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VHS WEEKEND WRAP-UP – JANUARY 25, 2021

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Buccaneer Nordic Skiers On Track for Regionals

January 23, 2021
By Coach Cole Beck

The Valdez High School Nordic Ski Team had its 4th time trial of the season last weekend. This event was a 7.7K skate race. The entire team completed this competitive race distance marking a victory for the Bucs as they check off another team goal for the season. I’m proud of this team for working hard, challenging themselves, and accomplishing what they set out to do! Not only was this a great accomplishment for the first-year skiers, but there were impressive time improvements from returning skiers as well.

Top 4 Women Finishers
Elaina Hanson – 33:53
Caelyn Wise – 38:18
Christina Wise – 41:11
Bili Lovell – 44:26

Top 4 Men Finishers
Piers Shirk – 24:20
Chase Randall – 30:54
Fisher Mishmash – 31:16
William Benes – 31:42

Next Saturday, the Buccaneer Ski Team will continue to push themselves by competing in a 10K classic race. The 10K is their final, farthest distance goal for the season. Family, friends, and community members are welcome to compete with the Buccaneers in this local contest. Race categories include Men’s 10K, Women’s 10K, and the Open Technique 5K Community Race. The race begins Saturday, January 30, 11:00 A.M., at the East Dike ski trail entrance by the Betty Cato Bridge. Please arrive by 10:45 A.M. for registration. Masks and social distancing are required. Race, have fun and support the Buccaneer Ski Team as we head toward our regional races in February.

We hope to see you on the trail!

Varsity Boys Basketball

January 22nd & 23rd

Photo courtesy VHS Stream Team – See video

Courtesy of VHS Coaches – 321 days after the premature conclusion of last season, the Valdez High School Buccaneer Boys took the court over the weekend to commence their 2021 season.

The new look Bucs feature 2 freshmen (Owen Watson and Nicolas Alfaro), 7 sophomores (Bryce Tucker, Payton Gage, Dillon Fowler, Anthony Kelley, Zachary Rissman, Allen Watson, and Hunter Mathews), along with 2 juniors (Tate Chadwick and Dennis Mott), and the lone senior (Aiden McAtee).

Friday, January 22nd: Valdez 19, Grace Christian 58

Due to a spate of early season injuries, the Bucs were only able to dress 9 players – only 2 of which had any previous Varsity experience. The relative inexperience was apparent when matched up with the more seasoned Grace Christian Grizzlies. The size and speed of the Grizzlies forced the Buccaneers into sloppy perimeter play and a tentative offense.

Grace Christian jumped out to a 14-4 first quarter lead and extended that to a 28-8 halftime advantage, fueled in large part by 15 first-half Buccaneer turnovers. In the second half, the Buccaneers committed an additional 11 turnovers, resulting in easy transition points for the Grizzlies en route to their 58-19 defeat of the Buccaneers.

Dennis Mott, Anthony Kelley, and Payton Gage each chipped in 5 points in the losing effort.
Aiden McAtee successfully drew an offensive foul.

Saturday, January 23rd: Valdez 37, Grace Christian 68

Despite playing the late Friday night game, the Buccaneers came out with high energy and effort for the early afternoon Saturday contest. The Bucs were noticeably more aggressive and physical during the opening stanza – holding the lead for most of the quarter and only trailing by three (12-9) entering the second quarter.

Grace Christian responded in the second quarter, taking a 34-20 lead into the half and extending that throughout the game on their way to a 68-37 victory.

The Buccaneers had three players in double figures. Peyton Gage netted 16, Dennis Mott had 11 points, and Aiden McAtee chipped in 10 while also successfully drawing an offensive foul.

Notes:
Aurora Conference basketball begins this weekend as Valdez plays host to the Hutchison Hawks on Friday and Saturday.

 

Valdez Varsity Girls vs. Grace Christian


Photo courtesy VHS Stream Team – See video

Courtesy of VHS Coaches – When the Buccaneers last took the court, they had recently beat a top-ranked Galena team. That win ultimately qualified them to attend the Alaska 3A State Championship tournament. However, an abrupt end to the season due to the pandemic crushed those plans. With a delayed start this year, it has been almost 10 months since that last game.

The girls showed some definite rust as they took on the Grace Christian Grizzlies this past weekend. We played terrific defense against a team with a couple of games under their belt, holding them to 8 in the first half. However, terrific shot selection coupled with atrocious completion percentage garnered a grand total of 2 points for the Bucs at the half. Of course, the only way to recover from a shooting drought is to keep raining the shots down.  Eventually, the balls began to drop at a trickle, but it was enough to take the lead and ultimately win the game at a score of 17-11, holding the Grizzlies to 3 second half points.

On Saturday, the girls again had difficulty finding the net for the first half, and trailed by a score of 16-11 at half. Once again, however, the Buccaneer defensive effort proved crucial as they garnered 18 total steals in the game.  Forcing several other turnovers, the Bucs held the Grizzlies to 5 or less shot attempts per quarter for the first 3 quarters, and had a defensive rebounding percentage of 88%.

For the two games, Reese King led the Bucs with 17 points. Kylie Fletcher-Gilbert and Carsyn Hinkle added 14 each.  Reese led rebounding as well with 10 total rebounds. Carsyn and Ambrosia Woodgate each grabbed 9 rebounds. Reese also had 10 steals followed by Kylie with 8.

The Varsity Buccaneers will host the Hutchison Hawks and JV’s will play Birchwood Christian this coming weekend.

 

Valdez JV Boys vs. Grace Christian Grizzlies

Courtesy of VHS Coaches – Friday night the Junior Varsity Bucs began their season with games against Grace Christian. They had a balanced scoring effort led by Theron Deisenroth scoring 8, while Gavin Morris and Corey Petersen both chipped in 7 points in the loss. Saturday morning the defense looked sharp however the experience of Grace was too much to handle as the Bucs ended up losing again. Petersen led all scorers with 4 points. The Bucs look to build on these games next weekend with home games against Birchwood Christian School.

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