

Dec. 5 Dec. 7 Dec. 11

Dec. 15

@ Lakeland

7 p.m.

Dec. 29

@ South Adams Tourn.

TBD

Jan. 2

DeKalb

7 p.m.

Jan. 4

Fairfield

6 p.m.

7 p.m.

Jan. 8-12

NECC Tourn.

6 p.m.

Garrett

7 p.m.

Jan. 15

6 p.m.

’Busco

7 p.m.

@ West Noble

Prairie Heights

7 p.m.

Jan. 18

@ Central Noble

7 p.m.

Jan. 24

@ Heritage

7 p.m.

@ Lakewood Park

6 p.m.

Jan. 26

Westview

2 p.m.

603 E. Green St., Butler Colors: Kelly Green and White

*Schedule subject to change

Class: 2A

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New Eastside girls coach Young ready to go BY JEFF JONES

jjones@kpcmedia.com

BUTLER — New girls basketball coach Nate Young is ready to see what his players can do. “We want the girls to have high energy, positive energy, and we want them to win for each other,” he said. “We are trying to make them think on the floor. We want them to read and react on offense, and we want them to be very aggressive and smart on defense.” Young served as varsity assistant coach to former head coach Shane Conwell the past two seasons. He also spent several years with Eastside’s boys basketball program, leading the reserve team to a 40-23 record in three seasons, including a program-best 18 wins in the 2014-15 season. The Blazers went from one win in Conwell’s first season to a sectional championship in 2015-16, with back-to-back 15-win seasons the past two years. Eastside lost four key components of that success to graduation however. Lindsey Beard, Maddisyn Heffley, Raegan Johnson and Olivia Yoder accounted for 715 of the team’s 1,082 points scored last year. Young is counting on several players returning from that team to take on new roles. Sophomore Sullivan Kessler will play point guard and will control much of the action. Last year, she gained confidence and her playing time gradually increased. Junior Paige Graber, a forward, can do damage beyond the arc, Young said. Classmate MacKensie Rieke

exemplifies the hustle the Blazer coach hopes all players will emulate. She also has the ability to get hot from three-point territory. Seniors Shyan McKinley and Chloe Whitman will give Eastside a post presence. McKinley can play either forward or center and help at both ends of the floor. Young believes Whitman can defend and score in the paint. Young labeled freshmen Mataya Bireley, Ryelynn Glander and Skyelar Kessler as “players to watch” who could earn varsity playing time. Young called the younger Kessler “probably our best shooter” who handles pressure well. Bireley gives the team energy and has a nose for the basketball. Like Bireley, Glander has a nose for the basketball and could develop into a very good point guard. “I’m very excited for my first year,” Young said. “I’m excited more for the girls, to see what they took from summer and fall workouts. I’m excited to see how our new system works against teams.” To put it mildly, the Northeast Corner Conference is loaded. League and tournament champion Angola won 23 times before being ousted in its Class 3A sectional championship game. Fairfield won 24 games and advanced to the Class 3A semistate, losing to eventual state champion Northwestern. Central Noble won 23 games and captured the Class 2A state championship after losing in the semistate round the previous year. After a down season, Garrett should be on the rebound with

JEFF JONES

Eastside’s Sullivan Kessler brings the ball up the floor during a game last season. Kessler’s playing time and contributions grew over the course of her freshman year.

young talent. “We have such a hard conference,” Young said. “It will be fun to compete against these great coaches and players.”

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Page 27

fremont eagles

boys basketball schedule

@ Lakewood Park

6 p.m.

Smith Academy

6 p.m.

Nov. 30 H

Lakeland

6 p.m.

Dec. 4

@ Garrett

6 p.m.

Dec. 7

@ Hamilton

Nov. 24 Nov. 27

Fremont High School 701 W. Toledo St., Fremont

6:30 p.m.

Dec. 15 H

Angola

6 p.m.

Dec. 20 A

@ Woodlan

6 p.m.

Dec. 28 A

Holiday Tourn. @ North Central

TBD

Dec. 29 A

Holiday Tourn. @ North Central

TBD

Jan. 4

@ ’Busco

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 9-12

A NECC Tourn.

Jan. 15

Reading

6 p.m.

Jan. 18

West Noble

6 p.m.

Jan. 22

Eastside

6 p.m.

Jan. 25

@ Prairie Heights

6 p.m.

Jan. 31

Adams Central

6 p.m.

Feb. 2

Canterbury

Noon

Feb. 8

@ Fairfield

6 p.m.

Feb. 15

Central Noble

6 p.m.

Feb. 19

A @ Westview

Feb. 22

@ Bethany Christian

TBD

6 p.m. 6 p.m.

*Schedule subject to change

Colors: Red, Black and White Class: 1A

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Helfrich confident in second year with FHS boys BY CHRIS REED

creed@kpcmedia.com

FREMONT — With year one in the books for Fremont boys basketball coach Craig Helfrich, the team’s leader is done with learning. He wants to win. Following a 5-18 record overall and 1-10 in Northeast Corner Conference play in his first year coaching at his alma mater, Helfrich said now, with a year under his team’s belt, is the time to see improvement. “Last year was a year of firsts for everyone, myself included,” he said. “Four of our five starters last season played JV (junior varsity) the year before, and the other was a freshman. It’s a very big jump in terms of level of play and expectations from JV or middle school to varsity ball. “With a year of experience now, we expect to win a lot of games.” That winning formula will revolve heavily around the play of senior guard/forward Tanner Behnfeldt, who flashed proficiency as a straight bucket-getter last year. He led the team in scoring, including a stretch of three straight 30-point games and shooting greater than 40 percent from distance. Combine that deep threat with an improving defensive and slashing game and you have a player that you can build a team around. “Tanner is a dangerous player,” Helfrich said. “He showed his talent on offense last year, and with better defense, he can be special, and someone who can definitely play at the next level.” Several other key pieces from last year’s team return as well, including sophomore Kameron Colclasure. Helfrich highlighted the team’s numerous close games against both non-conference and NECC foes last year — five of the team’s losses were decided by 10 points or less — as added reason for optimism. Confident that his team will be able to grind out wins in those contests in 2018-19, Helfrich said the Eagles’ goal is to break into the top tier of NECC teams. “I definitely think we have the talent,” he said. “Now with a year of experience, for sure I think that is possible.” Fremont opens its season on Nov. 24 at Lakewood Park. The Eagles will get a chance to defend a championship from last year. They won the North Central (Ohio) Tourna-

FILE PHOTO

Fremont forward Tanner Behnfeldt drives to the rim against Prairie Heights during their boys basketball game last season.

ment and will return to Pioneer, Ohio, for that four-team event Dec. 28 and 29.

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Page 29

fremont eagles

girls basketball schedule

Nov. 2

@ Eastside

6 p.m.

Nov. 10 H

Adams Central

6 p.m.

Nov. 13 H

Blackhawk Christian

6 p.m.

Central Noble

6 p.m.

Nov. 16 H

Fremont High School 701 W. Toledo St., Fremont

Nov. 20

@ Wayne

6 p.m.

Nov. 23

@ West Noble

6 p.m.

Nov. 28 H

Heritage

6 p.m.

@ Lakeland

6 p.m.

Dec. 1

Dec. 8

Lakewood Park @ A Bankers Life Fieldhouse

Dec. 11 H

Fairfield

Noon 6 p.m.

Dec. 13 H

Westview

6 p.m.

Dec. 21 H

Fremont Holiday Tourn.

6 p.m.

Dec. 22 H

Fremont Holiday Tourn.

TBD

Jan. 4

@ ’Busco

6 p.m.

Jan. 5

@ Angola

6 p.m.

Jan. 9-12

A NECC Tourn.

6 p.m.

Jan. 16

Woodlan

6 p.m.

Jan. 19

Prairie Heights

6 p.m.

Jan. 22

@ Garrett

6 p.m.

Jan. 23

@ Reading

5:30 p.m.

*Schedule subject to change

Colors: Red, Black and White Class: 1A

Slam Dunk

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Eagle girls don’t expect to miss a step with new coach BY CHRIS REED

creed@kpcmedia.com

FREMONT — Longtime coach Neal Frantz will no longer helm the Fremont girls basketball team, but new coach Scott Sprague promises little will be different with the product on the court. Sprague has been behind the scenes of Fremont girls basketball for over a decade. He has been the eighth grade girls basketball coach at Fremont Middle School for 12 years, the same amount of time Frantz was the varsity coach at Fremont High School. For nine of those seasons, Sprague was also the junior varsity girls basketball coach at FHS. The Eagles return leading scorer Samantha Kuhn, a junior forward. She averaged 11.6 points per game during her sophomore campaign. Kuhn proved to be a versatile big during her first year playing varsity, with an ability to run the floor and a toughness to bang with others in the paint. Senior Bella Dangerfield also comes back for Fremont (11-13, 3-8 Northeast Corner Conference, last season). Dangerfield, a versatile guard who can score some points — she averaged 8.8 per game as a junior — as well as play valuable defensive minutes, will be integral to the one change Sprague said will take place with the team this season. “We are going to press a lot more. That’s something that Frantz’s teams didn’t do as much of,” the coach said. Sprague emphasized the importance of playing an aggressive, fast-paced style of defense in today’s game, where the emphasis is put on spacing and shooting rather than attacking the basket. In an ultra-competitive NECC — a conference which boasts the reigning

Our 73rd Year

FILE PHOTO

Fremont’s Bella Dangerfield spots up for a three-pointer during the first half against Blackhawk Christian last season.

