Bombers Take Flight - By Kylee Fox

    The Richland Boys basketball team traveled to Salt Lake City to play in one of the top tournaments in the Pacific Northwest, with teams from California, Utah, and even some international. 

    The Bombers are coming off a great season last year as they were the Co-MCC Champs. Only losing two seniors, and they are looking pretty good this season. SB Live ranked Richland number 10 in the state preseason. 

    The first game of the season started with a win against Real Salt Lake (intl.). The Bombers were down one at the end of the 1st, 19-20. In the 1st quarter, the Bomber missed multiple down low and gave the Real Salt Lake some easy points on the other side, hoping to get all the jitters out and pick up the pace in the 2nd. Jase Vopalensky comes out strong in the 2nd quarter to give the Bombers a lead by one, then the Real Salt Lake come back with an easy lay-in. Luke Westerfield responds by coming down the court with a huge dunk for the Bombers, giving him his first points of the night. 45-35 Bombers are up at the half. The Bombers come out of the half scoring 7 points in the first five minutes, and their defense breaks down, forcing coach Earl Streufert to call a timeout at 52-44. Big points from Landen Northrop and Josh Woodard gett he second half off to a good start. A better end than start to the 3rd quarter for the Bombers, and they lead by 11 going into the 4th. Real Salt Lake tries making a small comeback in the beginning of the 4th, Bombers still up by 6, 59-53. Woodard hits a three, for the first in the game for him. Bombers were trying to hold onto the lead with two minutes to go. Multiple turnovers for Richland, and the international's capitalize on the mistakes, making it 68-63 Bombers up. The Bombers win their first game of the season in Salt Lake 75-66. Woodard led with 25 points, Westerfield with 15, Vopalensky and Northrop both with 11. 

    The Richland Bombers would find themselves in the face of a real task as they go head to head with the Real Salt Lake Varsity Elite. Vopalensky started the game off strong with a huge three, and the Bombers trailed by 1. An early timeout by the Bombers with three minutes into play. There would be miscommunication by the boys, hoping to get a refresh out of their timeout. A sloppy first quarter by the Bombers, 7-14. Real Salt Lake was taking advantage of all the Bomber turnovers and countering quickly. Vopalensky with another three for the Bombers now 10-16. Poor defense by the Bombers gave Real Salt Lake a wide-open three, but Woodard took the ball right down the lane for a tough lay-in to make the Bombers down eight. This would be a slow shooting game for the Bombers, hoping to make a few easy ones. Vopalensky, with another three for the Bombers, has 11 of the 15 team points, 15-24 Real Salt Lake. Brock Steutfort with a huge defensive tip that leads to a lay-in. Buzzer beater by RSL at the half, 17-28. The first half was a rough one for the Bomber: 6 for 27 from the field, 3 of 13 from the three, and they hoping to turn it around in the second half.

    The Bombers started to show up in the 2nd half. Woodard drained a jumper from the elbow, and a steal led to an easy layup for junior, Jack Forbes. Then, Northrop knocks down a big three for the Bombers, 28-34, but RSL answers back with a three of their own. Richland is down 9, 31-40 at the end of the 3rd. RSL came out in the 4th on fire, hit two threes right off the bat, and pulled away in the 4th. The Bombers lose in a tough battle 42-63. Vopalensky led the way with 13 points.

    After a strong start and a struggling second game, a final day, big game win against Westlake would be in their sights. Woodard hits a three early to give the Bombers a one-point lead early. A huge block by Westerfield leads to a tough lay-in by Vopalensky. Bombers are up three. Miscommunication by the Bombers gives Westlake a run of their own, 18-9. The Bombers go down at the end of the 1st, 12-22. To start the second period, there would be four quick points by the Bombers. Richland is forcing Westlake to make multiple mistakes, RHS is down by nine. 

    In the second half, the Bombers are not hitting anything outside the paint, but a couple steals lead to lay-ins and brings Richland back in the game. A big three-point shot by Vopalensky makes the Bombers down by five, 35-40. By the end of the third, the Bombers would claw their way back to down by three points. The fourth quarter would be a back-and-forth battle, including a buzzer-beater three by Woodard. However, it wouldn't be enough. The boys let this one fall to Westlake, ending their time at the Springville Classic with a one-point loss, 58-59.

    Two seniors reflected back on the tournament. They had a lot of free time spent with the team and eating really good food, "My favorite part of the trip was just hanging out with the team and building better chemistry along with all the amazing food in Utah" said Brock Streufert. They also had some excellent opportunities to play teams from other states and even an international team. "Traveling and having the opportunity to play strong competition in another state is a fortunate experience that not many schools get. The food was splendid and Coach Robertson and Streufert had us eating good the whole weekend" said Vopalensky. The Bombers went 1-2 at the Springville tournament and have a lot to work on as they have a week of practice before their next game, which they look to improve and get better as they had some close games. As this was their first three games of the season, they have a lot to work on, "A takeaway we had was how to not play selfishly and to grow up and play the game of basketball. Plays only work so many times, so at some point, you just have to play the game and take what it gives you. We have a pretty solid defense, but our offense was sticky so working on that is a big thing leading forward," said Vopalensky. "One takeaway I have from the Utah trip is that to beat the best teams, we gotta have an inside game because it will open up the perimeter. We learned that we have to feed Luke when he has good position inside and then look to kick out for threes. We were too perimeter-oriented last week and that is part of the reason we went 1-2" said Streufert. As this is the last season for both Vopalensky and Streufert, they are trying to take advantage and use last year's ending as fire for this season, "I am looking forward to making my last season a memorable one. I want to go to war with my guys. Losing to Central Valley last year left a sour taste in my mouth, and I want to make sure I leave everything out on the court every time I play. I have one last ride, so I have to make the most out of it" said Vopalenksy. "I'm looking forward to playing games in Dawald in front of our home crowd as well as having another shot at state this year after falling short last year" said Streufort. The one thing that makes Bomber Basketball games fun and exciting is the crowd, the students and the community attending the games, "I'm excited to see the electric home crowd. That always gets us players going," said Vopalensky. 

    Thanks to Atomic TV, who made the trip down to Salt Lake to stream the Bombers.