All-State and McClouds position

themselves for a championship bid

by Mark Butcher

Sports Writer

Sound Life Church (1-1) stepped onto the court at Sheridan Park for their 6 p.m. game against McClouds (1-1) Thursday (Oct. 25^th) night without their Parks & Rec Men’s League veteran and captain Danny Boussard, who averages 15 points per game, and didn’t do well.

Scoring just 20 points in the first half and 19 in the second, they were never in contention and fell 57-to-39 to McClouds. Justin Krauats led the team with eight points, as Sound Life’s record dropped to 1 & 2 and put them out of contention for the Div. II league championship in three weeks.

McClouds (2-1), on the other hand, put themselves back into contention with the 18-point win. Brian Driskell hit a game-high three three-point shots but it was Drew Vettleson who led the team in scoring with 17 points. Seven of D. Vettleson’s points came at the free throw line. Dad, Jerry Vettleson, the only other double-digit scorer in the game, followed with 10.

The victory puts McClouds in a two-way tie with All-State (2-1), who won the late game Thursday night, for 2^nd place. But McClouds does not have an easy schedule the final two weeks of the season.

Next week (Thurs. - Nov. 1^st), they face-off against an awakening Casey’s Bail Co. (1-2) team. Casey’s is averaging 60.7 points per game, two more than McClouds’ (58.0). Plus, Casey’s has added a couple new long-range scorers to their roster, Maurice Modestin and Jensen Bumanglag.

The final game of the regular season (Thur. - Nov. 8^th) league-leading Boat Shed (3-0) is McClouds opponent.

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In the middle contest Thursday night, Div. I Admirals Rec (2-1) also put themselves back into contention with a 63-to-56 win over previously undefeated Unguardable (2-1). The win coincided with Central Kitsap standout Luke Henne’s first appearance of the season and the addition of Navy veteran Marquis Blevins.  Together, Henne (10) and Blevins (9) contributed for 19 points of Admirals Rec 63 points.

For the second week in a row, Lance Dardor lead the Admirals in scoring, with 16 points. Combined with his 21 points last week, he is averaging 18.5 points per game. Quinton Bright (13) and Josh Mathews (12) were the team’s other double-digit scorers.

Down the stretch, Admirals Rec have the challenge of first holding of Casey’s Under Dogs (1-2), next Tuesday (Oct. 30^th), and then attempting to deflate a confident O.R.N. (3-0) team the following Thursday (Nov. 8^th). A game which may be the prelude to the league championship game. We shall see.

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Don’t count Casey’s Bail Co. (1-2) out, even though they lost Thursday night, 62-to-55, with just two regular season games remaining. Div. I transfer, Maurice Modestin, scored a team-high 21-points and twins Antrel and Dontiel Madison controlled the team’s inside game, with 16 and 11 points respectively. All three factors are the reason Casey’s is a dangerous team in the final weeks of the regular season.

So, why didn’t Casey’s win. Well, because All-State’s Ulysses Williams IV put 18 points in the scorebook from behind the three-point arc and an addition 12 points in the paint. Combined with his four free throw points, Williams recorded a league-high 34 points. Jeffrey Perry was the only other All-State double-digit scorer, with 10 points.

“The game was at a pace that fits my style,” Williams stated after the game. “My teammates told me to just keep shooting and I felt comfortable anywhere on the floor.”

The win was All-State’s second of the season and moved them up into 2^nd place. Next week (Thur., Nov 1^st) they will find out if they are championship material as they lace-them-up against undefeated Boat Shed (3-0) in the early game (6 p.m.). Then, close out the regular season against Honey Badgers (0-3) on Wednesday, Nov. 7^th.

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