Photo 📷 credit to Greg Talley

What does Anthony Barnes battling right now ? Besides having to live in the long shadow that is the personality of Kris Richardson. That’s a burden that both Coach and I know all to well ! The Cool Kids would call this new dilemma a “Champagne 🍾 Problem”. The type of a problem that most folks are fortunate enough to ever experience.

Carroll County played its fourth game of the season on Saturday and for the fourth time Barnes coached his team to a complete undressing of the opposition. Playing a game with a large lead creates a different kind of “Problem”, with the issue being when do you take your foot of the accelerator ?

Last time out was at Fort Chiswell and the score was 56-15 at the break. Against Pulaski County the Cavs fell behind 9-3 and trailed until Jabin Talley tied the score at 16-16 with a 3-pointer. I have said all along that the strength of the team is two pronged, one being the textbook definition of unselfish and the other being their ability to have their stingy defense turn into instant offense under the guidance of Point Forward Davis Reitzel.

Once the Cavaliers made the correct adjustments to the PCHS pre-game adjustments it was another case of off to the races 🏁. The lead flexuaited in the 30 point range for most of the second half and feeling that the time was right to adjust his lineup, Barnes went deep into his rotation. PCHS, as they did earlier in the season turned up the intensity with their starters to make a game out of it. The Cougars actually cut the lead down to 70-56 with 3:00 remaining before the Cavs tightened up and held them scoreless until the final horn.

Having to decide how to play with a BIG lead everytime out is actually a problem most Coaches don’t have a great deal of experience with. Barnes is truly enjoying the “Problem” while it exists!

Back to unselfish – using the form of a old school Knock Knock joke.

The Boys Basketball team is unselfish when its comes to scoring!

How unselfish are they ?

They don’t care who scores the points, just care that the points get scored !

Last night 🌙 it was Ethan Richardson that took Center Stage and the Junior was more than up to the challenge. Richardson finished the night with a Lifetime high of 24 points.

When I confirmed that fact with Kris after the game the humorous answer was “Not even playing nerf hoops in his room unguarded “.

The serious answer –

” I was a very proud Dad, not from being surprised but because I’ve seen his potential for years. I just don’t think he’s ever believed in himself like we have.”

Need to have some more fun in looking at two of the baskets 🧺 Richardson played a role in that captures the essence of team first.

The one play that stood out the most was when Davis Reitzel through a length of the court pass to Bryce Smoot. Smoot went up to coral the pass and while still in the air threaded a perfect pass to a cutting Richardson for a lay up.

The second one requires some creative licensing – Reitzel goes up strong to the hoop and just before dunking the basketball 🏀 he noticed Richardson alone out by mid court. Changing his mind on the fly, Reitzel delivers the ball to Richardson by the way of the rim and then in an instant a pass is riffled to Bryce Smoot in the corner who drains a 3-pointer. Trading an easy two for three = Smart decisions 🤔

Want to sneak in a few thoughts before creating the Game Story that is needed.

A – This team is Fun

B – Bryce Smoot is so smooth that I think he could score 10 points without checking into the actual game.

C – Ethan looked silky smooth on all four of his 3-pointers.

D – Cody is continuing to develop his game at an impressive rate.

E – Kudos to Papa Reitzel. Anyone who is willing to multi-task (keeping the Cavs score book) while his Son is playing is unselfish !!

F – Isaiah Easter put in the work in the weight 💪room this off season and Wow did he change his body so that it matches his Basketball IQ

4-0 , and the train is just leaving the station 🚉 !! Next up will be a Game Story

Dublin – Carroll County remained perfect on the young season after wearing down a talented squad from Pulaski County, 57-42 behind 26 points from Alyssa Ervin.

The homestanding Cougars moved down from Class 4 to Class 3 this year and now reside within the same Region as the Cavaliers so the possibility of a third match-up in the post season exists.

Carroll County (4-0) knows that each time they come in to a contest they do so as the Two Time Defending State Champs. This guarantees that they will face someone looking to take down the Champs and they will see each teams version of how to cover Ervin as she plays out her Senior season before heading to Elon University.

Pulaski County switched from their previous approach from earlier in the season opener when they sent Ervin to the free throw line 19 times. Saturday they slowed the game down and double teamed Ervin at every possible opportunity to see if the remaining Cavaliers could score enough points to win the game ?

