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 BHS, IHS sports results from Dec. 14-21
Written by: Joel Priest
12/21/2012
Boys show improvements at FCC
Hardy earns All-Tourney
By Joel Priest
And though the Monticella Buckaroos regrouped to win 62-56 in overtime, they needed to dig deep into their bag of tricks—including junior Austin Maloy’s inbounds pass underneath the basket to himself, off unsuspecting Panther post Briston Walker’s back—in full view of their waiting enemy: Bayfield, searching for a third wind after seeing their own fantastic late rally versus the Panthers come up short on Day 1.
“Monticello is a very tough team. They are extremely athletic, extremely strong, and our kids didn’t have a bit of back-down,†stated BHS boss Bill Hesford. “Didn’t seem intimidated, got out there and played their game—and it’s the best game we’ve played.â€
“After that overtime win…it was hard to come out and play because we had dead legs, and they were fresh. They came out fast, hit some threes,†said Monticello senior Gunnar Hollingsworth, who’d put up 24 against M-CHS, “but we just stuck through it…like, not get too down and just push through.â€
There really was no more fitting way to start for the Wolverines; having been greeted in the Classic’s first clash by ten Miyamura treys [the Pats prevailed 63-39, with BHS coming only as close as 19-14], and then hit with five more in a 65-55 loss to the locals, revenge was ready to be dealt.
But in proper FCC irony, it wasn’t point guard Joey Webb draining Bayfield’s first triple, nor starting two Nevin Lister, nor three Eirik Kins, nor even bench threats Geoff Pope and Trevor Gabbard.
“It’s funny,†said Hesford. “We’ve run…last two games we ran an opening play for Preston, to get a three for him. And he missed on both. We ran a different play [against Monticello], and the play didn’t go—and Preston got an open three and made it. Then he made one on the next trip, and about two trips later; he was feeling pretty good there.â€
“We just decided to get it started early, and hit it…hit it…hit it!†recalled 6’6†center Preston Hardy. “So it was fun; there were good passes and everything—we scored that first quarter. It helps.â€
Having trailed 4A’s Miyamura and M-CHS after one frame by respective counts of 19-8 and 14-8, the scoreboard showing a 16-15 advantage—fueled by Hardy’s three 3’s and one by Webb—was a major boon to BHS’ confidence.
But with Hollingsworth equaling his four first-quarter points in the second, and 6’4†senior Jake Duncan—trying to figure out how to hawk Hardy—also netting two late buckets, Monticello pulled even at 26-26 at halftime, having trailed by as much as 23-18 with 3:50 left.
“We’ve been talking a lot about getting more shots on the rim while still being patient, and we finally saw that—the kind of offensive plan we need to run,†Hesford said. “We need 16 to 20 a quarter.â€
MHS skipper Tony Esplin, who’d led his school’s volleyball team to a second straight state championship in the fall, had a simpler message to tell his troops in the locker room.
“He was saying that now our legs—like, both of us—have some fatigue,†recalled Hollingsworth, “and they’re not going to be as fresh. So we could go deeper into our bench, and just keep working.â€
And sure enough, the Buckaroos took a 33-31 lead into the fourth on a late Nash Freestone FT, but Webb came up huge defensively with a block of Sheldon Black’s buzzer-beating attempt from midcourt. Black and Tanner Eardley each scored eight as reserves, and MHS’ bench totaled 18 points to BHS’ nine.
Hollingsworth (10 points) began the fourth with a reverse layup, but Wolverine Tyler Kerr (9) countered with two free throws. Hardy (16), held scoreless in the third, managed a hoop and two makes from the stripe in the fourth, but Duncan worked the paint with veteran prowess, and proved the difference.
Maloy (18 points versus M-CHS, 7 vs. BHS) and Black each sank a crucial three to help gain separation, but Duncan (7 points, 5 fouls vs. M-CHS) poured in 11 of his game-high 19, including a rim-less ‘dunk’ with 0:30 remaining to give MHS a 51-43 lead en route to a 55-43 final.
