OFFENSIVE MOVE … Brady Everetts goes on the attack for Edgerton.
PHOTOS BY RENEA KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
OVERTIME WIN … Stryker’s Cody Stewart drives into traffic during last Thursday’s sectional final overtime win at home over Edgerton, 61-54. VIEW 71 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
STRYKER (February 26, 2026) – A wise man once said, “Big-game players make big plays in big games.”
Stryker’s William Donovan made almost every one of those critical plays in the final 14 minutes, as the Panthers battled their way to a 61-54 overtime win over Edgerton to claim a Division VII sectional title.
The Panthers now head into a district semifinal matchup with Montpelier on March 5 in Bryan.
“Yeah, I expect him in the fourth quarter and overtime that he is going to contribute to every single point, and he almost did,” Stryker coach Tyler Woolace said of his star guard. “What I was most proud of is, I think the last three rebounds, Will got.”
Donovan made his presence known immediately, accounting for all of Stryker’s 12 first-quarter points. The senior guard found Eli Capps twice for wide-open three-pointers, hit Cody Stewart inside for another bucket, then scored twice on his own.
Edgerton stayed within a point as Maddox Baker tripled and completed a three-point play, and Brady Everetts added two more baskets to keep the Bulldogs within 12-11 at the quarter.
Bradley Williams heated up in the second quarter, knocking down four from long range, and Capps nailed his third triple of the night to boost the Stryker lead to 29-21 at the half.
Edgerton closed to 29-25 early in the third. Kellen Sanchez canned a foul-line jumper, and Baker fed Everetts for another hoop off a turnover in the first minute, but Stryker had a swift answer.
Once more, Donovan found Stewart for a lay-in, and Williams bagged yet another from deep to give Stryker its largest lead at 34-25 with 5:41 left.
“When Bradley is open, he’s hitting 50 percent,” Woolace stated. “He shot 35 percent this year because he had to take some where he wasn’t open at all, but he can shoot it from the volleyball line in.
“Tonight, he just started out red-hot. Our guys did an awesome job of getting him open, too. They set some really nice screens on some plays we ran really well.
“Eli Capps — a career game for him. He hit some big threes for us, and he is our glue guy. It was just everybody performing tonight.”
Edgerton began to battle back, mostly in the form of Parker Elden. The 6-foot-2 senior tripled after another Panther turnover, dished to Sanchez for a basket, and scored a second-chance layup to bring the Bulldogs back to 39-36 with 43 seconds left on the clock.
Donovan began a stretch where he was involved in 20 of 22 Panthers points with a driving layup with 27 seconds to go.
Baker answered by going 2-for-2 from the stripe to keep Edgerton within a three-point game at 41-38 heading into the fourth.
Again, Donovan found Stewart, along with Capps, for baskets to start the fourth and give Stryker a 45-40 margin. Sanchez answered with another jumper from the foul line and a pair from the stripe to bring Edgerton back to 45-44.
Capps and Elden traded three-point goals, then Donovan scored a bucket and the free throw to push the Panthers up 51-47.
One more time, Elden ripped the cords from outside the arc to get Edgerton back to a one-point game.
Then, after a Stryker miss, Elden scored a fast-break bucket with 3:27 on the clock to put the Bulldogs on top, 52-51.
Sanchez had a chance to extend the Bulldog lead with 37 seconds left but missed twice from the line. Donovan was fouled shooting a jumper in traffic with 6.4 seconds on the clock but missed the first free throw.
The Panthers’ senior nailed the second, and Baker’s last-second heave was offline, sending the game to four extra minutes.
Overtime was a session of WWWD — What Would William Do? Donovan scored at the 2:32 mark, powering in his own miss, then knocked down 5-of-8 from the foul line around a pair from Williams to vault Stryker up 61-52.
Edgerton missed its first seven shots from the floor in OT, with Donovan grabbing four of his team-high 12 rebounds in the period, including the final three of the game.
In all, Donovan had 19 points and eight assists to go with his work on the glass. Williams scored 17 and Capps 14 for Stryker (12-11).
Edgerton (9-14) placed four in double figures. Elden scored all 13 of his points in the second half, Everetts had 12, while Sanchez and Baker each had 10.
For more local news, see High School Sports Schedule For Thursday, March 26, 2026 (WEATHER PERMITTING).