winter sports – pentwater, mc eastern, manistee catholic central

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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Your guide to Pentwater’s, Mason County Eastern’s and Manistee Catholic Central's upcoming sports seasons, featuring stories, team photos and schedules

Ludington Daily News • Thursday, December 5, 2013

2 | LUDINGTON DAILY NEWS/SPORTS TAB | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013www.ludingtondailynews.com

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BY DAVID BOSSICKDAILY NEWS SPORTS EDITOR

CUSTER — Sacrifice for the sake of the team.

That’s what Ed Knizacky will be bringing to Mason County Eastern’s team as the Cardinals are shooting for improving on an 8-13 mark overall a season ago and 6-10 in the Western Michi-gan D League.

Knizacky takes over for Steve Hull, who coached three seasons for Eastern. And he takes over with a whole lot of muscle on the team. Beyond senior center Jimmy Appledorn, it’ll be tough for the Cardinals’ op-ponents to push around the likes of Travis McCormick, Justice Gilchrist and Clifford Lawson.

“I’m going to definitely work to my strength, which is the inside game. If they double-down on that, with these offensive plays I’ve im-plemented, . . . they can kick the ball out to Clifford Law-son or Justice Gilchrist or Hunter Hofmann.”

While Eastern can go toe-to-toe with anyone pound-for-pound, what the Car-dinals began the season looking for was a point guard. Sort of. Knizacky be-gan looking through differ-ent ways of implementing all five players on the floor without necessarily having a true point guard.

“I went online and found some plays where there re-ally isn’t a point guard,” he said. “There’s a lot of pick-and-rolls and movement. Yeah, it starts out looking like there’s a point guard. But two or three players can run the same position.

“The only one that is se-cure is Jimmy Appledorn,” Knizacky said with a smile.

The team initially didn’t

grasp when he was trying to implement, but it’s taken hold now. It’s taken hold for a team of solid big men and good spot-up shooters.

Eastern’s roster:

SENIORS: Justice Gilchrist, Mi-chael Matzen, Hunter Spencer, Hunter Hofmann and Jimmy Appledorn

JUNIORS: Jonathan Stew-art, Travis McCormick, Ian Rutledge, Cody Smith, Clifford Lawson, Josh Verhoeven and Frank D’Asaro.

What Eastern doesn’t have, it seems, is that player that can slash his way to the basket. Knizacky is OK with that, too.

“In these plays I have, they’re set plays,” he said. “They’re a lot of screens and back-door cuts and double-picks. I’m back in the old style of thinking. I don’t like this one-on-five stuff. That’s what a slasher is, where they penetrate and kick it back out.

“To me, when they run that kind of offense, the other four people relax into

nothing. My style is that ev-erybody should be ready to shoot the ball. If they’re not, that’s their fault. With these plays, I’ve got five or six op-tions to shoot the ball.”

His goal for this season is to get Eastern into the top of the WMD this season. He rec-ognizes Baldwin and Breth-ren as two of the top teams.

“Onekama (junior varsi-ty) gave us fits. They beat us twice,” Knizacky said. “Bald-win, you never know what happens with Baldwin. I think we’re at least in the top three or four. If everything goes right, I think we could be at the top.”

At the same time, he’s one of several new coaches in the league, when factoring in Brethren and Manistee Cath-olic. What kind of advantage is there, if any, to Knizacky

and the Cardinals?“It could benefit us quite a

bit. I’ve been out of the cir-cus, if you want to call it, now for 10 years,” Knizacky said, referencing his last var-sity job overseeing Free Soil.

“A lot of the older coaches who are here know who I am. Those new coaches, they don’t know who I am, so they don’t know who I am. It may help us the first time around (through the conference).

“I don’t know them, either. . . It’s going to be entertain-ing to see the (work) between the two coaches to see who can make the right decision at the right time.”

Mason County Eastern boys basketball

Cardinals to use muscle this year

JEFF KIESSEL | DAILY NEWSMembers of the 2013-14 Mason County Eastern varsity boys basketball team are, front row, from left: Travis McCormick, Josh Verhoeven, Frank D’Asaro, Jonathan Stewart, Hunter Hofmann, Cody Smith and Ian Rutledge; back row, Hunter Spencer, Clifford Lawson, Jimmy Appledorn, Justice Gilchrist, Michael Matzen and coach Ed Knizacky.

