By Amanda Perkins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Logan-Rogersville Wildcats are state champions for the first time in 44 years.
Taking on the Clayton Greyhounds in the Class 4 championship at Mizzou Arena Friday, the Wildcats took an early lead and never looked back, finishing 72-36.
“Once again, our guys played inside-out, our guys shot it well again,” said Wildcats head coach John Schaefer. “That’s been kind of the story all year. It’s kind of why this team’s good, because you have inside-out game, you’ve got bigs that can score, you’ve got length, you’ve got good ball handling, so you’ve got pretty much the keys that you need. That’s why they’re having this success right now, and they are state champions.”
While the Greyhounds limited Chase Branham to three field goals in the first half, Titus Moore went off under the basket, scoring 18 points.
“Not a lot of people have been able to match up with him throughout the year,” said Coach Schaefer on Titus. “He’s gotten a lot better, he’s a problem. That’s just how he is. He can handle it and he’s big and he loves to hear that, too. We wanted to go in and attack in the post…we wanted to be physical in there and make them guard, I thought that’s where we could get some easy baskets, that they couldn’t foul us. Those guys that are guarding in that area, if they get in foul trouble, they’re going to struggle to score…they weren’t interested in fouling or being that physical around the rim early, so we thought we could go there, so we did.”
Titus said his goal was to do whatever he could for his team. “I just wanted to…give it everything I had for these seniors and for this team,” he said. “I love this team to death, man. All the hard work really paid off.”
In the first half, Sutton Shook was just getting started with two buckets and two from downtown, and Jack Sutherland also contributed three field goals and one from behind the arc for seven.
After leading 23-12 at the end of the first quarter, Logan-Rogersville went on a 12-0 run in the second frame to further separate themselves, closing the first half with a 42-21 lead.
“I thought we did exactly what we wanted to do in the first half defensively,” said Coach Schaefer. “The two guys they’ve got are solid scorers and their point totals throughout the year have been really high, and we just wanted to focus on them. I thought our guys did a good job of that, I thought we were a little flat to start, just from a lot of energy and emotion last night, and we kind of red-faced early and were breathing hard, and so once we settled in and got locked in we started to separate and get some stops that we needed to get. (The lead at the half), I felt like that was a testament of our defense and what we really wanted to do against them.”
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“The main thing is coming together,” said Chase Branham about the team’s second quarter run.
“We came in and played defense, just steals, I think that’s what we did, and we got rebounds, pushed in transition, and found one another. I think really coming together and realizing we can separate and come out on top.”
The Wildcats limited the Greyhounds to just 8 points in the third and added 17 of their own, including a three–point buzzer beater from Kade Sturdefant to further energize the crowd.
Jack Sutherland opened the fourth with another connection from downtown, and Sutton Shook soon followed with two triples to further widen the scoring gap.
“If you think about that game, we had a lot of our guys on the bench through the third,” said Coach Schaefer. “You’ve got a 20-plus point lead, pushing thirty, and trying to keep them out of foul trouble. And we just went back to just say, let’s take care of it, let’s run some clock, let’s get to the fourth quarter, this is a big game….it goes back just to a testament of their defense. If you hold people to low totals, you don’t have to score that much. It’s not rocket science. We spent a lot of time on trying to figure that out, and what we can do to the other team to…make their life miserable on the offensive end.”
Three seniors played their final game of their high school careers tonight: Sutton Shook, Marcus Moore, and Beau Watts.
“It’s been very special,” said Shook. “These guys are all my best friends. One common goal and we got it done. So it really hasn’t settled in yet, but I’m sure it will soon. I try to cherish these moments as much as possible while still being hard-nosed and play the game well, but we got it done.”
“I thought it was a very special way to end the season, especially as a senior,” said Beau. “Everybody wants to win a state championship, so it’s a great way to go out as a Wildcat.”
“It was a great season,” said Marcus. “I loved playing with my guys. It’s just a great feeling…it’s a great way to cap out the season.”
Marcus and Titus Moore also played their final game as high school teammates.
“It’s a great feeling to be able to play with Titus,” said Marcus. “Not many people get to do that, the chance to be able to play with their family. And it’s a great opportunity because we have a great chemistry, and it shows.”
Coach Schaefer said his team has worked to keep Logan-Rogersville’s basketball legacy going strong.
“It started a while back, and they just kept passing the torch,” he said. “The guys that played before them kind of taught them a little bit. I had to have Scott Metz come back and teach them how to wall up…it’s a little bit of a fraternity, and you know, that’s what creates a program. But Rog has always had a nice tradition of basketball, and so we’re just trying to keep it going.”
One way the Wildcats have improved their game is through their strength of schedule.
“I think the main thing is the speed of the game,” said Chase Branham on playing tough competitors. “You play against those guys that are the top recruits in the country and have all the highly talented stars and all that, but I feel like the main thing is the physicality, whenever you play against Paul VI, Wheeler…even Chaminade…I feel like it just prepares you for these type of games, playing the four quarters, the full game. I think those are the main things that kind of helped us going into the Final Four.”
This isn’t Coach Schaefer’s first state championship, as he led Hillcrest to a state title in 2010, but he became emotional while speaking about this group of Wildcats.
“This one means a lot because these guys are pretty special,” he said. “They feel more, probably, like sons, because I’m older. So I’m probably turning into the grandpa. And I baby them, and they think I’m hard, but I’m not near as hard as I was on guys at Hillcrest and Dadeville and different places. They’ll just call me soft here later, but it’s fine…no, it’s a great group, they are a fun group that likes each other, and they’ve just been special. I’ve not had a group through my season that has had the point total wins and just the separation of really good teams and just being able to dominate people the way they have…so I would say that this group is pretty special.”
The Wildcats end their season with a 29-3 record.
Scoring: Titus Moore, 20; Sutton Shook, 16; Chase Branham, 15; Jack Sutherland, 10; Marcus Moore, 6; Kade Sturdefant, 3; Beau Watts, 2.
