NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Just a week ago, Mason Clouse was catching passes for the Redbank Valley football team in the PIAA Class A semifinals.
Seven days later, he was making steals and layups and snatching rebounds for the Bulldogs’ boys basketball team.
If there was rust, it wasn’t evident.
(Pictured above, Redbank Valley breaks a huddle after a timeout during a season-opening 70-46 win over Cranberry)
Clouse scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the first quarter as Redbank, playing its first game of the season, blitzed to a 30-15 lead over visiting Cranberry after eight minutes on the way to a 70-46 victory on Friday night.
“I mean, that’s how we are,” said Clouse of the football players who had just a handful of basketball practices before taking the court in a game for the first time this season. “We’re all athletic. We’re just gonna go after it. I just happened to be the one who got my hands on the ball and I just made it happen.”
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His brother and another football player, Owen Clouse, scored seven, and Braylon Wagner, who became the first Bulldog quarterback to throw for 3,000 yards in a season, added six during a frenetic first half of scoring for Redbank.
“As you can see, they still have their cleats on,” said Bulldog coach Emmanuel Marshall. “They haven’t had many practices and we have some work to do defensively and in the half-court set. We’re going to try to get back to the drawing board on Monday and work out some kinks.
“I’m pleased with their performance,” the coach added. “They worked hard. They played hard and fought hard, so I’m happy.”
Breckin Minich was also strong in the opener for Redbank, scoring 15 points to lead a balanced and eclectic attack.
One that Marshall hopes gives teams problems all season like they did against Cranberry on Friday.
“They’re great athletes all across the board,” Marshall said. “We were able to do some things that we wanted to do. We got inside and we got some steals and worked the boards.”
“(Minich is) our guy this year,” Marshall added. “He keeps us calm. He gets us into offensive sets.”
Redbank led by 20 at the half and that swelled to as many as 26 in the third quarter.
That gave Marshall and the Bulldogs an opportunity to work on things over the final eight-plus minutes.
The game plan turned deliberate with Redbank working clock and settling only of layups.
“The goal in the second half was to work on things we need to work on,” Marshall said. “We had a chance to perfect our craft. You know, we had our little first-game jitters. Now we have some film to look at so we can dissect some things that we need to work on to move forward.”
Cranberry has now played four games and first-year coach Ed McIntyre has a clearer picture on what his team, young in spots, needs to iron out.
“In four games so far they’re been resilient. Turnovers and missed layups have been the Achilles heal to us,” he said. “We need to fix it.
“I told the guys we’ve been together for less than two months,” McIntyre added. “We’re trying a little bit different system where we’re running the floor and when you play faster and up-tempo, there’s going to be mistakes that are made. And they’re young. They’re truly a young team. We just have to keep getting better every day.”
Cole Findlay scored 19 points to lead the Berries.
“He’s one of the quickest guys I’ve ever had the chance to coach and he gets to the rim very well,” McIntyre said of Findlay. “He’s one of the guys who is young. He’s a sophomore, so the sky is the limit for him.”
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
