Varsity Boys Get Fourth Win 65-41, Against Clarke and JV Boys also Win

Chariton Herald-Patriot, January 23, 2014
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

Strong Second Half Lifts Varsity Boys to their Fourth Straight Win

Chargers outscore Clarke 41-17 in Second Half

A strong second half performance was the key for the Chariton varsity boys in a 65-41 win over Clarke at Chariton Friday night, January 17th.  The game was tied 24-24 at halftime but Chariton's defense forced the Indians into mistakes in the second half and turned the game into a convincing win for the Chargers.  With the win, Chariton moved to 4-1 in the conference and 7-3 overall.

Willie Felderman went 8-11 from the field and finished with a team-high 18 points and 12 rebounds along with four assists and five blocks.  Daric Laing had 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.  TJ Hockenson had 10 points, eight rebounds, five steals, one assist and one block.

Chariton led 13-17 after one period.  The Indians played tough defense and outscored the Chargers 17-11 into second to tie the game 24-24 at halftime.  The Chargers came out strong following the break and outscored the Indians 24-7 in the third to open up a 48-31 lead after the third period.  Chariton kept it up in the fourth outscoring the Indians, 17-10, to win going away.

"We got off to a slow start offensively in this game.  We missed some shots we normally make and were just a little out of sync.  We turned the ball over way too much in the first half as well.  I give Clarke a lot of credit, they did a nice job of guarding us in the first half and making it hard on us.  I was proud of the way the guys played defensively the whole game," Chariton Head Coach Ben Schooley said.

Coach Schooley told about how his defense helped turn the tide in the second half.  "We were able to use our defense to turn them over in the second half and this allowed us to get some easy baskets in transition and we were able to build up a lead.  It's nice to see the improvement this team is making at the defensive end.  We have become a much better defensive team and that was the key in this game.  Sometimes you need your defense to get your offense going and that's what happened  in this game," he said.

Joey Krutsinger had four points and three rebounds.  Ben Morrett had three points, one rebound, two steals and two assists.  Brett Braida had two points, three rebounds  and one steal.  Hunter Storm had two points and one rebound.  Aaron Cain had two points.  Alec Reynolds had three rebounds and one assist.
For the game, Chariton shot 23-45, 51 percent, from inside the arc and 3-8, 38 percent, from trifecta land,.  The Chargers shot 10-16, 63 percent, from the line.  Chariton pulled down 39 rebounds including eight offensive boards.  The Chargers committed 21 turnovers and 10 fouls.  Chariton dished out 19 assists, swiped 16 steals and had seven blocks.

Strong D Lifts JV Boys over Clarke

A strong first half defensively was key for the Chariton JV boys in a 43-29 win against Clarke at Chariton January 17th.  Chariton held the Indians to just nine points in the first half.  Quinn Storm had a double double with 15 points, 11 rebounds including six offensive boards, one assist and one steal.  With the win, the JV Chargers improved to 5-3 overall.
Chariton started out slow offensively but still led 9-5 after the first period.  The Chargers picked it up offensively in the second outscoring the Indians, 18-4, to lead 27-9 at halftime.  Clarke outscored the JV Chargers 13-10 in the third to cut the lead to 37-22 after three periods.  Clarke wasn't really able to cut into Chariton's lead as they outscored the Chargers just 7-6 in the fourth.
"We started out slow in the first quarter.  Quinn had a nice game offensively and on the boards.  We did struggle a little defensively in the third period.  It was nice to be able to play a lot of players in this game," Chariton Head Coach Jay Pierschbacher said.
Nine players scored for the Chargers.  Aaron Cain had seven pints, five rebounds, five assists and one steal.  Sawyer Dow had seven points, three rebounds and one steal.  Bradley Krutsinger had three points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists.  Chase Altenhofen had three points, two rebounds and one steal.
Carter Riechmann had two points, eight rebounds and one block.  Spencer Sherrick had two points and one steal.  Mathias Plank had two points.  Ethan Payton had one point and two rebounds.  Eduard Rodygin had two rebounds, one block and one assist.  Adam Kaska had one block and two steals.  Ethan Curnutte had three rebounds, a steal and an assist.  Sam Lerner had two rebounds.
For the game, Chariton shot 16-45, 36 percent, from inside the arc and 2-7,  29 percent, from three-point range.  The JV Chargers shot 4-14, 29 percent, from the line.  Chariton pulled down 42 rebounds including an impressive 20 offensive boards.  The Chargers committed 17 turnovers and 13 fouls.  Chariton dished out 10 assists, had 11 steals and three blocks.

Tyler Pearson with VEX robotics tank

Tyler Pearson shows a VEX robotics tank created piece by piece by the students from the middle school's Automation & Robotics class.

Middle School Boys and Girls Teams at Albia

Chariton Leader, January 28 and Herald-Patriot, January 27, 2014

Bill Howes, Associate Editor

CMS 8th Boys Fall to Albia

The Chariton eighth grade A boys fell to Albia, 61-27, at Chariton January 16th.  Tyler Anderson led the team in scoring with 11 points.  With the loss Chariton moved to 1-7 overall.

Tanner Stephens had eight points and two rebounds.  Dylan Stites had four points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal.  Bradley Owens had two points and nine rebounds.  Connor Lundy had two points and three rebounds. 

Chariton also lost the B game, 33-4.  Alex Dobryden had two points and seven rebounds.  Riley Voss had two points.  Will Exline had two rebounds and one steal.  Owens had two rebounds.

7th Boys Teams fall to Albia

The Chariton seventh grade boys A team came within a whisker of beating Albia with a 39-37 loss at Chariton January 16th.The Chargers led by five at halftime, but missed a lot of free throws and couldn't quite seal the deal.  Trailing by two with eight seconds left, Chariton had three shots at the basket to tie the game but couldn't make the tying shot.

It was quite a turnaround for Chariton, who lost to Albia 53-18 earlier this season.  Nathan Blong led the Chargers with 12 points while Royce Stewart had 10.

"Wow, what a fun game to be a part of.  Our kids are really playing at another level right now.  We took a lead to the locker room but have got to continue to make progress on the mental as well as the physical part of the game.  We need to learn how to play from ahead as well as behind.  We were forcing too many passes in the second half that we just didn't need to try," Chariton Head Coach Mike Jones said.

Chariotn shot 13-17 from the line.  "We did miss too many free throws during the game, but we had other opportunities too.  We gave Albia too many second chances late in the game by not taking care of rebound and loose balls.  When these kids get a handle on all parts of the game, they will be a team that can play with and beat anyone they step on the court to play," Coach Jones said.

Jackson Fisher had eight points.  Payton Lane had four points and Nathan Weaver had two.  Cameron McDonald had one point.  "Nathan continues to be a big force on offense as well as the boards.  Payton came off the bench and really showed his improvement by giving us some quality time," Coach Jones said.

Chariton loses close B game

The B game was also close with Chariton falling, 16-12.  Cooper Shelton led the team with four points.  Luke Lahart, Tyler Gookin, Ty White, Micah Thatcher and Jimmy Graham had two points apiece.

"Like the A team, these kids keep making some progress.  I was disappointed in the lack of offense today.  We are looking for some leadership on the floor to get people in position and run what is beneficial for us.  We have made an effort to work on rebounding each day in practice recently and it's good to see some of the kids putting it to use.  We did a little better job of controlling their second chances today and this allowed us to keep the game a little closer.  Ty White and Micah again did a great job on the boards today," Coach Jones said.

The game was an improvement for the B team, who lost to Albia earlier this season, 23-10.

