Sizz cruises in opening game 29-9!

Well we got our opening game jitters out early in this one. Our defense was really good to start the game. The kids seemed to have a lot of energy and we really got after Graduate Sales from the opening tip. Luke Maxwell did take a hard fall on a break away lay-up and would have to leave the game for a while due to a sprained ankle. With Blake not at the game we were already short handed, so it was good to see Luke fight thru the pain and get back in the game in the 2nd quarter. Our defense led to several easy baskets for Alex Flake in the opening quarter. We would build a 7-0 lead because of our defense. Presley Chitwood then sank a short jumper right before the end of the quarter to extend our lead to 9-1. Lilly Gilbert, Jaxon Cox and Kenna Dale all played tough, aggressive defense in the quarter. Graduate Sales coach told me after the game that their kids felt like we had 10 players out there against them. That's the way we have to play this year. With our lack of size, we must be extra aggressive to have a chance in some games.

 The 2nd quarter our defense did not let up and with Luke and Alex in the game together, we really was able to get on our breaks a lot. Jacob Brown was a beast on the glass for us in the quarter. He grabbed down 6 boards by himself and also scored to give us a 11-3 lead. Luke scored 6 points in the quarter because of our fast breaks. Josh Rashidi had a good quarter with several steals that led to baskets for Alex or Luke. Derek Chitwood would sink a long jumper before the end of the half to extend our lead to 19-5 by halftime. 

The last two quarters we made sure all the kids got equal playing time because there may be some games its not gonna be that way. They all deserved to be on the court tonight. All we ever ask of them is try their best the entire time they are on that floor. As long as they do that, they will get to play plenty on this team. We would cruise to a 29-9 win in this one and move to 1-0 on the season. It was a good first game and I am very proud of our kids tonight. See you all on Saturday at 12:00.  

Sizz Game 1 - Player of the Game - Jacob Brown

Our player of the game for tonight's game versus Graduate Sales is Jacob Brown. He had a really great game, finishing with 6 points and 8 rebounds. He was really aggressive on the boards and was all over the floor on defense as well. Jacob has really improved from last season and I have challenged him to step up and be one of our team leaders this year. So far, so good! Really proud of you Jacob, great job tonight!

Late comeback moves Sizz past Arkoma 21-17!

This one sure didn't start out well. You could tell early on who the team was that gets to practice everyday versus the team that gets to practice once a week was. Arkoma came out and took it to us the entire first half. Our kids seemed very out of sync and Arkoma was taking advantage. They hurt us early and often on the fast breaks and on offense we turned the ball over more times than we got shots off. When we did get a shot off, many times it was rushed or just thrown up there. We found ourselves down 13-4 at the half and things weren't looking good. Coach Andrew and I made several adjustments at halftime hoping to slow down their breaks.

The second half of this one would be a much different story than the first. We really turned up the heat on defense, which led to several steals and fast breaks for our offense. Jacob Brown would score a bucket inside to pull us within 17-10. Blake Forsgren had a good quarter as he would take the ball to the hole and score or get fouled on several occassions. By the end of the quarter we had pulled to within 17-13 and this was a ball game once again.

The last 6 minutes we cranked up the defensive pressure even more and Arkoma turned the ball over on many trips. Luke Maxwell and Alex Flake would score several baskets on fast breaks and we took a 19-17 lead with 2 minutes left in the game. Our defense was incredible the last quarter, holding Arkoma without a single point in the last 6 minutes. Blake would knock down a couple of free throws to make the final 21-17. We would outscore Arkoma 17-4 in the second half, as this game was for sure a tale of two halves. It was a good win for our kids and it was fun to see them have to fight thru some adversity to get it.  

Sizz Game 2 - Player of the Game - Blake Forsgren

Our player of the game against Arkoma was Blake Forsgren. He came up really big for us in this game. He finished with 9 points and 13 rebounds. He really fought hard on the boards and was also aggressive on defense. Blake is a super young man and has a great attitude. He always gives 110% and is very coachable. Super job Blake, we are very proud of you!

