SPORTS - Tigers lose sectional semifinal to buzz saw Eagles
SPORTS
By Casey Krautkramer
Early on Thursday, it appeared the Stratford varsity boys basketball team was going to cruise to its second straight blowout win against Auburndale this season. The Tigers led the Eagles, 9-0, in the WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal at Wausau West after sinking three straight three pointers. Senior forward Kaden Foster drained a pair of three pointers and senior point guard Drew Bruesewitz also nailed a three pointer.
The two Marawood Conference South teams split their regular-season series this season. Auburndale won the first matchup, 50-46, on Jan. 17 at home. Stratford then dominated Auburndale, 59-33, in the second-last regular season game on Feb. 24. Auburndale ended up coming from behind early for a comfortable 62-49 playoff win on Thursday.
Auburndale struggled to make shots, especially senior center Thomas Aue, early in Thursday’s sectional semifinal against Stratford. Aue had many offensive rebound putbacks that he failed to make near the basket. It took the Eagles nearly eightand-a-half minutes into the game before they scored a point on junior guard Josh Lundgren’s made free throw.
The combination of Auburndale senior guard Blake Raab, who was the team’s leading scorer this season, starting to heat up hitting three pointers and Stratford turning the ball over two straight offensive possessions, helped the Eagles climb back into the game. Raab’s made three pointer gave the Eagles their first lead of the game, 13-12, with just under five-and-ahalf minutes left in the first half. The game remained close with Auburndale enjoying an 18-15 halftime advantage.
Aue scored the first basket to begin the second half but Stratford junior guard Brooks Vanderhoof answered with a basket of his own. Auburndale then went on a back breaking 18-0 run that spanned just under four minutes to take a commanding 35-17 lead. Raab got the large rally started when he sank all three free throws after getting fouled while attempting a threepoint shot. Stratford would never lead again in the game.
Auburndale defenders, particularly Aue, also didn’t allow Stratford guards to drive into the lane for easy shots like what occurred in the teams’ final matchup in the
See SECTIONAL SEMIFINAL/ page 12
TOUGH SLEDDING AGAINST THE EAGLES THIS TIME - Stratford senior point guard Drew Bruesewitz found it difficult to drive all the way to the basket and score against Auburndale’s defense in Thursday’s 62-49 WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal loss at Wausau West.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
SHOTS NOT FALLING FOR THE TIGERS -
Tigers junior guard Brooks Vanderhoof attempts a shot after driving the baseline against the Eagles on Thursday. Teams sometimes have games where the basketball just doesn’t go into the rim.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
MAKING THINGS DIFFICULT - Auburndale senior center Thomas Aue utilized his tall frame to affect Stratford’s shots on Thursday. Tigers senior guard Caleb Wrensch has a tough time scoring against Aue. STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
POPULAR PLAYER INTRODUCTION - Stratford senior forward Kaden Foster (21) and junior guard Riley Spindler celebrate Foster’s introduction together before the start of Thursday’s WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal against Auburndale at Wausau West. Stratford players that can be seen behind them from left to right are Brady Berg, Will Kraus, Alec Chapel, Gavin Meyer, Trygve Aschenbrenner, Matthew Schoenfuss, Ryan Christopherson and Thomas Bangart. Tigers head coach Curt Schmidt and his oldest son, assistant coach Chandler Schmidt, are pictured to the far right walking to the team bench.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF HIS LIMITED OPPORTUNITY -
Stratford junior forward Brady Berg sinks a short baseline jumper in the second half of Thursday’s game. It was the only shot he took.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
COACHING STAFF TRIES TO SOLVE TEAM’S OFFENSIVE WOES - Stratford varsity boy’s basketball head coach Curt Schmidt bends down in front of the team’s bench to get a closer look at the Tigers’ offense. Tigers assistant coaches sitting on the team bench, from left to right, are Bill Knetter, Derek Austin and Chandler Schmidt.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER Sectional semifinal
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regular season. Aue, as the game’s tallest player, utilized his athletic and lanky frame to block Stratford’s shots near the basket.
The closest that Stratford would get to Auburndale was within eight points, 3830, with just over eight minutes left in the game when Bruesewitz swished a pair of bonus free throws.
