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| 2009/2010 JV Roster 10 Lloyd Hampton 12 Tim Burton 14 Matt Sherrard 20 Grant Lund 22 Gilbert Carter 23 Todd Silas 24 Sherif Jones 30 Clay Harger 31 Justin Hays 32 Andrew Dinwoodie 34 A.J. Justice 40 Quinn Taylor 42 Patrick Elliot 50 Drew Peters Kelvin Rainey Coach: Tim Johnson |
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February 22nd update:
Friday, February 16th @ Strake Jesuit
Stratford 51 Strake Jesuit 48
The JV Spartans traveled to meet their counterpart Crusaders for the last game of the season. A
Stratford victory would result in 20 victories for the season, so they had a lot to play for. Not to
mention that Strake beat our Spartans during the first half of district play. Stratford won the game
by a score of 51-48. The scores for each of the quarters was 16-12, 9-8, 10-8 and finally 16-20.
The Spartans led almost (if not entirely) the whole game, but played nowhere near as well as their
previous victory against Alief Elsik. Perhaps a letdown was to be expected after such an
emotional win at the end of the season, but it would have been nice to see the Spartans play a
little better. Stratford suffered greatly from the turnover bug, as they had in several games this
season. At times, the defensive intensity also seemed to be lacking, as the Crusaders scored
some rather easy baskets.
In the end though, the Spartans took care of their business and finished the season with an
outstanding record of 20 wins and 7 losses. They completed the season with 6 consecutive
district wins, and ended the district campaign with a record of 10 and 4. This team had a lot of
talent, and they often put it to full use. On occasion, they did not play to their full potential. In some
games they would still prevail against their opponent (such as in this Strake game), but at least a
couple of times it cost them a victory. All in all though, this JV team had a really fine season, and it
will be interesting and fun to see how that translates at the varsity level in 2010-11. For this final
game, all 12 Spartans that suited up scored. The leading scorers were Sherif Jones and Gilbert
Carter (11 points each), followed by A.J. Justice (6), Grant Lund (5), Patrick Elliot and Drew Peters
(4 each), Todd Silas, Justin Hayes, Andrew Dinwoodie and Kelvin Rainey (2 each), Matt Sherrard
and Tim Burton (1 each).
Tuesday, February 12th vs Alief Elsik
Stratford 77 Elsik 70
The Rams came to the SHS gym for the final time as a district opponent. The JV Spartans hoped
to avenge a 14 point loss in the first round of district play and also continue their quest for a 20 win
season. In a nutshell, this Spartan squad PLAYED THEIR BEST GAME OF THE SEASON in
defeating Elsik 77-70. Although the author does not know the win-loss record of this JV Ram
team, they are undoubtedly the strongest team in the district. They are fast and athletic, and like to
constantly pressure their opponents with full court presses and half court traps. Contests versus
teams like Elsik tend to get physical, and depending on how much contact the referees allow, the
flavor of these games range from tough battles to all out wars. This game probably fell
somewhere in the middle of that range, but nonetheless, it was a physical game. The Spartans
captured the first quarter of the game 17-12. Gilbert Carter led Stratford's scoring with 8 points in
the first period and the Spartans started a game long trend of not committing many turnovers
versus the Rams pressure. Stratford extended their lead at halftime 36-29, by outscoring Elsik 19-
17 in the second quarter. In the first meeting against Elsik, the Spartans played well through the
first quarter and then some, only to succumb to the Rams pressure towards the end of the first
half through the third quarter. In this game, any time Elsik made a run at Stratford; the Spartans
toughened up and countered. The third quarter was won by the Rams 18-16, but once again, the
Spartans showed a resolve that they may have lacked in their first meeting at Elsik. Another
element that contributed greatly towards Stratford's victory was their work on the defensive
boards. Elsik tries very hard to attempt shots while driving to the basket, and then to pick up easy
points off the offensive glass if they miss. The Spartans did an excellent job of not allowing too
many second chance points. Stratford's narrow 5-point (52-47) lead slowly but surely widened to
13 points with about a minute to play in the game. It was a high scoring finish by both teams as
Stratford won the quarter 25-23. The Spartans were able to get some easy baskets by breaking
through the Elsik press, or they were getting free throw opportunities as the Rams were forced to
foul as the lead widened. Drew Peters had a nice 6 point quarter as his teammates were finding
him open off the Elsik press, and Gilbert Carter scored and outstanding 11 points as he got to the
free throw line for 14 attempts, making 9 of those. Elsik hit two late 3-point shots in the final
minute to narrow their 13 point deficit to 7, making the final score 77-70. The Spartan scoring was
led by Gilbert Carter's 24 points, followed by Drew Peters (14), Grant Lund, Todd Silas and Sherif
Jones (9 each), A.J. Justice (5), Patrick Elliot (4), Kelvin Rainey (2) and Quinn Taylor (1). This was
an outstanding effort by the Spartan JV team, and they will face Strake Jesuit in the last game of
the season in their attempt to have a 20 win season.
February 5th update:
Tuesday, February 2nd @ Alief Hastings: With the big district re-alignment news coming out the
prior day, the Stratford boy’s basketball teams took their final road trip to Alief as a district
opponent. Hopefully, the Stratford nation will not miss those short drives too much next year. The
JV Spartans decided to celebrate with one of their most convincing victories of the season. Much
like the prior game vs. Memorial, the Spartans won the first three quarters if this game by scores
of 14-9, 10-4 and 23-5 to take an insurmountable 47-18 lead. The Bears won the last quarter 14-
10, but Stratford cruised to an impressive 25 point victory 57-32. For the second consecutive
game, the JV Spartans limited their turnovers (which has often been a problem this season), and
played much better team basketball than during their prior 3 game losing streak. Sherif Jones led
the scoring with 10 points, with Patrick Elliot and Drew Peters following with 8 each. Other scorers
included Matt Sherrard and Grant Lund (6 each), Todd Silas (5), Gilbert Carter and Quinn Taylor (4
each), and Justin Hayes, Andrew Dinwoodie and A.J. Justice (2 each). The Spartans season
record now stands at 16-7, with 6 wins and 4 losses in district play.
Friday, January 29th vs. Memorial: The Mustangs came to our gym for the last basketball match
up as district foes. After three straight losses in district, the JV boys badly needed to get back on
track. Fortunately, the Spartans played one of their most consistent games of the season.
