Haxtun suffers two close, single-digits losses to Peetz and Holyoke

Haxtun took on two tough teams in green last week; first on the road Friday in Peetz and the other against Holyoke at home on Saturday. The Bulldogs and Dragons proved to put on demanding performances but despite-hard-fought battles in both contests, Haxtun fell short by single digits. Half of the Bulldog's remaining eight regular season games will mark league matchups for the team, including another with Holyoke again just next week.

Haxtun held an early four-point advantage after the first quarter of play in Peetz on Friday. The Bulldogs in red put another 12 points on the board in the second for a 25-24 tally in favor of the home team at half time. Peetz scored one more than Haxtun in the third to control the lead heading into the fourth. The Bulldogs in green dominated the fourth quarter, putting 20 points on the board to Haxtun's 13 for a final 63-54 win.

Junior Colin Cone racked up 21 points on the road in Friday's contest. Senior Ryland Wolff also hit double-digits, putting 14 points on the board. Sophomore Madden Larsen and junior Chase Goddard each scored six followed by Kanin Koberstein with five.

The following day, Haxtun hosted Holyoke for Phillips County showdown one of the season. The two teams will meet again on the 31st, which will mark the league match up for the two teams.

The Bulldogs controlled much of the game, and the scoreboard, until the final minutes when Holyoke pulled out an advantage and held it for a four-point, 60-56 win on Haxtun's home court.

Larsen led his team on Saturday with a total of 19 points. Two others, Wolff and Goddard, also racked up double-digits; Wolff with 16 and Goddard with 10. Cone added eight points while Jaxsen Schram contributed three.

"Despite the losses, the boys kept their head in each game. They did a good job of keeping each other in the game even if things weren't going our way," Head Coach Jayden Stieb said. "We still need to limit our turnovers and clean up some of our offensive sets. Colin had a career high 21 points on Friday, hopefully that will spark him offensively the rest of the year. Madden had a career high 19 against Holyoke."

This weekend Haxtun will stay home and host Merino on Friday and Burlington on Saturday. According to MaxPreps, the Rams are 2-7 overall and the Cougars hold a 0-6 record.

After that, the Bulldogs will face Holyoke, Akron, Brush, Idalia, Caliche and Sedgwick County to round out the regular season schedule.

"I think all of our league game will be close. In those close games we need limit our mistakes and take advantage of each possession," Stieb said.