NWOAL OPENER … George Allendorf (above) had a team-high 22 points to lead the Vikings past Patrick Henry 59-50 in the league opener at the “House of Heat”.
PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
INSIDE FORCE … Quinten Eisel (above) turned in a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds in an impressive win for the Vikings in Hamler.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
HAMLER (January 8, 2026) – On first impression, a person would think Evergreen’s Wil Ruetz and George Allendorf are brothers…maybe even twins.
On a night where Patrick Henry was missing high-scoring Reid Creager and Evergreen was without star point guard Troy Manz, the Patriots probably felt like there were twins of each as the pair of blonde-headed, near look alike Viking guards combined for 43 points, and were the main thieves that harassed the Patriots into 21 turnovers, leading Evergreen to a 59-50 NWOAL win in front of a near full house at Patrick Henry.
“That’s kind of been our M.O. all year,” Viking coach Kyle Bostater expressed regarding the number of PH turnovers.
“The goal is to win the turnover battle every single game, and our pressure was able to get them sped up more than what they want to play. They obviously do a very good job executing in half-court.”
“Our presses, we literally throw everything in the kitchen sink at them. There’s a lot of people who say we don’t play defense. That’s me mostly, but it’s everybody else as well. We play a different kind of defense, and that is a testament to the turnovers that we create.”
Neither team shot it well in the first quarter as the Patriots were just 4-12 and Evergreen was a step worse at 5-16.
Patrick Henry’s man-child, 6’6” Mack Hieber racked up six opening period points to boost the Patriots on top 11-9 late in the quarter.
Jake Farley’s corner three-ball flipped the Vikings up by one with 42 seconds left to give Evergreen the lead heading into the second.
Quinn Eisel’s triple, then one by Ruetz from the outskirts of Henry County, gave Evergreen a 20-16 advantage with 6:43 left in the half.
After Hieber scored in the paint to chop the margin to 20-18, Allendorf and Ruetz went back-to-back steal-and-scores to expand the Viking lead to 25-18 with 4:46 left.
A flurry of late fouls not only put Eisel on the bench, but also two other Evergreen starters, and the Patriots sliced into their deficit.
Cal Schroeder scored inside, then Hieber put back a miss to get PH within 28-26 at the break. A seven-point run early in the third that included two more Hieber buckets around Kiefer Holloway’s triple regained a Patrick Henry lead at 33-30 at the 6:10 mark.
Then, for the next eight minutes, the Vikings stole as much as Bonnie and Clyde did in a year to ignite a 21-6 run in the next eight minutes.
Another long triple by Ruetz knotted the game at 33-all. Then an Allendorf steal-and-feed to Ruetz put Evergreen back up with 5:21 to go in the third. Evergreen never trailed again.
Ruetz’s theft and dish to Eisel made it 39-33, then Allendorf to Ruetz after another steal with 3:10 to go made it 44-35.
With seconds ticking away in the third, Allendorf fleeced a Patriot ball handler near the Evergreen sideline, beating everyone to the ball and rim at the horn for a bucket that maintained a nine-point lead going into the fourth.
Bostater was more than complimentary of the Vikings’ speed plays that led directly to 16 points off turnovers from steals.
“Clutch plays by George and a finish at the end, Will with a (steal) at the end, Bryce Bolger had a flick from behind that goes right to Chris (Shrader), Chris gets it up, and we were able to score off that.”
“These kids play well together, they really do. Every day in practice, we are flying around the floor, and it’s kind of what you saw tonight.”
Two more steals by Allendorf led to an Eisel bucket, then a behind-the-back pass in traffic to Ruetz for a wide-open layup and a 51-39 bulge with 6:15 on the clock.
Hieber kept Patrick Henry somewhat in contact with a three-point play and a foul line jumper among his nine fourth-quarter points, but Patrick Henry never got closer than eight the rest of the way.
Hieber led all scorers with 29. Allendorf had 22, along with five assists, and Ruetz had 21 for Evergreen. Eisel recorded a double-double dozen with 12 points and 12 boards.
Evergreen (7-3, 1-0 NWOAL) shot just 40 percent from the floor but had just seven turnovers on the night. Patrick Henry (9-2, 0-1 NWOAL) shot 38 percent.
EVERGREEN (59) – Ruetz 21; Farley 3; Q. Eisel 12; Allendorf 22; Bolger 0; Mossing 0; Rafferty 0; Shrader 1; Totals: 17-5-10 – 59
PATRICK HENRY (50) – Holloway 5; Schroeder 5; Punches 4; Hieber 29; Johnson 5; Rosebrook 0; Scherdt 2; Totals: 17-2-10 – 50
EHS 12 16 19 12 – 59
PHHS 11 15 12 12 – 50