Football is a distant but pleasant memory, and it’s time to gear up for another season of Falcon basketball. First, here’s a short introduction to the head basketball coach, Doug Ravasdy. Doug came to Falcon three years ago and, including his time at Falcon, he’s been a basketball coach for 16 years. Doug and Allison, his wife of almost 15 years have two children – Jack, 11, and Megan, 9. Both children like the game and enjoy going to most of the home games with their mother.Dec. 1Falcon 56 Palmer 70Going into the first game of the 2010-2011 season at Palmer High School, Coach Ravasdy knew they were going to have their hands full, as Palmer is one of the top powers in the state in 5-A. The Falcons had a slow start in the first quarter, down by 19-6. The Falcons won the second quarter but could not hold on, and Palmer broke away in the final period. Kalen Link had a double/double by scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Jared Wilson dumped in 13 points. Coach Ravasdy thought Falcon might have hung in a little better had they not been down by 13 starting the second quarter.Dec. 2Falcon 52 Pueblo South 50Pike Tip Off TournamentThe second game of the season was against Pueblo South in the Pike Tip Off tourney. This is always a fun tourney to start the season. It gets the boys pumped and shows the coaches just what is out there. The Falcons again started off slow but managed to win all four quarters and the game by 2 points. Jared Wilson, the returning M.V.P. from last year, hit a high of 20 points and Kalen Link popped in 11. These two athletes were the only ones in double figures.Dec. 3Falcon 37 Pueblo County 34The third game of the Pike Tip Off tourney was the consolation game against Pueblo County. After starting out slow again, which is a pattern the Falcons have fallen into, they managed to pull out a 3-point win: 37-34. The offense struggled in this game; shots were not falling in; mental errors were a problem; but the defense played with a lot of intensity and poise. They held this game together. Kalen Link scored 12 points, while Kendall Godley had 11. The “Big 3” on the Falcons’ team – Kalen Link, Jared Wilson and Kendall Godley – should be able to score in double figures in every game. For this early in the season, they already do a good job on defense.Dec. 9Falcon 69 Doherty 80Doherty is always a tough place to play. Besides having good athletes, the crowd always plays a large part in their success. Starting out slow again did not help the Falcon cause. They were down by 10 at the end of the first quarter but came back a little, cutting Doherty’s lead to 7 at halftime. Midway through the third quarter the Falcons had cut the Doherty Spartans’ lead to 4, but that was as close as they came before Doherty rallied to pull away in the fourth quarter.Kalen Link led the Falcons in scoring with 24 points and 14 rebounds. He was easily the M.V.P. of the game. Jared Wilson followed with 15 points. Kendall Godley had 13. Nick Lenhard was the other double scorer by putting down 12 points, all on 3-pointers.Coach Ravasdy thinks Doherty is a team the Falcons can beat; they just have to find out how to play more consistently. If the coach can get the “Big 3” to play up to their potential at the same time, the Falcons should be a force to contend with. Coming into the season Ravasdy felt the Falcons could be in the top three in the league and definitely in the top 10 or top 12 in the state. He feels they will have a pretty good team if all goes well and everyone plays at the level of which they are capable. Maybe there will be the first conference championship trophy in more than 20 years, allowing a deep run at state.This column does not necessarily represent the views of The New Falcon Herald.
