With a week to go in the regular season and the sectional draw for the state of Indian expecting to be unveiled Sunday, it’s crunch time for all of the area schools to get ready for the playoffs.
For the Angola Hornets (10-8), it’s been a tale of two seasons for this team. Angola went into the week of the Concordia game with a 10-5 record and winners of 7 of their previous 9 games. That is until the coaching change which I will not get into because that’s not the topic of discussion.
But, the interim tenure of Josh Sheets hasn’t gotten off to a great start as his team is 0-3 since, The Hornets prior to the coaching change have scored 40 or more points in 11 of their first 15 games. Since the change, that’s yet to happen. While the defense is still one of the best in the state, there’s also a difference with that to. They allowed 45 points or more just 4 times prior to change. But, that has happened 2 of the last 3 games. The Hornets have limited their opponents to scoring below their point per game average in all 18 games.
For the West Noble Chargers (6-13), it’s been a tough season under head coach Ethan Marsh, and it’s very familiar to me. The Chargers offense has struggled this season averaging 48.4 points, which is their lowest total to this point in 12 years. But, their defense is allowing just 50.4 points as well, which is on pace to have its best defensive season since 2012-13 when that team allowed 49 points a game. But, for a team that’s ranked near the bottom of the conference standings, this ain’t no pushover. The Chargers have played in 13 games where they were in the thick of things and competing with not just teams to their competition but to some of the best in the entire area. However, West Noble is 0-9 in games decided by 10 points or less, and that’s occurred in 4 of their last 6 games. West Noble has limited teams below 50 points in 6 of those 18 games, and they’ve held 11 teams to below their point per game average.
In the all-time season series, it dates as far back as West Noble’s very first season when the Chargers and Hornets use to meet twice both in a Angola tournament and in the regular season as non conference opponents. West Noble won the first 12 games of the series and won 13 of their 16 meetings from 1967-1978. However, since Angola joined the conference in 1988, the Hornets have won 26 of their last 33 meetings with one of those games being the 1999 sectional title game where Angola avenged a 65-50 loss at West Noble Dec. 18, 1998 and defeated the heavily favored Chargers 44-43 @ Northwood to claim a sectional title. BTW, Tom Schermerhorn was the head coach for that Chargers squad.
Over the last 10 years, Angola has split their games @ West Noble going 3-3. The Hornets will host Eastside tomorrow night before they travel to Ligonier Saturday. West Noble is at Hamilton tomorrow night, which likely ends their losing streak anyway.
3 keys for each team to win
Angola
1. Win the First Quarter (Stop the Bleeding!)
Prior to the change, this wasn’t a major issue for the majority of the last several years or so. But, that’s definitely been problematic in the recent games they’ve played. We’ll find out if this improves against Eastside.
But, the Hornets have trailed after each 1st quarter in each of their last 3 games all by a combined average of 4.3 points. It’s worse when trailing at the half recently because that number goes up to 10.6, which is not only not good for a team that almost never plays a fast pace style of basketball, but it’s almost a disastrous start for them. I know they trailed by 15 @ Heights and won, but they’re in a way different situation right now. This can’t happen anymore often.
The Hornets have an amazing record when they lead at halftime. They’re 8-1 when leading at the half. 8-1! Their lone loss was a 1-point loss @ Westview thanks to a free throw. That’s a way better stat line than their 2-7 record in other games. Now, I’m not guaranteeing that the Hornets will win if they lead at the break, but if they don’t get off to good starts, how in the world can they put themselves in a situation? I don’t give a crap if they do it scoring 35 points or do it scoring 50, they have to emphasize on their 1st half’s because these last 3 games have been their worst stretch of first halves I’ve ever seen and I never say that about them.
2. Regain Confidence
I cannot stress this enough that when you’re a team that is younger and not as deep, confidence is crucial for any team. The definition of confidence according to the Merriam Webster is
“Faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way. “
That means in terms of a team, a great team is one where individuals trust their own teammates, their coaches, and THEMSELVES. It doesn’t matter how talented one is, how well coached one is, or how committed one is. If they’re not confident in themselves as much as they’re confident with each other, they won’t get anywhere.
That’s why those teams in the past won sectionals. That’s why Angola has been getting a library full of championships in recent memory for every sport. That’s why the culture of Angola has been excellent. Its not just because they’re talented. It’s not because they got lucky. It’s not because of one guy! Angola football never even sniffs a conference championship without this. Forget the baseball sectional without that mentality. Where would track be without this? Where would the girls teams be without this mindset and faith? Heck, is the girls gymnastics team a fool to you? Because last I check they went to freaking state last year and I’m sure they were extremely under appreciated by everyone else but Angola. I know we talk about the star players and the coaches, but they win as a team not as individuals.
