Holbrook boys enter final week ranked No. 7

Posted by Quentin Jodie | Feb 10, 2022 | Basketball |

FORT DEFIANCE

The success of this year’s Holbrook boys’ basketball team goes back to last season.

Heading into tonight’s game with Show Low, the Roadrunners own a 21-4 record, including a 6-2 mark in the 3A East Region.

“Our success is simply because of what we build off from last year,” longtime Holbrook coach Delmar Johnson said. “You know, we only had six wins, and we didn’t make the state tournament last year. The guys that came back now have that experience.”

The Roadrunners has a 12-player roster, and four of them are seniors. They include Caden Tom, Nick Begay, Jonathan Black, and Kodiak Daw.

The remaining players include seven juniors and one freshman. The junior class is currently leading the Roadrunners in scoring, with Noah Brown averaging 14.7 ppg followed by Quentin Thomas (13.9) and Brandon Tapaha (12.7).

Brandon’s younger brother, Tyler Tapaha, is fourth in scoring, with the freshman forward averaging 8.9 ppg.

“We’re well-rounded,” said Johnson, who used his entire bench during last week’s 48-45 win over Window Rock.

Holbrook started the season off with two straight losses to Gilbert Christian and American Leadership Academy-Gilbert North. Still, it rebounded with 15 consecutive wins, including the tournament title at Round Valley on Dec. 11.

But after that tournament win, the Roadrunners didn’t play another game until Jan. 6 as the program was put on COVID protocol.

“We were playing pretty good when we went into the Round Valley tournament, then all of a sudden during Christmas break we had to shut down,” Johnson said. “And then we came back off the break, and we hit another winning streak, and I can honestly say we were playing pretty good, but you could tell the second time we were shut down, it hurt us.

“I mean, we didn’t have our timing; we were not in shape like we were in the beginning,” he added, “so, you know, everybody was getting hit by COVID.”

Slowly but surely, Johnson said his team is starting to regain what they lost, as they will close out the regular season at Show Low today and at Snowflake on Friday.

At press time, the Roadrunners (6-2) were sitting second in the 3A East Region with a chance of challenging Snowflake (6-1) for the league title.

“We have to play the way we’re capable of playing, which is sharing the ball and, you know, really getting after it defensively,” Johnson said of its final two contests. “But we definitely have to rebound and cut down on our turnovers.”

Based on its strength of schedule, the Roadrunners were sitting No. 7 in the AIA statewide polls, as the top 8 seeds will get a bye into the 16-team playoff bracket.

“I would love to be a top 8 but wherever we end up is where we end up,” Johnson said. “I mean, right now, we have to take it one game at a time. Hopefully, we are one of the top 8 to where we can host a playoff game.”

Johnson said several teams could make a deep run in the 3A state bracket, but he feels that top-ranked Chandler Valley Christian is the team to beat this year.

“Valley Christian is good year-in and year-out,” he said. “They never rebuild. They reload every year, and they’re tough, but, you know, it doesn’t matter who we play. We just have to give a 100% and compete and make the other team work.”