Tulalip Heritage defeats Mt. Rainier Lutheran

Dontae Jones with the rebound for Tulalip.
Dontae Jones with the rebound for Tulalip. Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News

By Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News

The Tulalip Heritage Hawks crushed the Mt. Rainier Lutheran Hawks at tonight’s game at Heritage High School in the first tri-district championship game. Both teams opened strong, keeping up with one another. Then in the last minutes of the first quarter, Tulalip pulled away, building on a 7 point lead that ended in a win by nearly 20 points, 76-48 Tulalip.

Shawn Sanchey drives to the hoop for a lay up, passing Rainier defense. Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News
Shawn Sanchey drives to the hoop for a lay up, passing Rainier defense. Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News

The win was hard earned. Tempers flared in the first quarter, leading to taunting fouls on both teams. The second quarter they tightened up, playing a clean game with minimal fouls. It seemed like the tables might have turned with Rainier sinking nothing but three pointers, but the hawks pushed on, relentlessly driving the ball to the hoop. The third quarter was all about the fouls with both teams showing signs of fatigue, lacking precision in the execution of plays, scored 71-47 Tulalip.

Rainier fouled Brandon Jones causing him to hit the court hard in the 3rd quarter. Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News
Rainier fouled Brandon Jones causing him to hit the court hard in the 3rd quarter. Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News

Both teams played hard, showing their fatigue in the fourth quarter. The starters, who had played the entire game, were pulled on both teams, as the fresh players took the court. Alan Enick scored an amazing three pointer in the final minutes of the game, further sealing the win for Tulalip.

Tulalip: 22, 17, 32, 5 Total 76
Rainier: 15, 9, 23, 1 Total 48

Dontae Jones 5, Brandon Jones 8, Bradley Fryberg 19, Robert Miles Jr. 12, Shawn Sanchey 9, Keanu Hamilton 20, Alan Enick 3.

Andrew Gobin is a reporter with the See-Yaht-Sub, a publication of the Tulalip Tribes Communications Department.
Email: agobin@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
Phone: (360) 716.4188

District One 1B Champions: Tulalip Heritage Hawks advance to Tri-districts

Tulalip Heritage Hawks win District One 1B Championship. Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News
Tulalip Heritage Hawks win District One 1B Championship. Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News

Article and photos by Andrew Gobin, Tulalip News

After a great season the Tulalip Heritage Hawks dominate the District One 1B Championships, taking home the second trophy for Tulalip. Facing rival Blackhawks from Lummi in the final game, Tulalip played an intense game. The Hawks only lost one game this season, their first game this season against the Lummi Blackhawks.

The first game of the championship series was to be played against Providence Classical Christian February 8th, but was forfeit by Providence Classical advancing Heritage to the winner’s bracket. Game two pitted the Hawks against Grace Academy on February 11th, with the Hawks leading the game by 10 points, winning 61-48.

February 13th was game three, the final game for the championship title, was by far the most intense. The Hawks held a narrow lead throughout the game, and at times there was a fear of losing that lead. Driven by last year’s upset at this very game, the Hawks were not about to let their lead go without a fight.

Brandon Jones with a rebound for Tulalip. This led to a 3 point shot, maintaining their lead.
Brandon Jones with a rebound for Tulalip. This led to a 3 point shot, maintaining their lead. Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News

Lummi won the tip off, then ten seconds into the game Bradley Fryberg with an amazing steal from the top of the key, ran the ball down the court for a lay up. Two points and Tulalip was in the lead. You can catch the replay on the Tulalip News Facebook page. The teams met as equals on the court, returning shot for shot keeping them neck and neck. It was a game decided by fouls, as are every rivalry game between the Hawks and the Blackhawks. The last three games of last year, including the championship upset, were lost within 2 points. This year, the Hawks prevailed, winning the title of District One 1B champions, advancing them on to Tri-Districts and hopefully the State Championships.

Senior Shawn Sachey said, “This is a great feeling. We worked hard as a team, Lummi was a hard team to beat, but we won. We have a good chance of going to state, but we’ll see. We haven’t played anyone from over the mountains yet.”

Brandon Jones, also a senior, said, “The game went excellent. Scoring first gave us a lot of momentum. I just want to thank God for the win.”

New addition to the team, sophomore Ayrik Miranda, said, “We came out with intensity, andwe kept that through the game.”

Head Coach Marlin Fryberg Jr. was very pleased with the way the team played, attributing the success of the game to crucial time outs he used to refocus his players.

“Anytime we lost momentum, I called a time out and regrouped the boys. We really played the way we wanted to, the way we practiced. The last four minutes of the game, three of their starters were on the bench. But it was really the foul shots, especially those last foul shots, that sealed the win.”

This is the second time the Tulalip Heritage Hawks have won the district championships, advancing to tri-districts starting February 18th.

For game times, stats, photos, and updates, checkout Tulalip News on Facebook or tulalipnews.com. Watch the games live on tulaliptv.com.

Andrew Gobin is a reporter with the See-Yaht-Sub, a publication of the Tulalip Tribes Communications Department.
Email: agobin@tulaliptribes-nsn.gov
Phone: (360) 716.4188

Hawks hold nothing back

Brandon Jones looks to make a passAndrew Gobin/Tulalip News
Brandon Jones looks to make a pass
Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News

Heritage Boys set the bar high with season opener win

Article and photos by Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News

Tulalip − From warm up to the last point, Tulalip Heritage Hawks could not be stopped at the Northwest 1B season opener against Cedar Park Christian/Mountlake Terrace Lions, winning 64-50.

The Hawks flew into action, scoring first and maintaining a solid five point lead throughout the game, never slowing down, executing each play with precision. On the rebound or steal, the Hawks led the charge up and down the court.

Head coach Marlin Fryberg Jr. said, “This is a great start to the season. We played against this team last year three times and they beat us each time. In practice, the emphasis was to open the season real strong and show them and the other teams how Tulalip will play this year.

A steal with a smile, Dontae Jones regains the ball for Tulalip.Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News
A steal with a smile, Dontae Jones regains the ball for Tulalip.
Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News

Dontae Jones, known for his quick feet, moved low and fast dodging many Lions players, flashing a smile as he breezed by. Brandon Jones and Shawn Sanchey with the rebound wasted no time getting to the hoop. All players proved to be strong shooters, with Payton Comenote sinking three pointers throughout the game.

The MVP of the evening, though, was sophomore Robert Miles Jr. He scored 24 points for the Hawks, with 16 rebounds and four steals.

Robert Miles Jr. with the rebound
Robert Miles Jr. with the rebound
Andrew Gobin/Tulalip News

Fryberg said, “All of our boys played a great game, but Robert was outstanding. As a sophomore, he plays basketball the way you would hope a senior would play.”

According to Fryberg, the goal this year is to return to the state championships, and to win.