“That’s what we do—we like to get it outside and just look in, post up a lot,†said Hollingsworth, an All-Tournament choice (with Maloy) from the champs’ roster. “It was originally our game plan to get it inside; we know they’ve got that big guy, but…. We just do what we do.â€
“Coach, before the game, tells us ‘Don’t play the other team, play ourselves,’†said Hardy, also an All-Tourney pick. “It’s our game plan every time; we don’t worry about what the other team does. So that’s what we’re working for—go out and try to play our game.â€
Pope finished with six points, giving him 23 in the three games. Kins had four, giving him 13, and Kerr totaled 29. Including a 17-point, 14-rebound effort against M-CHS, Hardy racked up 39 points, and Webb amassed 15. Reserve Dillon Hoselton even managed to score in all contests, totaling five points.
“The thing about our team right now is that we’ve gotten better every time we’ve stepped on the court,†said Hesford. “The wins are going to come; it’ll be nice when that first one comes. But we’ve made a ton of progress from…when we came out against Durango.â€
“We are short one of our big guys, and we felt that against Cortez more than anybody else. So hopefully when we see them again in January,†he continued, “at our place we’ll have a different result. But I’m pretty pleased with the tournament; three good games, helping us get ready for the IML.â€
FOUR CORNERS CLASSIC RESULTS: 1.Monticello 3-0 (now 6-1 overall), 2.Montezuma-Cortez 2-1 (2-4), 3.Miyamura 1-2 (4-4), 4.BAYFIELD 0-3 (0-4).
ADDITIONAL ALL-TOURNEY PICKS: Jared Meese, Miyamura junior forward; Brackin Whiteskunk (59 total points), M-CHS junior guard.
LAST-MINUTE SHOPPING: Bayfield’s road game Thursday night—their last before the Christmas break—at 4A Piedra Vista (3-7) in Farmington, N.M., was finished after the Times went to print.
Mickey IHS’ lone R-R placer
By Joel Priest
Ninth place out of nine surely had the expected lumps in the win/loss column.
Ignacio sophomore Blaine Mickey, however, chose to inflict more than he sustained at last Friday’s Bloomfield (N.M.) Round-Robin Invitational. Going 3-1 on the day, he managed to out-score 4A Kirtland (N.M.) Central’s Alex Kamae in the final phase to save third place at 160 pounds, but ultimately ended up as the Bobcats’ only placer out of—you guessed it—nine competing.
Mickey started his day with a pin of BHS’ Sheldon Begaii, but then had the favor returned by 4A Gallup (N.M.) Miyamura’s Dennis D’Orazio in the second pool-match round. But a pin of 4A Aztec (N.M.) Tiger Ethan Reimers got him back on track towards earning IHS seven of its 32 team points.
With three Skyhawks placing fourth and one—Landon Yazzie at 220—second, Newcomb, N.M. (classified as a 1A-3A squad by the NMAA), took eighth with 46 points, and 4A Gallup, N.M., was seventh with 49.
Javan Webb went 1-2 at 195, and heavyweight Josh Gallegos did likewise, as did Ruben Velasquez at 152. Christian Knoll (0-3 at 170) was IHS’ only upper-weight grappler not to earn a victory.
In the lower ranks, Taylor Smith went 1-2 at 120 pounds, defeating MHS’ Taylor Cambridge in his final pool-round contest. At 126, Mathew Powell went 0-3 against a rugged pool featuring 4A Farmington (N.M.) Piedra Vista’s Ryan Ruybalid and 4A Bloomfield’s Troy Rightmire.
David Cooper went down by pin right off the bat at 132, courtesy Aztec’s Robert Escojeda, and was pinned twice more—ousted by 3A Bayfield’s Allec Rodriguez. And at 138 Trever Sivers was promptly pinned by MHS’ Alias Starkovich, then by eventual champ Samuel Chee of KC, and was eliminated by Bloomfield’s Jaelynn Tucker.
ROUND-ROBIN OUTSTANDING WRESTLERS: Lower Weights—Escojeda; Middle—Ryan Rino (152), PV; Upper—Adam Lucero (170), AZT.
BHS girls playing this weekend at Lady Scorp Invite
By Joel Priest
After a long wait it’s finally back to business for the Lady Wolverines, as they’ll participate in this weekend’s Webb Toyota/Farmington (N.M.) Lady Scorpion Invitational at FHS.
Unfortunately for readers, Bayfield began last night with a 7 p.m. tip—after 3A Shiprock, N.M., and 4A Mead, Colo., started things at 5:30—against the tourney hosts, and results were unavailable before the Times went to print. But in the event’s round-robin format, BHS’ next opponent was already known:
Tonight Bayfield will battle SHS in the 5:30 contest, with Mead then meeting Farmington. Saturday’s schedule pits BHS (1-2 prior to the event) and MHS (3-2) in the noon game, with the San Juan County clash between SHS (6-1 coming in) and FHS (1-4) following at 2 p.m.
