Monday, March 10, 2014
ROGERS — Things went from bad to worse at the start of the season for Rogers High and the Mounties were never able to rebound as they missed the Class 7A State Tournament after eight consecutive trips.
Injuries to returning starters Hunter Hill and Brett Gentz slowed the start of the season and then after Christmas sophomore starter Jake Killingsworth moved to California. At the time, Rogers was 5-4, but would win just one more game the rest of the season.
How important was Killingsworth to the Mounties?
AT A GLANCE
Boys
Nov. 21^at Pea Ridge^W, 43-39
Nov. 26^at Mountain Home^L, 49-32
Republic, Mo. Tournamament*
Dec. 2^Rogersville, Mo.^L, 61-58
Arvest Hoopfest**
Dec. 12^Pea Ridge**^W, 51-31
Dec. 13^Waynesville, Mo.**^L, 54-47
Dec. 14^Fort Smith Southside**^W,
Dec. 20^at Conway^L, OT 56-46
Rolla, Mo. Tournament***
Dec. 26^Festus, Mo***.^W, 57-46
Dec. 27^Rolla, Mo.***^L, 61-52
Dec. 28^St. Louis Francis Howell***^W, 50-44
Jan. 4^at Webb City, Mo^W, 50-38
Jan. 10^Springdale High#^L, 67-49
Jan. 14^at Siloam Springs#^L, 53-52
Jan. 17^at Fayetteville#^L, 56-48
Jan. 21^Bentonville#^L, 71-45
Jan. 24^at Van Buren#^L, 48-32
Jan. 28^Rogers Heritage#^L, 68-54
Jan. 31^Springdale Har-Ber#^L, 72-57
Feb. 7^at Springdale High#^L, 72-56
Feb. 11^Siloam Springs#^L, 59-46
Feb. 14^Fayetteville#^L, 67-49
Feb. 18^at Bentonville#^L, 67-43
Feb. 21^Van Buren#^L, 46-34
Feb. 25^at Rogers Heritage#^L, 53-51
Feb. 28^at Springdale Har-Ber#^L, 88-66
#7A/6A-West Conference Game
Going to the final four games of the season the former Mounties player who played as a freshman was tied for the team rebound lead. He ended up finishing with 69 rebounds in nine games while the eventual rebound leader finished the season with 88.
“We struggled with rebounding all year,” Rogers coach Wayne Herren said. “We were out rebounded greatly. I don’t like to make excuses, but losing Jake hurt us more with rebounding and defense. That is where we missed him most, and we didn’t have anybody step up and take that role.”
But there were many bright spots. Rogers had a chance to win several conference games, losing at the buzzer at Siloam Springs and Rogers Heritage while being competitive in most conference games. While the Mounties will lose the scoring punch of senior Hunter Hill, four returning players received valuable playing time in the 7A/6A-West Conference.
“Obviously, we are disappointed in the fact that we didn’t win a conference game,” Herren said. “We had a couple of opportunities that were heart breakers. We were really close, but it came down to consistency. Most of our conference games at halftime, we were in all of them.
“Then in the third quarter, or the fourth quarter, we would hit a lull. We would have a hard time scoring, or we couldn’t stop someone from scoring. That summed up our season. Hunter tried to carry this team, but that wore him down by the end of the year.”
Zach Street will be one of the top returnees after averaging 11 points and three rebounds a game, and he had several big scoring games down the stretch. Edgar Martinez (eight points), Daniel Salvador (four points) and George Black (four points) also gained valuable experience.
“On the bright side, some of our young guys performed well down the stretch,” Herren said. “Zach shot the ball well for us. Our younger guys got an opportunity to get experience. It’s going to be hard to replace Hunter, however.”