Article on Butte and Edwards:
Edwards, Bulldogs turn back Bengals
By Bill Foley of The Montana Standard - 12/22/2006
You won’t like him when he’s angry. Helena High sure didn’t.
Playing with a new-found fire Thursday night, Butte High 6-foot-10 senior Jeff Edwards showed the 1,347 spectators at the Civic Center why he signed to play for the Montana State Bobcats before this season began.
Edwards recorded eight of his nine blocked shots in the first half to help the Bulldogs take a commanding lead early, and Butte High opened its Western AA schedule with a 65-44 win over the Bengals.
Edwards came within an eyelash of a triple-double, with 11 points and eight rebounds to go along with the lofty block total. He did all that and still sat out most of the fourth quarter.
“He was definitely ready to go,” Butte High coach John Thatcher said. “I can tell when they slap my hand out there before the game whether or not they’re ready to go. He about tore my shoulder off so I knew he was ready to play. He did a great job.”
Edwards said he was frustrated because he didn’t feel like he played up to his ability in Tuesday’s win over Anaconda.
Thursday, he had six blocks by the end of the first quarter.
“I felt that I had to come out and prove something — that I can still play basketball, I guess,” Edwards said. “I think I played good, but the team played really well. We moved the ball, we shot well, we took it to the hole good. All around, I think the Bulldogs played great tonight.”
Junior Brandon Boltz scored 13 points to lead a balanced Butte High attack.
All five starters scored at least eight points, and four scored in double digits.
Senior Tyler Gilder added 10 points, while senior Willie Sullivan scored 10 off the bench. Juniors Mack Hawbaker, who dished out
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four assists, and Cole Conway each scored eight.
See BULLDOGS, Page B4
“That’s the whole objective with this team,” Thatcher said. “If somebody’s having a bad night or they’re taking somebody away, we’ve got to have everybody be able to score.
“I think we have the potential to get good scoring out of 10 guys.”
Senior Shane Clary added two points and three assists off the bench, and seniors Justin Sullivan and Jason Mattila also saw time.
No Bengals scored in double digits, but nine of the 11 to hit he floor found the scorer’s book.
Junior Reil Cornelius led the way for Helena with nine points off the bench, while senior reserve Tom Donnelly added eight points.
Grant Fink, who grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds, Steven Foster and Brian Kessler each scored five.
“Helena’s got a nice basketball team,” Thatcher said. “They’ll be ready for us the next time.
“Helena is a good team,” the Butte coach added. “Helena is going to win a lot of games.”
Butte and Helena both had 35 rebounds on the game, but Helena third-year coach Willie Schlepp said the Bulldogs took advantage of their rebounding and the Bengals didn’t.
“The key was we had 25 points off those rebounds, we had eight,” Schlepp said. “When they got the offensive rebound, they finished. We didn’t finish. That’s just their size taking over.”
Though the game ended with a 21-point margin, the Bengals up-tempo game kept things interesting the whole way — even though they got outscored 12-2 in the third quarter.
“We ran into a buzz saw tonight,” Schlepp said. “Those guys are a good team.
“Our guys are going to compete,” Schlepp added. “We’re going to have to hit shots against teams that are playing zone. Tonight we didn’t.”
Of course, the Bulldogs and Edwards had something to say about Helena’s shooting performance.
For every block Edwards had, he probably altered two more.
“I don’t care how many points Jeff Edwards scores,” Thatcher said. “When Jeff Edwards is successful on defense, we’re successful.”
Butte High, which improved to 4-2 overall, and Helena (2-3, 1-1) are off until after the holidays.
The Bulldogs are back in action Jan. 6 at Helena Capital. The Bengals play the same night at Great Falls High.
HELENA HIGH (2-3, 1-1) — Grant Fink 2-9 0-0 5, Derek Herrin 2-6 0-0 4, Brian Evans 0-7 2-2 2, Luke Stubblefield 2-7 1-1 5, Drew Waltee 0-0 0-0 0, Steven Foster 2-4 1-8 5, Tom Donnelly 3-5 2-2 8, Reil Cornelius 3-3 1-2 9, Brian Watson 0-1 0-0 0, Brian Kessler 1-3 2-2 5, Spencer Chamberlain 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 15-46 10-19 44.
BUTTE HIGH (4-2, 1-0) — Mike Hawbaker 2-7 4-6 8, Cole Conway 3-5 2-5 8, Jeff Edwards 4-5 3-5 11, Tyler Gilder 1-8 8-10 10, Brandon Boltz 6-10 1-2 13, Tyler Peterson 1-3 1-3 3, Willie Sullivan 3-3 3-3 10, Jason Mattila 0-1 0-0 0, Shane Clary 0-0 2-2 2, Justin Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-42 24-36 65.
Helena 13 8 2 21 — 44
Butte 17 18 12 18 — 65
3-point goals — 4-14 (Cornelius 2-2, Fink 1-1, Kessler 1-1, Evans 0-4, Herrin 0-2, Stubblefield 0-2, Watson 0-1, Chaberlain 0-1), Butte 1-7 (W. Sullivan 1-1, Hawbaker 0-4, Gilder 0-2). Rebounds — Helena 35 (Fink 7), Butte 35 (Edwards. Assits — Helena 9 (Herrin 3), Butte 13 (Hawbaker 4). Steals — Helena 8 (Stubblefield 3), Butte 12 (Gilder 3). Blocks — Helena 3 (Fink 2, Stubblefield), Butte 10 (Edwards 9, Gilder). Turnovers — Helena 23, Butte 12. Fouls — Helena 25, Butte 19. Fouled out — Cornelius, Conway. Technicals — none. A — 1,347.