THORNTON — Of course, these aren’t the Fossil Ridge SaberCats of last season. How could they be? A year ago, they marched into the Class 5A finale undefeated, got waxed by Denver East, then graduated nearly everyone of consequence.
However, this season’s group is getting it. Different players are getting their chances. And if they play together, they can do what they did Tuesday night — Fossil Ridge rolled host Horizon 77-50 at The Nest in the Front Range League.
Now 11-5 overall, 5-0 in league, the SaberCats, tied for No. 9 in this week’s Associated Press 5A media poll, can just be themselves in addition to upholding the program’s reputation for shooting.
So who needs last season’s group?
“No, we’re not (the 2013-14 SaberCats),” coach Matt Johannsen said. “(But) I’ve said all along we have pieces, and I love our pieces. We just have to figure out a way to play together, and I think you’re starting to see that.”
Indeed, Fossil Ridge has played a strong nonleague schedule, already beaten Monarch in league and is getting into prime postseason seeding position.
Tuesday, the SaberCats came out firing and hitting — they canned their first five shots, took a 14-0 lead, withstood any attempt at a move by the Hawks (9-6, 3-2) and won going away. Their lead crested at 32 points.
Braxton Bertolette came off the bench to score 19 points. Zacc Drovdal and Ryan Quaid each added 16, and Andrew Semadeni scored 11. The ball movement as well as movement without the ball were there.
“A lot of guys are stepping up,” said Quaid, who also dunked a few times and gathered 11 rebounds. “We stick to (Coach Johannsen’s) philosophy — move the ball, play as a team, play great defense and play hard all of the time.”
Coach Chad Wilson’s Hawks, also experiencing injury problems, never got out of the gate and couldn’t catch up. They briefly got within nine points late in the second quarter but could only watch the SaberCats run away again. They were topped by Michael Skinner’s 20 points.
Neil H. Devlin: ndevlin@denverpost.com or
Fossil Ridge 23 12 28 14 — 77
Horizon 11 15 13 11 — 50
Fossil Ridge — Menefee 2 0-0 4, Drovdal 6 1-2 16, Semadeni 5 0-0 11, Everhart 2 2-2 6, Quaid 4 8-12 16, Bertolette 6 3-3 19, Grove 1 0-0 2, Coombes 0 3-6 3, Orphan 0 0-0 0, Ripsam 0 0-0 0, Schmidt 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 17-25 77.
Horizon — Skinner 8 1-1 20, Ralphs 2 0-0 4, Moore 1 0-0 2, Stubbs 1 0-2 2, Humphries 1 0-0 2, Schaeffer 0 0-0 0, Strain 0 0-0 0, Loucks 0 0-0 0, Roberts 6 0-1 13, Snouffer 2 0-0 5, Espinoza 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 1-2 50.
3-pt. goals — Bertolette 4, Drovdal 3, Semadeni; Skinner 3, Roberts, Snouffer.
