D 49 boys basketballFor high school sports fans, March means tournament time for basketball and the beginning of baseball season. The Falcon High School boysí basketball team was lucky enough to make the playoffs, but didnít go far, losing Feb. 28 to Sierra High School (Colorado Springs) 60-44. The Sand Creek boys b-ball team had a similar experience when they made the playoffs. On March 27, they squared off against Mesa Ridge (Springs) and triumphed with a 66-57 victory. The next day, they played Valor Christian. Junior Jordan Phillips scored 25 points, and senior Barrett Bingham scored 17 points. However, no other player on the team managed to score more than 8 points, leading to a 75-60 loss, crushing their tournament dreams. Vista Ridge High School did not make the basketball playoffs this year.Girlsí basketballOn the girls side, Falcon High School managed to claw their way into the playoffs with an 11-11 record. However, because of this record, they played the No. 1 seed, Canyon City ó a team that came into the game undefeated. The Falcons were able to match up well in the first half, and had a 3-point lead at halftime. The Tigers then took control in the second half, and outscored the Falcons by 12 to win 50-41. Vista Ridge High School, with a 6-17 record, did not make the playoffs.The Sand Creek Scorpions made the playoffs and took advantage of the opportunity. Their first game took place March 27 against Elizabeth. Junior Liah Davis led the way with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Oliana Squires also chipped in with 20 points and seven assists. The next day, they traveled to Longmont for a game against Mead High School. Oliana Squires and Liah Davis once again had big scoring outputs, but freshman Conner Procter really produced. She scored 19 points, 12 from the 3-point range ó leading the team to a 65-48 win. The next game would not be as easy. On March 6 they played No. 1-ranked DíEvelyn (Lakewood) in the ìgreat eightî round. The Scorpions took an early lead, going 35-26 into halftime. The Jaguars came roaring back the second half to take a 2 point lead into the final quarter. Sand Creek would not let up and took the win in thrilling fashion, 59-56, to advance to the final four in Boulder. On March 12, Sand Creek took on a tough Longmont team, looking to complete their fourth straight upset. Longmont received a huge output from junior Sydney Wetterstrom, who scored 19 points. But the Scorpionís stiff defense was able to hold the rest of the Longmont team to 3 or fewer points, which led to a 59-31 blowout ó and sent Sand Creek to the championship game against Valor Christian.This game promised to be difficult for Sand Creek, as Valor Christian had outscored their opponents by an average of 38 points per game during the tournament. Valor Christian simply outplayed the Scorpions in this game, with the Eagles taking the championship, 73-47. The Scorpions were disappointed, but on the bright side Sand Creek was the first D 49 team (including the boys team) to reach the basketball championship game.D 49 baseballFalconís baseball season began March 10 against Pueblo Centennial. Senior Ben McDowell came through in a big way with three RBIs on 3-4 at the plate, leading to a 12-3 win for the Falcons. Their next game took place March 16 against Rampart. This game went the distance, and it still wasnít enough as the two teams were tied at 8 at the end of regulation. In the eighth inning, the Falcons exploded for five runs to take the 13-8 lead. They then held Rampart scoreless to win the game in extra innings. Their third game was against Lewis-Palmer. The Falcon defense did not have their best game in this contest, allowing the Mustangs 11 runs, which amounted to an11-6 loss; and dropped their record to 2-1.Vista Ridge played their first game against Fountain-Fort Carson. Senior David Roybal threw four innings and only allowed one run to earn the win by12-5. They handily won their next game 13-3 against Liberty. On March 17, they played Palmer Ridge. Roybal also had another productive day. He pitched five 2-3 innings and allowed only two runs. With the 6-3 win, the Wolves improved to 3-0. The streak would end here. They lost their next two games to Palmer Ridge and North Canyon (Phoenix), respectively.Sand Creek started their season with a 19-6 blowout loss to Pueblo Centennial. They followed up with another dismal performance against DíEvelyn, losing 21-2. The next two games were similar, with a 16-1 loss against Air academy, and a12-1 loss to Fountain-Fort Carson.Bowling team among best in ColoradoAlso in March, the Falcon High School bowling team took fifth place overall in the state of Colorado. Coach Mike Cook answered questions regarding his team.NFH: Some of our readers may not be too familiar with this team. How old is the program?Cook: The bowling team is eight years old. the high school bowling program is eight years oldNFH: When does your season start?Cook: Our practice starts the first week of October, with competition starting the first week in November, going through the end of January.NFH: How did you become the coach of this team?Cook: The other coaches and I got involved when our high school students decided to join the team, so about six years. All of us have been coaching junior bowlers for at least the last 15 years.NFH: The team had a terrific season as a whole this year. What was different this year from previous years?Cook: This year was a little different, as we started out with two teams, but due to illnesses, classes, etc.; we had to combine the teams to one seven weeks into the season. Hard to say if this was the turning point or not, but it seemed to bring the bowlers together as a team. Overall though, we have always had teams that work together, but like any sport, you have to have a bit of lady luck on your side.NFH: How does someone become part of the team?Cook: We don’t really have tryouts Ö we have a roll off the last week before the beginning of competition to determine who is on the varsity team and who is on the JV (junior varsity) team. Falcon High School and the athletic director allow the high school students to letter in bowling, so. if you are on the varsity team, you automatically letter (if the JV team makes state, they also letter). What we also do is during the 10 weeks of competition is allow somebody on the JV team to challenge somebody on the varsity team if their average is within 10 pins of a varsity team member, for the varsity spot.
