Sports News - January 16-21
Varsity Jays Crush Braves by Timaree Reed
The boys’ varsity basketball team was able to defeat the Battle Creek Braves by a comfortable 67-30 with the help of many shots the Jays were able to score. The game was played at the Battle Creek gymnasium on Saturday, January 21.
The Jays didn’t get the tip off, but quickly turned that around with Connor Reed draining a 3 pointer to give the Jays their first points. Soon after, Lane Rohrich was able to add another 3. With the Jays’ defense intimidating the Braves, Pierce was ahead at the end of the first quarter, 18-4.
The Jays kept their intensity in the second quarter. Reed was able to steal the ball from the Braves to score a jump shot and followed on the next position with a shot from the free throw line. Bronson Stonacek also scored on an aggressive jump shot from below. At half time the Jays had outscored the Braves 29-14.
Stonacek was able to score the first points of the second half with an easy jump shot. Shortly after, Rohrich scored a 3 to give the Jays an even bigger advantage. With a few minutes left in the quarter Brandon Freeman was able to lob the ball to Eddie Francois, who scored on a layup. The Jays led at the end of the third 48-22.
Reed hit a 3 pointer in the first seconds of the fourth. The Jays’ defense still played aggressively, allowing Freeman to steal the ball from the Braves. In the last minutes of the fourth Reed, Freeman, and Rohrich scored back to back to back 3 pointers. Coach Emory brought in some younger player to finish the game. Noah Fisher and Chance Larsen were able to contribute 2 points each in the closing of the fourth quarter.
Assistant Coach Tim Waldner said, “The team shot the ball really well and defensively we didn’t allow Battle Creek to get that many good looks. As a team we played well together, which helped us win.”
Brandon Freeman said, ”The team shared the ball really well and got everyone open shots. The team was focused all four quarters, and that helped them win.”
The Jays face Crofton on January 26 at the Pierce High gymnasium, an evening that is also Parent’s Night.
Wrestlers at Aurora Dual Tourney by Tiffany Cheval
The Pierce Warbirds participated in a dual tournament in Aurora on January 21. The Warbirds wrestled four other teams, and although individual wrestlers achieved wins, the team won none of the matches.
In the dual with Aurora, Tyler Hoffman won by default, and Aaron Hanlin won in a 4-3 decision. The team lost 10-63.
In the second round Pierce wrestled Norris. The Warbirds got a win by default at 113 pounds. Johnnie Huff pinned his man in 2:57. Colby Huff, at 160, pinned his man in 54 seconds, and Aaron Hanlin pinned his man at 170 in 50 seconds. The team lost the match 24-57.
In round three Pierce wrestled Omaha South and lost 36 to 46. Hoffman got a win by default at 106, Tyler Kocian got a default win at 126, as did Dillon Dickey at 145 and Colby Huff at 160. Johnnie Huff, at 138, pinned his opponent in 1:19. Aaron Hanlin, at 170, pinned his man in 3:24.
Pierce’s next match was against York. Dylan DeGroff pinned his man in 2:22. Johnnie Huff won a 5-3 decision in overtime. Dillon Dickey pinned his opponent in 3:02, and Aaron Hanlin got a pin in 3:59. York won the dual 21-55.
JV Basketball Girls Beat Stars
Pierce’s JV girls’ basketball team worked their offense like a clock as they defeated the Kearney Catholic Stars at Pierce on Friday, January 20. The offense set up and used strategic pases and movements, drawing the Stars out with the threat of outside shots; then freshman standout Rachelle Tucker worked underneath, took the pass, and scored. The young Lady Jays beat the Stars 45-32 with Tucker having 23 points.
A good first quarter helped build momentum as teammates assisted Tucker to ten points and held the Stars to a basket and a free throw. Tucker hit two baskets and a free throw in the second quarter; Devin Gnat had a long basket, and Briana Polt a basket as Pierce outscored Kearney Catholic 9-6 to lead19-9 at the half.
Six Lady Jays scored 19 points total in the third quarter, led by Sydney Silhacek with a three, a deuce, and a free throw, and Krystina Koepke with a pair of baskets. The defense held the Stars to 11.
The Lady Jays were outscored 7-12 in the fourth quarter as Kearney Catholic connected on a pair of threes along with two baskets and two free throws. Tucker had two baskets and a free throw, and Kierstyn Wragge added a pair of free throws for Pierce, and the Lady Jays won by 13.
