Falcons expect turbulence to postseason bid

Maumelle Charter won a schoolrecord 21 games a year ago and played in the Class 1A State Tournament, where the Falcons lost to Omaha 70-47 in the first round. Maumelle Charter finished third in the regional tournament to earn the postseason bid. Fourth-year coach Josh Sensabaugh said he knows things will be tougher this year. “We have big shoes to fill this season,” he said. “We had the Class 1A State Tournament last year and lost three key players form that team. We have a lot of guys who will need to step up in a big way.” The Falcons return two starters. They are senior guard Justin Fudge and junior guard Jarmall Lovelace. Fudge averaged 14.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last year, while Lovelace averaged 2 points, 2.4 steals and 3.1 assists. “With two returning starters in Fudge and Lovelace, I expect them to carry a lot of the load on offense,” Sensabaugh said. “However, Chad Boyd and Josh Mason had a very good offseason, and I look for them to be big inside for us.” Sensabaugh said his best inside players are Boyd, a senior, who is 6-4, stocky, athletic, strong and can finish around the rim, and Mason, who can play inside or step out and shoot the 3. The best outside players are Lovelace and Fudge. “Lovelace is a quick guard who can score in many ways and is an excellent defender,” Sensabaugh said. “Justin Fudge is an allaround scorer and can play all five positions on the court.” Sensabaugh said his team’s strengths are defense, speed and depth. Weaknesses are lack of size and lack of game experience. The Falcons play in the 2A-5 South Conference with Bigelow, Carlisle, Cutter Morning Star, England, Hazen, Magnet Cove and Poyen. They also have games against Sacred Heart, Wonderview and two-time defending Class 1A state champion Guy-Perkins. “Sacred Heart, Wonderview, Woodlawn, White County Central, Bigelow and England are all great programs year in and year out, and they will provide a lot of matchup problems for our team,” Sensabaugh said. Sensabaugh said he has high expectations for his team. We have six seniors, five juniors and five sophomores,” he said. “I like our depth, and I think we will be able to have good success this season. We may struggle at first since there will be some new faces on the floor, but this team definitely has the potential to build off last season’s success.”