Thursday Surprises

Besides the Winlock Toledo game a couple of other surprise wins (or losses) struck me hard this morning.

Castle Rock 61 Kalama 40

Castle Rock not only took out Kalama, they took them out by 21 on their home court. Kalama's leader Point Guard Brandon Walker, Robby Sanders and Matt Pollock all got into foul trouble in the 2nd quarter. The Rockets took a big lead in the 2nd quarter and extended it in the 4th. The Rockets have solid players in the starting line-up and are probably second to none in depth.

Black Hills 61 Hoquiam 56

After taking out Centralia a couple of weeks ago, Black Hills took down another highly ranked team in the form of Hoquiam. In the process of defeating the Grizzlies 61-56, they were able to hold streaky Joey Wayman to just 13 points.

My Early Season All-Stars

Call it my own early season All-Star team, but after having observed a few teams this year, there are a number of ball players that have been striking.

First of all, I can’t help but have my share of bias. I was a “true” point guard and love to watch a good #1 at work. Second, I have been to six of eight Winlock games and there is a good probability that I won’t miss another.

Having that, here are some of the players on my All-Star team at this young point in the season.

Point Guards

Brandon Walker, Kalama
Robby Sanders, Kalama
Tyler Hertz, Winlock
Mason Keller, Napavine

Wings
Blake Anthony, Napavine
Jordan Davis, Winlock
Nathan Booth, Winlock
David Wallace, Toledo

Post
Jake Brown, Winlock
Zack Gehring, Castle Rock

Honorable Mention
Jeff Campbell, Toutle Lake
Sage Chapman, Toutle Lake
Dustin Hamilton, Castle Rock
Cody O’Connor, Toutle Lake

Top Defenders
D.J. Herbert, Toledo
Matt Waltenberg, Napavine

Castle Rock Strikes Back

It was just a day or two ago that I declared my allegance to Kalama based on my observations of both teams and their performance against 2A Ridgefield.

!

Ridgefield defeated the Rockets earlier in the season and Kalama dropped a loss on them earlier this week. Last Night Castle Rock hosted the Spudders 52-38.

So, let's go back to the start The Rockets and the Chinooks are a match to really look forward to

It's Official, Kalama Becomes My Favorite for the Trico

It was hardly a blip on anybody's radar screen this morning, but one score buried deep in the list caught my attention.

Kalama 47 Ridgefield 45

I have made it no secret that Kalama and Castle Rock are my favorites in the Trico. After watching powerful Winlock paste the Chinooks earlier this season 61-30 at the Cardinal's "Bird Cage" and then struggle with a 59-45 win at Kalama, I was impressed! Yes, by Winlock and Kalama.

Robby Sanders (#2) has impressed many after the injury to Brandon Walker early in the season.

Since that time, Kalama had done nothing but win.

The next question is how good is Castle Rock? I watched them last week and was mildly impressed in a good defeat of Clatskanie from across the Columbia River in Oregon. A solid front court with shooters and big Zack Gehring in the middle; A formidable force.

One statistic that a few might have missed.

Ridgefield 51 Castle Rock 26.

Regardless, two dates circled on my calendar include January 22nd and February 10th when the Chinooks and Rockets meet home & home!