Dec. 10 McBain NMCDec. 12 BR CrossroadsDec. 17 at BrethrenDec. 19 at BaldwinJan. 7 at Bear LakeJan. 9 PentwaterJan. 14 at WalkervilleJan. 16 at Fruitport CalvaryJan. 22 Manistee CatholicJan. 24 OnekamaJan. 29 at Manistee CatholicJan. 31 at BR CrossroadsFeb. 5 BrethrenFeb. 10 BaldwinFeb. 12 Bear LakeFeb. 14 at PentwaterFeb. 19 WalkervilleFeb. 25 at HartFeb. 27 at Onekama

2013-14 SCHEDULE |FOR MCE BOYS BASKETBALL

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013 | LUDINGTON DAILY NEWS/SPORTS TAB | 3www.ludingtondailynews.com

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CUSTER — Mason County Eastern will have full bowl-ing teams for both the boys and girls team this season and both teams will have a nice mix of bowlers with ex-perience and without.

Both teams will be coached this winter by Diane Hart-ley, who oversaw the girls program last season. Kevin Stark coached the boys last year.

The boys team, which was co-ed because of low num-bers, has a blend of three se-niors, a junior and two fresh-men.

The boys roster:

SENIORS: Sid Mickevich, Ron Tyndall, Devon Harvey.

JUNIOR: Brent Swan.FRESHMEN: Daniel Busch, Zach

Jensen.

“Sid, Ron and Devin are helping the freshmen that we have. They’re each tak-ing one on and they’re men-toring them,” Hartley said. “They all get along. It’s nice.”

The girls team returns with two bowlers from last season, Sarah Hartley and Hannah Smakal.

The girls team also adds in a handful of freshmen to

balance out the roster.The girls roster:

JUNIORS: Sarah Hartley and Hannah Smakal.

FRESHMEN: Casey Mickevich, Katrina Hinzman and Zeressa Craig.

The numbers for the pro-gram are a bit up because of fundraisers to help defray the costs of joining the team. The typical fee for joining the team is $125 per person, Diane Hartley said, and the money raised helped to lower the cost per person to $75.

“We had different people donate to the bowling pro-gram,” she said. “It’s a pay-to-play program. We were able to drop the cost of bowl-ing through donations. We sold decals for cars that say, ‘I support MCE bowling.’”

Eastern again is in a con-ference with Baldwin and Mason County Central. The trio teams could be joined by Big Rapids Crossroads, but that is uncertain at this time. The three schools are fairly close-knit, she said.

“They know each other. They all get along. There might be a person you want to beat, but there’s no ani-mosity. I think it helps a lot. The bowling alley is very nice to us. They’re good to

the kids and the kids try to be good to them.”

Hartley doesn’t have too

many expectations for this season, save for one.

“I just expect them to have

fun and do the best that they can,” she said. “I want them to enjoy bowling and I don’t

want it to be a job. They need to learn good sportsman-ship.”

Mason County Eastern boys and girls bowling

MCE bowls with complete teams

DAVID BOSSICK | DAILY NEWSMembers of Mason County Eastern’s bowling team, front row, from left, Sid Mickevich, Ron Tyndall, Brent Swain, Devon Harvey, Daniel J. Busch and Zach Jensen; back row, Zaressa Cregg, Hannah Smakal, Katrina Hinzman, Casie Mickevich, Sarah Hartley and coach Diana Hartley.

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CUSTER — There’s so much new with the Mason County Eastern girls basket-ball program, it’s easier to say what isn’t.

Two players return from last year’s team that finished 7-14 overall and 6-10 in the Western Michigan D League — Emily Knizacky and Tay-lor Bryant.

Knizacky has the most experience as she saw a lot of playing time last sea-son. That, though, was un-der Matt Millspaugh and now she’s playing for Ben Knizacky this season.

Knizacky took last year off from coaching after spending four seasons with Walkerville’s program.

