The Malad Dragon athletics had a full week of matches, meets and games.  With packed schedules against some of the toughest teams and players that they will meet all season, the Dragons claimed some great victories but also suffered some tough losses.  Through it all they competed with grit, intensity, and positivity- the Malad Dragon way. 

Wrestling

The Dragon wrestlers hosted their annual Malad Invitational wrestling tournament December 19-20.  The two day weekend featured 20 Idaho teams competing in both the boys and girls tournaments.  

With 5 champions and 14 total individual medalists in the men's wrestling, the Dragons claimed the team champion trophy. In a similar fashion, the Lady Dragon wrestlers earned the top spot in their tournament as well. “It’s always exciting to win in front of our home crowd and go into the Christmas break on a win. We had a lot of help from the parents putting together a successful tournament and we are extremely grateful for all they do for our team.”

The team is working hard and will be back on the mat competing in the new year at the Bear Lake tournament on Jan 3rd. 

Individual Results 

1st Place

138lbs Porter Mills 

150lbs Parker Price 

157lbs Drake Morrison  

175lbs Oakley Maddox  

215lbs Cam Bingham  

Aubrey Shulz

2nd Place

120lbs Ayden Potter 

126lbs Riggin Montgomery 

190lbs Rydon Montgomery  

Bella Smith

Braylee Price

Cale Carter

Stella Merja

3rd Place

165lbs Chase Martin

215lbs Trevor Allen 

Bentley Oglesbee

4th Place

106lbs Joseph Angell

120lbs Trey Clemons

132lbs Wade Clark  

157lbs David Leckie 

Somerli Nalder

Karsen Thornock

Sunni Barnes

Girls Basketball

It was a packed week for the Lady Dragon basketball team with three games on their docket.  Their schedule held the impressive 5A Fremont Silverwolves of Plains, Utah, the Aberdeen Tigers, and longtime rivals, the Bear Lake Bears.  The turbulent weather caused the matchup with the Tigers to be postponed, leaving the MHS team two of their toughest games of the season to play out.

Traveling south on Tuesday, December 16, Malad went to play in a game for what many thought was a long shot.  Having played Fremont in a summer league and falling to them, Head Coach Trevor Jones wanted to put them on the schedule- first because challenging the Silverwolves would only help his team improve, but also because he wanted a shot at redemption.

Slipping in to steal the ball, Malad won possession of the tipoff but it was Fremont that put the first score on the board of the night.  The Lady Dragons quickly countered to tie the game but it was evident early on that it was anyone’s game.  Malad led for most of the quarter, but Fremont slipped in a short range shot to take the lead by 1 point to end the opening period 14-13.

Malad’s offensive execution kept them in the game, giving them scoring opportunities all across the court including Mady Vanbebber with the shot from the high post, Mikell Keetch as she slipped in for the back door layup, Kiley Miller with the uncontested open 2 pointer, and Izzy Haycock with two free throws to tie the game back up.  

The Silverwolves brought a challenging defense, making it difficult to cross half court, set up the offense, and even make an entry pass.  Offensively, they were a strong team from both the inside game as well as outside the arc, fierce rebounders and locked in free throw shooters.  Their solid game kept them ahead as they went into the half time break, 29-23.

The battle continued in the second half just as they had left it.  Everytime the Lady Dragons would pull within a point of the Silverwolves, they would respond with a score of their own.  Midway through the quarter, Malad managed to take a small lead, forcing Fremont to play catch up as they outscored them 18-11 in the third quarter.

Going into the final quarter of the game, Malad still trailed by 3 points, 41-44.  Over the next 8 minutes of the game, the Lady Dragons knew they had to both hold them defensively as well as find a way to execute on offense to pull ahead.  To start the quarter, Fremont expanded their lead but it wasn’t too much for Malad to come back from.  The Lady Dragons hit a number of crucial shots, going 100% from the free throw line in the final minutes of the game.  

Despite Fremont’s strategic move to hold the ball on offense to minimize Malad’s offensive possessions, the MHS team slowly chipped away at the lead, evening pulling ahead by 1 point.  But with 27 seconds left the Silverwolves hit a deep shot to go up 52-50.  The Lady Dragons regrouped before bringing the ball down the court.  Keetch with the ball, dribbled into the key, the defense crashing down on her.  She kicked out to Haycock on her left, who hit the short jump shot to tie the game.  The Silverwolves had one last possession but the MHS team was able to thwart any final scoring opportunities.

With two minutes left in overtime, the score was tied, Haycock making a 3 point play off a steal, made layup and free throw.  Keetch helped Malad take the lead as she attacked the basket.  With less than a minute left, Fremont came back to hit a 3 pointer to take the lead.  Nelson set a screen for Keetch on the outside, and with the defense slipping behind Keetch drained the 3 pointer to put them back up by 2 points.  