7th Red Girls Team Uses Fast Start to Beat Albia, Eve Their Record at 4-4

The Chariton 7th grade girls Red team jumped out to a fast start on route to a 30-13 victory at Albia January 16th.  Chariton led 11-4 at halftime and and outscored Albia 19-9 in the second half to get the win.  With the victory the Red girls are now 4-4 overall.
Chariton shot 13-48, 27 percent, from the field and 4-13, 31 percent from the line.  "We are getting to the free throw line much more lately and any time we can score with the clock not running is a plus.  The girls are starting to look for open space and taking the ball off the dribble when the opportunity presents itself, which is something we have emphasized all season," Chariton Head Coach Bruce Taylor said.
Shayla Holohan led Chariton in scoring with nine points and was a force in rebounding collecting six boards, "She played her best game to date," Coach Taylor said.
Grace Bengtson had six points and one rebound.  Natalie Ilyenko had four points, four rebounds and two steals, "Natalie did a nice job as our sixth man tonight," Coach Taylor said.
Breanna Ellis scored three points and had one steal.  Paige Burgett had two points, one rebound and one steal.  Shelby Dobberthein had two points, one rebound and one steal.
Erin Payton had two points, one rebound and three steals.  "This was Erin's most aggressive game played from a defensive standpoint this season," Coach Taylor said.  Macy Johnston had three rebounds.  Mikenzy Beaty contribued minutes, along with Alysha Shutt who had two steals.
White Team Losses Close Game
The White Team lost a close game, 15-12, to move to 5-3 overall.  For the game they shot 5-24, 21 percent, from the field and 2-4, 50 percent, from the line.
Albia had 8-6 at halftime and the game remained close in the second half.  Albia's one three-point shot in the game proved to be the margin of victory.
The White team had five players score.  Shutt led the team with three points, two rebounds and one steal.  Ilyendo had three points, one rebound and three steals.  Beaty had a nice floor game and scored two points.  Johnston had two points and two rebounds.  Leilani Plank had two points and two steals.  Crystal Milam had one rebound.  Baylee Pollard had one rebound.  Emily Shelton had two steals.  Payton had two steals.
"Macey Beaty got some open shots and has started to realize that a quicker release sometimes gets you shot attempts.  In tonight's two games, this was the first time all four point guards have scored and also did a good job of running our offense," Coach Taylor said.

8th Red Girls Lose To Albia

The Chariton eighth grade girls Red Team suffered their first loss of the season with a 43-30 loss at Albia January 16th.

Luci Swarthout had 12 rebounds, eight steals and one assist.  

Albia led 18-10 at halftime and outscored Chariton 25-20 in the second half

"Tonight was one of those nights that things just didn't go our way.  I know these girls will learn from this and move on," Chariton Head Coach Jeanna Snook said.

Abbie Peterson had six points, two rebounds and two steals.  Tressa Shore had four points, six rebounds and five steals.  Autumn Gwinn had two points, five rebounds, four steals and one block.  Aubrie Richards had two points, three rebounds and two blocks.  Ivy Swarthout had two points and rebound.

The White team won, 20-6,  Ashley Pfrimmer had four points and three steals.  Jacklynn Johnson had four points and one steal.  Natalie Baird had four points and one rebound.  Shelby Jensen had three points and two rebounds.  Taheton Decker had two points and three rebounds.  Trinity Kemper had two points.  Megan Schultz had one point and one rebound.  Danica Derringer had one rebound.

Varsity Boys and Girls at Grinnell

Chariton Leader, January 21, 2014 and Herald-Patriot, January 23, 2014
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

Five in a row!  Varsity boys beat Grinnell for fifth straight win

The Chariton varsity boys pulled off a huge win with a 64-60 win at Grinnell on January 18th.  The Chargers led by seven at halftime and trailed by two entering the fourth but outscored the Tigers by six in the final period to get the win.

The win was the fifth in a row for the varsity Chargers, who moved to 8-3 overall.

Grinnell entered the game on a four-game winning streak and was 8-2 overall.  They have posted impressive wins so far this season including beating Pella by 14, Dallas Center Grimes by three, and Norwalk by 20.

"The guys played an excellent game to get this win.  Grinnell was one of the best 3A teams in the state and we played a great game against them.  We were really good in the first half offensively, getting the shots we wanted and knocking them down.  We were able to build a small lead early and I think that gave us some confidence,"  Chariton Head Coach Ben Schooley said.

Only four players scored in the whole game for Chariton.  Both Daric Laing and TJ Hockenson had big games offensively to help get the win.  Hockenson went 11-17 from the field and 5-5 from the line to finish with a team high 27 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal.  Laing went 4-6 from three point range and 8-9 from the line to finish with 26 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Christian Bengtson had seven points, three rebounds, five steals, seven assists and one block.  Willie Felderman had four points, six rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal.  Ben Morrett had one rebound, one steal and four assists.

Chariton started out well and led 21-15 after one period.  The Chargers outscored the Tigers 15-14 in the second to take a 36-29 lead into halftime.  Grinnell came back in the third and outscored the Chargers 18-9 to take a 46-45 lead heading into the final period.  The Chargers responded however and outscored the Tigers 19-13 to come out victorious.

"I was proud of the composure the boys showed and were able to answer back and win this game.  We battled them defensively all night.  They were a much bigger team than we were and the guys just kept fighting at the defensive end.  The boys have been practicing well lately and it showed in the game.  We had to make some key free throws down the stretch in this game.  We turned the ball over too much and that's something we need to work on, but overall the guys played an amazing game and I am happy to see that they were able to pull this one out." Coach Schooley said.

For the game Chariton shot 16-32, 50 percent, from inside the arc and a sizzling 5-9, 56 percent, from trifecta land.  The Chargers shot 17-20, 85 percent, from the charity stripe.

The Chargers pulled down 23 rebounds including four offensive boards.  Chariton committed 21 turnovers and nine fouls.  The Chargers had 20 assists,11 steals and two blocks.

Bad first half hurts Chariton JV boys in non-conference loss at Grinnell

A bad first half proved to be too much to overcome for the Chariton JV boys in a 49-23 loss at Grinnell Saturday, January 18th.  The JV Chargers managed just three points in the first quarter and four in the second and trailed 33-7 at halftime.  Carter Riechmann led the Chargers with eight points, six rebounds and one steal.
"We got off to a terrible start in this game.  We just weren't able to guard and were terrible on the offensive end.  The Tigers did an excellent job of defending and making it tough to score.  We have to get better against this type of defense," Chariton JV Head Coach Jay Pierschbacher said.
Chariton played Grinnell evenly in the second half, with both teams scoring 16 points apiece.  Chariton struggled from the field going 10-40, 25 percent, from inside the arc, and 0-6 from three point range.  The Chargers shot 3-12, 25 percent from the charity stripe.  Chariton had 28 rebounds including 11 offensive boards.  The JV Chargers committed 17 turnovers and 13 fouls.  Chariton had eight assists, eight steals and three blocks.
Sawyer Dow had four points, four rebounds and one assist.  Aaron Cain had four points, one rebound and one assist.  Quinn Storm had three points, four rebounds, three steals and one block.  Bradley Krutsinger had two points, six rebounds, two steals, two blocks and one assist.  Spencer Sherrick had two points, one rebound, two steals and two assists.  Chase Altenhofen had four rebounds.  Adam Kaska had one rebound and one assist  Sam Lerner had one rebound.

Varsity Girls Give Great Effort in Loss to Grinnell

The Chariton Varsity girls played much better in a 57-41 loss at Grinnell Saturday, January 18th.  Facing a tough Tiger team, Chariton gave a valiant effort but just came up short against a team that could scorch the nets.  With the loss Chariton moved to 4-7 overall.

Allyson Showers had 16 points, six rebounds, one block and two steals.  Alexis Curran had 13 points, two assists, one block and two steals.  Emily Grismore had six points, two assists ans two steals.  Kendall Hardie had three points, and two steals.  Carley Arnold had two points, five rebounds and one block.  Maria Blong had one point and two steals.

Chariton Head Coach Lee Sandy was much more pleased with his team's effort against Grinnell than against Clarke the night before.  "We gave a really good effort tonight.  If we played with that kind of effort every night, we'd have a chance to win every game.  Grinnell is a really good team with four girls who can shoot from three-point range.  We were in their face, they just made shots,"  Coach Sandy said.

Chariton has been plying short-handed with four players out with injuries including Micaela Folkerts, Meredith Davis, Delaney Richards and Sarah Fuhs..  Emma Fuhs also didn't play against Grinnell due to another commitment.  Coach Sandy has been pleased with the effort of the players filling in and hopes to have Sarah Fuhs back this week.

Grinnell started out strong and led 19-6 after one period.  However Chariton was only outscored 13-12 in the second period to trail 32-18 at halftime.  Chariton outscored the Tigers 15-13 in the third and trailed 45-33 with one period left.  In a low scoring fourth period, Grinnel outscored Chariton 12-8.  For the game, Chariton shot 14-36 from the field and 12-17 from the line.  Grinnell shot 19-48 from the field and 10-15 from the line.  Grinnell out-rebounded Chariotn 26-24.  Chariton committed 18 turnovers and Grinnell had 15.

Chariton had 11 steals, seven assists and three blocks and Grinnell had eight steals, five assists and one block.

