Patriots, Indians to meet at Fort Side (12/17/06)

The game is so big, it merits a prime-time slot. And especially this year, the records support that billing.

Fort Recovery is a perfect 7-0 and considered one of the favorites in Ohio's Division IV. Jay County is 8-1, its lone loss coming by a single point.

The pair of girls basketball teams will meet tonight - junior varsity action begins at 6:30 p.m. - at the Fort Site Fieldhouse in their annual pre-Christmas clash.

Each coach expressed his admiration for the other team after their most recent games.

"Fort Recovery is an outstanding team," said Jay County's Kirk Comer after the Patriots clobbered Blackford 43-14 Tuesday. "They're a team that's been looking for this for the last four years now. This is the year they've been waiting on. I know they're even talking state championship over there."

Fort Recovery knocked off Coldwater 43-32 Thursday. It was the team's second win in a matter of eight days against a Midwest Athletic Conference team it lost to a year ago - the Indians defeated Versailles a week earlier - but coach Jeff Roessner still pointed to the Patriots as the game of the week.

"We've watched Jay County play a couple times this year and everybody know they're playing well," he said after his team topped the Cavaliers. "They're on a pretty good roll right now. ... The kids are believing in what they're doing over there. They're going to come in very, very confident.

"We fought a battle tonight, and Saturday, guess what, it's going to be another battle. If somebody thinks that (Coldwater) was the big game of the week, I think they're sadly mistaken. We are going to have to be ready to play."

The Indians have dominated the results in the series of late, having won three games in a row and five of out of six since the turn of the century. Their seniors - they include Holly Stein and Vicki Roessner, both four-year starters, Tiff Gaerke, who started for most of her freshman year, and three-year starter Sara Fortkamp - have never lost to Jay County.

But the Patriots have been far from overmatched.

The last two meetings have been decided by a grand total of five points, Fort Recovery posting wins of 52-49 a year ago and 50-48 in 2004.

Last season Jay County trailed by 10 with just six minutes to go, but proceeded to run off 11 straight points to reclaim the lead. A runner from Stein and a pair of clutch free throws from Roessner in the final minute pushed the Indians back ahead for the victory.

In 2004 it was the Patriots who were up after three quarters before Fort Recovery went on a run. The Tribe, which trailed for most of the game, erased a 32-28 deficit with a 12-3 rally as part of a 22-point fourth quarter.

The Indians forced 32 JCHS turnovers in that win two seasons ago, and Comer pointed to handling the defensive pressure and rebounding as keys to his team's success again this season.

"I said last year, they're a team that we'd like to be," he said. "They just rebound the ball so well, they play so aggressive on the defensive end and they're awfully tough to beat at home. It's going to be a huge challenge for us, but that's how you get better and we're looking forward to it."

Jay County has had just one small blip on its radar screen this year, a one-point loss at Bluffton. But it has won four-straight since, including a 57-56 triumph a week ago over a tough Anderson Highland squad.

Those four wins have all come without the help of leading scorer Sara Garringer, a senior who was averaging 15 points per game before injuring her right knee Nov. 21 against Mississinewa. She is practicing again, but not expected to play tonight.

In Garringer's absence, Lindsey Wellman, now the leading scorer at 9.3 points per contest, Cassandra Huelskamp, Abby Loy and Whitney Homan have all turned in double-digit scoring games.

The visit to Fort Recovery marks a shift to the brutal portion of the Patriots' schedule. Starting tonight, they will play nine of their next 10 games against teams with winning records. The docket includes Class 3A No. 3 New Castle (7-0), Class 4A No. 4 Anderson (10-0) and Class 4A No. 7 Fort Wayne South Side (7-1).

"Those are the type of teams we want to play," said Comer, whose squad will also play Elwood (8-3), Huntington North (6-2), Connersville (5-4), Norwell (6-1) and Coldwater (3-1). "Each night we want to get better, and the level of play is going to have to increase to play with those teams."

Fort Recovery has plowed mercilessly through the first third of its season. It has won four of the opening six games by 20 or more points, including a pair by more than 40. Its closest challenge this year came in a 47-38 win over Versailles, the only time an opponent has stayed within single digits.

The Tribe is allowing just 27 percent shooting from the field, and limiting foes to an average of 30 points per game. It has also forced nearly 24 turnovers per contest.

As those stats bear out, the key for the Indians comes on the defensive end.

"For us, we've got to defend," said Roessner. "When we defend, we're pretty good, and when we don't defend, we're pretty average. ... I know what's going to happen on Saturday. It's going to be a war. I'm looking forward to it."[[In-content Ad]]