Stockaders fall in district final, 53-42

FOSTORIA – Arlington didn't shoot the ball as well as it did Thursday night in a semifinal win over Calvert, but with how dominant the Red Devils' 2-3 zone was, it didn't matter.Old Fort had a game plan and even made some adjustments throughout the Division VII district final game Saturday at Fostoria, but Arlington's rock-solid defense with 6-foot-10 Calvin Willow inside, Old Fort had to be near perfect to keep pace. It couldn't.Arlington made enough shots and wreaked havoc at times on the defensive end to claim its first district title since 2012.Willow scored just two points in the win Thursday against Calvert – in part because of Arlington's ability to knock down outside shots. It made 11 3-pointers. Saturday, Willow was the focal point of the Red Devils' offense, playing inside-out, which created some back-door passes and some wide open 3s from the outside. Plus, the 6-10 junior just was able to go right over the top of any shorter Stockader player who was guarding him. Willow ended with a team-high 15 points in the win."Yeah, I thought (Willow) was the difference in the game," Old Fort coach Eric Hoover said. "At both ends of the floor … obviously they're smart and know what they have in there. It's not something we see often, he just protects the whole paint and it gives them so much leeway with their other guards to get out and pressure everyone else. "We had trouble even getting 3s off tonight and whenever you get into the paint, he's there. We did get around and behind him early on and scored, but couldn't get enough of it. We tried to get it into that high-post area and score. We tried a lot of different things, some of it was new, so maybe we didn't execute it all that great, but it's a look you don't see that often. They're so good at reading passes and getting their hands on everything. That is an outstanding defensive team, giving up less than 40 (points) a game this season."Old Fort (23-3) senior Ryan Adelsperger scored the first basket of the game, but then Arlington (22-3) got the ball inside to Willow and let him either go to the basket with a jump hook or pass out to an open shooter. He had four points in the opening quarter, but it was clear what the game plan for Arlington was. Ayden Cavinee dropped in five points in the first period as Arlington led 14-9. The Red Devils went on a quick 6-1 spurt in the middle of the second quarter to go up 23-15 with 3:21 left in the opening half. However, Old Fort came right back with back-to-back triples from Adelsperger and Grant Havens, but Arlington senior Jase Vermillion ended the first half with a 5-0 run himself to give Arlington a 28-21 lead at the half."I thought our kids Thursday night and tonight understood what our plan was and carrying it out was huge. We had a lot of guys make plays in both games, but these guys were a different animal than what Calvert was because of the one-day prep," Arlington coach Jason Vermillion said. "(Old Fort) won this last year and got back here again, so it's kudos to (Coach Hoover) and his kids, but I thought defensively our guys were active. We were taking care of the rebounding. Adelsperger got some of his, but the guys were tuned into what we wanted to do defensively."We would've liked to get (Calvin) more involved Thursday, but the way we were hitting shots it changed things, but we wanted to challenge them inside so we could get some good open shots and Calvin went to a different level with his ability to score over them tonight."Arlington pushed its advantage to 36-24 after a 6-0 run after baskets from Brady Griggs and free throws from Vermillion. But Old Fort finished the third with an 8-4 spurt to get within 40-32 entering the fourth. After an Adelsperger three-point play, Old Fort clawed back within 44-39 with 4:39 to play.However, Old Fort scored just one more time. Vermillion knocked in a big trey to stop the Stockaders' run and momentum, which Arlington took advantage of and hit free throws down the stretch to pull it out.Old Fort's last basket of the game didn't mean anything to the outcome of the contest, but it was a big one as Adelsperger notched his 1,000th career point."He's worked his butt of for it for a long time," Hoover said of Adelsperger. "I knew he had an opportunity to get it this year, but he needed a really great year, but he deserves it. He works so hard to be good. I've had eight players get 1,000 points and he's worked harder than any of them. I know he just got there, but he deserves it. "If he wouldn't of gotten it and we lost, I probably would've lost my mind, but he certainly deserves to be mentioned with those names at Old Fort."Vermillion ended with 13 points, while Cavinee added finished with 12 and Griggs ended with 10.Adelsperger had 21 points to pace Old Fort. It also got eight points from Isaac Gallagher.After a trip to regionals last season and losing four starters, the Stockaders got back to the district finals after a 23-win season and an unbeaten run in the SBC River. Not too shabby."I'm proud of the seniors for what they were able to do with this group from coming back from losing six seniors last year, including three double-digit scorers," Hoover said. "These guys stepped up from the JV level. They worked hard and took full advantage of it. Very proud of them and couldn't be happier with what we accomplished this year." Arlington 53, Old Fort 42Arlington (22-3): Jase Vermillion 4-3-13; Drew Metzger 1-0-3; Brady Griggs 2-6-10; Trenton Heacock 0-0-0; Ayden Cavinee 5-1-12; Calvin Willow 7-1-15. Totals: 19-11-53.Old Fort (23-3): Griffin Miller 0-0-0; Tyson Frisch 2-0-4; Isaac Gallagher 2-4-8; Grant Havens 2-0-6; Dimitri Carter 1-1-3; Ryan Adelsperger 7-4-21. Totals: 14-9-42.Arlington &emsp;&emsp;14&emsp;&emsp;14&emsp;&emsp;12&emsp;&emsp;13&emsp;&emsp;– 53Old Fort &emsp;&emsp;9&emsp;&emsp;12&emsp;&emsp;11&emsp;&emsp;10&emsp;&emsp;– 423-point goals: Arlington 4 (Vermillion 2, Metzger, Cavinee); Old Fort 5 (Adelsperger 3, Havens 2)Foul shots: Arlington 11-19; Old Fort 9-11Turnovers: Arlington 7; Old Fort 15