Philomath High boys basketball coach Blake Ecker has not made any definitive moves when it comes to his starting lineup after losing senior Jacob Peters last week to injury.
“I think it could depend on matchups and who we’ve got coming up,” Ecker said Tuesday. “It’s hard to tell what we’re going to do moving forward … It’s up in the air a little bit depending on how our guys are performing in practice and things of that nature.”
Peters will be out for an undetermined number of weeks thanks to an ankle injury that he suffered Dec. 28 against Scappoose.
“We had practice yesterday (Monday) and I think his ankle looks encouraging but I don’t know any kind of a timeline for him to come back though,” Ecker said.
Peters is the second-leading scorer on the team so the loss of those points obviously hurts but he’s also a huge factor on the boards.
“Whether it’s on the defensive end, offensive end or (providing a) leadership spark — all of those things contribute to what he does,” Ecker said. “Obviously, he has a God-given knack and talent for rebounding the basketball. That’s something that’s hard to teach … you can teach some but it’s a matter of effort and desire to get the basketball. He’s one of the better ones we’ve had.”
That’s pretty good company with Philomath having some stellar rebounders through the years. David Sturner had 348 rebounds in 2007-08, including a record 28 in a game that season against Central. And Ecker himself was a force on the boards in his playing days with 308 in 1986-87 and 22 in a game that season. Andy McCabe had a 24-rebound game in 1991-92.
Back to this season and the lineup moving forward, Ecker started junior Caleb Russell on Dec. 29 against Marist. Seniors Preston Kramer, Kaden Muir, Owen Heiken and Connor Harms have been the other four regular starters. In addition to Russell, others that have seen significant time off the bench include senior Mason Stearns, junior Hudson Raab, senior Kash Lindsey, junior Logan Matthews and sophomore CD Nuno.
Philomath will host Amity on Wednesday and Estacada on Jan. 9, and head to Madras on Jan. 11 before getting into conference play. The first two games in Oregon West play could have a major impact on the final standings with those matchups featuring Newport and North Marion.
Interestingly, the PHS boys have lost to a pair of No. 1 teams this season. Junction City, which beat the Warriors, 60-49, in the season opener on Dec. 2, is the No. 1 team in the OSAA’s Class 4A rankings. North Eugene, the No. 1 team in Class 5A, had to come from behind in the second half on Dec. 9 to hold off Philomath, 69-62.
The team’s third loss — the Warriors are 7-3 overall and ranked No. 5 — came to Marist Catholic last week, 49-46. The OSAA rankings have the Spartans at No. 14.
PHS girls up to No. 3 in rankings
The Philomath High girls enter the new year in the No. 3 spot in the OSAA rankings with a 7-2 record behind only Henley and Stayton. The No. 1 Hornets are the lone unbeaten team in 4A.
The Warriors are undefeated against 4A opponents but the highest-ranked opponent so far has been No. 13 Scappoose. The team’s losses came to South Albany, the No. 3 team in 5A, and Sutherlin, the No. 4 team in 3A.
Philomath has a tough one coming up Wednesday against Amity, another top team out of 3A. Amity comes into the contest with a 9-1 record and No. 2 ranking, so it should be a true test for Ben Silva’s contingent.
After a game against Estacada on Jan. 9, the Warriors will wrap up the nonleague slate against Madras on Jan. 16. The White Buffaloes are currently 5-4 and ranked No. 12 but don’t let the record fool you — those losses have come to No. 1 Henley, No. 4 Astoria and No. 8 Seaside in 4A and to No. 1 Corbett in 3A.
And then comes Oregon West play with Stayton and Cascade looking like the top competition.
Wrestling adds Jan. 4 competition
The Warriors will square off against 5A and 6A opponents Thursday with a three-way dual added to the schedule. Coach Troy Woosley said Philomath will head to Willamette High in Eugene to go up against the 6A Wolverines as well as 5A Churchill.
The start time is set for 6 p.m. at Willamette, which is located at 1801 Echo Hollow Road.
Sophomore Riley Barrett is currently undefeated with a 16-0 record at 150 pounds. Sophomore Porter Compton at 138 has a 16-1 record with his lone defeat coming to unbeaten Landon Lavey of Crook County.
Other top wrestlers so far this season for the Warrior boys have been junior River Sandstrom (13-4), Lake Mulberry (15-6), JJ Lewis (12-5), Gradin Fairbanks (7-3), Lukas Hernandez (10-5), Brady Russell (8-4), Ben McGovern (9-5) and Wyatt Barrett (9-6).
(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).
