(PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
RISE AND FIRE … Pettisville’s Creighton Aeschliman takes ashot over the top of two Fayette Eagles. VIEW 161 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
UNDER PRESSURE … Mason Leininger of Fayette looks for an open teammate in the first half of the Eagles season opener with Pettisville.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
FAYETTE (November 27, 2024) – It was like a snowball rolling down a mountain that kept getting bigger…and bigger…and bigger as it kept rolling.
The “it” was Pettisville’s first half 23-0 scoring burst, and the Blackbirds used that fast start to coast to a 44-9 win over Fayette in the season opener for both teams.
“I thought our offensive movement was solid,” veteran Blackbird coach Brian Leppelmeier said about the hot start.
“We were getting into our spacing spots, moving the basketball, making the cuts, playing off of two feet and finding the open guy. and of course we knocked down shots.”
Carter Lavinder’s drive with 6:14 left in the first forged the Eagles into a 2-2 tie but for the next 15 minutes and 30 seconds, Fayette was as dry as the summer drought offensively, missing their next 11 shots and committing eight turnovers.
On the opposite side, Pettisville shot 78 percent in the first quarter racing out to a 17-2 lead. Creighton Aeschliman began the salvo with a drive down the slot, then hit a pair from the line.
Jack Leppelmeier found Caden Bishop cutting to the rim, then canned a pull up jumper and scored on a steal to make it 12-2.
Mason Wyse bagged a triple and Alex Galvin’s pull up with 26 seconds left boosted the margin to 15 at quarter’s end.
Leppelmeier scored twice more in the second then assisted on Josh Morris’ bucket for a 25-2 halftime lead.
“We talked about when we get by one guy, it forced their defense to shift,” Leppelmeier pressed about his team’s offensive efficiency.
“I thought our players found their teammates in the appropriate spots and those spacing spots we work on and again we were fortunate to make shots.”
Kruez Lichtenwald’s three-ball with 6:44 to go in the third, broke the Eagles long dry spell but Leppelmeier had more than one answer, scoring eight third quarter points and adding a bucket, then a dish to Bishop for another score early in the fourth before exiting the game for good.
“I thought Jack did a nice job of getting free to take a shot but also did a nice job drawing the help defense and finding the open teammate,” coach Leppelmeier said of player Leppelmeier. “Overall, we flowed pretty well for the first quarter and a half (during the big run).”
Pettisville shot 19/37 on the night from the field and had just five turnovers. Leppelmeier’s 20 led all scorers. Fayette was 4/26 from the floor and committed 15 turnovers.
PETTISVILLE (44) – Hogrefe 0; Leppelmeier 20; Galvin 4; Aeschliman 4; Morris 2; Wyse 8; C. Bishop 6; Crawford 0; R. Bishop 0; Totals: 18-1-5 – 44
FAYETTE (9) – Beauregard 0; C. Leininger 0; Blanco 0; M. Leininger 0; Lichtenwald 3; Lavinder 2; Bieber 0; Johnston 0; Lee 0; Goble 2; Totals: 3-1-0 – 9
PETTISVILLE 17 8 11 8 – 44
FAYETTE 2 0 5 2 – 9
Junior Varsity: Pettisville, 30-19