By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
JACKSONVILLE – A roller coaster of a season for the Moody Blue Devils came to an end Friday night with a 10-point loss to the Guntersville Wildcats in the Northeast Regional Semi-Final for Class 5A. In a season that included county and area championships for the Blue Devils, it was evident that, when they played to their potential, they were at least one of the 16 best teams in the state at the 5A level. Defense was key on Friday night but Moody came up just short, losing 68-58, ending their 2022-2023 season.
Moody started the game by digging a bit of a hole, allowing the Wildcats to outscore them by 7 points in the first quarter. Guntersville would score 18 in the period against the Moody defense. On offense, Moody would put up 11 points. Davion Dozier would lead the Blue Devils with 5 points followed by Kolby Seymour with 4.
In the second quarter, Moody got things going a bit more on defense, holding Guntersville to just 11 points. On offense, Moody’s Chase Jackson got hot, scoring 6 points in the period to go with Dozier’s 4, leading the Blue Devils to 14 points in the quarter. Moody would narrow the gap with that second quarter performance, making it 29-25 Wildcats heading into the break.
Moody would come out of the locker room with their sights set on the elite eight and the chance to play more basketball, scoring a game-high 20 points in the third quarter. Guntersville would have a good period as well, scoring just 4 fewer than Moody with 16 points. Aden Johnson would hit 3 three-pointers in the third to lead the Blue Devils while Seymour would add 3. Moody headed into the final quarter of play with the score tied at 45, but momentum was on their side.
It seems that the break between the third and fourth quarters took the wind out of the Blue Devils’ sails and allowed Guntersville to re-gain their composure and dominate the final period of the game. On defense, Moody would give up 23 points to the Wildcats in the fourth, scoring just 13 themselves to make it a final of 68-58 Guntersville. For the quarter, Caden Helms would have his best effort with 6 points followed by 3 from Dozier.
On the night, Kolby Seymour would lead Moody with 13 points. Davion Dozier would have 12 and Chase Jackson would have 10 points.
“I knew we would have to play really good team defense because Guntersville shoots it well,” said Chad Bates, Moody’s coach. “I thought we did a good job. Guys battled the whole game. We just needed to hit a few more shots.”
Bates reflected on the 19-13 season for his boys. “Super proud of our guys and what they accomplished this season. They continue to raise the bar for Moody Basketball. Hopefully getting a taste of Jacksonville this year will continue to motivate the guys coming back and the younger guys to put the work in to get back and progress further.”