Jimtown High School

Jimmies ousted in neighborhood battle with Concord By Red Williams Freelance Sportswriter ELKHART - “Complete domination” would be an appropriate term to describe Tuesday night’s (1.20.26) high school basketball battle between Jimtown and Concord. The Minutemen (4-8) ran roughshod over the visiting Jimmies, 66-51, with a large crowd on hand in this long-time neighborhood rivalry. There was a bit of awkwardness in the air: Concord is led by Coach Tyler Leighton, who was the Jimtown leader last season, taking the Jimmies all the way to the semi-state level. He warmly greeted the players he had in that great season, as well as the staff he worked with. “They destroyed us,” is how Jimtown Coach Ryan Varga put it. “They exposed everything we need to work on and outmanned us in every phase of the game.” Concord’s domination particularly demonstrated itself in two areas: “Jimtown has four great guards who shoot well, handle the ball well,” Leighton said, “so we wanted to make every shot difficult with no clear looks. Our defense rose to the occasion.” The Minutemen also controlled the paint. “We focused on blocking out and rebounding,” Leighton said. The statistics prove his plan worked. Concord had a 40-23 edge in rebounds, including 19 off the glass on offense. Concord has no “big,” but its 6-foot-3 trio of Bo Brunner, Carson Weirich and Parker Shrock, dominated on the boards. Brunner had an outstanding game, especially in the opening quarter when he netted 12 points, all in the lane. “I was pretty excited and pumped about the game and was able to get loose for some easy shots,” Brunner said. He ended up with a double-double (21 points and 11 rebounds) to spark the Mirenutemen. Weirich had a dozen off the board, and Reese Breveard added 12 points. After claiming a 37-24 halftime lead, the Minutemen allowed Jimtown a brief 8-0 run in the third quarter, trimming the lead to seven, 41-34, but scored almost at will in the final stanza, building a 21-point lead. Jimmy Sophomore Dom Fey led all scorers with 22 points, many of them in a second half flurry in hopes of getting back in the game. Jackson Woolwine and Will Spurgeon each netted 14. The Jimmies (8-4) are back in action Saturday (1.24.26) with a home game against South Bend Washington. Tip-off is at 6 pm. The Jimtown junior varsity earned a split for the night by taking the preliminary, 36-29. Score by quarters: Jimtown 13 11 12 15 51 Concord 21 16 10 19 66 Officials: Jeff Lytle (New Haven), Joe Rudolph (Fort Wayne), Matt Sheehan (Fort Wayne)