NORTH ROBINSON — Colonel Crawford clinched an outright Northern 10 Athletic Conference championship on Saturday night with a 69-48 win over Seneca East.
Senior Chase Walker led the way for the Eagles with 25 points. Walker had 14 points in the second half and was a force in the paint all night long at Mac Morrison Gym.
“I thought Chase Walker, our four-year letterman, put a show on tonight,” said Eagles coach Dave Sheldon, who was ecstatic for his team. “He was just dominating. He was a force to be reckoned with — not just scoring, but rebounding. Defensively, did a good job on their high ball screens. He came and said ‘it’s time to get this over with’ (winning the N10).”
Colonel Crawford led 22-15 after a quarter and 31-24 at halftime. The tide turned fully in Colonel Crawford’s favor in the second half when junior Carter Valentine was able to heat up on offense.
Valentine scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half. Junior Mason Studer added 13 points of his own.
“Valentine had a really good second half,” Sheldon said. “Mason Studer made some hustle plays tonight that were just unbelievable. Studer just played well on both ends.”
Seneca East was led by Isaac Mason and Turner Bridgford, who scored 12 points apiece. Zane Gibbs added 10 points for the Tigers.
With this win Colonel Crawford (18-0, 14-0 Northern 10) remains undefeated this season, but there are bigger goals in North Robinson, Sheldon said.
“Goal number one was a conference championship — we did that,” Sheldon said. “Goal number two is a sectional championship. We go into the tournament draw (Sunday) and we’ll see how it goes.”
The victory over Seneca East gave Colonel Crawford its first league championship since the 2014-2015 season. The Eagles went 23-2 overall and 17-1 in the Northern 10 that season. They reached the Division III district finals.
“Just a special group,” Sheldon said of this season’s Eagles squad. “They’ve been focused from day one. The impressive thing about this team is they win a big game and move on. To win a league championship outright with three games to go is a credit to these guys in the locker room. Each player is a piece to the puzzle and when you put it together you win a N10 league championship.”
Colonel Crawford wraps up the Northern 10 schedule with road games on Friday at Bucyrus and on Saturday at Ridgedale. The regular season ends on Feb. 16 with a home game against Northmor.
