Exactly one week after winning the 8-man State football Championship the Haxtun Bulldogs took the court to open the 2021-22 basketball season. Haxtun traveled to Fleming for the season opener where the Bulldogs picked up a win over the Wildcats. The following night, the Bulldogs faced off with Merino at home, earning a win over the Rams. Two wins in opening weekend of basketball action sent the Bulldogs to the top of 1A state rankings.

With just three practices under their belts, the Bulldogs tipped off in Fleming on Friday night, taking a commanding 16-7 lead after the first quarter. It wasn't long before the Wildcats found their groove to even things out. Fleming put up 22 points before half time to hold a four-point advantage over Haxtun at half time.

Whatever Head Coach Jayden Stieb told the Bulldogs in the locker room worked; Haxtun came out on fire in the second half, putting up 16 points in the third and 18 in the fourth for a 59-48 win over the Wildcats. Haxtun held Fleming to just 19 points in the last two quarters.

The following night, the Bulldogs hosted the Rams from Merino. The Rams also made football playoffs but took the court with a little more court time than the Bulldogs. Haxtun would go on to take the win by a 10-point spread, 52-42.

"With the little practice we had we just focused on playing good defense and getting rebounds," Stieb said. "Offensively we just wanted to limit turnovers and get good shots up. It was good to get back out on the court. I was happy with how hard the boys played and their effort on the defensive end. Still a ton to work to do, but I couldn't ask for a lot more for the first weekend."

Preseason rankings released by the Colorado High School Activities Association put the Bulldogs in fourth place just behind Granada, Merino and Belleview Christian but new rankings released just within the past few days now puts Haxtun in the number one spot. Granada now sits in the second spot just ahead of Belleview Christian at three and Briggsdale in fourth. Merino bumped down to the sixth slot following the Rams opening weekend of action.

This year's team includes 21 players, including managers, under the direction of Stieb, now in his second year as head coach. He is assisted by Lance Chapdelaine, a former Bulldog player.

(Herald photo by Spring Atchison)

HAXTUN SENIOR #15 David Avery goes up and over Fleming's #11 Braylen Feather and past Wildcat #13 Kolten Houser for a shot at the basketball on Friday night. The Bulldogs picked up an 11-point win in their season opener.

"I'm excited to have a good group of upperclassmen this year. We have a lot of experience coming back and a good group of leaders," said Stieb. "We're just going to get as many wins possible before Christmas break. Prepare for one game at a time and try to go 1-0 every game day."

This weekend the Bulldogs are set to face off with the Sedgwick County Cougars on Friday. Saturday Haxtun will host Caliche. According to Maxpreps, the Cougars opened their season with a 36-point loss to Briggsdale. Last weekend, the Buffs from Caliche took part in tournament play in Peetz where the team suffered a loss to Prairie and picked up a win over Peetz.