Introducing Bozarth’s young guns, the 2021 Warrior basketball team

By Lenny Sementi
Over the next several weeks we will be highlighting both boys and the girls basketball programs at TCHS. Despite the pause in the action due to state mitigations head coach Justin Bozarth and his boys continue to forge ahead and this week we will look at the squads young guns. That being the freshman and sophomore classes that boast nine and seven players respectfully. 

When asked about the elder statesman of the underclassmen Bozarth got excited. “Our sophomore class has flown under the radar for quite some time but there’s a lot of basketball talent in that group that people will soon see,” stated the coach. “They’ve got a good combination of guards and forwards who play very well together. It truly is a group that will find their success grinding out games with their toughness.” 

Robert Fancher and Easton Cunningham are the ball handlers in the class. Fancher is a dead eye from outside proving it last year in fresh/soph contests while Cunningham is a lefty that just keeps getting better. “Robert arguably might be the best spot up shooter in the entire program,” Bozarth said. “All great teams need guys that can make open shots and he does that as well as anyone. Easton had a great fall and was or is on pace to have a standout JV season and possibly compete for varsity playing time.” 

Chris Boyd, Boston Broady and Grant Kauffman will patrol the paint for the group. Boyd is a strong inside post player who has grown up in stature and as a player in the last year and in Bozarth’s words, “has an opportunity to make a great impact as a player in our program. Boston is our left handed post, has a good frame that he’ll continue to grow into and is smooth finishing around the basket.”

Kauffman works as hard as anyone on the team and has a contagious energy with the ability to shoot both inside and outside. Another strong player around the paint and great unselfish work ethic is Jordan Sanchez. “He is willing to scrap around the basket for rebounds and put the team success first,” the coach quipped. “Thomas spillman is another second year that decided to come back out and had a great fall. He has good size and continues to develop his skills.” 

The freshman class boasts three back court players that will add to the shooting depth of the squad. Jackson Barrett, Austin Cummings and Josiah Hortin all can put the ball through the hoop for outside. Bozarth offered that “Jackson is always in the right spot it seems on both ends of the floor and is a very good shooter. Austin had a great fall exceeding our expectations and Josiah is a scoring guard who can get to the basket and because of his athletic ability is an incredibly tough matchup for opponents.” 

“Will Foltz is an incredible teammate who inspires his classmates through his drive and will to get better. And Nate Hudson, who just moved to town at the beginning of the school year is another newcomer that is just great to have around the program.” 

Brayden Gough, Jordan Quinn and the Thomason brothers Nate and Ty round out the roster. All four will play pivotal roles for the frosh/soph group and can all score under the basket. “Brady shows good touch around the hoop, Jordan is going to be a really good ball player, he rebounds as good as anyone and has a knack to get them on the offensive that you just don’t see at his young age,” commented the coach. 

Both Thomason’s showed the ability to knock down during fall workouts and put a lot of pride in their game on the defensive end. Bozarth is really excited about his newcomers and feels the two grades will blend really well together giving them the potential for very good varsity careers in the coming years.