Saturday night’s clash between Frankfort and Rossville was more than just a game. It was a celebration of community where almost everyone went to a basketball game on the weekend and enjoyed the fellowship that went with it.
It was also the 30th year anniversary of the movie “Blue Chips”, the event that sent the town into a frenzy and showed the world what basketball means in Indiana.
“It was so surreal,” said Frankfort guard Kye Kirby after he scored 20 of his game-high 28 points in the first half to lift the Hot Dogs to a 54-39 non-conference victory at Case Arena. “We couldn’t believe the crowd and all the fans that came out. We loved this.. It was a once in a lifetime experience,”
It took Frankfort a little while to get started. Rossville’s Caden Wilson drained a three to give the Hornets their only lead of the night. The Hot Dogs responded with 10 straight points to grab a lead they would never relinquish.
Rossville cut the deficit to 10-7 before the Hot Dogs outscored Rossville 6-2 the rest of the quarter for a 16-9 lead after one.
Both teams struggled in the second stanza and Frankfort took a 27-19 halftime lead, Frankfort had just three players score in the opening half as Kirby and Doug Wood combined for 26 points. The duo combined for 40 points in the game.
In the third quarter. Frankfort , now 6-7, took control by outscoring the visitors 12-5 to take a 39-24 into the final eight minutes. The Hornets got no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
Rossville struggled all night from the field all night by going 12 of 51 shots from the field (23.5 percent) while also turning the ball over 19 times.
Wilson led Rossville, which fell to 6-9, with 11 points. Brayden Thiele-Hahn and Jordan Skiles both added 10.
“It was definitely a nice win for us.” said Frankfort head coach Rick Scholl. “The kids have been coming together. We’ve won six out of our last seven games. So, they’re playing well. We’re playing hard, especially defensively, except for the Lebanon game.”
Scholl was asked about the crowd at Case.
“I thought the energy was good,” said Scholl. “The kids came out and it brought a lot of energy.”
What does Scholl see as the key to his team being successful the rest of the way?
“It’s defense over everything,” he said. “We like to pressure the ball and we just rotate the shooters. We don’t want nothing in the middle.”
Frankfort has two non-conference clashes next week before returning to the wars of the Sagamore Conference. The Dogs play at Benton Central Friday night before returning to Case on Saturday to host Clinton Central in a Clinton County clash.
Kirby said he like to see more of this type of atmosphere.
“Our team is starting to click a lot,” he said. “I think we’re really looking good for sectionals.”