By Timothy Kays
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
FAYETTE – There is an old descriptive phrase that says, ‘Ugly as a mud fence’. That phrase would have been more than adequate to describe the first half offensive production of the Fayette JV Eagles on Homecoming Night on January 24. No matter how homely the hometown boys were in the first half, they came away as heroes in the second, rallying from a dozen down to stun the Holgate Tigers, 27-18.
The Tigers’ defense kept the Eagles in check for the first two periods, limiting them to passing around the perimeter and taking ill-advised shots that clanked away harmlessly. While this was happening though, both teams were being whistled incessantly for infractions, the Tigers more so. Even from the security of the free throw line though, Fayette was launching bricks. Their entire offensive output in the first half was summed up in a first quarter free throw from Garett Reinking, and a second period free throw from Tharyn Colegrove. Going into the intermission, Fayette was down 14-2.
The second half was a completely different story.
The Eagles came out of the locker room with fresh wings, and with a more aggressive offense and defense, immediately climbed to cruising altitude. The hometown boys began to challenge the Holgate defense, which could not match up in the speed department. Colegrove drained a trey, and Cole Stuckey, Austin Lopez and Casen Burkholder all connected from the floor. With another pair of connections from the charity stripe from Reinking, and the effects of the now snarling Fayette defense added to the mix, the game went into the fourth quarter with the Eagles looking at a 16-14 deficit.
In the final frame, the Fayette shooting power of the third vanished as quickly as it had arrived. The defense continued to hold down the visitors, and their own fouls helped the hometown cause immensely, but someone needed to step up and land field goals. Off the bench came Grant Reinking, and the call was answered. The stocky freshman forward muscled his way into the paint to connect for a pair of deuces. Free throws from Colegrove and Burkholder, and another pair of free throws from Grant Reinking erased the deficit, and with the defense holding firm, the Eagles pulled away for the huge Homecoming win.
Colegrove drove home a game-high seven points, with Burkholder and Grant Reinking each dropping a half dozen. Stuckey and Garett Reinking had three points apiece, and Lopez finished with two.
SCORING BY QUARTER:
Fayette 1 – 1 – 12 – 13 – 27
Holgate – 6 – 8 – 2 – 2 – 18
Timothy Kays can be reached at tim@villagereporter.com