Anderson Places 2nd all-around in Division at "Meet-Me in St. Louis Gymnastic Meet

Sailor Elaine Anderson of Chariton was definitely

not singing the blues when she competed in the  "Meet Me In St. Louis" gymnastic meet on January 11.  Competing in Level 7-10 and under division.  Anderson earned three medals including seventh place for floor exercises, second place for uneven bars and first place for balance beam.

Anderson also brought home a trophy for second all-around in her division with an impressive score of 36.675 out of 40 possible points.

Anderson is the daughter of Tom and Jodi Lyn Anderson and the sister of Will, Haddon Rose and Lucas.  She is in Mrs. Holbrook's fifth grade class at Van Allen Elementary School.  Anderson has been involved in gymnastics for more than nine years, training at Triad Gymnastics in Ankeny.  The Triad Gymnastics Level 7 team placed third all-around in the St. Louis meet and is currently ranked 73rd nationally.

Varsity Charger Boys and Girls Beat Wayne on Go Pink Night

Chariton Leader and Herald Patriot, January 14 and January 16, 2014
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

Varsity Boys Beat Wayne, 65-43

After a sluggish start, the Chariton varsity boys got on track to beat Wayne, 65-43, on Go Pink Night at Chariton on January 11th.  The win was the third straight for the Chargers, who improved to 6-3 overall.  Willie Felderman had a team high 18 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and one steal.  Daric Laing had 17 points, two rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Chariton led just 10-9 after one period and 25-21 at halftime.  The Chargers stepped it up in the second half and the Chargers outscored the Falcons 40-22 in the second half to win by 22.  Chariton outscored Wayne, 19-8, in the third and 21-14 in the fourth period.

"We came out really sluggish in this game.  We were not very good offensively in the first half.  We missed a lot of shots we normally make and we were just not playing as well as we normally do offensively.  We were just a little flat.  We came out in the second half and played much better.  Our defense got us going in this game and we were able to get a few steals,  which led to easy points.  That was the difference in the game," Chariton Head Coach Ben Schooley said.

"We did a nice job of pressuring the basketball in the second half and that allowed for our defense to turn them over.  I was proud of the way the guys responded in the second half.  We didn't start the way we wanted to but we came out and played much better after that.  We also have to give Wayne credit, they have some really good players and they played really well for most of this game.

TJ Hockenson had eight points, seven rebounds, four steals, five assists and one block.  Brett Braida had seven points and one rebound.  Christian Bengtson had four points, two rebounds, three steals and six assists.  Joey Krutsinger had four points and two rebounds.  Sean Sullenger had four points.  Ben Morrett had three points, two rebounds and one steal.  Hunter Storm and Alec Reynolds each had one assist.

For the game, Chariton shot 28-46, 61 percent, from inside the arc.  The Chargers shot 1-9, 11 percent from three-point range.  They pulled down 26 rebounds.  Chariton almost had a 2-1 assist to turnover ratio for the second straight game with 21 assists and 11 turnovers.  Chariton committed 17 fouls.  The Chargers had 12 steals and one block.

Lady Chargers Beat Wayne  46-35

A strong second half helped the Chariton varsity girls pull away in a 46-35 victory over Wayne on Go Pink Night at CHS Saturday night.  Allyson Showers had another solid game with a team-high 17 points, eight rebounds, one block and four steals.
The win was the second in two nights for the Lady Chargers, who improved to 4-5 overall.
"I thought the last quarter and a half we played real well.  We were pretty sluggish in the first half, which is to be expected on back-to-back game nights.  Allyson had a nice game.  A number of players hit clutch free throws down the stretch for us including Allyson, Emily Grismore, Alexis Curran and Maria Blong.  It was also a good win because Wayne starts five seniors including four girls that are back from a year ago from the team that beat us last  year," Chariton Head Coach Lee Sandy said.
Chariton scored just 14 points in the first half but poured in 32 points in the second half.  The Lady Chargers led 9-5 after one period and 14-11 at halftime.  Chariton outscored Wayne by one, 14-13, in the third to lead by four after three periods.  Chariton had their best offensive output in the fourth outscoring Wayne 18-11 to win by double digits.
For the game, Chariton shot 14-38 from the field and 18-35 from the line.  Wayne shot 13-48  from the field and 7-12 from the line.  Chariton out-rebounded Wayne, 35-22.
Chariton had 17 turnovers and Wayne had 13.  The Lady Chargers had eight assists, nine steals and two blocks and Wayne had two assists, four steals and one block.
Curran had nine points.  Grismore had seven points, eight rebounds, two assists and one block.  Carley Arnold had five points.  Emma Fuhs had three points.
Maria Blong had two points and two assists.  Sarah Fuhs had two points.  Emily Seuferer had one point.

CHS JV Girls Rout Wayne on Go Pink Night

The Chariton JV girls put forth a dominating performance in a 44-7 win over Wayne on Go Pink Night January 11th.  Chariton charged out to a 28-4 halftime lead and outscored the Falcons 16-3 the second half.  With the win, the JV girls improved to 5-1 overall.
Emily Seuferer had eight points, four steals and three assists.  Micaela Folkerts had eight points, three rebounds and one steal.  Maria Blong had six points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists.  Delaney Richards had five points, three rebounds, one steal and four assists.  Kendall Hardie had five points, two rebounds and one steal.  Carlie Schaeffer had four points, one rebound, three steals and one assist.  Riley Rector had four points, three rebounds and one assist,.  Saydee Terrell had two points, one rebound, one steal and one assist.  Sarah Fuhs had two points and one rebound.

Tanner Poush, Devin Harberts Win Titles at PCM Invitational

(Dawn Harberts photos)

The Chariton Charger wrestling team had a banner day crowning two champions at the PCM Mustang Invitational on January 11th.  Tanner Poush was the 138 pound champion and Devin Harberts was the champion at 145.  Chariton did well as a team placing fifth overall out of 12 teams with 121 points.

Chariton High School Drill Team

(Veronica Fuhs photo)

The Chariton High School Drill Team performs in their pink clad attire during the Go Pink basketball game against Wayne at Chariton High School January 11th.

CHS Varsity Girls and Girls JV Win over Centerville

Chariton Leader, January 14, 2014 and January 21, 2014
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

Big Games By Grismore, Showers Lift CHS Varsity Girls Over Centerville

A strong second and fourth quarter lifted the Chariton varsity girls to a 42-35 win at Centerville January 10th.  The Lady Chargers outscored the Redettes 27-9 in the second and fourth quarters to get the win.  With the win, Chariton improved to 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the South Central Conference.

Senior guard Emily Grismore went 6-8 from the line and had a team-high 16 points, three assists and three steals.  Senior forward Allyson Showers had a double-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and three steals.  She also went 9-12 from the line.

"I thought we got off to a slow start in the game.  We played pretty well offensively in the second quarter and both offensively and defensively in the fourth quarter.  Emily had a really big game and has been playing very well.  Emma Fuhs has been playing very solid defensively and is our leader on the floor," Chariton Head Coach Lee Sandy said.

The game was deadlocked 9-9 after the first period.  The Lady Chargers outscored the Redettes 16-6 in the second period to take a 25-15 lead into halftime.  Centerville outscored Chariton by one, 7-6, in the third to cut the lead to nine heading into the final period.  However, the Lady Chargers held Centerville to just three points in the fourth and outscored them 11-3 to win by 17.

"We were in control in the third period when Centerville's Maddie Lange hit a couple of three pointers.  But we identified her and took her out of the game and pretty much dominated after that," Coach Sandy said.  "We're playing 9 or 10 girls and I have a lot of confidence in all the girls I put in this gives us an advantage against some teams that aren't as deep as us."

Chariton shot 12-38 from the field and 18-29 from the line.  Centerville shot an icy 8-28 from the field and 6-23 from the line.  Chariton outrebounded the Redetted, 31-17.  Chariton had 16 turnovers and Centerville had 17.  The Lady Chargers had 18 steals, seven assists and three blocks.  Centerville had five steals and two assists.  Chariton committed 22 fouls.

Emily Seuferer had four points and one block.  Carley Arnold had three points, one block and three steals.  Alexis Curran and Micaela Folkerts had two points apiece.

