Freshman spurs ‘Cats victory

Schuett has biggest game of the season

By Casey Krautkramer

Edgar freshman Leyton Schuett has arrived on the varsity scene.

Leyton Schuett, a six foot, threeinch guard, scored 11 straight points in the second half on Monday to help Edgar easily beat Spencer, 74-48, in a non-conference home game.

He sank a trio of three pointers in front of Edgar’s adult cheering section, which included his father Dave Schuett on the top bleacher, toward his game-high 16 points.

This was by far Leyton Schuett’s best game in his young varsity high school basketball playing career. The most points he’d scored before Monday’s game was nine against Rib Lake on Dec. 2; otherwise, he’s either not scored at all or only scored a very minimal number of points in each game this season.

Leyton Schuett said after Monday’s game he was “feeling it” from behind the arc against Spencer.

“I hit three straight three pointers in that corner,” he said while donning bright colored teal, pink and yellow tennis shoes that most of Edgar’s underclassmen players are wearing this season.

Leyton Schuett might be the only freshman player on Edgar’s varsity squad this season, but he’s starting to make a big impact. He’s second on the Wildcats in height to only sophomore forward Brett Baumgartner, who is six foot, four inches tall. Leyton Schuett is also not fazed by being the youngest player on Edgar’s varsity squad, because his older brother, Ashtyn Schuett, is a senior starting guard.

“I grew up with the seniors on our team, including my brother, so I have always been around them and they are just a great group of guys to play with,” Leyton Schuett said. “It’s awesome to play varsity basketball with my brother because I honestly never thought it would happen; I love my brother and he’s a great dude.”

Senior guard Everet Brehm methodically scored points throughout the entire game to finish second on the team with 15. Ashton Schuett contributed 12 points, Baumgartner nine, sophomore guard/forward Karter Butt eight and sophomore guard Teegan Streit seven.

Baumgartner led the Wildcats with 10 rebounds, including eight of them on defense. Ashton Schuett, Brehm and Streit paced the Wildcats with four assists each. Brehm and Streit led the squad with three steals apiece, while Leyton Schuett had two blocks. Junior guard Justin Davis drew a charge against Spencer.

It can be difficult for varsity basketball teams to remain motivated to play every game in a very long season, for example, Edgar plays 24 regularseason games. Edgar head coach Dave Huss said that’s a big challenge for teams, including the Wildcats who beat arch-rival Marathon by 20 points but then suffered a letdown against Stratford the very next game in December. He was pleased about Edgar’s fast start to its game against Spencer on Monday.

“Sometimes teams do need to generate their own energy and we played against Spencer on a Monday night, so there’s a smaller crowd and it’s right after the Christmas break, so I think everyone is still getting into the groove again, but it can’t be an excuse because you need to get into the right mentality to pay the game,” Huss said. “I thought for the most part we came out really spirited and got on top of Spencer early. We went through a little lull late in first half and early in the second half, and then we knocked down a few shots and got going again.”

Menomonie Showcase

Edgar split its pair of games against Middle Border Conference teams in the Menomonie Showcase last week. Edgar lost to Baldwin-Woodville, 6945, on Dec. 29 and then beat Ellsworth, 63-58, on Dec. 30.

Ashton Schuett led Edgar with 15 points and Teegan Streit added 10 against Baldwin-Woodville. Karter Butt paced the Wildcats with three steals.

Teegan Streit scored a game-high 24 points in Edgar’s victory against Ellsworth, while Everet Brehm and Butt contributed nine points apiece. Streit paced the team with six rebounds and four steals. Butt and Streit had three assists each.

Huss said his squad needs to keep doing what it did well against Ellsworth: attack the basket, kick out the ball, pump fake and then pump fake again if needed to keep opposing defenses off balance. Edgar has a 6-3 record and plays this Friday, Jan. 7, at Mosinee and Tuesday, Jan. 11, against Auburndale at home.

STEAL TURNS INTO EASY LAYUP- Edgar senior guard Ashtyn Schuett converts his steal into a layup to give the Wildcats a 39-26 lead against the Spencer Rockets on Monday in Edgar. The Wildcats beat the Rockets, 74-48.STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER