Crimson Bears to host old Southeast rival Sitka
- Klas Stolpe
- 7 days ago
- 7 min read
JDHS boys, girls invite Wolves, Lady Wolves to homecoming
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears boys and girls basketball teams will host Sitka in a homecoming series Friday and Saturday at the George Houston Gymnasium.
For the 4A JDHS boys and girls, it is a return to an old-school matchup from the days of an all-Southeast conference with the 3A Wolves and Lady Wolves.
“The way our schedule worked out this year, we essentially spent the month of January playing games on the road,” JDHS coach Robert Casperson said. “As we begin February, we are looking forward to playing in our own gym, in front of our families and fans, and sleeping in our own beds this weekend for our games against Sitka. There is something to be said for being able to follow a ‘normal’ routine during the day and in preparation for a game, as opposed to being on the road, in a hotel, and eating your meals in a grocery store or restaurant.”
The Crimson Bears boys lost to the Wolves at Sitka on Jan. 9-10 by scores of 66-54 and 55-37.
“They play extremely physical defense and their guards can shoot the ball from deep with a very high degree of accuracy,” Casperson said. “Our guards are up for the challenge and I expect we will work even harder than last time to try to limit the open shots Sitka is able to get from behind the arc. If not, it's going to be a long weekend.”
Sitka made 14 three-point shots in the first meeting and nine from closer in, and were 8-14 from the charity stripe. The Wolves had nine from the arc and eight closer in the second night, but also shot 12-21 from the free throw line.
“Sitka has one of the state's most talented big men (Trey Johnson) that will play tough inside and stretch the defense out to the three-point line, too,” Casperson said. “The matchup between Johnson and Elias Dybdahl will be one to watch. They had a good battle over in Sitka. However, we won't expect Elias to deal with Trey all on his own. We teach that defense is a team responsibility with individual accountability.”
Johnson scored 15 and 19 in the earlier meetings and Dybdahl scored 14 both nights. Both had numerous rebounds and blocked shots. JDHS will have solid inside help from junior Logan Carriker, plus the ability for senior guards Brandon Casperson, Joren Gasga, Kurt Kuppert, Tyler Frisby and Noah Ault to sag into defensive help. Seniors Christian Rielly and Ryland Carlson and sophomore Zachary Polasky may also be called on to make life difficult in the key. Expect the Wolves to put up more three-point shots than two-pointers, led mainly by seniors Brett Ross, Kai Hirai and Shane Tincher, and juniors Shan Carlos, Josh Partido and Colton McGraw.
“This is homecoming week, so there will be a lot of build-up and excitement leading into the weekend games,” coach Casperson said. “We will work to maintain our focus on the games and executing on both sides of the ball. I know we are still a work in progress, and I know we're better at doing some things now than we were a month ago when we last saw Sitka. I'm sure they've improved, too. Learning and improving is the goal this time of year.”
Last weekend, the Wolves (10-4 overall, 0-0 SEC) defeated the 3A Redington Huskies (5-7 OA, 0-1 Peninsula) 68-28 on Saturday and the 3A Houston Hawks (2-5 OA, 1-0 Peninsula) 64-20 Thursday and 68-24 Friday.
“We have a certain philosophy that we really want to play hard on the defensive end and make teams uncomfortable, and we were able to do that,” Sitka coach Steve Compagno said Sunday. “We switch our defenses and want to pressure the ball, make decisions at a high rate of speed. That’s the way we play…I’m sure they (JDHS) are a different team than when we played them last time. We’re going to be in their environment and we have to go on the road and definitely play better than we did when they were here…We are going to have to play at a high level in order to compete in those games.”
The JDHS girls split at Ketchikan last weekend, losing 48-37 and winning 51-41. The Crimson Bears have not faced the Lady Wolves this season.
“Last weekend, between the two games, we learned more about our confidence and composure on the court,” JDHS girls coach Tanya Nizich said. “We played too fast and frantic Friday night, and on Saturday we were calm and more controlled with better decision-making. I am hoping we will continue to carry that to each game moving forward. We are certainly capable of it.”
The Crimson Bears played without senior all-state guard Gwen Nizich the last two weekends, but will have a full team roster for this series. Senior Layla Tokuoka is coming off a career-best 33-point, six-rebound, four-steal, three-deflection and two-block night. Classmate Cambry Lockhart, junior Sadie Lockhart and freshman Blythe Lockhart spearheaded a zone defense that could be a go-to tactic through the second half of the season, and sophomores Athena Warr, Raynona Fraker, Kyndal Saceda and Freyja Shelton-Walker, and freshman Bela Pyare have shown moments of toughness in the key.
