Powerhouses Margaretta, Colonel Crawford to tangle

Both teams wanted the challenge. Margaretta was a Division V regional semifinalist last year while Colonel Crawford advanced to the state semifinals in Division VI. Each program constantly is in search of the toughest tests, which brought the two together. The Polar Bears (8-0) will hit the road to North Robinson to take on Colonel Crawford, which enters its Saturday's league game against Bucyrus with a record of 3-0. Junior varsity tip is set for 6 p.m. Monday. "It's going to be great. It's going to be hostile and a lot of fun," Margaretta coach Steve Keller said. "That's why you play the game. You want to get in those environments and see how we handle it. In the grand scheme of things, this game means nothing. But, it's something that can help us improve in March and the second season. "I hope our Margaretta fans know they have to get there early because it's going to be a really nice environment." Colonel Crawford High School in Crawford County is about 45 miles from Margaretta High School. The Eagles are coached by David Sheldon, the brother of Western Reserve coach Chris Sheldon. "Last year, I went to our athletic director, Jake Bruner, and said we would like to play Margaretta, knowing they would be one of the best teams in state of Ohio in Division V," David Sheldon said. "If you want to make a tournament run, which we have been fortunate to do over the years with 31 championships in my 20 years at Colonel Crawford, this helps to prepare for tournament games come March." Sheldon took over at Colonel Crawford before the 2006-07 season and has a 354-113 career record. "Coach has been talking about it all week," Margaretta senior Julian Washington said. "We're definitely excited. We know that their fans are crazy about basketball. We know they went to a state final four in basketball and football recently. They're a good team and they're going to be very physical." The Eagles are just a few games into the season after the football team's run to the state semifinals. Last season, Colonel Crawford finished 25-2, winning the program's first regional title. The Eagles lost in the state semifinals to Marion Local. "Their senior class was very, very strong last year as juniors," said Keller, who has 308 career wins to his name. "It's going to be a very hostile environment. I'm sure it's going to be a sell out. We're excited, but at the end of the day, they're going to do some things and try to do some things to us that nobody has really tried to do." Margaretta is led by Washington, who scored a school-record 51 points in a win over Edison earlier this week. Judah Keller is averaging over 15 points per game while running the Margaretta offense from his point guard position. "What doesn't stand out about Margaretta? They have an outstanding team starting with Julian and Judah, who are two tremendous players," Sheldon said. "They are both very unselfish as well and have guys around them that are very good players. "We had the opportunity to play versus Colin White when he was at Ottawa Glandorf and Cade Stover when he was at Lexington over the years and Julian is as good as advertised with his basketball skills and IQ on the floor. This will be a great challenge for our team come Monday." Six-foot-5 senior Payne DeGray leads Colonel Crawford at 22 points per game while senior Brayden Holt is scoring 15 points a night. Holt had 25 points in the Eagles' win over Old Fort earlier this week. The game against Margaretta will be Colonel Crawford's third of four games in eight days. "We have four returning players that played heavy minutes last season," Sheldon said. "We have a group that has been in the program over my 20 years at Colonel Crawford that understand our philosophy, which helps with not having a true preseason with the outstanding football playoff run we had this fall." Through three games, the Eagles are scoring 61.7 points per game while allowing 33.3 points a night. "Margaretta is so good with their transition offense on misses or makes. They push the ball as well as any team I've seen at the high school level," Sheldon said. Margaretta is putting up 74.8 points per contest while giving up 48.9 points a game. "We love playing road games," Washington said. "I enjoy hopping on the bus, having my music playing in my ear and going to different gyms. We can't wait to play them." Colonel Crawford has won at least 16 games in each of the last 15 seasons. The Eagles are 113-19 since the beginning of the 2020-21 season. Margaretta is 56-5 since the beginning of the 2023-24 season. "We want to give our basketball team different looks and different types of basketball games going into the tournament," Keller said. "This one will be different and be more physical than any we've played so far this year." Margaretta (8-0) Nov. 28: at Bellevue, W 74-49Dec. 4: vs. Sandusky, W 87-80Dec. 6: vs. Norwalk St. Paul, W 69-31Dec. 11: at Port Clinton, W 68-44Dec. 13: vs. Oak Harbor, W 59-42Dec. 19: vs. Huron, W 78-54Dec. 20: vs. Clyde, W 81-53Dec. 23: vs. Edison, W 82-38 Colonel Crawford (3-0) Dec. 16: vs. Galion, W 68-42Dec. 19: at Buckeye Central, W 54-13Dec. 23: at Old Fort, W 63-42Dec. 27: vs. Bucyrus