As Colton Sorenson goes, so goes Clarkdale-Jerome School.
A couple of weeks after the eighth-grade center for the Mingus Rams was injured for the second time in their second loss of the season, 30-29 at the Beaver Creek School, a recovered Sorenson overcame mental errors and eight missed free throws to score 19 and finish atop the Verde Valley League in the regular season, beating Big Park Community School, 33-22.
“Colton’s going to have to have braces because of that game. We were lobbing in a pass to him on the in-bounds play, and they pushed his teeth back,” head coach Rudy Sandoval said, pointing to his two top front teeth. “It was good that we lost — we realized that anyone could beat us — but he was bleeding and twisted an ankle. We don’t teach all that ’80s basketball … bull, push and shove.”
Sorenson hit for seven of Clarkdale’s 12 first-quarter points and all five of the Rams’ points in the third quarter as the Mingus Rams held on after racing to a 21-6 halftime lead. Big Park finished with two regular-season league losses — both to Clarkdale.
The win, combined with a 36-33 loss at Big Park by the girls “A” team, means both Mingus Rams basketball teams will have top three seeds going into their league tournaments Friday, Jan. 30.
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Jan. 28, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
