Laingsburg at Pewamo-Westphalia – – CMAC Boys Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – January 5, 2023 – – by Chuck Krafft

In the beginning of this You Tube Channel Song Post, I inform the listeners that you never know where the Red River Valley will lead you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w03AhhNk1M8

Unfortunately, it does not lead to Pewamo-Westphalia, but Grange Road, with a bit of help from Price Road and Clintonia Road does eventually get you there, so your Bleacher Denizen will be able to do this CMAC Boys Game of the Week. I admit that since I also called Potterville at Saranac that same name, that I may be facing repercussions from the Blog Naming Powers that Be. However, as I am too lazy to do a massive edit of last night’s blog, we will go with this. There hasn’t been a game of the week for a couple weeks, so maybe we were due for two this week.

The Wolfpack from Laingsburg has a 6-0 record while Pewamo-Westphalia (mostly known as P-W because your Bleacher Denizen has a lazy streak) is at 5-1. Their only loss has been to Division 2 Ionia; P-W is still undefeated in the CMAC. (Laingsburg and P-W are both in Division 3.) This is an important game. Brock Palmbos and Doc Love are here to broadcast it on AM-730!! I suppose this means I need to be extra careful with my notes as they could be checked against their broadcast! The pressure is on!!!

As I covered Laingsburg’s game with Perry a couple weeks ago, I will use the information that Coach Daniel Morrill gave me to give you some background information on the Wolfpack’s players.

Zander Woodruff is a great scorer and defender. He is really quick and handles the ball well. He is solid on his perimeter defender. He can score effectively on fast breaks, slashes to the basket or three point shots. Eli Woodruff plays a bit more in the post although he is a capable defender anywhere on the floor. He is a strong rebounder and post scorer as well.

Brayden Thomas, who operates at the point is a great perimeter defender who handles the ball well and is a good decision-maker, especially on the fast break. He can slash to the basket and score and needs to be defended at the three point line as well. Luke Snyder defends and rebounds well in the post. His great footwork also makes him a scoring threat near the basket. Ty Randall is a tough and fearless player who is certainly willing to take a charging foul. He is a fine athlete who can defend in the post or on the perimeter. He is a solid shooter inside and from three point range as well.

Cam Ballard handles the ball well and has a great basketball IQ. Jacob Essenberg is another guard who can play the point. He is a good scorer who can hit the three point shot.

Coaches Dominic Schneider and Damon Pline gave me this information about their Pirate players.

Jamison Eklund was named by Mick McCabe from the Detroit Free Press as one of Michigan’s top 100 High School players. He is tall, athletic and quite versatile. He has a great three point shot, handles the ball well, moves well when he defends on the perimeter and does well at all the inside things most centers have to do. Grady Eklund, a freshman brother of Jamison Eklund is the point guard for the Pirates. He is a solid ball handler who defends and scores well either in the paint or on the perimeter.

Luke Smith and Kash Pohl are both good three point shooters and strong perimeter defenders. Ben Smith does a lot of screening and the unsung things that good teams need to be successful. He is a fine rebounder and defends well in the paint.

I got here in time to watch the JV game. Laingsburg took a 14-9 lead after one quarter and moved out to a 22-11 halftime lead. The JV Wolfpack increased their lead to 40-26 after three quarters. P-W rallied a bit in the fourth quarter to pull within nine points at 46-37, but were never able to get closer than eight points. (With 40 seconds left in the game, the score was 50-42.) Laingsburg won the game by the final score of 52-43.

Trevor Smith led the P-W JVs with 10 points. Dominic Weber and Brady Heckman supported their teammate with 7 points. Kiefer Trimmer and Landon Pohl each tossed in 6 points. Cody Fox added 3 points. Brayton Thelen and Isaac Thelen each tallied 2 points.

Logan Holm led the Wolfpack JV with 16 points. Leandro Dolega-Caceres contributed 12 points. Mitchell George joined his teammates in double figures with 10 points. Colin Hart and Dominic Garcia each scored 6 points. Greg Stewart had 2 points.

It is now time to look at the events of this game through the blurry lenses of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league during the ancient times when he was considered to be “young.” He was making progress as a three point shooter, but when they changed the rules so that he was no longer allowed to use a catapult to launch the shots, his basketball career was doomed!!

Laingsburg wins the opening tap. Brayden Thomas passes to Eli Woodruff, who throws in a threeball from the wing to give the Wolfpack the first three points of the game. P-W misses an eight footer off the dribble from the baseline. Laingsburg misfires on a triple try from the wing. Jamison Eklund is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws to trim the Wolfpack lead to 3-1 with 6:42 to play in the first quarter.

Laingsburg misses a driving six footer from the side of the lane. P-W misses a threeball from the side. Laingsburg misses a twelve footer from the side of the lane. P-W misses a three point shot from the wing. Laingsburg misfires on a threeball from the corner. P-W misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Eli Woodruff drives the baseline and is fouled on a layup. He hits one of his two free throws to push the Wolfpack to a 4-1 leaded with 4:36 remaining in the first quarter.

