John Bloomquist

Garden Plain is seemingly on the edge of losing hope for a deep postseason run. Chances of a CPL championship have slowly fallen out of their grasp in their 4 game losing streak since beating the Rockets of Rose Hill on December 10. The Owls look to bounce back this week against two teams they have played very closely in previous years. On January 14, the Owls will take on Trinity Academy for their second matchup of the season, and their last home game until hosting the rival Cheney Cardinals in February. Then, the team makes a long road trip to take on a Medicine Lodge team striving for yet another great season. 

Under the coaching of Mark Powell over the past 3 years, the Owls are 2-3 against the Knights. Powell, who has coached at a number of schools across the state, also looks to bounce back against Trinity. Garden Plain typically handles business playing on their home court, with a win percentage of roughly 64.2% at home over the last 3 years. 

Trinity, led by seniors Kolton Shaffer and Cooper Garrison, as well as underclassmen star Jesse Eklund, should be another close matchup for the Owls. Under the coaching term of Mark Powell, the point differential in the 5 matchups between the two teams is a meer +4 points for the Owls. Eklund had 15 points in the two teams first matchup, going 4-8 from long range for the game. Shaffer also hit multiple 3’s down the stretch, and helped the Knights get back in the game. The Owls did a nice job of limiting senior Cooper Garrison, but will need a great performance as a team in order to pull out a win. This is sure to be yet another tight game as both look to right the ships before their hopes of a postseason run are diminished. 

Medicine Lodge, fueled by star wing Keveon Ruiz, have won several big games thus far. Hopes this season for the Indians include a shot at a CPL title who are currently ranked 3rd in the league according to Maxpreps. A win against the Owls Friday could really shake up the standings as we hit the season’s halfway point. Ruiz, a Sports In Kansas 2A All-State first team pick, is a hard player for the Owls to match up with. 

Ruiz, similar to Reed Friesen of Hesston and Quaid Thomas of Cheney, are tall lengthy stretch forwards and are a difficult matchup for the Owls. It seems that any player the Owls have that match these players’ size simply aren’t fast enough to keep up with them in transition. Players fast enough to keep up with these players are bullied in the paint by size and brute force. Last year, the Owls had a stretch forward of their own in Gabe Kampling, which was a huge help both in scoring but also giving them someone who could match up with these types of players. Kampling has since moved on from Garden Plain, and is currently playing college basketball at Tabor University. 

On the other hand, winning both this week’s matchups for the Owls could put them as high as second in the CPL, only trailing their rival Cheney. Wins this week have significant importance for standings in the league, making the race for the championship a little bit closer. Thus far, the favorite to be this year’s CPL Champions are the Cheney Cardinals, however their schedule still contains several tough teams that can compete against the best on any given night. Trinity and Medicine Lodge should be a good midseason test for the Owls before they compete in the annual Rupp Tournament next week. 

Tuesday night, the Owls took on the Knights of Trinity Academy in a Central Plains League matchup. After the first quarter of play, Garden Plain held a lead of 17 to 5 over the visitor. At halftime, their lead grew to 10 points, leading the Knights 23-13. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Owls led by 20 points, however they only scored 9 points in the fourth. Regardless, their lead was large enough to hold off the Knights, securing the Owls first CPL win of the year. The poised Garden Plain team took care of business, winning 49-35 against the Knights. Leadership was a big part in the win, as well as all around performance as a team. Kaeden Kasselman was the games leading scorer with 19 points. Brady Brack recorded a team high 9 rebounds while also scoring 7 points. Garden Plain shot the ball an outstanding 51% from the field, compared to Trinity’s 33%. They also had a wide margin defensively, recording a number of steals as well and rebounded well throughout the game. 

Friday’s game against the Indians of Medicine Lodge has been postponed due to illness, and will be rescheduled for a later date. The Owls will be in action next week in the Anual Rupp Tournament, playing Monday night at 7:45 pm against Andale. This Renwick rivalry should be a good one, as the Owls played the Indians close for a good portion of the game. Andale, led by senior Austin Baalmann, won the previous matchup between these two teams earlier this month. Garden Plain invites all fans to make the trip to Halstead to see the team compete against some of the best teams in the area.