Sizz wins in sloppy game versus Davis Printing

To say this game was ugly would be an understatement. Both teams had way more turnovers than they did shots at the basket. We were careless with the ball and at times looked like we had never practiced before. The funny thing was that on Monday night, we had one of our best practices of the season. I was very surprised the way we came out and played. Also, I did not like the fact that I did not get some kids playing time in the 2nd half and that's on me. I have challenged a few of them to show they want to play more by getting after it when they're in the game. A few of them like to stand around and watch others rebound or play defense. It's hard to take a kid out of the game that's busting their tail to put someone in that doesn't. In my opinion they are old enough to know what it means to give 110% and I don't think its asking too much of them to do that, even though its just a boys and girls club game.

The opening quarter neither team did much at all. It was maybe the worst quarter of club ball I have seen in a while. Alex Flake did score three points for us in the quarter and we held a 3-2 lead after a "hard to watch" six minutes. The 2nd quarter we were able to get off more shots and we moved the ball much better on offense. Our defense also was pretty good against Davis' best lineup. Blake Forsgren would score 6 points in the quarter and grab down three boards. Presley Chitwood had a huge 5 rebounds in the quarter and played great defense at the top of our zone. By the half we had a slim 9-7 lead.

The 3rd quarter was back and forth, with both teams knocking down a few shots. Both defenses were playing much better, but we did miss several chances for easy baskets because we turned the ball over. Lilly Gilbert came in and gave us a lift on both ends of the floor. She knocked down a jumper from the wing to give us the lead back at 13-12. Later in the quarter, Luke would make a great pass to Blake inside for a bucket to make the score 15-14 and that's the way the quarter would end. The final quarter was also back and forth. There were several questionable calls down the stretch of this one. Both teams held the lead for a time, but a late basket by Blake would give us a 19-16 lead with a minute remaining. Our defense was able to hold off Davis in that final minute and we would move to 3-0 on the young season.

We will start conference play next week as we face a very good National Family team on Tuesday, 7:30pm at Goldtrap. They are a big team with some good players back from last year, so this one will be a test for us. See you all at practice on Monday.

Sizz Game 3 - Player of the Game - Lilly Gilbert

Our player of the game versus Davis Printing was Lilly Gilbert. Lilly had a good game versus Davis, scoring 2 ponts and grabbing down 6 big rebounds. What really helped our cause even more was her play on defense. She was all over the floor out there and really made life tough on some of the Davis Printing guards. Lilly is a very tough and determined young lady with a great attitude and always gives 110%. Way to go Lilly, we are very proud of you.

Sizz releases ''Mad Dog'' defense on National Family

We really challenged the kids before the game to get after National Family on the defensive end of the floor. We knew they had not faced a defense like we can throw at teams so we wanted to come out and really get after them. The kids like to call it our "mad dog" defense and that's exactly what National Family got on Tuesday night. We came right out attacking them on both ends of the floor. National Family had trouble getting shots off against our pressure defense the entire opening quarter. Alex Flake, Luke Maxwell and Lilly Gilbert had the National Family guards frustrated because they could not get off good looks at the basket. Jaxon Cox and Kenna Dale controlled the paint and battled hard for us on the boards. On offense we were attacking the basket and scoring or getting to the free throw line for much of the quarter. Alex and Luke torched their defense scoring 11 points in the quarter between them. After the first 6 minutes of play we led 11-3 and had played one of our best quarters of the season.

The 2nd quarter there was no let up at all. Presley Chitwood led our attack at the top of our zone, while Josh Rashidi and Blake Forsgren shut down their shooters on the wings. Derek Chitwood and Jacob Brown battled hard against the much bigger National Family "bigs" in the paint. Josh would score on a very nice drive to the basket to extend our lead to 13-3. Blake Forsgren would score a couple of baskets in the lane and this one was turning into a rout. By the end of the quarter we had built a 20-6 lead and it was by far the best half we had played so far this season. I was so proud of the kids effort at the half. I told them they all deserved to play equal time in the second half, so that's what we done. We let each group play 3 minutes in each of the last two quarters to equal out the playing time.

The 3rd and 4th quarter we keep the pressure on National Family. We had 5 different players score in the 3rd qurter as we extended our lead to 29-10. Presely and Lilly would both knock down jumpers in the quarter and so did Jacob and Blake. The final quarter the kids continued to play hard and we would coast to a 33-20 win. It was a total team effort in this one. All the kids played great and I was very proud of them after the game. We had 7 players score in the game and that was great to see their hard work pay off. We will now take a couple of weeks off from games due to the Christmas break. I hope all of you have a very blessed Christmas. GOD Bless!

