Familiar team awaits

For the state semifinal, it’s back to the familiar.
In its last three tournament games Fort Recovery faced teams it knew little about, all from more than 100 miles away.
To win in the district championship and regional semifinal rounds, the Indians defeated squads from the Toledo area — Evergreen (Metamora) and second-ranked Lake (Millbury). And in the regional finale they overcame Ohio State recruit Raven Ferguson and the Africentric Early College Nubians of Columbus.
With a trip to the state championship on the line Friday, FRHS will travel to OSU’s Schottenstein Center to battle a team it knows well — the Anna Rockets.
The schools are separated by less than 35 miles, and they both compete in the Midwest Athletic Conference in football. Although Anna plays in the Shelby County League for its other sports, it met the Indians earlier this year in non-conference volleyball action.
And in November, the Rockets visited FRHS for a pre-season scrimmage.
“They gave us all we wanted, and then some,” said Bihn, whose squad has scrimmaged Anna in each of his four years at the helm. “They’re talented. They’re big. They’re athletic. They play great defense. The know how to get to the hole. … They do a lot of nice stuff. They’re going to be a good a good challenge for us.
“The best thing about it is we film everything, so we’ve got the scrimmage on tape. I hadn’t looked at it in three or four months, but we broke it out the other day.”
The Rockets (25-1), who are ranked third in the state, have been strong all season long, with 18 of their 19 regular-season victories came by double digits. Those wins included an impressive 60-44 triumph over MAC champion Minster.
Their lone loss came against Tippecanoe (Tipp City) by a single point on a game-winning shot at the buzzer.
Anna’s tournament run last season also ended with a one-point defeat, to Versailles in the regional semifinal round.
“We’ve had a couple of rough years there,” said AHS coach Jack Billings. “We’ve won a lot of games and the last two tournament losses have been in overtime by one.
“We want to come out with a killer instinct and try to put teams away early. We don’t want it to get to a point where you have a chance for someone to throw up a Hail Mary and beat you.”
Fort Recovery had similarly difficult endings to each of its last two seasons in the district semifinal round. Two years ago the Tribe let a double-digit, first-quarter lead slip away in a two-point loss to St. John’s, and last season they again fell a point short against Archbold.
They got over the district semifinal hump this season with a 48-33 triumph over Tinora, and went on to top Evergreen and second-ranked Lake in the district championship and regional semifinal rounds. All of those teams entered their battles with the Indians with 20 or more victories.
FRHS added perhaps its most impressive win of the year against No. 6 Africentric (21-3) by a 56-50 score in the regional title game.
The Nubians had made three straight Division IV state championship games from 2007 through ’09, winning the title twice.
The Indians’ regular-season accomplishments may be even more impressive.
They defeated two teams — Jefferson (Delphos) and Fort Loramie — that are playing in the Division IV state finals this season. They also topped St. John’s which lost to Jefferson in the district championship round. And one of their two losses came by two points on a miracle play at the buzzer by Minster, which dropped out of the tournament with a loss to Fort Loramie in the regional semifinals.
“We feel our schedule is second-to-none in the state of Ohio,” said Bihn. “We play a lot of good competition. … We schedule these type of opponents for a reason, to get us ready for the tournament.”
For the Rockets (25-1), 6-foot senior Megan Fogt leads a group of four players who score in double figures. She shoots 58 percent from the field, and nearly averaged a double-double this season with 14.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
Fellow seniors Rebecca Burch (13.0) and Carrie Watkins (11.1), and sophomore Natalie Billing (13.7) provide most of the rest of Anna’s offense.
Watkins is the main outside threat, having hit 32 3-pointers this season. No other Rocket player has attempted more than 15 shots from long distance, as the team focuses on getting to the basket.
“To beat Anna, we basically have to have good defense,” said Fort Recovery senior Abby Huelskamp. “They do a lot of screening and double-screening. Our help-side has to be there a lot faster. And as long as we remain calm, I think we’ll do pretty well.”
The Indians (23-2) have just two players in double figures for the season, but have seven who are legitimate scoring threats.
Sisters Holly (12.5 points per game) and Kendra Brunswick (12-4) lead the squad, followed by fellow senior Olivia Thien (9.3). Kendra Brunswick set the Fort Recovery school record for 3-pointers in a season this year with 46, Holly Brunswick and Thien have each hit more than 30 triples and Olivia Schwieterman adds another 23.
Kylie Kahlig, Nicole Dilworth, Kelly Nietfeld and Schwieterman average between 4.9 and 7.3 points, and have all been double-figure scorers over the course of the season.
“They can shoot the three,” said Billings. “They’ve got so many kids who can shoot the three. They can dribble penetrate on you. They’re so physical. They play great man-to-man defense. They have a lot of kids who can step up and play.”
Defense has been a calling card for both teams this year. Anna gives up just 36.1 points and 33 percent shooting, while the Indians allow 42.9 points and 37 percent.
There are a lot of challenges for Fort Recovery as they take on the Rockets.
But the Indians are trying to make sure they take care of themselves before thinking about their opponent, familiar or not. They want to make sure they stay mentally tough, keep their eyes on the prize and do the things that have gotten them to the state finals for the first time in 20 years.
“A lot of it is about staying focused and playing our game,” said senior Nicole Dilworth, “not necessarily worrying about who they are our what they’re doing, just playing our game perfect.”[[In-content Ad]]