Wetmore, ACCHS teams get winter season started

Wetmore and Atchison County opened the winter sports season last week, with the Cardinals in particular starting a busy early schedule.

The Cardinals were slated to play back-to-back games on the first two days of competition, but the girls contest against St. Joseph Christian (Mo.) in the home opener last Friday was cancelled.

Instead, the Wetmore girls began competition on the road against Lewiston (Neb.) Saturday and the delay did not seem to affect the Cardinals negatively in any way.

Wetmore opened up a 22-10 lead in the first quarter and never looked back on the way to a 57-34 victory to kick off the 2015-2016 campaign.

Now, the Cardinals will jump right into the heart of their tough TVL schedule by traveling to Centralia for a league contest this Friday. Games will start at 4:45 p.m.

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For the boys, the season did begin against St. Joseph Christian on Friday and things started a little slow for Wetmore as the team fell behind 21-7 after the first quarter and could not recover.

If not for the first and fourth quarter, it may have been close, but St. Joseph Christian started and finished strong on the way to a 72-38 victory, despite 19 points from Cardinal Newt Smith.

On the road Saturday, the WHS boys kept things a little closer against Lewiston (Neb.) and held a lead after one quarter of play, but the teams quickly flipped positions and Lewiston used an 11-5 run over the course of the third quarter to secure a tight 49-41 victory over the Cardinals. Smith led Wetmore again with 16 points, while Trey Craig added 12.

Wetmore will now jump into league play, as the boys get set to face a tough squad from Centralia in their next game. The Panthers will host the Cardinals on Friday, with games starting at 4:45 p.m.

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For the Atchison County girls, the road was also a touch place to start the basketball season as the Lady Tigers faltered late in the season and league-opener against Perry-Lecompton.

It was just a one-point game at the half, but ACCHS mustered just two points in the third quarter, while the Kaws poured in 13 to pull away in a 40-28 victory. Mallory Eckert led the team with 11 points in the loss.

The Tigers will now get set to face the Wildcats, also on the road in Holton, with games starting at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

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Atchison County’s boys had the opposite issue as the girls, as a cold start sunk the team in its match-up with the Kaws.

The Tigers managed just three points in the first quarter and were trailing 29-10 at the half as Perry was well on its way to a 50-20 victory.

Next up, ACCHS will get set for another road date against Holton on Friday. Games will start at 4:30 p.m.

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On the wrestling mat, Atchison County also got the season under way as the team hosted its annual Tilton Worley Invitational dual tournament.

The Tigers went 3-2 in pool play with wins over Maur Hill (54-18) and Pleasant Ridge (48-30) to take second and advance to the consolation final, where the Tigers edged Eudora, 39-36, to take third in their home tournament.

Atchison County will now actually head to Eudora for a two-day tournament starting on Friday.