What happens when Corbett middle school girls’ varsity basketball team is pitted against the 2010-11 league champions in a gym where the bleachers are full of Corbett fans?  You get one ROCK’N ball game!

This was going to be a busy week any way with three games but with one of those games against Oregon Episcopal School (OES), the girls had to be on their game.  OES is always a tough team and we are always tested when we play them and this time wasn’t going to be any different.  It started slow with both teams struggling to get into a rhythm.  Eventually OES was able to find theirs and pull out to a 10-0 lead which could be disheartening but didn’t seem to faze the Cards.  Sticking to their game plan of denial defense, the posts shut down the inside and forced OES to shoot from the outside.  Eventually the Cards got on the board and began to chip away at the lead.  Throughout the game, the Cards continued to demonstrate their tough 2-3 defense and stay within sight of OES.  A few times it looked like OES would get on a roll and run away with the game, but the cards never gave up.

The end of the 3^rd quarter found the Cards down 17 to 27 but there was a determination in the Cards huddle.  If they were going to win this game they had to turn up the pressure on defense and start making their shots.  It wasn’t only the team sensing opportunity; the bleachers full of Boosters began to rumble.  The girls knew this was the time and began their end-game.  A few steals and fast breaks and things were falling in place.  With every basket, the bleacher shook and the walls trembled from the cheering.  The girls were coming alive with every shout and stomp of the crowd.  Pretty quickly the Cards pulled within 7 or 8 points and the now the tide was changing.  With two minutes left in the game, the cards had pulled within 5 points and started a 3-man pressure defense that would prove to be the undoing of reigning champions.  The last two minutes saw the Cards score 4 points from steals and the whole gym reverberating with chanting, shouting and stomping.  With 30 seconds remaining and the Cards trailing by 1 point, OES brings the ball down under heavy defense and tries to set up a half court stall.  At 10 seconds, Kadyn Jones fouls on the ball setting up 1-on-1 shot for OES.  The shooter misses the shot and the whole gym is rocking.  Morgan Bucher claims the rebound and flashes to the wing and into traffic but with a quick pass to mid-court she’s able to get the ball to Rhiley Fritz who turns up court but is quickly double teamed.  Knowing they have about 5 seconds left, Rhiley fights through the double team and is tripped up.  On her way down she is able to get the ball off to Courtney Mitchell who had found her way to right wing.  With 3 seconds left, Courtney takes two steps inside the three point line at about 4-oclock.  The bleachers, the coach and all time stood still as Courtney squares up to the basket and lets fly a jump shot……..

If you haven’t been to a middle school basketball game, you may not know what it’s like watching the ball float through the air, and bank off the backboard into the basket with only two seconds left.  The fans used the last two seconds of the game to generate a roar that matched the ferocity of the wind that Corbett is known for but this time it blew through the whole gym into a thronging, cheering mess with coaches, players and parents high fiving, chest bumping and hugging.  Corbett had won with a shot at the last second that I think all the players will remember and especially that one girl who got to experience the once in a life time shot that we all dream about.

Check out Middle School Basketball Photos – Click Here for the Photo Gallery

Sophomore Jacob Hiscox finished  second, while four of six Cobett wrestlers captured places at the 9-team Gervais Cougar Classic Wrestling Tournament Saturday.

Hiscox qualified for the finals at 170 with a first-period pin over Calos Lopez of Gervais in the sem-finals before falling to Scio’s Matt Cannell 11-6.  Overall, Hiscox raised his record to 12-14, with a 9-7 record at 170.

Joining Hiscox on the podium was junior David Van Horn, who finished the tournament tied for third with a 4-1 record.  After falling to Tony Hayes of Colton for the second time in three days, Van Horn raised his record to 5-4 at 138 and 13-18 overall with a fall and two convincing 12-2 victories.

Sophomore Robert Maul also finished third at 195, while fellow sophomore Dax Harlow managed a sixth-place finish at 160. Meanwhile, sophomore Zack Murphy doubled his wins for the season with a 2-2 day at 126.   Freshman Cody Lee finished the day 0-2 at 160.

We just wraped up quite a busy week for our boys basketball team. We were scheduled to go to Riverside High School on Tuesday to play a team that is ranked 4th in state by the most recent coaches poll. The weather did not cooperate, and we were unable to make the trip through the gorge to boardman to play. We did travel to Valley Catholic High School on thursday and played a tough game against the valiants. Also ranked in the state’s top ten for 3A schools, Corbett stayed with them through the first quarter but fell behind in the second and ended the half down by 11 points. We ended the third quarter down by the same 11 points. We got to within 7 several times, and to 5 once, only to have Valley make plays to answer our runs. The game ended  with Valley Catholic ahead 55-46. Oliver Tymoshuk led the scoring with 18 points. Alex Cicerich and Jeff Hendrickson both had 8.

On Saturday, we hosted the De La Salle Knights and both teams played well through 3 quarters, with the score after 3 Corbett 49, De La Salle 47. We were able to pull away in the 4th quarter thanks in part to Oliver Tymoshuks 9 points in the period. We won the game with the final score Corbett 74, De La Salle 56. Joe Deibert had a great game controlling the boards,scoring 14 points and starting many fastbreak opportunities with great outlet passes. Alex Cicerich had a huge 3rd Quarter, scoring 14 of our 22 points that period. Austin Metcalf had his shooting touch, hitting on 3 of his 4 three point attempts, finishing with 13 points.  It was a great team effort, and I was proud of our guys for battling so hard. No time to relax, as next week we have three more league games. With a 5-5 league record, we are right in the middle of the Lewis and Clark league standings with 4 teams ahead of us and 4 teams behind us. I invite you to come and watch as both the boys and girls teams play at home on Friday the 27th.

Jeff Smith

Boys Basketball Coach

Corbett High School

The Corbett High School wrestling team won nine of 17 matches but dropped two duals against Colton and Gervais in its first home matches of the season.

Sophomores Jacob Hiscox (170) and Dax Harlow (160) finished the day with perfect records after each recording two victories.  Harlow downed Gervais’s Tyler Hanson 14-8, before topping Colton’s Scott Germany 20-6.  Hiscox battled off of his back for most of the first period to pin Anthony Diaz of Gervais, then pinned Colton’s Zach Eckert in the first period.

Junior David Van Horn (138) ended the day 1-1 after topping Carlon Montavo 14-7 and being pinned by Tony Haynes of Colton.

Meanwhile, freshman Katie Mealey dropped to 106 this week and collected a pair of forfeits before losing an exhibition match 15-0 at 113 to Ben Norgren , a two-time state placer from Colton.   Sophomore Robert Maul also cut to a new weight class, making his debut at 195 and ending the day at 1-1.

Sophomore Zack Murphy (126) ended the day at 1-2 with a forfeit and a pair of losses, while freshman Cody Lee (160) ended the day 0-2.

Gervais defeated Corbett 60-18, while Colton edged the Cardinals 42-28.

The wrestling team will head to Gervais Saturday for the Gervais Invitational.

All Current and Potential Corbett Softball Players:

Prepare for the new season at Saturday Open Gyms – all ages are welcome. There will be batting cages, fielding, pitching, and catching help. Pitchers, bring a friend or parent to catch with you. We look forward to getting a head start on spring!!

Questions: Call Claudia Becker.

Open Gym: Now thru March 3rd, 10 am – 1 pm