Class 2A state champion, Central Noble, as well as a team that made semistate in Fairfield and a young Angola team that competed in a sectional title game in 3A — Sprague said he believes his Eagles can be the next team to join that upper echelon of talent. “That’s where we want to be and I think we have the girls to do it,” Sprague said.

The NECC will make Fremont battletested for the postseason. The Eagles should be a contender to win the local Class 1A sectional. It’ll be a long road to travel to get there, but the journey continues on Nov. 10, hosting Adams Central. The Flying Jets will be led by a new coach, former DeKalb and Angola head coach Doug Curtis.

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Rivalry match-ups Boys

Boys

DeKalb vs. Garrett Feb. 15, 6 p.m.

Girls

Garrett vs. Eastside Feb. 8, 6 p.m.

Girls

East Noble vs. DeKalb Jan. 12, 7:30 p.m.

Garrett vs. DeKalb Nov. 16, 7:30 p.m.

Eastside vs. Garrett Dec. 1, 6 p.m.

Boys

East Noble vs. West Noble Nov. 20, 6 p.m.

Central Noble vs. West Noble Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m.

Boys

Central Noble vs. East Noble Jan. 16, 6 p.m.

Girls

East Noble vs. West Noble Jan. 22, 6 p.m.

Central Noble vs. West Noble Dec. 14, 6 p.m.

Boys

Prairie Heights vs. Westview Feb. 8, 7:30 p.m.

Boys

Lakeland vs. Prairie Heights Feb. 15 7:15 p.m.

Girls

Fremont vs. Angola Dec. 15, 7:30 p.m.

Girls

Westview vs. Prairie Heights Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m.

Girls

Prairie Heights vs. Lakeland Nov. 15, 7:30 p.m.

Boys

Central Noble vs.’busco Jan. 25, 7:30 p.m.

Girls

Central Noble vs. ’busco Jan. 25, 5 p.m.

Page 32

Boys

DeKalb vs. East Noble Jan. 11, 6 p.m.

IN All Sports Basketball Preview • 2018 • kpcnews.com • ©KPC Media Group Inc.

Angola vs. Fremont Jan. 5, 7:30 p.m.

Boys

Lakeland vs. Westview Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m.

Girls

Lakeland vs. Westview Dec. 21, 6 p.m.

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Page 33

garrett railroaders boys basketball schedule Nov. 17

Concordia

10 a.m.

Dec. 29

Hamilton

6 p.m.

Nov. 21

@ Heritage

6 p.m.

Jan. 4

Central Noble

8 p.m.

Nov. 24

@ Prairie Heights

8 p.m.

Jan. 15

@ New Haven

6 p.m.

Nov. 27

Woodlan

6 p.m.

Dec. 4

Fremont

6 p.m.

Jan. 19

@ Westview

6 p.m.

Dec. 7

@ Angola

6 p.m.

Jan. 25

Lakeland

8 p.m.

Dec. 15

@ Bluffton

6 p.m.

Jan. 31

@ Fairfield

6 p.m.

Dec. 18

@ Leo

Feb. 12

’Busco

6 p.m.

Dec. 28

Wawasee Tourn.

Feb. 15

@ DeKalb

6 p.m.

Feb. 22

West Noble

6 p.m.

TBD 10 a.m.

garrett High School

*Schedule subject to change

801 E. Houston St., Garrett Colors: Maroon and Navy Blue

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Class: 2A

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Garrett boys look for next step under Leverenz BY BRICE VANCE

bvance@kpcmedia.com

GARRETT — It’s all about taking the next step for the Garrett boys basketball team this season, entering its second season under head coach Bryan Leverenz. The Railroaders struggled mightily in 2017 with a 3-20 record, and a big reason they struggled was scoring. They averaged 41.6 points per game and shot less than 40 percent as a team (38 percent). The majority of the scoring will have to come from different faces this season as the top two scorers from last year’s team — Micah Malcolm and Dillon McCann — have graduated. The duo averaged 21 points per game, and McCann was the team’s leading rebounder at 6.8 boards per game. “What we were battling last year was not the things we were running. We were getting some really good looks. It’s just putting the ball in the basket,” Leverenz said. “So we really addressed that this summer with getting more shots up during the summer. Giving them shooting sheets and goals that they had to reach. Also, understanding what we as a coaching staff think is a good shot versus a poor shot and bad shot.” So where will the scoring come from this year? Malcolm and McCann were the only two seniors on the 2017-18 squad, so they had a lot of younger guys who played around them and gained varsity experience. But they didn’t get as many shots up as McCann and Malcolm. “Last year we really relied on Micah and Dillon to get us shots. But this year with all of these guys being in their second year of the system, they’re understanding things more. We hopefully saw them take that next step this summer, and hopefully we see that translate into the season,” Leverenz said.

BRICE VANCE

Garrett’s Kobe Lucarelli, left, looks to help the Railroaders improve on their scoring this season.

Senior Kobe Lucarelli had the third most shot attempts for Garrett last season and averaged five points per game. Seniors Bryce Wilson, who was the team’s point guard last season, and Korbyn Yarian played sparingly due to injury, but could have an impact in the paint this season. All three will be relied on to score this season. Jaden Broadnax and Paxton Hefty are also two players Leverenz expects to step up and help with the scoring this season. “I’m really hoping that when you return a group of guys who have played varsity basketball you see them with their ability to execute more, stay more calm and just the little fundamentals that maybe we

overlooked last year or couldn’t do last year. Hopefully those are fixed with the experience,” Leverenz said. Levi Follett, Sam Farney and Warren Joseph also return for Garrett. Some of the newcomers expected to compete for varsity minutes are junior Jarrett Bailey and freshmen Logan Gard and Graham Kelham. An area Leverenz wants to see his team improve on for this season is working on the little fundamentals such as passing and screens to help the offense run smoothly and create easier shots for their offense. Garrett travels to Heritage for its regular season opener on Nov. 21.

Good Luck Garrett Boys Basketball!

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Page 35

garrett railroaders girls basketball schedule Oct. 27

garrett High School

Lakewood Park

7:30 p.m.

@ New Haven

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 20 A

@ Leo

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 28 A

Fairfield @ Banker’s Life Fieldhouse

12:15 p.m.

Dec. 29 H

Hamilton

7:30 p.m.

Eastbrook

10 a.m.

Nov. 1

@ Woodlan

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 3

Bellmont

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 8

@ Heritage

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 13

@ North Side

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 16

DeKalb

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 20

Angola

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 24

@ Prairie Heights

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 1

@ Eastside

7:30 p.m.

8-12

Dec. 4

@ Westview

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 8

Northrop

Dec. 12 A

@ ’Busco

Dec. 14 H Dec. 17

Central Noble

6 p.m.

@ ’Busco

6 p.m.

Jan. 17

@ West Noble

7:30 p.m.

1 p.m.

Jan. 22

Fremont

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 25

Lakeland

6 p.m.

801 E. Houston St., Garrett

Jan. 4 Jan.

*Schedule subject to change

Colors: Maroon and Navy Blue

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Garrett girls to mix experience with young talent BY BRICE VANCE

bvance@kpcmedia.com

GARRETT — There was a lot of similarities to the two basketball teams that called Paul Bateman Gymnasium home in 2017-18. Both of the Garrett basketball teams struggled to score, which made wins hard to come by. But both teams return a lot of experience and only lost two players to graduation. The difference for head coach Bob Lapadot’s girls team is that he has two freshmen starting in the backcourt in 2018-19. The Railroaders averaged 36.5 points per game, which is the lowest in Lapadot’s tenure as head coach. They look to change that with the mix of freshmen coming in with the players who gained varsity experience and went through the struggles of last season. Seniors Kenzie Casselman, Lexi Baver and Camden Bodey return and will begin in the starting lineup, according to Lapadot. Juniors Kierra Richards and Sydney West and senior Sydney Weaver all return as well and will come off the bench. Nataley Armstrong and Faith Owen are the two freshmen who will be the starting point guard and shooting guard, respectively. The duo will bring in much improved ball handling skills that were lacking last year from the Railroaders. “Faith and Nataley have known for a while that they need to be ready to start. We told them in eighth grade that you guys need to prepare, you guys need to be pushed in practice so that you’re ready to step in June 1 and they were,” Lapadot said. Morgan Ostrowski, Abby Weaver and Jayden McNutt are the other freshmen who will be in the mix to get minutes this season. “Anyone who wants to be pessimistic will say, ‘Well, you can’t win with freshmen’ and will want to see how that goes,” Lapadot said. “I think those kids will be up to the challenge. It really doesn’t matter what people think. We’ve got to go through the proper steps and we can think that we’re good and we can even know that we’re good. But we’ve got to go out and prove it, and it’s a grind. “Those eighth-graders grinded with us last year, they practiced with us last year. They were a part of that, they were managing and they know what we expect.” Lapadot sees three-point shooting and ball handling as strengths for his team this year. With Armstrong and Owen taking over in the backcourt, it will move Casselman and Baver to their more natural positions, which will help with shooting. “We can put it on the ground and go either way,” Lapadot said. “We just have to have that inside presence because there will be days when I foresee us having trouble or days when the three is not

BRICE VANCE

Garrett’s Mackenzie Casselman is the team’s leading scorer from last year’s squad.

falling, and (if) we’re shooting 40 or 50 threes and hitting 10, that isn’t going to get it done.” Lapadot said that man defense will need to improve as well because Garrett was forced to play zone last year, which did improve over the course of the season. In a lot of Garrett’s losses, scoring was the issue. But in some cases, it was giving up a lot of points, including the 75-29 loss to Bishop Dwenger on Jan. 31 in the first round of sectional play last year. “We’re very excited,” Lapadot said about this season. “January 31 of last season sticks like a knife in my back, and I think it did for these guys, too. Because it was tough. It was a very hard year, because none of us were used to it. Others may have expected it, but we didn’t expect it last year and it was tough to deal with. It was something where we knew what our limitations were going in and we totally lived up to that. “These kids worked their butts off and for us to win eight games with our limitations last year, I think it says a lot about their character. This summer and first week of practice has said even more about their character. They want to flip the script. These seniors want to leave a heck of a legacy and these freshmen want to start building one for their four years.”

