After a year off to process last year’s devastating conclusion, the FHC basketball team is back for redemption.
Despite a furious comeback, the Rangers came up short at the buzzer to FHN, 62-61, in the district semifinal a season ago, and now the new-look team is prepared to bounce back in the 2025-26 season. After a blazing hot start, the team slowed down late en route to a 13-11 record. Head coach Jordan George has a plan to respond to last year’s heartbreaking finale.
“We plan on focusing on the next opportunity in front of us and being an ultra-together group,” George said. “If we play together and have an identity of defense, we should be successful.”
Coming into a new season, there’s a lot for a team to be excited about as they prepare for their 3-month season. George is most excited about the team’s growth.
“I’m looking forward to the continuous improvement that our guys show as a group and individually,” George said. “Basketball is such a fun sport when you can see yourself getting better, and I’m excited to see our group continue to improve and chase our goal of getting a bit better each day.”
The Rangerball roster this year is a melting pot of grade levels, containing multiple freshmen, juniors, and seniors. Senior Ford Fauson is fired up to set an example for the group this season.
“I’m excited to be able to help lead the team through actions and doing the right thing,” Fauson said. “I’m also excited to lead on the court and help with developing the other guys by pushing them hard in practice.”
The foil to Fauson’s senior leadership is freshman Kellen Paul, one of two freshmen who became instant starters on the varsity team this season. While Paul is aware of his accomplishment, his age is the last thing on his mind.
“It feels good to be on the team because lots of hard work has paid off, but expectations don’t change for me just because I’m younger,” Paul said. “I still need to work hard and be a leader, no matter my grade.”
As the team ramps up for its tough competition this year, George explains his reasons for optimism for his group this season.
“We’re going to be fun to watch and have a fast-paced, exciting style,” George said. “Defensively, this is a group that likes to get up and pressure the ball and jump passing lanes, so that makes for a lot of fastbreak basketball. It’s a really together group that likes to celebrate each other. We have a really experienced guy in Matt Sexton as one of our leaders, but we also have some new guys and a couple of freshmen who have added some excitement to the group as well.”
As exciting as the team is, they aren’t perfect. George notes what he is stressing to the team to increase their success this year.
“We need to continue to improve defensively,” George said. “We’ve talked a lot about how our identity needs to be rooted in defense, so that is a major focus for us. We know that we’re at our best when our defense fuels our offense.”
The in-season work isn’t the most important part of the team’s preparation. Fauson notes how hard the team worked in the offseason as another reason for excitement.
“I know lots of people played in open gyms and went to school in the morning to get shots up to get ready for the season,” Fauson said. “We also did some lifting and a few camps over the summer as a team to help us get ready for this season.”
As the team ramps up, the expectation for the team is a slight regression following the loss of FHC basketball legend Brendan Cargill. Paul’s expectations, however, are different.
“We’re going to be a lot better than expected,” Paul said. “We’re going to prove a lot of people wrong.”