Big Second Half Lifts JV Girls Over Centerville

A big second half propelled the Chariton JV girls to a 39-18 win at Centerville January 10th.  The score was only 10-9 Chariton at halftime but the JV Charger girls outscored the Redettes 29-9 in the second half to get the commanding win.  With the win, the JV girls moved to 4-0 in conference play and 4-1 overall.
Maria Blong led Chariton with 10 points, two rebounds and two steals.  Saydee Terrell had eight points, two rebounds, seven steals and two assists.  Sarah Fuhs had seven points.  Emily Seuferer had six points, four rebounds, one steal and one assist.  Micaela Folkerts had five points, seven rebounds, three steals and one assist.
Kendall Hardie had two points, one rebound, one steal and two assists.  Carlie Schaeffer had one point and four steals.  Riley Rector had three rebounds, one steal and one block.  Delaney Richards had three rebounds and three steals.  Madison Showers had one rebound and one steal.

Varsity Boys Rout Centerville, JV Boys lose on the Road

Chariton Herald-Patriot January 16, 2014
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

Varsity boys win 75-59
A great first half was key in the Chariton varsity boys 75-59 conference win at Centerville on January 10th.

The Chargers scored 43 points in the first half and received big games from both Daric Laing and TJ Hockenson in the win.  The win moved Chariton to 3-1 in the SCC and 5-5 overall.

Laing went 4-5 from three-point range and finished with a team-high 29 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.  Hockenson had a double-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and one block.

Chariton poured in 27 points in the first period and led 27-15 after one period.  The Chargers outscored the Big Reds 16-13 in the second period and led 43-28 at halftime.  Centerville outscored the Chargers 17-12 in the third to cut the lead to 10 heading into the final period but the Charger offense came up big with 20 points in the fourth to win by 16.

"We came out and played a great first half offensively.  It was probably the best first half we've played all year.  We were getting great shots and shot the ball extremely well.  This is what allowed us to get a lead in the first half.  The boys did a nice job of handling their pressure and we played really well," Chariton Head Coach Ben Schooley said.

Willie Feldrman had nine points, nine rebounds, one steal and one assist.  Christian Bangtson went 2-3 from three point range and finished with eight points, two rebounds, six assists and three steals.  Ben Morrett had three points, one steal and four assists.  Joey Krutsinger had two rebounds.  Brett Braida had one assist.

For the game, Chariton shot a sizzling 21-35, 60 percent, from inside the arc and 6-8, 75 percent, from tifecta land.  Chariton shot 15-23, 65 percent from the line.

The Chargers pulled down 28 rebounds. Chariton took good care of the ball committing just 10 turnovers.  They had a 2-1 assist to turnover ration with 20 assists.  The Chargers committed 18 fouls.  They had seven steals and one block.
JV Boys lose 54-32
CHS Boys Struggle in Conference Road Loss at Centerville
The Chariton JV boys struggled in a 54-32 loss at Centerville January 10th.  Chariton trailed 29-16 at halftime and couldn't get on track offensively or defensively all night.
Quinn Storm led Chariton with eight points, eight rebounds, one steal, two assists and one steal.
"We didn't play as hard as the Reds tonight.  We struggled defending the whole game.  Combine that with the 18 turnovers we committed and shooting 39 percent from inside the arc and 20 percent from three-point range and you have a recipe for a big loss.  The kids continue to work hard, they just were not able to put much together.  This was one of those nights where things didn't go well,"  Chariton JV Head Coach Jay Pierschbacher said.
Centerville raced to an 18-0 lead after one period.  Chariton was only outscore 11-10 in the second period and trailed 29-16 at halftime.  Chariton coudn't real;l;y cut into the lead as they were outscored 10-9 in the third period and 15-7 in the fourth.
For the game, Chariton shot 12-31, 39 percent, from inside the arc.  The Chargers struggled from both three-point range and the charity stripe.
They shot 2-10, 20 percent, from three-point range and 2-11, 18 percent from the line.  Chariton pulled down 30 rebounds including nine offensive boards.  The JV Chargers committed 19 turnovers and 18 fouls.  Chariotn had 12 assists, five steals and two blocks.
 Eduard Rodygin had six points, one rebound and two steals.  Joey Krutsinger had six points, one rebound and one assist.  Chase Altenhofen had three points and five rebounds.  Adam Kaska had three points and one rebound.  Aaron Cain had two points, five rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block.  Carter Riechman had two points, five rebounds and one block.  Ben Sullenger had two points and one rebound.  Vitaly Dobryden had one rebound.  Spencer Sherrick had one rebound and one steal.  Ethan Curnutte had one rebound and one assist.  Cody Evans had one assist.  Mathias Plank had one assist.

8th Girls win, 8th Boys Lose to Clarke

Chariton Herald-Patriot, January 16, 2014 and January 28, 2014
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

8th Red Girls Move to 7-0

Red Team   34-10

The Chariton eighth grade girls Red team moved to 7-0 with a 34-10 win over Clarke at Chariton January 9th.  Chariton played swarming defense and held Clarke to five points in each half.  Luci Swarthout led Chariton with 13 points, one rebound and one assist.  Aubrie Richards had a great night rebounding with a team high 12 boards along with nine points, one steal and one assist..

"All the girls played awesome for our first game back from break.  Defensively, we played great," Chariton Head Coach Jeanna Snook said.

Ivy Swarthout had eight points, six steals, one assist and one block.  Tressa Shore had two points, three rebounds, two steals and one assist.  Autumn Gwinn had two points, one rebound and one steal.  Abbie Peterson had three rebounds, one steal and three assists.  Taytum Bacus had two steals and one assist.  Ashley Pfrimmer had one rebound and one assist.

White Team  16-3

The Chariton White team also won, 16-3.  Chariton had a balanced scoring attack with six players scoring.  Pfrimmer had four points, one rebound, one steal and one block.  Jacklynn Johnson had four points and four steals,.

Natalie Baird had two points, two rebounds and two steals.  Taheton Decker had two points, two rebounds and one steal.  Trinity Kemper had two points, one rebound and one steal.  Danica Derringer had two points and one steal.  Megan Schultz had one assist.

"These girls keep improving and have done a great job of learning the game and getting better at help defense," Coach Snook said.

Stites Scores 26 in 8th Boys' Loss at Clarke

The Chariton eighth grade A boys fell at Clarke, 47-39, on Jan. 9th.  Dylan Stites had another strong game with a team-high 26 points and two rebounds.  With the loss, the Chariton A boys moved to 1-6 overall.
Tanner Stephens had seven points, three rebounds and one assist.  Tyler Anderson had four points, five rebounds and two assists.  Connor Lundy had five rebounds and one steal.  Bradley Owens had two points and one assist.  Kim Showe had two rebounds.
The B team lost a very close game, 10-9.  Riley Voss had two points, two rebounds and one steal.  Showers had three points, three rebounds and two steals.  Owens had two points.  Mark Ilyenko had two points, one rebound and two steals.  Kareem Jasper had one rebound.

Varsity Boys and JV Boys beat Eddyville January 7th

Chariton Herald-Patriot, January 9, 2014
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

Varsity Boys Beat EBF

The Chariton varsity boys started the post Christmas break well with a 69-46 win over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont at CHS January 7th.

Daric Lang went 10-15 from inside the arc and 4-4 from the line to finish with a team-high 27 points, five assists, four steals, one rebound and one block.  TJ Hockenson went 8-13 from the field and finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block.

Willie Felderman went 5-6 from the line and had a double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

Chariton jumped out to leads of 7-9 and 13-2 in the first period. The Chargers led 16-6 after one period and outscored the Rockets, 14-12 in the second to take a 30-18 lead into halftime.  Chariton outscored the Rockets 21-12 in the third to extend their lead to 51-30 after three periods.  Eddyville couldn't cut into Chariton's lead as the Chargers outscored them 18-2 in the fourth to complete the rout.

Chariton shot 70 percent from the line going 16-23.  The Chargers shot 25-49, 51 percent, from inside the arc.  They struggled from three point range going just 1-13, eight percent.  Chariton pulled down 43 rebounds including 14 offensive boards.  Chariton committed 13 fouls and 11 turnovers.  The Chargers dished out 14 assists and had nine steals and five blocks.

Although the Chargers played better offensively in the second half, the key to the game was defense according to Coach Schooley.  "It has been a focus of our team to improve on the defensive end and we were a lot better in this game than we had been so far this season.  We will need to improve in a few areas but the guys are showing a lot of improvement.  It's always good to get a win in conference,"Coach Schooley said.

Christian Bengtson had four points, six rebounds and two assist.  Joey Krutsinger had four points and three rebounds.  Ben Morrett had two points, two rebounds, two steals and four assists.

Brett Braida had six rebounds and one assist.  Hunter Storm had one steal and Alec Reynolds had one rebound. Sean Sullenger had one rebound.  Aaron Cain had one rebound.

