Ian "Rooftop" Robinson lifts high off the ground as the Bulldogs blast off for a big win against Oakdale - 06 Dec 2024 - Photo credit: Tara B Photography
Boys Grab 2 Wins - Girls Fall Short Against Oakdale Eagles
Greetings Bulldog Country! Despite some severe winter weather over this past week, basketball did not grind to a halt. On Monday, the Bulldogs took their talent to a teeny-tiny gym in Farragut to play Concord Christian. The gym was cramped, the buzzer on the scoreboard was obnoxiously loud, and the games were all very physical. Wartburg would unfortunately come up short in all three games that night. Of note, the varsity Girls were without the talents of Speedy Ann Williams, Braylen "Queso" Melton, and Myrah "All Good" Hood. That's a lot of fire power to lose all at once! The boys played it close with another big game from sophomore gunslinger Paxton Quinney who had 15 points... but HOLD...THE... PHONE... he was out-done by big brother Landon Quinney who got his groove back with a team leading 17-point effort! Despite dropping all three games and some serious jawing going on... it was heart warming to see the players circle up for prayer at the end.
On Tuesday night, the Bulldogs came back home to match up against neighboring Oakdale for the second time this season with similar results. The JV boys started off the night with a big win of 62-37 over the Eagles' JV. They were led by a 16-point effort from Gavin "White Chocolate" Keathley, along with some hot shooting from Daniel Bunch (13 points) and Jackson "Wolfman" Wentzel (11 points).
Next up was the girls squad that appeared to be back at full strength one night after missing their three leaders in the clubhouse. This was a relatively low scoring affair compared to the 61-44 loss the first time these teams met in early December... But the Lady Eagles bested the Bulldogs once again with a 47-32 win in this go around.
Finally, the Boys Varsity played the young, rebuilding Eagles. The Bulldogs put the hammer down and came out with a vengeance early - going up by over 20 in the first quarter. After getting out to a pretty nice lead, they pulled back on the pressure and took away the press. They stayed comfortably in front in this one with a few JV players putting some rare points on the board at the end of the game as the Bulldogs grabbed their 9th win of the season in a 66-47 home win.
Those are the rundowns... what are some of the extras? Here we go:
Next up was the girls squad that appeared to be back at full strength one night after missing their three leaders in the clubhouse. This was a relatively low scoring affair compared to the 61-44 loss the first time these teams met in early December... But the Lady Eagles bested the Bulldogs once again with a 47-32 win in this go around.
Finally, the Boys Varsity played the young, rebuilding Eagles. The Bulldogs put the hammer down and came out with a vengeance early - going up by over 20 in the first quarter. After getting out to a pretty nice lead, they pulled back on the pressure and took away the press. They stayed comfortably in front in this one with a few JV players putting some rare points on the board at the end of the game as the Bulldogs grabbed their 9th win of the season in a 66-47 home win.
Those are the rundowns... what are some of the extras? Here we go:
Freshman Spotlight
In the Monday night game against Concord Christian, the girls team was scrambling with 3 of their starters riding the pine. That made it hard to get the ball down the court and find their rhythm, but it also opened up opportunities for some others. One player that stood out was "Mustang" Shelby Kelly. I don't have the official stat sheet in front of me, but I'm pretty sure I saw her hit at least 3 three-pointers in extended playing time and looked up to the task of helping to move the ball against an aggressive defense.
In the Tuesday games against Oakdale, freshmen staples Reid "Rampage" Quinney and "No Nonsense" Noah Ward are still simmering on JV - but if needed, they are probably the next 2 Bulldogs off the bench if Coach Travis Nelson ever has to dig that deep into his impressive stash of players. Against Oakdale, several JV players got a little playing time toward the end, and these 2 freshmen put some points on the board in their limited minutes. Quinney added a free throw bringing his varsity point total to 6 on the season... and Ward pulled up and knocked down a bank shot from three, bringing his varsity total to 8 on the season. They both need to know the assignment... Ian Francis only played 2 games for the Bulldogs before withdrawing and moving north this season. In his 2 games, he put up a total of 16 points. Both Ward and Quinney have 7 more varsity games to not only carve out some minutes, but to make the most of them and get past Ian's 2-game total. I'm cheering for you both! Great growth and great work!
