Great first half

The Indians could not have expected this.
Consider that they lost the best player in school history, and three others from a six-man rotation, to graduation. It would be easy, even expected, for the Fort Recovery High School boys basketball team to drop off.
Instead, halfway through their season, the Tribe is as strong as ever.
Fort Recovery is 9-1 and ranks sixth in Division IV in the latest poll from The Associated Press.
“We’re happy with where we’re at and how our kids have developed,” said FRHS coach Brian Patch. “Obviously coming into the year as coaches we didn’t know what to expect …
“Our scrimmages were not very good.”
But those scrimmage struggles were learning experiences, and when they took the court for the first time they were ready.
Fort Recovery led Memorial by nine at the half, only to fall behind when J.D. Myer converted a three-point play early in the fourth quarter. But the young Indians stood strong on the road, reclaiming the lead and hitting 13-of-17 free throws in the final seven minutes to secure a 52-48 victory.
Since then FRHS  rallied from a double-digit deficit Dec. 11 to beat Tri-Village in double overtime. And it fought back from eight points down in the fourth quarter of its Midwest Athletic Conference opener to top Parkway 54-47.
But it’s still that first game that stands out.
“With a young team and an inexperienced team we had a chance to fold … and find ways to lose it,” Patch said. “But our kids were able to make plays and find a way to win. And I think that kind of set the tone for the season to this point.”
As expected, sophomore Wade Gelhaus has led the team in scoring at 12 points per game. But the Tribe has two other double-digit weapons in junior Jared Kahlig (11.7) and freshman Elijah Kahlig (10.4).
And although his stats may not be eye-popping, Patch said one of his seniors has been key to the team’s success as well.
“Ryan Schoen has really stepped up in taking care of the ball and being the vocal leader,” said Patch. “I think he’s kind of surpassed expectations.”
The Indians hope to keep surpassing expectations.
They want to finish the regular season strong and have a chance to repeat as MAC champions. And ultimately, their goal is to recapture the magic of last season’s tournament run.
“I think it fueled the kids a little bit,” said Patch of the 2010 journey to the regional final. “Even the kids who didn’t play … they saw how cool it was and how we were embraced by the community. They want to go back and they want to experience that again. … We tasted it once and we liked how it tasted and we want to keep going back.”[[In-content Ad]]