While the Cardinals lost a slew of girls, from two-time All-Stater Elena Luce to senior Jordan Lake to a still numb-ing car accident in the fall, Ben Knizacky will charge ahead with a core of girls who grew up in Custer and three foreign

exchange students.“Without a summer pro-

gram, our experience — them getting used to me and me getting used to them — has been very brief. We’re starting to gel a little bit bet-ter with what is to be expect-ed,” he said. “Ball-handling-wise, it’s going to boil down to Emily, Dani (Schultz) and Ryann (Oomen).

“We’ll have Taylor (Bryant) and Marissa (Kist) down low in the box. Then our remain-ing cast are all exchange stu-dents. And before Nov. 11, they didn’t touch a ball.”

Eastern’s roster:

SENIORS: Veronica Baldi, An-drea Kasin and Taylor Bryant.

JUNIORS: Ryann Oomen, Dani Schultz, Emily Knizacky, Eliza-beth Bentley and Marissa Kist.

SOPHOMORE: Sigrid Kjeldgaard.

One of the exchange stu-dents is from Norway, an-other from Italy and the third is from Denmark.

“All three of the girls are good girls and they have ath-letic abilities. But, they’ve never played,” Knizacky said. “They’ve never played contact sports. I think their skill\ level will come along, but knowing that is a contact sport will be the challenge.”

The Cardinals will be do-ing some of the same things they’ve done in the past five years for Millspaugh, Knizacky said. It’s being done to try to simplify things for the incoming players, both the foreign exchange kids and the homegrown talent.

“There’s a lot of aspects of our team that are still funda-mentals,” he said. “I’m trying to keep it as simple as pos-sible because I have to spend a fair amount of time with that.

“I’m trying to keep it as

simple as possible. . . We’re not really changing a lot. We may change it up the road. I’m allowing the kids from last year to do the things they did last year. Because of the lack of being able to try new things, we’re trying to make as easy of a transition as possible.”

Eastern began the season with a nonconference game at Hart Tuesday night. It will then host Big Rapids Cross-roads in the Western Michi-gan D League opener Friday night. Knizacky believes things could be a little rough to start, but he’s got his eye on how the team will look in late January.

“We’re going to be thrown right into Round One right away,” he said. “The biggest key is that we need to make sure we stay focused and stay ready.

“With the inexperience, the progress will be gradual and slow and hope for the best for the latter part of January,” he said later. “I’m hoping we’ll have our pro-gram in the right direction.”

Mason County Eastern girls basketball

MCE goes back to basics this year

JEFF KIESSEL | DAILY NEWS PHOTOSTOP: Members of the 2013-14 Mason County Eastern varsity girls basketball team are, front row, from left, Dani Schultz, Taylor Bryant and Emily Knizacky; second row, Ryann Oomen, Marissa Kist, Sigrid Kjeldgaard, Andrea Kasin and Veronica Baldi; back row, coach Ben Knizacky.

BOTTOM: Members of the Mason County Eastern cheer-leading teams are, front row, Danielle Vanheck; back row, from left, Ashley Nehm, Taylor Grimm, Haley Sloan, Ashlee Purple, Jessica Martin, Brianna Walter, Veronica Baldi, Andrea Kasin, Katelyn Maciag, Lauren McCumber and Breanna Kist. Not pictured: Raven Stone and coach Dee McCumber.

2013-14 SCHEDULE |FOR MCE GIRLS BASKETBALL

Dec. 3 at HartDec. 6 BR CrossroadsDec. 11 Manistee CatholicDec. 13 at BrethrenDec. 16 Fruitport CalvaryDec. 18 BaldwinDec. 20 at Bear LakeJan. 8 PentwaterJan. 10 at WalkervilleJan. 13 at McBain NMCJan. 17 OnekamaJan. 20 at Kent City AlgomaJan. 23 at Manistee CatholicJan. 28 at BR CrossroadsJan. 30 BrethrenFeb. 4 at BaldwinFeb. 6 Bear LakeFeb. 11 at PentwaterFeb. 13 WalkervilleFeb. 20 at Onekama

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PENTWATER — Pentwa-ter’s boys basketball team will be markedly different than in years past — it’s go-ing to be dominated with experienced juniors and se-niors.

Fifth-year coach Ashley Wojtas is excited with the prospect of having a team that isn’t young and inex-perienced combined as the lineup has players in the two classes, except for German foreign-exchange student Jan Loyen.

