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 The Hartem boys basketball team was scheduled to play in the
Illini Central Coaches vs. Cancer showcase Saturday night but that
event got cancelled, according to Coach Jason Garber. So the Stags
ended up playing in Moline.
As chance would have it, Moline’s game that was scheduled with
Muscatine was also cancelled Saturday, so with an open game for each
team fate put the two teams together.
Actually according to Coach Garber, “They (Moline) reached out to us
and we accepted. We played in the historic Wharton Field House. It
was a fun experience for the boys.”
A unique experience, too, from so many angles.
First off, Hartem is a school with an enrollment of 64 students
while Moline High School is the only public high school in that city
and features an enrollment of 2,108 students. So, Saturday’s matchup
of a Class 1A school from Logan County versus a Class 4A powerhouse
located in the heart of John Deere country way over yonder by the
Mississippi River was unique in its own right.
 Then the venue, the historic Wharton Field House, provided yet
another interesting angle to the event. This building, which is
currently the home to Moline High School's basketball and volleyball
teams, seats 7,000 and has hosted a ton of exciting sporting events
ever since it opened in 1928.
The building was also home to various professional sports teams and
even hosted several concerts back in the day. Notable people who
performed there in the past included Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and
even Bill Haley and the Comets.
Wharton Field House also hosted wresting events for nearly 50 years.
A boxer by the name of Joe Louis also competed in the historic
building. The USA Today once named Wharton Field House as one of the
top places to play high school basketball.
All of this history thanks to a man named Theodore Finley Wharton,
who as President of the Moline High School Athletic Booster Club
decided to organize a group of people to raise funds for a new
building that would host the Moline Maroon teams. In the 1920s this
group would raise the $175,000 needed and the rest is history.
So, nearly 100 years later when the Hartem Stags received the invite
to play at the Wharton Field House, it’s no wonder they accepted the
offer.
Hartem player Alec Hayes offered his comments on this experience:
“It was a very awesome experience that we all will remember for the
rest of our lives. It was like playing in an arena setting. None of
us had ever got to experience something like that, so I thought it
was very cool! The game didn’t go as we hoped. I’ll give it to them.
They are very good. They shot lights out all night, so give them
credit. We did lose but it’s not like everyday a 1A school of 64
kids gets to play a school with 2000 more kids than you. Everybody
there was very nice and welcomed us. It’s a great experience and I
feel like we could have played better and been in the game the whole
way but that’s basketball.”
While the ballgame was not the outcome the Stags desired at least
the experience was one they will never forget.
Moline defeated Hartem 89-56 in a game where fans witnessed the home
team connecting for 16 threes.
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Hartem did manage to score 6 threes, with Brady Wolpert and Alec
Hayes hitting three apiece.
The Maroons led the game 28-11 after the first quarter and by the
half they were taking it to the Stags pretty good by a score of
59-24.
Remember it was definitely a matchup of the big city kids versus the boys from
the little town with no stoplights.
In the second half Wolpert came alive for the Stags and scored all of his 13
points here. Still the Stags trailed 67-41 at the end of the three and all that
was left to be determined was the final score.
After 32 minutes of play the Stags fell by a score of 89-56 but they could still
hold their heads high leaving the historic gymnasium behind with memories to
last a lifetime.
Alec Hayes led the Stags with 22 points. Brady Wolpert and Antonio Coit-Kirk
also reached double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively.
Hartem record is 14-12
Moline’s record is 18-8
Hartem will celebrate Senior Night on Tuesday this week with a game versus
Midwest Central.
The invite goes out to Hartsburg-Emden people to attend Tuesday, February 14th
at the high school for Senior Night and Coaches vs Cancer. A dinner will be
served from 4:30-7 p.m. in the cafeteria. Avanti's sub, chips, pickle, dessert,
and drink. Please spread the word. It's for a great cause and stay to cheer on
our STAGS!
The Stags will play at Heyworth on Friday night as the regular season comes to a
close.
Hartem 56
Hayes 22
Wolpert 13
Coit-Kirk 10
Baker 6
Vetter 2
Phillips 2
Garcia 1
Moline 89
Billups 21
Detaeye 12
Pittington 11
Hurt 11
Williams 10
T. Hurt 2
Harding 4
Monroe 2
McInnis 3
Martin 6
Atnip 7
[Teena Lowery] |
