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Sports
By Patrick Browne
IRON RIVER – Coming into the season, the West Iron Wykons were excited to see a number of junior varsity players move to the varsity level and join the energetic Abel Lundin and standout Elijah Oberlin. Although expectations were not high, it was expected the team would be competitive and earn a few more victories than the previous year. Thus far the team has struggled to find its rhythm.
After dropping the first four games of the year by an average deficit of 51.5 points, the Wykons stepped up against Bark River on Dec. 8 and played their best game of the early season.
Led by Oberlin’s 12 first-quarter points, the Wykons had an early lead and for the first time this year were leading going into the second quarter. Their 16–13 lead had the team excited and Coach Cade Contreras was pleased with his team’s effort.
The second quarter saw Oberlin held to five points. Fellow Wykon Jesiah Smith filled the void and kept the Wykons close by contributing five points in the quarter, and the teams headed into halftime deadlocked at 30.
As the teams emerged from the locker room with the game deadlocked, the fans were hopeful a first victory was on the horizon. The Wykons dropped in 10 points in the quarter behind the impressive shooting of Jonah Holmberg, but Bark River put up 14. Heading into the final eight minutes of play, West Iron was down four.
Sensing a victory slipping away, Oberlin did everything he could to lift his team. Scoring nine fourth-quarter points was not enough however, as Bark River scored 17 to finish the game. When the buzzer sounded, the Wykons had lost by 10, 61–51, and were left to continue their quest for their first victory.
A first-year coach, Contreras continues to be hopeful.
“I was happy with how hard our guys played,” he said. “We had two holes in our game, free throws and turnovers and that held us back. Elijah Oberlin did a great job finishing inside and our guards did a good job of getting the ball inside to him.”