The Whitefield basketball program continues to thrive with both the Middle School Blue and Middle School Gold boys basketball teams bringing home the North Atlanta Metro League championships. Both teams had incredible seasons, with the Gold team remaining undefeated through the championship, and the Blue team losing only one game during regular season play.
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Middle School Blue
The culmination of an amazing season of basketball took place on Saturday, January 30, at Mt. Paran Christian School. The Whitefield WolfPack met the St. Francis Knights in a game that saw intensity, enthusiastic fans, and a brief power outage.
From the tip, the Pack moved quickly and not only scored the first two points, but found themselves with two quick fouls. That didn’t stop their drive. Whitefield had eight points before the Knights put any points on the board and at the end of the first quarter the score was 15-8 in favor of the Pack.
The start of the second quarter brought an unforeseen power outage. As everyone sat patiently waiting for the lights to come back on, the focused Pack team was putting up shots in the dimly lit gym to remain game-ready. After about 15 minutes, the lights slowly came back on and it was time for battle.
The Knights made several key three-pointers that kept them in the game, and fouls seemed to haunt the three big guys. Going into the half, Ian Kennedy, Drew Thomas-Brown and A.J. Hopkins all had three fouls, but that didn’t deter the team. The Pack was up 29-18 at the half.
Undoubtedly, Coach Justice brought calm to the team during the half, because they came out with more intensity. A few turnovers resulted in points for the Knights, but it didn’t rattle the Pack. They pulled together and went on a run at the end of the third; the score was 43-25. The Pack continued to apply the pressure.
Not only did the team apply pressure, this game saw the highest Middle School crowd attendance and the creation of the “Gold Crew,” founded by Raymie Lewis (6th) and co-founded by Zoe Justice (6th).
These young ladies gathered the Middle School students together to cheer on the team. The cheerleaders and the fans were charged and elevated the noise level to an all-time high.
The unselfish play of the team, the support from the crowd, and laser focus brought the Pack to a victory and the NMAL championship. The final score 61-42.
Stats for the game: Micah Smith – 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists; Devonte Watson – 8 points, 6 rebounds; Ian Kennedy – 8 points, 5 rebounds; Andrew Thomas-Brown – 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks; Jason Dinschel – 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists; and AJ Hopkins – 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks
Congratulations and a big thank you goes to Coach Justice for helping to shape the team and prepare them for each game. He set high expectations and the boys worked hard and delivered. The team is also grateful for the leadership provided by Coach Johnson and Coach James and the excellence they place on the men’s basketball program. Thank you also to all our parents, the cheerleaders, and the fans for their support.
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Middle School Gold
The Whitefield Gold boys basketball team completed an undefeated (16 – 0) season on Saturday by defeating Fellowship Christian School 43 – 37 in the NAML seventh-grade boys basketball championships. The team was energized by an amazing crowd led by the Middle School cheerleaders that played the role of our sixth man on Saturday. The boys got off to a slow start against a motivated Fellowship squad who came out with an aggressive man-to-man defense. Once the team settled down, they outscored Fellowship 29 – 13 in the second and third quarters. With a 15 point lead going into the fourth quarter, the boys played a little hesitantly in the final six minutes, but the lead never got below seven points until a Fellowship three in the final seconds of the game. They hit some crucial shots in the fourth quarter and two late free throws by Cole Peterson put the game out of reach for Fellowship.
Eric Little not only controlled the flow of the game from his point guard position, but he was able to get into the paint at will, which led to numerous assists and 11 points. Myles Redding added 12 points including a huge third quarter three-pointer that closed the door on a brief Fellowship run. Ethan Garrett contributed across every statistical category and scored two big baskets at the beginning of the teams second quarter run. Jack Krahel scored all six first quarter points to keep the team from falling too far behind and grabbed 15 rebounds including some crucial ones in the fourth quarter. Preston Lang continued his late season efforts and scored one of the biggest baskets of the game in the fourth quarter that came in the middle of a strong Fellowship run. Ethan Parker also hit a huge basket in the final seconds of the third quarter that pushed the lead up to a game high of 15 going into the fourth quarter. Finally, Luke Wilson provided some very significant minutes in the championship game.