JV Boys Soar Over Rockets at Home
A solid team effort lifted the Chariton JV boys to a 42-25 win over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Freemont at Chariton on January 7th.
Chariton led 8-4 after one period and 17-14 at halftime.  The JV Chargers outscored the Rockets 14-4 in the third and 11-7 in the fourth to win by 17
"We played really good defense in the first quarter tonight and we struggled to execute offensively in the first half.  We fouled too much in the second period and couldn't make our easy shots.  We came out in the third quarter and played really well offensively and defensively.  We challenged them at half to make the easy plays and they did just that.  We were able to play a lot of players tonight, which is good, " Chariton JV Head Coach Jay Pierschbacher said.
For the game, Chariton shot 11-40, 28 percent, from inside the arc and 2-9, 22 percent, from three point range.  The Chargers shot 13-21, 62 percent, from the line.  The Chargers pulled down 35 rebounds including 19 offensive boards.  Chariton commited 18 turnovers and 12 fouls.  The Chargers had 12 assists, 16 steals and one block.
Aaron Cain had six points, four rebounds, three steals and two assists.  Spencer Sherrick had six points, two rebounds and two steals.  Joey Krutsinger had four points, four rebounds, four steals and four assists.  Chase Altenhofen had three points and two rebounds.  Adam Kaska had three points, two rebounds and one assist.  Mathias Plank had three points.  Eduard Rodygin had two points, two rebounds, five steals and two assists.  Carter Riechmann had three rebounds and one block.  Ethan Payton had one rebound and one assist.  Ethan Curnutte and Cody Evans each had one assist.  Ben Sullenger had one rebound.
"Our kids played hard tonight, we just need to do a better job of executing.  This will be more of a focus as we strive to get better as a team," Coach Pierschbacher said.

CMS 8th Boys Fall to Knoxville at Home

Chariton Lead, January 28, 2014

Bill Howes, Associate Editor

8th Boys
The Chariton eighth grade boys team lost to Knoxville, 67-22 at Chariotn January 7th.  Dylan Stites led Chariton with 16 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals.  With the loss Chariton moved to 1-5 overall.

Tyler Anderson had three points and one assist.  Tanner Stephens had two points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.  Isaiah Tuigong had one point, two rebounds, one assist and two steals.  Bradley Owens had three rebounds.  Kurt Showers had one rebound.

Chariton also lost the B game, 27-6.  Riley Voss had six points.  Owens had four rebounds.  Will Exline had two assists and one steal.  Showers had four rebounds.  Isaiah Zoutte had one rebound,.  Kareem Jasper had one steal.

Weaver, Blong lead 7th A Charger Boys BB Team in Loss to Knoxville
The Chariton seventh grade boys A team lost to Knoxville, 39-28 at Chariton, January 7th.  Nathan Weaver had eight points and four rebounds.  Nathan Blong had seven points and six rebounds.
"This was our first game back from a long holiday break and it showed.  Our offense wan't moving well, but we weren't in the habit of doing the little things like making sharp passes, coming back to the ball and moving our feet on defense and tonight it showed," Chariton Head Coach Mike Jones said.
Chariton was down 21-10 at halftime and really struggled to get into any offensive groove.  The Chargers started to come alive and picked up their defensive effort in the fourth quarter, but by then Knoxville had built a 16 point lead.
Jackson Fisher had four points and three rebounds.  Noah Weaver had three points and one rebound.  Royce Stewart had two points and two rebounds.  Peyton Lane had two points and one rebound.  Colbie Werts had two points.
B Team Falls to Knoxville
The B team lost a close game, 10-8.  Jimmy Graham had three points and two rebounds.  Aaron Sullenger had two points and two rebounds and Lane had two points and two rebounds.  Ben Lahart and Cooper Shelton had two points apiece.  Micah Thatcher had two rebounds.
"Like in the first game, we really showed some rust from our break.  We struggled to get into any sort of offense and even worse, struggled on the defensive end, especially rebounding.  Knoxville out-rebounded us 21-10 and we have to learn that we just can't keep giving teams that many second chances at the basket", Coach Jones said.

Varsity Girls Fall to E-B-F in SCC Game

An inablilty to handle Eddyville's all-court man-to-man pressure in the first quarter proved to be the difference for the Chariton varsity girls in a 56-37 loss at Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont on January 7th.  Eddyville's pressure was effective in the first quarter and the Rockets ran up a 24-5 lead after one period.  The Lady Chargers handled it better after the first period but couldn't make up the deficit.  With the loss Chariton moved to 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the conference.

Emily Grismore led Chariton with 12 points.  Senior forward Allyson Showers had been sick and didn't play in the first period but she still almost had a double-double with 10 points, nine rebounds and six blocks.

"Their pressure just killed us in the first quarter.  I didn't think we were mentally ready to play.  After the first quarter we played them even,  32-32, the rest of the game.  In the first quarter we gave them a lot of lay ups and in the second period we started beating the press and getting lay ups ourselves.  It had been three weeks since we played a game and it was Eddyville's 10th game and our seventh.  We just need to play games," Chariton Head Coach Lee Sandy said.

"Emily Grismore played very well.  She has been playing as well as anybody," Coach Sandy said.

Chariton shot coldly from field going 11-52 and they committee 26 turnovers.  The Lady Chargers also didn't have an answer for Eddyville's Tasha Alexander who dominated at both ends with a game-high 23 points, six rebounds, five assists, nine steals and two blocks.  Eddyville's Karlie Taylor had a double-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, four steals and one block.

After the tough first period, Chariton outscored the Lady Rockets, 14-7 in the second to make it a 31-19 game at halftime.  Chariton got Eddyville out of their full-court press in the third period but the Rockets outscored them 18-12 to make it 49-31 heading into the final period.  In a low scoring period, the Rockets outscored the Lady Chargers  7-6.

For the game, Chariton and Eddyville had an equal number of shots but Eddyville made 12 more, shooting 23-52 from the field.  Each team shot 24 free throws and Chariton out shot Eddyville from the line going 15-24 while the Rockets went 9-24.  Chariton committed 17 fouls and Eddyville had 20.  Chariton out-rebounded Eddyville 34-28.  The Rockets committed 15 turnovers.  Chariton had 10 blocks, five assists and 13 steals.  Eddyville had seven blocks, five assists and 12 steals.

Sarah Fuhs had four points.  Delaney Richards had three points.  Emma Fuhs had two points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.  Maria Blong had two points and two assists.  Carley Arnold had two points, seven rebounds and two blocks.  Alexis Curran had two points.

Seuferer Fuhs Lead JV Girls to win over Eddyville

Chariton Herald-Patriot, January 16, 2014
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

The Chariton JV girls edged Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, 41-40, in a tightly contested thriller at Eddyville January 7th.  Chariton led 18-16 at halftime and outlasted the Rockets in the second half to win by one.  Emily Seuferer led Chariton with 10 points, six rebounds and six steals.  With the win, the JV girls improved to 3-0 in conference play and 3-1 overall.

Sarah Fuhs had nine points and two steals.  Micaela Folkerts had six points and four steals.  Delaney Richards had six points, one rebound and three steals.  Carlie Schaeffer had four points and three steals.  Saydee Terrell had four points and one steal.  Kendall Hardie had two points and one rebound.  Riley Rector had one rebound.

8th Girls move to 6-0 with win over Eddyville

Chariton Herald-Patriot, January 7, 2014
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

Still Unbeaten!  8th Girls Red team moves to 6-0 with win over Eddyville

The Chariton eighth grade girls Red team moved to 6-0 with a 36-31 win over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont at Chariton December 19.  The game was tied 10-10 at halftime but Chariton outscored the Rockets, 26-21, in the second half to remain unbeaten.  Luci Swarthout had 12 points, four rebounds, five steals and one assist.  Ivy Swarthout had 11 points, one rebound, six steals and three assists.
"The girls played their best tonight and kept up the aggressive play the whole game.  I really felt Tressa Shore stepped up and gave us some much needed minutes due to fatigue and foul trouble," Chariton Head Choach Jeanna Snook said.
Aubrie Richards had five points, six rebounds, three steals and three blocks.  Shore had four points and five rebounds.  Autumn Gwinn had two points and one rebound.  Taytum Bacus had two points.  Abbie Peterson had three rebounds and four assists.
The Chariton White Team Also Won 19-8
Ashley Pfrimmer had six points and six rebounds.  Jacklynn Johnson had five points, one rebound, one steal and one assist.  Taylor Ingram had two points and four rebounds.  Megan Schultz had two points, three rebounds and one block.  Natalie Baird had two points, three rebounds and three steals.  Shelby Jensen had two points.
Taheton Decker had three rebounds, three steals and one assist.  Kelsie Chester and Danica Derringer each had one rebound and one steal.  Trinity Kemper had one assist.
"All the girls played well.  I have seen some great improvement.  I was really happy to see Taheton and Natalie getting more aggressive and doing a better job rebounding.  Ashey also had an outstanding game," Coach Snook said.

