Ganado, Edna boys begin playoff hunts this week
The Edna Cowgirls powered their way to a pair of playoff wins last week en route to a Class 3A Division 1 regional semifinal matchup with Bishop.
The Cowgirls (26-10) played the Bishop Badgers (26-8) on Tuesday at Corpus Christi Carroll High School. The winner of Tuesday’s game will play the winner of the Columbus- West Oso game in the Region 4 championship later this week for the chance to play in the state semifinals at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
To reach the regional semis, Edna defeated Goliad 49-32 in Bi-District, then beat Crystal City 79-53 in the Area round.
“The girls really brought the energy in both games,” Cowgirls head coach Dustin Durham said Sunday. “Against Goliad we really struggled to shoot the ball, but we locked in on defense and I felt like we handled their size pretty well. We kept them off the board for the most part, especially in the second half.”
Senior Shanti Guerra led the Cowgirls with 31 points.
The Cowgirls played like a team with a chip on its shoulder in the Area round, Durham said.
“Crystal City is one of those teams that try to out-hustle you,” Durham said. “I knew that if we could match their energy throughout the game, we would be okay, and to say we did a good job of that would be an understatement.
“The girls played like they had a point to prove. I don’t have all of the official stats yet, but I do know that we rebounded the ball extremely well and we caused over 35 turnovers.”
Guerra scored 31 points and junior Keira Santellana scored 21 to lead the Cowgirls.
In other playoff games involving District 25-3A teams, in Class 3A Div. 1, Columbus beat Nixon-Smiley, 64-42, in Bi-District, then beat Hondo, 70-45, in the Area round to set up a regional semifinal game against West Oso.
In Class 3A Div. 2, Tidehaven beat Stockdale, 51-29, in Bi-District, and defeated Randolph, 56-42, in Area to set up a regional semifinal game against George West. Hallettsville defeated Poth, 41-34, in Bi-District, but lost to Jourdanton, 60-50, in Area.
In the Class 2A Div. 1 playoff bracket, Flatonia flattened Rosebud-Lott, 8821, in Bi-District, then beat Mumford, 51-32, in Area to set up a regional semifinal game against Johnson City. Schulenburg beat Thorndale, 38-33, in Bi-District, then lost to Danbury, 49-43, in the Area round.
In the Class 2A Div. 2 bracket, Weimar beat Granger, 52-42, in Bi-District, then beat Burton, 62-46, in Area to meet Goldthwaite in the regional semifinals. Shiner defeated Bartlett, 78-32, in Bi-District, but lost to Bremond, 59-54, in the Area round.
Ganado Indians
Bryce Ullman scored 25 points and Callen Hajovsky added 16 to lead the Ganado Indians to a 60-49 district win over Weimar.
“Bryce Ullman got us going in the first quarter,” Ganado Coach Trey Thedford said Sunday. “He couldn’t miss, scoring 13 in the first. That gave us the momentum.
“Callen Hajovsky was handling the boards and shot the ball well. Austen Pena helped limit their best scorer, playing great defense, and also contributed heavily in our transition offense.”
With the win, the Indians claimed the final playoff spot from District 28-2A.
“Tuesday’s win over Weimar was obviously huge for us,” Thedford said. “For one, it got us into the playoffs, but it was also another look at how competitive our district really is and how any game could go either way. If we hadn’t pulled off the win versus Weimar that night, there would have been a three-way tie for first place in our district with Shiner, Weimar, and Flatonia.”
The Tribe’s Bi-District opponent, Thorndale (23-5), entered the Class 2A Div. 1 playoffs on a 13-game winning streak and ranked 16th in the state by the TABC and 39th by MaxPreps.
“They are a solid team,” Thedford said. “They’re undefeated in district and have played some pretty competitive 3A teams, as well. Like every other team we play, they’re going to be bigger and taller, but I’m thankful to have a group of guys who will compete with anyone who shows up.
“Since the last Louise game, we have been shooting the ball really well, and I’m glad we’re starting to find our groove right before the playoffs. We’ve been blessed to have limited injuries and will be coming into Giddings at full health, playing our best ball. Anything can happen in the playoffs, and our boys are always ready for battle.”
Shiner (11-5) and Flatonia (17-13) finished tied for first in District 28-2A at 9-3, followed by Weimar (17-10) at 8-4 and Ganado (9-7) in fourth at 7-5. Rounding out the district were Schulenburg (12-12) at 6-5, Bloomington (2-23) at 1-10, and Louise (0-22) at 0-10, according to Max-Preps.
In Tuesday’s final district games, Flatonia beat Bloomington, 70-57; Shiner beat Long Creek, 52-44; and Ganado beat Weimar, 60-49. No score was reported from the Schulenburg- Louise game.
Division 1 Bi-District games included Ganado vs. No. 16 Thorndale at Giddings High School on Monday and Flatonia vs. Holland at Giddings on Tuesday. The winner of the Ganado-Thorndale game will play the winner of the West Hardin-Snook game in the Area round, while the winner of the Flatonia- Holland game will play the winner of the No. 19 Hearne-Sabine Pass game.
Division 2 Bi-District games included Weimar vs. Granger at Giddings on Tuesday and Shiner vs. Milano at Giddings on Monday. The winner of the Weimar-Granger game will play the winner of the No. 3 Evadale-Bremond game, while the winner of the Shiner-Milano game will play the winner of the No. 25 Mumford-Big Sandy game.
Edna Cowboys
After winning back-toback district championships, the Edna Cowboys slipped out of first place in District 25-3A, finishing fourth but still making the playoffs.
The Cowboys lost to Tidehaven, 44-35, Tuesday to end the district season.
The loss was the team’s fifth straight, the last four of which were without freshman point guard Jayfus Smith, who was injured in the team’s 56-55 loss against Yoakum on Jan. 31.
Edna played Poth in the Class 3A Div. 2 Bi-District round at Cuero. The Pirates (18-11) won their district with a 9-1 record.
Industrial Cobras
Columbus’ Grayson Rigdon scored 24 points and Camden Pitchford added 22 as the Cardinals defeated Industrial 69-53 to end the Cobras’ playoff hopes.
Industrial finished the season at 21-14 overall and 6-8 in District 25-3A.
“We were playing against a generational talent, and Mr. Rigdon was a tough task for us,” Cobras Coach Andrey Vanduren said. “We battled, but they had two elite players and our attention to them let some other guys get going. I’m proud of the effort and our kids, and I’m proud that we were able to go into our last game with a lot to play for.”
Junior Gi’Ziah Lopez led the Cobras with 19 points and senior Jake Alexander had 14 points.
While the Cobras would have rather kept playing, they did attain several goals, Vanduren said.
“We had a great season, and the boys should be proud of it,” he said. “We accomplished most of our goals: 20-plus wins, get back to beating Edna, beat quality opponents in and out of district. We were one game short (of making the playoffs) and if we could have gotten to 7-7 in district play, that would have been our last goal.”
Last season, Vanduren’s first as head coach at Industrial, the Cobras finished with an 11-19 record and 4-10 in district play.