After playing the first half to a 19-19 draw it appeared that the plan was working. Ervin scored a season low seven points in the opening half but the Cavs continued to play suffocating defense and remain patient offensively.

The game was still very much in doubt at the end of the third quarter at 35-31 in favor of Carroll County before CCHS finally created some breathing room with one of their patient bursts in the fourth quarter.

Tied at 35-35 with 5:36 remaining the Cavs broke the contest open. Katie Lam (10 points) connected on her second 3-pointer early in the 15-3 run and Ervin sandwiched a pair of Callie Harris free throws with one basket and her third 3-pointer. In the blink of an eye (3:37 of game time) the Cavaliers erased the hopes of the Cougars gaining a regular season split.

The strategy was a solid one and it won’t be the final time its implemented this season. Trying hard to slow down Ervin and make others beat you might have worked even better earlier in the season but the new look Cavaliers are starting to grow into their new roles.

Lyons finished with eight points and Kacie Young added six and the front court duo clogged up the middle on the defensive end as well. The competition went a long way in limiting the Cougars to just 42 points.

Young started in place of injured Corrie Delp for a second straight game as the Sophomore recovers from an injury. The encouraging thing is Delp was feeling well enough to take her place on the bench. Sister Amie Delp returned from her injury and was once again available to Coach Marc Motley.

Harris finished up with four points and Sarah Alderman tallied three points in a well balanced attack

The team will have an extended break, not returning to action until Monday December 18th when they host Honaker. The Championship Ring ceremony is planned for that evening as well.

Quick Note 📝 – the full box score that will run with it comes curtosey of Mrs. Brandi.

Some pics from the Boys 👦 JV and both Varsity contests.

Per the norm, all pictures 📷 are free for the taking

👀 seeing Greg Talley in the Gym automatically means I can focus more on writing ✍ and less on photos 📷

Thank You Mr. T !

Friday evening I was able to have a brief discussion with a very sharp Lady in Mrs. Shannon Dalton. We were discussing the differences between writing ✍ as an actual Sports journalist compared to penning a story from the heart ❤. On this one I will have the opportunity to do both. The ultimate goal is for the young Ladies to receive credit / acknowledgment for their efforts 👏 and for something that I write ✍ to get picked up by actual media outlets for maximum viewing it has to read like a sports story versus a Blog post.

So my answer is write what I feel about a contest first and then create an actual game story that will land in the Carroll News and NewsBreak after that. With that one time explanation out of the way let’s get started with Saturday afternoon vs Pulaski County..

The 2023-2024 season is so different in many ways in general but for me its personal this time around. Last year was beyond fun and historical where this season I am watching young Ladies that I have connections to. Not to the level that the parents and grandparents do but a connection nonetheless. Having just spent the past year putting their words on paper in an attempt to capture their story for a book 📖 creates a tie to Katie Lam that wasn’t there before. Having spent the last 3 months trying hard to make their Volleyball 🏐 matches at home 🏡 as enjoyable as possible creates a tie to Madison Lyons, Alyssa Ervin and Sarah Alderman in addition to the Book.

The connection to Corrie Delp began last year at the State Track meet has continued to grow everyday since. The Harris family 👪 is a HUGE part of what we do so Callie Harris is near and dear to us.

Laiken Burnett will go down as the Carroll County High School athlete that I have spent the most time covering by a wide margin, she has already clinched that mark after I write ✍ about her play just under 50 times last year across her three Junior Varsity seasons. I am missing out on being the one saying the words ” Laiken Burnett” into a microphone 🎤 as that’s what I have done the past six months in both Softball and Volleyball 🏐. This young Lady is wise beyond her years and shows it everyday.

Kacie Young, Madison Coleman and Savannah Swecker from a full season of covering their JV play last year and Amie Delp through her connection to her Family 👪.

Bayliegh Allen is part of our Softball family 👪 and a delight to be around and her Mom assisted us in the Press Box whenever we needed.

I believe in this group of Student Athletes and think that if they continue to grow together this season of theirs / ours will turn out to be pretty special. Not fair to compare them to the past two seasons because it is their season. Easy to type out but harder to do because the reality is all future Cavalier squads will live in a pretty big shadow.

