Class 1A Quarterfinal Preview: Remsen St. Mary’s vs. West Fork
Josh Sachnoff
<p><strong>Class 1A State Quarterfinal Matchup:</strong> No. 3 Remsen St. Mary’s (22-3) vs. No. 6 West Fork (23-2)</p>
<p><strong>Date: </strong>Monday, March 9th</p>
<p><strong>Time: </strong>2:45pm</p>
<p><strong>Location: </strong>Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines) </p>
<p>Remsen St. Mary’s is back in Des Moines for the fourth consecutive year and has aspirations of finally coming away with a Class 1A title after falling in the semifinals the last three seasons. The Hawks were seconds away from advancing to the championship last year but fell when Alburnett’s Izic Mackey scored on an offensive rebound as time expired. That 39-37 loss still stings despite another successful season under co-coaches Scott and Justin Ruden. </p>
<p>"The boys were pretty disappointed. One boxout and we probably could have been in the championship game last year," said Scott Ruden at practice on Saturday. "As a matter of fact, we have that video and we show it every once in a while. They’re motived to get back there and they want to do better than third." </p>
<p>Since Remsen St. Mary’s comeback victory over War Eagle Conference foe West Sioux, who is also at the state tournament in Class 2A, it has won six straight games. In those six wins, the Hawks have averaged an impressive 51% from behind the arc and will look to continue that trend when they face West Fork on Monday. </p>
<p>When it comes to converting three-pointers, no one has been better than senior [player_tooltip player_id="801883" first="Spencer" last="Schorg"]. Schorg leads his team with 16.5 points per game, 80 assists and 55 three-pointers made. He also leads the way with 52 steals and is shooting 47.8 percent from the field. Other key contributors for the Hawks have been senior Skyler Waldschmitt and sophomore Austin Jensen. Waldschmitt is averaging 10.6 PPG, while Jensen has been strong on the boards by recording a team-high 111 total rebounds. </p>
<p>On the other side, West Fork took down Ankeny Christian 61-54 in the substate final to clinch its spot in the Class 1A State Tournament. The Warhawks haven’t advanced to the state tournament since it finished as runner-ups back in 2014 when they were still in Class 2A. </p>
<p>Juniors Kayden Ames and Jakob Washington, as well as senior [player_tooltip player_id="801972" first="Ian" last="Latham"], have all averaged double figures in scoring this season. Ames leads the Warhawks with 14.5 PPG and is shooting a solid 50.8 percent from the field. West Fork also benefits from its 6-5 senior big man Brayden Vold, who has scored 9.1 PPG and recorded a team-high 14 blocks. </p>
<p>"They (West Fork) look a lot like us. They run a man-to-man switch defense," mentioned Ruden. "They have three good guards and then they have a driver, so it’s a really good matchup for us.</p>
<p>The winner of this quarterfinal matchup will face the winner of second-seeded Bishop Garrigan and seventh-seeded Springville on Wednesday at 3:45 pm. </p>
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