Stratford won the first three quarters by scores of 14-13, 13-8 and 21-9 to take a commanding 48-
30 lead. Memorial was able to get the Spartans lead down to single digits towards the end of the
game, but Stratford ultimately prevailed 62-49. All 12 Spartan players contributed to winning this
game, and this contest saw 10 Spartans get into the scoring action. Leading scorers were Grant
Lund and Todd Silas with 15 points each, with contributions from A.J. Justice (9), Drew Peters (7),
Kelvin Rainey (5), Justin Hayes (4), Matt Sherrard & Gilbert Carter (3 each) and Patrick Elliot (1).
The JV Spartans record after this game is 15-7 for the season and 5-4 in district.
Saturday, January 26th vs. Alief Taylor: The start of the second half of district play saw the Alief
Taylor Lions come to SHS. Our JV Spartans came into this game with their first losing streak of
the season (2 games), and had previously split two games with this talented squad from Alief.
Stratford started the game as flat as a pancake and the Lions roared out to a 10-0 lead. As the
second unit was about to come into the game, the Spartans finally got on the scoreboard with a
free throw. The last three minutes or so of the quarter was played to a draw, and Taylor captured it
12-3. The first couple of minutes of the second quarter saw little offensive action, and after a
Stratford player was hit with a frustration technical foul, the Lions increased their lead to 16-3.
Things were not looking so good for the Spartans. In fact, it looked like they might get blown out of
their own gym. But as often happens in basketball, our Stratford JV’ers decided to wake up and
started playing ball. By the end of the half, the Spartans had tied the game on one occasion, and
only trailed Taylor 24-23. The second half saw the Spartans and the Lions exchange the lead
several times. Stratford won the third quarter overall by 17-16 to make the game tied at 40 apiece.
The fourth period was tight till near the very end. Free throw shooting proved crucial as the Lions
hit 7 of 8 free throws to the Spartans 2 of 7. The Lions captured the quarter 24-19 and the game
64-59. Overall, it turned into a really great game once the Spartans decided to play with a little
resolve and as a team. It was unfortunate that they put themselves in such a hole to start the
game. The scoring for this game was led by Grant Lund with 13 points, followed by Drew Peters
(12), Gilbert Carter (11), Todd Silas (8), Matt Sherrard (6), A.J. Justice (5), Tim Burton and Quinn
Taylor (2 each).
January 21st update:
Tuesday, January 12th @ Northbrook
The Stratford JV round ball team played the Northbrook Raiders at their gym. The Spartans had
arguably their most dominant quarter of the season to start this game. Stratford pressed the
Raiders hard and started the game on fire scoring their first 9 points on three 3-point shots.
Northbrook did not make a point till the last minute of the opening quarter and the Spartans closed
it out with a commanding 23-2 lead. Stratford called off the press in the second quarter and the
Raiders started shooting the ball a little better. Northbrook won the quarter 12-10, leaving the
halftime score 33-14 in favor of the Spartans. Stratford had another outstanding opening quarter
in the second half, winning it 14-6, and although the Raiders won the final quarter 16-13, the
Spartans won the game 60-36. Todd Silas led the Spartans with 12 points, followed by Andrew
Dinwoodie and Drew Peters (9 each), Justin Hayes (8), Grant Lund (6), Tim Burton (5), Kelvin
Rainey and Gilbert Carter (4 each), Matt Sherrard (2) and Patrick Elliot (1).
The JV Spartans record for the season now stands at 14-4 overall and 4-1 in district.
Friday, December 15th, Spring Woods @ SHS
The Tigers visited SHS for the fifth district game of the season. The Spartans played solidly
through the first half winning the first two quarters 10-9 and 17-7, to hold a 27-16 lead at the half.
The first half trend continued through the 3rd quarter with Stratford winning it 13-4 and widening
their lead to a comfortable 40-20. Spring Woods won the final quarter 7-4, but the JV Spartans
won the game 44-27. Stratford’s leading scorer was Gilbert Carter with 9 points, with help from A.
J Justice (7), Todd Silas (6), Tim Burton and Matt Sherrard (4 each), Grant Lund, Andrew
Dinwoodie, Kelvin Rainey and Drew Peters (3 each) and Patrick Elliot (2).
January 15th update:
Friday, January 8th, Alief Hastings @ SHS
The Hastings Bears came to the SHS gym for the third district game of the year. The JV Spartans
defeated Hastings almost one month earlier (50-35) in the KISD tournament, and hopefully were
not taking the Bears too lightly. The first five minutes of this game were beautiful to watch
(especially for SHS fans), with much of the remainder being very tough to take in. Stratford roared
out to an 18-12 lead in a little more than half of the first quarter. Hastings was playing well also,
but the Spartans were doing almost everything right. Then the second unit came in for Stratford
and the game’s entire complexion seemed to change. The Spartans offense went cold, and for
the remainder of the first quarter till two minutes before the halftime, Stratford scored zero points!
As the scoring continued to suffer, the Spartans seemed to get too tight or were trying too hard to
make the great pass, and turnovers became a big problem. The score at the end of the first
quarter was Stratford 18-Hastings 13. Despite the terrible second quarter, the Spartans only lost it
by a score of 5-9, so they held onto a slight 23-22 lead at halftime. The third and fourth quarters
continued to be fairly ugly basketball wise. Stratford won the third quarter 14-12, with Hasting
winning the fourth quarter 15-14. Thus it was a close game throughout the second half, with the
Spartans prevailing 51-49. The scoring for the game was led by Grant Lund and Todd Silas (10
point each), with Drew Peters (7), Gilbert Carter and Clay Harger (5 each), Sherif Jones, Justin
Hayes and A.J. Justice (4 each) and Kelvin Rainey (2) following.
Saturday, January 5th @ Memorial
The Stratford JV basketball team traveled to arch rival Memorial for the second district game of the
season. Quarter one featured a lot of 3-point shooting. Unfortunately, the Spartans were zero for
many attempts, while Memorial scored 9 points on their long shots. The quarter ended with
Stratford trailing 15-6, and making only one field goal. The second was a different story with the
Spartans showing improved patience and ball movement, and getting good shots close to the
basket. Gilbert Carter and Justin Hayes both had nice scoring for the period with 9 and 6 points
respectively. Stratford outscored the Mustangs 18-8 for the quarter, and held a narrow 24-23 lead
at halftime. The Spartans widened the lead in the third quarter, winning it 17-12, and led 41-35
going to the final period. The final period played to a draw as both teams scored 12 points each,
and Stratford defeated the Mustangs 53-47. Memorial played their typical tough defense, and
sank 8 three point shots for the game. Since these two schools almost always play each other
tough (no matter what their records are), the rematch later in the season should be a date to circle
on the calendar. The scoring for the game was led by Gilbert Carter with 14 points, followed by
Drew Peters (10), Justin Hayes (8), Sherif Jones (7), Grant Lund (6), Todd Silas (4), Tim Burton
and Matt Sherrard (2 each). The JV Spartans record for the season now stands at 12-4 overall
and 2-1 in district.