Tucker’s 23 points led all scorers; Silhacek had six; Koepke and Wragge, four; and Allison Koehlmoos, Jacy Bretschneider, Devin Gnat, and Polt scored a basket each.
Eagles Beat Varsity Jays by Timaree Reed
The varsity boys’ basketball team lost to the Lutheran High Northeast Eagles in a close match, 42-46, because of mistakes made in the fourth quarter and the numerous free throws the Jays allowed the Eagles to shoot. The game was held at the Lutheran High gymnasium on January 17.
The game started off with the Jays controlling the tip off. Connor Reed was able to sink a 3 pointer, scoring the first points for Pierce. Shortly after, Lane Rohrich contributed 2 points to help the Jays. Toward the end of the quarter Eddie Francois was able to score a basket, which was the last points scored by the Jays in the first quarter that ended with Pierce trailing 7-14.
Bronson Stonacek started the Jays off in the second quarter with a 2-point jump shot, followed by Tyler Lindsay sinking a 3 pointer. Lutheran High fouled Stonacek, who made 1 of 2 free throws. Rohrich scored the last 5 points of the half, leaving the Jays trailing by a close 20-24.
The Jays controlled the ball at the start of half. Reed scored a 3 pointer right away to set the game off strong. Towards the middle of the third quarter Brandon Freeman was able to score 2-points to tie the game at 27. But Lutheran High was able to put the Jays behind again, 31-35 at the end of the third quarter.
Freeman started the fourth quarter with a 2-point shot for the Jays. With less than three minutes to go, Rohrich sank a 3. Reed followed by draining another 3-pointer to leave the Jays trailing by one point. It seemed that the Jays could pull out a win against the Eagles, but the picture changed after the Eagles stole the ball from the Jays. Reed scored 2 more points for the Jays, but that was not enough to pull out a win.
Coach Mike Emory said, “Throughout the game we turned the ball over too much at critical times. We were able to play well defensively, and we attacked the basket and got to the free throw line more, which helped us stay so close in points with the Eagles.”
Lane Rohrich stated that the Jays need to improve on finishing the fourth quarter for the next game, but the team played well against the Eagles by fighting back and not giving up.
The Jays hit 33 percent of their two-point shots and 46 percent of their three-pointers; Luteran High shot 52 percent on two-pointers and 17 percent on three-pointers. The Jays made eight of eleven free throws; the Eagles made 17 of 24. Both teams pulled down 20 rebounds, and both teams had 13 turnovers.
Connor Reed and Lane Rohrich led the Jays in points, scoring 14 each, followed by Bronson Stonacek with 5. Reed pulled down 5 rebounds, and Austin Koehlmoos grabbed four.
The Jays played the Battle Creek Braves January 21, and will play Crofton at home on January 26.
Lutheran High JV Beats Pierce JV by Ty Lindsay
Pierce traveled to Lutheran High Northeast to play the Eagles on January 17. The Bluejays were defeated by a score of 30-41. In the first quarter, Pierce was outscored 8 to 15 points, due to the fast-paced offense of Lutheran High. The Bluejays were led by their junior post, Eddie Francois, who had 6 of the Jays’ 8 points in the first quarter.
The second quarter rolled by with the Eagles again outscoring the Bluejays 11-9. Zach Fehringer and Noah Fisher both connected from 3-point range. At half time, Pierce was down 17 to 26.
In the third quarter, the Jays tried to make a comeback happen but were unable because Lutheran High hit three 3-pointers in a row. The Jays still had fight in them and scored 7 in the third. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 24-37, the Eagles on top. In the fourth quarter Noah Fisher drained a 3 and added a free throw. Although the Bluejays did outscore the Eagles in the fourth 6-4, Pierce finished 11 points behind and could not pull out the win.
Eddie Francois led the team with 12 points in 2 quarters. Noah Fisher added 7. Pierce was 8 for 16 from the free throw line while Lutheran High was 11 for 16. Coach Tim Waldner mentioned, “I really thought the boys competed well. It was tough when Lutheran High hit three consecutive 3’s.”
Theron Thornton, Eddie Francois, and Zach Fehringer all agreed that when Pierce switched from man to man defense to a zone defense, they had more effect on the quick scoring Lutheran High offense.
The Bluejays played Battle Creek on Saturday January 21, and play Crofton on January 26.
Lady Jays Double Lady Braves by Molly Harris
For the varsity Lady Jays basketball team, Saturday, January 21, doubling the score was their forte. The Lady Jays trumped the Battle Creek Braves 46 to 23. Pierce doubled Battle Creek’s score; Battle Creek doubled the Lady Jays’ turnover count 15 to 30. Battle Creek and Pierce tied in how many rebounds they had: 20.
