Worth County’s boys ended an improbable run through districts Friday as they lost to the defending state champion Platte Valley squad 89-46. The Jefferson and South Nodaway cooperative scored 32 points in the first quarter and never looked back despite Tiger efforts to rally.
The Tigers were streaky throughout the year before finishing 12-15 for the year. First, they started off with an impressive 6-3 start, only to drop five out of their next six. They recovered to win Consolation at the Northwest Missouri Tournament and win three in a row, only to drop six in a row. They won ugly against Maysville, 57-45, and nobody was prepared for what came next.
What transpired was a totally different squad that came into districts. Worth County jumped out on Rock Port, 19-6 for the year, and led wire to wire in a 77-70 win. They trailed Stanberry for most of the first half, trailed by as much as nine at one point at halftime, only to come back and outplay the much taller Bulldog squad, which finished at 17-9 on the year. Worth County came back to win 62-51 as Alex Rinehart carried the Tigers in the fourth quarter.
Despite this, Worth County will be searching for respect next year. Nobody on Worth County’s squad made the All-District squad despite them making it all the way to second after being seeded sixth in the tournament. They will have a lot to work with. Alex Rinehart scored 34 in Worth County’s valiant but losing effort against Pattonsburg and 31 in their 55-35 win over Norborne. Aydan Gladstone got better in the high post as the season progressed, getting as many as 9 assists in a game this year. Jackson Runde lit up the scoreboard against Nodaway-Holt.
Grant Cameron and Jackson Smith will step into bigger roles next year. Grant was set back by an injury, but by the end of the year, he was at peak form and made a ton of hustle plays in Worth County’s semifinal win over Stanberry. He had nine rebounds despite giving up 10 inches or so to the Stanberry skyscrapers, hit a couple of 3-pointers, and was all over the floor. Jackson Smith was unafraid of the Platte Valley juggernaut and thrived under the pressure, getting 13 points Friday night.
Worth County will miss the services of Jaxon Anderson next year. Back in 2015, Todd Simmons’ last year at Worth County, he lamented that his junior high boys team would likely win only four games that year. They dropped their first two games, and Simmons had the brilliant idea of putting up his boys against Anna Gladstone, Regan Allee, and the girls team. They lost, but that only served to act as motivation for Jaxon and the Tigers, who won eight out of their next ten and finished at 8-4, twice as many wins as what Simmons had expected.
Anderson moved into Worth County in 2015, and his play totally changed the team around. He made everyone around him better that year, as his long passes would frequently fuel fast breaks that led to a lot of easy baskets.
Jaxon earned playing time during the 2016-2017 season, as Drake Kinsella took him under his wing, and he was able to help out a Tiger team that made it to the Elite Eight two years in a row. He was instrumental in Worth County’s 64-55 win against South Nodaway that year, lighting up the scoreboard against a team that was searching for revenge after Worth County hung 89 on them in their gym a few weeks before. The Tigers had just enough horses on the floor to make a third run last year before losing in the District Finals to Pattonsburg.
It was this year that Jaxon broke out and carried the team on his shoulders. He was a constant presence on the boards this year, regularly getting double figures in rebounding despite only being 6’1”, and he held down enemy post players and kept them from going off. He could play inside, or step outside and shoot 3-pointers, wherever Coach Les New needed him. Jaxon’s clutch play helped Worth County stay in games; his buzzer-beating putback kept Worth County’s chances alive against Pattonsburg this year before they fell in overtime 85-79. He also made a layup at the buzzer against Stanberry in the Albany Tournament as they won 48-47 in the opening round in December.
Zayne Swope, who hadn’t played the last three years, came off the bench and provided valuable minutes during the St. Joseph Christian game, taking charges on defense and running the floor and making hustle plays. Bob Baker played lights-out defense in the paint in Worth County’s 56-24 win over Braymer; he and Zayne were both well-liked, as was Hayden Holmes.
Next year, Levi Cassavaugh will get more minutes, as he can handle the ball for the Tigers. Tyler New, despite his small size, will be a force as a freshman, breaking down defenses. Rinehart, Runde, and Gladstone are only sophomores this year, so the sky will be the limit for them.
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