Boys varsity basketball

The boys varsity basketball team played two league games this past week against Remsen and New York Mills. Both games were at home. On Monday, Dec. 19, the team hosted the Remsen Rams and to the pleasure of the home fans, Old Forge was the victor by the score of 50-41.  

Old Forge opened a 10-point lead after one period of play and it looked like it would be an easy victory. However, Remsen came back with a strong second period of play, and with some poor defensive play by our team, they closed the gap to 30-24 at the half. Our defense allowed 18 points to be scored on them in the second period.  

The second half was quite evenly played, with Old Forge always holding the lead around the 10 point level. Old Forge had a decided height advantage and they finally used it to help seal the victory. Both Calvin Risley and Ethan Kress used their height and jumping ability to score consistently in the paint. Kress had his biggest night as a varsity player, as he led all scorers with 18 points. Risley had 13 points, and used his height to rebound effectively and block some shots. Other scorers were Kenny Pastore with eight points, Greg Hunkins and Parker Clemans each with four points, while Cody Earl had two points and Lance Frymire had one point.  

On Wednesday, Dec. 21, the state-ranked New York Mills team visited and they did not take too long to establish their superiority. They took a 16-4 first period lead and ended up doubling the score with a 78-35 win. Our play was good enough, but, our shooting was not. We had many easy opportunities to score, only to miss those shots. The thought of 6’ 10” Matt Welsh around the paint may have had something to do with that. However, Welsh did not play very much and the Mills used all 12 players with little difference from one group to the other. They were good, but, not as good as last years group.

Hunkins led Old Forge with 13 points, followed by Kress and Clemans with 10 points each, and Pastore with two points.  

In both games, they still clearly miss the play of Sam Waterbury, who should be back in early January. We have made far too many turnovers and that should improve upon Waterbury’s return. The league is shaping up to be tougher than I originally thought and the team needs him to direct them.  

Boys junior varsity basketball

The boys junior varsity basketball team also played Remsen and New York Mills this past week with the same results as the varsity team.  

On Monday, Dec. 19, the team hosted Remsen and got off to a very slow start and were trailing at the half by an 18-17 score. It was a half filled with turnovers by both teams. However, Old Forge came back to play much better in the second half. They outscored the Rams 19-7 in the third period, and finished the game with a 48-30 victory. They cut down the turnovers and started using their big men much better in the second half. Old Forge had the height advantage and were not using it at all during the first half. Dane Daiker finally worked harder in the paint and got some easy baskets on his way to 12 points. Andy Selgaitis scored nine points and played a fine defensive game and hustled all over the court. Hansen Schmid also played some hustling defense. Probably the player who had the most to do with the improved second half was Cameron Lenci. Lenci had his best game of the season as he led all scorers with 16 points. Will Johnson had six points, Victor Pedraza and Tyler McGough each had two points, and Tom Lindsay had one point.  

On Wednesday, Dec. 21, the team had to play New York MIlls. Playing the Mills in basketball is never easy. We rarely get a victory. The last win we have had was by the varsity four years ago on their court. That lone win was a long time in coming. The varsity teams are good because the junior varsity teams are also good.  They proved too much for us as they held a 20-point lead at the half and coasted to an easy victory.  

Johnson led his team with nine points followed by Daiker and Slegaitis with three points each, and Lenci with two points.

Girls junior varsity volleyball

The girls junior varsity volleyball team played their only game of the week at Oppenheim last Wednesday, Dec. 21, and came out the victor in a closely played contest. Old Forge won the first game 25-19, but they lost the second 17-25, setting up the all important third and deciding game. In that game, Old Forge came from six points behind to win the game 26-24.

The team used some accurate serving from Lindsay Payne, Sara Carnell, Lexie LaFountain and Kalyn Olney to help in the win. In addition, Carnell had five aces, two kills, two assists and two digs. Shelby Egnaczyk had two aces, three kills and two assists and LaFountain had three aces.  

Indoor track

Trevor Godemann, Kevin Kress and Connor Rockhill all took part in the second phase of the MVITA Relays at Colgate University last Tuesday, Dec. 20. This was the same format as the one they participated in last Friday, Dec. 16, with the same level of competition.  

