The Eureka High School boys played two games last week, at Caney Valley on Tuesday, Jan. 28 and at home against Fredonia, on Friday, Jan. 31. The flu-ravaged Tornadoes were unable to win either, as they played both games down several starters.
Against Caney Valley, the Tornadoes were clearly out-matched by the bigger and faster Bullpups. Missing leading scorer Tyson Coon and leading rebounder Peyton Hare didn’t make the job easier. The real culprit in this game was the turnovers however. The Tornadoes had a season worse 32 giveaways, mostly in the first half against the Caney Valley press. By the end of the first quarter, the game was out of reach.
Cole Ptacek had 13 points to lead the Tornadoes. Brody Mitchell had 7, Laken Valentine and Tanner Biering added 4 each, Kotah Davis had 2 and J.P. Guillaume had 1 to round out the scoring for the Tornadoes.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final EHS 4 12 12 3 31 CHS 35 26 14 9 84
The Tornadoes then hosted the Fredonia Yellowjackets Friday night. Still down two starters due to illness and one due to injury, the Tornadoes were once again out-classed. Poor shooting by the Tornadoes (25% from the field) and 28 turnovers was the story as they got buried in the first half.
Ptacek had 7 points for the Tornadoes, Biering dropped 6, Hare and Mitchell had 4 each and Nate Clark added 2.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final EHS 5 8 7 5 25 FHS 16 26 19 3 64 Up Next
Eureka has three matchups this week. On Monday, Feb. 3, the Tornadoes played the Olpe Eagles at home, before traveling to Chase County on Tuesday, Feb. 4. To conclude the week, Eureka will host the Bluestreaks of Neodesha for another TVL match.
