The Wildcats were victorious on Senior Night and are locked in for the sectional tournament next week

The Logan High School Wildcats boys' basketball team (12-9) left the Willie Akers Arena victorious Monday in the team’s Senior Night/ final regular season game against the Wayne High School Pioneers (6-14) and are heading into next week’s sectional tournament with momentum.

 

LOGAN VS. WAYNE RECAP

The Logan Wildcats dominated the Wayne Pioneers at home on Senior Night in what started as a close-scoring game but quickly turned into a blowout. The Pioneers kept it close throughout the beginning of the first quarter until the Wildcats started rolling, ending it with a 10-point lead of 25-15 and increasing their lead to 42-29 by halftime.

         

The Wildcats managed to turn the heat up even more in the second half and went up by 32 points early in the fourth quarter, before ultimately winning the game by 26 points with a final score of 77-51.

         

L to R: Scotty Browning, Aiden Slack, Jarron Glick, and Garret Williamson

    The Wildcats honored the team’s seniors before the game: Scotty Browning, Garrett Williamson, Aiden Slack and Jarron Glick. All four seniors started during the game; even Williamson, who is out for the remainder of the season due to a knee injury, went onto the floor for the tipoff and exited with a standing ovation after Browning tipped the ball into Williamson’s hands and the Wildcats called a timeout. 

The other three seniors scored double digits in points and shot above 50% each. Slack scored 11 points, shooting 5/9 from the field and grabbing 6 rebounds. Glick finished with a double-double, scoring 14 points, going 6/11 and snagging 11 rebounds. Lastly, Browning led all scorers with 32 points, shooting an impressive 12/15 from the field and 4/5 from the free-throw line.

 

TOURNAMENT TIME FOR THE WILDCATS

       The Wildcats finished the season leading their section with an overall record of 12-9 and a Cardinal Conference Region record of 8-3, followed by the Scott High School Skyhawks: season (13-9) Cardinal Region (7-6), Wayne High School Pioneers: season (6-14) Cardinal Region (1-8), and Lincoln County High School Panthers: season (7-14) Freelance Region (0-7).

         The head coaches from each team in the section met to vote on the seeding for the sectional tournament beginning next week and the four teams' positions are now set in stone. The Scott Skyhawks were voted as the first seed, Logan Wildcats as the second, Wayne Pioneers as the third, and Lincoln County Panthers as the fourth.

 

         The Skyhawks will take on the Panthers in the Hawks Nest at Scott High School and The Wildcats will face off against the Pioneers again in the Wille Akers Arena at Logan High School. Both games will be played Tuesday at 7 p.m. The winners will meet in the sectional championship Mar. 3 at 7 p.m. in the highest-seeded team’s home gym.

         Many spectators believe the Wildcats should have been voted into the first seed over the Skyhawks due to multiple reasons between the two teams' overall records, regional records, and schedules. Both teams had impressive seasons, solid cases for the one seed, and are predicted to meet in the sectional championship.

Some Wildcat fans are rightfully upset with the seeding system being a majority vote between head coaches for understandable reasons. If the Wildcats and Skyhawks meet in the championship, the game will now be played in the Hawks Nest instead of the expected Willie Akers arena. Most sports fans from all levels will argue the importance of playing at home and having the crowd on your side, especially in a game with the season on the line.

The Wildcats always have a massive fan base willing to travel and cheer on the team. If these two end up in the championship, one can expect a sold-out crowd of fans sporting both teams' colors.

First, the Wildcats must defeat the Pioneers one last time. Those unable to intend Tuesday can tune into Mountain Dreams Media’s live stream of the game on Facebook or YouTube.

Book review of "The Black Athlete in West Virginia: High School and College Sports from 1900 Through the End of Segregation"

        Bob Barnett, Dana D. Brooks, and Ronald Althouse, “The Black Athlete in West Virginia: High School and College Sports from 1900 Through the End of Segregation,” 

North Carolina: McFarland & company, inc., 2020, pp. 225, $39.95 (paperback)

This book is a fantastic read about the history of Black athletes in West Virginia and their history from 1900 until the end of segregation in schools after the 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education, which ultimately was a huge step toward equality. 

The book covers West Virginia’s 40 Black high schools and three Black colleges, highlighting the racial elements and the struggle that athletes had to endure for social justice. The Black schools thrived throughout segregation and helped bring black communities together across the state.