But, do NOT and I repeat DO NOT give me any excuses that a team with DYER BALL (who is going TO BALL STATE to play MEN’S VOLLEYBALL a sports that is NOT EVEN OFFERED at the school), JOEL KNOX, TUCKER HASSELMAN, MAX HAMILTON, BRYCE DAILEY, BRIAN PARRISH, and whoever I forgot to mention is NOT capable of winning the big games.
If the Hornets want to salvage the season on a high note, it starts tomorrow against Eastside. It starts Saturday against the Chargers. Give the community a reason to not only be excited for the sectional but to be hopeful for the future. I’m not guaranteeing anything about sectionals, but why should this program stop caring now?
I know I’ve been notorious to say “Bentley Ball” when he was the coach, but that motto wouldn’t even exist had it not been for the hard work, the sacrifice, and the heart of a champion these brothers have done for years. They don’t win titles without confidence, heart, and work ethic and I hope these guys or anyone on these Angola programs don’t ever forget why they represent the Hornets. The stingy Hornet mentality starts with self desire and faith and that transpires into mental toughness. This is going to be a critical week for the Hornets because of the timing of the season and the amount of competition these games will have.
3. Stay Composed
Again, I think a lot of it goes back to the Hornets needing to regain confidence, and that’s because when you’re a team that is younger and is going through this scenario, it becomes a challenge to keep up with their composure. This is an area they’ll still need to continue to improve as they get ready for sectionals.
West Noble
1. Stay close
Ok, after my long discussion on the Hornets, let’s get to the Chargers. This is an area they must continue to do even though this team has yet to win these close games. Did you know that in Marsh’s first year at CN, his team was 7-11 before finishing the season 3-2. Did you know in his last season at CN, that team went 8-9 before they posted their first of a school record 5 straight winning seasons. This isn’t the first time his teams have faced adversity, and it’s obvious by looking at the score. The Chargers have hung around a lot, so that is something they need to continue to do.
2. Rebounding
For a good chunk of this season, rebounding has been an issue at times, mainly because this team does lack a lot of those post players and size that last year’s team had. However, with a team that hasn’t been hitting their triples these days and hasn’t scored 40 since Jan. 31 vs Hamilton, we do expect more rebounds and more contact to happen simply because of these points. If Angola starts to feel good about themselves, they better be ready to box out on Dyer, Max, and Joel because a lot of these guys, especially those 3 buzz towards that ball.
3. Be Aggressive and Make Good Passes
This is one area I do think the Chargers are good at this season, and that is being aggressive for loose balls. That is something Marsh’s teams were always good at Central Noble regardless of their size and talent. This is interesting because Angola hasn’t been making clean passes at all lately, and if it continues this week, this might work to the Chargers’ favor. But, I do think it is also important to stay disciplined as well because this team does foul quite a bit, and they don’t have nearly as much depth as they did last season.
Players to watch
Angola
Dyer Ball
One of the most talented athletes I’ve ever seen has hit a stumbling block in his senior season after a great start to the season. In his last 3 games alone, Dyer has averaged approximately less than 8 points a game. Yes, 8. That is not Dyer Ball, and I can’t recall any 6’5 player who can score in the post, block shots, and shoot triples all in one game and is averaging less than 8 points in his last 3 games as his secondary sport (Ball State Men’s volleyball commit). Dyer is a huge reason for Angola’s success at the start and middle of the season, and he’s a big part on whether this team can finish on a good note. No offense to Joel Knox because he has played well even during the skid, but this team needs Dyer to play like the Beast-mode, octopus Dyer Ball.
West Noble
Austin Cripe
He’s been a big part of West Noble’s offense, even though he’s only been averaging less than 9 points a game. When he’s been contributing on the defensive side of the ball and he’s making big plays in the glass and in the perimeter, this is a matchup to be careful. Angola cannot let Austin go off in this game. He recently recorded a career high 22 points in a 52-51 loss to LaVille. Josh Gross is going to need some help in this game in particular, and Austin is not a bad person to go to for that.
Conclusion:
This has absolutely zero effect on the conference race itself, but you better believe this is an important game for both teams. These two have been struggling as of late, and they’ll soon be going into tough sectionals that they can both compete in.
With the draw coming on Sunday, this is important that these two teams start to find confidence and get some wins on the board. Angola hasn’t lost more than 3 straight games since 2013-14 when they lost 9 straight. For West Noble, they’re looking to avoid extending their longest losing streak since 2015-16 when they lost 12 in a row.
Around the NorthEast Corner 