Remote control
- Updated: December 5, 2020
PV’s Hood doesn’t let quarantine keep hm down, coaches Raiders to victory from home via FaceTime; includes box scores from Friday night’s high school basketball games in and around Calhoun County
Boys games
Friday’s scores
Cherokee County 68, Alexandria 56
Hokes Bluff 58, Ohatchee 38
Jacksonville Christian 65, Donoho 41
Pleasant Valley 60, Gaston 54
White Plains 60, Cleburne County 21
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
GASTON – Brad Hood is as big an Alabama fan as you’ll find. Now he knows just how Nick Saban felt last Saturday coaching by television.
Or in Hood’s case, by telephone.
Hood “coached” his first game as Pleasant Valley’s boys basketball coach Friday night from the comfort of the recliner in his man cave, quarantined by COVID-19 in the home, while sending the Raiders to Gaston to finally open their season after their own series of COVID-19 misadventures.
It was an experience, and a winning one. Missing two starters and getting Garrett Cranmer to weave 30 points between foul trouble, the Raiders won on the road 60-54.
Hood talked to the team before, during and after the game via FaceTime.
“It was rough,” he said. “(Wife) Tara was giving me some dirty looks like Saban’s wife was looking at him yelling upstairs. I’m yelling stuff at the phone and she says, ‘They can’t hear you, Brad.’
“I was really proud of them. There were a lot of things I could have adjusted and helped, but it was all the kids persevering and willing to win.”
With Hood back at the house, PV baseball coach Chris Youngman stepped in to move the pieces on the floor. It had been a while since he coached basketball, but he kept the Raiders in the game. He also coached the JV game beforehand.
“Honestly, I didn’t even know he was watching through FaceTime until halftime; I guess that’s how caught up in the game I was,” Youngman said. “He talked to the team at halftime and after halftime I noticed one of the dads moving the phone back and forth, but, hey, we’ll do whatever we need to so the kids have an opportunity to play.
“At the end of the day that’s what it’s about – just giving the kids an opportunity to play and compete. Coach Hood has a great group of guys and they played really hard tonight to do what it took to win. It was really fun to be a part of it.”
Up to that point the only competing the Raiders had been doing was among themselves. They had the start of their season delayed by COVID quarantine and just as they were about to come out of it the girls team went into quarantine and four players and Hood were caught up in the contact tracing.
Finally, they had enough practice and Hood thought it was time to turn those who could play loose before the team went into area play.
“(Youngman) had gotten a few practices and I went over our strategy and game plan and what offense and defense we’d run,” Hood said. “I told the kids if you work hard this week and you’re taking it serious and he’s comfortable taking you, I’ll have you a game.”
The Raiders went into the game with nine players. They were missing two big pieces from their starting lineup – 20-point scorer Josh Ballew and massive post Damon Parr – their sixth man and a key reserve.
They weren’t certain how to replace that offense. Cranmer stepped up with 30 points despite sitting the end of the first quarter, all of the second and the first two minutes of the third with three fouls and JV call-ups Zeke Johnson and Jacob Teal, neither of whom had played a varsity game before, combined for 20 points.
Cranmer had 15 points in the third quarter and was 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the fourth. Johnson scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half.
Hood isn’t due back from his lockdown until Wednesday before the Raiders are scheduled to play Piedmont. The players, however, may have earned themselves another game beforehand.
“I told them if they played good tonight, if they played well and listened to the coach and didn’t try to take over the game – if we had any drama – we were not going to play until I’m back,” Hood said. “They’ll practice one more time Monday and he’ll take them to Glencoe and play Tuesday.”
Pleasant Valley 60, Gaston 54
PLEASANT VALLEY (1-0) – Michael Glass 0 0-0 0, Oliver Young 0 0-0 0, Garrett Cranmer 8 11-14 30, Zeke Johnson 2 6-8 12, Jacob Teal 3 0-0 8, Justin Willingham 4 1-7 9, Battles 0 1-2 1. Totals 17 19-31 60.
GASTON – Nick Lewis 10 0-0 22, Brock Bagley 0 1-4 1, Kendrick Blackwell 5 3-9 13, Kendall Blackwell 2 1-2 5, Josh Campbell 1 0-0 3, Aaron Wood 4 0-5 8, Rickey Moore 1 0-1 2, Justin Waters 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 5-21 54.
Pleasant Valley 13 10 24 13 – 60
Gaston 9 19 14 12 – 54
3-point goals: PV 7 (Cranmer 3, Johnson 2, Teal 2); Gaston 3 (Lewis 2, Campbell). Fouled out: Lewis, Bagley. Total fouls: PV 19, Gaston 25.
White Plains 60, Cleburne County 21
WHITE PLAINS – Tucker Pearson 0 0-0 0, Carson Wright 1 0-1 2, Quin Wilson 2 0-0 6, Jaden Chatman 0 0-0 0, Jacob Wheeler 5 1-1 13, Landon Senciboy 2 0-0 6, Brody Baker 5 2-2 14, Jesse Hubbard 1 0-0 2, Walker Osteen 4 3-3 11, Garrett Wilson 3 0-1 6. Totals 23 6-8 60.
