(Area) — Two conference foes in one game to determine who will go to the boys state basketball tournament — Woodbine battles Coon Rapids Bayard on Saturday night in Council Bluffs in a Class 1A Substate final game.
These two rivals split their regular season meeting and shared the Rolling Valley Conference title. Woodbine will be trying to go back to the state tournament and go farther than the first round — they have just about everybody back from last year’s team. This year, the Tigers lost to the Crusaders 54-25 in the first game back from winter break but redeemed themselves later in a 58-57 win. Tigers Head Coach Kyle Bartels says his team has used all of this for motivation
Woodbine is led by 6-1 Senior Carter Gruver who averages 17.6 points a game and shooting an incredible 50 percent from beyond the three point arc. Bartels says he can beat you in so many ways
Bartels says that this game against Coon Rapids Bayard will come to two things — who gets the most stops and who gets the most rebounds
Coon Rapids Bayard is led by 6-4 Junior Cal Heydon who averages 22.3 points a game and shoots 39 percent on this three point shots — he’s also strong on the glass averaging 8 rebounds a game. Crusaders Head Coach Cory Meyer says he is a dynamic offensive player who can score at all different levels
Meyer says that stopping Gruver will be a handful but he says that Woodbine has plenty of other weapons that they will have to deal with
Woodbine has dominated the rivalry recently, winning 10 of the last 13 meetings but it was Coon Rapids Bayard before that had won 9 of 11. The Tigers went to state last year but before that hadn’t been to the state tournament since 1996. The Crusaders last went to the Well in 2010. A lot on the line in this one says Meyer
Both teams are 22-2, Woodbine is ranked 9th and CRB is ranked 7th by the Iowa High School Athletic Association, the game will be played at Abe Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs Saturday night.
Complete Interview with Woodbine Head Coach Kyle Bartels
Complete Interview with Coon Rapids-Bayard Head Coach Cory Meyer