Saturday, January 2nd @ Alief Taylor
The first district game for the JV Spartans was played at Alief Taylor’s gym. Since Stratford
narrowly defeated (55-53) the Lions just three weeks earlier in the KISD tournament, they had to
know that this would be a tough first district contest. After the long Christmas break, the Spartans
started the game on fire in the first quarter winning it 17-6. Both teams' offenses were clicking in
the second quarter, with Taylor winning it 19-16, but Stratford led at halftime 33-25. The quality of
play lessened for both teams in the third quarter. A lot of turnovers were committed, and Taylor
was able to capitalize more by capturing the quarter 13-7, yet the Spartans held on to a narrow 40-
38 lead. The fourth quarter was tense all the way, and in the end the teams ended up in a 49-49
tie. Free throw shooting went a long way in deciding who won the game after overtime. The
Spartans made only 1 of 6 free throws, and Taylor connected on 5 of their 6 free throws. Alief won
the overtime period 11-7, thus defeating the Spartans 60-56. Overall, this felt like a game the
Spartans could (and maybe should) have won, but the Taylor Tigers have a talented team, so the
upcoming rematch at Stratford should be a great game. Todd Silas led the scoring with 11 point
(w/ 3 treys), followed by A.J Justice (8), Grant Lund and Sherif Jones (7 each), Gilbert Carter (6),
Drew Peters (5), Tim Burton (4), Clay Harger (3), Matt Sherrard (2) and Justin Hayes (1).
Saturday, December 19th, vs. Fort Bend Travis
This game ended the non-district season for the JV Spartans. The game was played after the
completion of final exams and before the team took a week off for the Christmas holiday.
Apparently the refs started their holiday a little earlier than the players since there were none to be
found that Saturday morning. Coach Perkins filled in ably as the referee and the game went on.
Since the game clock was allowed to run for much of the game, this contest had more of a
scrimmage feel, but the Spartans were the superior team that morning, and won by a score of 49-
34. Grant Lund and A.J. Justice led the scoring with 8 points each, followed by Lloyd Hampton
and Sherif Jones (6 each), Todd Silas (5), Andrew Dinwoodie (4), Tim Burton (3), Patrick Elliot,
Matt Sherrard, Drew Peters (2 each) and Gilbert Carter (1). The JV Spartans ended their non-
district schedule with a record of 10 wins and 3 losses.
December 27th update:
Katy ISD Tournament: December 10 - Round 1 - Stratford 50 Hastings 35
The first round game of the JV KISD tournament featured the Spartans playing district foe Alief
Hastings. The Bears did not seem to be a typical Hasting team. They usually have a lot of quick
athletic players and full court press from the opening tip-off. This Bear team featured only nine
players, and while they had some athletes, they held back their press for much of the first half.
Even when they started to press, it was not terribly effective against the Spartans. The first quarter
was fairly even, but the Spartans finished on top 12-8. Stratford completely owned the second
quarter and outscored Hastings 17-2, to take a 29-10 halftime lead. Hastings fought back in the
third quarter (the Spartans probably relaxed a little too much), winning the quarter 13-5, but
Stratford still held the lead at 34-23. Gilbert Carter scored an outstanding 11 points in the fourth
quarter (including a perfect 7 for 7 from the charity stripe), and the Spartans won the fourth quarter
16-12, and the game 50-35. Gilbert Carter led the Spartans scoring with 19 points, followed by A.
J. Justice (7), Matt Sherrard (6), Todd Silas (5), Justin Hayes (4), Lloyd Hampton and Grant Lund
(3), Quinn Taylor (2) and Drew Peters (1).
December 11 - Round 2 - Langham Creek 55 Stratford 43
The second round game of the JV KISD tournament pitted the Spartans vs. the Langham Creek
Lobos. The first quarter was a low scoring affair with both teams playing tough defense and
Spartans taking a narrow 7-6 lead. Things opened up offensively in the second quarter, and the
Lobos hit a last second 3 pointer, to cement an 18-14 quarter victory, and a 24-21 halftime lead.
Things went very badly for Stratford in the third quarter. First off, the refs had been and continued
to call a very dubious game. Second, the Spartans just played poorly. Stratford was outscored 18-
7, and found themselves in a 42-28 hole to start the final period. The fourth quarter seemed to
start out as more of the same, but then the Spartans started pressing and caused some Lobo
turnovers. They narrowed the Langham Creek lead down to 8 or 9 points a couple of times, but it
was a little bit too little too late and the final score ended up Langham Creek 55- Stratford 43. The
leading scorers for the game were Andrew Dinwoodie and Todd Silas (9 points each), Matt
Sherrard and A.J. Justice (6 each), Gilbert Carter (5), Lloyd Hampton, Grant Lund, Quinn Taylor
and Patrick Elliot (2 each).
December 12 - Round 3 - Stratford 63 Katy 32
After a disappointing loss the day before, the Spartans played the Katy Tigers for the second time
in two weeks. The winner of this game would get the opportunity for a fifth place finish in the 16
team Katy ISD tournament. The loser would go home. Stratford got off to a great start in the
rematch and roared to a 12-2 first quarter lead. Despite some awful officiating (it was bad for both
teams, but often seemed worse for SHS) from the opening tip, the Spartans continued to pound
the Tigers and won the second quarter 20-7, and led at halftime 32-9. All 12 of the Stratford JV’ers
who suited up for the game had scored by the half. The Spartans continued to widen their lead
through the 3rd and 4th quarters with scores of 13-9 and 18-14, and easily won the game 63-32.
As mentioned above, the refs were not on their game at all, and the game featured some player
technical fouls and at least one irate Katy fan being escorted from their gym. In a game that could
have been even uglier than it was, the Spartans did a good job keeping their composure. The
scoring came from Gilbert Carter (14 points), Todd Silas & Tim Burton (8 each), Clay Harger (6),
Patrick Elliot (5), Drew Peters, Justin Hayes, Lloyd Hampton (4 each), Grant Lund & A.J. Justice (3
each), Matt Sherrard & Andrew Dinwoodie (2 each).
December 12 - Round 4 - Stratford 55 Taylor 53
The Spartans played another district opponent in Alief Taylor in the 5th place game of the Katy ISD
Tournament. These two teams appear to be closely matched talent wise, so it would not be a
surprise if they both compete for the JV crown once district play starts. The first quarter was evenly
played but the Taylor Lions outscored the Spartans 14-12 (the score keepers only had it as a 13-
12 lead, but your reporter is certain that they failed to give Alief a point after a free throw). Both
offenses came out hitting shots in the second quarter. Todd Silas sank three 3-point shots and
helped Stratford win the quarter 18-17, but the Lions still had a slim halftime lead of 31-30. The
Spartans played a great third quarter which they won 19-11, and took a 49-42 lead going to the
final period. The fourth quarter became a nail biter as both offenses had trouble making shots.
