Youth games underway

By Kathy Thomson

The fifth and sixth grade youth basketball players opened the 2020 season last Saturday, with three of the local teams playing at home and one team on the road.

5th Grade Boys

The fifth grade boys were on the road in Hawley, where they played Eula White at 12:00 noon and Jim Ned at 1:00 p.m.

“We won our first game 31-30,” said coach Morgan Smith. “The boys played great, working together as a team even though it was our first game of the season. They pulled out a tight win.”

The second game was much tougher, according to the coach.

“There was no break at all between the games,” Smith said. “The boys played back to back, and they were tired out.”

Smith said that he was proud of his team for fighting hard, and not quitting.

“It was a tough game for them,” said the coach. “They missed shots because they were just gassed out.”

5th Grade Girls

According to coach Loree Lee, the fifth grade girls won both of their games last Saturday.

The girls played both games in Albany, defeating Eula at 10:00 a.m. and coming back after an hour break to win over Merkel.

6th Grade Girls

The sixth grade girls also played in Albany last Saturday, splitting games.

The local girls lost their first game to Eula in overtime 23-19.

Scoring for Albany were Caroline Chapman 11 and Braylee Clark 8.

They came back to win 8-6 against Jim Ned.

Scorers were Caroline Chapman 6, and Clark 2.

“The girls played hard but just couldn’t seem to get the ball in the basket,” said coach Clint Chapman. “They missed a lot of easy baskets. I am encouraged by how much the girls have improved from last year in running the offense and defensive plays.”

The coach said that he is expecting it to be a fun season. 

6th Grade Boys

“We opened up playing Merkel on Saturday,” said coach John Tom Heatly. “The boys played well considering we have only had a few practices.”

The coach saw both positives and negatives from the team. 

“We played pretty good defense and showed a lot of hustle throughout the game,” he said. “But I was disappointed in the way we shot from the charity line, going 0-8. That will cost us against better teams.”  Albany won 32-8 over Merkel. 

Chipping in for Albany were Ryan Turner 2, Brody Oliver 2, Huffman Heatly 4, Gatlin Wills 2, Mason McCloy 2, Woods Peterson 4, Calhan Fairchild 6, Cade Fairchild 8, and Max Oliver 2.

The sixth grade boys took on Clyde Gold in the Albany main gym immediately after their first game ended.

“We ran the floor well and made some great plays, but had a lot of turnovers I would like to clean up going forward,” said coach Heatly. “We shot the ball well, especially outside the arc.”

The coach said that his players were tired in the second game.

“We had too many petty fouls and gave up too many easy baskets,” said coach Heatly. “But once again all the boys played hard, and we won 35-18.” 

Scoring for Albany were McCloy 4, Calhan Fair-child 11, Cade Fair-child 7, Peterson 6, Huffman Heatly 5, and Oliver 2.

Schedule

The next round of games will take place this Saturday, Jan. 18.

Albany fifth grade and sixth girls will play in Merkel, starting at 9:00 a.m.

The local boys teams will be playing home games, taking to the court of Albany’s main gym starting at 9:00 a.m.