         The book’s 195 pages and 10 chapters are filled with detailed information on the struggles, decisions, events, the ending of segregation, and the aftermath for black athletes in West Virginia. I was impressed with the coverage of athletes of all levels, ranging from high school athletes to historical NBA legend earl Lloyd and Marshall legends Hal Greer and Randy Moss.

 

One of the most notable parts of the book was the detailed information given on Black athletes being given a chance to compete for all-Black championships during segregation at the high school and collegiate levels. West Virginia held its first all-Black basketball tournament at the West Virginia Collegiate Institute Gym Mar. 19, 1925, known as the West Virginia Athletic Union state basketball tournament. The tournament was double elimination and consisted of 11 of 24 Black high schools, and Wheeling Lincoln High School defeated Kimball Negro High School 25-24.  

It was referred to by the Pittsburgh Courier as “The first kind of its stage in West Virginia among Negro schools and one of the first ever held in any Negro school in the country.”(42) The tournament was held every year until 1957 when  Bluefield Park Central High School defeated Byrd Prillerman High School 62-54 in the final championship. As for the collegiate level, Bluefield State and West Virginia State won championships in the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Which Was changed to the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1950.

         The book shows that Integration was not easy for Black students though some believe the transition was smooth, but for most, it was not. Even though the decision to integrate Black students into white schools was made, racism was still a significant issue in America. No white students were integrated into Black schools, but the exact opposite. Only Black students were integrated into white schools, which caused a majority of white students to believe they had power over Black students.  “Integration in West Virginia was painful, and in some cases disheartening, for the African American community.” (19)

This reading was eye-opening for me and would be for anyone who took the time to read it. For many people in West Virginia, their only knowledge of Black History is what their families have told them, which is not always correct and can be negatively persuasive. Black History is not taught to the upcoming generations as much as it should be in West Virginia. It should be covered by every school for all ages to help the youth understand the struggles that the Black community has gone through and prevailed.

This book is a tremendous overall lesson on the history of Black athletes in West Virginia. The authors covered every aspect of the history and provided many helpful resources for readers to find and research more of the history themselves.

Kyle Spaulding is a sports journalism major at Marshall University and has an Associate in Arts. He works voluntarily for WMUL radio station and writes articles for his blog,

The Timberwolves and Lady Timberwolves bring home 2023 MVAC Championships

    The Logan Middle School Timberwolves and Lady Timberwolves basketball teams were both victorious in their Mid Valley Athletic Conference Championship games, with the Timberwolves defeating the Ripley Middle School Vikings and the Lady Timberwolves defeating the Winfield Middle School Lady Generals. Both Teams finished the season with an impressive record of 17-2

 

THE TIMBERWOLVES RECAP

2023 Boys MVAC Champion

            After a hard-fought season, the Logan Timberwolves finally saw their hard work pay off Thursday night in the team's 54-52 away victory over the Ripley Vikings. The Vikings led the game for a short time in the first quarter, but the Timberwolves took control of the lead and held it up until the final seconds of the third quarter.

       

              Ripley crawled back to take the lead by two points with under 30 seconds to go in the third, but the Timberwolves quickly answered at the start of the fourth by taking the lead back and holding it for the remainder of the contest. 

         The Timberwolves dominated the boards with 31 rebounds to the Vikings' 20 and had big performances from multiple guys during the win. Gage Green Snagged 10 rebounds with 6 points, Grayson Sanders led the team in scoring with 19 points, and Lucas Lambert finished with a double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Coach Hainer hoists championship plaque 

     

    I spoke with Head Coach Seth Hainer about what it was like to see his players win the championship after all the time they’ve put in to get there. He said, “That feeling you get winning it all is what makes it all worth it; I have won the conference as a player and a coach, and let me tell you, the coaching side of it is much, much sweeter, it's just special.” 

 

THE LADY TIMBERWOLVES RECAP

2023 Girls MVAC Champions

The Logan Lady Timberwolves dominated in their home game on Feb 9. against the Winfield Lady Generals. The Lady Timberwolves led the whole game, only allowing three points in the first half and finishing the game with a final score of 45-15.

         The lady Timberwolves were led by Kayden Compton and Kinley Steele. Compton scored 10 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and ripped away 3 steals, While Kinley Steele finished the game with a huge double-double, scoring 18 points, grabbing 17 rebounds, and joined Compton with 3 steals of her own.

         Head coach Chad Hatfield spoke with me about his team's improvements over the season and what he saw during the championship, and he said, “I seen a team that was 100% bought into the defense, still got a lot to learn on it, but we definitely done a lot better. I seen a team that was very unselfish and had total confidence in players one through ten and just matured as individuals.”