Ty Randall steals the ball for Laingsburg. Trevor Spitzley draws a charging foul from the Wolfpack. P-W misses a layup. Laingsburg misses a fifteen footer off the dribble from the wing. P-W fouls on the rebound. Laingsburg misses a ten foot driving shot in the lane. Ty Randall hustles and throws the ball off a P-W player to earn another possession for the Wolfpack. Lane Trierweiler blocks a Wolfpack layup. Jamison Eklund is fouled on a ten foot shot in the lane. He hits one of his two free throws to trim the Wolfpack lead to 4-2 with 3:08 to go in the first quarter.

Laingsburg misses a three pointer from the corner. Jamison Eklund passes to a teammate who is fouled on a layup, but misses both his free throws. Cam Ballard passes to Jacob Essenberg, who slings in a three pointer from the wing to give Laingsburg a 7-2 lead.

P-W misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. Reece Thelen and Brandon George team up to double team a Wolfpack ball handler and knock the ball out of bounds. Laingsburg retains possession. Luke Smith blocks a Laingsburg layup. P-W misses a three pointer from the corner. Laingsburg misses a three pointer from the side. Zander Woodruff steals the ball for Laingsburg. Laingsburg misses a fast break layup. Jamison Eklund drives and dishes the ball to Lane Trierweiler, who sinks a threeball from the corner to chop the Wolfpack lead to 7-5.

Laingsburg misses a jump shot. Ty Randall steals the ball and hits a fast break layup just before the first quarter buzzer sounds to push the Wolfpack lead to four points.

After one quarter, Laingsburg has a 9-5 lead.

P-W inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. The Pirates miss a three point shot from the wing. Luke Snyder backs in and banks in a short hook shot for the Wolfpack. Cam Ballard blocks a Pirate layup. Zander Woodruff hits a fast break layup for Laingsburg. P-W misses a seventeen foot shot from the wing. Zander Woodruff drives and scoops in a six foot shot in the lane to push the Wolfpack lead to 15-5.

P-W misses a driving eight foot shot in the lane. Luke Snyder uses a nice post move to free himself for a Laingsburg layup. Kash Pohl drives and hits a layup for P-W. Kash Pohl steals the ball; the Pirates miss a fast break layup. Laingsburg commits an offensive foul. Cam Ballard steals the ball for Laingsburg. Zander Woodruff hits a layup to give the Wolfpack a 19-7 lead.

P-W misses a three point shot from the wing, but the Pirates get the offensive rebound. Ty Randall draws a charging foul from P-W. Laingsburg misses a jumper off the dribble from the free throw elbow. Luke Smith hits a three point shot from the corner for P-W. Laingsburg misses a three pointer from the corner. Luke Snyder hits a putback for the Wolfpack. Jamison Eklund nails a thr4ee point shot from the wing for P-W. Zander Woodruff is fouled and hits both free throws in a one and one opportunity to give Laingsburg a 23-13 lead with 2:07 to play in the first half.

Grady Eklund drives coast to coast for a Pirate layup. Jacob Essenberg is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to boost the Wolfpack lead to 25-15 with 1:47 left in the half.

P-W misfires on a threeball from the wing. Laingsburg misses an eight foot shot from the side. Jacob Essenberg pulls down the offensive rebound for the Wolfpack. Laingsburg misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Reece Thelen passes to Kash Pohl, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws for P-W to trim the Laingsburg lead to 25-16 with 47.9 seconds left on the first half clock.

Laingsburg holds the ball for the last shot, but Kash Pohl draws a charging foul with 2.2 seconds to go. P-W misses a seventy foot heave as the halftime buzzer blares.

Laingsburg has a 25-16 halftime lead.

Jamison Eklund leads the Pirate scoring at halftime with 5 points.

Zander Woodruff has 8 points, Luke Snyder has 6 points and Jacob Essenberg has 5 points for Laingsburg.

As I had to go west from Lansing to come to the game, maybe it’s appropriate that we listen to this Western song from my You Tube Channel. (OK, even I have to admit that this is a flimsy piece of logic, but I guess I lost all pride when they took my shooting catapult away and wrecked my game.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlPaiHsbOnA

Laingsburg has the ball to begin the third quarter. Zander Woodruff drives and hits a ten foot shot in the lane for the Wolfpack. Luke Smith passes to Grady Eklund, who hits a three point shot from the corner for P-W. Kash Pohl draws a charging foul from Laingsburg. P-W throws a pass out of bounds. Zander Woodruff slings in a threeball from the wing to boost the Laingsburg lead to 30-19.

P-W misses a driving banked shot. Jamison Eklund gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W misses a layup. Zander Woodruff passes to Brayden Thomas, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Laingsburg. P-W throws a pass out of bounds. Laingsburg is assessed with a technical foul. Luke Smith steps to the line and hits the two technical free throws to trim the Laingsburg lead to 33-21 with 5:51 remaining in the third quarter.

P-W inbounds the ball after the technical free throws. Luke Snyder blocks a Pirate layup; the ball goes out of bounds and P-W gets another opportunity. Trevor Spitzley passes to Grady Eklund, who spins and hits a layup for P-W. Zander Woodruff hits a three point shot from the wing to extend the Wolfpack lead to 36-23.