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Page 37

hamilton marines

boys basketball schedule

Nov. 20 H

Lakewood Park

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 30 H

Elkhart Christian Academy

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 1

@ Lakeland Christian

Dec. 3

@ North Central

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 7

Fremont

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 11 H

Central Noble

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 14 A

@ Fairfield

7:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

Dec. 20 A @ Montpelier 7:30 p.m.

hamilton High School

Dec. 29 A

@ Garrett

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 4

Westview

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 8-12

A NECC Tourn.

Jan. 18

Lakeland

7:30 pm.

Jan. 19

Bethany Christian

7 p.m.

Jan. 22

@ Edon

7:30 pm.

Jan. 25

Angola

7:30 pm.

Jan. 31

@ Eastside

7:30 pm.

Feb. 5

Smith H Academy for Excellence

7:30 pm.

Feb. 8

@ ’Busco

7:30 pm.

Feb. 15

@ West Noble

7:30 pm.

Feb. 16

Blackhawk Christian

7:30 pm.

Feb. 22

@ Prairie Heights

7:30 pm.

TBD *Schedule subject to change

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Hamilton boys cagers seek cohesiveness in 2018-19

BY KEN FILLMORE

kfillmore@kpcmedia.com

HAMILTON — Shannon Beard is trying to establish a firm foundation for the Hamilton boys basketball program, regardless of the personnel he has in place. “The biggest thing is keeping guys together,” Beard said. The Marines’ only significant graduation losses from last year’s 2-21 team (0-11 Northeast Corner Conference) were Griffin Kohli and Marshall Beard, Shannon’s son. Also, Dustin Cool transferred to Eastside for his senior year and Harrison Beard, Shannon’s son, returned to DeKalb. All told, those four players made up a large majority of Hamilton’s production from last year. However, leading scorer Bailey Merritt is back for his senior year. Merritt will want to grow in his play, and the supporting cast will need to develop around him in order for the Marines to be more competitive this season. “We were really competitive in the second half of last season,” Shannon Beard said. “We’ve got to score more than 40 points and keep our opponents under 50. It will also be a matter of playing the last couple of minutes. “We’ll be trying to piece it together.” Key returners: Senior guard Bailey Merritt, senior guard Nick Johnson, junior guard Alex Thain and senior center-forward Jacob Pattee (6-foot-4, 245 pounds). Johnson is a quality shooter. Thain earned a place in the starting lineup during the second half of last season. Promising newcomers: Junior guard Marco Stanojcic, a well-skilled exchange student from Serbia. Strengths: Merritt and maybe Stanojcic. Exchange students can be hit-and-miss, and some have given area athletic programs boosts from time to time. Stanojcic being beyond serviceable can take a lot of pressure off Merritt. Areas to work on: Experience and consistency. Player development will be a season-long process. There are six seniors on the Marines’ roster, but a lot of them took on varsity roles out of necessity due to personnel turnover, which was a major adjustment. Keys to success: Working hard regardless of what the scoreboard says. Build off small successes. Improving from last year’s win total will come down to finishing better against comparable teams. Beard would also like to see Merritt be more consistent and thinks it’s reachable for his top player to score 1,000

FILE PHOTO

Hamilton’s Bailey Merritt, left, fires up a three during a game against Lakewood Park last season.

points in his high school career. As Hamilton’s best-known commodity, Merritt earned a lot of respect and will gain a lot of attention from opposing teams. If he can handle the tough times the right way and still find a way to make plays and his supporting cast can grow, Merritt could put together a nice senior season.

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Page 39

hamilton marines girls basketball schedule Nov. 17

Eminence @ Banker’s Life Fieldhouse

Noon

Nov. 20

Lakewood Park

6 p.m.

Nov. 27

@ North Central

2 p.m.

Jan. 8

NECC Tourn.

6 p.m.

Jan. 12

Elkhart Christian

2 p.m.

Jan. 19

Bethany Christian

6 p.m.

Jan. 22

@ Edon

6 p.m.

hamilton High School

*Schedule subject to change

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Marine girls nearly built from scratch HAMILTON — Hamilton is fielding a girls basketball team after ending last season in a pretty dire situation. The Marines (0-23, 0-11 Northeast Corner Conference last season) played their final six games of the 2017-18 regular season in a span of eight days with only five healthy players, including three exchange students new to basketball. Coach Kris Underwood went looking for girls to play basketball and volleyball for the Marines this school year. He has nine girls on the basketball team, including five girls who Underwood called first-time basketball players. There is one exchange student and, as of Oct. 21, another player who has yet to be cleared by a doctor to practice. “(We have) another great group of kids that have come together to play basketball. They work hard each day in practice,” Underwood said in an email. “It’s a season where we will work hard until the final horn and do our best to make the game fun and enjoyable.” The Marines’ schedule has been modified. They will play NECC rivals in junior varsity games only with the exception of the conference tournament. They host Central Noble in a first-round game on Jan. 8. Senior Tori Creager is the leading returning player for Hamilton. She was a major ball handler last season and will play almost every position this season. Junior forward Connie Hart started half of Hamilton’s games last season. She is relatively new to basketball and has made solid improvement during the offseason, Underwood said. The Marines have a couple athletic newcomers who could give the team a big lift in versatile sophomore Autumn Graber and 6-foot senior Hannah Wade. Graber played junior varsity basketball at Lakewood Park Christian last season. She does some good things around the basket and is a good defender, Underwood said. Wade ran cross country and track and is learning how to play inside. Underwood also recruited her to play volleyball. Hamilton will have a game it will never forget when it plays a comparable small-school opponent on a big stage on Nov. 17. The Marines will play Eminence at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis for a noon tipoff. The Indiana Pacers will host Atlanta that evening at Bankers Life. Key returners: Senior guard forward Tori Creager, junior forward Connie Hart. Key newcomers: Senior forward Hannah Wade,

Senior Tori Creager (14) will help show the way for Hamilton’s girls basketball team this season.

KEN FILLMORE

sophomore guard-forward Autumn Graber, senior forward Celeste Steffes. Strengths: The Marines are putting a team on the court with some room for error and Underwood’s efforts and approach. It’s been difficult to do for athletic programs at Hamilton High School over the past couple of years with enrollment. Underwood took over the Marines’ volleyball program this past summer and was running offseason training for both volleyball and basketball during the summer. He has been patient and positive with many of the girls new to those sports. These were very honorable and selfless efforts sustained by Underwood, as many people would have a difficult time taking this situation on. Areas to work on: Fundamentals and experience. Keys to success: Learning, being patient and having fun.

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Page 41

lakeland lakers boys basketball schedule Nov. 21

NorthWood

7:15 p.m.

Nov. 24

@ East Noble

6:15 p.m.

Nov. 30

@ Fremont

1:15 p.m.

Dec. 4

Fairfield

7:15 p.m.

Dec. 6

@ DeKalb

7:30 p.m.

@ Bethany Christian

@ Hamilton

7:30 p.m.

Organ Donation Classic @ Mishawaka

8 p.m.

Jan. 25

@ Garrett

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 26

Wawasee

7:15 p.m.

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 31

’Busco

7:15 p.m.

Dec. 14 A

@ Eastside

7:15 p.m.

Feb. 5

Goshen

7:15 p.m.

Dec. 21 H

Westview

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 8

Noon

Sturgis

7:30 p.m.

@ Central Noble

Feb. 12

Northridge

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 4

@ West Noble

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 15

7:15 p.m.

Jan. 9-12

NECC Tourn.

Prairie Heights

Feb. 22

@ Angola

7:15 p.m.

