Wildcat Roundball Review 2006-07

Wildcat Roundball
Review 2006-07
PUBLISHED BY THE CUBA FREE PRESS
PHOTOS BY CHRIS CASE
2D — March 15, 2007
Cuba Free Press
Clockwise from top left:
Charlie Brockway takes it to
the
hoop
against
the
Bourbon defense in a home
game; Nick Coronado avoids
a block; Josh Nix draws double coverage from the
Steelville defenders; Andrew
Setter flies after a loose ball
in
the
Dixon
game;
Brockway draws body contact in the Dixon game; Nix
wows the home fans by
going high and hard to the
rim; Nick Brashear takes the
baseline
against
the
Warhawks.
Cuba Free Press
March 15, 2007 — 3D
Wildcats win in district playoffs, again
The Wildcat boys may have
finished the year with a losing
regular season record, but you
couldn’t call it a down year.
For the second straight season, the Cats entered the Class
3, District 9 tournament as
underdogs – but still managed
to advance past the first round.
Cuba beat Steelville in the
first round of the playoffs and
then fell to Dixon in the second
round.
The Wildcats won 11 games
and lost 15 this season and
were four and six in Gasconade
Valley Conference play.
“We did a lot of things well,
and I’m proud of our guys,”
said Coach Blair Thompson.
“Our offense struggled at times
to score points, but we gave
good effort defensively almost
every time out on the floor. By
Clockwise from left: A.J. Harman goes after a
loose ball in the Steelville game; Nick
Coronado stretches out for another rebound;
Josh Nix doesn’t mind a Bourbon triple team
in the lane.
the time districts rolled around
I felt like we had a defensive
team that could pretty much
match up with anybody. Our
intensity level was that high.”
Coach Thompson believes
he has a lot to look forward to
next season, losing only one
senior from this year’s squad.
“We’ll have a lot of guys coming
back as seniors next season, so
we should be that much better,” he said. “We’re building a
lot of in-game experience and
that’s important in a young
team.”
The Wildcats squad at the
end of the year included: senior
Nick Coronado; juniors Josh
Nix,
Charlie
Brockway,
Anthony Meyers, Andrew
Setter, Nick Brashear, A.J.
Harman, A.J. Hughes and
Chip
Lange;
sophomores
George Bourne, Wes Ousley
and Eli Breese; and freshmen
Paul Grady, Brett Bosson and
Paul Grady.
The varsity team was
coached by Thompson. The JV
boys were coached by Derrick
Branstetter.
Justin
Pock
served as assistant.
On the Cover
Nick Coronado, senior,
gets some hang time in
the homecoming win over
Bourbon.
4D — March 15, 2007
Cuba Free Press
Brett Bosson (left) Wes Ousley
(above) and Eli Breese (right) in the
junior varsity game at Bourbon High
School.
Wes Ousley (far
left) drives the
baseline against
Dixon. Ousley and
Chip Lange (near
left) in an all-out
scrum with the
Warhawks for a
loose ball.
Cuba Free Press
March 15, 2007 — 5D
Clockwise from top: Brett Bosson
goes up and under against Bourbon;
Paul Grady gets a layup opportunity;
Anthony Meyers looks for space
against a Steelville defender; George
Bourne posts up against a Vienna
player.
6D — March 15, 2007
Cuba Free Press
Lady Cats finish with winning record
Clockwise from top left: Kylie
Ettinger dribbles toward a Bourbon
defender; Casey Watson gets defensive pressure handling the ball; Kali
Rikard fights for a loose ball; Rikard
drives past a Lady Cardinal.
What a season the Lady
Wildcats of Cuba High School
played in 2006-07.
For the first time this decade,
the varsity girls finished with a
winning regular season record, a
winning record in conference
play and advanced past the first
round of the district playoffs.
The varsity won 13 games and
lost 11, and was 6-4 against GVC
opponents. Their record marked
a major turnaround for the Lady
Cats ball program.
“We had an infusion of good
young players, mixed with some
of the girls that were already in
the program,” said Coach Yancey
Temple. “That helped gel us as a
team, and it gave us more speed.”
With better team speed on the
squad, the Lady Cats were able
to successfully introduce a more
uptempo style and apply greater
pressure defensively. Better
pressure led to more turnovers,
which led to fast break opportunities and easy scores.
“We tried some new things
this year and the girls really took
to the style,” Temple said. “We
have a lot to build on next year,
and my expectations are very
high. This year has been a lot of
fun for the coaches, for the players and for the fans; and I want
to build on that for next year and
keep a winning tradition in Cuba
going strong.”
The varsity defeated the Linn
Wildcats in the first round of districts and advanced to second
round, where they fell to the
Dixon Lady Bulldogs.
As great as the varsity played,
the JV was even better, as they
nearly won every game they
were in. Larry Mueller coached
the junior varsity girls.
