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The
Official Newspaper of Anamosa, located in Jones County, Iowa
Anamosa News
Since 1855
 Thursday, January 24, 2008 |
Raiders dualing during busy week
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
ANAMOSA — With barely any time to rest during an incredibly busy week, the Anamosa wrestling team took to the mat a whopping nine times last week culminating with the Raiders hosting their annual dual tournament Saturday, January 19.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever gone through a week where we had nine dual meets in a five-day stretch,” said Anamosa wrestling coach Ron Timp as his club went 1-4 overall on the day posting their lone dual triumph at the tournament with a 54-9 rout of Mid-Prairie. “Overall, I was fairly happy with the way we wrestled considering our youth and considering the competition. We battled, and that’s what I like to see out of our guys. All I can ask is to have the guys give their all, and for the most part, we did that at our dual tournament.”
Independence claimed the Raider Duals team title rolling to a perfect 5-0 record defeating Mid-Prairie (71-3), Vinton-Shellsburg (42-27), Anamosa (54-21), Cascade (63-18) and Columbus Junction (45-26).
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Chip off the old block
Anamosa freshman Tyler Forbes (top) grapples with Central DeWitt’s Luke Kelley during an impressive 6-0 decision triumph for the hosts Thursday, January 17. The win was one of three on the evening for the Raiders in their 60-9 setback against a very talented Saber team. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
Columbus Junction was runner-up going 4-1 defeating Cascade (51-27), Anamosa (56-21), Mid-Prairie (82-0) and Vinton-Shellsburg (52-29).
Vinton-Shellsburg was third with three victories over Anamosa (46-30), Cascade (42-36) and Mid-Prairie (63-6).
Cascade finished fourth after wins over the Raiders (39-38) and Mid-Prairie (60-18). Mid-Prairie finished sixth with an 0-5 mark.
“We had some nice individual performances,” said Timp. “I thought Ryan wrestled well and Derek got his 100th win here. That was nice to get that done at home for the senior.
Most of the guys who wrestled had at least three wins. We just had to give up so many forfeit points. It makes it tough for us to compete at the dual level.”
The tournament opened with a 46-30 loss against Vinton-Shellsburg.
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Win No. 99
Raider senior Derek Young puts the finishing touches in a 1:05 pin win over Columbus Junction’s Scott Tompkins during the Raider Duals. The victory was Young’s 99th in his wrestling career as he went on to post win No 100 after a hard-fought 11-10 triumph over Independence’s Clint Straw later in the day. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
The Raiders trailed 34-9 before making a run with Dan Bieber (112 pounds), Ryan Dolan (119), Mitch Hewitt (130) and Derek Young (140) closing strong winning four of the final six bouts.
Anamosa fell behind Columbus Junction 24-0 before Jacob McWilliams (189) and Travis Keltner scored wins for the hosts in their 56-21 defeat. Bieber and Young also added wins in the dual for the Raiders.
Mixed in with a 65-21 setback against Independence saw Young post his 100th career win for the Raiders after a hard-fought 11-10 victory over Clint Straw.
“Derek’s 100th win was a good one,” said Timp. “He had to
work very hard and battled and battled and got the job done at the end.”
Young scored a reversal with just 25 seconds remaining in the match to take the one-point lead and held on becoming one of a very select group of Anamosa wrestlers to top the 100-win plateau.
The Raiders rolled past Mid-Prairie taking advantage of four forfeits while also winning six matches on the mat.
“Mid-Prairie struggles with numbers and have a lot of young kids and we took advantage,” said Timp. “We didn’t take anything for granted.”
The final dual of the tournament saw a bitter 39-38 loss at the hands of Cascade.
“This one hurt,” said Timp. “Forfeits have cost us matches before, but we led this one until having to give Cascade 12 points at the end with two forfeits.”
Anamosa led 38-24 with just four matches remaining but saw the Cougars win with a big 7-0 decision at 152 pounds before taking forfeit wins at 160 and 171 to escape with the one-point triumph.
The Raiders’ amazingly busy week started in Durant Tuesday, January 15, with a triangular with the Wildcats, Center Point-Urbana and North Cedar.
“We had a couple of close matches, but just couldn’t quite get over the top and get a win,” said Timp. “CP-U was our biggest loss but we gave Durant and North Cedar all they could ask for.”
Anamosa was handed a 50-21 setback against the Pointers to open the evening before being edged in a 44-33 final against the hosts.
The Raiders jumped out to a 27-18 lead against Durant, but the Wildcats answered winning five of the last six bouts to take the 11-point final.
Against the Knights, Anamosa again had their chances at the end rallying to take a one-point lead with one bout remaining.
The Raiders were staring at a 36-18 deficit, but wins by Tyler Forbes, Bieber, Dolan and Doune Alderdyce rallied the Raiders to a 37-36 advantage before North Cedar had the final say winning the final match of the evening.
Anamosa returned home Thursday, January 17, and were handed a rough 60-9 loss at the hands of a very talented Central DeWitt team.
