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Can the Rebels rise again? South Gray boys will have to overcome inexperience
Published 12/4/2008 in Special Sections : Area High Schools
By BRETT MARSHALL
Back-to-back Class 1A state championships. A 77-5 record over three years. Twenty-seven years coaching at the same school.
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Laurie Sisk/Telegram — The South Gray boys basketball team celebrates its second straight Class 1A state championship in March at Hays.
The sun rises in the East and sets in the West.
There are just some givens in life and South Gray boys basketball coach Mark Applegate has seen his share of the good times. And he hopes they don't end.
But even the most pragmatic coach and optimistic sports fan would agree that Applegate will have a tough task ahead of him this season as he prepares his Rebels to defend the last two 1A titles.
"Talent-wise, depth-wise, experience-wise, we're below where we've been the last two years," Applegate said. "But we haven't lost a junior varsity game in the last two years and I'm hopeful that some of our younger kids will learn from the experience that we've enjoyed and pick up on that success."
Only one starter returns from last year's team that went 25-3 with a 49-42 victory over Hanover to seal the championship. Senior guard Chet Skinner, is the only returner after averaging just four points a game last season. Skinner was a second team all SPIAA selection last year in spite of his limited scoring output. Sixth-man Weston Koehn, a 6-3 senior, was expected to move right into a starting slot for Applegate, but an injury to one of his fingers in shop class put his season on hold.
"He's out indefinitely, that's about all I can say," Applegate said. "They saved the finger and he's actually doing well. We will miss his leadership on the floor and his basketball knowledge and ability. We hope that he can come back at some point, but we won't know a lot until after the Christmas break."
Applegate will be relying heavily on his reserve point guard from last season -- Chase Clancy, a 6-0 junior -- who got quality minutes at the state tournament for the Rebels.
"He's going to have to step up and be our floor leader," Applegate said.
In all likelihood, 5-11 senior guard Bobby Smith will move into the starting lineup as will 6-4 Bligh Schulte, who didn't play much on the varsity last season. That leaves plenty of playing time available for 6-1 junior Ricky Friesen, 5-10 sophomore Garrison Hendricks and 5-8 senior Richie Alcala. Another player that Applegate was counting on, 6-4 sophomore Austin Love, was involved in a go-cart accident about two months ago and is recovering from a broken arm.
"We're hoping to get him released to begin practicing soon," Applegate said. "He didn't play varsity last year, but we felt he was ready to move up to that level this year."
Applegate is realistic enough to know that his team will have some growing pains this season.
"It's going to take a while to learn each other's tendencies and to become a team," Applegate said.
While Applegate doesn't particularly dwell on past accomplishments, he readily admits winning the back-to-back titles was pretty special, especially when he had the chance to coach his son, Eli.
"Last year was a special feeling, the way we won it," Applegate said.. "We had three close games (43-41 over Centralia, 44-43 over Colony-Crest and 49-42 over Hanover) and we just had a never-say-die attitude. It was a great way for those seniors to go out."
The fact Applegate and his team had just won their second straight title and had come on the heels of the Lady Rebels' first state title earlier in the day was not lost on the veteran coach.
"I told Tasha (Trundle) that she didn't have anywhere to go but down," Applegate said jokingly. "This is just such a great place to coach and I feel fortunate to be here."
Applegate has been around the block long enough to remember the days when South Gray was but a long-distance concept and Montezuma and Copeland were still individual schools.
"We used to bang our heads against each other during the season and then neither school was strong enough to go very far in the post-season," Applegate recalled of the pre-consolidation era which saw the first graduating class in 1992. "The first year we were one school as far as the students were concerned," Applegate said. "They knew it should have happened sooner, but it did take some time for the adults to warm up to the one school idea."
Applegate simply points to the success of the school in all sports -- football, cross country, basketball, volleyball -- all activities -- as reasons for enjoying the atmosphere afforded at South Gray.
"Academically, we can offer more because of the larger student body," he said.
While memories are still fresh in his mind, Applegate is more focused on the start of this season which tips-off Friday night.
"The (practices) have gone pretty good for the ones that are there," Applegate said. "You never know how things are until you go out to play to see where you're at."
He'll soon find out and find out if there is a dream down the road of No. 3.
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South Gray Rebels
League: SPIAA
Class: 1A
2007-2008 Record: 25-3
Boys Coach: Mark Applegate (28th year)
Returning Starters: Chet Skinner (6-0 Sr.).
Top Returners: Bobby Smith (5-11 Sr., G), Chase Clancy (6-0 Jr., G), Weston Koehn (6-3 Sr., F), Bligh Schulte (6-4 Jr., C).
Key Newcomers: Austin Love (6-4 So., C), Ricky Friesen (6-1 Jr., F), Garrison Hendricks (5-10 Jr., G), Richie Alcala (5-8 Sr., G).
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SCHEDULE (Homes Games in ALL CAPS)
Dec. 5-SATANTA; Dec. 9-13-at Cimarron Blue Jay Invitational; Dec. 16-SPEARVILLE; Dec. 19-at Ingalls; Jan. 6-at Meade; Jan. 9-PAWNEE HEIGHTS; Jan. 13-at Minneola; Jan. 16-at Haviland; Jan. 24-31-SPIAA League at Dodge City Civic Center; Feb. 3-at Ashland; Feb. 6-at Bucklin; Feb. 10-FOWLER; Feb. 13-at South Central; Feb. 17-at Sublette; Feb. 20-GREENSBURG.
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