Grady Eklund passes to Luke Smith, who hits a three point shot from the wing for P-W. Ty Randall inbounds the ball to Eli Woodruff, who hits a layup for Laingsburg. P-W misses a three point shot from the side. Trevor Spitzley blocks a Laingsburg shot. Grady Eklund is fouled on a fast break layup and hits two free throws for P-W to trim the Laingsburg lead to 38-28 with 4:22 to play in the third quarter.

Zander Woodruff drives and hits an eight foot runner for Laingsburg. P-W commits an offensive foul. Luke Snyder hits a short jumper for Laingsburg. Grady Eklund hits a layup for P-W. Jacob Essenberg drives and hits a layup for Laingsburg. P-W misses a three pointer from the corner. Laingsburg misses a fast break layup. P-W misses a three point shot from the corner. Zander Woodruff hits an eight footer off the dribble from the baseline for Laingsburg to extend their lead to 46-30.

Ty Randall steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for Laingsburg. Grady Eklund drives and scoops in a layup for P-W. Laingsburg turns the ball over. Luke Smith drives and hits a layup for P-W. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. With 1:06 left in the quarter, Laingsburg’s lead is at 48-34.

Jamison Eklund grabs the rebound from the missed free throw and hits a layup for P-W. Cam Ballard drives from the side and hits a layup for Laingsburg. Jamison Eklund shows a great handle (really impressive for a guy who is 6’6″!) and hits a driving layup for P-W. Jacob Essenberg passes to Ty Randall, who fakes, takes a quick hard dribble, rises for a three pointer and nails it at the buzzer to give Laingsburg a 53-38 lead after three quarters.

P-W inbounds the ball to get the fourth quarter underway. Jacob Essenberg dives and knocks the ball away from P-W. There are bodies (and sweat) all over the floor before the referees call timeout to wipe the slippery water off the floor. Laingsburg ends up with the ball. Brayden Thomas passes to Luke Snyder for a Wolfpack layup to push the Laingsburg lead to 55-38.

Ty Randall draws a charging foul from P-W. Laingsburg misses a layup. Zander Woodruff races to the corner to throw the ball off a Pirate player; this secures another possession for the Wolfpack. Zander Woodruff drives and is fouled on a ten foot shot in the lane. He hits two free throws to extend the Wolfpack lead to 57-38 with 6:38 left on the clock.

P-W misses a three pointer from the wing. Zander Woodruff drives and dishes the ball to Elliott Wilsey for a Laingsburg layup. Ty Randall goes to the floor to knock the ball away from P-W. The Pirates retain possession. P-W misses a three pointer from the wing. Luke Smith gets the offensive rebound for the Pirates. P-W misses a layup. They get the offensive rebound, but miss an eight foot shot in the lane and foul on that rebound. Brayden Thomas passes to Cam Ballard, who launches and hits a three point shot from the side to boost the Wolfpack lead to 62-38.

P-W misses a ten footer off the dribble from the side of the lane. Trevor Spitzley pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Jamison Eklund drives, spins and hits an eight foot banked shot for P-W. Brayden Thomas is fouled and hits two free throws for Laingsburg to push their lead to 64-38 with 4:06 to go.

P-W misses a three point shot from the wing. Laingsburg is assessed with a traveling violation. P-W misses a three pointer from the wing. Laingsburg misses a sixteen foot shot from the side. Kash Pohl drives and hits a layup for P-W. Laingsburg turns the ball over. P-W is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one free throw opportunity. Ben Smith steals the ball and passes to Dominic Weber, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to trim the Laingsburg lead to 64-44 with 2:34 left on the clock.

(The “left on the clock” phrase was stolen from Brock Palmbos, who uses that phrase frequently in his radio broadcasts. I owe you one, Brock. I love that phrase; it comes in very handy for me!)

Laingsburg is fouled, but misses the first shot of a one and one opportunity. Jacob Essenberg steals the ball for Laingsburg. The Wolfpack is assessed with a double dribble violation. P-W throws its inbound pass out of bounds. Laingsburg runs a delay game. Brandon George knocks the ball out of bounds, but Laingsburg gets it back. Laingsburg misses a six foot shot from the baseline. Aiden Maddaloni knocks the ball out of bounds; P-W retains possession. Trevor Spitzley hits a layup for P-W. Laingsburg dribbles out the clock.

Laingsburg wins 64-46 to remain undefeated in the CMAC.

Grady Eklund scored 13 points to lead Pewamo-Westphalia. Jamison Eklund added 11 points and Luke Smith scored 10 points. Kash Pohl threw in 5 points. Lane Trierweiler put in 3 points. Dominic Weber and Trevor Spitzley each added 2 points.

Zander Woodruff led the victorious Wolfpack with 22 points. Luke Snyder joined his teammate in double figures with 10 points. Jacob Essenberg and Ty Randall each scored 7 points. Eli Woodruff tossed in 6 points. Cam Ballard and Brayden Thomas each scored 5 points. Elliott Wilsey tallied 2 points.