Friday night, the atmosphere inside the gym was electric as the Cuero Gobblers faced off against the San Antonio Kennedy Rockets to kick off district play. From the tip-off, it was clear that both teams were ready to battle. The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with the Gobblers able to establish a 7-point lead. Junior Walker Dietze and Sophomore Dae Dae Bonner played a significant factor, ending the night with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 12 points, 5 rebounds respectively.
As the second quarter rolled on, the team's defense tightened, led by the effort of junior David Leinen, who led the team with 11 rebounds and Sophomore Chris Mathis with 8 rebounds. They were everywhere on the court, not only snatching rebounds but also creating turnovers. With minutes to go in the half, the Gobblers maintained a 6-point lead.
“I think we excelled on the defensive side of the ball last night. If we can hold teams to 40 points consistently it will give us great opportunities to win ball games,” Dietze said.
The second half did not disappoint, as the Gobblers increased their lead to 11 in the third quarter. The Rockets put up a good fight, but the Gobbler defense was too much, winning the game with a final score of 61-43, earning their first district win.
“It was a great team win overall. It’s always a good feeling to start off district 1-0. We need to focus on going 1-0 each game from here on out, so we can set ourselves up for a shot at a district championship and run in the playoffs,” Dietze stated.
Adding baskets to the win were Junior Conner Molina with 9 points, Mathis with 5 points, Senior Conner Kubesch with 1 point, and Leinen with 12 points.
Earlier in the week the Gobblers hosted the Goliad Tigers in non-district play. The Gobblers started off a little rough, going down by three in the first quarter, but quickly turned play around ending the first half with the lead 28-17.
Leinen lead the team with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 2 blocks. With the help of Bonner (21 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals) the Gobbler defense was able to hold the Tigers to just 8 points through the entire second half.
Leinen noted, “We are a team based around talent, hard work, and friendship. We have 100% trust in each other and our coaches. When we get hot, and start to go on runs, we are UNSTOPPABLE. We’ve got talents all around from guards to bigs to coaches. This will be the year that the Cuero Gobblers will be the team that everybody has a game plan for.”
The team put together a valiant effort ending the night with a win 5845.
The Gobblers continue district play on Tuesday, January 14 in Gonzales, and Friday, January 17 at San Antonio Memorial.
Additional notes: JV Gobblers lost to Kennedy 47-51 (0-1 district), and Freshman Gobblers took the win 63-45 (1-0 district.)
