Thursday, Jan.

12, 2023 Arnold-Imperial Leader 15

The Boys Basketball

Big cats
County
Line
Russell
Korando

Tigers get best of Jaguars second time this season

We are reminded By Brandon Haynes
again of football’s For the Leader

risk to life and limb The Festus boys basketball team,

which had outgunned Seckman 83-75

C
ousins Caden and Coleton Ro-
maine of Hillsboro have birth-
days one day apart next month.
Caden will be 15 on Feb. 5 and
Coleton turns sweet 16 the next day.
The freshman and sophomore play
football for Hillsboro, as did their older
and better-known cousin Austin, a
senior and two-time all-state linebacker
headed to Kansas State on an athletic
scholarship.
All three took notice with the rest
of America last week at the drama of a
professional football player nearly dy-
ing on live national TV.
The trio, sons respectively of broth-
ers Jared, Joe and Jason Romaine, are
among the hundreds of faces of local
youth and prep football, and like all
football players, when fans watch them,
those faces are obscured by helmets
and facemasks. But their families in the
stands can see right to the heart. Every
time a collision leaves a player down
See FOOTBALL, Page 17
Leader
Athlete
of the
Week
Logan Stawizynsky
Northwest hockey
in early December, relied on defense to
get past the Jaguars again 53-49 on Jan.
6 at Imperial.
The game featured a duel between
the county’s two top scorers, Festus
senior guard Arhmad Branch (averag-
ing 21.4 points per game) and Seckman
junior guard Colin Debold (19.3). This
time Debold won the scoring battle with
a game-high 20 points to Branch’s 13, but
the rest of the Jaguars mustered only 29
on poor shooting, including a one-for-16
night from the 3-point line.
The Tigers improved to 9-3 while
Seckman dipped to 5-7.
“We did what we needed to do to get
Lisa Rigdon photo
the win,” Festus head coach Jason Ther-
Seckman’s Colin Debold dribbles against Festus in Imperial on Jan. 6. Debold leads
rell said. “Overall, you come on the road
the Jaguars in scoring with 19.3 points per game.
to Seckman and come out with a win, I’m
happy with it.” but he adjusted very well.” er and Carter Roth also made a trey in a
Branch faced constant on-ball pres- Jaguar junior forward Caden Lappe, 10-2 run for a double-digit Tiger lead.
sure and contested shot opportunities, so at 6-4 the tallest player on the team, used Seckman continued to fight back
senior Logan Cash picked up the slack his size to create mismatches early on. behind sophomore Keagan Heitert,
with 18 points, his most since an 18-point Lappe had six points in the first quarter who scored six consecutive points in the
outing against North County on Dec. but also picked up two early fouls, send- fourth quarter, including a highlight-reel
9. He had 11 points in the second half, ing him to the bench. Festus capitalized play in which he cut to the basket, spun
including a trio of layups in the third on his absence, going on an 8-4 run. away from a defender and connected on a
quarter to prevent the Jaguars from fight- Late in the second quarter, Tiger junior layup. That brought the Jaguars within two
ing back to a tie.
“(Cash) played with confidence,”
Hayden Bates – who also starts in football
and baseball for Festus – nailed the first
points with less than four minutes to go,
but Festus answered with Branch’s one-
Therrell said. “What really got his offense of his two 3-point baskets for the night to handed dunk to quiet the Jaguar crowd.
started was his defensive rebounding.”
Debold also paced Seckman in re-
establish a five-point lead at halftime.
Debold took off following the inter-
Seckman continued a stretch of four
straight home games, hosting Mehlville
bounds (seven) and steals (four).
“Colin played a good game,” Seck-
mission, attacking the rim to score 10 of
Seckman’s 16 third-quarter points.
(6-7) on Tuesday, after the Leader dead-
line. They welcome in Normandy (3-3)
man head coach Travis Williams said. “It With the visitors needing a third-quar- Friday. Festus visited St. Clair (4-5) Mon-
was kind of physical there starting out, ter spark, Bates drilled his second 3-point- day and will host Hillsboro (9-4) Friday.

The junior forward scored a natural

hat trick (three straight goals) in
a span of 30 seconds in the third
period against Webster Groves in a
Mid States Club Hockey Association
game at Affton Ice Rink on Jan. 6.
Stawizynsky also scored a power-
play goal in the first period. His fourth
tally of the game 3:11 into the third
gave the winless Lions (0-15-1) a
5-4 lead. Less than a minute later,
however, Webster scored and the
game ended 5-5. It was Northwest’s
first point of the season. Stawizynsky
and senior forward Lucas Hurst
lead the Lions with 12 goals each.
Check out the Athlete of the
Week every week at our website,
myleaderpaper.com.
Local doctor weighs in on injury
By Russell Korando
For the Leader
Like millions of Americans on Jan.
2, Dr. Amit Doshi was tuned in to the
Monday Night Football game in Cin-
cinnati between the Bengals and the
Buffalo Bills.
Doshi is a cardiac electrophysi-
ologist at Mercy Hospital Jefferson
in Crystal City. Buffalo safety Damar
Hamlin collapsed on the field after tack-
ling Bengal wide receiver Tee Higgins.
Hamlin stood up after Higgins’ shoulder
slammed into his chest, but then quickly
collapsed with cardiac arrest.
After being resuscitated on the field, heart rhythm. This condition can lead
Hamlin was transported to the University to death.
of Cincinnati Med- “That’s the working diagnosis,
ical Center, where but we don’t know if he had abnormal
he remains in criti- heart issues,” Doshi said. “That will be
cal condition as of revealed after he undergoes batteries of
Monday. Doctors tests.”
there determined Three days after the incident that has
that Hamlin suf- renewed the debate about football safety,
fered “commotio Hamlin had his breathing tube removed
cordis” after the and was able to join his teammates for
blow to his chest. a video call. Doshi agreed that Hamlin’s
That trauma could remarkable recovery is in part because
Amit Doshi have caused acci- of his age and having the physical con-
dental waves of electricity to pass through
his heart muscle, throwing off the normal See DOCTOR, Page 16