The Lone Peak Playbook: Oct. 26, 2018

By Bay Stephens EBS Staff Writer

Volleyball

The Lady Big Horns headed into the district tournament at Manhattan Christian School Oct. 24-27 with a conference record of 6-4.

“Now that everyone is healthy we will be able to bring our strongest line up into the district tournament,” head coach Missy Botha wrote in an Oct. 22 email to EBS.

The team’s eyes were fixed on the Manhattan Christian Eagles, who they beat twice in the 2017 regular season only to be knocked out of the district tournament. This year, Botha hoped to do the same to them, having lost two regular season games to the Eagles. The outcome had not yet been determined at EBS press time on Oct. 24.

UPDATE: The Lady Big Horns trumped West Yellowstone, Shields Valley and White Sulphur Springs in the district tournament, but were unable to win out over Manhattan Christian, coming up short in both matches against the Eagles.

“I am very proud of this team,” Botha said in an email to EBS on Oct. 29. “Of course a W would have been nice, but the character they displayed throughout the year, both on and off the court, is truly inspirational. They gave it their all, never gave up, competed like champs, and for that, they should be proud.”

From left to right, coach David Brekke, junior Tracen O’Connor, freshman Nate McCain and coach Lucas Westblade at the cross-country team’s last meet in Missoula on Oct. 20. PHOTO BY TRACY BREKKE

Cross-country

Junior Tracen O’Connor and freshman Nate McCain ran their last meet of the team’s inaugural season in Missoula on Oct. 20.

O’Connor placed 49th out of 114 runners with a time just under 21 minutes, while McCain placed 72nd, traversing the course in 22 minutes, 32 seconds, according to coach David Brekke.

Their improvement throughout the season was notable. Since they ran the same course in September, O’Connor shaved his time by approximately 36 seconds and McCain lopped 1 minute and 28 seconds off his.

Soccer

The Big Sky Futbol Club wrapped up their season with a loss to Petra Academy on Oct. 23, finalizing their season record at 5-3-3.

“I was very pleased with how much individual and team growth I witnessed,” coach Tony Coppola wrote in an email to EBS. “Having a group of players with varying skill levels can be a challenge, but the team came together and picked one another up for a winning season.”

He added that he was proud to be their coach, thanking the team for the laughs, love and fun.

Football

The season closed for the Lone Peak High School and Ophir Middle School gridiron gangs on Oct. 12, both teams losing to Absarokee’s teams, bringing season records to 2-8 for the high school team and 7-2 for the middle school.