Sizz Game 4 - Player of the Game - Presley Chitwood

Our player of the game for our game versus National Family is Presley Chitwood. We played so well in this game, all ten players could have been player of the game. But we chose Presley because of his defense at the top of our zone that made life miserable for the National Family guards. He scored 2 points in the game on a nice drive to the basket. Presley also grabbed down 7 rebounds in the game. He has really become one of our best defensive players and always gives 110%. He gave us all a scare a couple weeks ago with some health issues he was having. It sure is good to see him back out on the floor and felling well. Great job tonight Presley, we are very proud of you!

Sizz moves to 5-0 with 31-11 win over Preferred!

Well we had a little rust from the long Christmas break, but we got it shook off pretty quick in our game tonight versus Preferred. Like always we came out in our smoothering defense and made life tough on Preferred Office. They did jump out to a 5-1 lead but that lead would be short lived. Jaxon Cox knocked down a free throw and Alex Flake would score a basket from the wing. Luke Maxwell was a beast on the glass in the opening quarter, giving us several second chance basket opportunities. Luke would score on a fast break layup to give us a 7-5 lead. Lilly Gilbert then knocked down a long jumper from the wing and things were clicking now. Jaxon Cox and Kenna Dale really played great defense in the paint and kept Preferred from getting many offensive rebounds. Alex would then score again in the quarter and after the first 6 minutes of play we held a 11-5 lead.

The 2nd quarter we turned up the defensive pressure even more. Presley Chitwood was awesome at the top of our zone. The poor guards for Preferred looked like a deer in headlights as Presley, Blake Forsgren and Josh Rashidi were all over them as soon as they crossed half court. Derek Chitwood and Jacob Brown did a really good job in the paint, keeping Preferred from getting shots off inside. Blake would score inside to extend our lead to 13-5. Jacob Brown then did what he does best, score off an offensive rebound and the rout was on. Blake would score again before the half and we would head into halftime with a 17-5 lead.

The 3rd and 4th quarters we kept the pressure on Preferred. Josh Rashidi would score and Blake would also knock down a jumper to extend our lead to 21-5. We held Preferred scoreless for over 10 straight minutes as we built our big lead. They would finally get back on the board, but we would answer with another basket from Lilly to give us a 27-9 lead by the end of the 3rd quarter. The final quarter we would make sure all the kids played equal minutes and we would coast in for a 31-11 win. We once again had 7 players score in the game. That's the second game in a row that has happened. I love it when it's like that. Gets everyone involved and makes them feel good about themselves. The win moves us to 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in league play. It was our 12th league win in a row. Our last loss in league play came back on January 13, 2015, when we lost 34-32 to Graduate Sales. And yes, I am a nerdy stat guy :)

Sizz Game 5 - Player of the Game - Luke Maxwell

Our player of the game for our game versus Preferred Office is Luke Maxwell. He really had a great game tonight against Preferred. He finished the game with 4 points and 9 big rebounds. He also played great on the defensive end of the floor. Luke has really stepped up this year and become one of the leaders of our team. He always gives 110% and is a very coachable and fun kid. Great job Luke, we are very proud of you!

Sizz on fire in 31-12 win over Dale Crampton!

Early on it looked as if we might score 60 points in this game. Except for one small problem, we had trouble hitting our layups early on in this one. We came out and executed perfectly what we had worked on the night before in practice. We were getting layups or short jumpers on most trips down the floor. We finally got things going as Alex Flake and Luke Maxwell combined to score 9 points in the quarter. Our defense was smoothering as usual and did not allow Dale Crampton a single basket for the entire 1st quarter. I think they only got off two shots in the quarter. They must have felt like we had 10 defenders on the floor at one time. After one quarter of play, we held a 9-0 lead.

The 2nd quarter things did not get any better for Dale Crampton. Blake Forsgren was sitting his fellow teammates up with easy baskets. Presley Chitwood and Jacob Brown would both sink a couple of baskets to extend our lead to 14-2. Josh Rashidi then knocked down a jumper from the wing and Blake would do the same. Dale Crampton did manage to hit a jumper in the quarter but this one was out of hand by the half at 20-2.

