The East Hall boys are off to their best start in years. For many, they have been one of the bigger early surprises among northeast Georgia area teams.
Sitting at 6-1 overall, the Vikings are just one win before the Christmas break from equaling last season’s entire 7-win campaign. They also sit atop the early Region 8-4A North standings all alone at 2-0.
For others like Cherokee Bluff coach Josh Travis, however, there is no surprise whatsoever.
“You say East Hall is an early surprise? Every game they played last season they got better,” Travis said. “They’re obviously well-coached, and have a good bit of returning players. If you had asked me in September, I would’ve told you that East Hall was one of the favorites to win our subregion. I’m not surprised at all.”
The two teams meet on Friday in Valhalla with a piece of first place in the subregion on the line in what could be the first of two showdowns that decide the all-important top seed from the North for the region tournament in February.
East Hall coach Joe Dix attributed their early successes to comfort. Their only blemish was an 83-81 road loss to No. 6 Walnut Grove on a tip-in at the buzzer.
“I would say this has come from being a little more comfortable in our system, being a little more skilled as basketball players, and another year of maturity for a large percentage of these guys,” Dix said.
Guard Chris Alford is the only senior in the starting lineup for East Hall, which features two sophomores in guard/forwards Chasen Jones and Jamarcus Harrison. Junior guard Caden Coker and freshman forward Baydon Langston round out a young unit.
But the Vikings will have to deal with a Bears squad (3-4, 1-1 North) that won the North subregion last season and returned six of their top seven players from a year ago. But Travis and the Bears have had to deal with several make-shift lineups over the first month of the season.
Junior guards Boston Kersh and Tyler Underwood and senior forwards Logan Holmes and Tanaka Munoko, along with sophomore guards Cooper Glover and Andy Quirarte give Travis an experienced group returning.
“This year we haven’t had our entire team together at any point,” Travis said. “Plenty of teams have similar issues early in the year but we have a vision for who we will be as the year progresses. Overall I feel like we’ve played pretty well this season, minus one game.”
Travis said the early-season troubles have given them an opportunity to give the younger guys some much-needed playing time.
“Playing games without key pieces has allowed us to build depth, and I’m still optimistic about our team,” he said.
Dix knows this may be the first major test for his group as they try to win their first region title since 2017. The Vikings may have the edge on paper, averaging 74.5 points/game to the Bears' 68.4 ppg, while Bluff is giving up just 60.8 ppg on defense. The Vikings are allowing 61.4 ppg on defense.
“We’ve got to be able to guard the 3-point line. They shoot the ball so well,” Dix said. “And whichever team handles the other's pressure, that will be another key. Controlling the number of second shots they get because they make you pay for giving them a second chance to shoot it.”
Travis knows that despite it being early December, Friday’s showdown is one the rest of the region will be watching.
“For us to play them on the road this early in the region schedule, it’s a really big game,” he said.
Dix understands the significance for his team as they continue to try and climb their way back to respectability.
“We haven’t really talked about it but the guys have been excited (about the fast start),” he said. “The way we played last year was very difficult for us, but we’ve gone past it. I’ve talked to them about just preparing for what’s in front of us, which right now is Cherokee Bluff.”
