Friday Night in Mount Joy was a big section 3 clash between visiting Cocalico and host Donegal. Cocalico came into Mount Joy looking to get a huge road win and stay among the leaders in the section. It started fairly well for Cocalico but by halftime the Indians took a lead up 29-27. Never looking back the Indians used balanced scoring all around but specifically led by Sawyer Floyd and Cole Hess. Sawyer Floyd was back on the court after missing a few games and Cole Hess had a career night offensively and defensively. Those two gentlemen would be major contributors in Donegal’s 64-53 dub, and I ended up talking with those two after the game:

Sawyer Floyd Interview

Q: Your first game back in a couple of games, how’d it feel getting back on the floor?

A: It felt good, I still wasn’t 100% but our trainers taped me up and it felt really good.

Q: A solid 12-point performance tonight, what do you have to say about your performance offensively?

A: I feel like I can do that most games. I was definitely more aggressive offensively tonight and it opened up to get some of my teammates open buckets.

Q: You’ve always been active on defense and tonight was more of the same, what would you say about your performance defensively?

A: I thought as a team we did a pretty good job shutting down some of their scorers. Individually I definitely can do better, and I am working on it every day.

Q: Your teammate Cole Hess had a career night, what do you have to say about him?

A: That can happen for Cole every night. He finally started being aggressive, using his strength and finished in the paint. I’m proud of him and he can continue to do that.

Q: What does this win mean for the team and what did coach say afterwards?

A: It gives us a lot of momentum going into this upcoming week. But we aren’t going to back down and start to get cocky, we are going to stay in the gym and keep working.

Cole Hess Interview

Q: You had a career night tonight! How’d that feel to have that kind of night?

A: It felt great. It felt even better to have this kind of win as a team. I just went out, put in work and did my job as everyone else did.

Q: You dropped 17 points tonight, what do you have to say about your offensive output?

A: Offensively it just came down to finishing great passes from my teammates and knocking down shots when my team needed me to.

Q: What would you say about your performance defensively tonight?

A: Defensively it wasn’t my best game. I got a lot of help from my team when I needed it and we all stepped up when it mattered. My main focus was rebounding tonight for our team to get the win.

Q: Your teammate Sawyer Floyd was back on the court tonight, what was that like having him back?

A: It’s great having Sawyer back. I can thank him for a good amount of my touches and buckets tonight. He makes plays when we need him the most which really helps when playing against solid teams like Cocalico.

Q: What was Coach’s message to the team before the game?

A: Coach’s message is really the same day in and day out. Go out and compete the way we know how and good things will happen. He has great trust in us which gives us confidence to do so.

Upcoming Games for the squads: Donegal will have 2 games this week, away at Elco on 1/17 and then at home on 1/19 for the highly anticipated rematch with Lancaster Catholic. Cocalico will have 3 games, away at LS on 1/17, home against Northern Lebanon on 1/19 and they’ll travel on 1/21 to Red Lion for a non-league matchup.