Amanda Howard shoots for two in the varsity game played against Waterloo Christian on Friday, Jan. 15. Photo by Tracey Peters

By Amanda Arp

Correspondent

On the night of January 15, the Waterloo Christian Regents, formerly known as Walnut Ridge Regents, traveled south to Traer to take on the North Tama Redhawks. Two games were played between the opposing sides. The first game started at 6:15 with the varsity girls’ teams facing off.

The first quarter of the girls’ game went very well, setting the tone for the rest of the game. Sydney Fehr shot the ball and Amanda Howard was able to rebound and bring the ball back up for two points. Later, Howard, after a quick player-to-player pass, sunk the ball for another two points. A nice block by Kailey Kladivo forced the ball out of bounds and allowed the Redhawks to regain possession of the ball. Then, to finish off the quarter, Fehr passed the basketball to Kladivo, who shot it in for two points. The score was twenty-two to one.

In the second quarter Alex Oletski kept up the momentum when she made a very long two point shot. Later, Kelsey Upah was fouled and made the following two free throws. Then, Morgan Halupnick raced up the court and passed to Allison Zobel, who made a two point shot. Another excited play came when Erin Herink passed to Nora Seda and Nora was able to fight through four defenders to shoot for two points.

Sean Dengler put two more on the scoreboard in the varsity game played against Waterloo Christian on Friday, Jan. 15. Photo by Tracey Peters

The third and fourth quarters went equally well. Both Halupnick and Kladivo succeeded in hitting a free throw, and Oletski hit a three point shot. Fehr passed the ball into Kladivo and she took it up for two points. In the fourth quarter Zobel successfully hit a long two point shot. Then Aryn Isenhower got a layup for two points. Emma Knoop shot a two point shot to end the game. The Redhawks won seventy-three to ten.

Between the two games the pep band kept the crowd and the players excited with songs like Crazy Train, Freeze Frame,Funkytown, and the school loyalty.

The boy’s game started with high energy and effort. In the first quarter, Cade Isenhower passed the ball to Tyler Cizek, who shot it in for two points. Brendon Boerm followed this by lobbing the ball over the heads of the defenders to Lucas Hefty. Later, Boerm weaved his way in-between some defenders and took the ball up for two points.

The second quarter began just as well with a great, nearly three point shot from Jeremy Wrage. Hefty followed this by hitting a free throw. An exciting play came next when Boerm blocked a pass from the Regents and Wrage was fouled as he got the ball. Wrage hit the following two free throws. The guys kept up the excitement as Sean Dengler sped the ball down the court and passed to Hefty, who put it up for two points. After Isenhower sunk a three point shot, the quarter ended 29 to 18 with the Redhawks ahead.

In the third quarter Isenhower picked up a dropped ball at midcourt and went in for a layup but was pushed out by a defender. Isenhower got the chance to shoot two free throws and hit one of them. Boerm kept up the energy when he fought past four defenders to earn two points and, later, ran the ball the full length of the court for a layup. A three point shot from Jacob Wrage helped to make the Redhawks forty-seven to twenty-two at the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter sealed the Redhawks’ victory. Boerm made a pass to Hefty, who took the ball up for two points. Then Jacob Wrage passed the ball to Boerm, who successfully earned two points. After a battle between the posts at fingertips, Hefty took possession of the ball and sunk it for two points. Two successful free throws from Isenhower ended the game fifty-eight to thirty-eight.

The Redhawk varsity teams did an excellent job in playing the Regents and the pep band also did an excellent job keeping up the energy at the games. When asked about the game, Nora Seda said, “I felt our team played with a lot of class tonight.” This was true of both games. The varsity players will be playing at home again next Friday the twenty-second.