Dec. 8

Jan. 3

TBD

lakeland High School

Jan. 18 Jan. 19

*Schedule subject to change

805 E. C.R. 75N, LaGrange Colors: Columbia Blue, Red and White

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Lakeland boys ready to work BY KEN FILLMORE

kfillmore@kpcmedia.com

LAGRANGE — Nick Burlingame was fortunate to have two of the better players in the history of Lakeland boys basketball as seniors (Camron Bontrager and Cole Harp) to help the Lakers have their first winning season in seven years in 2017-18. The work has been ongoing behind the scenes at a variety of levels for Burlingame as he works to change the culture. But it will be tougher at the high school varsity level for the Laker coach the second time around. “We’ve hit the ground running,” Burlingame said. “We know we have shoes to fill, and our guys were in the gym as much as possible. We have some youth I’m excited about. “I’m not asking our guys to do something they can’t do. We want to get our guys in the best positions to be successful.” Sophomore Brayden Bontrager is the top offensive player returning for Lakeland. Burlingame wants Bontrager to become an all-around player. “Brayden is one of the most talented kids I have ever coached. The ceiling is high for him,” Burlingame said. “I don’t want him to just be a scorer. I want him to be a great defender as well. I want him to focus on rebounding.” The Lakers will look for leadership and bigger contributions from seniors Kole Miller, Jashaun Poole and Reece Romer. “Kole can extend defenses, and Jashaun is very athletic. I’m impressed with what they have taken upon themselves,” Burlingame said. “Reece will bring energy. He is very active and will knock down the open shot. He has developed his game.” Lakeland will have some transfers contribute to the program as a whole. Junior guard Braden Yoder, a move-in from Northridge, has made the biggest impact so far. “Braden was the hardest worker we have had all offseason,” Burlingame said. “He’s coachable and has taken on a leadership role.” Key returners: Sophomore guard Brayden Bontrager (13.5 points and 4 rebounds per game last season, 44 percent from 3-point range), senior forward Kole Miller, senior guard Jashaun Poole. Promising newcomer: Junior guard Braden Yoder. Strengths: Leadership and efforts behind the scenes in order to move the Lakers in the right direction, like in the weight room and with skill development in practice. It might not be seen on the varsity floor consistently this season because of inexperience. But the buy-in is there. Lakeland’s process will pay dividends.

FILE PHOTO

Lakeland’s Jashaun Poole goes to the hoop during last season’s win over Central Noble.

Areas to work on: Supporting Bontrager offensively. Also, how will Bontrager respond to being the lead player? He was a very good third option behind Cole Harp and his brother Camron last year. Keys to success: Effort and defense. That will make up for the Lakers’ offensive limitations. Development of younger players will be helpful, too. Looking forward to see who emerges for Lakeland as the season goes on.

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Page 43

lakeland lakers girls basketball schedule Nov. 2

@ DeKalb

7 p.m.

Dec. 12 A

@ Angola

7:15 p.m.

Nov. 6

Goshen

7:15 p.m.

Dec. 15 H

Eastside

7:15 p.m.

Nov. 13 H

Wawasee

7:15 p.m.

Dec. 21 H

Westview

6 p.m.

Nov. 16

@ Prairie Heights

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 29 A

10 a.m.

Central Noble

7:15 p.m.

@ West Noble Shootout

Jan. 4

@ West Noble

6 p.m.

Jan 9-12

NECC Tourn.

6 p.m.

Jan. 15

@ ’Busco

7:15 p.m.

Jan. 25

@ Garrett

6 p.m.

Nov. 20 H Nov. 24

@ Triton Shootout

Nov. 27

East Noble

7:15 p.m.

Dec. 1

Fremont

7:15 p.m.

Dec. 7

@ Fairfield

7:15 p.m.

Dec. 8

@ Bethany Christian

6 p.m.

10 a.m.

lakeland High School

*Schedule subject to change

805 E. C.R. 75N, LaGrange Colors: Columbia Blue, Red and White

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Class: 3A

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Excitement growing for Laker girls BY KEN FILLMORE

kfillmore@kpcmedia.com

LAGRANGE — Lakeland’s girls basketball team reached double-digit victories last season for the first time in 10 years. With the core largely made up of sophomores, that appears to be the start for better things to come. The Lakers were 10-13 last season, including 5-6 in the Northeast Corner Conference. Forward Beka Stroop and guard Tanner Metcalf were key players from that team lost to graduation. “I really like the potential of this year’s team as we have a good mix of kids who can score off the dribble, in the post and from 3,” fourth-year Lakeland coach Dan Huizenga said. “It should be the most balanced team we have had in a while, as well as the most flexible.” Key returners: Sophomore guard-forward Bailey Hartsough (15 points, 8 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 2.3 assists per game last season), sophomore guard Keirstin Roose (8.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 spg, 1.8 apg), senior guard Makayla Mast (4 ppg, 3.9 apg, 3.9 rpg), junior forward Beth Stroop (6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.7 apg), junior center Isabelle Larimer (3.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg). Promising newcomers: Sophomore forward-guard Madison Keil, sophomore guard Ella Lewin, sophomore forward Sadie Edsall, sophomore forward Kendall Moore, junior Nicolette Brashear. Strengths: The Laker youngsters know how to win, and that sophomore group has done a lot of that in a little more than a year of high school athletics. They won championships, won over established programs, broke new ground and ended long losing droughts. In basketball last season, Lakeland beat East Noble for the first time since November 2004 and won over Garrett for the first time in about 20 years when Sherry Severson coached some strong teams. To take the bigger steps and beat alpha teams like Angola, Central Noble and NorthWood, it’s going to take toughness and precision. Areas to work on: Defense and taking care of the basketball. Huizenga thinks being a year older and wiser will help in both of those areas, as well as coming off a full offseason in the weight room. Keys to success: A healthy Roose and the development of a bench. Roose played in the Lakers’ first 12 games until

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suffering what turned out to be a season-ending knee injury during the first quarter of a game at Eastside on Dec. 16. Lakeland has struggled to have quality depth for a while. The Lakers need to be rather deep in order to pick up the pace. Keil is a good place to start to lead a revamped bench, or could be inserted in the starting lineup if matchups call for it. This junior varsity regular last season ended her freshman campaign with eight points off the bench in Lakeland’s season-ending first-round loss to state-ranked Tippecanoe Valley in the Class 3A Fairfield Sectional. The Lakers will be trying to win their first sectional game since 2005.

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Lakeland’s Isabelle Larimer dribbles to the basket ahead of the Jimtown defense last season.

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lakewood park panthers boys basketball schedule Nov. 20

7:30 p.m. A

@ Blackhawk Christian

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 24

Fremont

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 27

@ Clinton Christian

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 24

Woodlan

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 4

@ Heritage

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 26

6:30 p.m.

Dec. 11 H

Eastside

7:30 p.m.

@ Bishop Luers

Dec. 15 H

Concordia Lutheran

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 31

Lakeland Christian

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 20 H

Angola

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 2

@ Whitko

2:30 p.m.

Feb. 7

Bethany Christian

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 9

South Bend Career Academy

2:30 p.m.

Feb. 12

@ Prairie Heights

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 15

Leo

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 19

@ Central Noble

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 22

@ Adams Central

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 28

5555 C.R. 29, Auburn

Jan. 8

Colors: Columbia Blue, Black and White

Jan. 11

Class: 1A

@ Hamilton

Jan. 19

Dec. 28

lakewood park christian

@ Wawasee A Holiday Tourn.

10 a.m.

@ Wawasee A Holiday Tourn.

6 p.m.

@ Smith Academy of Excellence

7:30 p.m.

Canterbury

7:30 p.m.

A H

*Schedule subject to change

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Panthers hungry for success under new coach

BY BRICE VANCE

bvance@kpcmedia.com

AUBURN — The Lakewood Park boys basketball team has had a revolving door of head coaches in the last four seasons. Steve Oberlin is hoping to change that. The last coach to stay more than one season at Lakewood Park was Chad Hibbard from 2013-16. Oberlin should be a familiar face to Panther fans. He was the junior varsity coach when Rod Wilmont was the coach in 2016-17, when Lakewood Park won its first sectional title. Oberlin’s coaching resume includes being an assistant coach at Defiance (Ohio) College, a head coach at Living Word Christian School in Ohio and a coach for numerous Amateur Athletic Union programs. Lakewood and Oberlin have both experienced a lot of change in their pasts, but maybe the two coming together can provide a long and, hopefully, successful relationship. “First and foremost a family atmosphere. To know that we are here for each other and we’re going to stay and build this program,” Oberlin said. “I want to be very involved in the fourth, fifth and sixth grade and then the seventh- and eighth-grade programs. I want to make sure of what I want them doing and getting accomplished at those levels and start to build the program.” “If you want to have a successful program, it’s got to start down there. That’s how you become successful,” he said. Oberlin knows all of the players who are still with the program from when he coached during 2016-17 season and has seen some of the new faces during open gyms. He said there is a lot to be excited about for this season. “They play hard and they’re hungry. If

MEGAN KNOWLES

Members of Lakewood Park’s boys basketball team include, from left to right, Dylan Miller and Zeke Farnsworth.

you have that, you can learn from there. I’m excited about it. I think we’ll be OK,” Oberlin said. “I think we’ve got a lot of the different prospects that we need.” Zeke Farnsworth, Dylan Miller, Caleb Kruse, Alex Dodson and Jake Ingram make up the senior group for Lakewood Park, and the juniors include TJ Faur, Josh Pike and Giovi Talarico. Oberlin’s coaching style might look familiar to what Wilmont brought during the Panthers’ sectional run: A team that likes to push the ball and is aggressive on defense. Oberlin wants his team to be intense on the court. With that style mixed with unfamil-

iarity of players playing together, Oberlin has noticed a lot of turnovers in offseason workouts. “In the beginning it may be a little rough, but I think they are going to catch on pretty quick and be disciplined,” Oberlin said. When the Panthers take the court at Hamilton on Nov. 20, it will be Oberlin’s first taste of Indiana basketball as a head coach. “It’s exciting because this is a new water for me. I don’t know Indiana basketball that well because I’m from Ohio and there’s pretty good basketball over there,” Oberlin said. “I’m excited to see what Indiana basketball is all about.”