Neither team played particularly good or bad, it just seemed neither could make shots. The
majority of the points in the quarter came from free throws. Fortunately for Stratford, Taylor only hit
3 of 12 free throws, which probably cost them a chance of defeating our Spartans. The Lions did
steadily narrow the lead and for the last two or three minutes, the Spartans lead seemed to hang
on to a 2 or 3 point lead. Fortunately, Stratford prevailed 55-53, after losing the quarter 11-6. This
was by far the best game of the tournament for the Spartans as they were tested by a quality
opponent in a game that was properly officiated. Todd Silas led the Spartans with 16 points,
followed by Gilbert Carter (9), Grant Lund (7), Drew Peters (6), Tim Burton, Clay Harger, Justin
Hayes, A.J. Justice (4 each) and Quinn Taylor (2). The JV Spartans record now stands at 9
victories and 3 losses.
November 29th update:
Stratford 60-Atascocita 39
The Stratford JV hosted the Atascocita Eagles and arguably played their best game so far in the
young season. The game was fairly low scoring in the beginning of the 1st quarter, but the
Spartans had a nice run mid quarter and led 14-8 when it ended. Stratford continued to play well
through the 2nd quarter and outscored Atascocita 14-7 and took a 28-15 half time lead. The
Spartans showed toughness on both the offensive and defensive boards that had been
sometimes lacking in earlier games, and never allowed the Eagles to get on any scoring runs.
Stratford essentially ended the game in the 3rd quarter with a 22-12 run and led the game 50-27.
The final score was Stratford 60-Atascocita 39. Scoring in the game was widely distributed but
Gilbert Carter led the scoring for the 4th time in 5 games with 16 points. He had a lot of help
though, including 8 from Drew Peters, followed by A.J. Justice (7), Grant Lund, Todd Silas (6
each), Andrew Dinwoodie (4), Tim Burton, Sherif Jones (3 each), Lloyd Hampton, Quinn Taylor,
Patrick Elliot (2 each) and Matt Sherrard (1). The JV record after this game stands at 4 victories
and 1 loss.
Friday, November 20th, SBISD Tournament vs Fort Bend Austin: The Spartans hosted the Austin
Bulldogs at SHS to open the JV SBISD tournament. The JV squad expanded from 11 to 14 players
from the first game with additions from the football team. The first quarter started out slowly as the
Bulldogs played a very deliberate style (tons of passes before attempting a shot) of offense. The
Spartans prefer to play more up tempo, but Austin dictated the pace of play and the teams were
tied at 4-4 going into the 2nd quarter. Stratford dominated the 2nd quarter by forcing some
turnovers and showing patience on both ends of the floor. They outscored the Bulldogs 16-4 and
led 20-8 at halftime. The Spartans narrowly won both the 3rd and 4th quarters 15-14 & 18-16
respectively, and overall cruised to a 53-38 victory. The leading scorer for the game was Gilbert
Carter with 15 points. Also scoring for the Spartans were Tim Burton, Drew Peters (10 each),
Grant Lund (9), Justin Hayes (4), Sherif Jones, Quinn Taylor (2 each) and Patrick Elliot (1).
Saturday, November 21st, SBISD Tournament vs Fort Bend Bush @ MHS: The JV Spartans faced
the FB Bush Broncos in the 2nd round of the JV SBISD tournament. A tough game was
anticipated as these two teams clashed in the Sophomore tournament the prior year with Bush
winning narrowly. Bush came out and played an aggressive physical full court press style of play
from beginning to end. Stratford did not handle the Broncos pressure too well at times (the refs
lack of whistle blowing did not help our cause), and were having a hard time boxing out
rebounders for much of the game. The combination of turnovers and second chance points
allowed Bush to take a 22-8 lead after the 1st quarter. The Spartans fought back some in the 2nd
quarter and outscored the Broncos 13-10, to narrow their lead to 32-21 at half. The 3rd quarter
continued to be dictated by Bush’s physical play, and Stratford trailed 46-33 going into the final
frame. The refs finally started calling some fouls in the 4th quarter, and the Spartans had 18 free
throw opportunities. Unfortunately, they were only able to connect on 7 of the 18 attempts, and
Bush outscored the Spartans 24-15 and won the game 60-48. The Spartans scoring came from A.
J. Justice (9 points), Todd Silas (8), Drew Peters (7), Gilbert Carter (5), Tim Burton, Justin Hayes,
Patrick Elliot (4 each), Sherif Jones (3), Matt Sherrard (2) and Clay Harger (1).
Saturday, November 21st, SBISD Tournament vs. Fort Bend Kempner @ MHS: The Spartans
faced the Fort Bend Kempner Cougars in the 3rd place game of the SBISD tournament. The 1st
quarter got off to a sluggish start for Stratford and they trailed Kempner 18-12 at the end. The
Spartans won each of the last three quarters 16-11, 18-15 & 12-8 respectively and overall
captured the game and a 3rd place finish in the tournament by winning the game 58-52. Through
the first four games of the season, the JV Spartans have shown flashes of terrific basketball, and
have had moments where they were trying to find their chemistry. As with all the previous game, a
lot of players got involved in the scoring. Gilbert Carter led the Spartans with 12 points, followed by
Grant Lund (8) Sherif Jones (7), Patrick Elliot, Drew Peters (6 each), Todd Silas, Clay Harger,
Justin Hayes (4 each), Tim Burton (3), Andrew Dinwoodie and Matt Sherrard (2 each)
Stratford 47 Klein 40
After a series of scrimmages in Magnolia and at Cy-Ranch the previous week, the JV men opened
their season against the Klein Bearkats. The Spartans started their season with 11 players as the
guys coming from football were still getting ready for round ball. The 1st quarter of the game was
evenly played with Klein leading by 12-11. The Bea rkats outplayed the Spartans in the 2nd
quarter 14-8 and had a halftime lead of 26-19. Stratford caught fire in the 3rd quarter and won the
quarter 17-2, to take a 36-28 lead. The Spartans continued to build a lead into the mid-teens
more than half way through the 4th quarter. Klein narrowed the lead towards the end of the game
as Stratford got a little sloppy, but the Spartans won the game comfortably 47-40. 9 of the 11
Spartans scored with Gilbert Carter and Grant Lund leading the scoring with 10 each. Also
scoring for the Spartans were Patrick Elliot (8), Todd Silas, Sherif Jones, Justin Hayes (4 each),
Lloyd Hampton (3), Clay Harger and Drew Peters (2 each).
