Packers, Tigers hoping to advance; Red Devils look to sweep Panthers
By Ken De Laat D2 District at Newaygo Sparta vs, Fremont 5:30 pm The Packers record has few blemishes on it in what has become a breakout season under the tutelage of Coach Zerfas. A pair of close losses to MorleyStan, a defeat in the season opener to perennial powerhouse Spring Lake and a late season stumble against the Wren Nelson led MCC Spartans. Other than those, it’s been a magical year for this team. A pair of wins over a really good Ludington team helped them sweep the conference schedule and knocking off former CSAA rivals Grant and Reed City were part of the 18 wins they collected on the season heading into tournament play. There are a lot of ways Fremont can beat you. They put less talented teams away early with a bevy of consistent scorers and a couple of defensive gamers who have corralled some of the area’s best players. They also have a talented freshman who makes one recall other prominent Packer players who began their Girls Varsity careers just out of middle school. Sparta held off a gritty Newaygo group to get here. They can score in bunches but it tends to be inconsistent and they lapse into periods when turnovers become a problem. Not saying they won’t give Fremont a game. The Packers and Spartans have a long history of playoff matchups between them that ended unpredictably. But this looks to be a pretty good Packer squad and Coach Z won’t let them come in not prepared to win. Side note: For an aging sportswriter the Spartan uniforms with their dark blue numbers against a dark background aren’t a personal favorite due to the challenges it brings when attempting to ID players. Granted, they do look pretty cool though. Comstock Park vs. Grant 7 pm Park was 2-10 at one point in the season. Since then they are 6-4 and a pair of those losses were tightly contested games against 2 of the area’s better teams in Belding and Calvin. During that early slump Sparta bested them by 24 points. Less than a month later the Panthers played them at home and beat them by 8. Grant won 4 to start the season. Lost 3 in a row then peeled off 8 straight wins. Then Kent City took them in OT forcing a title showdown with MorleyStan a game they also lost in OT. A rematch with the Eagles saw them lose by double digits and they wrapped up the conference tourney beating the Coyotes by a point. Are the Tigers ready to make a run? They need to close games out and it has been a struggle these last couple of weeks. Ashbaugh and Welch can score. Rodriguez can get to the line and convert and while Pleune, Thompson and Krepps slap down some righteous defense, they can get it in the basket if needed. Obenauf, Gragg and others add to the depth on the Tiger bench. I like this Tiger team. Along with having the school’s all time leading scorer on the squad there are tenacious ballers who know the game and play it with a passion. When they are in sync the team seems unstoppable. When they’re not…? I think the Tigers will get by Park but they’d best be careful and not let the Panthers hang around. While we’re unsure why Grant hasn’t come close in their 2 OT games….well… They haven’t. D3 District at Shelby North Muskegon vs, Shelby 5:30pm The Norse beat the Tigers twice in the regular season but neither win was easy and this one remains anyone's game, Holton vs. Hesperia 7 pm In their previous 2 games this season the Red Devils have outscored the Panthers 110-25. Holton moves on.
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