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Page 47

lakewood park panthers girls basketball schedule

lakewood park christian 5555 C.R. 29, Auburn Colors: Columbia Blue, Black and White

Nov. 8

’Busco

Nov. 10

A @ Heritage

6 p.m.

Nov. 13

Westview

6 p.m.

Nov. 15

@ Lakeland Christian

6 p.m.

Fremont @ Banker’s Life Fieldhouse

Noon

Dec. 11 H

Eastside

6 p.m.

Dec. 14 A

@ Garrett

7:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

6 p.m. Dec. 8

Nov. 17

@ Woodlan

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 15 A

@ North Side

Nov. 20

@ Hamilton

6 p.m.

Dec. 17 H

Clinton Christian

6 p.m.

Nov. 27

Prairie Heights

6 p.m.

Jan. 8

Northrop

6 p.m.

Jan. 19

@ Blackhawk Christian

6 p.m.

Jan. 22

Wayne

6 p.m.

Jan. 24

@ Adams Central

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 26

@ Elkhart Christian Academy

3 p.m.

Dec. 1

@ Bethany Christian

Dec. 4

Central Noble

6 p.m.

@ Canterbury

6 p.m.

Dec. 7

2:30 p.m.

Class: 1A *Schedule subject to change

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Lakewood Park girls to start rebuild this season

BY BRICE VANCE

bvance@kpcmedia.com

AUBURN — After winning its first sectional championship in program history, the Lakewood Park girls look to take a step back this season. The Panthers can credit a lot of their success from last season to five seniors, who all played in 20-plus games. The loss of those seniors off last year’s team will be a big reason for the rebuild to take place in 2018-19. The Panthers return one starter off that championship team. Sophomore Chloe Jolloff was appointed as the starting point guard as a freshman last season. She averaged 10 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game in 2017-18. The other returners for Lakewood Park include Tori Miller, who appeared in eight games last season, and Sophia Palacio, who entered three games last year. The rest of the roster will be made up new faces who are inexperienced at the high school level or who are learning the game altogether. The freshman group includes Taylor Gerke, Frannie Talarico, Sam Hartz and Sophie Burris. “Even with the talent of the freshmen, there’s a lot of teaching to do, being a freshman. Just learning a new coaching style and learning the game of high school basketball,” Lakewood Park head coach Amy Bartkowiak said. “It’s just rebuilding. We’re trying to be patient and just teach the game, the fundamentals and skills, and then we’re just preparing for the future.” Sophomore Vanessa Wehner and junior Genesis Baker are also on this year’s squad. Since Jolloff is the only returning starter, she has been tasked with being the leader of the team, and according to Bartkowiak, she’s enjoyed taking on that role. “She’s taken a lot of initiative in coming alongside the freshmen, and as well as kind of being patient and trying to teach the game,” Bartkowiak said. “It’s a really good role for her right now.” With the roster overhaul, the Panthers don’t have a lot of height. Bartkowiak sees that as a problem on the defensive end. “Defensively, I think that’s going to be a little difficult for us this year, because as far as height, we don’t have that at all,” Bartkowiak said. “And just learning new positions. I don’t know what happened in the younger years but the 2-3 zone is a little bit challenging to learn at a faster pace in the high school game.” But Bartkowiak feels that her team’s strength will be its

Lakewood Park’s Chloe Jolloff dribbles along the baselline during a girls basketball game in Fremont.

FILE PHOTO

quickness on the court to help compensate for not having a lot of height. “We have a ton of speed and we’re going to learn how to use it,” Bartkowiak said. “That’s probably one of the biggest things we have going (for us) right now. The freshmen are super coachable.” Bartkowiak doesn’t anticipate that this rebuild will take long. She’s done a great job so far of taking the girls program to new heights, and she wants to be here to see them get back and go farther. “Just to know that we are starting over, and that might sound funny, but to start over and build the program up again and know what it’s going to potentially look like in the future is very exciting because we do have a lot of talent coming up and talent to be developed out of these girls that they don’t even know that they have,” Bartkowiak said. “For me, it’s exciting to start that and to see where it’s going.”

Good Luck to All Teams!

Kirk Kohart

FOR ALL YOUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS

Page 49

prairie heights panthers boys BASKETBALL schedule 7:45 p.m.

Jan. 15

@ Woodlan

7:30 p.m.

8 p.m.

Jan. 25

Fremont

7:30 p.m.

@ Fairfield

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 28

Bronson

7:30 p.m.

@ Bethany Christian

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 31

Central Noble

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 5

DeKalb

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 4

@ Elkhart Christian Academy

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 8

@ Westview

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 8

Eastside

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 12

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 12

Whitko

7:30 p.m.

Lakewood Park

Dec. 14

@ ’Busco

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 15

@ Lakeland

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 21

@ West Noble

7:45 p.m.

Feb. 19

Heritage

7:30 p.m.

305 S. C.R.1150E, LaGrange

Jan. 4

@ Angola

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 22

Hamilton

7:30 p.m.

Colors: Red, White and Black

Jan. 9-12

NECC Tourn.

prairie heights High School Class: 2A

Nov. 20

@ Concord

Nov. 24

Garrett

Nov. 30

Dec. 1

TBD *Schedule subject to change

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MAKES THE DREAM WORK.

GOOD LUCK ATHLETES!

Have a great season.

Page 50

Returning talent has hopes high at Prairie Heights BY CHRIS REED

creed@kpcmedia.com

BRUSHY PRAIRIE — The 2017-18 season saw the Prairie Heights boys basketball team fight to just an 8-15 overall record, but earn a 5-6 mark in a tough Northeast Corner Conference. Those records were fine, especially for a team that featured several young players in very key positions. This year, though, the expectations are vastly different. With the return of starting guard Mike Perkins — who led the team in points per game (16.5), steals per game (1.5) and shot 47 percent from three, also a team best — as well as having other key pieces return, such as guard Garrett Culler and center Elijah Malone, a .500 record in NECC play just won’t cut it this time around. “You look at teams like Westview, Fairfield and Angola, those teams are always at the top,” new coach Tony Everidge said. “We want to be where they are. But, to do that, we have to be able to compete with and beat those teams. “I believe we can do that.” The backcourt relationship between Perkins and Culler evolved as the season progressed last year, with Perkins starting to play more off the ball down the stretch. And it worked, with the team pulling off some big wins over Lakeland and West Noble in league play. Malone, meanwhile, averaged 5.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while playing a part-time role on the team a season ago. Everidge expects those numbers to see a significant uptick as the team will be able to add some new wrinkles into its system this year. “There will be a few things that you didn’t see last year,” the coach said, “that we will be able to do because the players have another year of experience.” Everidge and the Panthers want to push the pace. Everidge thinks the personnel he has is capable of doing that. “It’s a family-knit group,” Everidge said to WANE-TV (Ch. 15, Fort Wayne) at the Northeast Indiana High School Basketball Media Day on Oct. 18 at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne. “We’re pretty athletic. Quick. They shoot the ball well.” Everidge replaced previous new coach Todd Watkins before Watkins even coached a game. Watkins resigned to tend to personal matters and his resignation was accepted by the Prairie Heights Community Schools Board of Education at the board’s

FILE PHOTO

Prairie Heights’ Garrett Culler drives the baseline during a game against the Railroaders last season.

Oct. 15 meeting. Everidge was an assistant coach on Brett Eltzroth’s staff as Eltzroth led the Panther boys cage program from 2007-14. Heights opens its season Nov. 20 at Concord.

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Page 51

prairie heights panthers GIRLS BASKETBALL schedule

prairie heights High School

Nov. 3

Wawasee

6 p.m.

Dec. 1

Fairfield

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 6

Heritage

6 p.m.

Dec. 7

@ Eastside

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 10

@ Central Noble

6 p.m.

Dec. 11

DeKalb

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 13

Woodlan

6 p.m.

Dec. 14

@ ’Busco

6 p.m.

Nov. 16

Lakeland

6 p.m.

Dec. 20

Bronson

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 23

A @ Westview

6 p.m.

Dec. 21

@ West Noble

6:15 p.m.

Nov. 24

Garrett

6 p.m.

Jan. 4

Nov. 27

@ Lakewood Park Christian

6 p.m.

Nov. 29

Bethany Christian

7:30 p.m.

@ Angola

6 p.m.

Jan. 9-12

NECC Tournament

6 p.m.

Jan. 15

East Noble

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 19

@ Fremont

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 22

@ Concord

7:45 p.m.

