By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
When the officials allow basketball teams to engage in extremely physical play inside it helps if you have a big bruiser under the boards.
Calhoun doesn't.
Clarksburg Notre Dame does.
And that was a big part of the reason the Irish handed Calhoun a 63-45 loss Saturday afternoon.
With the play in the paint resembling the line of scrimmage in an NFL game Notre Dame's 6-8, 250-pound Caesar Goodman was a force to be reckoned with.
And while he wasn't gangbusters on offense -- he had a team-high 14 points -- he was a force on defense where he had eight blocked shots (about half of them ending with the Calhoun shooter sprawled on the floor from the impact of the block).
Ironically while the inside play calling allowed extremely rugged play the outside play calling was often "touch me not" play.
Calhoun learned that quickly as it had two players foul out with the game still in doubt as Kyle Keesler picked up his fifth foul with 7:06 remaining while Justin Gerwig got his fifth at the 3:58 mark. Fouls also slowed down Cai Clothier and Zach Moore as both played most of the second half of the game with four personal fouls each.
Notre Dame, 9-7, grabbed a quick 6-0 lead and never trailed although Calhoun made several runs at it.
The Irish led 31-20 at halftime and 48-31 at the end of three although Calhoun was able to get the lead under double figures on a couple of occasions.
Moore led Calhoun with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Gerwig added 16 points before fouling out. Daniel Sims was next for the Red Devils with three while Chucky Kendall and Anthony Richards added two each and Keesler one.
Clothier, Harold McCumbers, Greg Myers and Tyler Bennett all played but did not score.
Daniel Menendez and Vince Nash scored 10 each to back Goodman's 14.
Notre Dame also won the junior varsity game with Nick Moon scoring 20 to lead the Irish to a 50-31 victory.
Brandon Sampson led Calhoun with 10 points, but it was Richards who played a superb game with nine points and 14 rebounds in three quarters. He also had six rebounds in the varsity game giving him 20 on the day.
Sims added five while Greg Myers chipped in with four, Quentin "Q Dawg" Murphy with two and Bennett with one.
Stewart Fitzwater, "Double Oh Joe" Overbaugh, CJ Myers and Noah "Mad Dog" Sweeney all played but did not score.
Calhoun will seek to get back on the winning track Monday night when it entertains 12-2 Gilmer County in a doubleheader.
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