Kress and Rockhill combined their talents in the high jump and pole vault. In the high jump, Rockhill cleared 6’ to take first place while Kress cleared 5’ 10” for fourth place. However, their combined efforts won them first place in the relay competition. In the pole vault, Rockhill completed a fine night by clearing 13’ to take first place. Rockhill was a full two feet over the next best vault. Also, that tied his school record that he set last spring. Kress cleared 10’ and their combined effort won first place.  

Godemann took part in his two events, the long and triple jumps. In the long jump, he jumped l8’ 7 1/2” to take second and in the triple jump he jumped 41’2 3/4” which was good for second.  

Girls varsity volleyball

The girls varsity volleyball team had one match this past week and that was at Oppenheim last Wednesday, Dec. 21.  

Whether it was the long bus ride to Oppenheim, or too much involvement in the Christmas spirit, I don’t know, but something was amiss with the team that night as they played less inspired ball compared to their most recent outings. Oppenheim came away with a relatively easy victory, 25-17, 25-16, and 25-14. Alex Levi had seven kills, Jordan Levi had one ace and three kills, Jessica Menges had one ace, six kills, one assist and one dig, and Daria Orekhov had three aces and 19 assists.  

Girls varsity basketball

The girls varsity basketball team opened their league portion of their schedule this past week against Oriskany and Westmoreland.

On Tuesday, Dec. 20, the team played their first league game at Oriskany, a team many felt to be the top team in the league. Oriskany proved to be too deep a team for Old Forge, but, not before getting a giant scare from the Old Forge team.  Oriskany had only a three point lead going into the last period when their superior depth took over and they went on to a 45-32 victory. Old Forge was playing most of the game with only six girls available and they simply tired in the last period under great pressure from Oriskany. In defeat, it still was the girls best played game of the year and certainly gave them a shot of confidence. The main problem was taking care of the basketball under pressure as they committed too many turnovers.  

Leading the way for the Town of Webb team was Katie Connell. Connell had a stat line that is truly hard to beat as she completed a rare triple-double. Connell scored 13 points, had l8 rebounds, and blocked an amazing 12 shots mostly against Oriskany’s center who was picked as one of the top players in the league. Not far behind Connell was Haley Josephson who had a double-double. Josephson scored 15 points, pulled down 10 rebounds, had three steals and two assists to give her her best game of the year. Sam Notley had two points, two steals, two assists and a good defensive game, with Elizabeth Getty getting two points and two rebounds.

On Thursday, Dec. 22, the team played their first home game of the season against Westmoreland. Seeing the teams warm up, you would wonder if this would be a contest against this Class C school. Westmoreland had 15 girls in uniform and Old Forge had only six girls that could play.  

The game started slowly and Old Forge showed signs of nervousness playing before their home fans. They did not get any shots to fall and only their fine defense kept them in the game. They held a slim 8-6 lead at the end of a very ugly first half. They doubled that score in the third period, but, so did Westmoreland.  A four-point lead going into the fourth period is not a sure thing as Old Forge picked up their game even more and got the win 25-l8.

Defense was the name of the game, and the only thing that won the game for the girls. Westmoreland tried to go to their big girl time and time again, only to have the center’s shot deflected by Connell. The girl ended the game having scored only one point and being totally frustrated. Kayla Yuckel, Getty, Notley and Josephson all played solid defense.  

Josephson was the leading scorer for the game as she scored 10 points, eight of them in the second half as she had a poor shooting first half. Josephson completed a fine all-around game by getting two steals, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks. With her 10 points and four assists, she accounted for 18 of the points which matched Westmoreland’s total. Connell had an off night in shooting, missing about five easy shots, but, she more than made up for it on the defensive end of the court with 16 rebounds, 12 blocked shots and one assist. What was nice to see in this game was getting some good results from all five girls this time. Notley had her best game of the season with seven points, two steals and four rebounds. Yuckel played very well with four points, six steals and six rebounds, and Getty played a good hustling game on defense as she came up with two points, two steals and three rebounds.  

The team will have a Christmas break with no games and when they come back, they should have their complete team ready to go. Hopefully, they will build on this past week of work and become a more competitive team. I have great confidence that they can.