305 S. C.R.1150E, LaGrange Colors: Red, White and Black *Schedule subject to change

Class: 2A

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MAKES THE DREAM WORK.

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Have a great season.

Page 52

Prairie Heights’ Alexis German works against an East Noble player during the their matchup last season.

FILE PHOTO

Heights rebounding from down year BY CHRIS REED

creed@kpcmedia.com

BRUSHY PRAIRIE — The Prairie Heights girls basketball team didn’t lose a lot in terms of quantity from last year. However, there will still be one significant hole to fill as the Panthers take on the upcoming season. Shelby Fish, a 1,000-point scorer and do-it-all player for the Panthers, will be missed in the game day lineup, though the team has the up-and-coming pieces to help mitigate the loss, as the team hopes to improve upon what was a trying and disappointing season last year — the Panthers finished 6-18 overall and 2-9 in Northeast Corner Conference play. That effort begins with junior guard Alexis German, the team’s leading returning leading scorer, who averaged 12 points per game in 2017-18. Sharing main scoring duties with Fish a year ago,

German will undoubtably be the focal point of the Panthers’ offensive system. German brings a diverse skill set to the game, able to attack the basket with ease, as well as shoot a good percentage from three. Defensively, she led the team in steals last year with 2.7 per outing. German also led the team in assists, dishing out two per game, though that number will likely need to increase this season. The challenge now for new coach Taylor Terry is building a roster around German that can score enough points to stay competitive — no other returning player scored more than 2.9 points per game last season. The pieces are there to work with, though, as the Panthers will return several talented athletes who have made waves in other sports. Now, Terry just needs to continue to mold those athletes into ball players.

Terry said the confidence has grown throughout the team after seeing progress during the offseason, whether it be in the weight room or on the basketball floor with their skill development. “Pushing their limits, letting them know that they can hit their limit, but they have another gear. They just don’t know it yet,” Terry said to WANE television (Ch. 15, Fort Wayne) at the Northeast Indiana High School Basketball Media Day on Oct. 18 at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne. The Panthers have some frontcourt experience returning in senior Kaitlyn Rumsey. But Terry will rely on a lot of underclassmen at the varsity level. Terry was the junior varsity coach last season at her alma mater. The 2009 Prairie Heights High graduate helped the Panthers win a Class 2A sectional championship as a freshman in 2006 and led the team to the NECC Tournament title as a senior in 2009.

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Page 53

west noble chargers boys basketball schedule

west noble High School 5094 N. U.S. Hwy. 33, Ligonier Colors: Red, White and Blue

Nov. 20

@ East Noble

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 24

@ Bethany Christian

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 11

NECC Tourn. @ TBD

7:30 p.m.

NECC Tourn. @ Lakeland

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 30

South Side

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 12

Dec. 1

@ Wawasee

7:45 p.m.

Jan. 18

@ Fremont

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 6

@ Whitko

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 25

@ Fairfield

6 p.m.

Dec. 8

‘Busco

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 31

Westview

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 14

@ Central Noble

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 21

Prairie Heights

Dec. 28

Jan. 4 Jan. 9-12

Feb. 2

@ LaVille

2:30 p.m.

Feb. 5

NorthWood

7:30 p.m.

7:45 p.m.

Feb. 9

Columbia City

7:30 p.m.

@ Eastside

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 15

Hamilton

7:30 p.m.

Lakeland

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 16

@ Angola

6 p.m.

NECC Toun.

Feb. 19

@ Goshen

7:30 p.m.

Feb. 22

@ Garrett

7:30 p.m.

TBD

*Schedule subject to change

Class: 3A

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Ligonier Parks & Recreation Center Page 54

260-894-7344 • 520 West Union Street, Ligonier • www.ligonier-in.org

FILE PHOTO

West Noble’s Trevor Franklin looks to pass the ball inside during the first half of the Chargers’ win over previously undefeated Whitko last season.

West Noble team hopes school’s athletic success continues

BY TAYLOR LEHMAN

tlehman@kpcmedia.com

LIGONIER — West Noble head coach Jim Best is hoping that the fall success of West Noble athletics rubs off on his basketball team in the winter. The football team finished its regular season 7-2, the boys soccer team fell just two games shy of a state title and volleyball also advanced to a regional and won its first regional game in school history. The cross country team also competed as a team at the IHSAA State meet Oct. 27. With nearly all of his players competing in a fall sport, Best hopes it bleeds into his program that finished last season 12-12. “It’s a very exciting time to be an athlete at West Noble,” Best said, “and success breeds success.” The most significant improvement from last season is the competitiveness of this season’s practices, Best said. Rarely has West Noble been able to field a team of 10 or more varsity-caliber players, he said. This year, though, his team will be able to practice with 11 or 12 players.

Best said the benefit of competitive practices hasn’t necessarily been a luxury in his time at West Noble, so to bring numbers into practice and also into games gives the Chargers opportunities for creative play and preparation as the season digs into its longest stretches. “It’ll just make things more competitive, and that’s just a better learning environment for everybody,” Best said. The Chargers also return senior Drew Miller, who can shoot the ball with efficiency, something that West Noble is hoping to do a lot of this season. Miller missed the majority of last season with health concerns. Senior Trevor Franklin said having Miller back not only adds depth to the team but also provides a shot that the Chargers missed last season. Franklin himself is coming off his first season with the football team and said he hopes to add to the success that his team and the rest of the West Noble fall teams were able to find. The Chargers begin their season at East Noble on Nov. 20 as they look to improve from their eighth-place NECC standing a year ago.

2017-18 record: 12-12 overall, 6-6 Northeast Corner Conference First game: At East Noble at 7:30 pm. on Nov. 20 in Kendallville Key returners: Seniors Trevor Franklin, Drew Miller, Nick Knepper and Takota Weigold Key losses: Mason Stover Strengths: West Noble brings in players with pure athleticism that isn’t necessarily seen in other area teams. However, converting that to the court in a consistent way can be difficult for any team that features athleticism throughout its roster. Areas to work on: Losing Mason Stover, the primary ball-handler from last season, will prove to be difficult for a West Noble team that needs to find a leader. Replacing that type of player isn’t easy, so seeing how Jim Best and the Chargers fill that gap will be crucial for the later parts of the 2018-19 season. Keys to success: If West Noble can fill the gap left by Stover and find ways to free up their best shooters, as well as remain healthy, the Chargers could surely see a rise from eighth in the conference.

Page 55

west noble chargers girls basketball schedule Nov. 1

Bethany Christian

Nov. 3

Blackhawk Christian

2:30 p.m.

@ Columbia City

7:45 p.m.

Nov. 23 H

Fremont

Dec. 18 A

@ Angola

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 21 H

Prairie Heights

6:15 p.m.

Dec. 29 H

Holiday Tourn. @ West Noble

10:30 a.m.

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 4

Lakeland

6 p.m.

@ Wawasee

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 9-12

NECC Tourn.

6 p.m.

Nov. 29 H

Westview

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 15

Eastside

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 4

@ Goshen

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 17

Garrett

7:30 p.m.

Dec. 7

@ ‘Busco

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 22

@ East Noble

7:30 p.m.

Jan. 25

@ Fairfield

7:30 p.m.

Nov. 6

Nov. 27

west noble High School 5094 N. U.S. Hwy. 33, Ligonier

6 p.m.

Dec. 11 H

Whitko

7 p.m.

Dec. 14 A

@ Central Noble

6 p.m.

Colors: Red, White and Blue

*Schedule subject to change

Class: 3A

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Ligonier Parks & Recreation Center Page 56

260-894-7344 • 520 West Union Street, Ligonier • www.ligonier-in.org

West Noble girls return experienced squad BY TAYLOR LEHMAN

tlehman@kpcmedia.com

LIGONIER — After going 18-7 last season, West Noble head coach Dale Marano returns his five top scorers, and they’re all seniors. The group, which averaged 38.8 points per game last season, will likely represent the entire starting lineup for Marano and the Chargers, giving the coach and their teammates some comfort as they look to improve upon a successful 2017-18 season. “At the end of the day we return about 95 percent of our offense,” Marano said. “We return nine lettermen, seven seniors. Of the girls on our varsity team, eight or nine of them could start at any time. We’re that comfortable.” Marano said finding a main contributor could be interesting for the Chargers because it could be someone new every night. Senior Madison Schermerhorn led the Chargers with 9.6 points per game last season, while Lauren Burns followed with 8.6, Tara Miller with 7.4, Megan Godfrey with 7.3 and Angela Gross with 5.9. The Chargers can score from any position on the court, and the leadership parallels that threat, Marano said. “They’re all so close, particularly that senior group,” Marano said. “More of the leadership is going to come from the group itself instead of just one individual. I think they kind of see it that way also. We’re in a really good place. I don’t think there’s necessarily a sense of urgency, but they understand that it’s their last time playing together and that’s pretty special.” With his seniors having played through the West Noble system — Marano is in his 13th season with West Noble — the coach said he believes that comfort with each other has bred maturity in their play in ways that aren’t always seen at the high school level within the area. “I think there’s a maturity about the way we play, and I saw that over the summer,” Marano said. “I think that’s going to be a very evident difference in our play.” 2017-18 record: 18-7 overall, 8-3 Northeast Corner Conference Key returners: Seniors Madison Schermerhorn, Tara Miller, Lauren Burns, Megan Godfrey and Angela Gross Key losses: Kasia Weigold Strengths: West Noble has a strong network of leadership from its senior class, but it can also score from anywhere on the

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FILE PHOTO

West Noble’s Lauren Burns passes the ball during the fourth quarter of the Chargers’ win over Fremont last season.

floor. While losing only one player from last year in Weigold, the Chargers’ starting lineup has quite a bit of experience with each other, and Marano said it’s the deepest team he’s had in Ligonier. Areas to work on: Losing Weigold presents some issues for the Chargers in the post. Weigold averaged just more than three rebounds per game but was a strong presence on the inside when she was available. Schermerhorn led the team in rebounds, with 6.6 per game, but she will need help on the inside, potentially from junior Kristina Teel. Keys to success: If what Marano said is true and the team is mature in ways other teams are not, West Noble will need to take advantage of that asset to defeat some of the strongest teams in the area, particularly in the Northeast Corner Conference.

