Arlington overwhelms Trojans in title game

LIMA — South Central was hardly alone. The Trojans found out right away why Arlington entered Saturday with 21 wins and ranked No. 4 in Division VII, fresh off a regional championship last season. "They quickly showed why they are ranked where they are and what they've done," South Central head coach Dallas Lost said. "They were a tough matchup for us, but they are a tough matchup for anybody." The Red Devils (22-3) closed the first quarter on a 21-2 scoring run to remove any doubt in a 73-36 win over South Central in a district championship game at Lima Senior High School. South Central finished with a 12-13 record this season. "Our kids played hard for 32 minutes against a very good team," Yost said. The tone was set within the first 90 seconds. South Central's Gavin Olney made a 3-pointer to give the Trojans a 3-2 lead just 57 seconds into the game. It took Arlington just 23 seconds to answer with a 3 from Ayden Cavinee. Leading 8-3, another tone was set when 6-foot-10 center and leading scorer Calvin Willow blocked a shot attempt near the rim from Bryan Chaffee. On South Central's next trip down the floor, Wes June made one of his three 3s to cut the lead to 8-6 at the 5:39 mark. Then the floodgates opened. The Devils got an easy layup from Trenton Heacock and led 12-6 when South Central's Tanner Back scored to make it 12-8 at the 4:51 mark. Arlington then scored the next 17 points of the game. Willow scored inside, then a steal and easy layup by Heacock made it 16-8 and sent Yost into a timeout less than halfway into the first quarter. The Trojans immediately turned it over out of the timeout, and Cavinee made another 3 for a 19-8 lead. Willow then blocked Chaffee and June on consecutive South Central possessions, and Heacock scored at the other end. After a miss by the Trojans, Willow then posted up a defender and turned around for a two-handed dunk to make it 23-8 and forced Yost to call another timeout. It only got worse, however, when the Trojans had the ball stolen out of the timeout again, which allowed Lukas McIlory to get the easy score this time. Cavinee closed the quarter with a layup with 19.9 seconds left for the 29-8 lead. Brayden Viock stopped a 5:16 scoring drought for South Central with a short jumper. But Willow scored on the next trip down the floor, then came back to the other end and blocked his fifth shot of the half for the Devils. The Trojans had a nice sequence when June found Chaffee in transition, then June made a 3 to bring the score to 35-15 with 4:43 left in the half. Arlington then closed the half on a 16-5 scoring run for a 51-20 halftime lead. "Willow was obviously tough to guard because you have to commit multiple bodies to defend him, and you're going to give up three-point looks," Yost said. "And credit to them, they came out right away and hit them in just a few minutes. "But what really hurt us was we didn't handle their pressure well, which led to easy layups for them at the other end. Their pressure bothered us, and so did their 2-3 zone with active hands. We just didn't handle it well." Yost said when the Devils went on their first big run, the Trojans felt helpless to stop it. "It happened fast," he said. "We used three timeouts in the first half and two in the first quarter. It just seemed like the momentum of the game went to them fairly quickly. We couldn't stop it." Chaffee scored 13 points for South Central, while June scored 11. It was fitting for the duo to lead the team in scoring, as they combined to average 35 points and 17 rebounds per game this season. "It was emotional there in the fourth quarter watching those last few minutes play out because you knew that was it," Yost said. "It was a special group of players that made a lot of strides and made a big jump this year. "To win a sectional and cut down the net on your home floor, followed by an exciting win (62-58 over Crestline) in the district semis to have this chance today, are great memories. It's a credit to these kids. Making a district final is something not done all the time by a lot of teams. To play this deep into March with a group like that was special." Along with June and Chaffee, South Central will graduate Olney, Wyatt Hall, Troy Ayers, and Dean Kirk. The Trojans won seven games the past two seasons and just four a year ago as they tripled that win total this season. "I just have a sense of gratitude to spend this much time and create the relationships I did with these guys," Yost said. "They mean a lot to me, and I cannot thank them enough for what they did for me and the program. "We're taking hardware home but also inspiring future generations," he added. "A lot of kids got to see how cool this was, and hopefully it motivates them to want to be back in this same type of atmosphere and game." SOUTH CENTRAL (12-13) Brayden Viock 1-0—2; Wyatt Hall 1-0—3; Wes June 3-2—11; Dom Paynter 1-0—2; Tanner Back 1-0—2; Bryan Chaffee 6-0—13; Gavin Olney 1-0—3. TOTALS 14-2—36. ARLINGTON (22-3) Drew Metzger 1-1—4; Lukas McIlroy 1-0–2; Hunter Rausch 2-0—5; Trenton Heacock 7-2—17; Payne Steffan 2-1—5; Ayden Cavinee 4-0—11; Calvin Willow 7-7—21; Karsen Cochensparger 2-0—4; JJ Tenner 2-0—4. TOTALS 28-11—73. S. Central 8 12 9 7 — 36 Arlington 29 22 11 11 — 73 Three-point FGs: (SC) June 3, Hall, Chaffee, Olney; (A) Cavinee 3, Metzger, Rausch, Heacock.