'It's something you always dream about'

The latest installment of Old Fort vs. Calvert boys basketball surely didn't disappoint.The Stockaders held a lead most of the game and even dominated through stretches of the game Monday night. But going to Calvert and getting a win is never easy – something Old Fort coach Eric Hoover and his team know awfully well.The Stockaders led 58-43 with six minutes left in the game.Then Calvert sophomore Grady Otterbacher took over the game and carried the Senecas all the way back, draining six of his school-record tying nine 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. His ninth tied the contest at 65-all with 26.4 ticks left in the game.Hoover called a time out to set up a play for Old Fort. After Ryan Adeslperger was doubled, he gave up the ball to post Brock Miller under the hoop. Instead of rushing a shot, he had the presence of mind to look to his left to find a wide-open Tyson Frisch who dropped in the game-winning layup to send the Stockaders players and fans into a frenzy. It also sent the Stockaders home in first place in the SBC River with the 67-65 victory."We came in knowing it was going to be a battle, but we knocked down shots when we needed to, we were up big at the end of the third … but we got the job done. That's what we came here to do," Frisch said. "I saw them doubling (Adelsperger) and I thought he was going to throw it to the top, so I was staying in the corner getting ready for a shot. Then he threw it to Brock, I saw the backside open and I cut right in there and made the shot like we do all the time in practice. Right after (the shot) I just froze … it was crazy. It's something you always dream about. It was amazing. It was a great win with the guys."Old Fort (6-1, 5-0 SBC River) played well for most of the game as it always had an answer for any Calvert (4-2, 4-1) run. It led 21-13 after the first quarter and then 38-25 at the half. It led 44-28 in the third after an Isaac Gallagher trey, cut Calvert's Otterbacher just started to heat up. Gallagher tallied 10 of his 20 points in the third period."Been waiting a bit and asking him to do a little more offensively … he's not an overly-aggressive personality, but we need him to do things," Hoover said about his junior guard. "He had a mismatch there and took advantage. He made some tough shots and had some good finishes there to kind of carry us in the third to build a lead. Good thing, because we needed all of it."In the fourth, Gavin Wagner made the opening layup for the Senecas, but Miller and Dimitri Carter each made a layup to give the Stockaders the 58-43 lead with 6:13 left.Then after a slam dunk from Wagner, Otterbacher began his shooting barrage, making four-straight triples to tie the game.Where the Senecas' program is at, moral victories certainly aren't celebrated, but coach Jon Otterbacher did like his team's fight."I don't think we did a good job coming out and being loose enough to play," he said. "They did a great job of hitting open shots and we didn't contest very well. They got into a good rhythm and when you let good shooters get into a rhythm, it's tough to slow them down. They built a nice lead. "We worked a lot on our zone offense this week and how to get scores out of it and I thought we got good looks all night. We didn't shoot well from the line (3 of 8), we let a lot of layups out there, so we take care of business like we are supposed to, we're talking about a different ending here. It was a great game to be a part of, but it sucks they had the last possession of the game, and that's how it ended. I thought the way we battled, especially with being down in the third and fourth, to have a chance to be able to win the game was great to show the team our fight and our chemistry together."Otterbacher led the Senecas with his career-high 29 points, while Wagner added 20 points and both Carter Wolph and Logan Ritzler ended with seven points.Adelsperger paced the Stockaders with 21 points. Frisch finished with 11."We talked about it pregame that we were the two undefeated teams left to this point, it's way early, but we'd rather be in control than out, so we put ourselves in a good spot," Hoover said. "We have Gibsonburg, Hopewell, Lakota and New Riegel all left … all will be tough battles, so we have a busy month coming up. We'll take a couple days off to rest and then we'll come back and hit it hard because we have to be ready to go." Old Fort 67, Calvert 65Old Fort (6-1, 5-0 SBC River): Griffin Miller 1-0-2; Tyson Frisch 4-2-11; Isaac Gallagher 8-2-20; Grant Havens 0-0-0; Dimitri Carter 3-0-7; Ryan Adelsperger 7-5-21; Brock Miller 2-2-6. Totals: 25-11-67.Calvert (4-2, 4-1): Logan Ritzler 3-0-7; Logan DeMoss 0-0-0; Grady Otterbacher 10-0-29; John Schumacher 1-0-2; Carter Wolph 3-1-7; Gavin Wagner 9-2-20; Vincenzo Lyons 0-0-0. Totals: 26-3-65.Old Fort &emsp;&emsp;21&emsp;&emsp;17&emsp;&emsp;16&emsp;&emsp;13&emsp;&emsp;– 67Calvert &emsp;&emsp;13&emsp;&emsp;12&emsp;&emsp;16&emsp;&emsp;24&emsp;&emsp;– 653-point goals: Old Fort 6 (Adelsperger 2, Gallagher 2, Carter, Frisch); Calvert 10 (Otterbacher 9, Ritzler)Foul shots: Old Fort 11-13; Calvert 3-8Turnovers: Old Fort 17; Calvert 14