Haxtun goes 1-1 on the road last week; preps for Merino this week

The Haxtun Bulldogs improved to 10-8 overall with a win in Peetz Monday night. Over the past week, the Bulldogs took on the Rams in Akron and the Bulldogs in Peetz for a busy few days on the road before the team wraps up the regular season at home later this week. Haxtun will face off with Merino on Friday in the final regular season match up.

The Bulldogs jumped to an early advantage in Akron on Friday, putting up enough points in the first two quarters to hold onto an advantage over the Rams a half time. The second half was different as the Rams battled back for a 10-point win on their home court. Akron took down Haxtun, 54-44, in a tough Lower Platte League match up.

Two Bulldogs earned double digits in Akron on Friday, led by senior Michael Gerk with 13 points. Ryland Wolff added 11 points followed by Maclin Tempel with nine. Chase Goddard registered five points while Kyle Fryrear and Keegan Colglazier each put up three.

On Monday, the boys' varsity and junior varsity teams traveled to take on the Bulldogs in green in Peetz. The first quarter ended 18 all as the two teams worked for an advantage early in the game. Haxtun nudged ahead with 15 points in the second to hold a 33-26 lead at the half. Haxtun had an explosive third quarter, adding 28 points to the board while holding the home team to just seven. The Bulldogs ran with a 64-42 win to improve to 10 wins on the season.

Four players edged out double-digits in the scoring column in Peetz. Tempel led the Bulldogs with 15 points. Colglazier came in with 15 points followed by Goddard with 11 and Gerk with 10. Wolff put nine points on the board while Fryrear added four and Mason Bornhoft added three.

"With post season around the corner we need to start playing our best basketball. We've been inconsistent this year so we'll have to find our high gear and finish on that note," said Head Coach Jayden Stieb. "Offensively we've made some steps in the right direction. Now we need to figure out our defense and play a complementary game."

This week Haxtun is set to face off with the Rams from Merino in a big Lower Platte league contest at home on Friday night. The two teams met in a holiday tournament early in the season and after an overtime showing the Rams picked up a 61-59 win over the Bulldogs.

"Merino will be a great test before playoffs. They've had a good season so far and it's nice to end the season with a tough opponent. We lost to them in overtime before Christmas so we'll try to avenge that loss" Stieb said.

Friday night's match up with Merino in Haxtun will feature parents' night recognition for Bulldog athletes as well as a performance from young cheerleaders participating in cheer camp this week.