Saranac at Portland St. Patrick – – CMAC Boys’ Basketball Game of the Week – – The Bleacher Denizen – – February 19, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the BleacherDenizenMobile is pointed at Portland Junior High where the St. Patrick Shamrocks will host the Saranac Red Hawks in the CMAC Boys Basketball Game of the Week. St. Patrick is in third place in the CMAC with a 13-4 record and is 15-5 overall this year. Saranac brings a 5-12 conference record and an 8-13 overall record to this game.

While we wait for this game to begin, I hope you will enjoy this cover video of “House of the Rising Sun” from my You Tube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm7njm5177I

When I saw St. Patrick earlier this season, Coach Curtis Meyers gave me this information about his Shamrock players. As it is Senior Night at St. Patrick, let’s introduce the seniors first!

Brady Leonard is an athletic guard who is playing his fourth year of varsity basketball. He is quick and aggressive when defending the perimeter; he is also strong and tough enough to defend in the post. He is a great leader and can slash to the basket to score or hit the three point shot.

Charlie Thelen is a tall player who is comfortable defending on the perimeter or in the post. He is able to score on slashes to the basket and also brings an accurate three point shot to the Shamrocks. He is a tough rebounder as well. Aiden Mosser is a strong, athletic defender who is comfortable on the perimeter or in the post.

Jerryd Scheurer is a complete guard who defends well on the perimeter and is a great ball handler and passer. He is an excellent three point shooter who can also score against the big guys in the lane. Tyler Thelen is a post player who is a great rebounder and defender in the lane. He is tough to stop when he shoots near the basket.

Mason Simon is a great perimeter defender and ball handler. Sean Fedewa is a tall perimeter defender with an accurate three point shot. Isaiah Rockey is a provides interior defense and rebounding.

Saranac Coach Kellen Smith provided me with this information about his Red Hawk players earlier this season.

Brody Stanton is a tall guard who plays great perimeter defense and is also a fine passer and solid ball handler who can score on slashes to the basket. Kolten Janse provides strong scoring, defense and rebounding in the post as well as giving the Red Hawks an accurate three point shooter. Logan Haller is a tough perimeter defender.

John Sterzick is a fine three point shooter. Rejz Conner is a quick player who can score on slashes to the basket or make shots from the three point line. Cole Reagan is another solid three point shooter.

I got to the gym in time to see the JV game. Saranac’s JVs got out to a 12-7 lead after one quarter and led 30-11 at halftime. St. Patrick turned the tables in the third quarter and outscored Saranac 12-4 to pull within eleven points at 34-23 at the start of the fourth quarter. Saranac dominated the fourth quarter and won by the final score of 55-33.

Reed Boyd led the St. Patrick JVs with 9 points. Shane Smith and Liam Mosser each contributed 7 points. Gavin Darlin and Emmet Fandel each scored 4 points. Ivan Chen added 2 points.

Damion Gooden led the victorious Saranac JVs with 11 points. Jakob Dodge joined his teammate in double figures with 10 points. Austin Haller put in 8 points. Jacob Bush, Cole Reagan and Levi Warner each tossed in 7 points. Maverick Blough scored 3 points and Jace Smit tallied 2 points.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the somewhat alert eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to play ball in the Dark Ages when he was considered (at least by some) to be “young.” It seems that his creative approach to scoring where he did not discriminate as to which basket he shot at bothered his coach.

While the Bleacher Denizen marveled at how easy the opponents made it when he shot at their basket and how much the opposing fans cheered when he scored in their basket, his coach kept complaining about adding points to the opposition. Eventually he started playing players who put less flair and creativity into their scoring. The team began winning and the Bleacher Denizen began sitting.

St. Patrick wins the opening tap. The Shamrocks misfire on a threeball from the side. Tyler Thelen dives and steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the wing. Jerryd Scheurer knocks the rebound to Brady Leonard, who passes to Charlie Thelen, who hits a six foot hook shot in the lane to give St. Patrick the first two points of the game.