         When it comes to how he and his team felt after the win, Coach Hatfield said, “What they probably don’t realize is they never won that game that day; they won that game during the offseason. Every minute of work that they put in, they won that game at every 8 a.m. Saturday morning practice we had when they had to get up and didn’t want to be there.” 

         Hatfield also mentioned that the players skipped out on free time on the weekends and hanging out with friends to complete their goal, staying at practice for 2 or 3 hours to improve as a team.

 

Congratulations to both the Timberwolves and Lady Timberwolves on all of your hard work, dedication, and bringing home the 2023 boys and girls MVAC championships.

Wildcats win big Cat rematch and prepare for the team's final game of the regular season

 

         The Logan High School Wildcats boys' basketball team (11-9) was victorious Friday in its rematch with the Chapmanville Regional High School Tigers (15-3) and is preparing for its final regular-season games in a rematch against the Wayne High School Pioneers (6-12).

         

LOGAN VS CHAPMANVILLE RECAP

       The big Cat rematch Friday between the Wildcats and the Tigers did not differ much from the two teams' first time playing each other during the regular season. The game was low scoring, but it was a battle for the lead between both teams up until the end of regulation.

        

         The Wildcats and the Tigers had two players from each team score most of the points during the game. The Tigers were led in scoring by senior guard Sal Dean and junior forward Zion Blevins, while senior guard Scotty Browning and junior guard Julius Clancy led the Wildcats.

Dean and Blevins combined for 35 points of the Tigers' 39. Dean finished the game with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Dean scored every point from behind the three-point line, making four of his five three-pointers in the first half, but could only get one more to fall at the start of the second. 

Blevins struggled in the first half, but kept the Tigers in the game during the second. Blevins started off shooting 1/5 from the field and 2/2 from the free throw line, going into halftime with only four points. With the Wildcat's defense going box and one on Dean, Blevins stepped up big late in the game, scoring 15 of his 19 points during the second half.

         Clancy had a slow start in the first half, only scoring two points, but heated up in the second and scored 11, finishing the game with 13 points and 7 rebounds for the Wildcats. S. Browning scored consistently throughout the game finishing with 16 points, scoring nine in the first half and seven in the second.

         The Wildcats are known as a team that shoots the ball well from behind the three-point line, but struggled beyond the arch in the game, only making one of seven attempts. The only three the Wildcats made came when the team needed it most. 

the Wildcats huddle to discuss a game plan during a timeout

After the Wildcats trailed the Tigers in scoring for most of the contest, the team managed to take the lead 35-33. The tigers answered quickly with a long two-point jumper tying the game back up 35-35. With only 1 minute and 56 seconds left in the game, The Wildcats junior guard Derek Browning hit the team’s only three-pointer, giving the lead back the Wildcats 38-35. 

After D. Browning hit the clutch shot, the Wildcats went 10 for 14 from the free-throw line and maintained the lead until time expired, winning the game 48-39.

         

COMING UP FOR THE WILDCATS

The Wildcats were scheduled for only two more games in the regular season against the Shady Spring Tigers and Wayne Pioneers, but are no longer set to play the Tigers. Whether the matchup between the Wildcats and Tigers is to be rescheduled has yet to be decided, but expect to see both teams in the West Virginia Class AAA Basketball State Tournament.

 The Wildcats will play their final regular season game Monday against the Wayne Pioneers. When these teams met earlier in the season at Wayne High School, The Wildcats walked away with a 77-65 victory led by S. Browning, who finished with 31 points. 

The Wildcats will also host the team’s senior night during the game, honoring all senior players on the team for their hard work and dedication. The seniors are Jaxon Cogar, Aiden Slack, Garrett Williamson, Jarron Glick, and Scotty Browning. 

The game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. in the Willie Akers Arena at Logan High School and will be streamed live on Facebook by Mountain Dreams Media.

 

The unexpected Super Bowl LVII

    This year’s Super Bowl LVII was a matchup between two teams that had some incorrect expectations placed on them before the season started, the unexpected Philadelphia Eagles and the doubted Kansas City Chiefs.

         Going into the 2022-2023 season, many fans had predictions of who they thought were going to be the powerhouses during the season and favored to make it to Super Bowl LVII. The Eagles finished the 2021-2022 season with a 9-8 record and were not projected to have a much better season this year. 

