With biggest moments ahead, Calvert playing its best

On the eve of, perhaps, the program's biggest game in 15 years, a trio of Calvert players sat in their coach's office. Captain Mitch Nielsen and all-district selections Nick Seifert and Garrett Spaun were pretty loose. When the question was asked about how the Senecas thought they'd fare against Arlington in tonight's Division IV district finals, Seifert started to answer. Then coach Jon Otterbacher walked in. Seifert — perhaps looking to score as many points with his coach as he does on the court — seized an opportunity. "I believe coach has put together a heck of a gameplan for us," Seifert said, drawing some laughter. It appeared Calvert was serious about the game, but the players weren't stressing about it. Maybe that's because the Senecas have shown themselves to be at their best when the stakes are the highest. Calvert comes into tonight's game with the Red Devils 18-6. It's a very good record. But hidden in that mark is a series of thrilling wins matched by some disappointments. The Senecas were only 2-2 in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division after a Dec. 21 home loss to Fremont St. Joe. But that loss was followed by an eight-game win streak. The biggest victory in the stretch came Jan. 11, when the Senecas stunned Division IV's top-ranked team, Norwalk St. Paul, 60-51. After beating Riverdale Jan. 18, Calvert was 11-2. But things slowed down in the second half of the season. The Senecas won just five of their last nine. Included in that were losses to Gibsonburg and New Riegel, the latter coming in the regular-season finale. "It was definitely an eye opener. Like, this is how tournament ball is gonna be played," Seifert said. "We need to get our heads right, or else we're gonna be one-and-done. So I think that was our mindset going into the tournament." Reinforcing that message was Otterbacher, who has repeatedly stressed a one-game-at-a-time approach. "You're never as good as you think you are, and you're never as bad as it actually seems," Otterbacher said. "We don't try to dwell on the bad things. We look at those as opportunities to get better and improve." The Senecas have flexed in their two postseason games. They beat St. Joe 51-39 in last week's district quarterfinal, then, Tuesday, pulled off their biggest win yet, eliminating top-seeded Old Fort 67-52. The Stockaders handled Calvert in two regular season games. The win did two things. It put Calvert a win from its first district title since 2005, and it also helped establish the Senecas as a big-game team. "I think as a player, what you always play for is those big games," Nielsen said. "You look forward to those big, exciting games everyone wants to go watch, and you look forward to really going out and dominating, really showing everybody who you are." And Calvert has had a chance to show opponents who it is. The starting five consists of Nielsen, the lone senior starter, who was praised by Otterbacher for his work on the defensive end. "I've said it for the last two years, when he's in the game, we don't give up fastbreak layups," Otterbacher said. "He's kind of our defensive leader out on the floor, works his tail off at all times. There's times he's exhausted in practice and doesn't give up and continues to fight and battle." There's Nolan Beeker, the sophomore post. "He's a high energy kid, takes a lot of charges, does a lot of the little things that a lot of other kids would not be willing to do," Otterbacher said. "He gets his opportunities around the basket, and usually finishes well." Then there's junior Jack Shultz. A quarterback in the fall, Shultz has made key plays in the postseason. Otterbacher pointed to the eight first-quarter points in the quarterfinal against St. Joe. "I don't know if we win if he doesn't score eight points in the first quarter last week," Otterbacher said. "We might not win that game if he doesn't step up and take over." Spaun is the team's point guard, the "offensive leader" according to Otterbacher. "Very quick, very shifty, very athletic, but very knowledgable of the game," Otterbacher said. Then, there's Seifert, who is averaging about 17 points and nine boards a contest. A first-team all-SBC and third-team all-northwest district selection. "He's our go-to guy when we need a basket, he's our power when we need the rebounding," Otterbacher said. "He does everything we ask him to, and more." The five have helped make everything work at the most critical time. "I think we're finally hitting our stride, I think we're trusting each other a lot more than we were earlier," Spaun said. And they're trusting the coaching staff. "We wouldn't be anywhere without all five starters on the floor," Otterbacher said. "All five do whatever we ask them to do, and that's why we're in the spot we're in right now." That spot means a matchup with Arlington. The Red Devils were 18-4 in the regular season, 10-1 in the powerful Blanchard Valley Conference. They also made a big comeback against Hopewell-Loudon, hitting six fourth-quarter 3s — 11 overall — in a 55-52 district semifinal win. "We're gonna have to take away the comfortable 3s as much as we can," Otterbacher said. "We know they're gonna make 3s, and we know they're gonna shoot plenty of them. We just have to make sure they're not getting as many rhythm 3s as they're used to. We've got some decent defenders we hope can stay in front of them and contest their shots, and if the ball bounces our way, then we'll take what they'll give us." But as the players and the coach conceded, Calvert's postseason run isn't about scheme. "We've got to trust each other," Spaun said. "If we trust each other, we'll be fine." It's working so far. A-T FILE PHOTO BY STEVE WILLIAMS Nick Seifert elevates over a St. Mary defender to create an open shot Feb. 7 in Tiffin.