Rangely takes top district honors

RANGELY I The Rangely Junior High School boys’ basketball teams participated in the seventh- and eighth-grade conference tournament in Rangely on Saturday, Dec. 1. The seventh grade team was the number one seed in their tournament after finishing the season with a 5-1 record. The eighth grade team was the number four seed in their bracket after finishing with a 1-3 record.
The seventh-grade team played Meeker the number four seed for their first game of the tournament. It was a tight game until the fourth quarter when Rangely was able to open up an eleven point lead and win the game 33-20. Patrick Scoggins led the team in scoring with eleven points followed by Brennan Noyes with eight points. By winning their first game of the tournament, Rangely was able to secure a spot in the championship game later in the day.
The seventh-graders matched up against Steamboat after the Sailors defeated Craig 44-23 in their semi-final game. This ended up being the rubber match between the two teams for the season after each team was able to claim a win in the regular season. Rangely took an eight point lead into half time only to watch Steamboat come out and score 10 unanswered points in the first minutes of the third quarter. The game went back and forth for the fourth quarter and Rangely was able to hold a three point lead late in the fourth quarter to secure the win and the championship 27-24 over Steamboat.
Devin Ramirez and Patrick Scoggins both led the Panthers in scoring with six points each. The Panthers finished their season with a 8-1 record on the season.
The eighth-grade team took on the number one seed Craig in their first game of the tournament falling to the Bulldogs 30-18. With the loss to the Bulldogs the Panthers had to wait to see who they would play between Meeker, the number three seed, and Steamboat Springs, the number two seed. Steamboat was able to defeat Meeker 32-29 to advance to the championship game against number one seed Craig.
In a very physical consolation game the Panthers were able to defeat the Cowboys for the second time in three games this season. The final score of the game was Rangely 32, Meeker 29. The scoring in the game was up and down between the two teams until one minute remained in the fourth quarter and the Panthers were able to score four points to secure the win. With the win, the Panthers took third place in the tournament and finished with a 3-5 record.
The entire coaching staff would like to thank our managers, Ciara Wilson, Miekka Peck, Sarah Conner, Katelyn Brown, Kassidee Brown, Alexis Lamoreaux, and Abby Shriver for their outstanding work for the entire season. We would also like to thank any and all of our supporters who made the trips to Meeker, Steamboat Springs, Hayden and Craig and came to the home games throughout the season. Lastly we want to express our gratitude to the players who worked very hard for all three teams paying off for their outstanding seasons. Lastly there will be a banquet to celebrate the seasons for the Panthers on Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the lower commons at Rangely Jr/Sr High School.