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THS set to battle Bonner Springs

By Shawn Linenberger - | Jan 3, 2007

Tonganoxie High girls basketball coach Randy Kraft expects Friday’s game against Bonner Springs in Tonganoxie to be a barn-burner.

“I don’t know why it would be any different,” Kraft said. “They always play us pretty tough. I don’t know why that is, but it happens.”

The two teams have had some down-to-the-wire games in the past.

And, with both teams returning nearly their entire rosters — each squad graduated one player from a year ago — the game has all the appearances of another classic match.

Bonner Springs enters the game with a 2-3 record, while Tonganoxie is 5-0. Bonner Springs is 0-1 in Kaw Valley League play, while THS is 1-0.

Kraft said Tonganoxie would need to do a better job of executing its offense against a Bonner Springs squad that plays tough defense. And, he said, THS can’t allow Bonner Springs to catch fire from three-point land.

“They like to make three’s,” Kraft explained. “We can’t let them get started making those.”

With the holiday season and school being let out early for winter break to accommodate the transformation of the junior high to an extended high school campus, the Chieftains haven’t had too many practices in the last few weeks. But Kraft said his team is doing well despite fewer practices.

“We’re actually in better shape than I thought we would be after having, nine, 10 days off,” Kraft said. “The kids came back and have been practicing well.

“It will take a while to get back to normalcy because classes are in a different place.”

Kraft is thankful the first day back in school isn’t Friday, which will be Tonganoxie’s home opener against Bonner Springs.

“I’m just glad we don’t play tomorrow,” Kraft said Monday with a laugh.

The girls game will begin about 6 p.m. and will be played on the Chieftains’ home court, despite some schedules showing the game is supposed to be played in Bonner Springs.

In addition, Sunflower Broadband Channel 6 will be covering the contest as its high school game of the week. The game can be seen on a tape-delay basis at 10:30 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. Saturday. And, for Sunflower Broadband subscribers with digital cable, the game can be viewed at anytime with the “on demand” feature.

The Chieftains also will play Tuesday at Perry-Lecompton (1-4 overall and 0-2 in the KVL).