The basketball team started off the season strong with big wins over Kennedy and Watkins Mill.

CHS looked like a dominant team as the Bulldogs defeated both teams by double digits.
The Bulldogs defeated Kennedy 57-45 at home Dec. 7 and Watkins Mill 55-43 Dec. 13 at home as the team began its season with a 2-0 record. The Bulldogs played solid defense throughout both games, holding both opponents under 50 points.

“The players gave an amazing effort defensively as a team throughout the game,” coach Matt Miller said. “The other team had a talented point guard, but we put great pressure on him and forced many turnovers.”

In the preseason, CHS suffered two major injuries. The first was to junior Cameron Moshyedi, who fractured his ulna and radius, and the second was to senior captain Will Lewis, who fractured his ankle and tibia. Lewis was a major part to the team last year as he averaged 9.7 points per game, which was the highest of any returning player.

“Lewis was a huge asset and was likely to be one of our top scorers,” senior captain Jordan Bass said. “To cope with our injuries, we need to move on and we need everyone to step it up and give an extra few minutes each game.”

Bass was a big part of the offense as he had 17 points and connected for three, three-pointers against Kennedy. Junior Sam Edens also had a major impact on the game as he had 12 points, including a key field goal late in the fourth quarter where he made a lay-up and was fouled. He made the free-throw and gave CHS an 11 point lead.

“Offensively, we distributed the ball well and got open looks,” Bass said. “We have plenty players who can score for our team.”

Senior captain Jesse Simon had a strong impact on the offense as he had seven points with four rebounds. Junior Thomas Geenen also sparked the offense with eight points on four of four shooting, with eight boards, as CHS out rebounded their opponents and had many second chance points.

“The whole game we boxed out the other team and fought for loose balls,” Miller said.
CHS was consistent against Watkins Mill as the Bulldogs played smothering defense and out rebounded their opponents. Junior Kyle Edwards played a major role in providing offense for the Bulldogs as he added 14 points and eight boards.

“We stress defense every game and our coach has a chart that says to hold every team to under 45 points a game,” Simon said. “Defense is what wins us games.”

Despite this, the Bulldogs offense exploded in the fourth quarter as the CHS outscored Watkins Mill by 13 points in the final quarter. Bass had a key play in which he stole the ball from the opponents’ point guard and scored a layup on the fast break to put the game out of reach for the visitors. Bass had 13 points in the game and has proven to be a consistent scorer on the team.

“Since last year, everyone’s gotten better, guys are hitting big shots and we have good team chemistry,” Simon said. “Everyone’s stepping it up.”

CHS played at Magruder Dec. 15 and at home against Springbrook Dec. 17.