Friday, February 16th @ Strake Jesuit
Stratford 51 Strake Jesuit 48
The JV Spartans traveled to meet their counterpart Crusaders for the last game of the season. A
Stratford victory would result in 20 victories for the season, so they had a lot to play for. Not to
mention that Strake beat our Spartans during the first half of district play. Stratford won the game
by a score of 51-48. The scores for each of the quarters was 16-12, 9-8, 10-8 and finally 16-20.
The Spartans led almost (if not entirely) the whole game, but played nowhere near as well as their
previous victory against Alief Elsik. Perhaps a letdown was to be expected after such an
emotional win at the end of the season, but it would have been nice to see the Spartans play a
little better. Stratford suffered greatly from the turnover bug, as they had in several games this
season. At times, the defensive intensity also seemed to be lacking, as the Crusaders scored
some rather easy baskets.
In the end though, the Spartans took care of their business and finished the season with an
outstanding record of 20 wins and 7 losses. They completed the season with 6 consecutive
district wins, and ended the district campaign with a record of 10 and 4. This team had a lot of
talent, and they often put it to full use. On occasion, they did not play to their full potential. In some
games they would still prevail against their opponent (such as in this Strake game), but at least a
couple of times it cost them a victory. All in all though, this JV team had a really fine season, and it
will be interesting and fun to see how that translates at the varsity level in 2010-11. For this final
game, all 12 Spartans that suited up scored. The leading scorers were Sherif Jones and Gilbert
Carter (11 points each), followed by A.J. Justice (6), Grant Lund (5), Patrick Elliot and Drew Peters
(4 each), Todd Silas, Justin Hayes, Andrew Dinwoodie and Kelvin Rainey (2 each), Matt Sherrard
and Tim Burton (1 each).
Tuesday, February 12th vs Alief Elsik
Stratford 77 Elsik 70
The Rams came to the SHS gym for the final time as a district opponent. The JV Spartans hoped
to avenge a 14 point loss in the first round of district play and also continue their quest for a 20 win
season. In a nutshell, this Spartan squad PLAYED THEIR BEST GAME OF THE SEASON in
defeating Elsik 77-70. Although the author does not know the win-loss record of this JV Ram
team, they are undoubtedly the strongest team in the district. They are fast and athletic, and like to
constantly pressure their opponents with full court presses and half court traps. Contests versus
teams like Elsik tend to get physical, and depending on how much contact the referees allow, the
flavor of these games range from tough battles to all out wars. This game probably fell
somewhere in the middle of that range, but nonetheless, it was a physical game. The Spartans
captured the first quarter of the game 17-12. Gilbert Carter led Stratford's scoring with 8 points in
the first period and the Spartans started a game long trend of not committing many turnovers
versus the Rams pressure. Stratford extended their lead at halftime 36-29, by outscoring Elsik 19-
17 in the second quarter. In the first meeting against Elsik, the Spartans played well through the
first quarter and then some, only to succumb to the Rams pressure towards the end of the first
half through the third quarter. In this game, any time Elsik made a run at Stratford; the Spartans
toughened up and countered. The third quarter was won by the Rams 18-16, but once again, the
Spartans showed a resolve that they may have lacked in their first meeting at Elsik. Another
element that contributed greatly towards Stratford's victory was their work on the defensive
boards. Elsik tries very hard to attempt shots while driving to the basket, and then to pick up easy
points off the offensive glass if they miss. The Spartans did an excellent job of not allowing too
many second chance points. Stratford's narrow 5-point (52-47) lead slowly but surely widened to
13 points with about a minute to play in the game. It was a high scoring finish by both teams as
Stratford won the quarter 25-23. The Spartans were able to get some easy baskets by breaking
through the Elsik press, or they were getting free throw opportunities as the Rams were forced to
foul as the lead widened. Drew Peters had a nice 6 point quarter as his teammates were finding
him open off the Elsik press, and Gilbert Carter scored and outstanding 11 points as he got to the
free throw line for 14 attempts, making 9 of those. Elsik hit two late 3-point shots in the final
minute to narrow their 13 point deficit to 7, making the final score 77-70. The Spartan scoring was
led by Gilbert Carter's 24 points, followed by Drew Peters (14), Grant Lund, Todd Silas and Sherif
Jones (9 each), A.J. Justice (5), Patrick Elliot (4), Kelvin Rainey (2) and Quinn Taylor (1). This was
an outstanding effort by the Spartan JV team, and they will face Strake Jesuit in the last game of
the season in their attempt to have a 20 win season.
February 5th update:
Tuesday, February 2nd @ Alief Hastings: With the big district re-alignment news coming out the
prior day, the Stratford boy’s basketball teams took their final road trip to Alief as a district
opponent. Hopefully, the Stratford nation will not miss those short drives too much next year. The
JV Spartans decided to celebrate with one of their most convincing victories of the season. Much
like the prior game vs. Memorial, the Spartans won the first three quarters if this game by scores
of 14-9, 10-4 and 23-5 to take an insurmountable 47-18 lead. The Bears won the last quarter 14-
10, but Stratford cruised to an impressive 25 point victory 57-32. For the second consecutive
game, the JV Spartans limited their turnovers (which has often been a problem this season), and
played much better team basketball than during their prior 3 game losing streak. Sherif Jones led
the scoring with 10 points, with Patrick Elliot and Drew Peters following with 8 each. Other scorers
included Matt Sherrard and Grant Lund (6 each), Todd Silas (5), Gilbert Carter and Quinn Taylor (4
each), and Justin Hayes, Andrew Dinwoodie and A.J. Justice (2 each). The Spartans season
record now stands at 16-7, with 6 wins and 4 losses in district play.
Friday, January 29th vs. Memorial: The Mustangs came to our gym for the last basketball match
up as district foes. After three straight losses in district, the JV boys badly needed to get back on
track. Fortunately, the Spartans played one of their most consistent games of the season.
Stratford won the first three quarters by scores of 14-13, 13-8 and 21-9 to take a commanding 48-
30 lead. Memorial was able to get the Spartans lead down to single digits towards the end of the
game, but Stratford ultimately prevailed 62-49. All 12 Spartan players contributed to winning this
game, and this contest saw 10 Spartans get into the scoring action. Leading scorers were Grant
Lund and Todd Silas with 15 points each, with contributions from A.J. Justice (9), Drew Peters (7),
Kelvin Rainey (5), Justin Hayes (4), Matt Sherrard & Gilbert Carter (3 each) and Patrick Elliot (1).