Charlie Thelen knocks the ball out of bounds; Saranac retains possession. Saranac misses a ten foot shot from the baseline. St. Patrick misses a three point attempt from the side. Kolten Janse hits a three point shot from the wing to give his Red Hawks a 3-2 lead.

Jerryd Scheurer drives and dishes the ball to Tyler Thelen, who hits a layup to give the lead back to St. Patrick. The Red Hawks miss a driving six foot shot in the lane. Brady Leonard passes to Aiden Mosser, who hits a layup for the Shamrocks. Kolten Janse drives and hits a layup for Saranac to shave the Shamrock lead to 6-5.

St. Patrick misses a threeball from the side. Saranac reciprocates and misses a threeball from the side. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Saranac misses a fast break layup. A foul and technical foul are called on Saranac. Jerryd Scheurer steps to the line and hits one of his two free throws to give St. Patrick a 7-5 lead with 4:18 remaining in the opening quarter.

St. Patrick inbounds the ball after the technical free throws. Mason Simon passes to Jerryd Scheurer, who hits a three point shot from the wing for St. Patrick. Tyler Thelen steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Kolten Janse forces a tieup. The Possession Arrow is polishing its car and misses the play; the ball is awarded back to Saranac. The Red Hawks miss a three point shot from the side. Jerryd Scheurer hits a three point shot from the top of the key to give the Shamrocks a 13-5 lead.

Jerryd Scheurer steals the ball for the Shamrocks. The Thelen Connection comes through for the Shamrocks as Charlie Thelen passes to his brother, Tyler Thelen, who hits a layup for St. Patrick. Jerryd Scheurer steals a Saranac pass. St. Patrick misses a layup. Saranac misses a three pointer from the top of the key. Austin Haller pulls down the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks.

Saranac misses a layup. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. In a Deja vu moment, Saranac misses another layup and St. Patrick misses another three point shot from the side. Charlie Thelen chases down the long offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Jerryd Scheurer passes to Charlie Thelen, who hits a layup to give St. Patrick a 17-5 lead.

Jerryd Scheurer steals a Red Hawk pass in the lane. Sean Fedewa throws in a threeball from the side for St. Patrick. Saranac misses a long heave as the first quarter buzzer seeks attention and blares very loudly. The players and referees appease the buzzer by stopping play.

After one quarter, St. Patrick has a 20-5 lead.

St. Patrick inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. (In the interest of openness and honesty, I’ll confirm that a Shamrock player did this and not the Saint, himself.) The Shamrocks lose a pass out of bounds. Saranac misses a three point shot from the side. Brody Stanton hits a putback for Saranac to shave the Shamrock lead to 20-7.

St. Patrick misses a threeball from the top of the key. Mason Simon pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a threeball from the side. Isaiah Rockey steals the ball for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a fast break layup. Saranac misses a fast break six foot banked shot. St. Patrick misfires on a threeball from the side. Jerryd Scheurer steals a Red Hawk pass and hits a fast break layup to give St. Patrick a 22-7 lead.

Jerryd Scheurer dives and gets his hand on a Red Hawk pass; Saranac loses the ball out of bounds. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Brody Stanton passes to Austin Haller, who hits a layup for the Red Hawks. St. Patrick misfires on a triple try from the side. Isaiah Rockey grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks.

St. Patrick misses a three point attempt from the wing. Isaiah Rockey gets another offensive rebound for St. Patrick. The Shamrocks lose the ball out of bounds. John Sterzick drives and hits an eight foot banked shot from the side. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. With 4:40 remaining in the second quarter, St. Patrick has a 22-11 lead.

Austin Haller gets the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a layup. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Austin Haller tosses the rock to Brody Stanton, who throws in a threeball from the side to chop the Shamrock lead down to 22-14.

Brody Stanton knocks the ball out of bounds; the Shamrocks retain possession. Brady Leonard passes to Jerryd Scheurer, who hits a three point shot from the side for St. Patrick. Saranac misses a ten footer from the baseline. Sean Fedewa hits a three point shot from the side to give the Shamrocks a 28-14 lead.

