Wolverines Advance to State After Win Over Armuchee
By EDDY GIFFORD
Sports Writer
Photo by Eddy Gifford – The Wolverines’ Levi Moreland gets off a shot against Chattooga in action earlier this season. The Wolverines qualified for the state tournament last week with a big upset of the Coosa Eagles in the region tournament at Armuchee High School. The Wolverines then lost to Chattooga and faced Trion on Tuesday at Armuchee with the winner getting the third seed in the first round of the state tournament.
The Wolverine basketball team traveled to Armuchee last Friday for their first game in the region tournament. This would be their biggest game of the season: win and advance to the state tournament, lose and the season is over.
Dade County faced the Coosa Eagles, a team they had lost to twice during the regular season, losing their first meeting 69-50 at Coosa and then dropping a heartbreaker at home late in the season 41-38.
The much-improved Wolverines, winners of nine of their last 12 games, came out determined to erase the past two games against the Eagles and quickly took control.
Dade would double up the Eagles in the first quarter, outscoring them 18-9 and taking a big nine-point lead.
The Wolverine defense was even better in the second quarter as they held Coosa to just five points while pouring in 19 of their own to take a commanding lead into the locker room at the end of the first half, 37-14.
The Eagles played a box and one on Brody Cooper in the first half and the Wolverines hit their open shots to build that 23 point lead.
The pace of the game slowed in the third quarter with Dade scoring only ten points, but the Eagles managed just eight and the lead was now 25 points, 47-22.
The Wolverines took advantage of their big lead to get everyone in the game in the fourth quarter gaining valuable experience for the future.
Coosa was able to close the gap in the fourth quarter but Dade came away with a 59–42 win.
Coach Kevin Templeton said, “We played great defense and held them to 14 first half points. Best half we played all year by far.”
Bryson Shrader and Cooper led the Wolverines with 11 points each. A total of ten Wolverines scored in the game.
With the win, Dade will advance to the state tournament that begins next week. The team’s finish in the tournament will determine their seed and where they will play. First and second seeds host and third and fourth seeds travel.
Coosa 09 05 08 20 42
Dade Co. 18 19 10 12 59
Bryson Shrader 11, Demetris Walker 2, H Garmany, Carter Christansen 2, Kade Pardue 3, Brody Cooper 11, Zach Counts 2, Jase Anderson, Ben Williams 7, Conner Wilburn 6, Levi Moreland 9, Braydan Jones 6.
On Saturday night, the Wolverines were back at Armuchee to face the Chattooga Indians. Dade dropped a close game to the Indians at home early in the season but got blown out at Chattooga late in the season.
The Wolverines got off to a good start as they swapped baskets in the first quarter and trailed by one point at the end, 12-11.
The Indians came to life in the second quarter and poured in 22 big points while Dade managed just 13 to trail 34-24 at the end of the first half.
The third quarter would be the downfall for the Wolverines as they managed just five points while Chattooga scored 21 to take a commanding 55-29 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Dade battled to the end but could not overcome the five-point third quarter and dropped a tough game, 65-42.
Cooper led the Wolverines with 13 points while Braydan Jones poured in 11 points.
Dade Co. 11 13 05 13 42
Chattooga 12 22 21 10 65
Bryson Shrader 2, Demetris Walker, H Garmany, Carter Christansen, Kade Pardue, Brody Cooper 13, Zach Counts 2, Jase Anderson 2, Ben Williams, Conner Wilburn 4, Levi Moreland 8, Braydan Jones 11.
The Wolverines just did not have anything left after the big win over Coosa on Friday night and will now play in the consolation game on Tuesday at Armuchee against the Trion Bulldogs at 5:30 p.m., to determine the third and fourth seeds for next week’s first round state tournament games.