Wildcat win streak reached 11
January 25, 2022 at 9:54 p.m.
Wildcat win streak reached 11
By Will Fehlinger and Chris Louden -
The win was FC's 10th consecutive after starting the year 0-2 and the Bulldogs' first loss to the Cats in six seasons.
Batesville started with a 7-minute-54-second scoring drought as senior Eli Pierson's free throw late in the opening quarter finally put the Bulldogs on the board. Luckily for the Dogs, the Wildcats had not yet found their groove offensively and led by just 6-1.
The game's first points didn't come until the 3:05 mark of the first period, but it was a pretty play as Eli Butt sent a pass to senior Chad Cox, who relayed it to classmate Austin Hill for a 2-0 lead. Hill took a pass from senior Bridger Bolos for two more on the next possession.
Cox scored his first two goals of the game to begin the second quarter and head coach Aaron Garrett called timeout at 6:12 with his group down 10-1. The next point for either side came with 4:19 remaining in the half as Bulldog junior Cole Pride sank 1 of 2 at the line.
The Cats got into early foul trouble with a quick-whistle crew; JD Stokes, then Hill and lastly Butt each picked up their third before the 1-minute mark of the half. A three by junior Brant Ertel (Cox assist) still had FC up 15-9 at 1:25. Pierson buried a trey at the buzzer to make it a four-point game at intermission.
For the next eight minutes, the Dogs kept pace with the Wildcats and only trailed 33-26 with one period left to play. Junior Jace Lee opened second-half scoring with a 3 from Bolos' assist. Bolos also found Stokes for two and later dished another dime on an inbound play to Ertel for three more. Hill cleaned up in transition for a 28-16 lead and BHS timeout.
BHS sophomore Sam Johnson hit two 3s around another Ertel bomb, setting the score at 31-22.
Things unraveled for the visitors in the fourth as Franklin County scored the next seven points – Bolos 3, four points for Ertel - and the Bulldogs were called for a pair of technical fouls during a timeout as frustrations with the officiating crew mounted.
Senior Bulldog Cole Werner made it 40-28 with a follow-up basket at 4:18. As the team huddled, Garrett took issue with a referee and was “T-ed” up. By the time play was restored, Bolos had earned four extra foul shots. Though he made just one of the four, a bucket by Cox on the added possession made it a 15-point game with time running low.
FC held the Dogs to just a single free throw in the last four minutes.
Ertel led all scorers with 15. Johnson paced the Bulldogs with 10 points and Pride added 6.
B (4-9, 0-3) – Johnson 10 (2 3s), Werner 5 (3), Pride 6, Pierson 4 (3), Kaiser 3, Jack Grunkemeyer 1
FC (10-2, 4-2) – Hill 8, Bolos 7 (3), Lee 3 (3), Cox 9, Ertel 15 (3 3s), Stokes 4
Vs. North Decatur (Jan. 22)
North Decatur visited Franklin County on Saturday evening. The Wildcats pulled ahead quickly and never looked back. Leading 21-6 after the first period, FC gave up 18 points in the second quarter while only scoring six and held a three-point lead at the half. Cox took over the game and put up 12 points in the third quarter, giving the Cats an 11-point lead after three quarters. The Wildcats hit 16 of their 19 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter to secure their 11th win in a row, 69-56.
Lance Nobbe scored the first basket of the game for the Chargers, putting them up 2-0. Lee responded by hitting a three-pointer, Bolos added another long ball and Cox dropped six points on ND, putting the Cats up 19-4 after the first six minutes of play. Kaden Muckerheide hit a layup for ND, but Lee added two more points - giving him 11 in the frame and giving the Cats a 21-6 lead after the first period.
Ertel scored the first basket in the second frame, putting the Cats up by 17. Blake Spears hit a shot for the Chargers and Ertel added another for FC. North then went on an 11-0 run, led by Nobbe's seven points. Ertel hit another shot to stop the Chargers' run but ND added four more points before the half to pull within three. FC led at the half 27-24.
The second half began with Bolos hitting a three and Nobbe responding with his own three-pointer for ND. Spears hit a five-footer and North was within two points of the Cats. Cox, the EIAC's leading scorer, took over and put in 12 points in a row for FC. Spears tried to keep his Chargers in the game, adding five more points to his total, but the Cats led 47-36 after three quarters.
The Cats maintained an 11-point lead until the 2:00 minute mark when the Chargers went into foul mode. Cox went to the line and drained four in a row. Bolos hit seven of his eight attempts from the charity stripe as FC pulled ahead 62-46. Ertel hit two more free throws and Cox added four more points for the Cats while Muckerheide tried to keep his team in the game by scoring 15 points in the final frame for North. The Wildcats' defense stepped up and held on for the 13-point victory.
Scoring
FCHS: Cox 26 (9-18), Bolos 20 (4-7), Lee 11 (4-5), Ertel 10 (4-8), Stokes 1 (0-3), Butt 1 (0-1)
NDHS: Nobbe 18 (7-14), Muckerheide 17 (6-12), Spears 11 (3-5), Xavier Adams 6 (3-3), Conner Linkmeyer 2 (1-4), Carson Parmer 2 (1-4)
FC welcomes Oldenburg Academy this evening ahead of a trip to Butler County, Ohio to face Talawanda Saturday night.