The JV Spartans record after this game is 15-7 for the season and 5-4 in district.
Saturday, January 26th vs. Alief Taylor: The start of the second half of district play saw the Alief
Taylor Lions come to SHS. Our JV Spartans came into this game with their first losing streak of
the season (2 games), and had previously split two games with this talented squad from Alief.
Stratford started the game as flat as a pancake and the Lions roared out to a 10-0 lead. As the
second unit was about to come into the game, the Spartans finally got on the scoreboard with a
free throw. The last three minutes or so of the quarter was played to a draw, and Taylor captured it
12-3. The first couple of minutes of the second quarter saw little offensive action, and after a
Stratford player was hit with a frustration technical foul, the Lions increased their lead to 16-3.
Things were not looking so good for the Spartans. In fact, it looked like they might get blown out of
their own gym. But as often happens in basketball, our Stratford JV’ers decided to wake up and
started playing ball. By the end of the half, the Spartans had tied the game on one occasion, and
only trailed Taylor 24-23. The second half saw the Spartans and the Lions exchange the lead
several times. Stratford won the third quarter overall by 17-16 to make the game tied at 40 apiece.
The fourth period was tight till near the very end. Free throw shooting proved crucial as the Lions
hit 7 of 8 free throws to the Spartans 2 of 7. The Lions captured the quarter 24-19 and the game
64-59. Overall, it turned into a really great game once the Spartans decided to play with a little
resolve and as a team. It was unfortunate that they put themselves in such a hole to start the
game. The scoring for this game was led by Grant Lund with 13 points, followed by Drew Peters
(12), Gilbert Carter (11), Todd Silas (8), Matt Sherrard (6), A.J. Justice (5), Tim Burton and Quinn
Taylor (2 each).
January 21st update:
Tuesday, January 12th @ Northbrook
The Stratford JV round ball team played the Northbrook Raiders at their gym. The Spartans had
arguably their most dominant quarter of the season to start this game. Stratford pressed the
Raiders hard and started the game on fire scoring their first 9 points on three 3-point shots.
Northbrook did not make a point till the last minute of the opening quarter and the Spartans closed
it out with a commanding 23-2 lead. Stratford called off the press in the second quarter and the
Raiders started shooting the ball a little better. Northbrook won the quarter 12-10, leaving the
halftime score 33-14 in favor of the Spartans. Stratford had another outstanding opening quarter
in the second half, winning it 14-6, and although the Raiders won the final quarter 16-13, the
Spartans won the game 60-36. Todd Silas led the Spartans with 12 points, followed by Andrew
Dinwoodie and Drew Peters (9 each), Justin Hayes (8), Grant Lund (6), Tim Burton (5), Kelvin
Rainey and Gilbert Carter (4 each), Matt Sherrard (2) and Patrick Elliot (1).
The JV Spartans record for the season now stands at 14-4 overall and 4-1 in district.
Friday, December 15th, Spring Woods @ SHS
The Tigers visited SHS for the fifth district game of the season. The Spartans played solidly
through the first half winning the first two quarters 10-9 and 17-7, to hold a 27-16 lead at the half.
The first half trend continued through the 3rd quarter with Stratford winning it 13-4 and widening
their lead to a comfortable 40-20. Spring Woods won the final quarter 7-4, but the JV Spartans
won the game 44-27. Stratford’s leading scorer was Gilbert Carter with 9 points, with help from A.
J Justice (7), Todd Silas (6), Tim Burton and Matt Sherrard (4 each), Grant Lund, Andrew
Dinwoodie, Kelvin Rainey and Drew Peters (3 each) and Patrick Elliot (2).
January 15th update:
Friday, January 8th, Alief Hastings @ SHS
The Hastings Bears came to the SHS gym for the third district game of the year. The JV Spartans
defeated Hastings almost one month earlier (50-35) in the KISD tournament, and hopefully were
not taking the Bears too lightly. The first five minutes of this game were beautiful to watch
(especially for SHS fans), with much of the remainder being very tough to take in. Stratford roared
out to an 18-12 lead in a little more than half of the first quarter. Hastings was playing well also,
but the Spartans were doing almost everything right. Then the second unit came in for Stratford
and the game’s entire complexion seemed to change. The Spartans offense went cold, and for
the remainder of the first quarter till two minutes before the halftime, Stratford scored zero points!
As the scoring continued to suffer, the Spartans seemed to get too tight or were trying too hard to
make the great pass, and turnovers became a big problem. The score at the end of the first
quarter was Stratford 18-Hastings 13. Despite the terrible second quarter, the Spartans only lost it
by a score of 5-9, so they held onto a slight 23-22 lead at halftime. The third and fourth quarters
continued to be fairly ugly basketball wise. Stratford won the third quarter 14-12, with Hasting
winning the fourth quarter 15-14. Thus it was a close game throughout the second half, with the
Spartans prevailing 51-49. The scoring for the game was led by Grant Lund and Todd Silas (10
point each), with Drew Peters (7), Gilbert Carter and Clay Harger (5 each), Sherif Jones, Justin
Hayes and A.J. Justice (4 each) and Kelvin Rainey (2) following.
Saturday, January 5th @ Memorial
The Stratford JV basketball team traveled to arch rival Memorial for the second district game of the
season. Quarter one featured a lot of 3-point shooting. Unfortunately, the Spartans were zero for
many attempts, while Memorial scored 9 points on their long shots. The quarter ended with
Stratford trailing 15-6, and making only one field goal. The second was a different story with the
Spartans showing improved patience and ball movement, and getting good shots close to the
basket. Gilbert Carter and Justin Hayes both had nice scoring for the period with 9 and 6 points
respectively. Stratford outscored the Mustangs 18-8 for the quarter, and held a narrow 24-23 lead
at halftime. The Spartans widened the lead in the third quarter, winning it 17-12, and led 41-35
going to the final period. The final period played to a draw as both teams scored 12 points each,
and Stratford defeated the Mustangs 53-47. Memorial played their typical tough defense, and
sank 8 three point shots for the game. Since these two schools almost always play each other
tough (no matter what their records are), the rematch later in the season should be a date to circle
on the calendar. The scoring for the game was led by Gilbert Carter with 14 points, followed by
Drew Peters (10), Justin Hayes (8), Sherif Jones (7), Grant Lund (6), Todd Silas (4), Tim Burton
and Matt Sherrard (2 each). The JV Spartans record for the season now stands at 12-4 overall
and 2-1 in district.
