July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Perfect in MAC
FRHS boys basketball
Perfect in MAC
FORT RECOVERY - Earlier this week, Greg Kahlig said his goal for Friday night was simply to win the game. If the senior got the 29 points he needed to claim the school's scoring record it would be "icing on the cake."
The Indians took care of priority No. 1. The icing will have to wait for New Knoxville.
Kahlig became just the second player in Fort Recovery High School boys basketball history to reach the 1,400-point mark Friday as he totaled 22 points in leading the Division IV No. 9 Tribe to a 58-49 victory over the Minster Wildcats.
"That's what we've been saying all week is we've got to get the win," said FRHS coach Brian Patch, whose team has won five straight to improve to 11-1 overall and 4-0 in the Midwest Athletic Conference. "He'll get his points no matter what. If it's this game or next game, it's going to happen. ...
"He could have shot a lot more than he did. Instead he was passing the ball and trying to get his teammates involved. Again, I think that shows the kind of character the kid has. He wasn't out there to try to break the record, he was trying to win the game."
Playing without freshman starter Wade Gelhaus, it was Kahlig's all-around game as well as big efforts from a couple of other seniors that carried the Indians to the victory.
To go along with his game-high scoring total, Kahlig was also a force inside with nine rebounds and eight blocks. He led the Indians in assists as well with four.
Cody Fiely added 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Michael Gaerke had 11 points, six boards and three assists for the Tribe. Kahlig, Fiely and senior Craig Tobe all played the entire contest while Gaerke logged 31 minutes.
"The past few years, we're not real deep. We don't sub a whole lot," said Patch. "When you lose one of your starters that's 6-4 and can go make plays and get rebounds ... that hurts your bench."
In addition to the double-digit scoring efforts from the three seniors, Patch also complimented Jason Pottkotter's work on the defensive end. He helped Fort Recovery hold the Wildcats to just 18-of-51 shooting (35 percent).
Minster (4-9, 1-3 MAC) refused to make the evening easy for the Indians, staying within single digits the entire way.
Fort Recovery built a nine-point second-quarter lead, but the Wildcats closed to within two early in the third. An immediate 7-0 run built the lead back to nine points, but Minster fought back again to close to within five with 3:11 left in the game.
However, Fort Recovery always had an answer and sealed the game with free throws from Kahlig and Tobe in the closing moments.
"Every time we get it down to three, four or five, when we needed to get solid defensively and when we needed a good possession offensively, it just got away from us," said Minster coach Mike Lee. "They took advantage of those opportunities."
Kahlig, who is the only FRHS player ever to reach 1,000 points as a junior, hit another milestone despite coming up short of Ken Heiby's school record.
With his 3-pointer at the 3:39 mark of the third quarter, Kahlig became just the second play in school history to score 1,400 points. His foul shots with 11 seconds left in the game gave him 1,412 for his career, six less than the mark Heiby set in 1969.
His next chance to break the record comes Friday at New Knoxville.
But scoring wasn't the most impressive part of Kahlig's game Friday. Instead, it was blocked shots, including one in particular.
Just moments after he hit the aforementioned 3-pointer, Minster's Chase Paxson stole the ball from him. Paxson headed for what he expected to be a breakaway lay-up, but Kahlig tracked him down and pinned the ball against the glass for a LeBron James-style chase-down block.
"He got mad because he got stripped on it and he felt like he got fouled and they didn't make the call, so he was going to make sure he got back and made a play," said Patch. "He just took off after the kid and made the play.
"It's his overall game, defensively blocking shots, getting rebounds. He just has a knack to be able to step up in key situations and know that he has to go make plays."
Devon Poeppelman came off the Wildcats' bench to lead the team in scoring with 17 points. Ross Heitkamp and Mitchell Poeppelman added 11 points apiece for Minster, which suffered a 36-22 rebounding disadvantage.
"Unfortunately with our lack of size we just have to battle and fight as much as we can," said Lee. "Unfortunately we get hurt a lot on the glass."
Junior varsity
Fort Recovery shot just 21 percent in the first half on the way to a 54-37 loss to the Wildcats.
Jared Kahlig had 13 points, three steals and two assists for the Indians (3-6), who trailed by 16 at halftime. Trent Kaiser added 11 points and four rebounds.