Fremont hoped for a last second shot, but came up short.  9 seconds remaining, the Silverwolves fouled Keetch, putting her at the line for bonus shots.  Putting both in, the Lady Dragons were up by 4.  Fremont dumped a long shot in the hoop as the buzzer rang, but it wasn't enough to take the lead, Malad winning 63-62.

Turning their attention to the next game on Friday, December 19, Malad knew Bear Lake would be a battle.  The opening quarter proved exactly that as the Bears went up 14-0 to start the game.  The Lady Dragons worked to chip away at the lead, but the gap was too wide to overcome against such a tough opponent.  Coming within 7 points, Malad was hopeful but fell short 50-57.

Boys Basketball

The Dragon basketball team added two exciting wins to their record as they took down the talented Grace Grizzlies and the tough Ririe Bulldogs. 

Tuesday, December 16, the MHS team hosted the Grizzlies in their weeknight matchup.  The Dragons came out hot in the opening quarter as they went 20-11, catching Grace on their heels as they pushed the ball up the court.  Ky Willie grabbed the steal, bringing the ball down to Dragon territory, the team passing it around the outside, getting the defense out of position.  Dawson Beutler spotted up at the top of the key, draining the 3 pointer for Malad.

Forcing another turnover, Malad scooped up the ball, making the most of a fast break as Easton Green hustled to the block to put in an easy bank shot to put them up 7-3.   Justin Toone laid in another basket as he sealed his defender to catch the lob pass from Beutler. Ruger Smith came down to pull down the jumper on the Dragon’s next possession.  Malad ended their 10-0 run with two free throws by Toone as they went up 13-3.

The MHS team continued to outscore the Grizzlies as they played through the second quarter, but only one point as Grace had finally begun to keep pace with Malad.  It became a struggle to guard the Grizzlies as they worked the ball inside, using their size mismatch to their advantage.  All too often, Malad’s attempts to keep them from scoring would result in sending Grace to the free throw line.  

Regardless of the new challenges Grace provided, the MHS team was resilient to find their own ways to keep momentum and control in their hands.  To end the half, the Dragons scored on three of their final four possessions- Ruger with the score as he came down the lane into defenders, Green off the inbounds play, and Beutler with the outside shot off the skip pass from Oak Smith.  Going into the half, the Dragons led 38-28.

 Playing into the fourth quarter, Maps continued to bring a high pressure, fast pace game.  Through it all, the Dragons did well to minimize errors and turnovers, while forcing them on the other end for their opponent. Throughout the game, Malad only tallied 12 turnovers while Grace had 20.  

Starting into the fourth quarter up 50-38, the Dragons continued to play with confidence and determination.  The Grizzlies attempted a late game surge, but the MHS team was able to weather it and not only hold them off but expand their lead as the final minutes played out.  Bonus points from the free throw line played a large part to their fourth quarter game, Ruger, Carter Carey, and Green hitting crucial buckets for Malad.  Carey and Ruger each boasted 100% free throw shooting for the night, Carey with 6 and Ruger with 4, helping their team to a 64-54 victory over the Grizzlies.

The Dragons faced the Bulldogs in Ririe on Saturday, December 20 in their final game of the year.  The scoring of the opening quarter started slow, Malad not connecting with the hoop despite open looks and second shot chances.  Still keeping themselves in the game the MHS team trailed by 2 points at the end of the quarter, 12-14.  The second quarter wasn’t much different for the Dragons as the Bulldogs expanded their lead, 23-18 going into the half.

It seemed that Ririe was going to control the game as they continued to play into the second half, Malad falling even further behind on the scoreboard.  But a renewed effort in the fourth quarter quickly brought them, making it anyone’s game to win.  Toone played big on the inside, hitting back to back shots in the paint for Malad.  Ruger hit two more free throws, followed by a deep 2 pointer at the top of the key on the next possession.  In the mix of their run, Green took a charge, a pivotal moment to help swing the energy of the game in Malad’s favor.  Carey drove into the key to hit a jumper and take the lead for Malad, 40-39, with 3 minutes left in the game.  

Defense dominate the next two minutes of the game, the only scoring happening on a foul shot by the Bulldogs to tie the score at 40.  With 30 seconds left, Carey made the same drive to the basket to put up 2 more points for Malad to take the quick lead.  Ririe managed to make it to the free throw line again, scoring both shots to tie the game again.  Making the most out of the final possession of the game, Carey took the pass from the sideline inbound to cast up a deep three with mere seconds left.  The ball sailed through the net, putting them ahead, 45-42 to end the game.  

Head Coach Zach Beutler shared, “The boys continue to show toughness and unity as they’ve navigated injuries and sickness over the last two weeks.  We are entering the Christmas break with the best start the varsity boys have had to a basketball season since 2005. We are ranked 4th via maxpreps and the coaches poll with a 6-2 record. The JV currently sits 5-3, with the C Team 4-0.”