Wolves end season at Regionals

The Wrangell Wolves ended its season last week at the regional tournament in Ketchikan, losing two of its three games.

The Wolves first faced off against the Glacier Bears of Haines High School on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Wrangell lost the game 50-75 and went on to play the Petersburg Vikings the following day. Wrangell won that game, 46-37.

Wrangell head coach Ray Stokes noted strong performances by sophomore Jake Murphy, junior Ryan Reeves and senior Clayton Stokes during the game against Petersburg. Senior Mike Simpson played hard and aggressively during that game, as well, and seniors Clayton Rhodes and Travis Bangs played tough defense, Stokes added.

“Collectively as a team, they all did a really good job against Petersburg,” Stokes said.

The Wolves went on to play the Metlakatla Chiefs Friday, March 3. The Wolves lost that game 30-46. Wrangell was up one point by the end the third quarter, but could not manage to score any points during the remainder of the game, besides a three-pointer by Clayton Stokes.

“That really, really, really hurt,” Coach Stokes said. “I wish we could play that quarter again.”

Metlakatla, however, added 20 points to the scoreboard during the fourth quarter of the game.

Stokes led his team in scoring throughout the regional tournament. During the game against Haines, Stokes scored 22 points. Against Petersburg, Stokes scored 24 points. And against Metlakatla, Stokes added 17 points to the scoreboard for the Wolves, including five three-pointers.

While the team will not be going on to play at State, Coach Stokes said he is proud of his team’s performance at Regionals.

“I thought throughout the tournament, they showed a lot of guts and hung in there,” he said.

Overall, Stokes said it was a tough season for his team, but said his players never gave up and quit.

“They showed that, and did their best,” he said. “What else can you ask? So, I was proud of them.”