Doug Huber powered Minster to the victory with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Ryan Hoying joined him in double figures with 11 points.[[In-content Ad]]
The Indians took care of priority No. 1. The icing will have to wait for New Knoxville.
Kahlig became just the second player in Fort Recovery High School boys basketball history to reach the 1,400-point mark Friday as he totaled 22 points in leading the Division IV No. 9 Tribe to a 58-49 victory over the Minster Wildcats.
"That's what we've been saying all week is we've got to get the win," said FRHS coach Brian Patch, whose team has won five straight to improve to 11-1 overall and 4-0 in the Midwest Athletic Conference. "He'll get his points no matter what. If it's this game or next game, it's going to happen. ...
"He could have shot a lot more than he did. Instead he was passing the ball and trying to get his teammates involved. Again, I think that shows the kind of character the kid has. He wasn't out there to try to break the record, he was trying to win the game."
Playing without freshman starter Wade Gelhaus, it was Kahlig's all-around game as well as big efforts from a couple of other seniors that carried the Indians to the victory.
To go along with his game-high scoring total, Kahlig was also a force inside with nine rebounds and eight blocks. He led the Indians in assists as well with four.
Cody Fiely added 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Michael Gaerke had 11 points, six boards and three assists for the Tribe. Kahlig, Fiely and senior Craig Tobe all played the entire contest while Gaerke logged 31 minutes.
"The past few years, we're not real deep. We don't sub a whole lot," said Patch. "When you lose one of your starters that's 6-4 and can go make plays and get rebounds ... that hurts your bench."
In addition to the double-digit scoring efforts from the three seniors, Patch also complimented Jason Pottkotter's work on the defensive end. He helped Fort Recovery hold the Wildcats to just 18-of-51 shooting (35 percent).
Minster (4-9, 1-3 MAC) refused to make the evening easy for the Indians, staying within single digits the entire way.
Fort Recovery built a nine-point second-quarter lead, but the Wildcats closed to within two early in the third. An immediate 7-0 run built the lead back to nine points, but Minster fought back again to close to within five with 3:11 left in the game.
However, Fort Recovery always had an answer and sealed the game with free throws from Kahlig and Tobe in the closing moments.
"Every time we get it down to three, four or five, when we needed to get solid defensively and when we needed a good possession offensively, it just got away from us," said Minster coach Mike Lee. "They took advantage of those opportunities."
Kahlig, who is the only FRHS player ever to reach 1,000 points as a junior, hit another milestone despite coming up short of Ken Heiby's school record.
With his 3-pointer at the 3:39 mark of the third quarter, Kahlig became just the second play in school history to score 1,400 points. His foul shots with 11 seconds left in the game gave him 1,412 for his career, six less than the mark Heiby set in 1969.
His next chance to break the record comes Friday at New Knoxville.
But scoring wasn't the most impressive part of Kahlig's game Friday. Instead, it was blocked shots, including one in particular.
Just moments after he hit the aforementioned 3-pointer, Minster's Chase Paxson stole the ball from him. Paxson headed for what he expected to be a breakaway lay-up, but Kahlig tracked him down and pinned the ball against the glass for a LeBron James-style chase-down block.
"He got mad because he got stripped on it and he felt like he got fouled and they didn't make the call, so he was going to make sure he got back and made a play," said Patch. "He just took off after the kid and made the play.
"It's his overall game, defensively blocking shots, getting rebounds. He just has a knack to be able to step up in key situations and know that he has to go make plays."
Devon Poeppelman came off the Wildcats' bench to lead the team in scoring with 17 points. Ross Heitkamp and Mitchell Poeppelman added 11 points apiece for Minster, which suffered a 36-22 rebounding disadvantage.
"Unfortunately with our lack of size we just have to battle and fight as much as we can," said Lee. "Unfortunately we get hurt a lot on the glass."
Junior varsity
Fort Recovery shot just 21 percent in the first half on the way to a 54-37 loss to the Wildcats.
Jared Kahlig had 13 points, three steals and two assists for the Indians (3-6), who trailed by 16 at halftime. Trent Kaiser added 11 points and four rebounds.
Doug Huber powered Minster to the victory with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Ryan Hoying joined him in double figures with 11 points.[[In-content Ad]]
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