Hartford Press Box
Boys basketball team pushes above .500 mark with perfect week
Last week, the Hartford Husky boys varsity basketball team went right back to work during their early busy season schedule, as they competed in two more games during their third week on the hardwood, both of which counted towards the conference standings. The Huskies’ results early in the campaign have left more to be desired, as they entered action with a 2-3 mark on the year. Plenty of opportunities to win lie ahead of them and each week starts with a refreshed 0-0 record.
In their first game of the week, which saw Hartford travel to Bangor on Tuesday, Dec. 12, for a conference matchup with the host Vikings, the Huskies were looking to get on a roll by winning a second consecutive game against their rivals from the north. The two squads split their matchups a year ago, so it seems that playing against each other brings out the best in the athletes. Once again, the game between the two teams was tight throughout, but a fourth quarter surge by Hartford lead to a double-digit victory, 62-48.
In terms of the box score, the game was back-and-forth throughout the opening half and continued into the third quarter, as well. The host Vikings led after the opening eight minutes, 13-11, before a 15-12 run by the Huskies in the second quarter would lead to a 26-25 Hartford lead at the half. In a close third quarter, Bangor would outscore Hartford by a single point, 15-14, to tie the game at 40-all with eight minutes remaining. The fourth quarter would belong to the team in green and white, as Hartford’s 22-8 scoring blitz in the closing stanza would be enough to turn a close game into a solid win.
Six players scored for Hartford, including a trio of players who finished the evening in double figures. Brody Johnson led all Husky scorers with 21 points, while Jeff Littlefield chipped in 11 points and Julien Rodarte added 10 points. Other players finishing in the scoring column included Dylan Kuehnle (8 points), Caiden Smith (8 points) and Mason Mireles (4 points).
In their second game of the week, which saw Hartford host the Tigers of Lawrence in a conference showdown on Thursday, Dec. 14, the Huskies were looking to push their winning streak to three, against another one of their rivals; this one from the east. These two teams also appear to bring the best out of each other, as they also split their matchups a year ago. This game will be defined by a quick start by Hartford, as they led by double figures early, before gradually pulling away throughout the night until the final horn, taking home the victory, 57-35.
In terms of the box score, Hartford dashed out to a big lead right out of the gate, as they held Lawrence to just one point in the opening quarter, which resulted in a 15-1 lead after the opening eight minutes. The two teams then played to a 14-14 draw in the second quarter, which gave the Huskies a 29-15 lead at the half. Hartford continued to build their lead in the third quarter, using a 16-9 scoring run, to take a 45-24 lead with eight minutes left. The Huskies added a point to the final margin in the fourth quarter, as they won the frame, 12-11.
Hartford is currently 4-3 on the season and is 3-0 in Southwest 10 Conference play. The Huskies will take the court for two home games in the coming week, with both counting towards the final league standings. The men will have begun the week by hosting the Marcellus Wildcats on Tuesday, Dec. 19, before finishing the stretch by taking on the Decatur Raiders on Thursday, Dec. 21.
Girls basketball drops two weekly games, season record now 0-3
The Hartford Lady Husky varsity basketball team continued their early season action, as the ladies took part in two games during the most recent seven-day stretch. This year’s squad started the year with a disappointing offensive performance against Marcellus Howardsville Christian, a game in which they only scored a total of two points in the first half. The team is much more talented than the results show, so fans can expect improvement to show up throughout the season.
In their first game of the week, which saw Hartford travel to Watervliet on Tuesday, Dec. 12 for a non-conference rivalry showdown with the Lady Panthers, the Lady Huskies were looking to improve on their opening week performance but knew that the road would be bumpy against a solid team that, despite losing talented players to graduation, still made a run to the district championship last season. It was a rough night on the visiting floor for the ladies in green and white, as they were soundly defeated 47-22.
In terms of the box score, it wasn’t a friendly night on the scoreboard for the “good guys,” as the Lady Panthers built their lead all evening long by winning the scoring margin in all four quarters. Watervliet led after the opening eight minutes, 16-6, before opening their lead at the half to 27-14, thanks to an 11-8 scoring advantage in the second quarter. In the second half, the Lady Panthers held the Lady Huskies to a total of just eight points in the closing two quarters (three in the third quarter and five in the fourth quarter), while scoring twenty points of their own to basically put the game squarely out of reach.
