BELLVILLE – With their tallest player at 6-3, the Clear Fork Colts will not play above the rim a lot this season.
But with six returning and athletic lettermen, the Colts will make many plays up and down the court in a big hurry.
That was on clear display Friday night, when the experienced Colts pressed, raced and shot past much taller Crestview, 80-46, in a game that was over at halftime for all intents and purposes. The non-league game was the season opener for both teams.
Senior Ridge Winand, a first-team all-Ohio Cardinal Conference performer last year, picked up where he left off and led the Colts with 31 points. Junior Kadin Chrastina, an honorable mention all-OCC pick as a sophomore, added 20.
Bryan Hissong, a 6-foot-7 senior, led the Cougars with 22 points, though 15 came in the fourth quarter which began with Clear Fork holding a commanding 67-31 lead. Hissong is joined in the Crestview starting lineup by 6-foot-4 junior Sawyer Radcliffe and 6-foot-5 senior Ben Olewiler, who added 10 points in a losing effort.
It was a tall, but not insurmountable, challenge for Clear Fork and veteran head coach Steve Bechtel.
“We know in almost every game we play this year that the other team will have a talented big man,” Bechtel said. “We just have to pressure the ball and try to keep it from going inside.
“With their size, we knew we didn’t match-up well, so we wanted to get them running,” Bechtel said.
An 11-2 Clear Fork spurt late in the first quarter broke open an 11-6 Colts lead and set the tone for what was to come in the second eight minutes. That’s when Clear Fork’s press took its heaviest toll, creating eight Crestview turnovers, wi th the Colts scoring quickly after six of the miscues.
Clear Fork, hitting 11 of 19 FG tries in the second quarter and eight of nine at the line, outscored the visitors, 31-9, creating a 53-19 halftime edge. Six different Colts scored in the decisive period.
“Our experience level is high and so are our expectations this season,” Bechtel said. “We should be doing the things we do very well.”
Crestview coach Bryan Hall said his team knew Clear Fork posed a serious challenge.
“All week long, we knew this would be a tough game. We knew Winand and Chrastina would be the big scorers and they were,” he said. “Clear Fork will be one of the top two or three teams in the Ohio Cardinal Conference, so we knew we would have our hands full.”
The Cougars plan to work the ball inside to Hissong and their other big men this season and had success in the fourth quarter as Clear Fork subbed freely.
“It was the first game and our guys’ emotions were high and we played nervously. We knew Clear Fork would pressure the ball out top. They did and we just kinda backed away from it,” he said. “We want to get out and run this season, too. But in order to do that, we need to know when to pull back, too.”
Clear Fork shot the ball well from the field and the foul line. The Colts connected on 31 of 52 FG attempts (60 percent) and 13 of 16 from the line (81 percent). Crestview hit just 40 percent from the field (19 of 47) and 57 percent from the line (eight of 14).
Despite the size disadvantage, Clear Fork had a 38-31 edge on the boards. The Colts committed just seven turnovers, compared to 18 for the Cougars.
If Bechtel had any criticism of his team, it was the fact the second half was played evenly, 27-27.
“We need to come out in the second half with a much greater sense of urgency,” he said. “Give Crestview and coach Hall a lot of credit. They played hard all night long.”
Clear Fork next travels to play Ashland next Friday in an OCC game. Crestview is home that night against Monroeville in a Firelands Conference clash.
Clear Fork also won the JV game, 42-37. Junior Lee Snyder led the Colts with 13 points. Junior Jobe Gray led the Cougars with 14 points and junior Garrett Schroeder added 10.
