Senior surpasses 1,000 points for his career and posts PCHS single-game record with 42-point performance against Eagles
By Randy Arrington
SHENANDOAH, Jan. 13 — The Bull Run District saw a five-way tie for first place heading into Tuesday night’s action among teams suffering only one district loss. See if you can follow this…Rapp lost to Luray, who lost to Central, who lost to Page, who lost to Rapp. Let’s just say the first half of the season seems to be telling us there should be a thrilling post season awaiting us in the Bull Run District and the two regional tournaments beyond that.
The Page County Panthers, who are deeply among those in the hunt for a district and/or region title, flexed a little muscle on Tuesday night by handing a struggling squad from Clarke County a 33-point district loss. PCHS head coach Tyler Parker believes his Panthers can compete for a title.
“I surely hope so,” he said. “We prepared ourselves to be there [at the top]…we collectively think that we are a top team. We’re practicing like we’re a top team, and we’re starting to perform like we’re a top team…and hopefully it continues.”
When you have an all-region shooting guard like Caden Combs, it can help build some confidence — especially when the senior hits a school-record 42 points in a single game and surpasses 1,000 points for his career as a Panther. He also added a few steals against the Eagles and double-digit assists to his stats as well.
“That’s the all-time [single-game] scoring record here at Page, he broke 41 tonight previously set by my old teammate Tyler Williams [in 2016],” Coach Parker said after Tuesday’s distrct win.
The game stopped with 2:24 remaining as teammates rushed the court to congratulate Combs on surpassing the 1,000-point mark for his career. Twenty-four seconds later, he hit the bucket that broke the single-game scoring record at PCHS.
“We didn’t think it was going to happen [tonight]… but we’re just thankful that it happened tonight. He’s an incredible player and an incredible person…been coaching him since fifth grade really, so seeing him grow into a mature adult is something special.”
“I always wanted to break the school record, but I also wanted to hit ‘1K’ really early in the season, just so like I could keep going off it, carry the momentum. It was kinda my goal to break the school record my whole high school career,” Combs told PVN after the game. “It feels good. I knew the previous record holder…I played against him in open gym…when we played against each other I kinda had that grit against him, to always want to beat him and beat the record.”
Despite Combs’ historic performance, Page County had a total of 10 players score on Tuesday night, and the Panthers posted their highest point total of the season. The home team hit 55 percent from the floor (including an 80-percent rate in an explosive second quarter), while draining six three-pointers and hitting 76 percent from the line.
“I’m proud of the team…a lot of history happened here tonight, but we understand that without each other and every teammate that we have, every player we have, this isn’t possible,” said Coach Parker. “So, I’m proud of the entire Page County program tonight.”
Tuesday night’s Bull Run matchup remained close through the first eight minutes, including two lead changes. The Eagles went to the line five times in the opening frame and went 7-for-9 (with a lane violation). Despite committing nine turnovers, Clarke shot 67 percent from the floor. Page had to battle back in the final minute to regain a narrow 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Panthers exploded for 25 points in the second quarter, fueled by 11 from Combs. Page would hit a triple, go 8-of-9 at the line, and only commit three turnovers in the period. However, while there offense proved dominant in the second, and again the third, it was the Page defense that really made the game seemed even more one-sided. The Panthers pressed most of the game and forced most of the 27 turnovers committed by the Eagles.
Page County added to a 44-29 halftime lead in the third quarter to carry a 66-39 advantage into the final frame. The Panthers kept stacking up points off turnovers, easy buckets in transition or in the paint — high percentage shots — and kept the Clarke offense offbeat and scrambling to distribute the ball all night.
On the night, the Eagles shot 46 percent from the floor and were lead by juniors Christopher Reid and Isaac Nei with 12 points each. Seniors Maddox Roberts and Dylan Hoggatt both put up seven points, while sophomore Mason Jarvis added six.
Behind Combs’ historic 42, Page County got 12 points from senior Aaron Hensley, including a trio of three-pointers. Senior Isaac Foltz had seven points, and senior Gavin Barlow had six.
After the dust had settled from Tuesday night’s action in the Bull Run District, only three teams remained tied for first place with a district mark of 4-1 — Central, Strasburg and Page County. The Bulldogs of Luray lost on the road at Strasburg, 53-42; and Central beat Rapp, 69-57.
“I think we’re all feeling pretty good. Morale is high,” Combs said after his historic game. “We definitely could work on our offense and shooting, probably defense a little bit too…but really we just need to carry the momentum, especially off the other team losses tonight… that’s big for us.”
With around 10 games remaining, the district race — which will set the tone for two regional races — is going to be fun to watch, and the Panthers feel like they’re stating to hit their stride.
“I think we’re just starting our rise,” Coach Parker said on Tuesday. “You know we’ve kinda been flatlined, now the last two or three games we’re on our rise…we’re not at our peak yet, but we’re on the rise.”
Up next, Page County (4-1, 8-5) will be traveling to Madison County to face the Mountaineers (1-4, 3-9) for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off on Friday, Jan. 16. Next Tuesday, Jan. 20, the Panthers will host county-rival Luray (3-2, 8-3). Clarke County (1-4, 2-12) will be traveling to Central (4-1, 8-3) on Friday night.
For schedules, rosters and results, check the Bull Run District website.
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