Plains hoping for another conference win

Danielle Switalski

“We have the same goal this year as every year, the first goal is to not lose on our floor and protect the home court, second is to win conference, then District, then Divisionals and on to State,” said Plains Head Coach Jon Revier.

After a successful season last year, having won the conference, taking fourth in Divisionals and finishing with a 21-3 record, the Horseman have a good shot at another successful season with three returning starters.  Dillon Fryxell, Brian Green and Trent Thompson are the three returning starters for the season.  There are some big shoes to fill this year with the loss of Mitch Thompson, who was a four-year starter, however, there will be six seniors on the team who Revier will look to for leadership.

“We expect good senior leadership this year, we expect that every year, but I usually don’t have that many seniors and it should be a fun year,” said Revier.

Although Mitch Thompson was a key player for the Horseman and he will be a tough player to replace, Revier said it will be a team effort to fill his shoes as their game play is not simply a one man show, but a collective effort.  The individual point totals from last year are proof of this collective effort as every game the points were spread across the board with an offense that does not focus only on one player.

Trent Thompson will be leading the Horseman in height at 6’7 and the team will have good overall size and speed.

Revier will utilize the team’s speed and focus on man to man as their base defense and play an up-tempo game, using a zone defense on rare occasions.

As far as competition goes this upcoming season, Big Fork, who is new to the conference this year, is the team to beat as they are projected to win the league. The Plains/Thompson Falls rivalry does not simply exist in football, and they are also the team the Horseman look to beat every year, especially on their home court.

Revier said they will look to score most of their points inside and they definitely do not “live and die by the three point line.”

“Win lose or draw you have to have fun, but if you win, the fun takes care of itself. We’re looking forward to a good season to have fun and be very competitive,” said Revier.

The Horseman’s first game is against Noxon during the Sanders County tournament the weekend of December 11 and 12 in Thompson Falls.  They will play the winner of the Thompson Falls/ Hot Springs game second.

This will be the first year that the Coffee Cup, typically held in Plains ,will rotate throughout the county. All four county schools will play host to the tournament in the next few years.

Questions or comments on this story can be directed to Reporter Danielle Switalski by emailing her at reporter@VP-MI.com or by giving her a call at 826-3431.