“I have this group of se-niors and juniors with one sophomore who is an ex-change student,” Wojtas said. “In the past, I’ve had that eighth, ninth or 10th grade group. I’m going to miss the seniors who gradu-ated, but I have a senior-led group and the experience is there to play for itself.”

The most experience comes from returning guards Sam and Alex Wag-ner. Alex Wagner, a senior, is a sniper from the out-side who led the Falcons in 3-point shooting a year ago.

Sam Wagner will again run the team as the point guard. The junior is entering his third season with the varsity team and leads both through deed and voice.

The Falcons have a five-four split when it comes to guards and forwards and in favor of guards.

“My guards are probably the strongest with Alex and Sam, I have Chance Helms coming back. He didn’t play one season, but played two seasons prior. Jordyn

Stutzman and Derek Mal-burg will play at guard, too,” she said.

The forward position is where Pentwater will see a marked difference. Erik Wallstrom, a threat to bring in a double-double every night, graduated. With a raw Loyen, that leaves Joey Thrailkill, Jared Visger and Nick Anscombe there who will need to pick things up in the rebounding department.

Pentwater’s roster:

SENIORS: Alex Wagner, Derek Malburg, Jordyn Stutzman, Chance Helms and Joey Thrailkill.

JUNIORS: Sam Wagner, Nick Anscombe and Jared Visger.

SOPHOMORE: Jan Loyen.

Wojtas, though, feels that the team is very balanced throughout its nine-man lineup.

“I probably have one of the

more well-rounded teams. It’s a different makeup than in the past definitely an in-teresting group,” she said.

Pentwater finished 13-7 last season and 11-5 in the Western Michigan D League, finishing third behind Man-istee Catholic and Baldwin, respectively. Wojtas expects to see both Baldwin and Catholic to be tough, but tabbed the Panthers as the favorites.

“Second place is going to be a battle between us and Brethren,” she said. “They’ve got a new coach and they had a great JV last year. I think they’re going to be a

tough team to battle with. “I always have to put Man-

istee Catholic up there. They’re always competing for that first place spot.”

Pentwater boys basketball

Falcons stout at guard

ANDREW SKINNER | SHORELINE MEDIAMembers of the 2013-14 Pentwater varsity boys basketball team are, front row, from left, Alex Wagner, Jordyn Stutzman, Sam Wagner, Derek Malburg and Chance Helms; second row, Jared Visger, Nick Anscombe, coach Ashley Wojtas, Jan Loyen and Joey Thrailkill.

2013-14 SCHEDULE |FOR PENTWATER BOYS BASKETBALLDec. 10 Fruitport CalvaryDec. 12 BaldwinDec. 17 Bear LakeDec. 18 Muskegon CatholicDec. 20 HartJan. 7 at WalkervilleJan. 9 at Mason Co. EasternJan. 14 OnekamaJan. 16 at BrethrenJan. 24 Manistee CatholicJan. 29 BR CrossroadsJan. 31 at BaldwinFeb. 3 at HesperiaFeb. 5 at Bear LakeFeb. 12 WalkervilleFeb. 14 Mason County EasternFeb. 19 at OnekamaFeb. 21 BrethrenFeb. 25 at BR CrossroadsFeb. 27 at Manistee Catholic

ANDREW SKINNER | SHORELINE MEDIAMembers of the Pentwater

cheerleading team are, front row, from left, Francieska Boyko

and Carrie Griffis; second row, Rita Panozzo, Natalie Henley

and Caitlin Hackett; third row, coach Andrea Gallie, Hailey Smith, Asher Knobel, Caleb

Glover, Ethane Lambsan, Chris-tina Cormany and Cheyenne

Drechen; fourth row, Lillian Knudsen, Taylor Gebhart and

Jaclyn Varela.

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Pentwater’s girls basket-ball team was in an extreme-ly good position heading into the 2013-14 season.

The Falcons started the season Tuesday night against Kent City Algoma Christian, and did so return-ing every player from last year except for one, Savan-nah Slikkers.

Slikkers went down with an injury last year and during the basketball season. Operations and cures haven’t taken hold and she will not be on the floor this season. She’s a ju-nior, and she could return for her senior year.

