Rockford Christian 63, North Boone 49: Rockford Christian may be young, but the three seniors on the roster don’t want to be forgotten.
“They’re not ready to be done yet,” Royals coach Cedric Jones said.
Ben Erickson, Conrad Ognibene and Grant Anderson combined for 10 points on the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to lead the Royals to a 63-49 win against North Boone Tuesday at the Christian Life Regional.
Rockford Christian 45, North Boone 30: Rockford Christian used its defensive press to beat North Boone 45-30 Monday to advance to the Genoa-Kingston Regional semifinals.
The Royals pulled away with a 20-9 second-quarter run. Freshman Samantha Hellyer scored 14 points, and Amy Hicks added 10.
“We started slow,” Rockford Christian coach Terry Gulley said. “Both teams really started slow. We were up 6-4 when I called a 30-second timeout and went to the press. Then we just ran away with it. They couldn’t handle the pressure and started throwing the ball away.”
North Boone 52, Rockford Christian Life 40: Christian Life’s slow offensive start worked in favor of North Boone, which earned a 52-40 win Friday.
Jared Boehmke scored 12 points to lead four Vikings in double figures. Kyle Gurman and Alex Albrecht each scored 11 and Ethan Wirth added 10.
North Boone led 10-1 in the first quarter and pushed it to 35-29 in the third quarter.
Reggie McGee had five 3-pointers for 15 points and Jordan Peyton added 13 for Christian Life.
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Dakota 62, North Boone 46: Kyle Benning sank seven 3-pointers and finished with 38 points to lead Dakota to a win Monday against North Boone.
Jared Boehmke added 11 points for the Indians, who pulled away with a 17-4 third-quarter run.
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North Boone 52, Marengo 43: Tyler Bielski made five 3-pointers and scored 19 points to lead the Vikings (7-11, 3-2 Big Northern East). Shaun Babcock added 10 points. Kyle Garman had nine points on a trio of 3-pointers as North Boone made more 3-pointers (nine) than regular baskets (eight).
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Burlington Central 53, North Boone 31: Lauren St. John scored 13 points in North Boone’s loss to BNE rival Burlington Central.
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Harvard 34, North Boone 27: Kelsey Grover led North Boone with eight points.
Burlington Central 53, North Boone 49: Tyler Bielski had 20 points and drained five 3s, but his Vikings trailed throughout.
Mark Mastio led BC with 18 points.
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Hampshire 66, North Boone 18: Kelsey Edwards scored five points for North Boone.
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Byron 32, Winnebago 29: BYRON — Meghan Fitts scored eight of her team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Tigers. Emily Lehne added 12 points for Byron. Emily Myers scored 13 to lead Winnebago.
Marengo 48, North Boone 33: POPLAR GROVE — Marengo outscored North Boone 13-2 in the first quarter and led 27-10 at halftime. Caitlyn Adams and Kelsey Edwards led North Boone with nine and eight points, respectively.
FREEPORT — Suporia Dickens scored 15 points to lead Freeport to a 70-49 home win against Guilford Wednesday. Katie Norman and Courtney Shiffer added 12 points apiece, while Kelsey Hoefer chipped in 11. Tiffany Martinez (10) and Stephanie House (10) led the Vikings.
Auburn 51, Belvidere North 47: Led by Atiya Roby (14), Anita Amisi (12) and Tierny Austin (12), Auburn held off Belvidere North. Jillian Leutscher led North with 9 points.
POPLAR GROVE — North Boone basketball coach Lennie Doetch put his depth to the test Friday in the Vikings’ 41-35 win over Rockford Lutheran.
Doetch played both his starting five and his second string effectively throughout, which powered North Boone to the home win.
“Our second string came in and held it down,” said Vikings starter Tyler Bielski, who had eight points. “That helped in our win.”
POPLAR GROVE - The Rockets scored a fourth-quarter touchdown for the win, which qualified them for the playoffs with a 5-4 record.
Justin Russell led Richmond-Burton with 152 yards on 17 carries, while Alex Albrecht had 108 yards on 15 carries for the Vikings (3-6).
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POPLAR GROVE — North Boone senior Colton Friemuth pulled his jersey off and walked slowly across the football field.
The emotions of Friday’s game against Harvard hit him with a tug.
“Everybody was fighting hard,” said Friemuth, one of 12 seniors. “As seniors, we wanted to win.”
The Vikings’ quest for their first playoff berth under head coach Aaron Sullivan was dashed by Harvard in a 19-7 loss despite a rally in the fourth quarter.
POPLAR GROVE — North Boone’s sophomore connection continued to shine Friday, helping the Vikings to a 53-20 blowout of Marengo on homecoming night.
Alex Albrecht had 150 yards rushing and 100 yards passing before halftime as the Vikings scored 18 seconds into the game and rarely let up. His twin brother, Jon, had two first-quarter fumble recoveries, as well as a first-half interception and a second-quarter TD catch.
In the end, Marengo (1-5, 0-2) had no answer as North Boone (3-3, 1-1) built a 47-6 third-quarter lead before gliding in.
BURLINGTON - North Boone scored all 14 of its points in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run by Colton Friemuth and a 57-yard fumble return by Addem Wynstra.
Four of Burlington Central’s six TDs were on passes.
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POPLAR GROVE — Chris Wilkins went 12-of-19 for 197 passing yards and added 148 yards on 14 carries for the Cogs (4-0). T.C. Holterhaus had 107 yards on seven catches.
G-K led 21-3 at halftime. Alex Albrecht led North Boone with 128 yards on 16 carries.
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ROCKFORD - Friday’s steady rain all but washed out the expected offensive fireworks in North Boone’s 14-8 victory over Rockford Lutheran.
The game featured two of the area top quarterbacks, but North Boone’s Alex Albrecht and Lutheran’s Jake Koehler had trouble passing the wet ball, especially during a second-half downpour.
“It was terrible,” Albrecht said of the conditions.
He completed 12-of-22 passes for 148 yards and one touchdown, while Koehler threw for 84 yards, hitting 10 of 17 attempts. They each had two interceptions.
Lutheran and North Boone have a mutual respect for each other that they don’t find on most of the other Big Northern Conference football fields.
That’s because each knows exactly what the other is going through.
“I think the kids enjoy when we play (North Boone) because it’s kind of a measuring stick for the two newest teams in the conference,” Lutheran athletic director Devin Smith said.
OREGON - If Oregon's 44-19 win over North Boone (1-1) wasn't convincing enough, fair warning needs to be given to the remaining seven teams on its schedule.
Starting next week, the Hawks (2-0) will be at full strength as starting quarterback Ryan McWethy and two-way lineman Ben Bruns return after sitting out the first two games for disciplinary reasons.
Coach John Bothe also hopes to have injured defensive spark plug Robbie Brink back, as well.
"Once those guys get their feet under them, we'll be a better team," Bothe said.
POPLAR GROVE - Jon and Alex Albrecht spent hours throwing a football in the backyard when they were kids, all the while hoping that a night like Friday would someday happen.
“It’s like a dream come true,” Alex said.
Identical twins Alex and Jon Albrecht were part of a sophomore foursome that led North Boone to a 31-20 win over Winnebago. It was the first season-opening win for the Vikings in four years.
In his first varsity game as a starting quarterback, Alex threw for 275 yards and two touchdowns on a 20-for-31 night with no interceptions.
