Help from their friends

FORT RECOVERY - Midwest Athletic Conference teams and their fans usually root for each other against non-conference competition.

As is stated before every game, the teams are "friendly rivals".

When one team's season is over, it generally wishes any remaining conference squads good luck as they move on.

That is especially true when there is just one MAC team left standing, as is the case with the Division IV No. 8 Fort Recovery Indians as they travel to Kettering today for their regional semifinal game against Lockland.

But New Knoxville's Ryan Vanderhorst and Marcus Reineke, and St. Henry's Vic Fortkamp, have taken their support much further. They all have made the trip to Fort Recovery over the past week to help the Indians practice.

"I think that shows that they are special kids, high-character, quality kids," said FRHS coach Brian Patch, noting that the players volunteered their services without even being asked. "Not too many kids would do that. ... They're supporting us ... and they're willing to help us out however they can. I think that says a lot about them as people."

That's especially true of the Vanderhorst and Reineke, given how their season played out.

In January, they were the victims on the night Greg Kahlig broke Fort Recovery's school scoring record.

The Rangers led that game 38-29 in the third quarter before Kahlig went wild for 24 second-half points. He broke Ken Heiby's school scoring mark in leading the Indians to a 61-59 comeback victory on New Knoxville's home floor.

The teams met again with the sectional championship on the line at Coldwater, and again the Rangers took control. They scored the first six points of the game, went up 12-4 and led by as many as 15 in the opening half.

Fort Recovery (20-3) closed to within three points in the third quarter, but New Knoxville fought off the rally. The Rangers extended their lead back to 14 points with just six minutes left and it seemed as if the sectional title was theirs.

But the Tribe, without Kahlig scoring a single point in the fourth quarter or overtime, rallied for a 60-56 victory to end New Knoxville's season.

"It sounds kind of weird because they beat us, but I'm pretty good friends with all the guys at Fort Recovery," said Vanderhorst, who had a game-high 22 points in the sectional title game. "I get along real well for coach Patch. Being at New Knoxville and winning a state championship and knowing how fun it was, I figured I'd try to do whatever I can to help them."

The senior played for the New Knoxville team that won the 2008 state championship with a perfect 27-0 record and had a stretch of 65 straight regular-season victories. The Rangers also won three straight MAC titles from 2007 to '09.

Reineke, a junior, said it's a bit difficult because he feels his team could have been where the Indians are now, preparing to play for a spot in the state's elite eight.

But, "I enjoy all the guys on that team," he said. "I definitely want them to succeed in the tournament. ... I'm hoping that we can make them better so they can make a good run."

Vanderhorst said he and the Fort Recovery seniors have known each other since they started playing against each other in the sixth grade. He and Kahlig have been friends and AAU teammates for the last two seasons.

"Those guys are awesome," said Kahlig. "Ryan's one of my best friends. I know it has to be hard for him, because I know it would be hard for me if he knocked me out (of the tournament). He's doing a nice thing for us ...

"The MAC is all behind each other. These guys coming to help us is awesome. We're the only one left in the MAC, and hopefully these guys coming to help us makes us better and hopefully we can represent the MAC well."

Vanderhorst and Reineke traveled to Edison Community College in Piqua to practice with FRHS Sunday, as did 2009 Fort Recovery graduate Frank Thien.

Fortkamp, a 6-foot-7-inch senior whose team lost 48-46 to the Indians during the regular season, practiced with the team last week. His size helped them get ready to play the district championship game against New Bremen, which has three players at 6-foot-7 or taller.

Doug Griesdorn, a 2007 St. Henry graduate, was at practice Monday, as was Wes Gelhaus, a 2007 Mississinawa Valley graduate, whose brother Wade is a starter in his freshman season for the Tribe. And 2009 FRHS graduate Toby Metzger has been there for his former teammates as well.

"I love it," said Metzger, who coaches Fort Recovery's seventh grade boys team. "I played with these kids for the last three years ... I've known them since I was little and been great friends, so I think its awesome. ... It's been fun."

And it has given the Indians the challenge they need.

Usually the junior varsity team acts as the scout team, running the opposition's plays during practice against the varsity. But it would be difficult for any JV squad to approximate the talent Fort Recovery will see at the regional level.

But Vanderhorst, Reineke and Fortkamp were first-team All-MAC selections this year. Vanderhorst, who averaged 18.1 points per game, also made the All-District 8 first team, and Fortkamp was a second-team all-district selection.

Griesdorn and Gelhaus were stand-outs at their respective schools, Metzger was a four-year starter for the Indians and Thien was a starter for three seasons.

"The kids we've had come in ... are the best kids in the MAC," said Patch. "We're probably seeing a team every day in practice that's better than what we're going to be playing against. ... It's just helped out tremendously."

"It's a lot more intense," added FRHS senior Cody Fiely. "We're getting after it a lot more. ... They have a lot of good players out there."

Patch hopes playing against such competition in practice will help his team today against Lockland, and Vanderhorst and Reineke said they are looking forward to practicing against the Indians again if they advance to Friday's regional championship.

Fort Recovery is looking to recapture the magic of its last regional qualifying team, which advanced to the 1999 state championship game before losing to Worthington Christian in triple overtime. A state title would be the fifth in boys basketball for the MAC since the turn of the century, following St. John's in 2002, Marion Local in '03, St. Henry in '04 and New Knoxville in '08.

That's part of the reason Vanderhorst has still been taking to the court with the Indians, even though his own season ended March 5. He said he wants Kahlig and the rest of his friends on the Tribe squad to experience the elation he felt in winning the state championship two years ago.

"That's the big thing," added Reineke. "I hope they can get that same feeling. Because it's probably the best feeling ever, getting that state championship."[[In-content Ad]]