Future looks bright for Warhawks

DES MOINES -- West Fork made a furious rally to come within three, but fell short in the Class 1A state consolation final, 78-72, against Montezuma on Thursday, March 12 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Kayden Ames had a big offensive burst in the second half to score 22 points after just six in the first half against the Braves (25-3).

He was one of seven players returning for the Warhawks (24-4) in 2020-21 and said that he'll start working toward next season 'tomorrow.'

"I thought we came out and competed real hard," West Fork coach Frank Schnoes said. "I thought both teams played hard for a consolation game. I played a few more kids than I normally do, now looking back, I think I should have played those guys a little bit more in the playoffs..

"Proud of how we came back and got it down to a one-possession game there near the end. To their credit, they made their free throws down the stretch. Unfortunately, the free throws 27 (made) to five (made) is a glaring difference. We actually out-shot them from beyond the three-point line and they are known as a three-point shooting team. A little disappointed that they went to the line a little bit more than we did. We out-rebounded them, apparently. Basically, the game was lost on the free throw line. They didn't miss many; give them credit for that."

The Warhawks found it hard to stop the Braves’ leading scorer junior Trey Shearer, already an all-state player, who tallied a game-high 27 points, adding five assists, five steals and four rebounds.

“We were hoping to slow down Cole (Watts) and Trey (Shearer), that was our goal,” Ames said. “They came out and had like 18 and 16 (points) in the first half, so it wasn’t going so well with that, and our game plan went downhill, but we always fight. We’re never going to give up on a game, so we fought back and got it to within three in the final minute and never stopped fighting.”

Schnoes added, “I think we matched up with them really well. It came down to three points and we knew he was their best player and he makes them go. He’s a tough defender, good ball handler and good shooter. Give him a lot of credit, he goes, the team goes. (He) played well.”

Ames also credited Monte’s defense.

“They are always communicating on where the shooter was and all of that,” Ames said. “They have good communication, which helped a lot with their defense.”

West Fork loses three senior starters.

“We’ll miss those three (starting) seniors,” Schnoes said. “The hardest part for the junior class will be moving up and taking the role and responsibility those seniors provided for us this year. They know every year roles change and responsibilities change as far as players go. The seniors are the reason why we are down here, not just on the court, but to get us ready. They really pushed us to show up and work the camps and open gyms and all of the things that goes into it to make us better players. Good leaders and good role models. I’m just really proud of the seniors and what the seniors did.

“They set a good example for the juniors and the juniors will carry on the legacy of what the seniors have and what they have done before them.”

This past season and what the team is capable of in the future has Ames looking forward to next year.

“I’m very excited,” Ames said. “We lose a lot in Brett (Weaver), Ian (Latham), Brayden (Vold) and Tyler (Nuehring), but I think we’ll be able to fill those roles and for the other people who are already there will grow as players and next year, we’ll be good.”

Schnoes said that his team can’t just assume they’ll make it to state again next season.

“There are a lot of young players down here,” Schnoes said. “Montezuma is young, Wapsie is young, so I guess you can’t take for granted you get down here, lots of teams get down here one year and you hope to get down the next, so the only way you have a chance is to keep working hard to get better, that will be our goal for next year.”

Montezuma 78

West Fork 72

West Fork (24-4) — Ian Latham 3-8 4-5 13, Brett Weaver 2-5 0-0 5, Kayden Ames 8-15 0-0 22, Jakob Washington 1-6 1-2 3, Brayden Vold 0-4 0-0 0, Noah Maske 0-0 0-0 0, Colin Martinek 0-1 0-0 0, Ren Heimer 3-5 0-0 9, Cail Weaver 6-9 0-0 16, Joe Ingham 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 25-57 5-7 72.

Montezuma (24-3) — Brayden Arendt 0-4 0-0 0, Masin Shearer 2-3 2-5 7, Cole Watts 6-11 9-10 26, Trey Shearer 8-19 7-9 27, Eddie Burgess 4-6 9-11 13, Joey Kercheval 0-0 0-0 0, Owen Cook 0-0 0-0 0, Gavin Strong 0-1 0-0 0, Brody Chidester 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-45 27-35 78.

W. Fork      17   11   19   25      -   72

Montezuma 2216   18   22      -   78

Three-point goals — WF 17-32 (Ames 6-11, C. Weaver 4-6, Heimer 3-5, Latham 3-6, B. Weaver 1-2, Washington 0-1, Martinek); Monte 11-25 (Watts 5-10, T. Shearer 4-10, M. Shearer 1-1, Burgess 1-1); Rebounds — WF 34, 11 off., 23 def. (Washington 10, Vold 8, Latham 4, B. Weaver 3, Ingham 3, Martinek 2, Ames, Heimer, C. Weaver, Team); Monte 26, 6 off., 20 def. (Burgess 13, Watts 3, T. Shearer 3, Chidester 3, Arendt, M. Shearer, Cook, Team); Assists — WF 22 (B. Weaver 5, Latham 3, Heimer 3, C. Weaver 3, Ames 2, Vold 2, Maske 2, Washington, Martinek); Monte 13 (Shearer 5, Burgess 3, Arendt 2, Watts 2, M. Shearer). Steals — WF 5 (Ames 2, C. Weaver 2, Heimer); Monte 9 (T. Shearer 4, Watts 2, Arendt, M. Shearer, Strong). Total fouls — WF 22, Monte 7. Fouled out — WF (Latham), Monte, None.