Night Visions Campaign off and running

Coon's Foundation kick starts campaign with generous gift

The Night Visions campaign is officially off the ground and running as the Charger Baseball Program recently received their first gift towards the campaign.  The Coon's Foundation generously stepped up to the plate and made a gift of $25,000 to get things rolling.

The purpose of the Night Visions campaign is to raise enough funds to install lights at Milledge Field - longtime home of the Chargers.

Currently, Chariton is one of only two known school districts without lights on their high school baseball field. The monetary goal for the campaign is $180,000, which is the original bid from Musco Lighting, the premier sports lighting company in the world.

There are a few options that the program is looking into that may reduce these costs and Musco also mentioned that if the lights were installed by the 2014 season they would most likely be able to drop the bid closer to the $150,000 range.

The Campaign has recently received approval to designate giving "levels" for recognition of donors to the campaign.  These "giving levels" have been approved per Chariton Athletic Director Tim Milledge with the first level for recognition starting at $100.  Look for more information on these levels coming soon.  For more information on the campaign or donation options feel free to contact Mr. Milledge or Coach Schroeder anytime.

Boys Basketball Teams lose to Indianola

Chariton Leader, December 24, 2013 and December 26, 2013
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

Second Half Turnovers Hurt CHS Varsity Boys in Loss to Indianola

The Chariton varsity boys took on the Class 4A Indianola Indians in a non-conference game at Chariton on December 17th.  Indianola led by 11 at halftime and with their defensive pressure they increased their lead in the second half en route to an 82-65 win.  Daric Laing went 10-10 from the line and finished with a team-high 25 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.  With the loss Chariton is now 3-3 overall.

T.J. Hockenson had 21 points, a team-high eight rebounds, one assist and one block.  Willie Felderman went 4-5 from the field and 3-4 from the line to finish with 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.  Christian Bengtson had five points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.  Brett Braida had three assists.  Alec Reynolds had one rebound and one assist.

The game was close early as Chariton trailed just 19-15 after one period.  The Indians outscored the Chargers 18-11 in the second period to take a 37-26 lead into halftime.  Indianola outscored the Chargers 27-16 in the third to lead 64-42 heading into the final period.  Chariton had their best offensive output in the fourth with 23 points and outscored the Indians 23-18 but it wasn't quite enough.

Chariton finished the game with 16 turnovers and 16 fouls.  The Chargers also had 15 assists, six steals and one block.  For the game Chariton shot 18-38, 47 percent from inside the arc and 1-9, 38 percent from three point range.  Chariton shot 20-27, 74 percent, from the charity stripe.  They pulled down 24 rebounds including 11 offensive boards.

JV Boys Struggle in loss at Indianola

The Chariton JV boys basketball team struggled in a 47-18 loss at Indianola December  17th.  Chariton had a season high 29 turnovers and couldn't get on track offensively all night.
"We couldn't score tonight and we couldn't stop the other team.  The Indians played a lot of zone so we shouldn't have had 29 turnovers.  We usually get defensive stops and that can get our offense going.  Tonight we struggled getting stops and our offense struggled the whole night.  We are looking forward to playing our next game and putting this one behind us," Chariton JV Head Coach Jay Pierschbacher said.
Chariton didn't score more than five points in any quarter.  Indianola led 9-4 after one period.  The Indians outscored the Chargers 17-5 in the second to lead 26-9 at halftime.  Chariton kept battling but couldn't really cut into Indianola's lead.  The Indians led 35-14 heading into the final period and outscored the JV Chargers 12-4 in the fourth.
Bradley Krutsinger led Chariton with seven points along with six rebounds, two assists and one steal.  Quinn Storm had five points three rebounds and two blocks.  Spencer Sherrick had four points, three rebounds, two steals and one block.  Aaron Cain had two points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal.  Eduard Rodygin had two blocks.  Chase Altenhofen had three rebounds, one assist and one steal.  Sawyer Dow had one steal.  Carter Riechmann had a rebound and a block.  Adam Kaska had a rebound and an assist.  Ethan Curnutte had a rebound and an assist.  Sam Lerner had a rebound.
For the game, Chariton shot 6-18, 33 percent, from inside the arc and 0-10 from three-point range.  The Chargers shot 6-14, 43 percent, from the line.  Chariton committed 14 fouls.  The Chargers pulled down 23 rebounds including 10 offensive boards.  Chariton had six assists, six steals and six blocks.

Lady Chargers fall to Indianola 69-44

Chariton Leader, December 24, 2013
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

The Chariton varsity girls took on a very good Class 5A team, Indianola at Indianola December 17th.  After a good early start where they trailed by just six, Chariton wasn't able to keep up with the Lady Indians in a 69-44 loss.  Indianola shot a blistering 8-20, 40 percent, from three-point range and they were just too tough to stop defensively.  With the loss, Chariton is now 2-4 on the season.

"They were just way too good.  We played hard, they were just a better team.  They were very young and talented.  I thought that Emily Grismore played a really solid game for us with 14 points and just two turnovers," Chariton Head Coach Lee Sandy said.

Indainola entered the game with a 4-2 record with their two losses being to two ranked 5A teams, Waukee and Ankeny Centennial.  Coach Sandy said that their top three scorers were sophomores and their fourth leading scorer is a freshman.

Early on Chariton kept it close and trailed just 12-6.  Indianola scored the final six points of the first quarter to take an 18-6 lead.  The Lady Indians outscored Chariton 22-7 in the second period to take a 40-13 lead into halftime.  With the game in hand, the Indians outscored Chariton 15-12 in the third and Chariton outscored them 19-14 in the fourth.

For the game, Chariton shot 20-44 from the field and 4-9 from the line.  Indianola shot 29-59 from the field and 3-11 from the line.  Indianola out-rebounded Chariton 25-21. Chariton had 28 turnovers and 11 fouls and Indianola committed 12 turnovers and 14 fouls.  Chariton had five assists, seven steals and three blocks.  Indianola had 18 assists, 20 steals and no blocks.

Allyson Showers missed a double-double for the first time this season, but still had a good game with 12 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals.  Emma Fuhs had six points and Alexis Curran had four.  Delaney Richards had three points.  Sarah Fuhs and Micaela Folkerts had two points apiece.  Maria Blong had one point.

Chariton 8th Red Girls' Team Wins at Clarke

Chariton Leader, Decembe 24, 2013

Bill Howes, Associate Editor

Chariton 8th Red Girls' Team Moves to 5-0 with 13-Point Win at Clarke

Red Team

Different opponent, same result.  The Chariton eighth grade Red girls team remained undefeated with a 33-20 win at Clarke December 16th.  Chariton started off slowly and led 13-10 at halftime.

However, they pulled away in the second half, outscoring Clarke 20-10 to get the win.  With the victory, the Red team moved to 5-0 on the season.

Ivy Swarthout had 11 points, two rebounds, three steals and two assists.  Aubrie Richards had nine points, six rebounds, four blocks and one steal.  Abbie Peterson had five points, five rebounds and four assists.  Taytum Bacus had four points, one rebound and three steals.  Tressa Shore had two points and one rebound.  Megan Schultz had two points.  Autumn Gwinn had two rebounds and one steal.  Luci Swarthout had one rebound and three steals.  Ashley Pfrimmer had two steals.

White Team

The Chariton white team also won 16-8.  Jacklynn Johnson led the team with eight points and two steals.  Taylor Ingram had four points and one steal.  Taheton Decker had two points and one rebound.  Shelby Jensen had two points.  Bacus, Natalie Baird, Pfrimmer and Danica Derringer each had a steal.

