by Tad Heitkamp, head coach
Blue Dragons Dismantle Hawks
On January 16th, 2021, the Blue Dragons hit the road to take on the Hawks from Colman/Egan. The game was back and forth the first stanza, but the Blue Dragons took control the final 24 minutes, defeating Colman/Egan 66-32.
“We came out right away doing some good things on the offensive side of the ball, but we were sluggish defensively,” said Coach Heitkamp. “We made some adjustments defensively, which caused them some issues. We gave up 16 points the 1st quarter and another 16 points over the next three quarters, which helped us come out on top. I was very pleased with our effort today. If we can carry that over the rest of the season...we could make things interesting down the road!”
Cooper Long and Dylan Kindt continued their scoring ways as they netted 20 and 17 points each. Josef Zahn and Evan Bly added 6 and 5 points, while Rhett Kloth, Sam Schleuter, and Isaiah Gnadt pitched in with 4 points each. Jake Schroeder, Triston Rekstad, and Brady DeBates rounded out the scoring with 2 points respectively.
Titan’s Blast The Blue Dragons
The Blue Dragons were on the road again January 18th, 2021, to take on the Tea Area Titan’s. The Blue Dragons played a very solid opening quarter competing with the Titan’s, but it wasn’t meant to be as the home team defeated Garretson 69-37.
“The kids came out and showed a lot of heart right away, but seemed to shy away as the adversity hit mid-way through the second quarter,” said Heitkamp “Tea shot absolutely lights out hitting 14 3’s and we couldn’t find a rhythm offensively, which is a bad combination. I know these young men can compete with teams like Tea, Vermillion, and Dell Rapids, but the kids need to find that confidence. This is something we (coaches) will keep working on with the guys...as we are right on the verge of something special!”
Dylan Kindt led the way with 16 points, while Cooper Long pitched in with 10 points of his own. Evan Bly dropped down 3 points as Jake Schroeder, Sam Schleuter, Brady DeBates, and Clay Lardy finished the night with 2 points apiece.
