By Douglas Miles
WINFIELD
For a boys' basketball team that did not taste a ton of success this season, there was never any quit.
The Highland Huskies' 2021-22 campaign ended in the first round of the Class 1A substate playoffs Monday night against a Winfield-Mount Union team that just may possess the stingiest defense in the state.
"(Winfield-Mt. Union Coach Klay) Edwards does such a great job with that team," third-year Highland Coach Bill Zywiec said after the Huskies lost, 53-33, at Winfield-Mt. Union High School. "The team has a good identity. Things go through those two bigs and it makes the rest of their team better. They are just tough. They are patient. They don't come down and force anything up."
The Wolves' aforementioned 'bigs' – a pair of standout sophomore forwards in 6-foot-4 Cam Buffington and 6-foot-6 Abram Edwards – combined for 36 of Winfield-Mt. Union's points. Buffington led all scorers with 22 points, which included a flurry of dunks and even an 'alley-oop' that produced audible gasps from the home crowd.
"They are two bigs that can both jump out of the gym," Highland senior guard Trevor McFarland said. "And then they have the smaller (Jake) Edwards kid, he can shoot the three. The two seniors (Edwards and Konner Wade) are just there to shoot three's, too. They all work as a team and they are all together."
Winfield-Mt. Union (20-2) – which responded to a 2-0 deficit with 17 points in a row and led by as many as 30 – will host Hillcrest Academy (15-6) in a second round substate game Thursday.
True to its no-quit attitude, Highland closed the game with a 13-5 surge.
After a 1-13 start to its season, Highland (4-18) rebounded with three wins in six games before closing the season with a non-conference game at Keota and the playoff opener. It was a stretch of clear improvement that made the coaches and players wish the season could stretch out a little longer.
"It was all just hard practices," McFarland said. "We went harder. We knew that the second half of our season was going to be our best. The Christmas break really helped us. We just got together as a team. ... I feel like it was more of a team effort towards the end of the season."
McFarland and fellow seniors Connor Grinstead and Chase Schultz each scored nine points for the Huskies, which will have a much different look next season as the roster turns over due to the graduation seven players, which comprise all but four members of the current varsity roster.
Highland junior forward Tyler Thompson was the only non-senior to start a game this season for the Huskies. When describing the impact of the departing senior class – specifically McFarland – Thompson had to fight through his emotions to find the words.
"Trevor is a leader," Thompson said. "He was my mentor. It is just sad to see him go."
As the lone junior on the team, Thompson suddenly becomes the elder statesmen of next year's group. It is a sudden flip from mentee to mentor.
"It is a big role," said Thompson, who grabbed three rebounds against Winfield-Mt. Union. "I am looking forward to it, but it is also a little bit scary at the same time. I hope I do as good as Trevor or even better."
Schultz led the Huskies with 10 rebounds in the finale.
With their high school basketball careers at an end, Schultz, McFarland and Kaige Vonnahme will shift their attention to the boys' golf team, while Grinstead will chase a return to the state track and field meet.
Aside from any newcomers, Zywiec will return just Thompson, sophomore center Nicolas Oriano and 10 freshmen to next year's squad.
"We'll be young," Zywiec said. "We will be very young next year and that can be a blessing or a curse because they don't know what they don't know. We have already talked about, 'We have to live in the gym this summer. We have to be dedicated. We have to get things figured out.' ... This is an opportunity. Like I told these guys, these younger kids, 'It is someone else's year next year.' It is just a matter of who puts the time in and really wants to go after it."