We let all the kids play a quarter each in the second half and we kept the defensive pressure on. We had 6 different players score in the first half, so our goal was to get the other 4 players baskets in the second half. Lilly Gilbert would knock down a long jumper and Kenna Dale would hit a free throw to extend our lead to 25-8 by the end of the 3rd quarter. Two more down and two left. We tried for several minutes to get Jaxon Cox a basket and he got off some good shots, but just couldn't get one to go down. In the final quarter we worked hard to get Derek Chitwood a basket and he was able to score with a couple minutes left in the game. We would end the game with 9 different players scoring in the game. That was the best part of the game for me. I love the way we are getting everyone involved in the offense. We would move to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in league play with the 31-12 win over Dale Crampton. It was once again a total team effort. Every player we put in the game did some really good things tonight and I could not be prouder of them. Great job Sizz!  

Sizz Game 6 - Player of the Game - Alex Flake

Our player of the game for our game versus Dale Crampton is Alex Flake. He scored 6 points and had 6 rebounds in the game tonight. He is a real leader of our team. He has really stepped up this season and done a great job running our offense. I can't tell you how many assists he had in the game but he always is looking to set up his fellow teammates with good looks at the basket. His defense at the top of our zone is a big reason why we get so many steals and fast break baskets. He is a super kid and very coachable. Great job Alex, we are very proud of you!

Sizz remains hot in 39-19 victory over Army Surplus!

Sizz game 7 - Player of the Game - Josh Rashidi

Our player of the game versus Army Surplus was Josh Rashidi. Josh scored 6 points in the game and had two rebounds. He also played great defensively, which led him to having several steals in the game. Josh has really improved over last season and is one of our better defenders on the wing. He always gives 110% and is a fun kid to be around and coach. Congrats Josh, we are very proud of you!

Sizz clinches League Title with DEFENSE!

Man if you are a fan of hard-nosed in your face defense, this was the game for you! We turned it up to another level I did not know this team had on Tuesday night on the defensive end of the floor. We held a Noon Kiwanis team, who had been averaging close to 40 points a game, to just 12 points. And what is even more incredible than that is we held them to 2 points in the entire second half. An incredible effort by a great group of kids on this Sizz team!

The opening quarter was ugly at times but we can win that way as well. Neither team got many shots off in the quarter. Luke Maxwell did knock down a basket for us and Lilly Gilbert hit a free throw to make it a a 4-3 Noon Kiwanis lead after the 1st quarter of play. The 2nd quarter they had their big man in the game, McClane Moody. McClane is a wonderful player and great kid. I have coached him for several years in three different sports and know what a talent he is. Blake Forsgren had the huge task of keeping him in check on this night. It was quite a challenge, but Blake is always up to a challenge! The 2nd quarter was a scoring fest compared to the 1st quarter. Jacob Brown was huge in the quarter as he scored a couple of baskets on the block to give us a 7-4 lead. After a couple of baskets by Noon Kiwanis, Presley Chitwood knocked down a jumper and we had the lead once again. A basket by Blake would give us a 13-10 lead heading into the half.

The final two quarters were as good of a defensive effort as I have ever had one of my teams play in all my years of coaching. Keep in mind we were not playing a bad team here. Noon Kiwanis is very good team and have a lot of very talented players. We made a couple of small adjustments throughout the 3rd quarter that seemed to free up some of our players for some easy looks. Blake would score a couple of baskets and Luke would score on a fast break to give us a 19-10 lead after three quarters of play. Noon Kiwanis did not score a single point in the quarter. Our defense was incredible and they were beyond frustrated.

The final 6 minutes of play saw our defense continue to dominate the game. We got a little tired and that was my fault for not playing enough players in the second half. We really took our time of offense and really went into sort of a passing game offense for a large portion of the quarter. I was surprised that Noon did not put more pressure on the ball and try to cause some turnovers, but it seemed like they had conceded the game. We would cap off the game with a basket from Presley to make the final 21-12. I could not be prouder of this group. If you would have told me before the game that Alex Flake would not score and we would still win by 9 points, I probably would have called you crazy. But that happened tonight. But, Alex did some amazing things on defense the entire game and he ran our offense and really took care of the ball. So he did more than do his part! Our wing players, Luke, Josh, Presley and Lilly were awesome on defense and kept the Noon Kiwanis guards in check the entire game. Our post and low block players battled their hearts out all night. Blake, Kenna, Jacob and Derek were awesome in the paint area and did not let McClane beat us by himself on the offensive glass. 