During the first quarter of the game Pierce doubled Battle Creek’s score, 10-5. In the second quarter Pierce had eleven to Battle Creek’s five. Pierce raised the bar even higher in the third quarter with thirteen with Battle Creek scoring yet another set of five points. Finally Battle Creek scored eight in the fourth quarter while Pierce scored a comfortable twelve.
Pierce’s top scorer was Payton Wragge. She had eleven points total, followed by Krystina Koepke, Jacy Bretschneider with nine, eight, and six points, respectively. Wragge and Pytleski shot two three-pointers each. Pytleski also had five assists. Wragge said the team played “as a full team.”
Lady Jays Beyond Stars by Molly Harris
The Pierce Lady Jays varsity basketball team soared beyond the Kearney Catholic Stars on Friday, January 20. The Lady Jays flew away from that game with 50 points compared to the Stars’ 32. Pierce had a total of 32 rebounds to Kearney Catholic’s 20. But Kearney Catholic had only nine turnovers against Pierce’s nineteen. Pierce also scored a total of thirteen free throws to Kearney Catholic’s three.
The game was close at first, with Pierce holding a 13-12 point lead at the end of the first quarter. At the half, the Lady Jays had increased their lead a bit to 23-18. The Lady Jay defense rattled the Stars more in the third quarter, where Pierce outscored the Kearney girls 10-4, and then in the fourth quarter, the Lady Jays used a combination of passes to the post and free throws to score 17 points to the Stars’ 10 for the 18-point win.
Morgan Buckendahl was definitely Pierce’s “star” scorer in this game with twenty points all to herself, eight of which were free throws. Rachel Wiedenfield scored thirteen points, and Haley Hoffman had eleven points. Wiedenfeld also had four assists and eight rebounds. Haley Hoffman and Morgan Buckendahl each had eight rebound as well. Buckendahl explained the reason for her successful playing was that she “kept posting up strong” and the guards passed her the ball a lot, she said.
Pierce’s next game will be a home game on Thursday, January 26 against Crofton.
Varsity Basketball Girls Fall to Lutheran High by Morgan Hoferer
Pierce’s varsity Lady Jays played the Lutheran High Northeast (LHNE) Eagles on Tuesday, January 17 at Lutheran High. Receiving the tip off, the Eagles began the process to a 26-43 victory.
Starting the night off for the Jays was junior, Rachel Wiedenfeld. She earned Pierce’s first 2 points by sinking a basket. Krystina Koepke swished her two free throws. To earn the last of the Jays’ points for the first quarter, Payton Wragge made a 2-point basket. The quarter ended with Pierce trailing 6-13.
The Lady Jays made only 6 points for the second quarter: Wragge, Ellie Pytleski, and Morgan Buckendahl each scored a basket. The score at the half was 12-30, Eagles with the lead. In the third quarter the Lady Jays scored 4 points total. The score at the end of the third quarter was 16-34. Then in the fourth quarter the Lady Jays outscored the Eagles 10 - 9.
Pierce shot 36 percent from two-point range and 29 percent overall. The Lady Eagles shot 47 percent on twos and 39 percent overall. Pierce hit six of the 15 free throws and LHNE hit nine of eleven. The Lady Jays out-rebounded LHNE 27-24 but had 22 turnovers to the Lady Eagles’ 16.
Jacy Bretschneider led scoring for Pierce with 6 points. Not far behind were Haley Hoffman and Rachel Wiedenfeld with 5 points each. Hoffman, Wiedenfeld, and Buckendahl got 5 rebounds each. Even with hard work and lots of effort, the Lady Jays fell to the Eagles by 17 points.
Coach Darren Sindelar said, “We need to be able to handle pressure. We did not adjust well to their defensive pressure. We need to be aggressive and attack the basket more. Senior Haley Hoffman said, “We should have not been so intimidated and should have just played like we know we can.”
The Pierce varsity Lady Jays played Kearney Catholic January 20, Battle Creek January 21, and will play Crofton on Thursday, January 26, in Pierce.
JV Girls Whomp Eagles by Laurie Venteicher
Pierce’s junior varsity basketball girls blew away the Lutheran High Northeast Eagles 57-24 on Tuesday, January 17, at Lutheran High.
The Bluejays took a dominating lead in the first quarter, outscoring the Eagles 14-4. Pierce maintained their blistering lead in the second quarter, scoring 12 points to Lutheran High’s 3 points. The third quarter proved no different as the Jays outscored the Eagles 16-2. Then scoring was tied in the fourth quarter at 15 points apiece.