Jerryd Scheurer knocks the ball out of bounds; Saranac gets the ball back. Logan Haller passes to Dionne Giles, who spins and hits a layup for Saranac. Jerryd Scheurer passes to Sean Fedewa, who hits another three point shot from the side for St. Patrick. John Sterzick passes to Brody Stanton, who quickly relays the ball to Austin Haller, who hits a layup for Saranac. Aiden Mosser hits a layup to give St. Patrick a 33-18 lead.

Tyler Thelen steals the ball, goes coast to coast, rises and throws down a fast break dunk for the Shamrocks. Saranac misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Tyler Thelen passes to Aiden Mosser, who hits a layup for St. Patrick. Tyler Thelen gets his hand on the ball and Brady Leonard picks it up for St. Patrick. The Shamrocks miss a threeball from the side. Jerryd Scheurer pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a six foot shot in the lane just as the second quarter buzzer tells us all it is time for a break.

At halftime, St. Patrick has a 37-18 lead.

Brody Stanton and Kolten Janse each have 5 points to lead the Saranac scoring.

Jerryd Scheurer has 12 points and Sean Fedewa has 9 points for St. Patrick. Aiden Mosser and Tyler Thelen each have 6 points.

St. Patrick put on a great senior night ceremony to honor Brady Leonard, Charlie Thelen and Aiden Mosser. The whole team was introduced along with the parents and messages between juniors and seniors as well as coaches and players were shared with everyone. I had never seen a senior night with as much put into it before. It was really cool!!

For those readers who cannot hear the halftime presentation, here are a couple videos from my You Tube Channel.

“Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” was a novelty hit for the Royal Guardsmen in late 1966. (With help from AI, we even got some World War I flying footage!!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHucLvxuQx8

Ray Charles, Willie Nelson and a number of other singers have had hits with “Georgia On My Mind.” Here is my version! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrWlNWzmTiw

Saranac inbounds the ball to open quarter number three. Brady Leonard harasses the Red Hawks into throwing the ball out of bounds. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Tyler Thelen hits a putback for the Shamrocks. Saranac misses a driving eight foot shot from the side of the lane. Austin Haller knocks the ball away from St. Patrick and Kolten Janse picks it up for Saranac. Tyler Thelen steals the ball for St. Patrick. Kolten Janse steals the ball and hits a layup for Saranac to trim the Shamrock lead to 39-20.

Brody Stanton blocks a Shamrock layup. Logan Haller passes to Kolten Janse, who hits an eight foot shot in the lane for Saranac. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Brady Leonard grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Kolten Janse blocks a St. Patrick layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and the Shamrocks get another opportunity.

The Shamrocks miss a driving layup. Charlie Thelen grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a layup. Saranac misses a driving layup. Brady Leonard is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to give the Shamrocks a 41-22 lead with 5:01 to play in quarter number three.

Mason Simon steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Austin Haller knocks a Shamrock pass out of bounds; St. Patrick retains possession. Tyler Thelen passes to Brady Leonard, who spins and hits a layup for St. Patrick. John Sterzick drives, fakes and hits a layup for Saranac. He is fouled on the play and hits his free throw. With 4:12 remaining in quarter number three, St. Patrick’s lead is at 46-25.

Jerryd Scheurer passes to Charlie Thelen, who hits a three point shot from the side for St. Patrick. John Sterzick passes to Brody Stanton, who throws in a threeball from the wing for Saranac. St. Patrick travels with the ball. (The Bleacher Denizen avoids his overused joke about “traveling without the ball.) Saranac misses a three pointer from the side.

Mason Simon drives and hits a reverse layup for St. Patrick. Aiden Mosser steals the ball for the Shamrocks. Mason Simon is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws to push St. Patrick to a 50-28 lead with 2:05 remaining in quarter number three.

