The Junior High boys basketball season has just recently started.  The team is coached by Beau Barkau and Wyatt Krohne.  They started practicing on Monday, October 4.  The team consists of 8th, 7th, and 6th graders.  The 8th graders are Landen Shubert and Michael Marler. The 7th graders are Braylen Turner, Clayton Maynard, Gabriel Charles, Emil Galliano, Zayden Cepada, Xander Grigsby, Kaden Buehler, Blake Carrico, and Jared Bollmeier.  The 6th graders are Teren Schwankhaus and Ayden Foley.

I asked Coach Barkau, how do you think the season will go?  He said, “We will have to battle this year.  We are not very big so we are going to have to do all of the little things in order to be successful.  We only have two 8th graders but some of the 7th graders got some experience by playing some 8th-grade games last year.”  Why did you become a basketball coach?  “I started coaching with Coach Kraus when I was a substitute teacher and an aid at the school.  I enjoy working with the players and teaching them the game.  I have played basketball since 2nd grade and I want to continue to be around the game for as long as I can.”  Are you excited for this season?  “I am excited about the season.  The beginning of the year is always exciting.  I get to see how much the returning players have improved and I get to see the new players’ talents.  It’s always an exciting time of year at OJHS when basketball season is starting.”

The Jr. High boys basketball team’s first game was Tuesday, October 19. They played Woodlawn at home.  The 7th-grade team lost 37-6.  The starters for the 7th-grade game were 7th grader Braylen Turner, 7th grader Kaden Buehler, 7th grader Blake Carrico, 6th grader Teren Schwankhaus, and 6th grader Ayden Foley.  The 8th-grade team lost 50-18.  The starters for the 8th-grade game were 7th grader Kaden Buehler, 7th grader Braylen Turner, 6th grader Teren Schwankhaus, 6th grader Ayden Foley, and 8th grader Landen Shubert.  The Jr. Rockets fought hard but unfortunately didn’t win their first game. Good luck to the rest of the season for the Jr. High boys basketball team!