Hartsburg-Emden boys regain the Traveling Tomahawk Trophy on Senior Night
Hartem defeats Midwest Central 65-49 on Senior Night

[February 15, 2017]  It was a perfect evening in Hartsburg for seniors Alec Hayes, Antonio Coit-Kirk, Brady Wolpert, Hunter Langley, Maddie Shawgo and Ashley Zinser. These six have been around a while entertaining the Hartem faithful and on Tuesday night they left no one disappointed.

As the orange and black crowd filled the stands to support these kids on this special evening, everyone had smiles on their faces the whole night through. The evening was a busy one, as it was a Coaches vs. Cancer game featuring a Tomahawk Conference matchup with Midwest Central. There were fundraising activities all over the school which featured dozens of raffle items, cakes, a 50-50 drawing and a delicious Avanti’s Gondola meal in the cafeteria.

The gym was also filled with little future Stags who entertained the crowd with their basketball skills and cheerleading talents at halftime.

And, as if the script was written to perfection the Hartem senior boys took to the court and with a goal in mind since the beginning of the season, these young men accomplished their mission and held the Tomahawk Trophy high at the end of the night.

Hartem Coach Jason Garber was all smiles after the win and so proud of these young men. About reclaiming the trophy, after losing it earlier in the season to Mount Pulaski, Coach Garber said, "It feels good. I was telling their coach, Brice Reining (Midwest Central) that once you lose something like that the kids understand how hard they worked for it to get it and then when you lose it, they just had heart and desire to get that thing back. They just had a lot of emotion going into it and they played really well."

On senior night no doubt, as the adrenaline was rushing, it could not have been more perfect. Coach Garber noted this had been a goal for Hayes, Wolpert and Coit-Kirk since the season began. “That’s something they set out for. It was a team goal at the beginning of the year, the three seniors, to win the Tomahawk and to have that trophy come back and get to keep it all summer long. It must be really great for them.”

Great for the fans, too, who were treated to some excellent Stag basketball. The Stags jumped out to an early first quarter 8-0 lead, as Hayes and Wolpert immediately started hitting threes. The Stags lead was 10-2 as Hayes poured in two points on a nice assist from Brody Baker and the team was fired up early.

The Raiders were not about to give up the trophy easily and they came roaring back to close to gap 10-8 as the first quarter came to a close.

Hayes opened the second quarter with a three and Hartem was ready to go on a run. Hayes scored the first nine points of the quarter, but as always he does not do it alone. This team hustles and plays together exceptionally well and their level of intensity was certainly at a high here.

As Wolpert hustled through some big boys to get the rebound for Hartem under their own basket he quickly fired the ball out to an open Hayes who promptly made the score 19-10 with his nothing but net three. Needless to say the crowd loved it.

A minute later it was Hayes finding Coit-Kirk in the paint and dumping the ball off to the scrappy senior for two points and a 21-10 lead.

Baker, a junior, then got in on the scoring action for the Stags and he launched a three at the 2:48 mark that actually bounced really high off the rim and as the crowd held their breath and applause, the ball bounced back in through the net and Hartem was up 24-12.

Baker was every bit as pumped as the crowd and it showed. Seconds later Baker exploded to the basket for a layup that was good. He tried that a second time, this one being more of an NBA layup, but the refs called him for that extra step the pros get away with. Regardless his hustle and heart on the court had the blood rushing through everyone’s veins in the building.

Hayes would pour in the final basket of the second quarter and as the Stags headed to the locker room the score was 28-16, in their favor.

Hayes led all scorers at the half with 16 points.

The third quarter it was Coit-Kirk’s turn. He scored the first nine points for the Stags here. Coit-Kirk is so patient in the paint. He has mastered faking out those bigger guys in the lane and allows them to jump in the air showing off their verticals while he just waits his turn and quietly tosses the ball through the net. Nice job, Toni.

The Hartem lead was 37-27 after Coit-Kirk’s two free throws bounced in at the 2:37 mark and believe me the crowd was loving this.

Baker managed to keep the Raiders fans a little quiet with his three as the lead was resting at 40-29 with 1:23 left to play in the third quarter.

A few more points to finish out the third quarter gave Hartem a 44-31 lead and inched them closer to getting that Tomahawk back.

Eight more minutes to play. Can these guys hang on? You can bet your life on it. The focus was there.

The Stags quietly sank some free throws to start the final quarter but then Baker was heating up again. His three at the 6:35 mark allowed the Stags a 51-36 lead.

Then it was Baker driving thru the lane, losing the ball for a split second and then grabbing it in mid-air and tossing it through the net just in time. He nearly outran the ball, as he is more than capable of doing, oh that adrenaline.

Seconds later it was Wolpert hustling downcourt and running into the wall hard. Timeout was called for him to gather his senses. He was okay. Just fired up. The Stags settled down and scored just about all the remaining points from the free throw line. And that was okay. The guys deserved a breather.

Coit-Kirk and Zach Phillips did hit a couple field goals late in the fourth quarter to finish up the scoring. With just under a minute left the Stags dribbled time off the clock and the crowd loved that, too.

The final score showed a Stags victory, 65-49.

Immediately after shaking hands with Midwest Central, Hayes led the way over to the corner of the stage to grab the Tomahawk Trophy. The team gathered around him to admire it and get their hands on it, too. Smiles a mile wide throughout the gym.

When the trio of seniors was asked following the win for their highlight of the season, Hayes didn’t hesitate to say, “Probably getting this,” while holding the trophy. Wolpert chimed in, “Getting this and breaking records.”

Wolpert is now the all-time steals leader in Hartem history and he’s not done yet. “Actually I just tied the single-season record as well tonight,” said Wolpert.

A smiling Coit-Kirk could not pinpoint a highlight, but his tough play all season long was without a doubt a highlight for the fans. "I don’t know. I don’t really have any,” said Coit-Kirk. "I am just here to play defense for these guys so they can put the ball in,” he said.

Finally, Hayes added this about the Tomahawk, "We lost it earlier this season and it’s just sweet to get it back.” Sweet it is and earned with a lot of sweat dripping from these guys. A lot of sweat. Those three at the end of the game were wringing wet. That didn’t stop family and friends from grabbing them for pictures, though. The gym was full of well-wishers after the game, and making his way through the crowd, one proud coach.

When Coach Garber was asked what he would miss about his seniors, he paused to think. “Wow, that’s a tough one,” he said. "Just being around them the most. Those are three kids that have been in the program and put in the hard work for four years and were great leaders to the guys, not only on the court but off the court. They are great in the classroom, they are great in the community. These are just three kids that you can really respect. They are going to have bright futures. They are all three really great kids.”

Kids who are not ready to be done playing basketball either. Wolpert will continue adding to his steals total, Hayes will continue to move up on the 1,000 point club list, and well, Coit-Kirk, he will just keep doing what he’s doing.

Hartem (15-12) travels to Heyworth Friday night for the last regular season game. Regionals begin next week for the Stags.

Hartem 65

Hayes 25
Baker 16
Coit-Kirk 13
Wolpert 7
Vetter 2
Phillips 2

Midwest Central 49

Richardson 10
Weyhrich 9
Watts 8
Schunn 7
Wagle 6
Goetze 6
Wundley 3

[Teena Lowery]