Published: January 03, 2008 02:30 pm         

Goshen, Concord clash Friday night

Suddenly, it is almost mid-season.

There are just nine Friday nights to go in the 2007-08 high school boys basketball season.

The dawning of January locally means, among other things, a showdown between the Red of Goshen and Green of Concord.

The 95th boys basketball meeting between the Goshen Redskins and Concord Minutemen is scheduled for Friday night at Concord’s McCuen Gym. The Redskins lead the series, 48-46.

For Goshen, this does signal the regular season’s halfway mark (10th of 20 games). Concord reaches that level next Tuesday night at home against South Bend Clay.

The Redskins are off to a 7-2 start, averaging 50 points per game to their opponents’ 43.9. Goshen is shooting 44.9 per cent from the field overall, 34.3 from 3-point range, and 68.3 from the free-throw line.

GHS opponents are just 37.8 from the field overall, a testament to solid Redskin defense. Foes are 31.4 from 3-point land and 66.9 from the foul stripe.

The Redskins have attempted 31 more free throws than their opponents and outrebounded them, 243-226. Goshen has 106 turnovers and the opponents 104.

A three-game road winning streak got the Redskins off to a good start — 63-41 at Mishawaka Marian, 64-59 over Elkhart Central at North Side Gym and 51-42 at Bremen.

Home wins over perennial toughies Penn 45-42 and DeKalb 48-37 vaulted the Redskins to 5-0 before they were halted by Northern Lakes Conference and neighboring rival Northridge 45-31.

A 43-38 win over Fairfield followed and there was a split in last week’s Goshen holiday tournament, a loss to Michigan City 46-44 and a victory over Lakeland 61-45.

A young and inexperienced Concord team is also coming off of a victory, 42-38 over NorthWood in the consolation game of a holiday tournament at Northridge.

That was nearly two weeks ago and the Minutemen have been idle since.

The other CHS victory was 43-42 over Bremen. Losses are to Lakeland 56-43, Fairfield 56-50, South Bend St. Joseph’s 59-49, SB Riley 73-58, Elkhart Memorial 67-57 and Garrett 55-50 in the holiday tourney.

One year ago in Goshen, a heavily-favored team of unbeaten Minutemen fought off a young and determined team of Redskins 49-39. It was a two-point game with 2:30 to play.

Most of the talent, and all of the points, for Concord in that game have graduated.

Dairese Gary netted 20 points for the Minutemen, Kyle Moore nine, Andrew Eakle eight, Monty Marion six, Nick Yoder four and Conner Burt two. All were seniors, along with reserve Mike Meade.

Both teams have tough conference road games next Friday, Goshen at Warsaw and Concord at Plymouth.

The Redskins and Minutemen will again be Class 4A sectional partners, Feb. 26 through March 1, joining Northridge, Central, Memorial and Warsaw at North Side Gym in Elkhart.

The Goshen-Concord series goes back 75 years. The Redskins of Coach Hermie Byers won the inaugural, 38-24, late in the 1932-33 regular season.

Redskin players 75 years ago were Lester Getz, Bill Clason, Paul Lantz, Dan Sherman, Olin Keim, Don Myers, Ellsworth Goss, Jack Zollinger, Lee Reith, Sid Sorg, Orrus Jessup, Dave Muth and Bob Bickel. The Skins were 14-8 that winter.