SYRACUSE – The Wawasee Warriors are only focused on one game.
Wawasee hosts and has a bye in Class 3A Sectional 21, and the Warriors are dead set on who they’ll have to play Friday.
If, and only if, the Warriors defeat the winner of Lakeland and West Noble, they will then worry about playing either NorthWood, Tippecanoe Valley, or sectional favorite Fairfield in the final.
“If you focus too much on the other side (of the bracket), you’ll lose focus on what you have to do on your side of the bracket,” said Wawasee coach Jon Everingham.
While some coaches are thrilled to have a bye, Everingham would rather play Tuesday.
“Getting that game under your belt and winning a game on Tuesday is obviously a real advantage,” he said.
To combat the potential of growing rust, the Warriors will work especially hard in today’s practice before taking Tuesday off.
“You gotta have a really, really tough, intense practice on Monday of (this) week,” Everingham said. “So, that’s what we’re gonna do.”
Wawasee has played both Lakeland and West Noble.
The Warriors beat Lakeland 56-37 Jan. 26, while they lost 50-48 to West Noble Dec. 1.
“We’re a different team than when we played West Noble, and I can promise you that Lakeland is a different team than when we saw them, “Everingham said.
“We’ll be very familiar with their personnel, they’ll be very familiar with our personnel, but the games we played in the regular season won’t mean anything.”
Wawasee finished the regular season with a losing record, but Everingham doesn’t count on being overlooked.
“These coaches in our sectional are too good,”?he said.
With that in mind, Everingham said the Warriors will have to take care of the basketball, control the game’s pace, and play good defense in order to win.
While the Warriors have a sharp shooter in Bennett Hoffert, Everingham said winning will take a total team effort.
“It’s never one player,” he said. “It’s always somebody different. Collectively, we have to be patient, and if it’s your night, it’s your night.”
And while the Warriors are singularly focused on Friday’s game, Everingham said they have potential to compete with anybody.
