Orangefield has a new head basketball coach in Jake McDonald. McDonald (left) comes to Orangefield from Bridge City where he was an assistant coach for that successful program.
Coach McDonald maybe new to Orangefield, but there are a lot of Bobcats returning from last season. Alex Catt, Aven Lathrop, Zach Dischler, Ryan Deutsch, Drew Worthy, Dylan Williams, and Jacob Rainey are all returning lettermen for Orangefield.
The Bobcats will be senior heavy with so many returning players which should translate to four starters each night that are seniors. Leadership will also be a hallmark for Orangefield’s experienced lineup. McDonald commented, “We don’t have many young guys, the ones we do have are following these seniors doing a great job in practice keeping energy levels up and coming every day ready to work.”
With all the returning lettermen for the Bobcats, McDonald will try to squeeze at least one newcomer onto the varsity. Tyrone Wagonner was up and down last season on the varsity and junior varsity for Orangefield. Wagonner has stepped in during the fall and the early season scrimmages as an overall complete player. He shoots the ball decent, rebounds it, and passes well. “We’ve got some other guys that will be JV guys, but that’s the one that stands out as an underclassman right now,” McDonald advised.
Early workouts and scrimmages are being used by Coach McDonald to get the Bobcats into shape for the regular season. The senior group has really bought into what the coach is trying to do at Orangefield. Because of their experience they learn fast. Depth has been a bit of a problem for the Bobcats who were still awaiting the arrival of four or five football players to be full fulltime with basketball. McDonald stated, “They’re going to bring a lot to the table to what we already have.”
Orangefield struggled last year in district, but McDonald believes the Bobcats could compete for a playoff spot this season. He admitted Orangefield competes in one of the toughest 4A districts in the state. “We’re senior heavy, there’s no reason we should not be able to compete with those guys that are in our district,” McDonald concluded.
LADY BOBCATS
Last season was another good one for the Orangefield Lady Bobcats. They won over twenty games and finished second in the district before being eliminated in the first round of the state playoffs.
Coach Jennifer Willis (right) returns a number of Lady Bobcats from last year. Point guard Emmi Lummus is back for Orangefield. Sophomore Faith Fregia was the offensive player of the year in the district last season, and she should be even better. Macie Adrio will get more playing time this season. Three big girls Jayme Deutsch, Tatum Garlington, and Cameron Choate will see time on the court. Another guard is Lacy Leach. Willis summarized, “So, I’ve returned a squad.”
There are some young ladies that Willis will find playing time on the varsity at Orangefield. She is definitely expecting big things out of Taylor Decker, a senior who has come back to basketball this year. Another senior new to the varsity is Ashtin Broussard. KK Lorenzo is a sophomore who be playing some with the varsity according to Willis.
With a lot of veteran players and a group of enthusiastic newcomers, Coach Willis hopes to mold the Lady Bobcats into contenders again for the district title. Willis believes the team is a work in progress just as many clubs are this time of the season. She has them working on fundamentals, execution, and has implemented a few new things that will be difference makers which will be evident when the season starts.
Willis expects Orangefield to be competitive in the district. “We’ll definitely be putting in the work to finish on top, so hopefully we’re going to give it a good run this year,” Willis concluded.
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