After drafting Devonta Smith as a new starting receiver, trading for A.J. Brown, and sticking with Jalen Hurts as the starting quarterback, fans projected the team would do better than the previous season, but not make it all the way to the championship game. Most people projected the National Football Conference would be controlled by the San Francisco 49ers, the Minnesota Vikings or last year’s Super Bowl champions, the Los Angeles Rams.

After having an unexpected start to the season, NFL fans all over started to raise their eyebrows in curiosity of whether the hot streak was a fluke or if the Eagles were the powerhouse they looked to be. The team finished its season with a 14-3 record and dominated both games in the NFC playoffs, beating the New York City Giants 38-7 and the 49ers 31-7.

In the American Football Conference, there were many concerns about the Chiefs and how the offense would perform after trading Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins. Many spectators doubted Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes’s ability to get the job done without his former number-one receiver. 

Even after the team got off to a hot start in the regular season, the Chiefs lost two out of three games to the only two teams projected to go further than them in the playoffs, the Buffalo Bills and last season’s runner-up in the Super Bowl, the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bills were led by star quarterback Josh Allen, whom many believe is a better quarterback than Mahomes. 

These two powerhouses met in the playoffs twice in the last two years, and Mahomes walked away victorious in both games, so many fans believed that after the Bills beat the Chiefs in this year’s regular season, they would only have to worry about the Bengals led by star quarterback Joe Burrow.

The Bengals had beaten the Chiefs last year in a regular season game, the AFC championship, and this year in the regular season. Social media was brutal towards the Chiefs, and Mahomes specifically. Since Burrow was 3-0 against Mahomes, fans posted that he was Mahomes’s father and owned the Chiefs. 

Of course, Mahomes and the Chiefs did not take these comments lately. The Cheifs finished the season 14-3 and gained the first-round bye in the playoffs. The Chiefs played an unexpected team in the divisional round that wasn’t projected to make the playoffs, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mahomes got hurt in the first quarter of the game with an ankle injury, but came back at the start of the second half and led the team to a 27-20 victory while limping for the remainder of the game.

The Bengals knocked off the Bills in the divisional round and were set for an AFC championship rematch with the Chiefs in Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium. Many NFL fans took to social media and called the Cheifs stadium Burrowhead Stadium and still believed that Burrow would come out on top again. However, Last year’s outcome did not repeat itself, and the Chiefs pulled out the win 23-20.

With all the expectations put on the Eagles and the Chiefs, neither team let it get in the way of their end goal. Super Bowl LVII was set for the unexpected and the doubted. After both teams finished the regular season 14-3, most spectators didn’t know what to expect during the Super Bowl. Most predictions were a high offensive game with a high final score and a close finish, but the projected winner was hard for most to determine with how both teams had been performing.

The Eagles had an impressive start in the first half, leading the Chiefs 24-14 at halftime, but the Chiefs were far from throwing in the towel. The Chiefs came out firing in the second half, scoring on every single drive they had for the rest of the game. The Chiefs took the during the fourth quarter 35-27, but the Eagles fought hard offensively, and Jalen hurts drove the ball down the field, ran the ball in for a touchdown and rushed into the endzone to complete a two-point conversion to tie the game 35-35.

With only 5 minutes and 15 seconds left on the game clock, Mahomes made a spectacular drive toward the endzone while also managing the game clock very well. The Eagles used their last timeout to stop the clock with 1 minute and 54 seconds left and the Chiefs on the 15-yard line. 

With third down and eight yards to go for a first down, Mahomes snapped back into the pocket and tried to throw the ball to JuJu Smith-Schuster in the endzone. The referee called holding against the Eagles cornerback, James Bradberry, resulting in an automatic first down for the Chiefs and little to no way for the Eagles to stop the clock from rolling. 

The Chiefs kneeled the ball to let some time expire and called the team’s final timeout with 11 seconds left in the game. Chiefs’ kicker Harrison Butker walked out on the field and kicked the ball right between the uprights, giving the Chiefs a 38-35 lead with only eight seconds left for the Eagles to get down the field and score.

After gaining some yardage on the kick return and only six seconds left on the play clock, Jalen Hurts tried to launch a Hail Mary into the endzone but fell short, causing time to expire and the Chiefs to be crowned as Super Bowl Champions. 

This was Patrick Mahomes’s second Superbowl win and second Super Bowl MVP. Mahomes did not have an outstanding game stat-wise. Mahomes threw three touchdowns with only 182 passing yards and 44 rushing yards. 

