Chiefs stick with Florence, top Eureka in 1-1 weekend
<p class="p1">Tim Woll attacks the lane before pulling up for shot against Eureka Saturday. He tied for the team lead with 13 points.</p>
<p class="p1">Dallas Jore gets a look from 3-point range against Eureka.</p>
<p class="p1">Kollin Wroblewski hits a jumper from inside the paint.</p>
<p class="p1">Key bench player Alex Quequesah sinks a floater for the Chiefs during Saturday’s game.</p>
RONAN — The Chiefs split a pair of contests over the weekend at home, falling to one of the top teams in the state in Florence 59-35 on Friday before bouncing back on Saturday with a 68-52 win over Eureka.
RONAN — The Chiefs split a pair of contests over the weekend at home, falling to one of the top teams in the state in Florence 59-35 on Friday before bouncing back on Saturday with a 68-52 win over Eureka.
Though the final count on the scoreboard may not have indicated it, things were much closer on the court for much of the game until the Falcons ran away with it late.
After Florence built up a 24-16 halftime lead, the Chiefs started to close the gap until the Falcons started to gel and wound up dropping 24 points in the third quarter.
Up 48-31 headed into the final quarter, Florence’s defense clamped down and allowed just four points to the Chiefs while scoring 11 of their own.
“Their size, strength, speed and quickness made it hard for us to get shots,” Ronan head coach Steve Woll said.
Despite the loss, however, Woll said there were still plenty of positives to take out of a game in which they stuck around with a higher-caliber opponent.
“We told our kids, ‘Sometimes victories, and especially small victories, aren’t on the scoreboard,’” Woll said. “We went into it wondering ‘Can we play with this team? How good are they? Where are we at? What adjustments do we have to make to be at that level?’ and we achieved all those things.”
The Chiefs also had some solid individual performances to be proud of, including an 11-point night from Tim Woll, who hit three 3-pointers in the game and turned in three steals.
“He played really well at both ends of the floor,” Steve Woll said.
Kollin Wroblewski posted eight points for the Chiefs, while Dallas Jore dropped seven and picked up four assists.
Other players didn’t necessarily make their mark on the scoreboard, but had strong showings in other facets of the game.
Carston Baertsch, who Woll said had a “great defensive and rebounding weekend,” didn’t score any points in the game, but skied for six boards and picked Florence players’ pockets three times.
Zachary Wagner, meanwhile, led the team with seven rebounds and scored two points.
Cody Mock (four) and Alex Quequesah (three) also generated points in the game.
The Falcons’ Aaron Ward led the way for Florence with 20 points, while Rhett Baerlocher and Ryno Baerlocher pitched in 14 and 12 points respectively.
The following night, the Chiefs found themselves engaged in a hard-fought battle with Eureka.
The two teams entered the half nearly even, with Ronan holding just a one-point advantage over the Lions, 32-31.
However, taking a page out of Florence’s book, the Chiefs went off in the third period, outscoring Eureka 22-11 and building a 12-point lead going into the fourth, where Ronan would outscore the Lions again 14-13 and seal the victory.
After producing just one double-digit scorer on Friday, the Chiefs had all five starters accomplish the feat against Eureka.
This is a sign of a team starting to become cohesive as a unit, according to Woll.
“We shared the ball really well,” Woll said. “They are starting to understand where they’re supposed to be on the floor and how to react to different situations.”
Wroblewski and Tim Woll tied for the team lead with 13 points apiece. Wroblewski shot 75 percent on the night and also hauled in four rebounds. Woll, meanwhile, topped the the Chief with six assists.
Jore was right behind the duo with 12 points and had four dimes on the night as well, while Wagner turned in 11 points and five rebounds.
After going scoreless against the Falcons, Baertsch put up 10 points against Eureka Saturday, pulled down five boards and chipped in four assists.
Woll said his five starters are “all starting to get in their comfort zone” and “really made us go” on Saturday. However, the Chiefs also had some help from their bench.
Quequesah came in and scored five points in the game, hauling in three rebounds as well. Daniel Aylesworth also contributed to the cause, tallying four points for the Chiefs.
Eureka was led by Tanner Blankers, who scored 28 points for the Lions, and Dalton Smith, who added 12.
Overall, Woll said the team has made great strides so far in the season, but knows there is still much more work to be done, especially with their offense, which “still has a long way to go.”
“It’s still early and we’ve got an inexperienced team, so it’s just about trying to get people in the right spots and take the the right shots,” Woll said.
However, Woll is pleased with the pace of the team’s progression and believes it won’t be long until they reach their full potential if they keep it up.
“If we can improve this much each week, we’ll be in great shape,” Woll said.