DECEMBER BOYS BASKETBALL ATHLETE OF THE MONTHThe Vinnie Mac Sports Corner has started a Boys Basketball Athlete of the Month feature. Jared Wilson is the December (and the first) Athlete of the Month for Falcon High. Jared is 17 years old and a junior at Falcon High. He is the son of John and Tracy Wilson and has one older brother, John Jr. Jared has participated in basketball all three years at Falcon, as a second year varsity player and a first year starter. He is currently the team leader in scoring, averaging more than 18 points per game; and he’s an outstanding defender and rebounder. Jared is among the team leaders in steals and assists and is not only a good all-around player but also a great team player. Jared is equally as good in the classroom as he is on the basketball floor. As his father said when I spoke with him, “Jared just wants to win.”JANUARY BOYS BASKETBALL ATHLETE OF THE MONTHPaul Rotering is the Falcon January Basketball Athlete of the Month. He is the son of Teresa Rotering and the brother of Chris, age 21, and Anneliese, age 19. At 17, Paul has been playing basketball four years. He started for the varsity the second semester of last season when the Falcons had a great run during the second half of their season. Although this year he missed a couple of weeks because he was still playing football, he made good progress on the court when he finally arrived. Paul plans to attend Colorado State University Pueblo next year to play football and plans to walk on in basketball. Good luck, Paul.
FALCONS AT WIDEFIELDJan. 9BOX SCORE:
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Falcon: | 8 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 37 |
| Widefield: | 10 | 14 | 8 | 17 | 51 |
There were no presents left under the Christmas tree for the Falcon boys’ basketball team Jan. 9 when they lost the first of six games that were played in 14 days. The boys traveled to Widefield and took on a good Gladiator ball club – a club that made it into the first round of the playoffs last year. This game was more difficult because Widefield led 2- 0 before the clock even started. A starting lineup mix up in the scorebook landed the Falcons with a technical foul. Widefield promptly sank both charity tosses and got the ball out of bounds.From there, it was all downhill. Although the Falcons never gave up, they trailed most of the game by double figures. Widefield put all five of their starters from last year on the floor and ran a press that seemed to give the Falcons a tough time. The Falcons had a hard time working the ball down under on offense and got very few second shots. They did much better on the defensive end of the floor, with Paul Rotering showing his strength and rebounding ability by pulling down 10 rebounds. Jared Wilson did his usual job on offense by scoring 20. Kalen Link had a good night with 8 points and 14 much needed rebounds.
FALCONS AT HARRISONJan. 12BOX SCORE:
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Falcon: | 11 | 18 | 15 | 22 | 66 |
| Harrison: | 13 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 49 |
It wasn’t pretty at times, but the Falcons showed a lot of fortitude and hustle to put a “w” in that column at nights end. It seemed like whenever the Falcons got on a roll, turnovers got in their way and kept Harrison in the game until the fourth quarter when they outscored Harrison by 10 points. Jared Wilson again led the offensive by scoring 25, including 9 for 12 at the free throw line. Paul Rotering had 11 points to go with his game high rebounds of 13. He showed a lot of muscle underneath and battled for his rebounds even though he fouled out with less than four minutes left in the game. Kalen Link and Wilson both stepped up and finished with 10 and 13 rebounds for the game. Three of the juniors, Marcus LeVicchi, Kendall Godley and Link, and senior Ryan Wusk made a good contribution in the scoring column. Link put down one of his patented monster dunks to end the game.This is what it will take if the Falcons are going to be successful this year – more balanced scoring and fewer turnovers.
CASTLE VIEW AT FALCONJan. 14BOX SCORE:
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Falcon: | 13 | 4 | 12 | 18 | 47 |
| Castle View: | 7 | 9 | 21 | 13 | 50 |
Missed opportunities: It happened at the Falcon gymnasium Thursday night. The Falcons caught a hot-shooting Castle View team where just about everything they put up went in, though not a lot of shots were taken. Four things that I think contributed to the Falcons coming up short: going against a team that made eight 3-point shots, including a howitzer from half-court that came at the end of the third quarter, the inability to convert more of their free throws (10 for 22), turnovers (22) and missed layups. At one point in the fourth quarter, the Falcons turned the ball over on five straight trips down the floor, without putting up a shot when they were only trailing by 4 points. The one good thing was the fact that Castle View only made 2 points during that time. The Falcons had several chances to win the game but could not take advantage of the opportunities Castle View gave them. Although there were, I thought, some questionable calls from the officials, those calls did not make a difference in the outcome of a game that probably could have been won. Jared Wilson had game high scoring honors with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Ryan Wusk pumped in 10 points to go with his game high eight rebounds. Paul Rotering had 9 points; Kalen Link had a good rebounding night with 6, while Josh Sumrall and Marcus LeVicchi each had a couple of rebounds.
CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN AT FALCONJan. 15BOX SCORE:
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | OT | Final |
| Falcon | 14 | 9 | 11 | 21 | 8 | 63 |
| Cheyenne Mountain | 9 | 13 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 67 |
Exciting but not pretty: This game didn’t hold my attention, as frustrating as it was at times, but still it was a good game to watch. Paul Rotering stepped up offensively by scoring 22 points – he had 7 of Falcon’s first 9, but he fell short on his rebounding by only pulling down five. He is a better rebounder than he showed during this game. Jared Wilson was in double figures in scoring, with 14, including 9 for 12 at the charity line. Ryan Wusk had a pretty good game by scoring 11 and hauling down seven big rebounds.Also scoring in double figures was Kalen Link, with 10 points and four rebounds. As a team, the Falcons shot 42 percent from the field and 68 percent from the free throw line. These figures are low for the middle of the season.The killer is the turnover factor. The Falcons have not taken good care of the basketball in some of their games. I realize that this year’s club is young, but they are capable of doing a better job on offense – in scoring, rebounding on their end of the floor – and those terrible turnovers. They had 25 turnovers against Cheyenne Mountain.With about a minute and 24 seconds left on the clock, Cheyenne Mountain was up by 7, but some hot shooting by Paul Rotering quickly cut into their lead. He made 5 points in two quick trips down the floor. Falcon managed to tie the score with about eight seconds left in regulation time but could not hold on to win the game in overtime. They were outscored 12 to 8.
FALCON AT LEWIS PALMERJan. 21BOX SCORE:
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Falcon: | 11 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 45 |
| Cheyenne Mountain: | 15 | 13 | 17 | 15 | 60 |
This game was for the most part better than the final score showed. I asked Coach Ravasdy after the first four games of the season about the strongest conference teams. He said at the time that Lewis Palmer and Sierra looked like the teams to beat. Nothing so far has shown me any different. The game on Jan. 21 against Lewis Palmer was good, although Lewis Palmer won by 15. Against a team that had quickness, power and size under both baskets and six or seven players who could shoot the ball with consistency, the Falcons showed they could play at least three good quarters of ball.They didn’t make so many turnovers. As the box score indicates, Lewis Palmer was only up by 7 at halftime, but the third quarter killed any chance the Falcons had to change the outcome. Junior Kendall Godley had his best offensive showing of the year by scoring a season high 15 points on five out of eight field goals, a 3 pointer, two out of three free throws and two assists. But he’s too experienced to have so many turnovers. Lewis Palmer must have scouted Jared Wilson, as he was held in check for most of the game but still managed 10 points. Paul Rotering had 8 points, battled for his seven rebounds and had one assist Kalen Link had 6 points and six rebounds. I felt the rebounding was much better this game as more Falcon players became involved, even against more height on Lewis Palmer’s part. Their tall boy, 6 foot 8 inches 198-lb. sophomore Josh Scott, was a force to be reckoned with. He dominated the third quarter. Falcon seniors Dylan Hamilton, John Herman and Zack Franklin each had a couple of points to go with their one rebound a piece.
SIERRA AT FALCONJan. 23BOX SCORE:
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
| Falcon: | 6 | 7 | 12 | 18 | 43 |
| Sierra: | 15 | 18 | 23 | 16 | 72 |
After attending the Falcon/Sierra game Jan. 23, I believe Coach Ravasdy was right-on about Sierra being one of the conference powers this season. They have the whole package: a starting lineup that averages over 6 feet four inches and the ability to dribble, shoot the 3, dunk without a problem and play a good full-court press. They were the superior club the night I saw them. However, the Falcon club was without two of their starting five. Paul Rotering was out with a deep thigh bruise he got in the Lewis Palmer game, and Kendall Godley didn’t suit up as well.The turnovers and missed layups hurt the Falcons but probably would not have made a difference in the outcome of this game. The Falcon boys never gave up during this game, which proved to me that they are not losers.It has been a tough January for the Falcons. By the time you read this column, there will only be two home games left this season – Feb. 9 against Widefield and Feb. 11 against Harrison. The remaining schedule four games are away. Then, playoffs begin on Feb. 23 and Falcon will host the first of the games. If you want to see your Falcons in action at home, mark the above dates on your calendar and come out and support them.
This column does not necessarily represent the views of The New Falcon Herald.
