By TYLER HENRY
Little Apple Post contributor
The Chapman Fighting Irish will host the Wamego Raiders tonight in an all-area showdown featuring two teams looking for another big December win.
The Irish are fresh off their first victory since the 2020-21 season after holding on to defeat Rossville 46-45 on Saturday to improve to 1-2.
"Our effort and attitude have been good so far,” Irish head coach Drew Gruver said. “We’ve played well at times we just need to be more consistent and play a full game. We have stretches where we let the game get away from us but if we can be more consistent throughout we will have a much better chance of winning.”
On the other side of this matchup stands a Wamego team at 2-1 that spent their week ranked as the #7 team in Class 4A.
“I’ve liked the way we’ve held our own on the boards, which was a concern coming into the season,” Raider head coach Troy Hemphill said. “We still have to develop some depth and make better shot choices down the stretch here.”
The month of December offers teams a crucible to discover their identities and to start building positive momentum for the rest of the season, but above all else, both Wamego and Chapman remain dedicated to improving with every passing opportunity.
“I think the biggest thing for us is to keep working hard and to keep getting a little bit better each day,” Gruver said. “If we can learn from our mistakes and continue to improve we will have a chance to win some more games in the second half of the season.”
With regards to this matchup specifically, the Raiders will be hungry to add another win to their December resume, after splitting their two games last week.
“Chapman is well-organized and playing with a purpose,” Hemphill said. “They have good energy and outside shooting threats. We need to be more active and patient offensively, standing around and taking hard shots is not a good combination.”
For the Irish to get just their second victory in two years and their first over a ranked opponent, Chapman will have to value each possession and ensure that the Raiders don’t dictate the pace of this matchup.
“Wamego always plays tough defense and they will make it tough for us on offense,” Gruver said. “We have to value the ball, limit careless turnovers, and work together on the offensive end of the floor to run our offense and get great shots. Defensively we have to get stops, box out, and be ready to defend for all four quarters.”
Tip-off between the Irish and Raiders is set for 7:30 pm following the girl’s game at 6:00.
For continuing coverage of all four teams stay tuned to the Salina and Little Apple Posts and follow us on Twitter @spostsports.