The win capped an amazing season by the seventh-grade team that gave all 14 players significant playing time, but also saw each of the 14 players in the scoring column at some point during the season. It was an amazing year and this very special group of young men are already looking forward to continuing this season’s success next year at the eighth-grade level.
Middle School Blue
The culmination of an amazing season of basketball took place on Saturday, January 30, at Mt. Paran Christian School. The Whitefield WolfPack met the St. Francis Knights in a game that saw intensity, enthusiastic fans, and a brief power outage.
From the tip, the Pack moved quickly and not only scored the first two points, but found themselves with two quick fouls. That didn’t stop their drive. Whitefield had eight points before the Knights put any points on the board and at the end of the first quarter the score was 15-8 in favor of the Pack.
The start of the second quarter brought an unforeseen power outage. As everyone sat patiently waiting for the lights to come back on, the focused Pack team was putting up shots in the dimly lit gym to remain game-ready. After about 15 minutes, the lights slowly came back on and it was time for battle.
The Knights made several key three-pointers that kept them in the game, and fouls seemed to haunt the three big guys. Going into the half, Ian Kennedy, Drew Thomas-Brown and A.J. Hopkins all had three fouls, but that didn’t deter the team. The Pack was up 29-18 at the half.
Undoubtedly, Coach Justice brought calm to the team during the half, because they came out with more intensity. A few turnovers resulted in points for the Knights, but it didn’t rattle the Pack. They pulled together and went on a run at the end of the third; the score was 43-25. The Pack continued to apply the pressure.
Not only did the team apply pressure, this game saw the highest Middle School crowd attendance and the creation of the “Gold Crew,” founded by Raymie Lewis (6th) and co-founded by Zoe Justice (6th).
These young ladies gathered the Middle School students together to cheer on the team. The cheerleaders and the fans were charged and elevated the noise level to an all-time high.
The unselfish play of the team, the support from the crowd, and laser focus brought the Pack to a victory and the NMAL championship. The final score 61-42.
Stats for the game: Micah Smith – 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists; Devonte Watson – 8 points, 6 rebounds; Ian Kennedy – 8 points, 5 rebounds; Andrew Thomas-Brown – 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks; Jason Dinschel – 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists; and AJ Hopkins – 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks
Congratulations and a big thank you goes to Coach Justice for helping to shape the team and prepare them for each game. He set high expectations and the boys worked hard and delivered. The team is also grateful for the leadership provided by Coach Johnson and Coach James and the excellence they place on the men’s basketball program. Thank you also to all our parents, the cheerleaders, and the fans for their support.
Middle School Gold
The Whitefield Gold boys basketball team completed an undefeated (16 – 0) season on Saturday by defeating Fellowship Christian School 43 – 37 in the NAML seventh-grade boys basketball championships. The team was energized by an amazing crowd led by the Middle School cheerleaders that played the role of our sixth man on Saturday. The boys got off to a slow start against a motivated Fellowship squad who came out with an aggressive man-to-man defense. Once the team settled down, they outscored Fellowship 29 – 13 in the second and third quarters. With a 15 point lead going into the fourth quarter, the boys played a little hesitantly in the final six minutes, but the lead never got below seven points until a Fellowship three in the final seconds of the game. They hit some crucial shots in the fourth quarter and two late free throws by Cole Peterson put the game out of reach for Fellowship.
Eric Little not only controlled the flow of the game from his point guard position, but he was able to get into the paint at will, which led to numerous assists and 11 points. Myles Redding added 12 points including a huge third quarter three-pointer that closed the door on a brief Fellowship run. Ethan Garrett contributed across every statistical category and scored two big baskets at the beginning of the teams second quarter run. Jack Krahel scored all six first quarter points to keep the team from falling too far behind and grabbed 15 rebounds including some crucial ones in the fourth quarter. Preston Lang continued his late season efforts and scored one of the biggest baskets of the game in the fourth quarter that came in the middle of a strong Fellowship run. Ethan Parker also hit a huge basket in the final seconds of the third quarter that pushed the lead up to a game high of 15 going into the fourth quarter. Finally, Luke Wilson provided some very significant minutes in the championship game.
The win capped an amazing season by the seventh-grade team that gave all 14 players significant playing time, but also saw each of the 14 players in the scoring column at some point during the season. It was an amazing year and this very special group of young men are already looking forward to continuing this season’s success next year at the eighth-grade level.