Fulton County Ohio Media

https://photos.app.goo.gl/z26BmHwMU4LVuXGV6

No one saw this coming.  Literally, no one in attendance in Swanton’s Kevin J. McQuade Gymnasium to watch the hometown 16-5 Bulldogs take on the 12-9 Evergreen Vikings in the last game of the regular season would have predicted a full-blown lopsided 34-point Swanton halftime lead on the way to a 67-29 victory over a talented and well-coached Evergreen team.  This was the same Viking squad that held the visiting Bulldogs to zero points in the third quarter and forged a tie game in the fourth before falling 52-44 in a non-league game earlier this season.  It does happen on occasion in all sports, where one team will do virtually everything right while the other team, despite being close in ability, cannot execute any part of their game plan no matter how hard they play.  Last night in Swanton was a text book example of that and it began almost immediately.

Swanton’s Luc Borojevich scored on a breakaway layup and Hayden Callicotte swished a three-pointer from the corner for a 5-0 lead in what was essentially a preview of how the first half was about to unfold.  The Bulldogs ran the score up to 12-0 before the Vikings were finally able to get on the board, but in no way did it slow down the Swanton juggernaut offense.   They went on a 15-0 run to make the score 27-2 and finished the first quarter ahead 29-4. 

Evergreen finally began to hit some of their shots in the second.  Leading scorer Eli Kiefer, who had no points in the first, broke loose for eight and the Vikings scored 15 in the quarter.  However, Callicotte and Borojevich, who had combined for 25 points in the first, stayed hot and finished the half with 20 points each, staking Swanton to a 53-19 lead at the buzzer.  For the half, the Bulldogs made 19 out of 24 shots from the field for 79.1% and went 6/7 from the line for 85.7%.

If there was any hope Evergreen would come back in the second half to make the score more respectable, that hope was quickly dashed when Borojevich fed Callicotte on a break who tossed up an alley-oop to a streaking Cole Mitchey who slammed it home for a 36-point Swanton advantage.  By reaching a lead of 35 points or more, a running clock was implemented and it remained in effect for the rest of the contest.

With the win, Swanton finishes the regular season with a 17-5 overall record and 4-3 in the NWOAL, tied for third place with Liberty Center. The Bulldogs begin the OHSAA Dlll tournament on Friday, 2/24, at 8:00 PM at Wauseon High School and will face the winner of the Hicksville/Liberty Center game. Evergreen ends the regular season with a 12-10 record and 2-5 in the league in seventh place. The Vikings begin tournament play on Tuesday, 2/21, at Springfield High School and will take on the Fairview Apaches. at 6:00 PM.

Evergreen:  4-15-4-6 = 29   Eli Kiefer (9), Riley Dunbar (6), Walker Lumbrezer (3), Will Ruetz (3), Tyson Woodring (2), Ryder Hudik (2) Ben Ruetz (2), Drew Gillen (2)

Swanton:  29-24-11-3 = 67   Luc Borojevich (25), Hayden Callicotte (20), Cole Mitchey (9), Kayden Davis (5), Charlie Wood (5), Jake Robinson (3)

Click on the link above to access photos from the game. Photos are in the jpeg format to allow for editing and can be downloaded for NO CHARGE courtesy of the fultoncountymedia.com website.

Photo: Luc Borojevich shoots for three.