Big finish

FORT RECOVERY — Two weeks ago, the Indians were languishing. In the midst of a seven-game losing streak, they had not won in more than a month.
Now, they’re once again going strong with the tournament just a few days away.
Fort Recovery dominated the first quarter and led by as many as 17 in the fourth as it closed the regular season with its third straight win Friday, 47-36 over the New Bremen Cardinals.
“I thought it was a very good win for us to finish the year off,” said FRHS coach Brian Patch. “I thought our kids played pretty well.
“We took care of the ball, made good decisions, took good shots …”
“I thought for us it was a very good game overall. I was proud of how our kids came out and played.”
The Indians started the season on fire, winning their first eight games and moving as high as No. 5 in the Division IV poll. They finally fell 56-40 to Kalida on Jan. 8, won their next game at Coldwater and then dropped seven in a row.
They ended the skid with a 31-29 win Feb. 18 and went on to defeat Mississinawa Valley and New Bremen to finish 12-8 overall and 5-4 in the Midwest Athletic Conference.
Patch often talked about staying confident during the difficult stretch, and said he relayed a story the 1994 Jay County High School team he was a part of. That squad finished 1-19, but scored a pair of upsets to win the sectional championship.
“The first 20 games are just tune-up games,” he said. “You can win the first 20 games and lose the first one of the tournament and your season is considered a failure.
“To the kids’ credit, they believed in themselves and each other. We battled back and won three games in a row.”
A quick start was the key Friday for the Indians.
After giving up the first point of the game on a Troy Williams free throw, Fort Recovery scored the next nine in a row with Jared Kahlig, Wade Gelhaus, Ryan Schoen and Elijah Kahlig all chipping in. The Cardinals (9-11, 4-5 MAC) never got closer than six points the rest of the way.
FRHS led by 10 after three quarters, and then opened the fourth on a 9-2 run to put the game away.
Coming off of a 26-point game against Mississinawa Valley, Wade Gelhaus led the Indians with 15 points and seven rebounds. Elijah Kahlig buried four 3-pointers and finished with 13 points.
 “For him, right now, the basket is about double or triple the size,” said Patch of Kahlig. “This week in practice he shot 200 threes and shot 72 percent on those. He’s shooting the ball with a lot of confidence, and his teammates have a lot of confidence in him. Every shot he takes right now looks good, looks like it’s going to go down.”
Jason Pottkotter hit all of his field-goal attempts and added nine points for the Indians. Jared Kahlig matched Gelhaus with seven rebounds, and Ryan Schoen came up with five steals.
Fort Recovery also had another good night defensively, limiting the Cardinals to 34 percent shooting overall and just 5-of-18 (28 percent) in the first half. It continually harassed New Bremen with deflections, including four in a single possession in the first quarter before Schoen came up with a steal and lay-up.
“Defensively we’ve been solid all year,” said Patch, whose squad finished second in the MAC in points allowed. “That’s kind of been our bread and butter.
“I thought tonight the kids were very active and played really well. … Ryan did a great job out there. I thought Jason did a pretty good job with ball pressure.”
Troy Williams shot 6-of-7 and led the Cardinals with 14 points. Aaron Clune had 12 points and three assists, and Elliot Westerbeck had eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Junior varsity
The Indians struggled in the first and third quarters in a 47-37 loss to New Bremen.
Fort Recovery fell behind by seven in the opening quarter before pulling to within 18-16 at the half. But the Cardinals outscored the Tribe 12-5 in the third quarter to pull away in their 10points win.
Mason Evers shot 9-of-12 from the foul line and finished with team highs of 13 points and five rebounds. Wyatt Blockberger and Chad Schroer added six points each.
Justin Heitkamp and Troy Williams totaled 10 points apiece to lead New Bremen.[[In-content Ad]]