7th Girls Red Team Falls at Clarke

White Team Moves to 4-1 with Win

The Chariton seventh grade girls Red team suffered a 24-20 loss at Clarke December 16th.  The game was a makeup game from November.  With the loss, Chariton moved to 2-4 overall.
It was a pretty evenly matched game where Chariton led by two in the fourth quarter.  The Red team had a chance to go up by four after trailing most of the game but couldn't get shots to fall down the stretch.
"Again, we were outshot at the free throw line by Clarke, 20 attempts to two.  We lost Breanna Ellis in the second half to an injury.  We could have used her experience in the fourth quarter.  The girls played hard and if we adjust defensively, we could be equal when Clarke comes to Chariton," Chariton Head Coach Bruce Taylor said.
Grace Bengston had eight points and two steals.  Ellis had four points.  Natalie Ilyenko played a nice game with four points and one steal.  Shelby Dobberthein had two points and one steal.  Erin Payton went 1-2 from the field with two points.  Paige Burgett had one assist.  Alysha Shutt and Shayla Holohan both contributed during their time on the floor.  No rebound stats were available for this game
White team moves to 4-1 with win
The white team moved to 4-1 with a 10-6 win.  Chariton shot 5-23, 22 percent, from the field and 0-2 from the line.  Ilyenko had four points, two steals and one assist.  Shutt had four points.  Macey Beaty had two points and one rebound.
Mikenzy Beaty and Leilani Plank ran the offense and took care of the ball committing only two turnovers.  Plank also had two steals and two assists.
Macy Johnston had three rebounds and one steal.  Emily Shelton had two rebounds and one steal.  Crystal Milan had one rebound and one steal.  Baylee Pollard had one steal.
"I see improvement, but getting in the right spot and executing the  offense is still a work in progress.  Movement and spacing are keys when we run a play.  And that just takes game time," Coach Taylor said.

8th Grade Boys Win Against Clarke

Chariton Leader, December 24th
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

A Team

The Chariton eighth grade boys A team got their first win of the season with a 34-31 win over Clarke at Chariton December 16th.  Dylan Stites led Chariton with 15 points, three assists and two rebounds.  With the win Chariton is now 1-3 overall.

Isaiah Tuigong had nine points, six rebounds and one assist.  Tanner Stephens had six points, one rebound and two steals.  Tyler Anderson had two points, two rebounds and four assists.  Kurt Showers had two points and a team-high nine rebounds.

B Team

Chariton also won the B game, 12-9, Riley Voss had four points, three rebounds and one assist.  Bradley Owens had two points, three rebounds and one steal.  Mark Ilyendo had two points, three rebounds and one assist.  Kareem Jasper had two points and one rebound.  Will Exline had two points and one steal.

Boys Varsity wins over Knoxville

Chariton Herald-Patriot, December 19, 2013
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

Strong Defensive Effort Lifts Varsity Boys to Big Win Over Knoxville

A strong defensive effort in the first half along with hot shooting lifted the Chariton varsity boys to an 81-63 win over Knoxville at Chariton December 16th.  The Chargers held the Panthers to just four points after one period and led 36-17 at halftime.  Daric Laing went 7-8 at the line and finished with a team-high 27 points, three rebounds, one steal and three assists.

Chariton stormed out to a 23-4 lead after the first period.  Each team scored 13 in the second period and the Chargers led 36-17 at halftime.  Knoxville couldn't cut into Chariton's lead as each team scored 20 points in the third and the Panthers outscored Chariton by one in the fourth.

For the game, Chariton shot 27-50, 54 percent, from inside the arc and 3-8, 38 percent, from three-point range.  Chariton shot 18-29, 62 percent, from the line.  Chariton committed 15 fouls and 11 turnovers.  Chariton had 23 assists, four steals and zero blocks.

Willie Felderman had 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and one steal.  T.J. Hockenson had 13 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and one steal.  Christian Bengtson had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.  Joey Krutsinger had six points, four rebounds and one assist.  Ben Morrett had five points, two rebounds and five assists.  Brett Braida had two points, one steal and two assists.  Alec Reynolds had two rebounds and one assist.

Varsity Girls Fall at Home to Knoxville

Chariton Herald-Patriot, December 19, 2013

Bill Howes, Associate Editor

A subpar defensive effort in the first half hurt the Chariton varsity girls in a 58-41 loss to Knoxville at Chariton Monday night.  Chariton gave up 25 points in the first period and  37 in the first half and couldn't recover.  With the loss Chariton moved to 2-3 overall.

Knoxville jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game and extended their lead to start the game and extended their lead to 14-4.  The Panthers led 25-6 after one period.  Chariton picked it up a little offensively in the second period, outscoring Knoxville 14-12 but they still trailed 37-20 at halftime.  Chariton struggled again in the third period scoring just four points and trailed 54-24 heading into the final period.  With both teams playing a lot of reserves, the Lady Chargers outscored the Panthers  17-4 in the fourth but it wasn't quite enough.

For the game, Chariton shot 16-52 from the field and 8-20 from the line.  Knoxville shot 22-50 from the field and 14-21 from the line.  Knoxville out-rebounded Chariton 30-28.  Chariton had 21 turnovers to 16 for Knoxville and they committed 20 fouls while Knoxville committed 24.  Chariton had a lot of steals with 17.  They also had 10 assists and two blocks.  Knoxville had seven steals, three assists and one block.

Allyson Showers had her fifth double-double of the season with a team high 11 points and 11 rebounds.  Alexis Curran had 10 points.  Maria Blong had five points and one block.  Emma Fuhs had four points and one block.  Micaela Folkerts had four points and five rebounds.  Emily Grismore had three points and six steals.  Sarah Fuhs had two points and three assists.  Emily Seuferer had two points.

Maria Blong shoots a jump shot over a Knoxville player at Chariton

December 16.  The Lady Chargers' next game is at Eddyville-Blakes-

burg-Fremont Jan. 7th.  (Bill Howes Photo)

8th Boys Fall to Davis County At Home

Chariton Leader, December 24, 2013
Bill Howes, Associate Editor

A Team

A strong second half comeback came up just short for the Chariton eighth grade boys in a 44-28 loss to Davis County at Chariton December 13.  Dylan Stites led Chariton with 11 points.  Tyler Anderson had nine points, five rebounds and one assist.

"Davis County had a really good big man, both offensively and defensively, and that was tough for us.  We made a nice comeback in the second half and pulled to within eight points before they pulled away at the end.  All I can ask is that we keep working hard and continue to improve." Chariton Head Coach Brian Zimmerlie said.

Isaiah Tuigong had four points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal.  Bradley Owens had two points and three rebounds.  Riley Voss had two points.  Kurt Showers had four rebounds.

B Team

Davis County won the B game, 25-12.  Owens had five points and one rebound.  Voss had four points, one rebound and one assist.  Tanner Stephens had two points and one rebound.  Will Exline had three steals.  Showers had one rebound,.

The CMS eighth grade boys' next game is at home against Knoxville on January 7th.

Charger Boys Fall to Albia

Chariton Herald-Patriot, December 19, 2013

Bill Howes, Associate Editor

A slow start defensively was too much to overcome for the Chariton varsity boys in a 73-64 loss at home to Albia in overtime on December 13th.  The Chargers trailed by as many as 17 in the first half but rallied in the second half to tie the game and send it into overtime.  Chariton was outscored 12-3 in the overtime and came up short.  Center T.J. Hockenson had a double-double with 24 points, 13 rebounds, one block and one steal.

Daric Laing had 19 points, three rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block.  Willie Felderman had a double-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal and three blocks.  Christian Bengtson had six points, three rebounds and a team-high six assists.  Brett Braida had one point, five rebounds, one steal and one assist.  Ben Morrett had three rebounds and three assists.

Chariton jumped out to an early 4-0 lead on a couple of Hockenson baskets.  After a three by Albia, Daric Laing hit a three to give Chariton a 7-3 lead.  Later in the period a Hockenson basket put Chariton up 11-8.  A three by Albia point guard Matt Baker tied the game at 11 apiece.  Both teams traded baskets and an Albia basket tied the score at 15 with 3:06 left in the first period.  Albia ended the period on a 6-0 run to take a 21-15 lead.

Albia scored the first seven points of the second period to extend the lead to 28-15.  A three by Baker put Albia up 31-17 with 4:27 left in the half.  A three by Mason Cox put Albia up 34-17.  Chariton went on a 10-5 run, starting with a basket by Willie Felderman, to end the half.  Albia led 39-27 at halftime.

Chariton held Albia to just 22 points in the final two quarters of regulation.  They outscored the Blue Demons 15-8 in the third period to cut the lead to 47-42 heading into the fourth period.  The Chargers poured in 19 points in the fourth and outscored Albia 19-14 to make the score 61-61 at the end of regulation.  Albia scored 12 points in overtime however and held the Chargers to just three to get the win.