Latest News
E-Editions
Events
The win was FC's 10th consecutive after starting the year 0-2 and the Bulldogs' first loss to the Cats in six seasons.
Batesville started with a 7-minute-54-second scoring drought as senior Eli Pierson's free throw late in the opening quarter finally put the Bulldogs on the board. Luckily for the Dogs, the Wildcats had not yet found their groove offensively and led by just 6-1.
The game's first points didn't come until the 3:05 mark of the first period, but it was a pretty play as Eli Butt sent a pass to senior Chad Cox, who relayed it to classmate Austin Hill for a 2-0 lead. Hill took a pass from senior Bridger Bolos for two more on the next possession.
Cox scored his first two goals of the game to begin the second quarter and head coach Aaron Garrett called timeout at 6:12 with his group down 10-1. The next point for either side came with 4:19 remaining in the half as Bulldog junior Cole Pride sank 1 of 2 at the line.
The Cats got into early foul trouble with a quick-whistle crew; JD Stokes, then Hill and lastly Butt each picked up their third before the 1-minute mark of the half. A three by junior Brant Ertel (Cox assist) still had FC up 15-9 at 1:25. Pierson buried a trey at the buzzer to make it a four-point game at intermission.
For the next eight minutes, the Dogs kept pace with the Wildcats and only trailed 33-26 with one period left to play. Junior Jace Lee opened second-half scoring with a 3 from Bolos' assist. Bolos also found Stokes for two and later dished another dime on an inbound play to Ertel for three more. Hill cleaned up in transition for a 28-16 lead and BHS timeout.
BHS sophomore Sam Johnson hit two 3s around another Ertel bomb, setting the score at 31-22.
Things unraveled for the visitors in the fourth as Franklin County scored the next seven points – Bolos 3, four points for Ertel - and the Bulldogs were called for a pair of technical fouls during a timeout as frustrations with the officiating crew mounted.
Senior Bulldog Cole Werner made it 40-28 with a follow-up basket at 4:18. As the team huddled, Garrett took issue with a referee and was “T-ed” up. By the time play was restored, Bolos had earned four extra foul shots. Though he made just one of the four, a bucket by Cox on the added possession made it a 15-point game with time running low.
FC held the Dogs to just a single free throw in the last four minutes.
Ertel led all scorers with 15. Johnson paced the Bulldogs with 10 points and Pride added 6.
B (4-9, 0-3) – Johnson 10 (2 3s), Werner 5 (3), Pride 6, Pierson 4 (3), Kaiser 3, Jack Grunkemeyer 1
FC (10-2, 4-2) – Hill 8, Bolos 7 (3), Lee 3 (3), Cox 9, Ertel 15 (3 3s), Stokes 4
Vs. North Decatur (Jan. 22)
North Decatur visited Franklin County on Saturday evening. The Wildcats pulled ahead quickly and never looked back. Leading 21-6 after the first period, FC gave up 18 points in the second quarter while only scoring six and held a three-point lead at the half. Cox took over the game and put up 12 points in the third quarter, giving the Cats an 11-point lead after three quarters. The Wildcats hit 16 of their 19 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter to secure their 11th win in a row, 69-56.
Lance Nobbe scored the first basket of the game for the Chargers, putting them up 2-0. Lee responded by hitting a three-pointer, Bolos added another long ball and Cox dropped six points on ND, putting the Cats up 19-4 after the first six minutes of play. Kaden Muckerheide hit a layup for ND, but Lee added two more points - giving him 11 in the frame and giving the Cats a 21-6 lead after the first period.
Ertel scored the first basket in the second frame, putting the Cats up by 17. Blake Spears hit a shot for the Chargers and Ertel added another for FC. North then went on an 11-0 run, led by Nobbe's seven points. Ertel hit another shot to stop the Chargers' run but ND added four more points before the half to pull within three. FC led at the half 27-24.
The second half began with Bolos hitting a three and Nobbe responding with his own three-pointer for ND. Spears hit a five-footer and North was within two points of the Cats. Cox, the EIAC's leading scorer, took over and put in 12 points in a row for FC. Spears tried to keep his Chargers in the game, adding five more points to his total, but the Cats led 47-36 after three quarters.
The Cats maintained an 11-point lead until the 2:00 minute mark when the Chargers went into foul mode. Cox went to the line and drained four in a row. Bolos hit seven of his eight attempts from the charity stripe as FC pulled ahead 62-46. Ertel hit two more free throws and Cox added four more points for the Cats while Muckerheide tried to keep his team in the game by scoring 15 points in the final frame for North. The Wildcats' defense stepped up and held on for the 13-point victory.
Scoring
FCHS: Cox 26 (9-18), Bolos 20 (4-7), Lee 11 (4-5), Ertel 10 (4-8), Stokes 1 (0-3), Butt 1 (0-1)
NDHS: Nobbe 18 (7-14), Muckerheide 17 (6-12), Spears 11 (3-5), Xavier Adams 6 (3-3), Conner Linkmeyer 2 (1-4), Carson Parmer 2 (1-4)
FC welcomes Oldenburg Academy this evening ahead of a trip to Butler County, Ohio to face Talawanda Saturday night.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092