Keota Fall to Familiar Foe in Gladbrook-Reinbeck

VAN HORNE—The Keota Eagles found themselves once again in the Regional Final, and once again matched up against Gladbrook-Reinbeck. On February 20, the Rebels bested the Eagles by a final score of 67-62 at Benton High School. 

Keota junior forward Billie Kindred opened up the scoring with a three pointer, but this would be the only lead the Eagles held all game.

After missing their first shot, the Rebels did not miss a shot as they stormed out to a 14-7 lead, before it pushed to a 20-13 lead after a quarter. 

The Eagles fought back in the second quarter, and even tied the game up at 29 apiece late with another Billie Kindred three. The Rebels responded with a basket right before the half, and retook the lead at 31-29.

The third quarter was controlled by Gladbrook-Reinbeck, as they pushed to a 52-44 lead with time expiring in the third quarter. Keota sophomore guard Chase Haifley found himself streaking down the sideline with the ball. Haifley hurled a prayer, and the ball swished through the net. The miracle shot cut the Rebel lead down to five at 52-47 as the Eagles headed into the fourth quarter. 

The Eagles continued to fight in the fourth quarter, eventually cutting the Rebel lead down to two at 57-55. Once again junior Billie Kindred tied the ball game up, but this time with a two pointer. From here, Gladbrook-Reinbeck juniors Michael Boyd and Drew Eilers took over. They scored or assisted on the final eight of the 11 points scored by the Rebels, as the Gladbrook-Reinbeck sealed the 67-62 victory. Boys and Eilers combined for 41 of the Rebels 67 total points.

The biggest difference in this game came in the efficiency of Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s offense. They knew with a potent offense in Keota, that they had to be taking good shots. They did just that all night, as they finished with a team shooting percentage of 56.2%, and a three point percentage of 42.9%.

 The Eagles had four players hit double digits on the night: Sawyer Stout-14, Evan Vittetoe-10, Billie Kindred-10 and Chase Haifley-10. Seniors Cole Kindred and Tanner Waterhouse also had nine points apiece. Kindred added six assists on top of his scoring effort, as he was the main facilitator for the Eagles. His brother, Billie Kindred, also filled out the stat sheet with a team high seven rebounds and four assists.

Despite the loss, the Eagles still earned sole possession of a SICL conference title, and their Head Coach, Dan Stout, couldn’t be prouder of them. “They have been a wonderful group of young men to work with. They have given so much leadership to our program. Winning the outright SICL title is a great accomplishment and something that each of them can be proud of. They won 44 games the last two years and will leave a lasting impression for future players to follow,” expressed Coach Stout on what this team meant to the program. 

Coach Stout went on to describe his final message to the team as, “I thanked them for all their hard work and dedication to our program. I’m very proud of all of them.”

The Eagles wrapped up their season with a final record of 23-1, and as the SICL Conference Champions.