Saturday, January 2nd @ Alief Taylor
The first district game for the JV Spartans was played at Alief Taylor’s gym. Since Stratford
narrowly defeated (55-53) the Lions just three weeks earlier in the KISD tournament, they had to
know that this would be a tough first district contest. After the long Christmas break, the Spartans
started the game on fire in the first quarter winning it 17-6. Both teams' offenses were clicking in
the second quarter, with Taylor winning it 19-16, but Stratford led at halftime 33-25. The quality of
play lessened for both teams in the third quarter. A lot of turnovers were committed, and Taylor
was able to capitalize more by capturing the quarter 13-7, yet the Spartans held on to a narrow 40-
38 lead. The fourth quarter was tense all the way, and in the end the teams ended up in a 49-49
tie. Free throw shooting went a long way in deciding who won the game after overtime. The
Spartans made only 1 of 6 free throws, and Taylor connected on 5 of their 6 free throws. Alief won
the overtime period 11-7, thus defeating the Spartans 60-56. Overall, this felt like a game the
Spartans could (and maybe should) have won, but the Taylor Tigers have a talented team, so the
upcoming rematch at Stratford should be a great game. Todd Silas led the scoring with 11 point
(w/ 3 treys), followed by A.J Justice (8), Grant Lund and Sherif Jones (7 each), Gilbert Carter (6),
Drew Peters (5), Tim Burton (4), Clay Harger (3), Matt Sherrard (2) and Justin Hayes (1).
Saturday, December 19th, vs. Fort Bend Travis
This game ended the non-district season for the JV Spartans. The game was played after the
completion of final exams and before the team took a week off for the Christmas holiday.
Apparently the refs started their holiday a little earlier than the players since there were none to be
found that Saturday morning. Coach Perkins filled in ably as the referee and the game went on.
Since the game clock was allowed to run for much of the game, this contest had more of a
scrimmage feel, but the Spartans were the superior team that morning, and won by a score of 49-
34. Grant Lund and A.J. Justice led the scoring with 8 points each, followed by Lloyd Hampton
and Sherif Jones (6 each), Todd Silas (5), Andrew Dinwoodie (4), Tim Burton (3), Patrick Elliot,
Matt Sherrard, Drew Peters (2 each) and Gilbert Carter (1). The JV Spartans ended their non-
district schedule with a record of 10 wins and 3 losses.
December 27th update:
Katy ISD Tournament: December 10 - Round 1 - Stratford 50 Hastings 35
The first round game of the JV KISD tournament featured the Spartans playing district foe Alief
Hastings. The Bears did not seem to be a typical Hasting team. They usually have a lot of quick
athletic players and full court press from the opening tip-off. This Bear team featured only nine
players, and while they had some athletes, they held back their press for much of the first half.
Even when they started to press, it was not terribly effective against the Spartans. The first quarter
was fairly even, but the Spartans finished on top 12-8. Stratford completely owned the second
quarter and outscored Hastings 17-2, to take a 29-10 halftime lead. Hastings fought back in the
third quarter (the Spartans probably relaxed a little too much), winning the quarter 13-5, but
Stratford still held the lead at 34-23. Gilbert Carter scored an outstanding 11 points in the fourth
quarter (including a perfect 7 for 7 from the charity stripe), and the Spartans won the fourth quarter
16-12, and the game 50-35. Gilbert Carter led the Spartans scoring with 19 points, followed by A.
J. Justice (7), Matt Sherrard (6), Todd Silas (5), Justin Hayes (4), Lloyd Hampton and Grant Lund
(3), Quinn Taylor (2) and Drew Peters (1).
December 11 - Round 2 - Langham Creek 55 Stratford 43
The second round game of the JV KISD tournament pitted the Spartans vs. the Langham Creek
Lobos. The first quarter was a low scoring affair with both teams playing tough defense and
Spartans taking a narrow 7-6 lead. Things opened up offensively in the second quarter, and the
Lobos hit a last second 3 pointer, to cement an 18-14 quarter victory, and a 24-21 halftime lead.
Things went very badly for Stratford in the third quarter. First off, the refs had been and continued
to call a very dubious game. Second, the Spartans just played poorly. Stratford was outscored 18-
7, and found themselves in a 42-28 hole to start the final period. The fourth quarter seemed to
start out as more of the same, but then the Spartans started pressing and caused some Lobo
turnovers. They narrowed the Langham Creek lead down to 8 or 9 points a couple of times, but it
was a little bit too little too late and the final score ended up Langham Creek 55- Stratford 43. The
leading scorers for the game were Andrew Dinwoodie and Todd Silas (9 points each), Matt
Sherrard and A.J. Justice (6 each), Gilbert Carter (5), Lloyd Hampton, Grant Lund, Quinn Taylor
and Patrick Elliot (2 each).
December 12 - Round 3 - Stratford 63 Katy 32
After a disappointing loss the day before, the Spartans played the Katy Tigers for the second time
in two weeks. The winner of this game would get the opportunity for a fifth place finish in the 16
team Katy ISD tournament. The loser would go home. Stratford got off to a great start in the
rematch and roared to a 12-2 first quarter lead. Despite some awful officiating (it was bad for both
teams, but often seemed worse for SHS) from the opening tip, the Spartans continued to pound
the Tigers and won the second quarter 20-7, and led at halftime 32-9. All 12 of the Stratford JV’ers
who suited up for the game had scored by the half. The Spartans continued to widen their lead
through the 3rd and 4th quarters with scores of 13-9 and 18-14, and easily won the game 63-32.
As mentioned above, the refs were not on their game at all, and the game featured some player
technical fouls and at least one irate Katy fan being escorted from their gym. In a game that could
have been even uglier than it was, the Spartans did a good job keeping their composure. The
scoring came from Gilbert Carter (14 points), Todd Silas & Tim Burton (8 each), Clay Harger (6),
Patrick Elliot (5), Drew Peters, Justin Hayes, Lloyd Hampton (4 each), Grant Lund & A.J. Justice (3
each), Matt Sherrard & Andrew Dinwoodie (2 each).
December 12 - Round 4 - Stratford 55 Taylor 53
The Spartans played another district opponent in Alief Taylor in the 5th place game of the Katy ISD
Tournament. These two teams appear to be closely matched talent wise, so it would not be a
surprise if they both compete for the JV crown once district play starts. The first quarter was evenly
played but the Taylor Lions outscored the Spartans 14-12 (the score keepers only had it as a 13-
12 lead, but your reporter is certain that they failed to give Alief a point after a free throw). Both
offenses came out hitting shots in the second quarter. Todd Silas sank three 3-point shots and
helped Stratford win the quarter 18-17, but the Lions still had a slim halftime lead of 31-30. The
Spartans played a great third quarter which they won 19-11, and took a 49-42 lead going to the
final period. The fourth quarter became a nail biter as both offenses had trouble making shots.