The Falcons, who went 4-17 overall last year and fin-ished seventh in the West-ern Michigan D League, re-turn their top two players -- sophomore Emily Gebhart and freshman Linnea Mc-Donough. And the team has one of its top post players, Jennie Bromley, back, too.

“Jennie Bromley, our only senior, should be a force in the paint,” second-year coach Jeff McDonough said. “Emily Gebhart is a great athlete, she will lead us at the guard position. Linnea McDonough, who led the team last year as an eighth grader statistically, will also play a big role.”

Pentwater’s roster:

SENIORS: Jennie Bromley.JUNIORS: Jordan Lucas, Flo

Peterson, Savannah Slikkers.SOPHOMORES: Gia Brewer, Em-

ily Gebhart, Sophia Nyberg and Chyanne Smith.

FRESHMAN: Crystal Bromley, Anna Hofmann and Linnea McDonough.

EIGHTH GRADE: Taylor Wilkin-son.

While the team didn’t lose

a player from last year’s team, it gained a handful of new faces. Jeff McDonough is excited to see what in-coming freshman Anna Hof-mann and eighth grader Tay-lor Wilkinson can do.

“(These) two young play-ers have really impressed me so far this year,” he said. “They are quick and their skills will only improve.”

Pentwater started to show signs of big progress last season, making a run at the Class D district title before being eliminated. Many of

the girls also brought the school a district champi-onship in volleyball a few weeks ago.

“I am cautiously optimis-tic. We are still very young,” McDonough said. “We took some hard lumps last year but ended on a strong note. We made it to the district fi-nals, winning two of our last three games. We only won four games last year, our goal is to double that this year.”

The task may be tougher than that. McDonough rec-ognizes both Bear Lake and

Big Rapids Crossroads as the teams that are the ones to beat. Manistee Catholic and Onekama also will be tough. And, he still has some concerns about his team’s youth.

“We will again be the youngest team in the con-ference. Our player average is 10th grade, but last year it was 9th grade,” he said. “ We had a tough time last year handling pressure. Turn-overs were our biggest stum-bling block. Our goal this year is to cut them in half.

“We were in the bottom third of our conference in 2012-2013. This year we

want to be in the middle and play competitively with the top teams.”

Pentwater girls basketball

McDonough ‘cautiously optimistic’

ANDREW SKINNER | SHORELINE MEDIAMembers of the 2013-14 Pentwater girls basketball team are, front row, from left, Anna Hofmann, Gia Brewer, Chyanne Smith, Taylor Wilkinson and Emily Gebhart; second row, Crystal Bromley, Savannah Slikkers, Jennie Bromley, Linnea McDonough, Jordan Lucas, Sophia Nyberg and coach Jeff McDonough.

2013-14 SCHEDULE |FOR PENTWATER GIRLS BASKETBALL

Dec. 3 Kent City AlgomaDec. 6 BaldwinDec. 11 BR CrossroadsDec. 13 Bear LakeDec. 20 at WalkervilleJan. 8 at Mason Co. EasternJan. 10 OnekamaJan. 15 BrethrenJan. 17 Manistee CatholicJan. 20 at Montague

Jan. 23 at BR CrossroadsJan. 28 at BaldwinJan. 30 at Bear LakeFeb. 4 HesperiaFeb. 7 at Lk Leelanau St. MaryFeb. 11 Mason Co. EasternFeb. 13 at OnekamaFeb. 18 at BrethrenFeb. 20 at Manistee Catholic

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BY GREG GIELCZYKDAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

MANISTEE — Although it’s a small complement, with only eight players on the var-sity, Manistee Catholic Cen-tral’s girls basketball team does have experience.

With four returning se-niors and two sophomores who saw extensive playing time, first-year coach Terry Walker has a solid founda-tion.

It’s finding out how the other bricks fit into the structure that will be the challenge as the Sabers open the 2013-14 season full of hope and lofty expectations.

The Sabers graduated four or five girls off last year’s team, and while they’ll cer-tainly be missed, Walker is enthusiastic about the group of veterans he has back.