The win clinches us the league championship for the 2nd year in a row. These kids over the last two years are 21-1, including 11-0 in league play at Goldtrap. It has been an amazing season with these kids and can't wait for the next few games.

Sizz game 8 - Player of the Game - Derek Chitwood

Our player of the game for our game on Tuesday night versus Noon Kiwanis was Derek Chitwood. Derek has improved with each and every game and has done what we have asked of him as coaches. In the game on Tuesday he did not score but grabbed a couple of rebounds and did a great job setting screens for Blake at the top of the key. He is the reason Blake scored a couple of the baskets he scored in the 2nd quarter. Derek has had a great attitude and continues to work hard in practice and in the games. Great job Derek, we are very proud of you!

Sizz completes a perfect league season with 42-18 win!

Sizz Game 9 - Player of the Game - Kenna Dale

Man, did Kenna have a good game tonight or what! She was named our player of the week and man did she earn it. She had 4 points in the game and grabbed down 7 big rebounds. She was also awesome on the defensive end of the floor. Kenna has been a very good player for this team for two years and is a pleasure to coach. She always gives her best and is a great young lady. Congrats Kenna, we are very proud of you!

Sizz uses 3rd quarter run to blitz Arkoma, 31-18

Man it looked for a while in this one it was going to be a very low scoring game. Both teams came out in the opening quarter and defense dominated the game. Luke Maxwell hit a free throw for us and Alex Flake scored on a jump shot and that would be our only points in the 1st quarter. The good news is that our defense was stellar as usual and held Arkoma to three points as well. We missed at least 5 layus in the quarter and I was hoping that would not come back to cost us in the end of this one.

The 2nd quarter would be an offensive explosion compared to the first 6 minutes of play. Blake Forsgren would score a basket inside and Josh Rashidi knocked down a jumper from the wing to give us a 7-3 lead. After a couple baskets by Arkoma, Presley Chitwood would slice thru the defense to give us a 9-7 lead. Blake would knock down a couple of free throws before the half and we would take a 11-8 lead into the halftime.

The 3rd quarter we really took our defense to another level and Arkoma had no answer for it. We turned them over on most trips down the floor and our guys were running layup drills for much of the 3rd quarter. We had some great passes made by all the guys, setting their teammates up with easy baskets. Luke would score 9 points in the quarter, with several of his baskets coming off nice assists from Alex. Presley would score a couple of baskets off steals and Josh would finish a drive with a basket to give us a 27-10 lead. Another basket by Alex and one by Blake would extend our lead to 31-12 by the end of the quarter. We would outsocre Arkoma 20-4 in the quarter and put this game away.

The final quarter we made sure all the kids got some good minutes and we would cruise to a 31-18 win. The win moves us to 10-0 on the season with one final regular season game left on Tuesday at 5:30 versus Davis Printing at Jefrey's.

Sizz Game 10 - Player of the Game - Jaxon Cox

Our player of the game for our game versus Arkoma on Saturday was Jaxon Cox. Jaxon played really good defense in the game and had to guard much bigger players for most of the game. He done a great job defending and also grabbed down 4 rebounds in the game. Jaxon did not score in the game but had a couple of assists and helped us get the win in this one for sure. He is a wonderful young man and a joy to coach. He has a great attitude and is very coachable. He has become one of the gys we really look at to set screens for other players, freeing them up for good shots. He is a big part of our offense when he is in the game. Great job Jaxon, we are very proud of you!

Davis hands Sizz first loss of the season, 40-35

You have games sometimes when the ball just doesn't bounce your way and tonight was one of those nights for us. Despite Davis Printing hitting some "hail marry" type shots and shooting 28 free throws compared to our 8, we still only lost 40-35. Our kids fought their hearts out and I could not be more proud of them. I have never been one to complain too much about officiating in a boys & girls club game, but tonight got a little ridiculous at times. After they tried to pull a fast one on me with the lock-out rule, things just went downhill from there. It seemed we could not touch them but at times we were getting hammered and no calls were being made on our end. Not the first time that has happened to a Goldtrap team this year at Jeffrey's. Earlier in the season, one of the Goldtrap coaches almost pulled his team off the floor because the officating was so one-sided. Oh well, it is what it is!