Bruesewitz scored a team-high 17 points for Stratford. Foster contributed nine points while junior guard Riley Spindler added eight points, Vanderhoof had seven points and senior Jett Schoenherr had six. Foster and Schoenherr led the Tigers with five rebounds apiece while Spindler and Vanderhoof added four each. Bruesewitz and Vanderhoof paced Stratford with three assists and Spindler added two.
Raab scored a game-high 23 points for Auburndale. Junior guard Peyton Weinfurter contributed 17 points while senior guard Keegan Empey added eight points and Aue had six.
Tigers head coach Curt Schmidt said it was a bit of an anomaly that Auburndale lost its last two regular-season games against Stratford and Marathon, which helped the Tigers win the outright Marawood South Conference championship this season.
“Auburndale was in first place in the conference pretty much the whole year so I think what happened is they fell into a little slump where they faced two teams that were really hot,” Schmidt said. “We were hot that night and Marathon was really hot. They faced two buzz saws in a row and then tonight they were the buzz saw and we faced the buzz saw. I think it was more of that because they don’t just kind of coast and then turn it on and off, so I think it was one of those nights where nothing was clicking for us. We got a lot of shots that were blocked and we couldn’t get clean looks around the basket like we did last time that opened up our outside game. They were able to play us tight on the outside because we couldn’t score on the inside.”
Stratford concludes this season with a See SECTIONAL SEMIFINAL/ page 13
PEP BAND AT THE SECTIONAL SEMIFINAL -
Stratford High School’s pep band played “Eye of the Tiger” when the varsity boy’s basketball team entered the Wausau West gym floor. Band members pictured, from left to right, are Isabelle Schill, Aleydi Martinez-Torres, Amber Drexler, Alaina Bangart, Savana Kops and Georgia Kohl. Emma Syring is pictured in the second row behind the tuba.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
PERCUSSION - The Stratford High School pep band’s percussion section played loudly before and during halftime of the sectional semifinal. Percussion players pictured, from left to right, are Xander Curtice, Calvin Rasmussen and Chris Stuttgen.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER Sectional semifinal
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24-3 overall record. Stratford has six seniors including starters Caleb Wrensch, Bruesewitz, Foster and Schoenherr. Wrensch replaced senior starter Alec Chapel after his season-ending surgery following Stratford’s 50-46 road loss to Auburndale on Jan. 17 so he is ready to play football at UW-Eau Claire this fall. Will Kraus was a senior reserve player who attempted a three pointer at the end of Stratford’s sectional semifinal loss to Auburndale.
Schmidt is appreciative of the tremendous effort the seniors gave during their high-school careers.
“They are tremendous,” he said. “They won a conference title. Everybody focuses on the state tournament all the time and that is fine and dandy but if you look in trophy cases you only see conference title trophies and you only see state championship and state runners-up trophies, so we got something. We got a regional championship which doesn’t go into the trophy case but everybody still does remember conference championships because they keep track of the records so I am proud of these guys and they have nothing to hang their heads over at all. Once again we are in a oneand-done tournament. If we were in a four-month tournament with double elimination then we’d have won it. That’s what our guys should focus on and that’s what they did a great job of doing.”
Auburndale lost, 56-44, to Bonduel in Saturday’s sectional championship at SPASH. The Eagles finish this season with a 24-4 overall record while the Bears improve their record to 27-1 and advance to their first state tournament in school history. Bonduel was awarded a No. 1 seed in this week’s WIAA Division 4 state tournament and play No. 4 seed The Prairie School, 14-15, at 6:35 p.m. this Thursday, March 20, at the Kohl Center in Madison. The Prairie School took seventh place out of eight teams in the Metro Classic Conference this season.
The other Division 4 state tournament semifinal in the late game this Thursday night consists of No. 2 seed Mineral Point, 27-1, against No. 3 La Crosse Aquinas, 24-3. Both teams are making their second consecutive state tournament appearances. Mineral Point is the defending Division 4 state champion. The winners of Thursday’s state tournament semifinals will play in the Division 4 state championship this Saturday, March 22, approximately 15 minutes after the Division 5 state title game that starts at 11:05 a.m.
BATTLE FOR THE REBOUND - Stratford senior guard Jett Schoenherr attempts an offensive rebound in the second half of Thursday’s 62-49 WIAA Division 4 sectional semifinal loss to Auburndale at Wausau West.
STAFF PHOTO/CASEY KRAUTKRAMER