“Sitka always has a great program,” coach Nizich said. “They are quick, athletic and work hard. I think we will see similar pressure like we did against Ketchikan with a full-court press, and they like to run and push the ball up. Should be for a fun, exciting and busy homecoming weekend.”
Last weekend, the Lady Wolves (5-9 overall, 0-0 Southeast Conference) defeated the 3A Redington Lady Huskies (4-9 OA, 0-1 Peninsula Conference) 53-15 on Saturday, and the 3A Houston Lady Hawks (0-11 OA, 0-1 PC) 52-13 Thursday and 59-12 Friday. Sitka all-state senior guard Ally Mayville is the team’s glue and holds together a framework consisting of junior guard Pennelope Blankenship, sophomore guards Evie Rice, Isabella Jones and Kailee Brady, and freshmen Addie Marx, Kensie Phippen and Thea Schumejda. Phippen, Marx and Blankenship scored in double figures last weekend.
“I know that Juneau is a really good team and they are going to give us a good test, but I think we have been really improving the last few weeks and I think that we are going to be able to give them a good game,” Sitka girls coach Ryan Myers said Sunday. “I have a lot of freshmen and sophomores who, if on a bigger team, would probably have another year to get ready, but they are starting on varsity…The beginning of our season was a lot of growing pains with girls learning the difference between middle school and varsity. We played a lot of good teams early in the year…We have had a very hard schedule and they haven't hung their heads or felt sorry for themselves…I’m really excited to come to Juneau and kind of see where we're at as a team. I'm hoping for close, competitive games. We haven’t played in Juneau for three years. It’s a different gym and a lot of people will be there. It is a fun environment and one of those things that helps toughen you up.”
Friday and Saturday game times are boys’ C team at 1 p.m., girls’ JV at 2:30 p.m., boys’ JV at 4 p.m., girls’ varsity at 5:30 p.m. and boys’ varsity at 7 p.m.
The five-time defending state champion JDHS cheerleaders will also be backing both varsity teams.
The cheer team are seniors Hadley Bex, Marlee Gines, Renz Hill, Mati Iona, Simon Iputi, Jonah Mahle, Shaelyn Martinez, Megan Pierce, Karina San Miguel, Kira Tupou, Arely Vera Garcia, Audrey Yu, Richard Tupou and Claire Babcock. Martinez is manager and Babcock is mascot “Mac” the bear.
Junior class cheer team members are Lumi Fermin, Aidan Lazo-Chappell, Rylie Mulkey, Alexa Scarano, Krew Ridle and Camden Messmer; sophomores are Viviana Flores and Laura Parker; and freshmen are Adriana Blanton, Mae Butler, Azriel Cristobal, Josselyn Davis, Hope Scharen and Roxanna Vetrano,
JDHS cheer coaches are Carlene Nore, Colby Sanders, Reuben Grimes and Chelsea Kilgore.
“We are excited to be cheering on the teams,” Nore said. “And we are also sponsoring the dance so it is going to be a busy weekend for us.”
The homecoming dance is from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday at JDHS. No homecoming court will be selected again this year. According to school administrators, the student council eliminated it from the homecoming events in 2018, citing it as “a popularity contest.”
The JDHS cheer team will also be competing at the USA Spirit Nationals on Feb. 18 in Anaheim, California. They will host a preview showcase on Feb. 17 in the JDHS Auxiliary gym for friends and family.
JDHS dance team coach Kayla Price and assistant coaches Chantil Bergmann and Krista Delcastillo will have their charges ready to do the light march at halftime of both varsity games on Friday and hip hop on Saturday.
The JDHS dance team are seniors Yetke Mertl (captain) and Claire Snyder, juniors Nevaeh Algebre (captain), Kate Bovitz (manager), Aubrey Boyden, Linnea Bush (officer), Dalnoi Keaton (officer), Jillian Levy, Ava Meier (officer) and Genevieve Selvig-Baker, sophomores Radar Araujo, Romy Barrett, Azaleigha Castaneda, Nevah Lupro (officer), Baila Ouellette (officer), Calli Peterson (officer), Kallie Puustinen and Riley Severance, and freshmen Abby Boghosian, Aneeyah Bohulano, Analees Corcoran, Molly Duval, Sofia Fernandez, Kinley Johns, Sienna Lee, Elke Mertl and Hannah Mesdag.
The JDHS pep band, according to director Brian Van Kirk, will be unable to perform due to participation in the Jazz Festival, which is occurring simultaneously. However, members of the professional group Kyle Athayde Dance Party will perform the national anthem.
“Unfortunately, the pep band and drum line will not be at the games,” Van Kirk said. “We have 26 musicians from all over the world coming in for the Juneau Jazz Fest to perform and work with students from Ketchikan, Sitka, Petersburg, Fairbanks and Juneau.”
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
