Clarion Area Junior High A-Team Moves To 9-1 With Two Wins Last Week (03/04/15)

(By Coach Jess Quinn – March  2nd)

On February 23, 2015 the Clarion Area Boys A-Team upped its record to 7-1 as it handed the Cranberry Berries a 37-15 loss. Zach Bauer led all scorers with 12 points, with 9 of those points coming from 3 – 3point shots. Jacob Burns dumped in 6 points, Archer Mills put in 5, Nick Cherico, Jacob Selker, and Gavin Brinkley all added 4 points to the book. Marshall Powers rounded out the scoring with 2 points. Austin Hummell did not play in the contest due to an illness.

It is such a positive aspect to see the boys responding to the type of defense I know they are capable of playing. Jacob Selker, Gavin Brinkley and Nick Cherico are getting turnovers from the back end of the 1-2-2 defense we play. Zach Bauer, Archer Mills and Drew Wrhen are able to anticipate passes and pick them off midway.These turnovers led directly to quick scores for our team. I have enjoyed the way they have played together this season.

Oscar Suzuki and Harrison Porter are doing a fine job for us off the bench. A strong bench is a must on any team and these boys give their team everything they have when they are presented with an opportunity to play. Jacob Burns turned on the jets a few times and was able to take the ball right down the lane and score for the Cats! Marshall Powers uses his quickness to also create turnovers and get up the court in a hurry. The boys were challenged to keep the Berries under 20 points, without pressing the entire game. Well at one point early in the 4th quarter, the cats not only had them under 20, but had them in single digits. The boys only gave up 15 points in the contest earning themselves a few slices of Pizza Pub pizza.

On Thursday, February 26, 2015 The Bobcat A-Team traveled to Rimersburg to take on the Golden Knights of Union.The Cats emerged with a 34-25 win that pushed their record to 8 wins and 1 loss on the year.

The three big scorers for the Bobcats were Austin Hummell – 12, Nick Cherico – 9, and Zach Bauer – 8. Every boy on the team was able to showcase their talents as they were able to play many more minutes than normal. Three 8th graders posted points for us, Archer Mills and Gavin Brinkley each had 2 points and Drew Wrhen had 4.

A very special THANK YOU goes out to those who made it possible for Oscar Suzuki to make it to Rimersburg that day. The ones I know that made the effort were the Bauers! If there were others who helped, I say again, THANK YOU! It is truly special when you see parents of the boys on the team make such an effort to get one of the guys to the game. Oscar had missed the bus because he hadn’t heard the announcements from the band room.

The boys played very well and I am proud of their effort!

The Clarion Junior High Bobcat A-Team finished the week with a third straight win over the Redbank Valley Bulldogs, 35-22. Zach Bauer paced all Cats with 9 points in the contest. Archer Mills and Austin Hummell each put in 6 points. Nick Cherico and Gavin Brinkley both added 4 and the two Jakes, Jake Burns and Jacob Selker each added a bucket. Harrison Porter was one of two from the free throw line giving him a total of 1 point in the game.

A former Clarion Area student, Tanner Kerle, led the Bulldogs with 8 points. This has to be one of the strangest basketball seasons I have ever been a part of. At the beginning of the year, we had a whole month of nothing but practice… believe me it was a long month! Then in February, it was just the opposite. Seemed like all we did was play games with not practices in between. And finally, the cancellations.

It doesn’t look like we will ever make up the Moniteau game and the Clarion-Limestone game was just cancelled for today, Tuesday, March 3rd. We will however play at A-C Valley Wednesday, March 4th to conclude our season.

The game is scheduled to be held at the Elementary gym with the A-Team starting at 3:45 and the B-Team to follow. As it stands today, The Clarion Area Boys A-Team has a record of 10 wins and 1 loss. We will look to make it two straight seasons with only 1 loss.

Great job boys!

(Thanks to Coach Quinn for this article. Great job, Cats!!!!)