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Rico Jordan 0 4-4 4, Ben Casey 0 3-4 3, Kyle Downey 2 4-6 9, Grant Harcrow 0 1-2 1, Trey Brown 0 1-2 1, Dearion Prothro 0 2-4 2, Seth Brown 0 1-4 1, Alex Whatley 0 0-0 0. Totals 2 16-26 21.
White Plains 19 12 17 12 – 60
Cleburne Co. 4 8 6 3 – 21
3-point goals: White Plains 8 (Q. Wilson 2, Wheeler 2, Senciboy 2, Baker 2); Cleburne Co. 1 (Downey). Total fouls: White Plains 18, Cleburne Co. 13.
Cherokee County 68, Alexandria 56
ALEXANDRIA (1-2) – Javais McGhee 2 4-4 8, D’Anthony Walton 5 0-1 11, Collin Taylor 3 1-2 8, Antonio Ross 1 0-3 2, Kory Cargal 0 2-2 2, Julian Wright 2 3-6 7, Austin Jeffers 0 0-0 0, Ronnie Royal 0 1-4 1, Landan Williams 7 2-2 17. Totals 20 13-24 56.
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Jackson Amos 2 3-4 8, Malachi Horton 1 2-2 4, Nas Diamond 10 4-5 25, Jaden Wilson 0 0-0 0, Tristan Whitefield 0 0-0 0, Slade Alexander 3 5-6 13, Connor Elrod 4 5-8 16, Courtlin Brooks 1 0-0 2, Braden Chandler 0 0-0 0, Damien Ramsey 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 19-28 68.
Alexandria 12 19 15 10 – 56
Cherokee Co. 20 12 22 16 – 68
3-point goals: Alexandria 3 (Walton, Taylor, Williams); Cherokee Co. 7 (Amos, Diamond, Alexander 2, Elrod 3). Technical fouls: Alexandria bench 2. Fouled out: Royal. Total fouls: Alexandria 23, Cherokee Co. 15. Officials: Battles, Fountain, Simpson.
Hokes Bluff 58, Ohatchee 38
HOKES BLUFF – Avron Nix 8 2-3 19, Harrison Millander 2 0-2 6, Will Clemons 0 0-0 0, Kyle Patterson 1 0-0 2, Drake Rainey 1 3-4 5, Jordan Presley 5 4-4 16, J.C. Wetzel 2 0-0 5, Hunter Burke 0 0-0 0, Austin Blevins 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 9-13
OHATCHEE – Noah Fuller 0 1-2 1, Michael Buckelew 2 1-2 6, Trey Pesnell 7 4-5 21, Justin Powell 1 1-2 3, Konnor Baswell 1 0-0 2, Brock England 1 0-0 2, Aiden Simpson 0 0-0 0, Daavid Read 1 0-0 3, Dalton Maye 0 0-1 0. Totals 13 7-12 38.
Hokes Bluff 14 16 14 14 – 58
Ohatchee 12 5 9 12 – 38
3-point goals: Hokes Bluff 6 (Nix, Millander 2, Presley 2, Wetzel); Ohatchee 5 (Buckelew, Pesnell 3, Read). Total fouls: Hokes Bluff 16, Ohatchee 18. Notes: Ohatchee’s Pesnell scored 18 points in the second half.
Jacksonville Christian 65, Donoho 41
Tavian Alexander scored a double-double (12 points, 18 rebounds) and Ethan Fair had 12 points and nine assists for the undefeated Thunder (5-0).
Girls games
Friday’s scores
Cherokee County 71, Alexandria 20
Cleburne County 53, White Plains 41
Donoho 59, Jacksonville Christian 44
Ohatchee 51, Hokes Bluff 45
Oxford 52, Pell City 40
Ohatchee 51, Hokes Bluff 45
HOKES BLUFF – Robinson 0 1-8 1, Wolfe 2 1-2 6, Maddie Smith 5 0-0 13, Reece Hawks 1 0-0 2, Hallie Davenport 3 4-4 11, Ava Dodd 0 0-0 0, Latronica 2 0-0 4, Welington 0 0-0 0, Kileigh Blackwell 0 5-6 5, Chloe Rule 1 1-2 3. Totals 14 12-22 45.
OHATCHEE – Gracyn Snow 0 3-4 3, Tori Vice 1 1-2 3, Whitney McFry 0 0-2 0, Gracie George 0 3-6 3, Millie Rainwater 0 1-2 1, Jorda Crook 14 9-18 37, Alyssa Davis 1 2-2 4. Totals 16 19-36 51.
Hokes Bluff 17 5 8 15 – 45
Ohatchee 19 11 0 21 – 51
3-point goals: Hokes Bluff 5 (Smith 3, Davenport, Wolfe). Fouled out: Latronica, K. Blackwell, Vice, George. Total fouls: Hokes Bluff 26, Ohatchee 22. Officials: Lackey, Pratt, Kadle. Notes: Jorda Crook scored 17 of her 37 points in the fourth quarter after the Lady Indians were held scoreless in the third.
