By Jordan Schachterle
The Surveyor
The Spartans boys basketball team has had a rollercoaster of a season so far; this past week has included one of the highest peaks of the decade, but it included a low point as well.
The Berthoud Spartans accomplished a feat this week that had never been done before. They took down fellow Tri-Valley Conference team, the Holy Family Tigers.
The Tigers, known for having strong athletic teams, have been a problem for the Spartans in many sports. The competitions between the two schools have become rivalry games, attracting stands full of fans. Both schools have collected wins in different sports, but the Spartans were never been able to come out on top in boys basketball.
That was until last Thursday night. BHS beat Holy Family 41-34 in a start to finish nail-biter. Seniors Cooper Stratmeyer and Aaron Hardy paced the team with 10 points each and junior Cooper Hidalgo led the Spartans with 12 rebounds.
BHS held Holy Family to just 34 points total, well below the Tigers’ average of 47.2 points per game. It took strong performances from every man on the court and as a team in every aspect of basketball. It was a huge win for the Spartans as a program and not just for this season, but they had to be sure they didn’t get too caught up in it.
“There’s never too high or never too low,” Berthoud head coach Joel Davidson said, “we were very excited about the win at Holy Family, first time ever but you know an hour later, I’m over that one and preparing for Windsor.”
The next game for BHS was not as glorious as the win against the Tigers. The Spartans were beaten by the Windsor Wizards 36-70. Windsor outplayed Berthoud in most elements of the game, making it difficult to find positives for the Spartans. There were a few bright spots, as there are in any competition, but in the end, BHS was on the wrong end of the final score.
There’s not much to say about a loss with a margin like that, but in the end, it is just another game. Davidson expressed that no matter what the scoreboard says at the end of the night, the final buzzer must come with some reflection on the game at hand, but the Spartans have to look at the bigger picture and the remainder of the season.
“It’ll be the same thing tonight, never too high, never too low, on to the next,” Davidson said, “tonight is tonight, that’s over with. I’m already done with it, on to the next with two good teams we play for the rest of the week.”
The Spartans will travel to Skyline Thursday night to face off with the Falcons and will work their way back through their conference opponents beginning Saturday afternoon at Mead. As BHS plays back through the Tri-Valley and faces teams for the second time on the season, it calls for adjustments and improvements. Berthoud hopes to bring the season back to a high point starting this week.
