One Last Ride... The 8th Graders Finish the Season Strong Against Harriman!
It's January 15, 2026 - and I've not checked in with an update on the WCMS Bulldogs in about a month! It's hard to divide and conquer between kids on Middle and High School teams... but here we are - the last regular season game of the season already! And what a season it has been! Harriman normally sports two very strong basketball teams - but the 2025-26 season has shown that they are in a down year with some rebuilding going on. Couple that with Wartburg's surging season and the fans probably knew what they would get on this 8th grade night. Let's start with the girls...
The girls have had a SEASON! They came into this one with a 17-2 record on the season. They only have losses to Midway and Oliver Springs - which they beat both teams in their second meetings. Coming into this one - they already had a road win against Harriman 36-14 in early December. Unless things had drastically changed - Harriman was in for a tough night. The Lady Bulldogs got their 8th graders involved early and often - and they jumped out to an impressive lead that they were able to nurse til the end. It was actually a 7th-grader that led in scoring with Peyton "P-Philly" Phillips knocking down 11... but ALL of the other points were from 8th grader girls. Nice work ladies - now rest up for tournament time! Dogs on top 34-18 as they cruise to 18-2.
The boys have had a great season as well. They were coming into this one with a 14-5 record for the season. But they had an almost strange surge of momentum in their last game. They absolutely DEMOLISHED Oliver Springs at the Academy's House just three nights ago. They were winning 40-4 at halftime and had the end of the bench in to finish the game off. They put up a final of 59-17 - which is way better than the 33-23 win they had win Oliver Springs came to Wartburg in November. When you have a HUGE lopsided victory - you always worry about being able to carry that momentum into the next one. Well - the boys didn't miss a beat. They started all 8th graders and let them enjoy their last home game in their careers. As a matter of fact, every 8th grader on the team put points on the board in this one! Hot from three - it was a shot party - and the Bulldogs put up nearly an identical score to the big win they had over OS... 57-18 as the Bulldogs get ready for tournament time - they end their regular season with a record of 15-5.
Below are a few musings meant to entertain & encourage:
The girls have had a SEASON! They came into this one with a 17-2 record on the season. They only have losses to Midway and Oliver Springs - which they beat both teams in their second meetings. Coming into this one - they already had a road win against Harriman 36-14 in early December. Unless things had drastically changed - Harriman was in for a tough night. The Lady Bulldogs got their 8th graders involved early and often - and they jumped out to an impressive lead that they were able to nurse til the end. It was actually a 7th-grader that led in scoring with Peyton "P-Philly" Phillips knocking down 11... but ALL of the other points were from 8th grader girls. Nice work ladies - now rest up for tournament time! Dogs on top 34-18 as they cruise to 18-2.
The boys have had a great season as well. They were coming into this one with a 14-5 record for the season. But they had an almost strange surge of momentum in their last game. They absolutely DEMOLISHED Oliver Springs at the Academy's House just three nights ago. They were winning 40-4 at halftime and had the end of the bench in to finish the game off. They put up a final of 59-17 - which is way better than the 33-23 win they had win Oliver Springs came to Wartburg in November. When you have a HUGE lopsided victory - you always worry about being able to carry that momentum into the next one. Well - the boys didn't miss a beat. They started all 8th graders and let them enjoy their last home game in their careers. As a matter of fact, every 8th grader on the team put points on the board in this one! Hot from three - it was a shot party - and the Bulldogs put up nearly an identical score to the big win they had over OS... 57-18 as the Bulldogs get ready for tournament time - they end their regular season with a record of 15-5.
Below are a few musings meant to entertain & encourage:
The Numbers Don't Lie...
The stats are hard to comprehend when it comes to the big man in the middle - Isaac Sills. Let's see...
1. He's the only Bulldog to score in every single game this season.
2. He scored in double digits in 17 out of 20 games.
3. He's over 150 points ahead of 2nd place (Jaxon Williams - 118)
And all of that happens with other teams clearly game-planning for ways to stop him. The other teams are getting the scouting report on each other - and they come in knowing that they will have a mismatch in the middle size-wise. Sills has the body type to beat up the opponent - but he really has scored quite a few points with his jumper - and if you watch him during warmups - he clearly wants to shoot the three from time to time. It's been a great season - but we aren't done yet! Get geared up... we go to war next week!
1. He's the only Bulldog to score in every single game this season.
2. He scored in double digits in 17 out of 20 games.
3. He's over 150 points ahead of 2nd place (Jaxon Williams - 118)
And all of that happens with other teams clearly game-planning for ways to stop him. The other teams are getting the scouting report on each other - and they come in knowing that they will have a mismatch in the middle size-wise. Sills has the body type to beat up the opponent - but he really has scored quite a few points with his jumper - and if you watch him during warmups - he clearly wants to shoot the three from time to time. It's been a great season - but we aren't done yet! Get geared up... we go to war next week!
Killa' Kam Finishes Strong
The race for the scoring title wasn't quite as lopsided on the girls side - but we've finally come to a close on the regular season stats. Battling back and forth all season were Killa' Kam Melton and Braylee "The Dagger" Dagley. Neither of these players are the female version of Isaac Sills... the post player of the year was Ellie "Real Deal" Ritter. She did the hard stuff underneath with shot-blocking and rebounding to go along with her 113 points on the season. But Dagley and Melton float around and aggravate the opposition with pesky defense and slick moves to go along with their good shooting. Any given night - the high scorer could be either of them as they both tied for the highest single game (each of them had a 21-point night). But Melton outlasted the Dagger - and Killa' Kam dons the crown as Queen Kam - the scoring champ! Now, let's keep the shooting hot and the defense stingy - because next week will bring everyone else's best efforts! Great job to all the girls!
What's Coming Up
Now that the regular season has wrapped up, it is my understanding that a meeting will take place on Friday to determine the next steps for the tournament. It will for sure take place at Sunbright... and it should take place next week - but we won't know the dates until they've had a chance to meet and discuss. Look for gameday info to come out quickly - and get ready to paint the bleachers with Wartburg blue and white in support of our two teams that are looking to finish strong... LET'S GO!!!!!!!
Go Dogs!
