PHYSICAL PLAY … Bryce Bolger draws contact on a drive to the hoop in the Vikings’ win at Swanton.
PHOTO BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
UNDER PRESSURE … Swanton’s Drew Koder handles the ball with an Evergreen defender in toe.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
SWANTON (December 5, 2025) – Create chaos. Wreak havoc. In the tight quarters of the Swanton junior high Bob Fisher Gym, Evergreen didn’t shoot very well sometimes.
The Vikings were abysmal by their standards in the first half at the foul line as well. And at times they even got ahead of themselves and committed turnovers.
But in the end Evergreen did what Evergreen does, using their speed to create plenty of chaos that resulted in 30 Bulldog turnovers, leading to a 68-51 season opening win.
“We were able to get up and apply pressure,” Evergreen coach Kyle Bostater explained of his team creating a chaotic pace.
“I know they want to play fast this year as well, but our guys are used to playing at that pace and that’s the speed of the game we want to play at where we can get up and pressure, get the ball out and go, get Quinton (Eisel) a couple dunks that got the crowd really into it. Our guards did a good job most of the time getting us up the floor and to the basket.”
Due to scheduling conflicts with a community event, the game had to be moved from the high school gym to the junior high and the Bulldogs, familiar with the confines took early advantage.
Swanton jumped out to an early four-point lead thanks to three-pointers by Brady Haselman and Brady O’Shea in the first 75 seconds for an 8-4 lead
Haselman’s baseline move kept the Bulldogs up 12-9 with 4:43 to go in the first. All of a sudden Evergreen did what Evergreen does.
Troy Manz’s long range bomb knotted the score with 4:28 to go, and 4-6 from the foul line by a trio of Vikings resulted in a 16-12 Evergreen lead.
Haselman’s second three-point shot of the quarter sliced the margin to 16-15 with 46 ticks left but Will Ruetz drove for a score eight seconds later to answer, one of seven times on the night the lighting quick Vikes scored in a possession of eight seconds of less.
Haselman’s 10th point of the opening quarter brought the Bulldogs to 18-17 and just that quick, Chris Shrader dropped a 25-footer with 9.7 on the clock to give Evergreen a 21-17 advantage.
Again, Evergreen did what Evergreen does. Shrader’s long range radar lock began a 17-2 Viking run that blew the game open.
George Allendorf nailed back-to-back triples after turnovers, a third turnover led to a Manz dish to Eisel for a slam, and Bryce Bolger capped the burst with a swipe-and-score that turned into a three-point play, giving the Vikings a 35-17 bulge with 4:17 left in the half.
“Bryce had a great night tonight for us,” Bostater said. “He has stepped in for us, he and Alex Mossing, guys who haven’t played for us the last couple years.
“We have a lot of guys step in and tonight we had to throw them into the fire, and they responded very well.”
“They bring that toughness we are looked for, those two, Jake Farley, Brogan Eisel, Blake Fisher, Brendan Rafferty, they all had to log minutes tonight and they are just great team guys for us.”
The Bulldogs stayed in the game thanks to 10-12 from the line, as Evergreen got themselves in deep trouble with fouls.
That coupled with Evergreen’s 8-20 first half free throw shooting kept Swanton within 42-27 at the break.
Swanton began the second half much like the first. Connor Mitchey and Gio Ruiz got inside twice each to account for eight points to help slice the deficit to 46-35 with 6:21 left in the third.
Evan Reinhard’s jumper got Swanton within single digits with 5:12 on the clock at 46-37. And again…Evergreen did what Evergreen does.
Ruetz began a 14-3 scoring salvo int he next four minutes with a blur like drive, then a fade away jumper.
Eisel, Manz and Allendorf knocked down six straight from the stripe, Eisel stuck back his own miss and then had a steal and dish to Allendorf for two more to make it 60-40 with a minute to go.
Mitchey’s bucket with 13 seconds left got Swanton to 60-44 after three but Eisel’s second slam of the night to open the fourth and two more by Manz from the line bumped the Evergreen lead back to 20 at 64-44.
For the night Evergreen shot just 40% from the field. After the frigid first half at the line, Evergreen knocked down 10-11 in the second half. Swanton was 16-53 from the floor and 16-27 from the foul stripe.
Evergreen put four players in double figures in a very balanced attack as Manz led the way with 21, Allendorf had 15, Eisel 14 and Ruetz 10.
“I think you are going to see that all year out of us,” Bostater said of the balance. “Those guys are good at distributing the basketball, getting the ball to one another.
“It’s a point of emphasis this year to get the ball moving and get it reversed and keep everybody involved. That will be seen on a nightly basis.”
Haselman had 10 for Swanton, as did O’Shea.
EVERGREEN (68) – Manz 21; Ruetz 10; Farley 0; Eisel 14; Allendorf 15; B. Eisel 0; Bolger 5; Fisher 0; Harmon 0; Mossing 0; Rafferty 0; Shrader3; Totals: 19-4-18 – 68
SWANTON (51) – O’Shea 10; Hurst 5; Ruiz 8; Reinhard 9; Haselman 10; Koder 0; Mitchey 8; Lemons 1; Bolyard 0; Smigelski 0; Butler; Totals: 13-3-16 – 51
EHS 21 21 18 8 – 68
SHS 17 10 17 7 – 51