Hartford Press Box

Boys basketball team finishes opening week with 1-1 record

The Hartford Husky varsity boys basketball team made their season debut on opening week, as they competed in a pair of road non-conference games last week. This year’s squad is looking to improve from a record of 11-13 last winter, a season which ended with a finish in the middle of the pack in the Southwest 10 Conference and a loss at home in the district finals to Lawton. This year’s squad possesses great potential, so expectations are high.

In their first game of the week, which saw Hartford travel to Watervliet on Tuesday, Nov. 28 for a showdown with one of their rivals, the Panthers, the Huskies came into the non-conference matchup with tempered optimism. Despite losing key players from last season’s 20-win team, both to graduation and injuries, Watervliet was still a good basketball team. The two teams played a back-and-forth opening half, before the team in white and maroon took over in the second half. The result was a loss for Hartford, as they would fall, 61-40.

The Panthers won the scoreboard battle in the opening eight minutes, as they led 12-6 after the opening quarter. The Huskies responded by outscoring Watervliet, 15-11, in the second quarter, to make the score 23-21 at the half. After that it was all Panthers as they outscored Hartford over the final two quarters by a 38-19 margin, gradually extending their lead until we reached the final margin of victory.

Five players scored for Hartford, including two players who finished the night in double figures. Brody Johnson led all Husky scorers with 12 points, while Jeff Littlefield chipped-in 11 points. Other players finishing in the scoring column included Dylan Kuehnle (8 points), Caiden Smith (8 points) and Mason Mireles (1 point).

In their second game of the week, which saw Hartford travel to Fennville on Friday, Dec. 1 for a non-conference matchup with the host Blackhawks, these two teams used to be members of the same conference (the Southwestern Athletic Conference) as recently as the 2016-17 school year but had not competed on the same basketball court in the same game since Feb. 24, 2017. Both squads are in a period of rebuilding with youth, so it was anticipated to be a good game. In the end, the men in the green and white reigned victorious, bringing home the win, 52-40.

Hartford is currently 1-1 on the season. The Huskies will take the court for three games in the coming week, with all three taking place on the road and one counting towards the overall league standings. The men will have begun the week by traveling to Marcellus Howardsville Christian on Monday, Dec. 4 in non-conference action, before taking a road trip to Saint Joseph on Wednesday, Dec. 6, for a non-conference matchup with the Lakers of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic. They will finish the stretch by traveling to play the Comstock Colts on Friday, Dec. 8, to begin the Southwest 10 Conference campaign.

Competitive cheerleading squad performs well in season debut

Last week, the Hartford Lady Husky competitive cheerleading team took to the mat to take part in their first competition of the season, as they joined seven other area schools in taking part in an invitational event. There is quite a bit of change with this squad since the conclusion of last season, not only in terms of participants on the team, but also a coaching change at the top, as well. The expectation is for this year’s group to improve over time and peak at season’s end.

In their invitational event, the Lawton Blackout Invitational, which was held on Saturday, Dec. 2, the ladies finished in 8th place out of eight teams, finishing with a final team score of 393.3 points. In terms of the breakdown by round, the team earned 152.5 points in the first round, which came after a four-point deduction in penalties. In the second round, the team earned 87.3 points, which came after thirty-four points in penalties. In the third round, the team earned 153.5 points, which was achieved with no points deducted in penalties.

The Hartford competitive cheerleading team will not compete until after the calendar flips to 2024, with their next scheduled competition currently booked for Thursday, Jan. 11, when they travel to Gobles to cheer in the first SMCCC Jamboree of the season.

As always, GO GREEN! GO WHITE!