“They’re one of the best teams in the WaMaC,” said Timp. “They showed that against us too.”
The Sabers jumped out to a commanding 42-0 lead before Forbes posted an impressive 6-0 decision over Luke Kelley.
Trailing 60-3, the Raiders responded winning the final two bouts as Jesse Hansen posted an 8-4 triumph over Bryar Bloomer and Young followed with a big 5-3 overtime victory over Justin Murray.
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Anamosa boys almost sink Sailors
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
ANAMOSA — Getting blown off their own gym floor isn’t something the Anamosa boys basketball team has thankfully had to experience this season, but with the way things started Friday, January 18, hosting a talented Waterloo Columbus team, the Raiders were well on their way to a lopsided setback at the hands of the Sailors.
“It would have been nice to re-wind the first quarter and start all over again,” said Anamosa boys basketball coach Kevin Barnes after his team was humbled in the first eight minutes trailing the visitors by a whopping 21-3 score.
“After a pretty serious discussion at our first quarter break, I thought Colten and Tony responded to that challenge. Then we just followed their lead.”
After the horrendous start, Anamosa (4-8, 3-6) out-scored Waterloo Columbus 61-53 the rest of the way and used a huge third quarter rally they extended into the final frame to make the Sailors sweat to the final horn in a 74-64 final for the visitors.
“I think our kids always play hard,” said Barnes. “But we haven’t always stepped up to the challenge when things haven’t gone our way. We have just kind of accepted it.
Tonight, we stepped up to that challenge. I think those last three quarters were the best basketball we have played all year and, at least, our best since the Christmas break.”
The Raiders appeared blown off their own court as Waterloo Columbus led 25-5 and 30-10 in the second quarter before the hosts closed the half with a 14-11 run to trail 41-24 at the break.
The third quarter saw things get even more interesting as Anamosa trimmed another 10 points off the Sailors’ lead going on a 24-14 spurt with Colten Kelly, Josh English, Tony Lueken and Skyler Miell all playing key roles in the run while the Raider defense also gave the visitors fits.
“We implemented a new defense this week, and Josh was the key to that,” said Barnes. “That defense was a big reason for the comeback.” |
Playing above the rim
Anamosa senior Colten Kelly drops in two of his game-high 29 points as the Raiders hosted Waterloo Columbus Friday, January 18. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
With the crowd in a furor, the Raiders continued their run in the fourth quarter forcing Waterloo Columbus into turnovers and forced shots.
After English scored a field goal less than a minute into the final frame, Kelly answered with a long 3-pointer at the 6:57 mark cutting the Sailors’ lead to a mere four points, 57-53.
The two teams traded baskets for several minutes before Waterloo Columbus went on a 10-4 run to re-take control of the contest and build another double-digit advantage.
“Unfortunately for us, Waterloo Columbus just too good of a team to come back on from being down 21,” said Barnes. “But my hope is this type of fire is what you will see from us the remainder of the year.”
Kelly was amazing scoring 29 points in varying styles attacking the Sailor defense or drilling long 3-pointers. For the night, Kelly was 11-of-20 from the floor and connected five times from beyond the 3-point arc. He also tallied six assists.
Lueken added 12 points and seven assists while English came through with nine points and seven boards.
“Lenny Rhomberg also played a great floor game for us and Skyler Miell is really starting to shoot the ball well for us,” said Barnes. “I told the kids it’s too bad we don’t have rewind in life. But the reality is, we must move forward.”
Anamosa opened their week at Dyersville against a tough Beckman team and after a very rough fourth quarter, came up on the short end of a 68-44 score.
“It sounds like a broken record, but we are just not finishing games,” said Barnes as his team was out-scored by a whopping 29-11 count over the final eight minutes, and in a game that was close in the third quarter, turned into a rout for the Blazers. “We trailed by two points with 1:50 to go in the third quarter and then we don’t finish and lose by 24. The one thing we can’t do is have empty possessions in the late going, and that is what we have done since Christmas. We just have a three or four minute stretch, always in the second half, where we don’t score, and at the same time, don’t get stops. It is very frustrating.”
The game appeared ready to go down to the wire as the hosts led 13-12 after one frame before being tied 20-20 at the half. The third quarter saw Beckman go on a 19-13 run before their huge offensive explosion over the final eight minutes.
“The other issue is we have a very frustrated locker room right now, and that is no fun,” said Barnes. “It is no fun for the kids, the coaches, the parents, everyone, to have to battle through that. We have to get back to having fun. Win or lose, it is a fun game.”
Miell led Anamosa scorers pouring in 11 points while Kelly added 10 more for the Raiders. |
Anamosa girls right basketball ship
By
Daryl Schepanski - Sports Editor |
WATERLOO — Making the long bus ride to Waterloo more than worth their while Friday, January 18, the Anamosa girls basketball team used a stifling defense, timely offense and a never say die attitude to a big 43-40 WaMaC Conference road triumph at Waterloo Columbus.
