SHARING THE BALL … Montpelier’s Kade Stewart throws a pass along the baseline during Saturday’s win over Delta.
PHOTOS BY REBEKAH DELL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
NON-LEAGUE HOOPS … Delta’s Jadon Lohman gets free for an open look in the first half.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
MONTPELIER (December 6, 2025) – It took less than a minute for Montpelier to get themselves untracked in its non-conference matchup against Delta in “The Rail Yard” on Saturday, December 6.
The Locos (3-0), who had been averaging 70 points per game in their first two contests, relied upon a balanced scoring attack for a 61-46 victory over the Panthers.
“It seemed like in all three games we’ve played this season in the first quarter where we started out slow,” said Montpelier head coach Nick Ramos.
After yielding a three-point bucket by Delta’s Ashton Alig in the first ten seconds of the contest, Montpelier answered quickly with C.J. Fidler hitting a short jumper, a steal and layup by Wesley Hartsock followed by a trifecta by Kade Stewart as the Locos went up 7-3.
The Panthers who were coming off a home loss to Tinora the night before got a pair of treys from Alex York for a 14-13 lead before Montpelier closed out the quarter with Hayden Sharps draining a three-pointer and a baseline jumper for a 22-16 advantage.
“Our full court press kind of helped us get into the flow of the game,” said Ramos.
“I wished we could have started quicker, but we just can’t figure it out yet.”
The Locos would take advantage of a decisive 17-2 run in the second quarter. Back-to-back trifectas by Fidler and Stewart opened up a 34-18 lead with 1:36 remaining in the half before Delta’s Emric Friess ended the Panthers scoring drought with a layup.
Montpelier, who led 39-23 at halftime, got a pair of buckets by Kenneth Smeltzer and a Fidler free throw as the Locos led 44-23 with five minutes left in the third quarter.
Defensively, the Locos forced 18 Delta turnovers, which was a key factor in the game.
“That’s something we love to do,” said Ramos commenting on the Locos’ defensive effort. “We made some mistakes, but most of the time we’re aggressive on defense.”
Not only were the Locos tough on the defensive end, but also from three-point range as they nailed nine trifectas with Stewart draining three treys while Fidler and Hartsock each sank two treys.
“That’s something our team does very well,” pointed out the Locos coach. “Wesley Hartsock and C.J. Fidler, those two are great shooters, but Kade Stewart really came on tonight and hit three big shots for us.”
For the first time this season, Montpelier had all five of its starters reach in double figure scoring.
Fidler, who had been averaging 26 points per game, led a balanced effort with 14 points. Hartsock and Sharps both chipped in with 12 points each while Stewart and Kenneth Smeltzer each contributed ten points each for the Locos.
“Tonight, we did a really good job of sharing the ball and getting other people involved,” said Ramos.
“I thought it was one of our best nights of moving the ball and getting the ball worked in the post. That was something we had worked on in practice all week.”
Montpelier was 24 of 56 for 43% from the field and 4 of 7 from the line along with 32 rebounds and 13 turnovers.
York led Delta (0-3) with 16 points including four trifectas and Friess added 12 points. The Panthers were 17 of 41 for 41% from the floor and 4 of 5 from the stripe. They also had 21 rebounds.
DELTA (46) – Martinez 6; Alig 8; Salyers 0; Valentine 0; Lohman 0; Eberly 0; York 16; Lintermoot 2; Friess 12; Mazurowski 2; Avery 0; Totals: 9-8-4 – 46
MONTPELIER (61) – Stahler 3; Stewart 10; Sharps 12; Fidler 14; M. Smeltzer 0; Hartsock 12; K. Smeltzer 10; Riggenbach 0; Walz 0; Lyons 0; Totals: 15-9-4 – 61
DHS 16 7 9 14 – 46
MHS 22 17 15 7 – 61