Placings will be determined by: 1.Wins/losses; 2.Head-to-head; 3.Point Differential (15 points maximum); 4.Points allowed. There will also be eight All-Tourney awards to be earned, as well as an overall MVP selection.
Grapplers make gains in Bloomfield
Wolverines with three runners-up
By Joel Priest
Round- and round-, and round-robin they’d go.
How it all would stop, well…most filling Bobcat Arena’s bleachers seemed to already know: Returning several keys from last season’s State-best squad—with a reigning Colorado champ [2A Del Norte’s Jacob Palmgren] also now in the fold—Piedra Vista was primed to go big against a small field.
And amongst those facing the Panthers’ paws last Friday happened to be the Bayfield Wolverines.
Second-place finishes by Joe Zink at 145 pounds, Colter McMenimen at 126 and Michael Goodman at 182 fueled BHS’ 116.5-point total at the Bloomfield Round-Robin Invitational, but it—along with those of New Mexico 4A powers Aztec (151.5) and Bloomfield (176)—was nowhere near to being near the Farmington-based force’s massive haul of 356.
Bayfield finished fifth, with Kirtland Central—second to last as a team at last season’s NMAA Class 4A State Championships—just ahead in fourth with 119.5 points. Sixth-place 4A Miyamura managed just 71, but gained a morale-booster for the season by outdoing their city rivals Gallup (49).
Goodman went 3-1 on the day, losing only to PV’s John Ellsaesser by pin in the final, and Zink posted an identical mark—losing 9-3 at the end to PV’s Dillon Strunk. McMenimen was also 3-1, dropping a high-scoring 20-11 decision for the medal to PV’s Ryan Ruybalid.
Also for Bayfield, heavyweight Matt Eckstein overcame AHS’ Monty Gomez’s early pin to save third place (also going 3-1 overall) win a pin of his own against GHS’ Christopher Chee. Allec Rodriguez was 3-1 at 132—including a narrow loss to AHS’ Robert Escojeda, brother of graduated 4A champ Rio (the classification’s winning-est in 2011-12, going 52-1 at 138)—but pinned his KC opponent for third.
Tyler Beebe took fourth at 120, going 2-2 with a final-round loss to Bobcat Donny Trujillo.
Six more wrestlers took part for the Wolverines, including Drake Rhodes who went 1-2 at 138, ousted from placing—the Round-Robin recorded the top four in each weight—by PV’s Wyatt Weaver in the pool round. Myles Popke was pinned by AHS’ Justis Francisco and then by PV’s Ryan Rino at 152, but received a ‘bye’ in his final pool match.
James Young’s pool-opener at 160 pounds ended underneath a pin by PV’s Wyatt Hardy, and he was eliminated from contention in similar fashion by KC’s Alex Kamae before also receiving a free pass. Jon Roberts’ chances at 170 took a hit in his second pool match with a loss to AHS’ Adam Lucero, and were then doused with a forfeit loss to PV’s Joseph Kerr.
Dominique Brittain lost right away to PV’s Zach Ahlgrim at 195, and then fell to AHS’ Orien Israel and 2A Ignacio’s Javan Webb, and 220-pounder Matt Cerdas also went 0-3 after losses to PV’s Christian Acosta, Bloomfield’s Orin Kennedy (State runner-up heavyweight last season), and Miyamura’s Brandon Gray.
The Wolverines end the ‘old year’ at tomorrow’s Piedra Vista Invitational, set to start at 10 a.m. against a field including not only the Panthers but also talented N.M. 4A’s Los Lunas, Santa Fe, and Belen.
BLOOMFIELD ROUND-ROBIN CHAMPIONS: 106—Lawrence Sandoval, PV; 113—Phillip Archuleta, PV; 120—Palmgren, PV; 126—Ruybalid, PV; 132—Escojeda, AZT; 138—Samuel Chee, KC; 145—Strunk, PV; 152—Rino, PV; 160—Hardy, PV; 170—Lucero, AZT; 182—Ellsaesser, PV; 195—Ahlgrim, PV; 220—Acosta, PV; Hwt—Kason Wilkinson, PV.
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