Central City boys finally healthy at right time

CENTRAL CITY - The boys are finally back together, and their band is sounding really, really good.

Central City's boys' basketball team has been Injury Central City this season, with two key players missing large stretches. The first time all season the Wildcats had their intended starting lineup intact was last week to open district play.

Three wins later, and Central City finds itself a game away from its first state tournament since 1986. The Wildcats (13-11) play Calamus-Wheatland (19-5) in a Class 1A substate final tonight at 7 at Clinton.

“It's been a little bit of a roller-coaster for us,” said Central City Coach Matt Uthoff. “We've just started getting it rolling. The confidence of the kids has been unbelievable.”

Central City won its first seven games but went 1-7 in its next eight. Blame a lot of that on the absence of junior guard Jacob Etten, who broke his hand in his team's eighth game and missed the rest of the regular season, and senior forward Mason Nielsen, another starter who didn't begin playing until Jan. 30 because of a shoulder injury incurred during football season.

“When you lose someone at a small school, you just don't have the depth,” Uthoff said. “It's something you can't control. I give a lot of credit to the kids for hanging in there.”

Bulky 6-foot-4 center John Rochford has been Central City's rock, averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds. Point guard Jeffrey Stevens (12.3 ppg), another senior, also has been stellar in the postseason. Junior Ryan Oberhauser leads the team in 3-pointers.

Central City lost to Calamus-Wheatland the final game of the regular season, 49-39, but this is a different Wildcats club. A full one.

“It's good we got a good look at them already,” Uthoff said.

Class 2A substate finals tonight include a big one at Bettendorf between defending state champion Solon (22-2) and Danville (22-1). Mid-Prairie (18-5) plays Albia (19-5) at Oskaloosa, and Turkey Valley (18-6) plays Dyersville Beckman (14-10) at Manchester.