Big Foot comes up short in rivalry game
By Dan Truttschel
Sports Correspondent
For three quarters Monday night, the yearly battle between nearby boys basketball rivals Big Foot and Williams Bay was almost a dead heat.
That ended in the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs took control – and there wasn’t a lot the Chiefs could do to stem the tide.
Williams Bay outscored Big Foot 23-11 in the final eight minutes to break open a close game en route to a 54-42 non-conference victory.
The Chiefs fell to 1-1 overall, while Williams Bay improved to 3-0.
The difference in the fourth quarter came down to offensive execution, Big Foot coach Mike Dowden said.
“Really, we ran very poor offense all night, and the fourth quarter just caught up to us,” he said. “(In the first three quarters), we ran poor offense, but we found a way to stay in the game playing good defense.
“We had good energy and were capable of hanging around based off that energy and were capable of hanging around based off that energy and getting some good rebounds at right times.”
Big Foot led 12-9 after the first quarter before the Bulldogs rallied and took a 21-19 advantage into halftime. The Chiefs pulled even at 31-31 at the end of the third quarter.
The Williams Bay combination of Adam Lechelt from the outside and John Higgins from the inside finished with 46 points, respectively, including a game-high 31 from Lechelt.
Dowden was impressed, especially with the hot-shooting Lechelt.
“Lechelt shot the ball really well,” Dowden said. “You have to give him credit for that. I think that combo will be real successful in the Trailways (Conference), and I look for them to have a good year.”
Austin Hoey led the Chiefs with 13 points, 14 rebounds and two steals, followed by Alex Landers with 12 points and four steals. Brett Morris added six points, while Chandler Hehr had six points and two steals.
Hoey battled early foul trouble and put together a solid overall effort, Dowden said.
“I really think he is starting to figure out what kind of player he can be and hopefully, progressing toward (becoming) that guy,” Dowden said.
Even in defeat, Dowden enjoyed the chance to coach in the long-standing rivalry between the two schools. Big Foot and Williams Bay combine to play boys and girls soccer and boys and girls tennis, so there’s always a little extra familiarity between the two.
“It was a good atmosphere and a good way to show us what we need to do to get better for conference play,” Dowden said. “As I told the guys in the locker room, our goal is to keep getting better, and it was a good learning experience for us.
“We had a lot of inexperience shine through, and now is the time to see that and learn from it.”
Big Foot hosted Parkview in its Rock Valley Conference opener Tuesday night and travels to Clinton Friday to face the Cougars.
Dowden said his goal hasn’t changed.
“We need to keep getting better, and I hope we saw some of our weaknesses and are able to improve moving forward,” he said.
“Two big conference games this week, and I’m real excited to see what we learned and how we will play. I never question our effort and energy, but now we need to convert that to smarter play.”