Freshman Rachelle Tucker led scoring for Pierce with 17 points; Krystina Koepke had ten points; Devin Gnat, 8; Kierstyn Wragge, 7, and Sydney Silhacek, 6.
Coach Jenn Scheer was proud of her players. “Jacy Bretschneider did a good job of going to the basket. She split the defense really well. Our guards did a good job of getting the ball to the posts, and the posts did a good job of hitting the basket,” Scheer added. In addition, some of Pierce’s success seemed to come from comfort and confidence as a team.
Junior Branigan Stonacek felt that Pierce played really well, and she added, “Our post players had a size advantage, so we were able to make more shots.”
HCC Girls Edge JH Lady Jays by Natalie Retzlaff
Pierce’s junior high girls’ basketball team lost a heart breaker to Hartington Cedar Catholic on January 19 by a score of 29-30. Leading the way for the Lady Jays was Jaci Brahmer, who finished the game with 10 points. Second leading scorer for the Jays was Casey Sutherland with 8 points. Hailey Race had 5 points, McKenzie Kallhoff had 3 points, Ellie Moeller had 2 points, and Emily Simmons had one point in a strong effort by Pierce.
Coach Melinda Stelling said one of the reasons they lost was that “they had too many turnovers, and they were in too big of a hurry.” She also said that the girls “had fun all year and worked hard.”
Casey Sutherland said that she liked the season because they “didn’t lose as much as last year.” Casey also said that the team needs to work on communication and passing.
This was their last game for the season, and they finished with a record of 5 wins and 5 losses.
JV Lady Jays Beat Bravettes by Alisha White
The JV Lady Jays’ basketball team competed against the Bravettes at Battle Creek on Saturday, January 21. The Lady Jays won 29 to 7.
Pierce outscored the Bravettes 5 to 2 in the first quarter and 11 to 2 in the second to lead 16 to 4 at the half. Sydney Silhacek had a 3 pointer in the second quarter and Rachelle Tucker had 4 baskets and 3 for 4 free throws to lead the Lady Jays in the first half.
Battle Creek scored 3 in the third quarter and Pierce scored 13, led by Devin Gnat with 2 baskets and a 3 pointer. Only able to play 3 quarters, the Lady Jays finished the game with 29 points, outscoring the Bravettes by 22 points.
Tucker led all scorers with 13 points; Devin Gnat had 7.
Jacy Bretschneider said, “Even though we won, we could have played better.”
The JV girls will play next on Thursday, January 26 at Pierce against Crofton.
JV Boys Prevail in Battle Creek by Ty Lindsay
The JV Jays traveled to Battle Creek to take on the Braves on January 21. The Bluejays were victorious 50-36.
In the first quarter the Braves came out hot, scoring 14 points to the Jays’ 11. Eddie Francois had 9 points in the first quarter alone. In the second quarter the Bluejays outscored the Braves 8-5, Zach Fehringer and Braden Taylor each scored 2 points while Theron Thornton added 4 points. At halftime the score was tied 19 all. The Jays came out in the third quarter scorching hot, scoring 21 points. Nate Murray hit an acrobatic, step-back long jump shot that heaved the Jays into the driver’s seat. Noah Fisher drained two 3-pointers and added 2 free throws. Eddie Francois added 6 points, and Collin Freeman had 2 points plus a free throw. At the end of the third quarter it was 40-28, Bluejays with the advantage.
Coming off the hot third quarter, the Jays cooled down but still scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. Chance Larsen and Theron Thornton both had 4 points, while Braden Taylor added a bucket. The Bluejays won the game by 14. Coach Tim Waldner commented that the boys really didn’t change much in the second half; they just played harder and smarter. Eddie Francois, who was the leading scorer said, “We really stepped up on defense, and tried to get more post touches on the offensive side.”
Francois ended the game with 15 points, Theron Thornton had 12 points, and Noah Fisher added 8 points. The JV boys’ next game is Thursday, January 26 against Crofton in Pierce.
Freshman-Sophomore Girls Start Year Well
The Pierce freshman and sophomore girls’ basketball team has started the 2012 game series well. They lost a close game at Boone Central on January 12, and since then they won their two games at the Plainview tournament, beat Wisner-Pilger soundly, and dominated Norfolk Catholic on Monday, January 23.