Amber Robke, Alysha Heck, Hannah Janicki and Courtney Sorenson are the seniors who have been test-ed in the crucible of com-petition, and should be pre-pared to take on even bigger leadership roles for the Sa-bers.

Renee Seymour is the only junior on the squad, but two of the sophomores — Meghan Miller and Mia Ho-gan — played a lot last year and that experience will be invaluable to Walker as he mixes and matches his line-ups early in the season.

Manistee Catholic’s roster:

SENIORS: Amber Robke, Alysha Heck, Hannah Janicki and Courtney Sorenson

JUNIORS: Renee Seymour; SOPHOMORES: Meghan Miller,

Mia Hogan and Jodi Janowiak.

“Leadership is what I’ve been looking for from my four seniors, and so far I’ve been real pleased with the

leadership they’ve provided for us,” Walker said.

“I’ve been happy with all the girls as far as their work ethic. They’re really work-ing hard, and that’s a good thing. We’ve got some better than average speed and en-ergy.”

The Sabers will try to cap-italize on their speed and quickness on defense, where they hope to get out and run, forcing tempo.

On offense, the Sabers are going to push the ball, whether it be off the de-fensive glass or by creating

turnovers and gaining extra possessions.

“I would much rather play and coach an up tem-po game, than a slow down half-court game,” Walker pointed out. “But, you have deal to with what you have in terms of your assets.

“This year, I definitely see that as one of our strengths. That’s what we’re going to look to utilize and capitalize on, is a pressing game and running game.

“We’re not going to have a lot of height. Meghan Miller’s probably got our best height, and Courtney (Sorenson) is probably close to that.”

Robke is small but quick, and Heck not only is quick but has the strength physi-cally to play in the post if Walker is so inclined to use her there.

Janicki runs the floor well, and has a lot of positives when she’s on the court. Ho-gan can elevate and jump, with Walker looking to play her inside as well.

One of the toughest teams the Sabers will find to match up against is Bear Lake, which has the most height of any team in the West Michi-gan D League.

“They’re going to be a load to handle,” Walker agreed. “Another strong team in the league with a lot com-

ing back is Big Rapids Cross-roads.

“Just going to some of the games last year as a specta-tor, I think we’re going to be in the mix. We’re definitely going to have to catch some

breaks here and there. I look for the conference to be pretty competitive.

“It’s so easy to get caught up in looking ahead, and I don’t want to do that, and I don’t want them to do that. I

want them to focus on every single day just trying to get better in practice.

“If we come in, improve and get better every day in practice, then the wins will take care of themselves.”

Manistee Catholic girls basketball

Sabers’ eight loaded with experience

GREG GIELCZYK | DAILY NEWSMembers of the Manistee Catholic Central girls basketball team are, front row, from left: Renee Seymour, Meghan Miller, Mia Hogan and Jodi Janowiak; back row, Amber Robke, Alysha Heck, Hannah Janicki and Courtney Sorenson.

2013-14 SCHEDULE |FOR MANISTEE CATHOLIC GIRLS HOOPS

Dec. 5 BrethrenDec. 11 at Mason Co. EasternDec. 13 Lk Leelanau St. MaryDec. 18 Bear LakeDec. 20 at BR CrossroadsJan. 8 WalkervilleJan. 10 at BaldwinJan. 14 at TCBAAJan. 15 at OnekamaJan. 17 at PentwaterJan. 21 HartJan. 23 Mason Co. EasternJan. 28 at BrethrenFeb. 4 at BrethrenFeb. 6 BR CrossroadsFeb. 11 at WalkervilleFeb. 13 BaldwinFeb. 18 OnekamaFeb. 19 at Mason Co. EasternFeb. 20 at Pentwater

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BY GREG GIELCZYKDAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

MANISTEE — Not that long ago, Jonathan Randall — then known more popularly as JJ, which stands for Jona-than Jeffery — was prepping for another basketball sea-son as a player.

Randall still handles a bas-ketball, just not all the time like he used to as a point guard at Bear Lake, but with a whistle around his neck and eyes glued to what’s hap-pening on the court, girding for his first season as a high school boys basketball coach.

The team that he has to coach at Manistee Catholic Central as he attempts to fill the big shoes of longtime coach Dale Edmondson, Jr., is almost as young and inex-perienced at the job as he is.

