All of our area high school teams are headed into winter break for the next several weeks.
The Yates Center and Humboldt boys have been soaring while the Crest and Marmaton Valley squads have had their struggles early this season while everyone else is somewhere in the middle.
Here’s a look at where everyone stands so far this season.
Iola Boys
The Mustangs find themselves at a reset point as they head into break.
After rolling through a preseason tournament stocked with inferior competition, the Iola boys ran into some struggles versus talented Burlington and Girard teams. They now sit at 4-2 and 1-2 in Pioneer League play and need to refind their spark.
This is a team that has the talent and potential to be a force in Class 4A-II but to get to that point, things like needless turnovers and over-long cold offensive spells need to be rectified. It’s still very early in the season and even though a lot of these players have had experience playing with each other, every team is different and this one is still trying to find itself.
You could say winter break is coming at just the right time for Iola. Some soul-searching and refinement of their on-court play could put the Mustangs back on the right path. They will start up play again on Jan. 5 versus Osawatomie, a team they punished by 17 points earlier this year.
Iola Girls
The Fillies had a long list of tough breaks to start off the year. After the first two games they lost two of their senior starters and struggled after that.
With the return of senior point guard Colbi Riley and the emergence of juniors Ellie Carson and Piper Moore as legitimate scoring threats, the Fillies are slowly finding themselves.
After getting obliterated by Burlington, winning over Prairie View and losing a close game versus defending state champs Girard, the Fillies have shown they’re not going to be kicked around southeast Kansas.
They may only be 2-4 and 1-2 so far this season, but with the amount of effort that they put in, wins are coming. The next one should be the first game they play after break. They lost to Osawatomie in the Central Heights tournament by five after losing Riley to injury. With a healthier team, the Fillies should grab their third win of the season and continue to build their confidence as the year goes on.
Humboldt Boys
The best way to describe the Cubs would be how their head coach Dave Taylor describes them. They are “a work in progress.”
After losing so much scoring to graduation and injury after the 2016-17 season, the Humboldt boys are still looking for consistency but seemingly every night, Taylor can count on someone to step up and lead them in scoring. Juniors Tucker Hurst and Teryn Johnson and sophomore Conor Havilland have been the closest to consistent, each averaging around 10 points. All three have shown the potential to break out for more on any given night.
The Cubs identity though revolves around their defense and that has stayed steady this year. Humboldt could easily be undefeated so far this year but after a two-point loss to Erie, sit at 5-1. They’ll play Fredonia on Jan. 9.
Humboldt Girls
When the Lady Cubs defense is on-point, they’re a very good team. It can be described as a boa constrictor slowly but surely squeezing all of the air out of your body. In their four wins so far this season, they’ve held their opponents to an average of 25.5 points.
However, in both of their losses this season, they’ve allowed over 40 points and have had trouble consistently scoring the basketball.
If they can continue to key in on the defensive end and lean on upperclassmen like Aricah McCall, Maggie Johnson and Rylan Wilhite to score the basketball they’ll continue to find success. They’ll try to make it three-in-a-row when they come back to face a struggling Fredonia team on Jan. 9.
Yates Center Boys
The Wildcat boys stand alone among area teams as the only undefeated squad this year. They’ve done it in an emphatic fashion too, winning all of their games by 12 or more points.
Junior Aaron King is the truth and may not only be one of the best players in the area or in class 2A but in the state of Kansas period, especially considering he’s just a junior. But what makes the Wildcats so special is the supporting cast. His brother, senior Josh King, along with senior Jordan Smith and junior Nolan Jones among others make Yates Center a formidable foe.
They’ll face Flinthills on Jan. 2.
Yates Center Girls
In the running for most improved, the Yates Center girls are 4-1 after winning just two games last season.
Their young core continues to mature and improve led by junior Allie Pringle and sophomores Madelynn Collins and Taylor Jacobs.
They’ll take on Flinthills on Jan. 2 and try to rebound from their close loss to Southeast-Cherokee.
Crest Boys
The Lancers came into 2017 with high hopes. With a 1-4 record and four double-digit losses, those high hopes will need to be transferred to 2018.
With juniors Hayden Hermreck and Jacob Holloran standing as two legitimate scoring threats against almost any team, Crest has been hard-pressed to find a third, fourth and fifth option.
The Lancers are another team that could really benefit from a three week break.
They’ll host one-win Northeast-Arma when they return from on Jan. 2.
Crest Girls
The Lady Lancers came into this season knowing that with their numbers, they were in for an uphill battle. They’re 1-4 so far this season and the losses that they’ve had haven’t been close.
But the effort that the Crest girls put out is always admirable and with that effort, they’ll continue to be tough despite the fact that they only have eight players.
They’ll take on a Northeast-Arma team on Jan. 2 that’s struggled so they’ll have a good shot at maybe grabbing that second win.
Marmaton Valley Boys
Everyone knew two things about the Wildcat boys coming into this season. They knew they were short and they knew they were tough.
They may have only had one win so far this year but the effort and tenacity that they play with have been infectious.
Senior Justice Pugh has recently had the help of fellow senior Josh Wise in the scoring department and head coach Jason Bauer hopes for more of his players to step up as the season progresses.
They’ll face Crest on Jan. 5.
Marmaton Valley Girls
The Wildcat girls have had to adjust to a bevy of changes this season.
New head coach Sherri Bagshaw has brought a completely new system to Marmaton Valley for both sides of the ball.
With that, growing pains have set in. The further we get into this season, the better this team will get but for now, they’re just 1-4.
They travel to Crest on Jan. 5.
Southern Coffey County Boys
One of the more successful teams so far this season, the Titans are 5-2 and are being led by their upperclassmen.
The combination of senior guard Chonner Ludolph and juniors Kolgan Ohl and Dawson Leimkuhler has been a recipe for success. However, in the past several games, SCC has been without Leimkuhler. Getting the talented big-man back will help the Titans find success, especially as the season progresses.
SCC will play at Olpe on Jan. 5.
Southern Coffey County Girls
The Lady Titans have had their ups and downs early in the season but when they’ve been good, they’ve been led by their defense.
SCC held their opponents to less than 30 points in three of their four wins. Offense has been a struggle, especially in their losses where the Lady Titans have scored less than 30 points in two out of three games.
Senior guard Danielle Kasprzak has continued to lead SCC averaging 11.7 points and six rebounds.
They head to Olpe on Jan. 5.
