Wynford uses Upper loss as motivation

HOLMES TOWNSHIP — No team wants to lose by 40 points and see their opponent nearly reach the century mark. Unfortunately for Wynford, both happened in the 96-56 loss to Upper Sandusky Friday night.

Despite the blowout loss, coach Jason Engel was able to take away some positives from the game.

"Last time we played them I felt like we kind of gave up a little bit in the second half and this time when we played them, we at least fought back," Engel said. "The score might not reflect that but our kids showed a lot of heart in the second half."

After being outscored 58-25 in the first half, the Royals bounced back and cut that margin to just seven as the Rams won the second half 38-31. While the Royals won't have to face a team with a similar caliber to Upper Sandusky again this season unless a deep run in the tournament, Engel said it's a great way for his team to get ready for the tournament.

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"It's always nice to play a team like this before the tournament even though they beat us pretty good," Engel said. "We have to take positives out of it and have a short-term memory."

The Royals have away games at River Valley and Buckeye Central on Tuesday and Friday before entering the tournament with a game against Mansfield Christian at Lexington on March 1.

Thad Hensel steps up off the bench

The play of senior Thad Hensel off the bench against the Rams boosted the team's spirit throughout the game until he fouled out early in the fourth quarter. Still, the Royals kept up the intensity after his departure and Engel said his play is promising heading into the final stretch of the season.

"I noticed Thad stuck out and had some big plays when the game was still in reach and that was encouraging," Engel said. "That was a little bit of a spark for us and it was huge."

Engel said it's something he's done all season, it just stood out extra in a game against the state's No. 1 team in Division II.

"Thad has been doing that off of the bench," Engel said. "He knows his role."

Rams clinch N10 championship

With the win over Wynford, Upper Sandusky officially clinched the Northern 10 title holding a two-game lead over Colonel Crawford with just a single regular season game left to play.

Head coach Jeff Winslow was absent from the team's conference-clinching win as he was in the crowd for the Norwalk St. Paul game watching his son Noah play on senior night. Interim coach Paul Gnepper stepped in and admitted the win was easier than he expected, thanks to the play of his kids.

"It feels good," Gnepper said. "I feel that coach Winslow had enough confidence in me to be able to handle it and confidence in our kids to be able to (win).

"They do a great job, our kids deserve a lot of credit."

zholden@bucyrustelegraphforum.com

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Twitter: @Zachary_Holden