Stratford throttles Auburndale

By Casey Krautkramer

Stratford’s varsity boys basketball squad built a 20-point halftime lead on Monday en route to an easy 56-33 home win against Auburndale. The huge win gives Stratford a shot at sharing the Marawood Conference South Championship with Auburndale this season if the Tigers can take care of business against Wisconsin Rapids Assumption on the road this Thursday, Feb. 27, in the final regular- season game. Auburndale hosts Marathon on Thursday.

The Tigers held the Eagles to a meager 14 first-half points on Monday. Stratford senior point guard Drew Bruesewitz, who led the team with a game-high 13 points, said it took a total team defensive effort to shut down Auburndale. No Eagles player scored double-digit points against the Tigers.

“We played really good defense and we held their scorers to a minimum and knocked down shots when we needed to and we only turned the ball over four times,” Bruesewitz said. “Give credit to Jett (Schoenherr) who is our best defender that is all over the place guarding the other team’s best player all the time and other guys are rotating over to help when they need to so it was a good team defensive win.”

Stratford head coach Curt Schmitt admitted after Monday’s huge win that he’s not thinking about the team sharing the conference championship this season because he realizes that Assumption is tough to beat at home.

“That’s a team that beat both Auburndale and Marathon at their place so we need to be ready for them and play hard and get after it,” he said.

Auburndale and Stratford are currently tied for first place in the Marawood South Conference with 13-2 records. Auburndale, 21-2, was awarded the No. 1 seed in the WIAA Division 4 region and Stratford, 21-2, received a No. 2 seed. There is a chance that Auburndale and Stratford could play each other again this season in the Division 4 sectional semifinal on Thursday, March 13 at Wausau West. Both the Tigers and Eagles have byes in the regional quarterfinals this Tuesday, March 4.

Stratford beat Newman Catholic, 54-38, on Friday at home. Bruesewitz led the Tigers with 15 points and junior Brooks Vanderhoof added 14.

Double overtime thriller

Marathon beat Edgar, 88-81, in double overtime at home on Monday. Marathon sophomore Logan Peters knocked down a three pointer to give the Red Raiders a three-point lead until Edgar senior Leyton Schuett sank a three pointer to send the game into double overtime. Schuett also scored his 1,000th career point.

The Red Raiders improve their record to 15-8 this season while the Wildcats are 914 after winning Tuesday’s road game against Port Edwards, 72-58. Marathon was awarded a No. 4 seed in the WIAA Division 4 playoffs and has a bye in the regional quarterfinals this Tuesday, March 4. Edgar received a No. 7 seed and will host No. 11 Abbotsford in this Tuesday’s quarterfinals.

Edgar lost to Auburndale, 67-51, on Friday. Schuett and fellow senior Kasen Ristow led the Wildcats with 13 points each. Marathon lost to Assumption, 44-42, when Royals player Trey France hit the game-winning shot at home.

Athens wins two straight

The Athens varsity boys basketball team beat Chequamegon, 72-51, on the road Friday. Sophomore Dax Diethelm led the Bluejays with 22 points. Junior Kam Zarnke added 15 points and he led Athens with five assists. Junior Riley Schultz-Becker contributed 12 points. Junior Jordan Frahm had eight points and he led the team with six rebounds and three steals. Junior Eli Paul also scored eight points in the win.

Athens then defeated Abbotsford, 7268, at home on Monday. Zarnke led the Bluejays with 17 points and four assists. Schultz-Becker added 16 points and he paced the team with 11 rebounds. Paul had 11 points. Diethelm, Schultz-Becker and Zarnke led Athens with three steals apiece.

The Bluejays improve their record to 815 overall this season while the Falcons drop to 7-16. Athens will play its final regular-season game at Prentice this Thursday, Feb. 27, before also playing at Prentice this Tuesday, March 4, in a WIAA Division 5 regional quarterfinal. Athens is a No. 11 seed at No. 6 seed Prentice.

SPINDLER IS A KEY CONTRIBUTOR FOR THE TIGERS - Stratford junior Riley Spindler scored eight points on Monday to help the Tigers beat the Auburndale Eagles, 56-33, at home. Stratford can share the Marawood South Conference championship with Auburndale if it beats Wisconsin Rapids Assumption on the road this Thursday, Feb. 28, in the final regular-season game. It will be a tough task because Assumption has beaten both Auburndale and Marathon at home this season.

STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER

MASKED TIGER - Stratford junior Trgve Aschenbrenner on Monday passes the basketball in the waning minutes of the team’s huge home win against Auburndale. Wearing a face mask didn’t impede Aschenbrenner’s ability on the court.

STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER

Drew Bruesewitz