July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
It’s said that history repeats itself.
The Indians hope theory holds true.
Two seasons ago the Fort Recovery High School boys basketball team dropped its regular-season finale to New Bremen. But it came back to beat the Cardinals in the district championship game a few weeks later.
The Indians will be seeking tournament revenge again when they play the St. Henry Redskins in the Division IV district championship game at Elida on Friday at 7 p.m.
“As a competitor, that’s who you want to see,” said FRHS coach Brian Patch. “Any time you have a chance to play a team that beat you the first time around, you want to have a chance to avenge that loss. ... Obviously there’s a lot on the line with a chance to go to the Sweet 16.”
No. 5 Fort Recovery (20-2) struggled mightily in its regular-season meeting against the Redskins (19-4), shooting just 28 percent from the field. It trailed by 10 points with less than four minutes to play before putting together a late run to take the lead with just 26 seconds remaining.
However, Alex Post got to the foul line with just four seconds on the clock and hit both free throws to lift St. Henry to the win.
“We got off to a terrible start,” said Tribe senior Jared Kahlig. “I don’t know if we weren’t ready. This time we should be able to get off to a better start. The last two games we’ve jumped on teams early and played with the lead ...
“We didn’t make too many shots that first time around. Their zone kind of slowed us down. Hopefully this time we get out in transition a little bit more.”
St. Henry coach Eric Rosenbeck agreed that his team’s defensive strategy was key to the win.
The Redskins generally play a 1-3-1 zone, but against Fort Recovery they went to a triangle-and-two in an attempt to slow down the Indians’ multi-faceted scoring attack. As a result, Wade Gelhaus (19.2 points per game), Jared Kahlig (12.4) and Elijah Kahlig (10.7) were all held below their season averages.
“We kind of caught them off guard ... by going to a triangle-and-two,” said Rosenbeck. “They’ll be ready for it this time, so it’ll be interesting to see how that shapes up.
“We’ve really got to focus on the two Kahligs. We’ve seen everybody ... try to stop Gelhaus and he always ends up with at least 15 anyway. ... We’re kind of conceding that I guess.”
While FRHS boasts three players who score in double figures, Kyle Stahl is the all-around leader for St. Henry.The junior leads the team in points (12.2), rebounds (10.4) and assists (2.8) per game while shooting 51 percent from the field. Steve Luttmer shoots 44 percent from long distance, and Craig Knapke grabs 5.3 boards per game.
Luttmer led the Redskins to their win over Fort Recovery with 13 points, and Post and Stahl each added eight.
St. Henry has racked up 12 straight wins after a 7-4 start, with its last loss coming by a 53-49 score Jan. 20 against New Bremen. It rolled through the Coldwater sectional with wins of 67-31 and 61-38 over Waynesfield-Goshen and New Bremen respectively before knocking off Crestview 57-51 in Tuesday’s district semifinal.
The Indians have run off seven straight wins since falling to SHHS in a game in which they felt like they were not close to their best.
“It was an execution issue more than anything,” said Patch. “We got good looks, we just didn’t hit them, didn’t finish them. That was the run where we started to see a lot of triangle-and-two and I think we’ve changed some things offensively ... We’re doing a better job of executing. (Tuesday) night (St. John’s) actually came out and started in that and we actually got them out of it because we got some easy looks.”
Fort Recovery’s only other loss on the year came at the Flyin’ to the Hoop Invitational at Fairmount’s Trent Arena in Kettering against Division I No. 8 Walnut Ridge, which will play for a district title Saturday against Olentangy Liberty. The Indians have had their sights set on a return trip to Kettering, which will host the regional tournament, as they chase their ultimate goal of a state title.
And they’re happy that they will have to go through the Redskins to get there.
“We’re really excited,” said Gelhaus. “It’s what we’ve been waiting for since they beat us the first time.
“I think we (have something to prove) because to everybody from St. Henry, they believe, and they should believe, that St. Henry is better than us. And I think we have something to prove that we’re better than them.”[[In-content Ad]]
The Indians hope theory holds true.
Two seasons ago the Fort Recovery High School boys basketball team dropped its regular-season finale to New Bremen. But it came back to beat the Cardinals in the district championship game a few weeks later.
The Indians will be seeking tournament revenge again when they play the St. Henry Redskins in the Division IV district championship game at Elida on Friday at 7 p.m.
“As a competitor, that’s who you want to see,” said FRHS coach Brian Patch. “Any time you have a chance to play a team that beat you the first time around, you want to have a chance to avenge that loss. ... Obviously there’s a lot on the line with a chance to go to the Sweet 16.”
No. 5 Fort Recovery (20-2) struggled mightily in its regular-season meeting against the Redskins (19-4), shooting just 28 percent from the field. It trailed by 10 points with less than four minutes to play before putting together a late run to take the lead with just 26 seconds remaining.
However, Alex Post got to the foul line with just four seconds on the clock and hit both free throws to lift St. Henry to the win.
“We got off to a terrible start,” said Tribe senior Jared Kahlig. “I don’t know if we weren’t ready. This time we should be able to get off to a better start. The last two games we’ve jumped on teams early and played with the lead ...
“We didn’t make too many shots that first time around. Their zone kind of slowed us down. Hopefully this time we get out in transition a little bit more.”
St. Henry coach Eric Rosenbeck agreed that his team’s defensive strategy was key to the win.
The Redskins generally play a 1-3-1 zone, but against Fort Recovery they went to a triangle-and-two in an attempt to slow down the Indians’ multi-faceted scoring attack. As a result, Wade Gelhaus (19.2 points per game), Jared Kahlig (12.4) and Elijah Kahlig (10.7) were all held below their season averages.
“We kind of caught them off guard ... by going to a triangle-and-two,” said Rosenbeck. “They’ll be ready for it this time, so it’ll be interesting to see how that shapes up.
“We’ve really got to focus on the two Kahligs. We’ve seen everybody ... try to stop Gelhaus and he always ends up with at least 15 anyway. ... We’re kind of conceding that I guess.”
While FRHS boasts three players who score in double figures, Kyle Stahl is the all-around leader for St. Henry.The junior leads the team in points (12.2), rebounds (10.4) and assists (2.8) per game while shooting 51 percent from the field. Steve Luttmer shoots 44 percent from long distance, and Craig Knapke grabs 5.3 boards per game.
Luttmer led the Redskins to their win over Fort Recovery with 13 points, and Post and Stahl each added eight.
St. Henry has racked up 12 straight wins after a 7-4 start, with its last loss coming by a 53-49 score Jan. 20 against New Bremen. It rolled through the Coldwater sectional with wins of 67-31 and 61-38 over Waynesfield-Goshen and New Bremen respectively before knocking off Crestview 57-51 in Tuesday’s district semifinal.
The Indians have run off seven straight wins since falling to SHHS in a game in which they felt like they were not close to their best.
“It was an execution issue more than anything,” said Patch. “We got good looks, we just didn’t hit them, didn’t finish them. That was the run where we started to see a lot of triangle-and-two and I think we’ve changed some things offensively ... We’re doing a better job of executing. (Tuesday) night (St. John’s) actually came out and started in that and we actually got them out of it because we got some easy looks.”
Fort Recovery’s only other loss on the year came at the Flyin’ to the Hoop Invitational at Fairmount’s Trent Arena in Kettering against Division I No. 8 Walnut Ridge, which will play for a district title Saturday against Olentangy Liberty. The Indians have had their sights set on a return trip to Kettering, which will host the regional tournament, as they chase their ultimate goal of a state title.
And they’re happy that they will have to go through the Redskins to get there.
“We’re really excited,” said Gelhaus. “It’s what we’ve been waiting for since they beat us the first time.
“I think we (have something to prove) because to everybody from St. Henry, they believe, and they should believe, that St. Henry is better than us. And I think we have something to prove that we’re better than them.”[[In-content Ad]]
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