One of the more seasoned veterans, Jeremy Bigalke, will be unavailable for at least the first three or four weeks of the regular season because of an injury suffered in a foot-ball scrimmage that forced him to miss his senior year on the gridiron.

Manistee Catholic’s roster:

SENIORS: Jeremy Bigalke, Jason Kaminski, Ben Feliczak and Ryan Hansen

JUNIORS: Nathan Fortier and Blake Vargas;

SOPHOMORES: Chad Robke and Jordan Kuenzer.

It leaves Randall with sev-en players to start the sea-son, and not nearly as much depth as he’d prefer. But, he’s prepared to play with the hand he’s been dealt.

Among the aces in the deck are returning seniors Jason Kaminski and Ben Feliczak along with junior Blake Vargas. Randall is counting on the rest, includ-ing inexperienced senior

Ryan Hansen, a full house.“They are great kids, with

very good work ethic,” Ran-dall said. “They bring it ev-ery day. They know when it’s got to be turned on.

“Once we start getting into drills, they work their tails off. I was not able to work with them at all during the summer, so it’s very surpris-ing that they are picking up on what we want to do pretty quickly.

“We’re not gifted with the greatest height, but they can run, they shoot and each of them can play pretty much any position. They all play hard. They can dribble, re-bound hard and they can all pretty much take it to the hole.”

Vargas fits into that mold, Randall says, and he has a solid jump shot. Kamins-ki will be rotating between a big and a guard, and has the strength to take a lot of guards to the hole.

Feliczak might be the team’s most versatile player, according to Randall.

“He’s very gifted,” Randall says. “He’s a good shooter, a good ball handler, a good re-bounder, a good passer . . . just a real solid player.

“Nate Fortier (a junior) is a good spot up shooter. We’ll set some screens for him to open for a shot. (Jordan) Kuenzer (sophomore) is a tough-nosed kid and good competitor.”

It’s that versatility that Ran-dall is counting on to be the Sabers’ strength this season.

Because of their lack of height, Randall says the Sa-bers will have to be aggressive at going for the ball and put-ting a body on somebody.

Offensively, the Sabers will try to capitalize on their speed. Right now, it’s a work in progress, learning what they’re good at, and what

they’re not so good at.He wants to push the ball

as much as possible, but still be able to set up into an offense that caters to the team’s strengths.

Randall likes man-to-man on defense, with a little bit of ball pressure, forcing turnovers, which in turn can speed the offense up. One thing he isn’t focused on right now is worrying about the competition in the West Michigan D League. He’s

been too busy getting com-fortable with the players, and evaluating what talent he has. It’s going to be a cul-ture change for Randall.

“Just going from a player’s perspective to a coach’s per-spective . . . I’ll probably have to have somebody calm me down,” Randall joked. “But, I’m sure I’m going to be a lit-tle energized, a little enthu-siastic. That’s how I was as a player, and that’s how I am as a coach.”

Manistee Catholic boys basketball

Randall ready for Sabers hoops

GREG GIELCZYK | DAILY NEWSMembers of the Manistee Catholic Central boys basketball team are, front row, from left: Blake Vargas, Jason Kaminski, Chad Robke and Nathan Fortier; back row, coach Jonathan Randall, Jordan Kuenzer, Jeremy Bigalke, Ben Feliczak and Ryan Hansen.

2013-14 SCHEDULE |FOR MANISTEE CATHOLIC BOYS BASKETBALL

Dec. 10 at Mason Co. EasternDec. 12 BrethrenDec. 19 Bear LakeJan. 7 at BR CrossroadsJan. 9 WalkervilleJan. 13 Traverse City ChristianJan. 14 at BaldwinJan. 16 at OnekamaJan. 24 at Pentwater

Jan. 29 Mason Co. EasternJan. 30 TCBAAJan. 31 at BrethrenFeb. 7 at Bear LakeFeb. 12 BR CrossroadsFeb. 14 at WalkervilleFeb. 19 BaldwinFeb. 21 Onekama

winter sports – pentwater, mc eastern, manistee catholic central

Documents

team photos

ed knizacky

mason county easterns

justice gilchrist

true point guard

hunter hofmann

clifford lawson

eastern doesnt