First off Merry Christmas to you and yours this holiday season. I know I must be getting old, when on Saturay night I was surrounded by family. I was holding my newest cousin (Sydney is 2 months old) and had a total 'step back and observe like this is straight out of a movie' moment. Amidst 4 little ones, my cousins, my aunt and uncle, mom, step dad, brother and girlfriend, I realized that was a good as it gets. It didn't matter what was going on in our lives that day or week or year, what mattered was we were together. Here's hoping you can have that feeling at some point before the new year.
Ok, enough of the mushy stuff. On to the Christmas review...
Republic County boys (4-0): TheBuffs are certainly living up to their preseason billing as one of the top teams in the NCAA, if not all of 3A. Trevor Kuhlman has been the emotional leader on the floor, as well as the scoring leader. Gary Roberts is still up to his old tricks of being in the right place at the time, as evidenced by the steal and layup against Beloit to spark a 12-1 run to close out the game. Colton Grove has bumped up his scoring a bit this year (9.2) and has run the show from the point flawlessly. Trey Duensing has also provided some punch with his athleticism at the "3" spot, and Ronny Dyke continues his development at the post position.
There are only two things that worry me about the Buffs and it might not show up until they play the right teams: height and depth. There's not a lot you can do about height, but when the tallest person you can put on the floor is 6'2" you will fight an uphill battle most of the time. The Buffs have used their quickness at every position so far to negate any height advantage for the other team, and will have to contiue to do so. The depth is one that can certainly improve over the course of the year. Guys like Kurt Engle, Austin Kasl and even Nick Junker must contribute solid minutes every night for the Buffs.
Republic County girls (3-1): If nothing else, the girls should be entertaining to watch this year. After being outgunned by Concordia, the girls bounced back to defeat Beloit in the league opener. When your leading scorer, Celia Porter, can get shut out and you still win, that means other players stepped up big. And if the Lady Buffs find some consitency, they could be dangerous.
There are many girls seeing their first varsity action of their careers, and Porter along with Alta Svoboda will have to be steadying hands when the gong gets tough. Like I said, should be fun.
Check back Friday for Piek Valley's recaps. And of course, leave me a comment if you'd like. (It's free, but won't show up till I let it, so be patient!)
No comments:
Post a Comment