'Cats jump out to 3-0 start

MAQUOKETA VALLEY RECAP

Girls basketball

     Two wins kept the Maquoketa Valley girls basketball team unbeaten in early-season action.

     Maquoketa Valley jumped to a big early lead and coasted to a 77-35 home win over Central City Nov. 29.

     MV (1-0, 3-0) led 33-11 after the first quarter and 56-17 at halftime.

     Sam Wall scored 18 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field. Brianna Mensen added 15 points, and Payton Ries had 14 points. Macy Hoeger had six rebounds, while Abby Holtz and Ries had five apiece. Mensen made eight assists and six steals.

     “Our energy level from all 17 girls has been simply amazing,” Maquoketa Valley coach Scot Moenck said. “Girls were flying around on defense. We’re also passing the ball really well as a team. We seem to always be making the extra pass for a better shot.”

     The Wildcats also scored a one-sided victory over Edgewood-Colesburg Dec. 2 in Delhi, by a score of 55-24. Again MV jumped to a big lead, 44-17 at halftime.

     Mensen scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Wall had 15 point, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Gracie Gellersen had nine points, five rebounds and four steals. Macy Hoeger had seven points, and Ries had six.

Wrestling

     Maquoketa Valley opened its wrestling season in impressive fashion, sweeping a quadrangular meet at Central City Dec. 1, and winning three of five matches at the Cascade duals tournament Dec. 2.

     At Central City, the Wildcats won by scores of 45-29 over Midland, 51-24 over East Buchanan, and 57-6 over Central City.

     “The guys came out and were ready to go from start to finish,” Maquoketa Valley coach Tim Andrews said.

     Seven Wildcats went 3-0 for the meet, with several forfeits figuring in. Eric Heims had two falls and a decision, Norman Wilson had two falls, Trevor Koopmann had a fall and a decision, Cole Kruse had one fall, and Clint Krapfl won by decision. Also going 3-0 were Aden Atwell and Alec McDowell. Matthew Hucker also had a fall among his two wins.

     On Saturday, Dec. 3, MV competed at Cascade. The Wildcats defeated Clayton Ridge 54-21, Starmont 36-24, and the Washington JV 54-21. They lost to Washington 54-21, and to MFL MarMac 61-15.

     Chance Downs, McDowell and Kruse all went 5-0.

     “We had more holes in the lineup than I wanted,” Andrews said. “Hopefully next week we can have a full lineup for the first time.”

Boys basketball

     A big fourth quarter helped Maquoketa Valley open its season with a 61-43 win over Central City Nov. 29 in Delhi. MV outscored the visitors 20-9 in the final session to break the game open.

     Three MV players scored in double figures: Clint Krapfl with 17 points, Trevor Elgin with 16 off the bench, and Brock Hillers with 13. Jake Bonert had 11 rebounds, while Krapfl grabbed seven and Tyson Tucker had five.