Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Not even three weeks have passed since my return to Sidney and much of that time was occupied by the lull of the holiday break. I haven’t seen much basketball and not until I get to Hemingford today will I see any wrestling.
Nevertheless, with just a few basketball games under my belt, I have already noticed some impressive teams and performances. From the distance of the sidelines, it’s hard to tell from one season to the next how teams may suffer or benefit from the off-season changes.
It’s a fact of life that players graduate and freshmen arrive. Often times, even those with varsity experience have greater responsibilities thrust upon them with the beginning of a new season.
Though I wasn’t around, I checked in from time to time on how the local football and volleyball programs fared last fall. The loss of some impact players from the Potter-Dix and Sidney football teams left me wondering how they could make up for the loss. But both shined.
The Leyton girls’ volleball team excelled again – and so too did the earth continue to spin on its axial tilt of about 23 degrees. I predicted both.
I haven’t seen the defending district champion Leyton boys’ basketball team play yet. After returning from state last season, I couldn’t help but wonder how they could they replace three outstanding seniors in Dylan Brenner, Brennen Cruise and Alex W. Frerichs.
But it looks like Cody McKay, Jared Westman and James Rushman have been embracing their new roles. Brenner’s younger brother, Drew, scored 21 points in a game shortly before the break. Head coach Gary Oltmann sounds genuinely pleased with the potential his team has.
When I checked in at the Cabela’s Holiday Tournament last weekend, I was equally unsure of what to expect. As for the Sidney girls, I’m not too surprised that they have hovered around the .500 mark after losing five seniors. It was much the same last season at this time of the year. An added challenge is that the present seniors are not as numerous or experienced as last year’s fab five. The district appears wide open with Sidney definitely in the mix.
The Sidney boys lost their all-time leading scorer in Paxton Ehler and a trio of very effective big men. Logan Lewis and Nick Castner have graduated while Jake Sager suffered an injury during football season.
From my brief glimpse, Jake Heeren and Jared Ross have plugged up the loss in the middle more than admirably while Cutter O’Connell and Tyler Wintholz’s scoring abilities were evident even last year. Senior Lane Harvey can score, pass and play defense – just like last season. It looks like an old story brewing in District B-6: Sidney, Scottsbluff and Gering in a battle to the end.
Perhaps the most impressive performance I’ve seen during my brief period back, has been the show put on by the Peetz boys’ hoop team – especially the play of their scoring machine, Casey Barrett. But it wasn’t just one sided. Creek Valley sophomore Brett Godfrey was the boss early in the game on Tuesday night.
As for Barrett, he soon found his way against the Storm and lit up the scoreboard to aid Peetz in victory. He rattled the twine for 29 points.
In case you haven’t noticed, Barrett has been having an outstanding senior season so far. He leads the state of Colorado in scoring with an average of 29.9 ppg. His low this season was a ho-hum 19 points against a strong Caliche team. Back on Dec. 12, Barrett exploded for 47 points against Pawnee.
Bulldogs’ head coach Jim Gardiner smiles ear-to-ear when he talks about his team. He’s having fun and it shows. Besides Barrett, another key senior is Bradey Holtz. He’s had a larger offensive role put upon him. He’s responded with an average over 10 ppg.
Over the border, it looks like 1A North Central will come down to Fleming and Peetz. Circle Jan. 16, on the calendar for their first encounter.
And, the Creek Valley girls seem like they’re beginning to believe in themselves. They’re learning to play without the considerable talents of Jerry Straber and Summer Mueller. They looked good in a win against the Bulldogs.
It’s not yet halfway in the basketball season, but districts will be here soon enough. Stay tuned as more secrets and more action will be revealed every day. We’ll try to catch as much of it as we can.
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