FR eyeing MAC, state

A lot of teams enter the season with big aspirations.
The Indians aren’t being shy about theirs.
“We want to compete for a (Midwest Athletic Conference) championship,” said Fort Recovery High School boys basketball coach Brian Patch. “If you do that, then our second goal is we think we’re good enough that we can possibly make a run at a state championship. If you can win a MAC championship, then you put yourself in a position to make a run in the tournament.”
Patch and his Indians will start on the road they hope ends in Columbus on Friday when they host St. Marys Memorial. They do so having lost just one player — Ryan Schoen — who saw major minutes on last season’s 13-9 squad.
Three of the returning Indians scored in double figures a year ago, with junior Wade Gelhaus leading the way.
Gelhaus, who was a starter on Fort Recovery’s regional finalist team two seasons ago, powered the Indians averaging 12.7 points and 9.1 rebounds during his sophomore season. He also led the team with 70 blocks, and is the returning leader with 51 steals and 50 assists.
He has already verbally committed to play college basketball at the University of Findlay, following in the footsteps of former Tribe teammate Greg Kahlig.
“For us, he can do so much defensively, offensively,” said Patch. “He’s really worked hard at his game. … He will cause a lot of mismatches for us that we can hopefully exploit on offense. … He will be someone we rely on for leadership.”
Senior Jared Kahlig and sophomore Elijah Kahlig return after averaging 10.7 and 10.6 points per game respectively last season.
Patch said Jared, who also grabbed 4.8 rebounds per game, grew about four inches since the end of his junior season in March.
Meanwhile Elijah, who was the team’s sharp-shooter with 42 3-pointers as a freshman, will be expected to take on a larger role this year.
“(Jared) basically has guard skills in a 6-5 frame,” Patch said. “He’s another kid that hopefully can create some mismatches. He’s a very intelligent player. He understands the game really well.
“We expected Elijah to come in right away and contribute last year, and he did that … Last year he basically was a spot-up shooter. This year we expect him to be more offensively and defensively. … His role on our team is expanding. …”
Jason Pottkotter, a senior, and Ben Dilworth, a sophomore will fill out the starting lineup.
Pottkotter was the first man off the bench during the team’s 2010 tournament run, and brings back 5.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. While his stats don’t jump off the page like some of his teammates, Patch said he is the glue that holds the team together.
“Jason had a great year for us in football, and I think that will help him in basketball … He brings a lot of the blue-collar, intangible things,” said Patch. “He may not have some of the glaring stats, but what he provides for our team is immeasurable. … He’s a great, quality kid on and off the floor.”
Dilworth saw action in 12 varsity games as a freshman averaging 1.3 points and one assist. Derek Gaerke, a senior who played in 20 games last season, will come off the bench along with junior Trent Kaiser and sophomore Alex Kaiser.
Patch said he feels his team’s experience two seasons ago — it earned tournament wins over New Knoxville, Ottoville, New Bremen and Lockland before falling to eventual state champion Jefferson Township (Dayton) in overtime in the regional championship game — has it hungry for a run to the state finals.
“When you’ve been so close to making it to state, I think that has driven us to get back there,” said Patch. “As players, Wade and Jason were a part of that. Jared dressed for those games. Elijah saw his brother Greg go through those experiences.
“Every player wants that. Some years that’s not maybe a realistic goal. … I think this year it’s a goal that we feel is a realistic goal.
“It’s going to be a journey. We’ve got to try to prepare ourselves and get better every step along the way.”[[In-content Ad]]