In the Tuesday games against Oakdale, freshmen staples Reid "Rampage" Quinney and "No Nonsense" Noah Ward are still simmering on JV - but if needed, they are probably the next 2 Bulldogs off the bench if Coach Travis Nelson ever has to dig that deep into his impressive stash of players. Against Oakdale, several JV players got a little playing time toward the end, and these 2 freshmen put some points on the board in their limited minutes. Quinney added a free throw bringing his varsity point total to 6 on the season... and Ward pulled up and knocked down a bank shot from three, bringing his varsity total to 8 on the season. They both need to know the assignment... Ian Francis only played 2 games for the Bulldogs before withdrawing and moving north this season. In his 2 games, he put up a total of 16 points. Both Ward and Quinney have 7 more varsity games to not only carve out some minutes, but to make the most of them and get past Ian's 2-game total. I'm cheering for you both! Great growth and great work!
Crazy Scoring Race
Before I share these results, I want to say this... Without a doubt, the only stat that matters is "Wins". Stats are for fantasy football - but I do have a spreadsheet that tracks the points of the Varsity Boys. Some interesting, albeit strange, stats:
1. With their win over Oakdale, the varsity boys went over 1,000 points scored this season!
2. Paxton Quinney is the only player to score in every single varsity game of the season this year.
3. The Bulldogs had 12 players score points against Oakdale on Tuesday... that's 2nd only to - the first time the played Oakdale, when 13 players put points on the board!
All that to say - as the players have improved and rounded out their skillsets this season - what started as a 2-man race for most points on the team between Ian Robinson and Landon Quinney has turned into a competitive 5-man race for the scoring title! Paxton Quinney is the current leader in the clubhouse with 155 points, followed by Lawson Swint at 144 and the suddenly-surging Landon Quinney at 136... with Ian Robinson at 135, and Johnny "Green Bean" Bingham at 134. Any one of these young men could get hot over the last 7 games of the season - and defenses could begin keying in on one or more of these guys. The beauty is - if you take away one of these guys, there are 4 others that are ready to beat you. We have some great depth!
1. With their win over Oakdale, the varsity boys went over 1,000 points scored this season!
2. Paxton Quinney is the only player to score in every single varsity game of the season this year.
3. The Bulldogs had 12 players score points against Oakdale on Tuesday... that's 2nd only to - the first time the played Oakdale, when 13 players put points on the board!
All that to say - as the players have improved and rounded out their skillsets this season - what started as a 2-man race for most points on the team between Ian Robinson and Landon Quinney has turned into a competitive 5-man race for the scoring title! Paxton Quinney is the current leader in the clubhouse with 155 points, followed by Lawson Swint at 144 and the suddenly-surging Landon Quinney at 136... with Ian Robinson at 135, and Johnny "Green Bean" Bingham at 134. Any one of these young men could get hot over the last 7 games of the season - and defenses could begin keying in on one or more of these guys. The beauty is - if you take away one of these guys, there are 4 others that are ready to beat you. We have some great depth!
Big Kahuna Wings Three?
Going back to the Concord Christian game - I noticed that every time a player hit a three-pointer, the announcer would say, "Another Big Kahuna Wings Three"... and all of a sudden I wanted wings! We need some kind of trendy sponsor for all of the three pointers that get dropped at Wartburg. I think any wing company that wants to sponsor with some wings - we should seriously consider. A Zaxby's three... a Wingstop three... a Buffalo Wild Wings three? Vote in the poll below and let's see if we can talk Principal Jason Davis into reaching out for our very own wing sponsorship!
We have our first games against the tough Sunbright teams this year on Friday. Make sure you are there in support of our Bulldogs as the game action will surely be intense! Sunbright enters into this one at (11-6) but (0-2) in district play. Wartburg comes into this one at (9-9) but (3-0) in District play. See you Friday @ Sunbright!
Let's go Dogs!