Neither team played particularly good or bad, it just seemed neither could make shots. The
majority of the points in the quarter came from free throws. Fortunately for Stratford, Taylor only hit
3 of 12 free throws, which probably cost them a chance of defeating our Spartans. The Lions did
steadily narrow the lead and for the last two or three minutes, the Spartans lead seemed to hang
on to a 2 or 3 point lead. Fortunately, Stratford prevailed 55-53, after losing the quarter 11-6. This
was by far the best game of the tournament for the Spartans as they were tested by a quality
opponent in a game that was properly officiated. Todd Silas led the Spartans with 16 points,
followed by Gilbert Carter (9), Grant Lund (7), Drew Peters (6), Tim Burton, Clay Harger, Justin
Hayes, A.J. Justice (4 each) and Quinn Taylor (2). The JV Spartans record now stands at 9
victories and 3 losses.
November 29th update:
Stratford 60-Atascocita 39
The Stratford JV hosted the Atascocita Eagles and arguably played their best game so far in the
young season. The game was fairly low scoring in the beginning of the 1st quarter, but the
Spartans had a nice run mid quarter and led 14-8 when it ended. Stratford continued to play well
through the 2nd quarter and outscored Atascocita 14-7 and took a 28-15 half time lead. The
Spartans showed toughness on both the offensive and defensive boards that had been
sometimes lacking in earlier games, and never allowed the Eagles to get on any scoring runs.
Stratford essentially ended the game in the 3rd quarter with a 22-12 run and led the game 50-27.
The final score was Stratford 60-Atascocita 39. Scoring in the game was widely distributed but
Gilbert Carter led the scoring for the 4th time in 5 games with 16 points. He had a lot of help
though, including 8 from Drew Peters, followed by A.J. Justice (7), Grant Lund, Todd Silas (6
each), Andrew Dinwoodie (4), Tim Burton, Sherif Jones (3 each), Lloyd Hampton, Quinn Taylor,
Patrick Elliot (2 each) and Matt Sherrard (1). The JV record after this game stands at 4 victories
and 1 loss.
Friday, November 20th, SBISD Tournament vs Fort Bend Austin: The Spartans hosted the Austin
Bulldogs at SHS to open the JV SBISD tournament. The JV squad expanded from 11 to 14 players
from the first game with additions from the football team. The first quarter started out slowly as the
Bulldogs played a very deliberate style (tons of passes before attempting a shot) of offense. The
Spartans prefer to play more up tempo, but Austin dictated the pace of play and the teams were
tied at 4-4 going into the 2nd quarter. Stratford dominated the 2nd quarter by forcing some
turnovers and showing patience on both ends of the floor. They outscored the Bulldogs 16-4 and
led 20-8 at halftime. The Spartans narrowly won both the 3rd and 4th quarters 15-14 & 18-16
respectively, and overall cruised to a 53-38 victory. The leading scorer for the game was Gilbert
Carter with 15 points. Also scoring for the Spartans were Tim Burton, Drew Peters (10 each),
Grant Lund (9), Justin Hayes (4), Sherif Jones, Quinn Taylor (2 each) and Patrick Elliot (1).
Saturday, November 21st, SBISD Tournament vs Fort Bend Bush @ MHS: The JV Spartans faced
the FB Bush Broncos in the 2nd round of the JV SBISD tournament. A tough game was
anticipated as these two teams clashed in the Sophomore tournament the prior year with Bush
winning narrowly. Bush came out and played an aggressive physical full court press style of play
from beginning to end. Stratford did not handle the Broncos pressure too well at times (the refs
lack of whistle blowing did not help our cause), and were having a hard time boxing out
rebounders for much of the game. The combination of turnovers and second chance points
allowed Bush to take a 22-8 lead after the 1st quarter. The Spartans fought back some in the 2nd
quarter and outscored the Broncos 13-10, to narrow their lead to 32-21 at half. The 3rd quarter
continued to be dictated by Bush’s physical play, and Stratford trailed 46-33 going into the final
frame. The refs finally started calling some fouls in the 4th quarter, and the Spartans had 18 free
throw opportunities. Unfortunately, they were only able to connect on 7 of the 18 attempts, and
Bush outscored the Spartans 24-15 and won the game 60-48. The Spartans scoring came from A.
J. Justice (9 points), Todd Silas (8), Drew Peters (7), Gilbert Carter (5), Tim Burton, Justin Hayes,
Patrick Elliot (4 each), Sherif Jones (3), Matt Sherrard (2) and Clay Harger (1).
Saturday, November 21st, SBISD Tournament vs. Fort Bend Kempner @ MHS: The Spartans
faced the Fort Bend Kempner Cougars in the 3rd place game of the SBISD tournament. The 1st
quarter got off to a sluggish start for Stratford and they trailed Kempner 18-12 at the end. The
Spartans won each of the last three quarters 16-11, 18-15 & 12-8 respectively and overall
captured the game and a 3rd place finish in the tournament by winning the game 58-52. Through
the first four games of the season, the JV Spartans have shown flashes of terrific basketball, and
have had moments where they were trying to find their chemistry. As with all the previous game, a
lot of players got involved in the scoring. Gilbert Carter led the Spartans with 12 points, followed by
Grant Lund (8) Sherif Jones (7), Patrick Elliot, Drew Peters (6 each), Todd Silas, Clay Harger,
Justin Hayes (4 each), Tim Burton (3), Andrew Dinwoodie and Matt Sherrard (2 each)
Stratford 47 Klein 40
After a series of scrimmages in Magnolia and at Cy-Ranch the previous week, the JV men opened
their season against the Klein Bearkats. The Spartans started their season with 11 players as the
guys coming from football were still getting ready for round ball. The 1st quarter of the game was
evenly played with Klein leading by 12-11. The Bea rkats outplayed the Spartans in the 2nd
quarter 14-8 and had a halftime lead of 26-19. Stratford caught fire in the 3rd quarter and won the
quarter 17-2, to take a 36-28 lead. The Spartans continued to build a lead into the mid-teens
more than half way through the 4th quarter. Klein narrowed the lead towards the end of the game
as Stratford got a little sloppy, but the Spartans won the game comfortably 47-40. 9 of the 11
Spartans scored with Gilbert Carter and Grant Lund leading the scoring with 10 each. Also
scoring for the Spartans were Patrick Elliot (8), Todd Silas, Sherif Jones, Justin Hayes (4 each),
Lloyd Hampton (3), Clay Harger and Drew Peters (2 each).