“We actually had built ourselves a nice double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and appeared ready to put Columbus away for good but made some silly mistakes down the stretch, and this game got a lot closer than it actually should have been,” said Raider girls basketball coach Jack Leighty. “We made some poor decisions with the basketball, but thankfully, had enough of a lead to hold on at the end.”
Anamosa (6-8, 5-6) led 43-31 with five minutes remaining in the contest, but failed to score another point the rest of the way as the Sailors went on a 9-0 spurt to end the contest.
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Poised to score
Anamosa freshman Lauren Buck posts up a Beckman defender and looks for the basketball as junior Paige Goetz looks in during the Raiders’ heartbreaking narrow 41-40 setback hosting the Blazers Tuesday, January 15. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
“I was happy with the way we came out and played early on,” said Leighty. “Waterloo Columbus is a tough place to play, but we ran the offense the way we wanted to, and Kayla Sanborn was all over the place doing everything for us getting steals, assists and scoring right when we needed it.”
The Raiders led 8-6 after one quarter and built a 19-15 halftime advantage as Sanborn attacked the Waterloo Columbus defense at every opportunity scoring 11 first half points.
The game stayed right through three frames as Anamosa continued to lead, going ahead by as many as seven points in the frame before settling in for a 33-29 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Raiders started the final frame on fire going on a huge 10-4 spurt to build a 43-31 cushion with Paige Goetz, Lauren Buck and Sanborn keying the game-changing rally. |
Securing the basketball
Anamosa senior Christy Coons rips the basketball away from a pair of Beckman defenders during the Raiders’ bitter 41-40 loss hosting the Blazers Tuesday, January 15. (Journal-Eureka photo by Daryl Schepanski) |
“We had several costly turnovers late in the game,” said Leighty. “But we did gather ourselves and made the plays that were needed to make to win.”
Sanborn led Anamosa scoring 16 points while also swiping six steals and dishing out three assists shooting 7-of-9 from the floor. Goetz added 10 points while Buck chipped in with nine more.
“It’s always nice to get a road win in the WaMaC,” said Leighty. “We’ll take one any way we can get it.”
Anamosa hosted Beckman Tuesday, January 15, and in another gut-wrenching battle with the Blazers, came out on the short end of a 41-40 thriller.
that once again went down to the final seconds.
“We just can’t fall behind 17-4 against anybody and expect to come back and win,” said Leighty. “Still, we did take a lead in the final seconds but just couldn’t hold it long enough to get what would have been an incredible win.”
Beckman’s Rachel Klaren came out bombing drilling four first quarter 3-pointers as the Blazers built the huge 17-4 first quarter advantage and appeared ready to blow the Raiders right out of their own gym.
“We didn’t roll over and die though,” said Leighty. “We worked and worked and gradually chipped away and chipped away to the point we finally had a chance to win in the final seconds.”
Anamosa trailed just 22-15 at the half after going on an 11-5 spurt in the second quarter and then trailed 34-25 entering the final frame.
“Once again, Kayla got our run started with a three,” said Leighty. “Then, we just kept on fighting.”
After Sanborn’s trey trimmed the Blazer lead to 34-28, Buck added a field goal and Jackie Engelbart a free throw to close the Raiders to within 34-31.
After Brittney Westermeyer scored for the visitors, Sanborn hit another 3-pointer, closing the hosts to within 36-34.
With 3:19 remaining to play, Sanborn was at it again, tying the score with a lay-up
Klaren answered for Beckman with another trey but Sanborn, with 1:02 left, scored yet again to cut the deficit to a single point, 39-38.
After a Blazer turnover with 25 seconds left, Goetz connected on a short jumper giving the Raiders their first lead of the night, 40-39 with just 17.4 seconds remaining.
The advantage wouldn’t last long however, as Bridget Meades scored and was fouled for the Blazers with just 7.8 seconds left putting the visitors back on top.
Anamosa still had one last chance. Buck grabbed the errant free throw and found Sanborn who raced up the floor looking for the game-winning shot. Hounded by Beckman defenders, Sanborn got off a pass to Engelbart who released a jumper that appeared destined for the bottom of the net, but the ball rimmed off.
“The shot was a good one, it just didn’t go down,” said Leighty. “Under the circumstances, Jackie did a great job staying composed through all that at the end.”
Sanborn led the Raiders scoring 15 points.
Anamosa took part in Rivalry Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids Saturday, January 18, and in a defensive battle against Maquoketa Valley, were edged in a 31-28 final.
The Raiders led for three quarters before a 12-7 run by the Wildcats was enough to pull away for the three-point victory.
Anamosa led 8-6 after one frame, 17-12 at the half and 21-19 entering the final frame.
Kayla Zumbach stepped to the forefront and led Anamosa with a career-high eight points while also adding nine rebounds.
“Kayla Zumbach had a big night,” said Leighty. “She just seemed to be all over the place.” |
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