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Page 57

westview warriors Boys basketball schedule

westview high school

Nov. 20

Bethany

6 p.m.

Jan. 18

Fairfield

6 p.m.

Nov. 24

Northridge

6 p.m.

Jan. 19

Garrett

6 p.m.

Nov. 30

@ ‘Busco

6 p.m.

Jan. 25

Eastside

6 p.m.

Dec. 6

@ NorthWood

6 p.m.

Jan. 26

@ Gary Roosevelt

6 p.m.

Dec. 8

Central Noble

6 p.m.

Jan. 31

@ West Noble

6 p.m.

Dec. 14

@ Angola

6 p.m.

Dec. 21

@ Lakeland

6 p.m.

Feb. 8

Prairie Heights

6 p.m.

Dec. 22

@ Warsaw Community

6 p.m.

Feb. 12

@ Wawasee

6 p.m.

Feb. 15

Goshen

6 p.m.

Dec. 29

Center Grove @ New Castle

11 a.m.

Feb. 19

Fremont

6 p.m.

Feb. 22

@ Concord

6 p.m.

Dec. 29

Valpo or Warren Central

1635 S. 600W, Topeka Colors: Scarlet Red and Old Gold Class: 2A

TBA *Schedule subject to change

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Page 58

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3565 S 600 W, 3-1/2 Miles North of Topeka

Excitement surrounds Westview boys BY KEN FILLMORE

kfillmore@kpcmedia.com

EMMA — A lot of excitement surrounds Westview’s boys basketball team after setting a school record with 28 wins last season and falling a game short of the Class 2A state championship game. “I feel we will play hard. We’ll try to be as good as we can be,” Warriors coach Rob Yoder said. “It’s about getting all the pieces to work together in order to reach our potential.” Westview senior forward Nick Rensberger said, “I look forward to getting back on the court. The coaches prepare us so well. I think we’ll be fun to watch.” The expectations will be high for the Warriors after going 28-2 last season, winning the Northeast Corner Conference Tournament and sharing the NECC regular season title with Fairfield. Their big three is a big reason why in Rensberger, senior point guard Elijah Hales and junior swing man Charlie Yoder. Those three are a part of a lead group that has played a lot of basketball together over a long period of time. Senior forward Josh Hostetler and senior guard Dennis Wingard are also part of that group. “Being a senior helps a lot,” Hales said. “You have an IQ that you may not realize until you get to this point. There’s a lot of maturity you gain over three seasons and you better understand what you want to do and

how you want to do it.” Coach Yoder said the Warriors will have some viable options in their top 15 guys. New role players will emerge and will try to fill the void left by graduated players Sam Sharp, Jeremiah Hostetler and Kenton Weaver. The team and its potential earned Westview a place in the Hall of Fame Classic for the second time in program history. The first time was December 1999 during the season the Warriors won their second straight 2A state title. Westview lost to Zach Randolph and the Marion Giants in the championship game of the Hall of Fame Classic. Rob Yoder was on Troy Neely’s staff then. “It was a great experience and I am anxious to be a part of it again,” Yoder said. “Four teams out of 400 are picked, so you have to have something special. We’re blessed and very fortunate to be there.” Westview will play Mr. Basketball candidate Trayce Jackson-Davis and the Center Grove Trojans in the first semifinal of the Raymond James Hall of Fame Classic on Dec. 29 at and legendary New Castle Fieldhouse, then will play Valparaiso or Warren Central later that day. The Warriors will get some experience against a new up-tempo opponent when Gary Roosevelt visits the Warrior Dome on Jan. 26. Key returners: Senior guard Elijah Hales (15 points, about 5 assists and over 3.5 rebounds per game last

season), junior forward-guard Charlie Yoder (16.5 ppg, 6 rpg, 3 apg and over 2 steals per game), senior forward Nick Rensberger (11 ppg, 5.5 rpg, over 2 apg), senior forward Josh Hostetler and senior guard Dennis Wingard. Promising newcomers: Sophomore forward Drew Litwiller and junior guard Blake Egli. Strengths: It’s really hard to find any weaknesses, and there’s more to this team than the All-State candidates Hales and Yoder. Playing great competition in season and out of season, there is not a situation the Warriors have not seen. Fundamentally sound, well-coached, unflappable and very understanding of their roles. Areas to work on: The Warriors have depth and are building beyond Hales and Charlie Yoder. Premier players will come and go, but the program will carry on strong. How will the new varsity players fit into the mix and play in bigger situations? Keys to success: Handling large expectations. A lot is expected of this group of Warriors, including the ultimate prize. And they made their first biggest run at a 2A state title last year by getting to the semistate. Taking on the personality of coach Rob Yoder will best help Westview deal with those expectations and manage game situations and the season as a whole. There’s a quiet confidence deep inside based on preparation, but it’s his low-key demeanor that will keep the Warriors on an even keel.

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Page 59

CHRIS REED

Westview’s Charlie Yoder contends with a couple of Oak Hill defenders during last season’s Class 2A Semistate boys basketball game at Huntington North High School.

REPLAY

Westview falls short in semistate

BY CHRIS REED

creed@kpcmedia.com

HUNTINGTON — Westview fought. That was the sentiment expressed by coach Rob Yoder to his team after (March 17’s) loss in the Class 2A semistate against Oak Hill at Huntington North. “I told them that they did all they could,” Yoder said of the Warriors’ 70-64 loss. “These boys have a lot of fight in them.” The Warriors, led by a game-high 31 points from junior guard Elijah Hales, fought through a physical first half to draw to a virtual tie at the break. Junior center Nick Rensberger picked up his third foul midway through the second quarter, so Hales and sophomore forward Charlie Yoder stepped up their game in the paint during the reminder of the period. When Oak Hill pushed its lead to a game-high 12 points in the third quarter, Westview fought back to a two-point deficit. The moment wasn’t too big for the Warriors. Oak Hill was. “Their size caused a lot of problems for us tonight,” Yoder said. The Golden Eagles capitalized on their vertical advantage over the Warriors in the third quarter. After holding just a two-point lead at the half, Oak Hill used a Page 60

CHRIS REED

Westview guard Elijah Hales handles the basketball during last season’s Class 2A North Semistate game with Oak Hill at Huntington North High School.

balanced scoring attack to break the game open in the third quarter. Tyce Frank, David Arens, Spencer Ballinger and Caleb Middlesworth all scored during a 10-4 run to begin the stanza. Oak Hill took advantage of mismatches posed by the size of the 6-foot, 8-inch Middlesworth and the 6-5 Ballinger on smaller Westview defenders, grabbing a 12-point lead with just over three minutes to play in the quarter. “They were able to just pass the ball over top of us and they made plays that we just had a hard time defending,” Yoder said. Hales netted 19 of his team’s 24 points in the fourth quarter. He put Westview on his shoulders, showcasing an offensive skill set that few in the area can rival. Hales scored six points off shots in the paint and eight more from the free throw line, along with nailing a contested three and a deep two. “We did better this year surrounding him with more shooters so he has more space to operate,” Yoder said. “He’s very good off the dribble as well as making the jump shot.” Hales’ lone three-pointer in the fourth quarter drew the Warriors within two, 56-54, midway through the stanza. The Warriors had their chances to either tie or retake the lead in the game’s final

minutes, but the length of Oak Hill’s interior defense proved to be too much as the bigger Golden Eagles wore down the smaller Warriors. Oak Hill clinched the game with its ability to turn two-point plays into three, regularly drawing and-ones and scoring three points to every Westview two during the final 2 minutes. “We switched our defense up during that span because, well, we had to try something,” Yoder said. “Unfortunately it hurt us more than it did them. They were able to speed the game up and it worked right into their favor.” Westview also fought through a season that, despite the team’s school record 28 wins, had plenty of trying moments — namely the Warriors loss to Fairfield on Jan. 19 and an injury to Rensberger suffered. There were plenty of moments that helped to shape this Westview team into a squad that was worthy of being one of the final four teams still playing in Class 2A. And, despite the loss, Yoder said he doesn’t believe his team could have played any better. “(Oak Hill) made the plays needed to win the game, but, no, I could not have asked for more from these boys. I am very proud of the season that this team has had and am looking forward to next year.”

