Jimtown High School

Jimmies pumped for Sectional competition By Red Williams Freelance Sportswriter ELKHART - With an “excellent” draw, Jimtown High School’s men’s basketball crew are chomping at the bit to enter the fray of Indiana High School sectional play. Coach Ryan Varga’s squad finished the regular season with a 14-8 record and played a rigorous schedule, frequently against 3A and 4A schools. “There were some really well-coached programs,” Varga said, “and our boys battled well. They are battle-tested.” The Jimmies drew a first-round bye in Sectional 34 and will be watching from the sidelines at LaVille while awaiting the winner of Winamac vs. Knox. Jimtown defeated Knox during the season, 68-27, but did not play Winamac (19-4). If things work out as expected, there’s a great possibility of a rematch with Bremen for the title. The Lions (19-4) are the favorites and overpowered the Jimmies, 61-54, two weeks ago. “After losing so many key pieces to graduation, this season has been a learning experience for the boys,” Varga said in an email interview. “Winning is hard, and it is even harder to do it consistently. “This team has continued to get better throughout the season,” he added. “Hopefully some of those close battles we lost will help us win this sectional war.” The Jimmies appear to be in good health, as well as good morale, for the battle ahead. “It’s been a wild two-three weeks to finish off the season,” Varga said. “I don’t think we have been fully healthy since February 7th against Northridge, and even then we had a knee scare. Then the flu took over. I’m praying it stays away this week and have been knocking on wood every time I say that.” As far as morale, Varga said his guys are good to go” We have always believed we could win the sectional, so that hasn’t gone anywhere. We will be ready to play.” The Jimmies are the defending champion of this Sectional, defeating LaVille (63-42) and Knox (68-27) on the way to a title victory over Bremen, 54-40. Here are some stats to consider: Will Spurgeon, a senior, tops the Jimmies in scoring with a 16.6 average. Also scoring in double figures are Dominic Fey at 12.7 and Zander Whitaker at 11.8. Tre Baldwin, also in his senior year, is the leading rebounder with 6.2 per game, followed by Whitaker at 6.1. Spurgeon leads in assists with 3.2 per game and Fey has a 3.0 average. Jackson Woolwine leads the Jimmies at the free-throw line with a 92 percent accuracy and Whitaker has the top three-point range at 45 percent. Fey, Whitaker and Woolwine are sophomores.