Brody Stanton passes to Austin Haller, who hits a layup for the Red Hawks. Austin Haller gets a hand on the ball and Brody Stanton grabs it for Saranac. The Red Hawks miss a three point shot from the wing. Isaiah Rockey passes to Brady Leonard, who quickly relays the ball to Sean Fedewa, who hits a threeball from the side to give the Shamrocks a 53-30 lead.

Aiden Mosser knocks the ball away from the Red Hawks and Brady Leonard picks it up for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. Sean Fedewa knocks the ball away from Saranac and Mason Simon picks it up for St. Patrick. The Shamrocks miss a three pointer from the wing and fouls on the rebound. Saranac misses two free throws. St. Patrick misses a long heave as quarter number three comes to a finish.

With three quarters in the books, St. Patrick has a 53-30 lead.

St. Patrick has the ball to open the fourth quarter. Tyler Thelen drives and hits a layup for the Shamrocks. Saranac misses a ten foot shot from the side of the lane. Austin Haller pulls down the offensive rebound for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a layup. St. Patrick misses a ten foot shot in the lane. Jerryd Scheurer steals the ball for the Shamrocks. The Thelen connection comes through again as Charlie passes to his brother Tyler, who hits a layup for the Shamrocks. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throws. With 7:02 remaining in the game, St. Patrick has a 57-30 lead.

Saranac misses a layup. St. Patrick is whistled for traveling. Saranac misses a layup. Cole Reagan knocks the ball out of bounds; St. Patrick gets the ball back. Jerryd Scheurer inbounds the ball to Tyler Thelen, who hits a layup for St. Patrick. Saranac turns the ball over. Aiden Mosser hits a reverse layup to give the Shamrocks a 61-30 lead.

Saranac misses a six foot shot from the baseline. Brody Stanton steals the ball for the Red Hawks. Saranac misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Logan Haller gets the offensive rebound for Saranac. The Red Hawks are fouled on a layup, but miss two free throws. St. Patrick misses a driving layup. Tyler Schneider grabs the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. St. Patrick loses the ball out of bounds. Cole Reagan passes to Austin Haller, who hits a reverse layup for Saranac. St. Patrick’s lead is at 61-32.

Isaiah Rockey spins and hits a layup for the Shamrocks. Caleb Pline knocks the ball out of bounds; Saranac gets another opportunity. Saranac’s inbounder has his foot on the line and the Red Hawks turn the ball over. Cole Reagan steals the ball for Saranac. Isaiah Rockey steals the ball for St. Patrick. Isaiah Rockey drives and hits a layup to give the Shamrocks a 65-32 lead.

Rejz Conner passes to Austin Haller, who hits a layup for Saranac. St. Patrick misses a layup. Saranac reciprocates and misses a layup. Austin Haller is fouled on the rebound and hits one of his two free throws for the Red Hawks. With 2:01 left on the clock, St. Patrick has a 65-35 lead.

St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. Aiden Fandel knocks the ball out of bounds; Saranac retains possession. Aiden Mosser gets his hand on the ball and Saranac loses it out of bounds. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the wing. Charlie Thelen pulls down the offensive rebound for the Shamrocks. Aiden Fandel drives and hits a layup to give St. Patrick a 67-35 lead.

Rejz Conner throws in a threeball from the wing for Saranac. St. Patrick turns the ball over. Saranac misses a ten foot shot in the lane. St. Patrick misses a three point shot from the side. The final buzzer blares before Saranac can shoot.

St. Patrick wins this final “The Bleacher Denizen CMAC Boys Basketball Game of the Week” for the 2025-26 season 67-38.

Austin Haller led the Saranac scoring with 11 points. Kolten Janse supported his teammate 9 points and Brody Stanton pitched in with 8 points. John Sterzick scored 5 points. Rejz Conner tossed in 3 points and Dionne Giles tallied 2 points.

Tyler Thelen led the St. Patrick scoring with 14 points. Jerryd Scheurer and Sean Fedewa each had 12 points to join him in double figures. Aiden Mosser contributed 8 points and Charlie Thelen scored 7 points. Brady Leonard, Mason Simon and Isaiah Rockey each added 4 points. Aiden Fandel tossed in 2 points.