In the Boone Central game, the young Lady Jays got off to a slow start, a 2-2 tie in the first quarter, but the Lady Cardinals scored 17 points to Pierce’s 9 in the second quarter. Although the Lady Jays put together two solid quarters to finish, 13 and 15 points, the 28-22 second half wasn’t enough, and they dropped the game 39-41.
Rachelle Tucker was Pierce’s top scorer with 14, followed by Sydney Silhacek with 9 and Allison Koehlmoos with 6.
In the Plainview tournament on January 14, the young Lady Jays started much better with 13 points in the first quarter against Randolph, who scored 9. The Pierce defense let the Randolph girls back into the game in quarter two, scoring 9 and allowing Randolph 16, so the Lady Jays trailed 22-25. But Tucker’s 7 points in the third quarter paced Pierce to 15, and even scoring by four girls in the fourth earned ten more while holding the Randolph ladies to 11 and then only one point in the finale. Pierce won 47-39.
Then the Pierce girls beat Plainview 40-20 in the championship game. Pierce led 18-7 at the half, then added 14 points in the third quarter, led by ten from Tucker. They held Plainview to 8 points in the third, then scored 8 more for Pierce in the fourth and held Plainview to five. Tucker finished the game with 21 points; Briana Polt and Caitlyn Skuodas had six apiece.
The Lady Jays played Wisner-Pilger on January 16, coming out on fire in the first half with 21 and 22 points in the first two quarters. Allison Koehlmoos had eight points in the first quarter, and Tucker had ten in the second with Synthia Schuett adding six more in the second. The Lady Jays were ahead 43-8 at the half. In the second half Pierce scored 16 and allowed the Gator girls only three points.
Once again Tucker led scoring for Pierce with 18 points. Both Koehlmoos and Sydney Silhacek had 11, and Schuett had 8 in the 59-11 onslaught.
Then on Monday, January 23, the freshman girls beat a Norfolk Catholic team that was half sophomores. The score was 45-21. Pierce led 22-14 at the half and added 12 and 11 points in the last two quarters while holding the Lady Knights to just one and six points in the closing half. The team was doing a good job of working the offense to get Tucker under the basket, where she was deadly accurate for 27 points. Sydney Silhacek got some shots from a bit more distance, so the Lady Knights’ defense could not tighten up under the basket. Silhacek had ten points; Briana Polt, six, and Allison Koehlmoos, two.
Wrestlers at Aurora Dual Tourney by Tiffany Cheval
The Pierce Warbirds participated in a dual tournament in Aurora on January 21. The Warbirds wrestled four other teams, and although individual wrestlers achieved wins, the team won none of the matches.
In the dual with Aurora, Tyler Hoffman won by default, and Aaron Hanlin won in a 4-3 decision. The team lost 10-63.
In the second round Pierce wrestled Norris. The Warbirds got a win by default at 113 pounds. Johnnie Huff pinned his man in 2:57. Colby Huff, at 160, pinned his man in 54 seconds, and Aaron Hanlin pinned his man at 170 in 50 seconds. The team lost the match 24-57.
In round three Pierce wrestled Omaha South and lost 36 to 46. Hoffman got a win by default at 106, Tyler Kocian got a default win at 126, as did Dillon Dickey at 145 and Colby Huff at 160. Johnnie Huff, at 138, pinned his opponent in 1:19. Aaron Hanlin, at 170, pinned his man in 3:24.
Pierce’s next match was against York. Dylan DeGroff pinned his man in 2:22. Johnnie Huff won a 5-3 decision in overtime. Dillon Dickey pinned his opponent in 3:02, and Aaron Hanlin got a pin in 3:59. York won the dual 21-55.
HCC Girls Edge JH Lady Jays by Natalie Retzlaff
Pierce’s Junior High girls’ basketball team lost a heart breaker to Hartington Cedar Catholic on January 19 by a score of 29-30. Leading the way for the Lady Jays was Jaci Brahmer, who finished the game with 10 points. Second leading scorer for the Jays was Casey Sutherland with 8 points. Hailey Race had 5 points, McKenzie Kallhoff had 3 points, Ellie Moeller had 2 points, and Emily Simmons had one point in a strong effort by Pierce.
Coach Melinda Stelling said one of the reasons they lost was that they had too many turnovers, and they were in too big of a hurry. She also said that the girls “had fun all year and worked hard.” Casey Sutherland said that she liked the season because they “didn’t lose as much as last year.” Casey also said that the team needs to work on communication and passing. This was their last game for the season, and they finished with a record of 5 wins and 5 losses.
