Cardinal boys take pair of harsh losses
by Doug Sands, student writer
The Eleva-Strum boys basketball team staggered under a pair of losses last week, falling to Melrose-Mindoro 64-45 and school rival Blair-Taylor, 52-41.
On Tuesday, Jan. 27, the Cardinals traveled to Melrose-Mindoro to take on the Mustangs. With a 9-4 record, the Mustangs were not easy pickings. Eleva-Strum came in hard and fast in the first quarter, but Melrose-Mindoro kept a cool head. They received their opponents in turn and kept pace. The Cardinals carved out a small lead in the second quarter, leading by two, 25-23, by halftime.
Coming out of the half, the Mustangs hit the Cardinals right between the eyes. E-S struggled, scoring just five points in the period while letting Melrose-Mindoro get ahead by 11 points. The Cardinals fought for a comeback in the fourth quarter, but the Mustangs kept their efforts pinned down, building a strong lead to defeat the Cards going away.
Leading the scoreboard for E-S with an impressive 19 points was Caleub Watkins, followed by Mathew Higley with nine, Kelton Olson with six, and Gage Everson with four.
Three days later the Cardinals suited up again for what could arguably be considered one of their biggest games of the season. Their opponents were the 9-4 Blair-Taylor Wildcats, a school rival since the beginning of Eleva-Strum basketball.
Building on this excitement, Eleva-Strum was also hosting its celebration of 100 years of WIAA boys’ basketball. They had invited out all past alumni to remember the triumphs and heartaches of high school basketball, with a special presentation at halftime to honor all those who gave so much for the program. Nearly every seat in the gymnasium was full as the community came out to see the action.
Eleva-Strum struck like lightning in the first quarter, but the Wildcats were ready. They danced out of the way, getting ahead of the Cardinals. B-T worked up a narrow two-point lead by the end of the first, 14-12. Eleva-Strum tripped in the second with a low-scoring quarter, giving their opponents the chance to stretch their lead.
Blair-Taylor took advantage, and by halftime they held a six-point lead, 22-16. The Cardinals fired up a heavy offensive drive in the third quarter, shredding the Wildcats’ momentum. The two teams struggled, grappling for the top spot. Eleva-Strum came close to a victory. But Blair-Taylor fired up their afterburners in the final quarter fueled by 22 points to the Cards’ 12 to slip out of reach with the 11-point win.
Watkins and Higley teamed up once again to lead the Cards on the scoreboard with 14 and 12 points, respectively, followed by Everson with seven.
Though perhaps shaken by last week’s losses the Cardinals (11-4 overall) are still in good shape in the conference standings, tied for first in the Small Dairyland with Gilmanton at 7-3.
E-S played a non-conference game at Mondovi on Tuesday, Feb. 3, and will host Gilmanton for a big DC rematch on Thursday, Feb. 5.
The Cards fell to the Panthers by six, 59-53, in the teams’ first meeting back in early December.
