NORTH ROBINSON — Carson Feichtner was a force Friday night.
The burly senior provided the spark for Colonel Crawford as the Eagles capped their second straight unbeaten regular season at 22-0 and a Northern 10 Athletic Conference title with an impressive 66-39 victory over Upper Sandusky.
Feichtner scored 9 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Eagles while guarding the Rams leading scorer Trent Beamer.
“We knew we wanted to go undefeated. It felt pretty good. It’s the best game I’ve played in a long time, especially at the varsity level,” he said.
Mason Studer led the way with 21 points and Carter Valentine added 15, as did Braxton Baker.
But it was the inspired play of Feichtner, who held Beamer to 4 points, 11 below his season average, that was the catalyst.
He scored 6 of his points in the first quarter and had 7 rebounds in the opening half.
“Feicht was huge. He epitomizes this team. He’s an all-Ohio football player and out here he does all the dirty work,” said head coach David Sheldon.
“Feichtner epitomizes what this team’s about. It’s not about points, it’s not about assists. It’s just win, baby,” he said. “That’s what Carson brings, toughness every time he steps on the court.”
Crawford went ahead 18-11 after the first period, built a 35-21 halftime lead and cruised into the post season with momentum.
The Eagles, who won the first meeting in early January 64-53, now have until Friday to rest. They play the winner of Edison-Lakota for the Division III sectional title.
Upper Sandusky takes on the winner of Norwalk and Bellevue the same night.
“We turned the ball over unforced a little too much in the first half and they had better shot makers than we had tonight,” said Rams head coach Jeff Winslow.
Defense wins championships, Sheldon said. That was on display as the Rams came in averaging 61 points per game.
“That has been our bread and butter every night. There have been games where we haven’t shot it like we did making 3s tonight,” Sheldon said.
“I always go back to (New England Patriots coach) Bill Belichick. Defense wins championships and we’ve done that night in and night out.”
The third quarter was an example of that as the hosts outscored their opponent 10-4.
“Our kids fought. They just made plays that we didn’t,” Winslow said.
“Good teams go through adversity and that’s what we’re dealing with now. These last three 3 games on the road to Carey, Shelby, and these guys, that’s a rough road to go…we knew it would be a tough stretch coming in. We just didn’t play well enough those 3 games.”
Kaden Holman was the lone Ram to reach double figures with 10 points. Zach Sheaffer added 9 and a half-dozen rebounds.
For the Eagles, Studer added 8 rebounds and Valentine 6.
“These guys take pride in defense and every possession is the most important possession,” Sheldon said. “It’s a player-led team and those are the types of teams that win league championships.”
Sheldon took out his five seniors — Studer, Valentine, Nolan McKibben, Feichtner and Ethan Smith — with 1:26 remaining.
“The key tonight was getting off to a great start,” Sheldon said.
After the game Colonel Crawford cut down the nets and received the N10 league championship trophy.
“Had a good game on the home court. It was a good time at the Mac Morrison (Gymnasium) tonight,” Feichtner said. “We’re looking to go far in the tournament. It’s one game at a time, but we’ll get ‘er done.”
Sheldon said his team never talked about going undefeated.
“But when you get to game 22 and go back-to-back regular seasons undefeated, I said now you have a chance to leave a legacy on this school and this community,” he said.