Ottensmeier, Altadonna drive Highland to easy win over Wesclin in Optimist Shootout

Highland guards Jake Ottensmeier and Cade Altadonna made sure the Bulldogs first appearance back in the 30th annual Optimist Shootout after COVID shut down last year’s event was a fun one for the home fans.

HHS shook off a slow first quarter and erupted for 21 second-quarter points en route to a 53-35 victory over Wesclin on Saturday, Jan. 8, in the second game of the shootout at Highland High School.

Ottensmeier and Altadonna provided the big punch, clicking for 18 points and 17 points, respectively, as the Bulldogs showed patience and executed their half-court offense to near perfection.

“We wanted to preach patience tonight and for the most part, we accomplished that,” Highland interim coach Cody Best said. “Everything will open up if you just run the offense.”

Midway through the second quarter, the Bulldogs offense started to roll, as Altadonna and Ottensmeier each drilled treys, kickstarting a 16-9 run over the final four minutes of the first half that pushed the Bulldogs 31-22 at intermission.

“We had a bad loss (against Waterloo) last night and we all just kind of forgot about it and that energy we had just kind of motivated us much more,” Altadonna said. “I got myself open and got my teammates open as well.”

A drive for two by standout guard Grant Fridley pulled Wesclin (7-10) within 38-33 as the third quarter wound down.

HHS (7-10), however, re-established control at the start of the fourth quarter. A putback bucket by freshman forward Grant Fleming and a 3-pointer and coast-to-coast layup by Altadonna sparked a 9-0 Bulldogs run, pushing the lead to 48-33.

Altadonna was voted the game MVP but the unsung hero award definitely went to Fleming, who stepped off the bench with a big-time effort, scoring nine points and pulling down nine rebounds in 24 minutes of action.

“Well, yesterday’s game, I was pretty mad after that and it was a tough loss but we just had to win this game,” Fleming said. “It was a team effort. We were just fired up from the get-go and shots weren’t falling. Especially yesterday but they started to fall (today) and we started playing a team game.”

“Cade might have been MVP, but Grant Fleming won my heart over with nine points and nine rebounds and he played his tail off,” Best said.

The win was huge for the Bulldogs as they snapped a five-game losing streak that started at the 60th annual Mater Dei Christmas Tournament on Dec. 28. The losing streak culminated with a 56-40 loss at Mississippi Valley Conference rival Waterloo on Friday, Jan. 7.

“It was a really bad loss last night, but we forgot about last night and we just got this big win. So that’s what we’re focusing on,” Best said.

Bowling

The Highland boys and girls bowling teams ventured north to Bethalto on Tuesday, Jan. 4, and started the new year off on the right foot as both clubs won their matches over Mississippi Valley Conference rival Civic Memorial at Airport Plaza Lanes in Bethalto.

Logan Oestringer and Hunter Hediger led the Bulldogs boys team with big nights. Oestringer bowled the high game of the match with a 268 while Hediger took home high series honors, rolling a 693 series.

On Thursday, Jan. 6, the HHS girls keglers squared off against MVC rival Mascoutah and posted a home win at Poplar Junction Lanes in Highland.

Carissa Merkle powered the Lady Bulldogs, firing a high game of 225 and a high series of 639.

Hockey

A timely holiday boost helped the Highland Hockey club enter the 2022 part of their season on a positive path.

HHS scored three goals in the first two periods and added a pair of third-period scores to roll to a 5-2 Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association victory over the Alton Redbirds on Thursday, Dec. 30, at Granite City Ice Rink.

Tyler Griesbaum paced the Bulldogs offense with two goals and three assists. Dylan Kreke scored a pair of goals and had an assist and Jacob Noll added a goal. Dylan Giffhorn picked up the win in net for Highland.

Highland then gained a victory Monday, Jan. 4, via a forfeit from Vianney and then finished the opening week of the new year Thursday, Jan. 6, with a resounding 7-3 victory over rival Triad at Granite City Ice Rink.

HHS moved to 7-8-2 on the season.

This story was originally published January 8, 2022 at 7:00 PM.