Cave City in doubt after losing six seniors

Although Cave City doesn’t have any starters returning from its 31-4 season, head coach Jim Summers said he isn’t too worried. “We hope to match last year,” Summers said. “That would be great. We are an entire new team, so it’s hard to tell how we will be. “We have several playing football, so this will be a year of surprises for everyone. I expect us to compete every night.” Inside, senior transfer Brandon Koch earned all-state last year at Valley Springs, and junior Curt Jones played a lot of minutes off the bench during last year’s semifinal team. “Koch is a great student with a great work ethic,” Summers said of the potential college prospect. “Brandon is on the radar of several colleges and continues to improve.” Senior perimeter player Cole Taylor played the most minutes off the bench of any returner, Summers said. “Cole can really shoot the ball and has a high basketball IQ,” the coach said. “Cole is also a great student and a hard worker, getting recruited by Lyon College.” Cave City’s perimeter play should be one of the team’s biggest strengths, Summers said. “And of course, getting a 6-7 move-in at post definitely improves our inside game,” Summers said. Getting everybody on the same page will be a challenge for the Cavemen, as they lost six players to graduation. “Team chemistry will be our weakness for sure,” Summers said. “Adding three move-ins also adds to the challenge. “The amount of time it takes us to jell will determine our success this year.” Cave City will play Highland on Dec. 11 and Pocahontas on Jan. 6. Summers said those two games should be exciting. “Always a good rivalry between us,” said Summers, who is in his second year at Cave City. “Right now, everyone will be a challenge until I see what we can do together,” he said. “Our 4A district is tough, as usual, with Westside and Truman probably being the favorites. “I can tell you we will play hard, and we should be able to score.” Cave City will open the season at Harrisburg on Nov. 14.