Oxford 52, Pell City 40
OXFORD – Justice Woods 1 1-4 3, Xai Whitfield 3 1-2 9, Lauren Ellard 2 2-2 8, LaMya McGrue 2 2-4 6, Kaleah Taylor 9 2-2 20, Emma McCulllough 0 0-0 0, Lisa Montgomery 0 2-4 2, Keziah Mickler 1 0-0 2, Aniya Elston 0 0-0 0, Jamea Gatson 1 0-0 2, Mikiya Wilson 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 10-18 52.
PELL CITY – Madison Farris 0 4-4 4, Rebekah Hooks 2 2-2 6, Heaven O’Neal 2 6-8 10, Reagan Tarver 2 2-8 6, Kristin Kurzejeski 2 0-0 4, Kyla Torok 2 0-1 4, Victoria Winslett 2 1-2 6. Totals 12 15-25 40.
Oxford 11 6 17 18 – 52
Pell City 3 16 10 11 – 40
3-point goals: Oxford 4 (Whitfield 2, Ellard 2); Pell City 1 (Winslett). Fouled out: Ellard. Total fouls: Oxford 22, Pell City 17. Officials: Claybrook, Baldwin, Bradford. Notes: Oxford’s Taylor scored 14 and the Lady Jackets hit three of their 3-pointers in the second half.
Cherokee County 71, Alexandria 20
ALEXANDRIA – Jordyn Walker 0 0-0 0, Maddie Ritchie 0 2-4 2, Jill Cockrell 2 1-3 6, Kirsten Heathcock 1 0-0 2, Sarah Pelham 1 2-3 4, TyShica Woodgett 1 0-0 2, Aubrey Christian 0 2-2 2, Chloe Gattis 1 0-2 2. Totals 6 7-14 20.
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Mary Johnson 3 3-9 10, Audrey Green 7 0-0 15, Audrey Haygood 2 2-2 7, Emily Allen 3 0-0 8, Carson Coley 2 1-2 5, Karlee Perry 6 2-3 16, Sidney Johnson 1 0-0 2, Ella Garmony 3 1-4 8, Hannah Waters 0 0-0 0, Raechel Russell 0 0-0 0, Grayson Tucker 0 0-2 0. Totals 27 9-20 71.
Alexandria 5 6 6 3 – 20
Cherokee Co. 19 12 27 13 – 71
3-point goals: Alexandria 1 (Cockrell); Cherokee Co. 8 (M. Johnson, Green, Haygood, Allen 2, Perry 2, Garmony). Fouled out: Walker. Total fouls: Alexandria 17, Cherokee Co. 15. Officials: Fountain, Battles, Simpson.
Donoho 59, Jacksonville Christian 44
JCA – Rebekah Carter 8 3-7 20, Erin Prater 1 0-0 3, Kara Grace 3 1-2 7, Kirsten Walker 0 1-2 1, Mia Morales 3 0-10 7, Karli Barnwell 1 0-2 2, Abbie Stovall 0 0-0 0, Hannah Clayton 1 2-4 4. Totals 17 7-27 44.
DONOHO – Victoria O’Neill 12 3-5 32, Anastasia O’Neill 4 0-0 7, Janie Sills 0 0-0 0, Anna Grace Jones 1 0-0 3, Julie Cleckler 5 2-2 12, Amelia Baker 1 0-0 2, Cailin Campbell 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 5-7 59.
JCA 3 15 8 18 – 44
Donoho 14 18 12 15 – 59
3-point goals: JCA 3 (Carter, Prater, Morales); Donoho 8 (V. O’Neill 5, A. O’Neill 2, Jones). Technical fouls: Barnwell. Fouled out: Cleckler. Total fouls: JCA 13, Donoho 21. Officials: Whiteside, Jackson, Smith. Notes: JCA’s Carter grabbed 10 rebounds.
Cleburne County 53, White Plains 41
WHITE PLAINS – Callyn Martin 1 2-4 5, Cheyenne Cochran 0 0-0 0, Hallie Williams 0 0-0 0, Shaniya Callaway 1 0-0 3, Camden Wilson 1 0-0 2, Lily Ponder 4 2-2 11, Adriana Sotelo 4 0-0 12, Angel Bozarth 2 4-7 8. Totals 13 8-13 41.
CLEBURNE COUNTY – Faith Brown 7-13 2-3 16, Jacy Littleton 1-1 0-0 2, Haley Price 3-13 6-8 12, Micah Pentecost 0-2 1-2 1, Brooklyn McDaniel 8-15 1-2 19, Haven Freeman 1-2 1-2 3, Libby Altman 0-1 0-0 0. Total 20-47 11-17 53.
White Plains 10 13 3 15 – 41
Cleburne Co. 10 17 13 13 – 53
3-pont goals: White Plains 7 (Martin, Callaway, Ponder, Sotelo 4); Cleburne Co. 2-12 (B. McDaniel 2-5, Brown 0-2, Price 0-4, Altman 0-1). Total fouls: White Plains 12, Cleburne Co. 15. Note: McDaniel hit both of her 3-points in the third quarter when Cleburne County pulled away. McDaniel also pulled down 14 rebounds.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login