Bulldogs' head coach earns 100th career win

HAMPTON -- Hampton-Dumont boys' basketball coach Heath Walton notched his 100th career victory as his Bulldogs defeated Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 51-39 on Thursday, Jan. 24.
The game was a make-up from a postponement from Friday, but was worth the wait.
Due to a few reporting errors on the QuikStats web site early in Walton's career, there was some confusion as to his official milestone victory, but after conferring with Bud Legg of the Iowa High School Athletic Association, the win over the Cowboys is the official tally.
"It is nice," Walton said. "Of course, you'd like to have 200, 300...but I think after having looked at it I'm more excited about the idea that having been here a length of time, I'd rather...I feel like I've committed to the kids and they've committed to me. We've been through a lot of difficult seasons.
"There were times when kids would have said, 'I don't want to play anymore.' It could have been easy for me to say, 'I don't want to coach anymore.' I think that is something we continue to work with. We know we have struggles, and yet it is still something that is special to be a part of and that means a lot to me."
H-D junior Wyatt Sutter scored 17 points, 11 after halftime and was 3-of-4 from the free throw line in the final minute to seal it.
"Being on varsity my freshman and sophomore year and only winning one game throughout that, it's kind of cool to get a couple wins and get coach to 100," Sutter said. "It's nice to get (CGD) at home, too, after the shutdown we had last time we played them. We were up 10 and lost after halftime."
Indeed, the Bulldogs held a 28-18 lead at the break at Clarion. Thursday night, H-D held a slim 21-18 lead going into half.
But coach Walton's team started the third quarter on a 9-2 run and the closest the Cowboys came was a five-point deficit with 6:20 remaining.
"Clarion-Goldfield and Hampton-Dumont is a competitive game. We saw it here and we saw it at their place," Walton said. "Our kids came in dialed in knowing this was one we had a chance to get, but really needed to do things correctly."
See the Jan. 30 print and online editions of the Hampton Chronicle for the complete story.