For his first time playing in the Super Bowl, Hurts had a better overall performance than Mahomes. Hurts threw one touchdown with 304 passing yards and ran for three touchdowns with 70 rushing yards.

The game was a fantastic matchup that no one expected to happen. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see these two teams on the same stage next year if they perform as well as they did this season. Only time will tell.

The Wildcats continue their battle in the animal kingdom after taking on the Skyhawks and Polar Bears; Up next is a big Cat rematch with the Tigers

 

         The Logan High School Wildcats boys’ basketball team (10-9) went 1-1 over its last two games, with a win Friday over the Scott High School Skyhawks (12-7) and a loss to the Fairmont Senior High School Polar Bears (14-1). Despite coming off a loss, the Wildcats are prepared for their rematch Friday against the team’s cross-county rival, the Chapmanville Regional High School Tigers (14-2).

         

LOGAN VS. SCOTT RECAP

         The rematch between the Wildcats and the Skyhawks looked similar to the two teams' first season encounter, with the game staying close until the buzzer sounded, and ending with a final score of 59-55.

        

             Due to an ankle injury, the Wildcats were without another starter, junior guard Cole Blankenship. The Wildcats started junior guard, Derek Browning in Blankenship’s place, and Browning was ready to step up in his role as a starter. 

            His teammates refer to Browning as the ‘microwave’ for his ability to come into the game and heat up quickly, and he did just that. Browning finished the game with 22 points, hitting four three-pointers, three of the four falling in the first quarter and shooting six for six from the free-throw line. 

Derek Browning sinks clutch free throws

D. Browning earned himself Mountain Dreams Media player of the game for his overall performance, but the team was led in scoring by senior guard Scotty Browning. S. Browning finished the contest with 25 points and 5 rebounds. The two Wildcat guards combined for 47 of the team's points and combined for 10 free throws in the fourth quarter to ice the game.

 

        

            

            This increased the Wildcat’s Cardinal Conference to 6-3 and put the Skyhawks at 6-5. Both teams have two conference games left, with the Wildcats to play the Chapmanville Tigers (8-0) and the Wayne Pioneers (1-6), and the Skyhawks also having to face the Tigers and then the Sissonville Indians (0-9). 

       

       These final games will help both teams make a case for the first-place seed in the sectional tournament, in which the seeding is decided by the four coaches of the teams competing: The Logan Wildcats, the Scott Skyhawks, the Lincoln County Panthers and the Wayne Pioneers. 

LOGAN VS. FAIRMONT SENIOR RECAP

            The Wildcats suffered a loss Monday against the Polar Bears in the two teams’ second matchup of the season during the Par Mar Shootout at West Virginia State University. The Wildcats and Polar Bears' first meeting was Dec. 10 at Fairmont Senior High School, where the Polar Bears led in scoring throughout the entire game and walked away victorious 58-46. 

The teams’ second meeting was a nail-biter that went down to the wire. The Polar Bears led most of the contest, with the Wildcats fighting back and taking the lead by two with just 1 minute 38 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

 

The Wildcats increased their lead by six with 33.5 seconds to go, but the Polar Bears refused to give up. The Polar Bears made a quick two-point bucket, forced back-to-back turnovers and capitalized on them by scoring on both offensive possessions, which put the Polar Bears ahead by one point.

 

The Wildcats had a chance to win after breaking the Polar Bear’s press and Scotty Browning speeding down the court for a transition layup, but just barely laying the ball up short, resulting in the Polar Bears’ win 53-52. 

The Wildcat's scoring was led by junior guard, Julius Clancy with 12 points, Scotty Browning with 15 points and Derek Browning with 16 points. 

The Polar Bears' scoring was led by senior forward, DeSean Good with 18 points and junior guard, Zycheus Dobbs with 21 points. Dobbs saved the game for the Polar Bears by scoring the team's last seven points and getting them the comeback win.

 

UP NEXT FOR THE WILDCATS

         The Wildcats are set for their rivalry rematch Friday against the Chapmanville Tigers. The Tigers won the first contest in overtime 70-64, with the Wildcats losing Scotty Browning early in the fourth due to concussion. It was a scoring battle between the Wildcat’s Browning, finishing with 24 points, and Tigers senior guard Sal Dean, with 26 points.

         

            The Wildcats will be without two players who played in the two teams’ first meeting this season, senior guard Garrett Williamson due to a knee injury and Cole Blankenship due to an ankle injury, but the team will have a player returning from injury for the game.

