By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
MOODY – In a big rivalry game with a trip to the Saint Clair County tournament finals on the line, Moody played their best defensive game of the year and got help from Blaine Burke and Caden Helms late to pick up the win over the top-seeded Springville Tigers on Thursday night.
The first quarter was a defensive battle between these two rivals with Moody squeaking out a one-point advantage, 10-9 at the end of the period. Springville was led by Ty Harrison who hit a three-pointer in the quarter, followed by 2 points each from Brodie Frederick, Collin Lockhart and Asa Morrison. Moody’s Davion Dozier led his team with 5 points to go with 3 from Blaine Burke and 2 from Carson Dillashaw.
The second quarter would be very similar with the defenses relaxing just a bit to allow both offenses a little more wiggle room, but we would get the same result at the end, a one-point advantage for the Blue Devils. This time 15-14 would be the score for the quarter. Ben Wood led the Tigers with 5 points while Frederick would add 4 of his own to go with 3 from Zach Brown. Burke would lead the Blue Devils with 5 points, followed by Mason Myers with 4. Moody would take a narrow 25-23 lead into the locker room.
In the third quarter, Moody would create a lot of distance between them and their rivals with dominant defense, outscoring the Tigers 19-6. Frederick would lead Springville with 3 points to go with 2 from Morrison and a free throw from Harrison. Caden Helms would have 6 of Moody’s 19 points and Dillashaw would add 5 of his own with a host of others contributing in the third. 44-29 Moody heading into the final quarter of play.
With a championship appearance on the line, Springville refused to just go away quietly. Down by 15, they would have their most success on offense, scoring 21 points in the final period. Despite the numerous attempts at a comeback, the Tigers would not be able to conquer Moody on this night, as Moody almost matched the offensive output by Springville, scoring 18. Springville was led by an explosive quarter from Ben Wood with 7 points and Collin Lockhart with 8. Buke would be the clutch shooter for Moody, hitting three point shots to de-rail two separate comeback attempts by Springville and contributing 6 points to Moody’s total for the quarter.
Springville would be led on the night by Ben Wood with 12 points, Collin Lockhart with 10 and Brodie Frederick with 9.
Blaine Burke, no surprise, led the Blue Devils with 14 points but Caden Helms was nipping at his heels with 13. Davion Dozier scored 10 points on the night as well.
Springville Coach Brandon Easterwood said, of his team’s performance, “Moody played harder than us. They beat us to loose balls and got offensive rebounds. Those plays led to points and big shots that beat us. All credit to them. Hopefully we can learn from a loss and finish the season on a positive. I know my group and I know what they are capable of.”
“Huge win for us over a really good Springville team,” said Moody Coach Chad Bates. “Blaine played lights out for us tonight and hit some really big shots. Caden did too.”
Having punched their ticket to the Saint Clair County tournament finals, the Blue Devils will play the winners of the Saint Clair County vs Ragland game that will be played at Moody Friday night. The championship game will be played Saturday night at Moody High School at 6:00 pm.