Top 5 Entertaining Games

Boys varsity basketball vs Northview

The boys varsity basketball team went through a bumpy non-conference season and began their first conference game at the home of the Northview Wildcats. The Wildcats came out ready to fight, as they leaped to a 9-2 lead early in the first quarter with the help of big man Ryan Castle, who had 10 of his 21 points in the opening quarter. With multiple more possessions, Northview was able to lead 20-10 at the end of the first. The Rangers then fired back, changing their game plan a little and putting more guys on the offensive and defensive glass. With the help of juniors Jimmy Scholler and Mitch Wilkinson, FHC was able to fight back and get their first lead of the game 29-28. Finally, both teams entered the locker room with the Wildcats on top 36-31. During the second half, both teams battled back and forth for another 16 minutes. Senior Dan Deindorfer led the team with 22 points, but the Rangers couldn’t handle what Northview gave them. In the last seconds of the game, the Wildcats raced down the floor and converted a difficult bucket to bring back the 57-56 win.

“The first game against Northview was our first test in the conference,” Dan said. “The atmosphere is always intense [at Northview], and it’s a tough game to begin with. In the end, we gave it our all and one unfortunate play lead to our demise.”

Boys JV basketball vs Traverse City

Coming straight off of a loss to East Kentwood, the boys JV basketball team took the long journey to Traverse City Central to see what it could do. The Trojans didn’t have as much defensive pressure as East Kentwood, which led to more open looks for the Rangers. In the first half, FHC battled hard to lead 15-11. Later in the second, however, the momentum swapped, as the Trojans hit back-to-back-to-back threes, which forced the Rangers to call a timeout. A little later, the Rangers were able to match the hot hands of the Trojans with some great shooting of their own. The second half was back-and-forth; FHC battled hard but couldn’t hit their shots beyond the arc. Finally, with the score being 53-52 with the Trojans on top, sophomore Maguire Mahacek missed two crucial free throws. On the second miss, it managed to bounce straight to sophomore Matthew Mahoney, who tipped it out to his teammate Dallas Hopson for a three-pointer and a 55-53 win. 

“As soon as Matthew tipped out the ball, I knew it was my time, so I let the ball fly and it went in,” Dallas said. “It was a good feeling to win that game for my team and I’m really proud of how we turned around and got a win the night after a loss.”

Hockey vs Mona Shores

Coming into the game, it was seemingly going to be an easy victory for FHC. Mona Shores, however, played the Rangers very tough, and the game was back and forth all night long. Goals from sophomore Mason Kelly and junior Peter Bardelli were immediately followed by responses from Mona Shores to tie the game at both 1-1 and 2-2. That was the score for much of the third period until off of a rebounded shot Cole Munger was able to net the game-winning goal with just three minutes remaining.