Sports
Meigs Drops To Warren 75-39 In Season-Opener
< < Back toA young Meigs team (0-1) could not keep up with the fast Warren Warriors’ (1-0) offense as the Marauders fell 75-39 in their season-opener Friday night.
Warren’s offense ran at a high pace. Their ball movement around the court was too fast for Meigs to keep up with.
The Marauders came out fierce for the first three minutes, but things soon fell apart. After a 5-4 start in the Warrior’s favor, the floodgates opened.
The Warriors made crisp, decisive passes around the court, keeping the Marauders’ defense on the move and leaving men open on the perimeter. The ball frequently landed in Blake Kidder’s hands in the corner. Several times, Kidder drove to the hoop and put the ball in off the backboard. He finished with 27 points and was 10 of 11 from inside the arc.
The Warriors opened up its large lead when it went on a 20-0 run to finish the first quarter. The run ended a couple minutes into the second quarter at 24.
On defense, Warren attacked the Marauders with a full-court press and trap defense that forced 20 turnovers. Meigs head coach Ed Fry hopes he can fix this problem early in the season.
“When they get under pressure, the kids sometimes forget what they’ve been trained to do,” Fry said.
Starting sophomore point guard Dillon Mahr was constantly pressured by the Warriors. He panicked often in the first quarter, turning the ball over four times in those first eight minutes. Mahr had good vision from then on and was able to find the open man cross-court. Mahr turned the ball over just two additional times in the remaining three quarters.
The Marauders started three sophomores. Their inexperience was noticeable in the first quarter, but once over the initial hump, they competed with the Warriors on the majority of possessions.
Warren, who reached the district final last year, proved to be a tough opponent for Meigs in their first game of the season. Even with the tough loss, the Marauders played well in some moments.
Under the hoop, Jaxon Meadows grabbed twelve boards. He pulled the ball down on defense on over 41 percent of Warren’s misses. His presence when the ball was in the air kept the Marauders going.
With less than two minutes in the third quarter, Isaiah English pulled down a rebound, steamed down court and put the ball in the hoop, drawing a foul. He knocked down the free throw, completing the coast-to-coast, three-point play.
One of two seniors on the Meigs roster, English proved that he will be the leader for his team on the court this year. Despite the game finishing as a 36-point loss, he played with confidence. English attacked the rim often, finding gaps in the Warrior defense and laying it in. He led the Marauders with 15 points.
Ty Phelps, the other senior on Meigs’ roster, suffered a torn ACL and broken arm in a preseason scrimmage. He will not be able to play his senior season. Many of the other players are banged up, which forced Fry to pull up JV players for the game.
“We need to get our players back,” he said. “We had to throw some kids in the fire that haven’t even been close to the fire before.”
Meigs will look to bounce back against Fairland on Dec. 9.