CHESTERTOWN — Posters on the gym walls at Chestertown Christian Academy last week celebrated the school’s homecoming as well as the fast-approaching 250th anniversary of the United States’ independence.
One poster was particularly striking, and foreshadowing, with the caricature of an American colonist in a tricorn hat and basketball attire against the backdrop of a bald eagle and the words, “250 Years of Stars, Stripes & Slam Dunks.”
While the patriot in the poster looked nothing like John Stoltzfus, it was easy to make the connection as the Patriots’ 6-foot-1 senior slammed home basket after basket in a 54-25 rout of the Knights of Fairwinds Christian School on Friday night, Feb. 6.
With the win in varsity boys basketball, CCA swept a rare triple-header that included middle school boys and varsity girls games.
Stoltzfus scored a game-high 12 points, all in the first frame. He played sparingly after that as the game was an obvious mismatch from the tip-off.
Sophomore Josh Frain and senior Thomas Benson added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the 7-5 Patriots, who defeated their Delaware Valley Christian Athletic Conference rivals from Bear, Delaware for the second time this season.
All told, CCA received scoring from nine players while clearing its bench.
Freshman Colton Seningen contributed eight points, junior Noah Medrano added six, and Craig Clark, Brad Joiner, Jonah Vaughn and Brodie Slager accounted for the balance.
Junior Matt Diaz with 11 points was the only Fairwinds player to score in double figures.
Eighth grader Ethan Ellers added six points; four others each scored two points.
Frain on a fast-break scored 32 seconds in to start a run of eight unanswered points that gave the Patriots a lead they were never in danger of losing.
Stoltzfus started his jamfest with a two-handed dunk after a steal with only 1 minute, 55 seconds elapsed.
Another steal at mid-court set up a one-handed slam nearly two minutes later to punctuate the 8-0 start.
Ellers put Fairwinds (1-11) on the board with 3:57 remaining in the opening quarter, but CCA would score the next 11 points.
Benson buried a 3-pointer to start this flurry, helping the home team stretch its lead to 19-2 on Stoltzfus’ fifth dunk of the evening — with another assist from sophomore Micah Baugher — with 1:02 to play in the first frame.
Stoltzfus and Frain collectively scored 18 of Chestertown Christian Academy’s 21 first-quarter points, and sat for the entire second quarter as their coaches started to substitute frequently.
With Benson and Medrano each scoring four points, CCA closed the half on a 15-7 run to stretch the lead to 36-13.
The spread was 47-23 after Benson, Frain and Seningen each knocked down 3-pointers in the third quarter.
Medrano and Seningen salted away the win by scoring eight of the final 10 points.