         

            Senior forward, Aiden Slack suffered a knee injury before the season began and was uncertain if he would be healed enough to play. With Slack cleared to play, The Wildcats are ready to see him back on the court. Slack is the team's defensive anchor and is always prepared to guard the opposing team’s best player. 

       

            With the Wildcats having players back from injury, multiple players performing well off the bench, and the game taking place in their home gym, fans can expect history to repeat itself, with the game having the potential to be another knockdown drag-out.

The game will tip off Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Willie Akers Arena at Logan High School and will be streamed live on Facebook by Mountain Dreams Media.

 

WILDCATS BLACK HISTORY MONTH TRIBUTE

Julius Clancy sporting the BHM jersey

In honor of Black History Month, The Wildcats will pay homage to the first all-Black school in Logan, West Virginia, Aracoma High School. The Wildcats will wear custom jerseys during the game that read ‘Aracoma’ across the chest, have Aracoma High School’s mascot, the Bulldog, on the shorts and sport the school’s colors of Kelly green and white, which is different from the Wildcat's usual blue and gold.

Aracoma High School began as a two-year high school in Aracoma Village in 1923. The school upgraded to a six-year high school and moved to a 10-room building at Coal Branch in 1929. The school was admitted to the North Central Association in 1933 and remained until it closed in 1962.

The Wildcats are heading home for a rematch with the Skyhawks

The Logan High School Wildcats boys’ basketball team (9-8) pulled out a much-needed win in its game over the weekend against the Nitro High School Wildcats (7-7) and is set to face off in a rematch at home Friday against the neighboring county rival, the Scott High School Skyhawks (10-6).

            The Logan Wildcats gained a big win in the Cardinal Conference matchup against the Nitro Wildcats Friday with a final score of 80-76. Even though it was a battle between Wildcats, the game was a dogfight, with big performances from multiple players on both teams. 

THE NITRO WILDCATS PERFORMANCE RECAP

            Nitro had four players finish with double digits in points: senior Derick Woodrum with 17 points, sophomore Ashton Crouch with 18 points, Sophomore Derek Lowe leading all scorers with 22 points and an impressive double-double performance from sophomore Landon Poniatowski, who finished the contest with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists.

            This Nitro team has great potential to become even better in years to come, with so many young players performing at such a high rate. 

THE LOGAN WILDCATS PERFORMANCE RECAP

            Overall, Logan played excellent team basketball. Everyone crashed the boards and moved the ball well, getting many players involved and resulting in five Wildcats finishing the game with double digits in points: sophomore McCormick Ilderton with 13 points, junior Cole Blankenship with 13 points and 5 rebounds, junior Julius Clancy with 14 points and 4 rebounds, Senior Jarron Glick with 15 points and 4 rebounds and senior Scotty Browning leading the team with 16 points and 5 assists.

          This win was a must for a recovering Wildcats team as they try to turn their season around after losing multiple players to injury. 

Post-game, former Logan High Wildcats boys’ basketball head coach Mark Hatcher, interviewed the team's current head coach, Zach Green, on Mountain Dreams Media. 

McCormick Ilderton drives to the basket for a tough layup

Hatcher asked Green about some things the team could work on, and the coach summed up that they needed to focus on two crucial things, sitting down and guarding their opponents, and not allowing the other team to put up more than one shot per possession by crashing the board on defense.

COMING UP FOR THE WILDCATS

The Wildcats have increased their record to 9-8 and are focused on staying positive as they prepare for their game Friday at home against the Scott Skyhawks. The Skyhawks suffered a tough loss at home Tuesday in a close game against the Charleston Catholic High School Fighting Irish, with a final score of 61-56. 

The last time the Wildcats and the Skyhawks met, both teams were without their star players. The Wildcats were without senior guard Scotty Browning, and the Skyhawks were without senior guard Reece Carden. The Skyhawks walked away victorious with a final score of 68-59.

            With Browning and Carden healthy and back in action, this game will surely be a barn burner. The two players lead their team in scoring, averaging over 20 points per game, and have offers to play basketball at the collegiate level.

With the season coming to an end and sectionals right around the corner, both teams are fighting for the third and fourth spots in the conference. This game will play a significant role in seeding for both teams, with Logan sitting in third place with a conference record of 5-3, and Scott in fourth at 6-4.

The Wildcats will take on the Skyhawks Friday in the Wille Akers Arena at Logan High School. The junior varsity game will start at 5:30 p.m., followed by the varsity game at 7:30 p.m. The varsity game will be streamed live on Facebook by Mountain Dreams Media.