Clark Fork Mountain Cats have got passion for the game
Freshman Bryan Mask, tries to break free from Noxon players during their season opener on Friday in Frenchtown. The Cats lost 62-51. (Kathleen Woodford/Mineral Independent).
The Clark Fork Mountain Cats battle for the ball during a game against Noxon on Friday at the Tip-Off Tournament. (Kathleen Woodford/Mineral Independent).
Head Coach, Erik Johnson, talks to his team during play at the Tip-Off Tournament in Frenchtown last Friday and Saturday. “The majority of them are not learning how to be good; they are learning that they are good,” Johnson said about his team. (Kathleen Woodford/Mineral Independent).
With 15 players rounding out the Clark Fork Mountain Cats 13C roster the team has some power house players and some strong freshman up-comers. There are three seniors this year: Drake Neill, Connor Voll, and Evan Hall. Neill is the lone returning senior and he was voted team captain.
“He is a really great kid,” said Johnson. “He possesses those virtues of which we all aspire: kindness, humility, dedication, and perseverance. It is no surprise to me that Drake’s teammates voted him team captain.”
Though this is a young team, Johnson feels they have an “illimitable pool of potential”.
“These kids are going to be really good basketball players,” he said.
As the season progresses he feels there will be improvement in every game leading up to the post-season, “the majority of them are not learning how to be good; they are learning that they are good. It is mostly a confidence thing and they have great attitudes and an earnest passion for the game.”
The players also have goals that are ambitious and achievable, “I am really excited to have the best seat in the house to watch them. There is no ceiling on what they can do this year and in the years to come,” Johnson said.
Along with the three seniors there are three juniors: Thad Haskins, Michael Spence, and Korey Radford, and two sophomores Hewston Coon and Javen Hughes. The team is dominated by seven freshman: Danner Haskins, Bryan Mask, Joseph Cantrell, Carson Callison, Daniel Merino, Aaron Waddle and Myles Constant.
Assistant coaches are John Petersen and Derrick Criner and the team manager is Jordan Taapken.
Clark Fork Mountain Cats lose to Noxon 62-51
During the Clark Fork Mountain Cats 13C season opener they lost to Noxon Red Devils 62-51. Noxon jumped out with an early lead with 15 points in the first quarter to the Cats 9. In the second quarter the Cats pulled in some points to tie the score 25-25. In the third quarter the Red Devils managed 19 points to the Cats 12 to pull ahead 44 to 37. The Devils sealed the deal in the fourth quarter with 18 points to the Cats 14.
Connor Voll led the way with 14 points with freshman, Aaron Waddle making a 10 points. Bryan Mask and Michael Spence each had 9, Carson Callison 5 and Korey Radford 4.
Clark Fork sees loss in Saturday game against Granite, 43-37
During the second day of the Tip-Off Tournament in Frenchtown the Clark Fork Mountain Cats saw defeat against the Granite Prospectors, 43-37. In the first quarter the Prospectors pulled ahead 17 to 10 and kept the lead for the rest of the game. By the half they had gained 30 to 18. In the fourth quarter the Cats tightened that lead and put 12 points up to the Prospectors 7 but it wasn’t enough for the win.
Carson Callison led the team in points with 10 followed by Connor Voll with 9. Korey Radford had 8, Bryan Mask 6 and Michael Spence had 4.