The Cuba Lady Cats roster
included: senior Sarah Foster;
juniors Shannon Hewkin, Elana
Pettigrew, Taylor Turnbough,
Tara
Yates
and
Brianna
Blankenship; sophomores Casey
Watson, Jaime Sanders and
Christy Hutson; and freshmen
Taylor Albert, Haylee Bess, Kylie
Ettinger, Kali Rikard, Mariah
Montgomery
and
Danielle
Watring.
Cuba Free Press
Clockwise from top left:
Elana Pettigrew lets loose a
cross-court pass; Taylor
Turnbough goes into the lane
against Belle; Pettigrew
fights her way toward the
basket; Shannon Hewkin
makes a layup; a lefthanded
Hewkin takes a short jump
shot; Kali Rikard gets ready
to pass it inside the lane.
March 15, 2007 — 7D
8D — March 15, 2007
Clockwise from top left: Senior Sarah
Foster runs the offense, looking to
pass to Kylie Ettinger in the post;
Taylor Turnbough rejects a Steelville
shot; Ettinger goes up for an easy
two; Elana Pettigrew is cornered on
every side by the Lady Tigers.
Cuba Free Press
Cuba Free Press
March 15, 2007 — 9D
Clockwise from top left: Danielle
Watring gets an easy fast break
layup following a steal against
Laquey; Haylee Bess goes up
strong over a defender; Tara
Yates tosses an outlet pass
beyond the hands of a Belle
player; Bess gets up close and
personal with a defender; Jaime
Sanders gets ready to pull up for
a jump shot.
10D — March 15, 2007
Cuba Free Press
Clockwise from top left: Jaime Sanders
denies a pass during a junior varsity press;
Haylee Bess fights a Belle player for the basketball; Casey Watson drives past a defender
on her way to the basket; Christy Hutson
chases after a loose ball; Mariah Montgomery
is determined not to let the Lady Tigers get a
loose ball.
Cuba Free Press
March 15, 2007 — 11D
CMS boys nearly go unbeaten in ‘06
The Cuba Middle School eighth
grade boys basketball team had one of
their best seasons ever in the fall of
2006. The team went 14-1 last fall,
and started out the schedule by winning their first 13 games.
The eighth graders defeated
Viburnum twice, Vienna twice,
Steelville four times, Bland twice, St.
Clair once and Bourbon twice. Their
only loss came in their third meeting
against Bourbon. The St. James season finale was cancelled due to snow.
“The eighth grade only had one
blemish on their spectacular season.
I’m so proud of them,” said Coach
Clyde Ditto.
The seventh grade Wildcats won
four of their first five games, but then
lost their last four. The final three
games of the schedule were snowed
out and cancelled.
The seventh grade team defeated
Viburnum twice, Steelville once and
Bland once. They lost twice to
Bourbon, once to St. Clair, once at
home against Steelville and also
against the Vienna Eagles.
“The seventh grade team went four
and five but played in many close
game where it could have gone either
way,” said Ditto. “Overall, this was a
great year for the Wildcat middle
school basketball teams. Both teams
showed the heart and desire it takes
to be not only a successful team, but
also a fun team to be around. I am
proud of these guys for giving me and
Coach Pock their commitment and
respect all year.”
Ditto also said he appreciated the
parents and administration for their
support of the teams. “This year, just
like any other year, it was a total
team effort by everyone, on the court
and in the stands,” he said.
The eighth grade CMS roster
included: Nick Kruse, Preston
Matchell, Caleb Sanders, Shane
Richards, Harold Curtis-Allen, Ryan
Hewkin, Tyler Fillipi and Dalton
Reeves.
The seventh grade team included
John Heintz, Jake Ettinger, Chris
McCollum, Konner Gehrett, Nikita
Gahr and Jordan Brown.
Clyde Ditto and Justin Pock
coached the teams, with Tyler Bolden
serving as team manager.
Clockwise from
top left: Nick
Kruse creating a
lane against
Bland; Caleb
Sanders outsizing
an opponent in the
Cuba Tournament;
and the CMS 8th
grade Wildcats,
after winning the
Cuba Junior High
Boys Tournament
Championship:
(front) Kruse,
Shane Richards,
Ryan Hewkin,
Dalton Reeves,
(back) Coach
Clyde Ditto, Harold
Curtis-Allen,
Sanders, Preston
Matchell, Tyler
Filippi and Coach
Justin Pock.
12D — March 15, 2007
Cuba Free Press
CMS girls have a superb year
Coached by Yancey Temple and Steve
Schuette, the seventh and eighth grade
Wildcat girls put on an impressive 2006 campaign. Photo highlights from the year included (clockwise from top left) Amber White
taking it to the hole against Bland; Caitlin
Eikermann in the post; seventh grader Kate
Steiger getting off her shot; Sam Anderson
with a layup; Autumn Johnson, seventh
grade, looks for a teammate; seventh grade
Lady Cat Erin Swope gets ready for a longrange jumper.