For the game, Chariton shot 23-46, 50 percent, from inside the arc and 2-20, 10 percent, from three point range.  Chariton shot 12-14, 86 percent, from the line.  The Chargers pulled down 37 rebounds including 11 offensive boards.  Chariton committed 15 fouls and 11 turnovers.  The Chargers had 18 assists, five steals and five blocks.

8th Boys A Team Lose to Albia
The Chariton eighth grade boys faced a very good Albia team at Albia, Dec. 9th.  The Chargers gave a valiant effort including a strong defensive effort in the second half but lost 56-21.
Dylan Stites led Chariton with nine points, three rebounds and one assist.  Tyler Anderson had eight points, two rebounds and one assist.  Bradley Owens had two points and two rebounds.  Kurt Showers had two rebounds and one steal.  Tanner Stephens had two points.
8th Boys B Team Lose to Albia
Chariton lost the B game, 24-12.  Showers had four points and three rebounds.  Owens had two points and four rebounds.  Will Exline had two points and one rebound.  Riley Voss and Mark Ilyenko had two points apiece.

JV Boys Outlast Albia in Nail-biting Thriller

Chariton Leader, December 17, 2013

Bill Howes, Associate Editor

A strong second and third quarter by the Chariton JV Boys helped them win a nail-bitter against Albia, 36-35, at Chariton December 13th.

Trailing by one with time winding down, Albia took a five-foot shot but was unable to hit it.  Quintin Storm grabbed the rebound and the Chargers came away victorious.  Storm had a double-double for Chariton with a team-high 14 points, 10 rebounds, one block one steal and one assist.

Albia led 10-8 after one period.  The Chargers outscored the Blue Demons, 11-6, in the second to lead 19-16 at halftime.  Chariton outscored Albia 11-4 in the third to lead 30-20 heading into the final period.  Albia rallied with 15 points in the fourth and outscored the Chargers 15-6 but were not able to hit the game-winning shot.

For the game, Chariton shot 16-41, 39 percent, from inside the arc and 1-2, 50 percent, from three point range.  The Chargers struggled at the line going 2-10, 20 percent.  Chariton pulled down 27 rebounds including 12 offensive boards.  The Chargers committed 14 turnovers and 10 fouls.  Chariton had 12 assists, 12 steals and three blocks.
Aaron Cain had seven points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.  Chase Altenhofen had six points, three rebounds and a steal.  Spencer Sherrick had four points, one rebound and one steal.  Rodygin had three points, six assists, one rebound and two steals.

Bradley Krutsinger had two points, six rebounds, four steals, two assists and one block.  Sawyer Dow had one point, one steal, one assist and one block.

Girls Basketball Teams at Albia

Chariton Leader, December 17, 2013

Bill Howes, Associate Editor

Varsity girls lose heartbreaker to Albia, 47-45, on White Out Night

The Chariton varsity girls lost at home to Albia in a conference game at the Charger Dome on December 13th.  With the game tied at 45 with under 10 seconds left, Albia senior Brooke Bettis scored on a lay up to give the Lady Dees a 47-45 win.

Chariton received another strong game from Allyson Showers, who had her fourth double-double of the year with 17 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and three steals.  Maria Blong also hit double figures with 10 points and six rebounds.  Emily Grismore had nine points and six rebounds.  Alexis Curran had seven points and six assists.  She had a good assist to turnover ratio with six assists and just two turnovers.  Emma Fuhs had two points.

Chariton once again had a bad second quarter where they were outscore 11-2.  Albia led 6-2 early but a foul shot by Showers and a Blong basket cut the lead to 6-5.  A basket by Curran gave Chariton a 7-6 lead with 3:45 left in the first period.  Albia scored four straight points to take a 10-7 lead.

However Grismore scored two straight baskets to put Chariton ahead 11-10.  After an Albia basket, Grismore scored again to put chariton ahead 13-12.  The Lady Dees scored again and led 14-13 after one period.

Chariton trailed 25-15 at halftime.  However, Chariton bounced back with their strongest quarter of the night in the third, outscoring Albia 17-11 to cut the lead to six heading into the final period.  Chariton rallied to tie and take the lead in the fourth period.

With Chariton trailing 45-44, with under a minute left, Showers was fouled and hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 45 apiece.  The score remained the same and with time winding down, Bettis hit the game winning shot to give Albia the win.

For the game, Chariton shot 19-61 from the field and 7-13 from the line.  Albia shot 19-55 from the field and 5-9 from the line.  Albia out-rebounded Chariton 39-30.  Chariton took good care of the ball with just nine turnovers.  Albia had 12 turnovers.

Chariton had nine assists, six steals and four blocks.  Albia had 12 assists, two steals and two blocks.  Chariton had 13 fouls and Albia had 11.

Terrell, Folkerts left JV Girls to Rout Over Albia

Two strong halves of basketball lifted the Chariton JV girls to a 44-14 win over Albia at Chariton December 13th.  Chariton stormed to a 23-6 halftime lead and outscored the Lady Dees 21-8 in the second half to win by 30.  

Saydee Terrell had 11 points, two rebounds, four steals and one assist.  Micaela Folkerts had 10 points, six rebounds and one assist.  Saydee Terrell had 10 points, two rebounds, four steals and one assist.  Micaela Folkerts had 10 points, six rebounds and one assist.  Carlie Schaeffer had six points, four rebounds and one steal.  Kendall Hardie had six points, one rebound and two assists.  Carley Arnold had four points and three rebounds.  Emily Seuferer had three points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists.  Madison Showers had two points.  Meredith Davis had two points, one assist and two blocks.  Taylor Sandy had three rebounds, one steal and one assist.

8th Red Girls

The Chariton eighth grade girls Red team moved to 3-0 with a 34-17 win over Albia at Chariton December 9th. 

Luci Swarthout had 12 points, one rebound and three steals.  Ivy Swarthout had six points, one rebound, two steals and two assists.  Abbie Peterson had two points, four rebounds and two steals.  Aubrie Richards had four points, seven rebounds, three steals and three blocks.  Autumn Gwinn had four points and four rebounds.  Tressa Shore had two points and two rebounds.  Ashley Pfrimmer had four points, one rebound and one steal.  Taytum Bacus had one rebound and Megan Schultz had two rebounds.

8th White Girls

The Chariton White team lost 21-8.  Trinity Kemper had four points.  Bacus had two points, one steal and one block.  Taheton Decker had two points.  Natalie Baird had two rebounds and one steal.  Schultz had one rebound.  Pfrimmer, Jacklynn Johnson and Taylor Ingram each had a steal.  Kelsie Chester had a block.  Shelby Jensen had a rebound and a steal.

7th Red Win over Albia, 28-16

The Chariton seventh grade girls Red team shot better and had good offensive balance in a 28-16 win over Albia at Chariton December, 9th.  With the win, the Red team moved to 2-1

Six different girls scored and Chariton scorched the nets going 2-1 overall.

Six different girls scored and Chariton scorched the nets going 14-24, 58 percent.  Shayla Holohan was perfect from the field and led the Red team with 10 points, six rebounds, two steals and one assist.  Natalie Ilyenko also shot perfectly and had six points and five rebounds.  Paige Burgett also had six points, one rebound and three steals.

Coming off an injury, Breanna Ellis scored two points.  Shelby Dobberthein finished with two points and a block.  Macy Johnston had two points.  Grace Bengtson ran the offense efficiently and had only two turnovers.  She also was tough defensively with six steals and kept Albia from doing what they wanted to for much of the game.  Alysha Shutt had one steal.

"Tonight the Red team played more with the flow of the game and let things happen and reacted well.  It was nice to get our first win at hone,"  Chariton Head Coach Bruce Taylor said.

White Team Remains Unbeaten

The White team also beat Albia to move to 3-0 on the season.  Chariton led 4-2 at halftime and outscored Albia 8-2 in the second half.  Shutt led the White team in scoring with eight points to go along with two rebounds and three steals.  Johnston had two points and three rebounds.  Macey Beatty had two points and one steal.  Mickenzy Beatty ran the point for half the game and had two steals and no turnovers.

Leilani Plank ran the point for the rest of the game and had one rebound, one steal and two turnovers.  Natalie Ilyenko had one rebound, three steals and one assist.  Crystal Milam had one rebound.  Erin Payton had three steals and Baylee Pollard had one steal.  Emily Shelton had one rebound.

"The girls continue to show a little improvement in each game and that's encouraging," Coach Taylor said.