On the road at Byron Center and with the chance to regain some ground in the OK White, the boys varsity basketball team opened some eyes in Friday night’s matchup.

The Bulldogs entered the contest with a decent resume to show for this season; regardless, they ran into a brick wall in the Rangers of FHC.

When all was said and done, the green and white held its opponent to just 24 total points en route to the 33-point blowout victory. 

A complete, four-quarter effort from Rangerball showed on the scoreboard in the end. The defense forced turnovers and missed shots all night, allowing FHC to run the floor and even its half-court offense with efficiency.

“The guys guarded just like they did all week in practice,” head coach Kyle Carhart said. “They showed pretty early that they were locked in and continued that throughout the game.”

After jumping out to a 15-6 lead to finish quarter one, it was clear that the Rangers were going to make the Bulldogs truly earn every basket. Juniors Nate Delaney and Sam Sneider established elite rim protection while the offense was able to do its thing.

Sophomore Jonas VanderWoude added to an impressive first quarter by hitting two three’s to start out the second. Junior Raymond Cargill also contributed more than his fair share, setting the tone on defense and scoring a number of second-chance points. 

FHC’s defense gave way to just six points yet again in the second quarter, as the Rangers strolled into the locker room with an incredibly comfortable 29-12 advantage.

“We’re really excited about the way the guys defended tonight,” coach Carhart praised. “All 12 players were committed to the cause.”

Junior Levi McKenzie extended the Ranger lead to 22 out of the halftime break with 5 straight points, which was followed by two more triples from Jonas. VanderWoude’s night was done after the third quarter, where he finished with a game-high of 17 points.

Still, the defensive intensity was the ultimate headline-grabber. Rangerball did not allow a field goal through all 8 minutes of the quarter—Byron converted on just three free throws for its grand third-quarter total. 

In the last quarter, FHC was able to enjoy the insurmountable lead. The Ranger defense continued to stifle, as a 57-24 final improved FHC to 3-3 in the conference and 7-4 on the season. 

Levi put up 13 points of his own along with 8 scored by senior Joe Seurynck. Nate and Sam tagged along with 6 each, showcasing the depth that FHC boasts in the paint.

Ahead of a rematch with Lowell on the road next Friday, February 4, Rangerball can only hope to exhibit such tenacity and will to win. 

“We constantly want to continue to improve,” coach Carhart said. “We will need to keep getting better if we want to have continued success later in the season.”