Whirlwind second quarter propels Potter-Dix past Creek Valley

When Jake Johnson opened the second quarter by completing a three-point play for the Coyotes Tuesday night, it proved to be the beginning of an ill wind for Creek Valley.

Second seeded Potter-Dix parlayed their sharpshooting touch of the second period into a 69-56 win over the third seed Storm the D1-12 sub-districts at Mitchell High School.

The Coyotes (10-11) move on to the championship game at MHS on Thursday where they will meet No. 1 Hemingford (17-6) at 6:30 p.m. The Bobcats had little trouble with Morrill (4-18) as they ended the Lions season by a score of 60-21. The halftime score had Hemingford in front 42-5 after the Lions failed to score in the second quarter.

After Johnson opened the second quarter with his three-point play 17 seconds in, the scoring came fast and furious. Even though the Coyotes took command with 32 points in the frame, the Storm refused to sit back and watch. Creek Valley matched its best eight-minutes with 18 points.

Lane Godfrey answered Johnson with a layup, but for much of the quarter the Coyotes hit back at every Storm bucket with two of their own. At one point in the frame Potter Dix scored 10 unanswered points in 60 seconds.

The Coyotes Bryant Knigge hit a trio of three pointers in the period. His second trey was a bomb from about 26 feet - well beyond the three-point arc.

"I have confidence shooting from out there," Knigge said. "If I make those ones the crowd loves me. When I miss they hate me."

Knigge, the lone senior on the Coyotes roster, scored 13 points in the second quarter as part of his game-high 27 points.

By the time the 50-point stanza was over, Potter-Dix held a 47-32 lead

It had been a 1-point affair at the end of the first.

As he did in the second quarter, Johnson opened up the scoring in the third with a layup. The Potter-Dix shooting percentage was 54 percent for the evening, helped in large part by Johnson's 78 percent. He hit 7 of 9 shots from the floor.

"We were trying to move the ball up the floor all night and that's when we play our best as a team," said Johnson. "It worked for us so well tonight because we played very well as a team."

While the Coyotes scoring wasn't as prolific in the third quarter, they still managed to extend their lead another 10 points.

Four points from Lane Godfrey and a pair free throws from brother Brett were all the Storm could manage in the third. Knigge ended the set with his fourth three pointer of the game in the final seconds to give the Coyotes a 63-38 lead.

The Storm fought back in the final frame as the Godfrey brothers went on a 6-0 run at the start. This time it was Brett with 4 to Lane's 2 points.

Potter-Dix answered the Godfreys with a 6-0 stretch of their own, but it amounted to all their scoring in the fourth. Knigge scored on a fade-away jumper and converted a Tyler Magninie pass for 2 more.

Magninie dropped in the final points for the Coyotes with 5:11 left.

After Magninie's bucket, Creek Valley ended the contest with a 12 consecutive points. The final Storm run was filled out by contributions from Brett Godfrey (2 points), Colin Brott (2) and Lane Godfrey (4).

Storm supporters caught a glimpse into the future as freshmen Austin Rowley (2) and Josh Schievelbein (2) had a hand in the final push.

The most competitive part of the game was the opening eight minutes. After Dane McConnell dropped in the first bucket for Creek Valley, much of the frame tunrned into a back-and-forth affair. Neither team could gain more than a 3-point advantage and there were three ties.

Johnson dropped in the final bucket of the quarter to give Potter-Dix a narrow lead at 15-14.

Johnson scored 16 points to add to Knigge's 27. Cameron Purcell and Magninie each added 9 for the Coyotes. Trevor Harms and Trace Sharman led Potter-Dix in rebounds with 9 each. Sharman also had 3 steals. Kelsey Rozelle and Purcell added 8 and 7 borads respectively. Knigge and Magninie each had 6 assists to lead the team.

Creek Valley struggled all season with a young team, but they will lose only one player to graduation. Team leader and four-year starter Lane Godfrey is the only senior on the roster. Godfrey finished the season as the Storm's leading scorer with an average of 15.6 points-per game.

"It's going to be tough to lose Lane," said Storm Head Coach Roger Behrends. "He's been a steady player around here for a long while."

For Godfrey, however, it was a special season as he had the chance to play with his younger brother. Brett Godfrey was part of the freshmen duo with Maverick Widdowson who started in the back court for Creek Valley.

Brett Godfrey was second on the team in scoring with better than 13 ppg.

"It was a lot of fun to play with Brett. I wish we could do it for another year - maybe in college," said Lane Godfrey. "He's going to be a lot better player than I ever was."

The Godfrey's led the Storm scoring attack as Brett led the way with 17 while Lane was close behind with 16. Brott had 9 points and Widdowson 8. Lane Godfrey helped the offense with a team high 4 assists. Brott and Brett Godfrey each had 10 boards while Lane Godfrey had 8. The elder Godfrey also led the team with 5 steals.

Boys Sub-Districts

Potter-Dix 69

Creek Valley 56

Linescore

Potter-Dix 15 32 16 6 - 69

Creek Valley 14 18 6 18 - 56

Coyotes Scoring

Bryant Knigge 27

Jake Johnson 16

Cameron Purcell 9

Tyler Magninie 9

Trevor Harms 4

Trace Sharman 3

Kelsey Rozelle 1

Storm Scoring

Brett Godfrey 17

Lane Godfrey 16

Colin Brot 9

Maverick Widdowson 8

Josh Schievelbein 2

Dane McConnell 2

Austin Rowley 2