REFOCUS BRINGS BIG REDS VICTORY
Defensive pressure helps Chippewa Valley earn district title over Ford II
The Ford II Falcons were happy with how the first four minutes of Friday’s district championship game against Chippewa Valley went.
Chippewa Valley was happy with the last 28 minutes.
After the Falcons jumped out to a 10-2 lead, Big Red head coach Corey Smith called a timeout. From there, Chippewa Valley outscored Ford II 52-30 to claim the district championship and advance to the regional rounds of the MHSAA state tournament, winning 54-40.
Ford dominated out of the gate, scoring on each of their first five possessions, including grabbing multiple offensive rebounds to keep plays alive. The Big Reds weren’t playing their best basketball on the other end, so Smith needed to refocus his group.
“I told them before the game, we played about as well as we could on Wednesday,” Smith said. “It’s hard to play your best game two games in a row. This team (Ford II), I knew they were going to come in, be feisty, they were going to play hard. It’s hard to get 16, 18 year olds to mentally understand that. So I was really just reminding them of what we did to get here.”
Chippewa Valley went on a 10-0 run following the timeout to close the first quarter and take their first lead of the game, which they never surrendered. They held Ford to nine points in the second and just three in the third quarter, which allowed the Big Reds to go up by double digits.
As has been the case all season for CVHS, it started with their defense.
“(Dakari Rogers), their point guard, is a really good player,” Smith said. “Our goal was to wear him down throughout the game. I knew he was going to make some plays early on. He’s fast, he’s a good player. But if he had to handle our pressure for 32 minutes, he’d get worn down as the game went on. That was kind of our plan.”
According to Ford head coach Jeremy Denha, the plan — turning up the pressure — worked like a charm.
“When you’re playing a team with that speed that’s playing those angles the way they were, you’ve got to work yourself back to the basketball,” Denha said. “I think that hurt us a little bit. They hit some big shots too. That affects the defense. We had to kind of get away from our game plan.”
“We were playing 90 feet the entire (third) quarter. … Once we settled down, I thought we got some pretty good looks, but shots just rimmed out. That’s a tribute to them. They’re flying around. I can’t say enough about their defense.”
For a team led by seven seniors, the Big Reds got their most offensive production from a sophomore: guard Josh Johnson led the team with 12 points, helping finish the game with eight points in the fourth quarter.
Smith said that Johnson has come a long way from an up-and-down season and has been one of the better players on the team during the last few games.
“I just listen to what my coaches tell me,” Johnson said. “Take care of the ball and go out there and play. He trusted me with the ball and I had to make plays. I trusted my team, my teammates trusted me.”
Eight different Chippewa Valley players scored. Ford was led by Eli Miller’s 15 points and Rogers’ 12.
The Falcons season ends with a 13-11 record and ends the high school playing careers of seniors Rogers, Gabriel McGraph, Matt Adray, Mike Pugh and Taslim Diallo.
“I think, in terms of what Ford used to be, Ford used to be one of the premier programs in the MAC,” Denha said. “I think they’re starting to take those steps, and a big part of it is because (of) those seniors.”
“I think that, hopefully, this is one of those things where it’s not our last district final that we’ll be competing for. I’m excited for the future, and those seniors helped build the foundation of what we can hopefully build upon.”
Chippewa Valley’s season extends now to at least Tuesday, March 5. They’ll take on MAC Red rival L’Anse Creuse North in the regional semifinals at Troy at 5:30 p.m.
The Big Reds and Crusaders split the season series one game apiece.
“You earn things that are not given to you,” Smith said. “This is a stepping stone. We’re blessed to be back at regionals with whoever we play. We’ve had a long year in terms of injuries and getting our team healthy. When we are healthy, we’ve been very good.”