Vikings pillage the Panthers

After starting off their season with a close win over Randolph, the Hayfield boys’ basketball team made sure their game against New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva (NRHEG) wasn’t quite as close as they cruised to a 76-45 win on Friday, Dec. 6.
            While sometimes in blowouts the first half is close and the other team just keeps pulling away in the second half, that wasn’t the case here as the Vikings raced out to a 39-22 lead at halftime.
            Despite having time to make adjustments during halftime, the second half was nearly identical to the first as Hayfield scored 37 points and NRHEG scored 23.
            The 76-45 victory improves the Vikings’ record to 2-0.
            Leading the Vikings for the second straight game was Ethan Slaathaug who scored 25 points. Two other Hayfield players, Easton Fritcher and Luke Dudycha, reached double-digit points; Fritcher scored 14 points, while Dudycha tallied 12.
            Also scoring for the Vikings were Isaac Matti 8 points, Patrick Towey 6, Brady Nelson 4, James Watson 4, and Joey Tempel 3.
            Hayfield’s next game is a road conference game at Waterville-Elysian-Morristown High School. It’s slated to begin at 7:15 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13.
            The Vikings’ next home game is against LeRoy-Ostrander at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 19.