Six players scored for Hartford. Ava Bachman led all scorers with eight points, while Brooke Birmele chipped in four. Other players finishing in the scoring column included Lilly Price (3 points), Abby Valdes (3 points), Erin Glover (2 points) and Lillian Wolf (2 points).
In their second game of the week, which saw Hartford host the Lady Tigers of Lawrence in conference action on Friday, Dec. 15, the Lady Huskies were looking to make their debut in the win column in a rivalry game against an unbeaten squad across their first two games. Like the men before them, these two teams played twice last year, splitting their matchups (both teams won on their home floor). The game was tight throughout, with one quarter being the deciding factor; that quarter went against Hartford, as the Lady Huskies suffered a tough loss, 36-30.
In terms of the box score, outside of one quarter, the margin of error was small, as for three quarters, the game was separated by just a single point. The first half saw both teams make their fair share of runs, but the opening two quarters saw little fruit on the scoreboard. That’s because both teams battled to an 11-11 tie in the opening quarter, before each team scored six points each in the second stanza, sending the game into the half deadlocked at 17-all. The difference in this game was the third quarter, a frame in which Lawrence outscored Hartford, 9-4, to take a 26-21 lead with eight minutes remaining. Lawrence then went on a 10-9 scoring run in the fourth quarter, to bring us to the final margin of victory for the Lady Tigers.
Four players scored for Hartford, including one who finished the night in double figures. Brooke Birmele led all Lady Husky scorers with 21 points, while Ava Bachman chipped in six points. Other players finishing in the scoring column included Abby Valdes (2 points) and Lilly Price (1 point).
Hartford is currently 0-3 on the season and is 0-1 in Southwest 10 Conference play. The Lady Huskies were scheduled to take the court for three games in the coming week, with two games counting towards the final league standings. However, their first game against the Lady Lakers of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic on Monday, Dec. 18 was called off due to weather, and has not been rescheduled. They are still scheduled to travel to Marcellus for a conference matchup with the Lady ‘Cats, on Tuesday, Dec. 19. They will conclude the week by making a road trip to Decatur for a conference showdown with the Lady Raiders on Thursday, Dec. 21.
Hartford wrestlers bring home several podium finishers from invitationals
Last week the Hartford Husky wrestling team took to the mats to compete in a pair of weekend invitational meets, one of which was dedicated to an ever-growing group of female wrestlers. The team started the festivities for the season with a split in non-conference duals, which was followed up by a solid fifth place finish in their first individual tournament of the campaign. Expectations are high for this year’s group, and they have started the year strong.
At the Burton Richards Memorial Invitational, which was held at Eau Claire on Saturday, Dec. 16, Hartford finished in seventh place in the twenty-team field, with a total of 77 team points. The team also came away with three wrestlers who finished in the top three places in their respective weight classes.
The Huskies did not have any champions, but finishing as runners-up were Roman Rodarte at 120 pounds and Braeden Birkhead at 150 pounds. In addition, Brady Rice finished in third place at 113 pounds.
In the Parchment Girls Tournament, which was also held on Saturday, Dec. 16, no team scores were kept. But Hartford sent five young ladies to the competition, with four placing in the top six in their weight classes in a very tough field.
The Hartford ladies were led by Niomi Perez, who was the overall champion in the 235-pound weight class. After receiving a first-round bye, she won three straight matches to capture the title. In the quarterfinals, she defeated Buchanan’s Makenna Chadderdon by fall in :09, and followed that up by pinning Plainwell’s Grayce Swanson in the semifinals in 4:41. In the championship match, she faced Portage Central’s Sydney Smith and won by pin at the 3:22 mark, securing the title.
In addition to Perez’s title, Taliyah Mendoza finished in fourth place in the 125 pound weight class, while two other wrestlers finished in sixth place – Anya Watkins in the 115 pound weight class and Mikayla Hartline in the 170 pound weight class.
Hartford remains 1-1 on the season in team duals. The wrestling team will participate in one team event this week, as they travel to Bloomingdale on Thursday, Dec. 21, to open the conference season with a pair of league duals. In addition to the host Cardinals, other teams at the meet will include Bangor and Comstock.
As always, GO GREEN! GO WHITE!
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