Osweiler comes up big for Braves

A huge scandal rocked baseball a few years ago after it was discovered that hundreds of players, from Little League to the majors, were fudging their ages to appear younger.

Well, someone better check Brock Osweiler's birth certificate. At 6-foot-8, with 220 pounds of lean muscle, Osweiler already has the body of an NBA player. He's only a freshman.

But you couldn't tell that from his play at Flathead on Saturday. Despite it being his first varsity game, Osweiler looked as at home on the court as any seasoned vet, leading FHS with a game-high 14 points and nine rebounds and helping the Braves to a season-opening 57-46 win over Lake City, from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Truth is, he felt right at home on the floor.

"It's real exciting to be on varsity," he said. "Playing at home in front of a crowd like this is so much fun."

"Pretty good for a freshman," Flathead coach Fred Febach deadpanned. "He's a good player and he's going to get better."

The same could be said for the entire Braves team; they may have won, but it was obvious that they have a lot of work to do, according to Febach.

"It's only Game 1, and there's a lot of room for improvement," he said. "We struggled at times, especially in the third quarter, but I'm so proud of the way our guys were able to fight back.

"It would have been so easy to fold."

After a first half that featured a lot of missed shots and turnovers, Flathead went into halftime up 21-17. With the score tied at 27 midway through the third quarter, Lake City went on a 6-0 run and looked ready to pull away.

The Timberwolves had all the momentum and the Braves had only made one field goal in the quarter before Geoff Hogan (11 points, 9 boards) hit a shot with 30 seconds left to close the gap to 33-29.

Backup guard Ryan Gregg then seemed to snatch the momentum right back when he threw up a prayer at the third-quarter buzzer that was answered with a swish.

The Flathead bench and crowd erupted, but that soon switched to boos and dismay as the refs waived off the shot. The damage, however, had already been done as the Braves did indeed get a momentum shift from the improbable shot.

"It really brought our spirits up," Osweiler said. "We were able to come out fighting in the fourth because of that."

Turning on their pressure defense, Flathead forced several turnovers in the final period, and managed to pull away. Jeremy DeHerrera (12 points) added four free throws in the final 1:04 to seal the win.

Lake City's Ty Stoddard did his best to bring the T'Wolves back into the game before fouling out with a team-high 14 points. He was the only Lake City player to reach double figures.

Up next for Flathead is a game at Whitefish Thursday. The Bravettes will host Columbia Falls on Friday.

BRAVES 57, T'WOLVES 46

Lake City 14 3 16 13 - 46

Flathead 14 7 8 28 - 57

Lake City - Brent Everson 2 0-0 5, Brad Bemis 1 0-2 2, Cory Kreighbaum 2 3-4 8, Jarom Taylor 2 0-0 4, Brett Bemis 3 0-0 7, Ty Stoddard 3 6-7 14, Nick Fromm 3 0-0 6. Totals: 16 9-13 46.

Flathead - Beau Watkins 2 3-4 8, Mack Andrews 2 2-2 7, Jeremy DeHerrera 2 7-12 12, Jason Russell 2 1-1 5, Brock Osweiler 5 4-7 14, Geoff Hogan 5 1-3 11. Totals: 18 18-29 57.

3-point goals: Stoddard (2), Everson, Kreighbaum, Brett Bemis; Watkins, Andrews, DeHerrera. Team fouls: Lake City 23, Flathead 12. Fouled out: Stoddard.