Grant Dedmon has never played football in his career at Hartville (Hartville doesn't have a football program) but don't tell Brett Reed that.
Dedmon put a hit on Reed that would have made Vontaze Burfict shiver, giving his head coach a hug as he exited the court for the final time in an Eagle uniform during the waning moments of Hartville's 64-37 win over Iberia in Saturday's Class 2 MSHSAA state championship at Mizzou Arena.
Neither player or coach minded the collision. For both, Saturday was a long time coming.
“There were a lot of tears shed,” said Dedmon. “We’ve been waiting on this for a long, long time and to finally get it… when he took us out it all set in. It was all just setting in and to finally be able to grab ahold of coach and squeeze him as tight as I could to celebrate. I’ve dreamed of it my entire life. And to have to finally have a state championship I’m just ready to get back to town and show everyone and have a celebration.”
A rematch with No. 5 Iberia presented its challenges on paper because of 6-foot-10 center Dexter Frisbie (20.5 PPG, 9.7 RPG) and 6-foot-7 point forward Riley Halley (22.1 PPG, 8 RPG).
But, much like the first meeting, a 69-45 Hartville win on Feb. 6, the Eagles defensive and quickness proved too much for Iberia to handle.
The Rangers finished with more turnovers (17) than field goals (14), while Frisbie and Halley combined for just 28 points and 13.
“Our ball pressure was important with Frisbie and Halley underneath the only chance we had with our lack of size was to get out and pressure the ball,” said Coach Reed. “The guys did a great job of getting deflections and in our presses too of just wearing on them and getting after it.”
On a night that Hartville struggled to shoot it from the field, the Eagles made up for it by getting to the free throw line consistently.
Hartville nearly set a state record by going 35-for-42 from the line; the fourth most in Show-Me Showdown history. Senior Ryan Ward went 9-for-9, part of his team-high 15 points, while Dune Piper was a perfect 7-for-7 and Dedmon went 9-for-11.
Dedmon's 21 free throw attempts in the Final Four is tied for the eighth highest total in Show-Me Showdown history.
After primarily playing zone the first time around, Iberia decided to play a hybrid defense on Saturday, going man but having Frisbie guard the 5-foot-9 Piper.
Frisbie was essentially playing a one-man zone, but Piper's ability to slash got him to the foul line and opened up shots early for other Eagles, leading to a 3-for-6 performance from deep in the first quarter, two of which came from Deric Jones.
“I would love to have him as my point guard because he’s so smart,” said Scholfield of Piper. “It doesn’t matter if he can’t shoot, he has so much to do in a game without scoring and makes a huge difference for that team.”
Hartville led 26-13 at the half, but used an 11-4 run to start the third quarter, capped by a conventional 3-point play from junior Jace Keith, to open up a 37-17 lead. The Eagles never trailed and outrebounded Iberia 31-28 in the most dominant state championship performance of the weekend.
The loss for Iberia ends an era that has seen the Rangers win more than 100 games over the last four years including a pair of state runner-up finishes.
For Coach Scholfield, it's not about the wins, or losses, but about the time spent with the group.
“It’s not the loss so much; it’s just not that we’re not together again,” said Scholfield. “This been a special group, they’ve even fooled some people into thinking that I can coach. This has been a great ride. It was a goal this season to come back and this is going to go down as one of the best senior groups to ever come through with 110 games and there are not a lot of classes that can say that.”
The win also caps the best season in Hartville history, with the Eagles winning 19 consecutive games to end the season; only Stanberry will enter the 2016-17 season with a longer winning streak. Hartville also went a perfect 18-0 against Class 2 opponents and has held the state’s No. 1 ranking since Dec. 9.
And, if that’s not enough, the Eagles losses came against Class 5 Nixa (23-6), Class 5 Republic (21-7), Class 3 Strafford (20-7) and Class 4 St. Joseph’s Lafayette (27-3; will play in next week’s Final Four). Hartville wasn’t just good for its class, but competitive at a state level regardless of class.
Grant Dedmon, a four-year letterman, ends his career with not only the first ever state-title in program history, but a record of 103-15 and more than 1,000 career points. Classmate Ryan Ward, a newcomer from Newburg, ends his career with more than 2,000 points and after going 0-6 against Iberia while at Newburg, Ward was 2-0 against his former Frisco League rival.
The run not only solidifies Hartville’s program and establishes the Eagles as a contender again next year with starters Dune Piper, Deric Jones and Jace Keith returning, but also gives Reed some bragging rights around his house.
Finally, Maggie Reed (Arnall) is not the only one in the house with some bling.
“My life at home is going to be so much easier, so much better,” said a smiling Reed. “Now she won’t get to tell me to rub her ring for luck because I’ll have my own.”
Hartville 64, Iberia 37
Iberia 4-9-9-15 – 37
Hartville 14-12-15-23 – 64
Iberia (28-5) – R. Halley 17, Dex. Frisbie 11, C. Halley 3, Mason 2, Roark 2, Bloodgood 2.
Hartville (29-4) – R. Ward 15, Dedmon 13, Piper 11, Jones 10, W. Ward 8, J. Keith 5, Meyer 2.