The 1st quarter we really were out of sync. We turned the ball over time and time again with traveling calls or double dribbles. We haven't done those things all season, but the slick floor at Jeffrey's caused us all sorts of trouble in the game. We would find ourself down 11-6 after the 1st quarter of play as it was the worst quarter we had played all season. The 2nd quarter we got things going a bit but could not keep the much bigger Davis Printing off the offensive glass. They scored numerous baskets off offensive rebounds. Jacob Brown and Blake Forsgren were battling hard, but were overmatched size wise on the glass. Josh Rashidi did give us a lift with 5 boards in the quarter. Josh, Blake, Jacob and Presley would all knock down shots in the quarter to pull us within 19-14 by the half.

The final two quarters we could never really get over the hump. Everytime we would pull within a basket, they would knock down some long, ugly looking shot from downtown Fort Smith. Our kids never gave up and we battled hard to the end, but we just couldn't overcome the refs and Davis too. We would fall for the first time all season 40-35. Now it's on to the City Tourney, were we will face the winner of #3 seed from Stepehens, Tank's Shine versus #2 seed from Evans, Geno's Pizza.

FINAL Goldtrap Pee Wee Standings

                          League            Overall

Western Sizz            6-0                   10-1   (League Champions)

Noon Kiwanis           5-1                    8-2

National Family        4-2                    6-4

Preferred Office        2-4                    3-7

Dale Crampton         2-4                    5-5

Graduate Sales         1-5                    1-9

Army Surplus           1-5                    1-8 

Goldtrap Pee Wee Game Scores

*Denotes = Non-conference games

Week 1  (Non-conference Games)

*Western Sizz - 29                    Graduate Sales - 9

*National Family - 30                Preferred Office - 10

*Noon Kiwanis - 36                   Army Surplus - 16

*Forefront Church - 17              Dale Crampton - 16

*Western Sizz - 21                    Arkoma - 17 

Week 2  (Non-conference Games)

*Western Sizz - 19                   Davis Printing - 16 

*Dale Crampton - 24                Army Surplus - 22

*Noon Kiwanis - 34                  National Family - 30

*Preferred Office - 24               Graduate Sales - 19

*Arkoma - 36                           Preferred Office - 12 

Week 3    (Conference Games Begin)

Graduate Sales - 34                 Army Surplus - 20

Noon Kiwanis - 38                   Dale Crampton - 18

Western Sizz - 33                    National Family - 20

*Perferred Office - L                 Tank's Shine - W

 Week 4

*Brew House - 30                   Army Surplus - 14

National Family - 35                Dale Crampton - 19

Western Sizz - 31                    Preferred Office - 11

Noon Kiwanis - 45                   Graduate Sales - 21 

Week 5

*Gerber - W                            Noon Kiwanis - L

National Family - 35                Graduate Sales - 32

Western Sizz - 31                    Dale Crampton - 12

Army Surplus - 34                   Preferred Office - 17

*National Family - W               Arkoma - L 

Week 6

*Precision Fades - W               National Family - L

Dale Crampton - 31                Graduate Sales - 25

Noon Kiwanis - 38                   Preferred Office - 16

Western Sizz - 39                    Army Surplus - 19

*Arkoma - 31                          Graduate Sales - 18

Week 7

*Midwest Sporting - W             Graduate Sales - L

National Family - 33                 Army Surplus - 22

Preferred Office - 24                 Dale Crampton - 22

Western Sizz - 21                     Noon Kiwanis - 12

*Dale Crampton - W                 Arkoma - L 

Week 8

*Dale Crampton - W                 Forefront Church - L

Noon Kiwanis - 37                    Army Surplus - 28

Western Sizz - 42                     Graduate Sales - 18

National Family - 29                 Preferred Office - 25

*Western Sizz - 31                   Arkoma - 18 

Week 9

*Davis Printing - 40                  Western Sizz - 35

Dale Crampton - 34                   Army Surplus - 32

Noon Kiwanis - 34                     National Family - 28

Preferred Office - 30                  Graduate Sales - 22