FR boys begin new era

When the Fort Recovery High School boys basketball team opens its season at 6 p.m. Friday at Memorial in St. Marys, it will be without a couple key figures to the program.
For the first time in eight years, the Indians will be without someone named Kahilg. And for the first time in a decade, the Tribe will have a new coach.
Ushering in a new era will be a big challenge, and it’s something the Indians have taken in stride.
“You’re never going to replace the third leading scorer in school history,” first-year coach Chris Guggenbiller said of 2014 graduate Elijah Kahlig. His older brother Greg, a 2010 graduate, is atop the school’s all-time scoring list. “I think we have to develop a system in which, if you’ve got the ball, you’ve got to be a threat … whether it’s hitting the open jumper or taking it to the cup strong.
“We’ll replace that through depth.”

Fort Recovery has plenty of it, too.
It has a core of four players — Derek Backs, Kyle Schroer, Darien Sheffer and Brandon “Speedy” Schoen — who saw considerable time on a team that went 15-7 and finished second (7-2) in the Midwest Athletic Conference.
Those four, Guggenbiller said, bring leadership the team will need to have a winning season for the ninth consecutive year.
“I look at the aggressiveness they bring to the table,” he said. “We’re going to play in a fashion that we’re not going to be intimidated by our opponent. We’re going to force the action defensively and I’m going to rely on those guys to set the tempo to get after things physically on the court.”
 One of the keys defensively, Guggenbiller said, will be to control boards on both ends of the court. Sheffer returns as the team’s leading rebounder, averaging 3.7 per game a year ago. Backs and Schroer follow with 2.6 and 2.3 rebounds per game respectively.
“If we set a mentality like that — we’re going to out-rebound every one of our opponents — things are going to take care of themselves (in terms of) wins and losses,” said Guggenbiller, a 1999 FRHS graduate who spent the last 11 seasons coaching in Vandalia, Ohio.
Elijah Kahlig, who now plays at the University of Findlay, was the only Tribe player to score in double figures last season (22 PPG). Alex Kaiser and Ben Dilworth — both of whom graduated — tied for second on the team in scoring with 8.6 points per game, and Sheffer was fourth with 6.7.
Guggenbiller said he hopes the entire roster can contribute to make up for graduating nearly 40 points per game.
“I really foresee going nine, 10, 11 deep as much as possible,” Guggenbiller said. “I think that keeps guys mentally in game situations and mentally ready to go at all times.”
Backs and first-year varsity player Cole Hull are the only two seniors on the team, but the Tribe has a seven-member junior class. Chase Bruns, Tanner Koch and Wes Wenning will all see varsity action this winter after spending most of the time at the junior varsity level last season. Jackson Hobbs missed all of last year because of a knee injury, and he rounds out a class that includes Schroer, Sheffer and Schoen.
Micaiah Cox and Caleb Martin are the only two sophomores on the squad, and the two will be used to add a little bit of height at times. The Indians have six players measuring less than 6-feet.
“We’re not real big,” Guggenbiller said. “We’re probably one of the smaller teams in the league. We’re really going to have to amp it up defensively and force the action.”