FILE PHOTO

Westview player Charlie Yoder moves past a Churubusco defender during the teams’ matchup last season.

Senior Nick Rensberger will bring strength and skill to the interior for Westview’s boys basketball team this season.

KEN FILLMORE

Senior guard Elijah Hales looks to lead the Westview boys basketball team to big things this season.

Westview trio embrace the hype KPC NEWS SERVICE Editor’s note: This excerpt was part of a story that originally ran to preview the Westview state semifinal game last season. However, the stakes, the sights and the hype are still present as they enter the 2018-19 season. Westview is an anomaly. The school that enrolls all of 400 students — sitting just outside the remote town of Emma in the middle of a cornfield — has a legacy that rivals those of schools more than twice its size. Twenty five conference championships, 19 sectional championships, six regional championships, three semistate championships and two state titles are among the banners that adorn the gym’s west wall, creating a sea of red and yellow behind a clear backboard, extending up into the rafters. Home basketball games draw crowds sometimes into the thousands. Fifty, sometimes 60 buggies can often be seen lining the edge of the parking lot closest to the road. Yes, there are expectations where

Warriors hoops is considered. Those expectations started again, in ernest, beginning four years ago when two freshmen walked through the high school doors. The players Charlie Yoder, Elijah Hales and Nick Rensberger have been close friends for as long as they can remember. “We met in third grade,” said Rensberger. “We were friends from day one.” Three years later, they began hooping together. “We began playing together in sixth grade, and have just continued ever since,” said Rensberger, who has grown a bit since those days — now standing 6-6 and topping the scales at 250 pounds. “We started building a big team chemistry and the connection that we gained from everything, on and off the court, is just great.” That chemistry continued to build during the players’ middle school years, where expectations for the trio continued to grow. Perhaps to unrealistic levels.

But, after all, this is Westview. “People were saying that we were going to be the next great generation of Westview basketball,” Rensberger said. Hales and Rensberger arrived a year sooner than Yoder, but that didn’t matter. A year and a sectional title later, Yoder joined his former junior high teammates, creating a nucleus that was always expected to hang another banner on the wall. Talk about pressure. “What pressure? We embrace this,” said Hales. ... “We know that everyone is watching us,” said Rensberger. “We try to block it out, but at the same time you always know that those expectations are there. It’s just up to us to go out there and play the game that we have been playing since we were young.” Added Hales: “We want to hang another banner on that wall. This is it, this is what we have been playing for. But, the pressure isn’t hard, it isn’t a burden. It’s who we are.”

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westview warriors Girls basketball schedule

westview high school

Oct. 25

S.B. Clay

6 p.m.

Dec. 1

Churubusco

6 p.m.

Nov. 1

@ East Noble

6 p.m.

Dec. 4

Garrett

6 p.m.

Nov. 9

Wawasee

6 p.m.

Dec. 7

@ Central Noble

6 p.m.

Nov. 10

@ Concord

6 p.m.

Dec. 13

@ Fremont

6 p.m.

Nov. 13

@ Lakewood

6 p.m.

Dec. 17

@ Sturgis

6 p.m.

Nov. 15

@ Goshen

6 p.m.

Dec. 21

@ Lakeland

6 p.m.

Nov. 17

Elkhart Memorial

6 p.m.

Jan. 8-12

NECC Tournament

6 p.m.

Nov. 23

Prairie Heights

6 p.m.

Jan. 15

Angola

6 p.m.

Nov. 27

Northridge

6 p.m.

Jan. 18

Fairfield

6 p.m.

Bethany

6 p.m.

@ West Noble

Jan. 24

Nov. 29

6 p.m.

Jan. 26

@ Eastside

6 p.m.

1635 S. 600W, Topeka Colors: Scarlet Red and Old Gold

*Schedule subject to change

Class: 2A

Slam Dunk

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Good Luck to All Teams! See What’s Cookin Before the Games! East Lake Street, Topeka, IN • 260-593-2988 Mon. - Sat. 6 AM - 8 PM Page 62

Wednesday Night - All you can eat fish Thursday Night - Baby Back Ribs Friday Night - Prime Rib Saturday Night - Buffet: chicken, shrimp, and beef brisket

Westview girls retooling BY KEN FILLMORE

kfillmore@kpcmedia.com

EMMA — Westview’s girls basketball team will overcome a few personnel losses and try to improve on last year’s 11-13 season (7-4 in the Northeast Corner Conference). “A good term would be retooling,” said Warriors coach Randy Yoder, who is in his 25th season at the helm of the girls basketball program at his alma mater. “The first week of practice went well. We have a lot of youth and enthusiasm. But we also have a lot of question marks.” Six-foot-one senior Ashya Klopfenstein is one of the top players in the NECC. But there is not much varsity experience around her. Senior forward LeAnna Miller played a key role off the bench last season. Klopfenstein and Miller are co-captains this season. “They have unbelievable character and are encouragers. They are great kids with great work ethic,” Yoder said. “LeAnna was the goalie on the soccer team and gained a lot of confidence. She is a nice player.” Yoder is also looking for senior guards Jensen Reynolds and Grace Miller, juniors Allie Hillman and Julianna Miller and sophomore Gloria Miller to take on important varsity roles after playing big roles on the junior varsity team recently. Yoder hopes to have Grace Miller back soon after suffering a knee injury playing softball for the Warriors last spring. Gloria Miller, a leading player on the Westview volleyball team this fall, only played about a third of last basketball season before being stopped by a broken wrist. Yoder likes the grit and coachability of sophomore guards Erika Miller and Hallie Mast and freshmen guards Allie Springer and Alexys Antal. Senior forward Nisha Patel will contribute to the varsity after spending her whole prep basketball career on the JV team. Nineteen girls will be playing basketball

KEN FILLMORE

Senior Ashya Klopfenstein will lead the Westview girls basketball team this season.

for Westview this season. Key returners: Senior center Ashya Klopfenstein (16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocked shots and two assists per game last season), senior forward LeAnna Miller (2.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.1 steals per game). Promising newcomers: sophomore forward Gloria Miller, senior guard Jensen Reynolds, junior forward-center Julianna Miller. Strengths: Klopfenstein is one of the best players in the area, and her positive personality will rub off on the Warriors. The energy, enthusiasm and chemistry is really good, according to Yoder.

Areas to work on: Finding point guards. Several girls from all grade levels will get that chance. Yoder and his staff will especially use the first three early games (at East Noble last Thursday, home vs. Wawasee on Friday and at Concord on Saturday) to evaluate everything. But one or two players could emerge in the second half of the season. “We’re a work in progress,” Yoder said. Keys to success: Gaining experience, court awareness and toughness. That will give them a chance to get to .500 and compete for a spot in the upper half of the NECC.

Page 63

NICOLE MINIER

The Busco Cheer Block goes wild for the Eagles.

S-P-I-R-I-T. Spirit, let’s hear it! Ideas to build school spirit and foster community

BY METRO CREATIVE CONNECTION Everyone knows basketball is big news in Indiana and everyone wants to get involved in cheering their team on to victory. Schools are often at the heart of a community. They are centralized places where people gather and friendships are formed. Creating an environment where school spirit is strong can be crucial to building a thriving community. School spirit can make people smile and bring them together for a common goal. Creating a balanced environment in schools also can help students feel more comfortable and happier about attending class each day. The National Federation of State High School Associations reports that, along with showing support for their school, high school students with school spirit perform better academically, are more engaged in social and civic matters and are generally happier than other peers. Those findings were part of a survey conducted by Harris Poll and involved 1,500 students who were asked about key factors like pride, academics and self-esteem at school. Page 64

Activities for building spirit can range from simple things like wearing silly hats or rooting on the sports team to more complex activities, such as community service projects. The following are some ways students, educators and members of the community can foster stronger school spirit by encouraging communities to get involved. • Invite or participate as guest speakers: Invite local community members to discuss their experiences or alumni share their memories of attending the school. Having students learn from these people can provide incentive for them to do well in school. • Celebrate diversity: Various months or weeks of the year are dedicated to celebrating particular ethnic, cultural or special groups. Tie school spirit occasions into these events to commemorate the unique diversity at your school. • Host “School Spirit Fridays”: An easy way to inspire school spirit is to ask faculty and students to wear school colors or attire featuring the school mascot each Friday. A short Friday pep rally also can excite the student body. Certain workplaces may also offer this to their employees as well, perhaps encour-

aging them to donate money to benefit a local school organization in exchange for allowing them to wear school spirit gear. • Raise money for charity: Penny Wars are a great way to raise funds for special interest projects and charities. Homerooms collect as many pennies as they can for a week. Rival classes “sabotage” by throwing nickels, dimes and quarters into the buckets. The pennies are tallied, and the other currency is subtracted from the total. The class with the most money wins a pizza party, and the funds raised are then donated. • Hold door-decorating contests. Students can decorate their classroom doors to coordinate with holidays or special themes. The winner receives a prize, such as more recess time or no-homework passes. This idea can also work for businesses, especially if a local team makes it far into the state tournament run. These are just a few ways to boost school spirit. Schools and members of the community can find more ideas to inspire school spirt by creating committees to connect with students, staff and members of the community.