Senecas surge past Wildcats, sit atop SBC River

Some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield.Calvert hasn't been the bug too many times under coach Jon Otterbacher.Tuesday against Woodmore, they were again the windshield.Not much went wrong for the Senecas in a 72-35 Sandusky Bay Conference River Division win."We really tried to get a good shot rather than forcing a shot," said Calvert senior Jacob Rombach, who racked up 15 points and 12 rebounds. "We always say give up a good shot to get a great shot."Whenever we have a turnover, our motto is to get it out of your head and hustle back down the court and play good defense."Rombach and Gavin Wagner formed a tough duo down low for Calvert (5-2, 5-0 SBC River). Wagner added 21 points for the Senecas, who sit atop the league standings by themselves after Hopewell-Loudon's win over Old Fort."They do a great job inside and out of finishing around the rim and finishing though contact," Otterbacher said. "You practice a lot of that stuff every day because we know we're going to get hit on shots. We knew we have to be able to control our bodies as we're going up and finishing through that."Like all car engines on a cold winter day, it took a while for Calvert to heat up. Woodmore (0-5, 0-5) led 5-3 more than three minutes into the game before the Senecas got the wheels turning."I think we weren't doing a good job of executing and finishing," Otterbacher said. "There were some calls that the players didn't think were correct, but I thought they were the right calls at the right times. We have to do a better job of realizing people are set up to take charges or when we're in the key to not get a three-second call."Buckets by Wagner and Rombach were followed by a 3 by Kevin Ardner. The Wildcats answered with a triple of their own from Mitchell Gillig, but Calvert put the pedal down.Consecutive scores by Rombach helped the Senecas to a 15-8 lead after one quarter. Harrison Shultz opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer before Caden Otterbacher scored off a Woodmore turnover.Carter Wolph made it 22-8, Wagner knocked in two free throws, and a three-point play by Shultz ballooned the lead to 27-8. Another 3 from Ardner finished off the 20-0 run for Calvert."We started to pick it up," Otterbacher said. "We were getting out. We actually got out of our trap and started playing them in man defense. I think that gave them fits because they were relying on getting it out and getting 3s."The Senecas pushed the margin as big as 26 points in the first half and led 41-22 at halftime."Woodmore extended their 2-3 zone out and put a lot of pressure on the ball," Otterbacher said. "We knew the main points we wanted to hit were at the high-post area and short corner. I think we did a great job of getting there in the second quarter and building the lead."Like all good rides, there were a few bumps in the road. Calvert tallied more turnovers in the first half — 10 — than Woodmore (nine).But like all good teams, the Senecas cut down on the mistakes to put further pressure on the opposing team. Calvert had just one turnover in the third quarter while scoring the first 12 points of the quarter to go up 53-22."We had those charges and three-second calls that are uncharacteristic," Otterbacher said. "We cut those turnovers in half, but I thought we did a better job focusing the whole third quarter."We were able to maintain the tempo we wanted."Wagner scored four times and Rombach twice in the run. Rombach also drew a charge on Luke Morris, by far Woodmore's best player on the floor.Calvert allowed just one field goal to the Wildcats in the third quarter. The Senecas led 60-27 after three quarters.Two free throws from Wolph and Shultz and scores by Wagner and Owen Link put the finishing touches on a solid performance by Calvert.Morris paced Woodmore with 14 points."We talked a lot yesterday with the team about even though Woodmore hasn't won a game yet this year, they've got some really nice ball players," Otterbacher said. "The Morris kid is definitely a high-caliber, high-IQ type of player. He can go off for 20 or 30 points any time."The Senecas had further balanced scoring as Shultz scored 11 points, Wolph tallied nine points and eight rebounds, and Ardner added eight points.Calvert faces a tough test Friday at New Riegel (4-1, 4-1)."We enjoyed our early non-conference competition playing Ottawa-Glandorf and Margaretta," Otterbacher said. "That is two tough teams that are high-caliber at all times. We wanted to push our team to make them better for the long run."The types of teams that they are, we're hoping to build off that." Calvert 72, Woodmore 35Woodmore (0-5, 0-5): Brody Ish 0-0-0; Luke Morris 4-4-16; Parker Hahn 0-0-0; Brady Thatcher 1-0-2; Izaiah Williams 0-0-0; Karter Walper 1-0-2; Mitchell Gillig 2-4-9; Gavin Donley 1-2-4; Camdyn Schwartz 1-0-2; Kaiden Orcelletto 1-0-2. Totals: 11-10-35.Calvert (5-2, 5-0): Harrison Shultz 3-4-11; Carter Wolph 2-4-9; Jacob Rombach 7-1-15; Gavin Wagner 9-3-21; Caden Otterbacher 1-0-2; Kevin Ardner 2-2-8; Kurtis Riehm 1-0-2; Logan Ritzler 1-0-2; Owen Link 1-0-2. Totals: 27-14-72.Woodmore 8 14 5 8 — 35Calvert 15 26 19 12 — 72Field goals: Woodmore 11-47; Calvert 27-48.3-point goals: Woodmore 3-21 (Morris 2, Gillig); Calvert 4-14 (Ardner 2, Schultz, Wolph).Foul shots: Woodmore 10-11; Calvert 14-18.Rebounds: Woodmore 22 (Hahn 4); Calvert 37 (Rombach 12).Turnovers: Woodmore 15; Calvert 13.