Head Coach Marc Motley is knowledgeable beyond what should be expected from a High School Coach and he already knows exactly what his current team needs to succeed down the road. Our paths don’t cross nearly as much as other Coaches but I cherish the brief exchanges when they present themselves as they did before and after the game yesterday afternoon.

Coach saw 👀 the exact same thing I saw and was able to smile about it afterwards. The words weren’t designed to be part of a game story type interview but valuable just the same. So, after all of that, what did take place in yesterdays 57-42 victory over a talented Cougars team ?

The normal routine is for Ervin to come out strong 💪and create a comfortable lead which allows the others to pick their spots. That wasn’t the case yesterday as Ervin was still scoreless at the 5:42 mark of that second quarter. The game was 1/3 over at that point and it was clear that PCHS was playing the if we are going to lose make someone other than Ervin card. It’s a good strategy, much better than the one from the previous contest on the Hill where they sent her to the foul line 19 times.

By the end of the quarter the Cavs had pulled within 8-7 as Alderman hit a 3-pointer at a critical time to go with baskets from Young and Lyons. Lyons played the contest in what I dub to be Volleyball Madison. The Senior plays Volleyball with a carefree mindset that allows her to crush the VB at times. Later in the contest Lyons would add a pair of step back 3-pointers that would have made Steph Curry smile. Ervin had seven points at the break with the score tied at 19-19.

Lam was scoreless at the break but continued to look for her shots. She made a 3-pointer in the third quarter and added seven points in the all important fourth quarter to reach double figures.

With Corrie Delp still recovering from her stitches Young was once again in the starting lineup and held her own with six points and impressive defensive effort inside the paint.

Alderman finished the game with three points but her end to end hustle played a big part in limiting the home team to 42 points.

Rounding out the scoring was Harris as the sophomore guard calmly sank all four of her free throws during the 22-11 fourth quarter.

In the gamer I won’t be able to highlight the individual efforts in the same manner because of length. Neither I nor Coach can help the folks that come to the Gymnasium longing for 30+ point romps over opponents every night.

This fourth victory was a spectacular team effort. Yes, Ervin continued her play from end to end and eventually finished the game with 26 points with 10 scored in the third and nine in the final eight minutes. Nobody needs to convince Ervin she can play at an insane level nor does our Coach with 400+ victories to his credit need confidence. But the balance of the team needs to continue to work hard and trust their games and the confidence will come!

Now its 6am and my actual work responsibilities are complete so a Nap sounds good.

Still to come – Greg Talley and his bushel of photos 📷 from across the afternoon, the actual Girls 👧 Gamer ➕ all of the Boys 👦 Basketball coverage.

The first thing one notices when the Pulaski County Junior Varsity team takes the floor is that they have multiple players with Varsity size. The Cavaliers squad is led by smaller, quicker players like Dane Leonard and Blake Reed so it makes for a long game of basketball 🏀 for Jason Stockner and Ryan Largen to coach in.

The good news was the team returned to full strength as Hayden Jackson returned from a two game absence due to an injury. The disappointing news was the team fell behind 20-4 to start the game and simply couldn’t dig themselves out of the deep hole in falling 57-31.

There were moments where the Cavaliers were able to compete in spurts and one stretch where they looked dominant. Trailing early in the third quarter 35-11 the duo of Leonard and Colton Gravely put together an 8-0 run 🏃‍♂️.

The duo would end up with 26 of the teams 31 points as Leonard netted 15 and Gravely added 11 points. Reed finished with four points and Landon Phillips accounted for the final one.

Credit to the team for continuing to compete as hard as they did after falling behind by 16 points so quickly and Kudos to Leonard for playing hard nosed basketball 🏀 all the way to the end as 10 of his 15 came after the break. Gravely scored nine of his 11 after halftime, including the teams only made three pointer.

Fortunately the Cavaliers can put the Cougars in their rear view mirror and it will be surprising if the team faces as difficult of a size match up the rest of the way

. Assistant Coach Ryan Largen spoke before the game about the effort he received from the team during their Friday practice. The effort was there Saturday but there was simply to much size to overcome.

The train 🚆 rolls on with the two Varsity recaps still to follow.

Total points scored during the four games on Saturday – Pulaski County 207, Carroll County 196….