CDO vs Ironwood Ridge: Key Takeaways
Ask anyone in Tucson and they will tell you how fierce of a rivalry there is between CDO and Ironwood Ridge. This is always one of the hottest rivalries regardless of the sport being played due to how close the schools are in proximity to each other and how crazy the crowd gets. Having experienced this rivalry before as a fan, a player, and a coach, I was very intrigued by this game. Here are key takeaways from the CDO vs. Ironwood Ridge game.
Heated Rivalry
This game was as heated of a CDO/IRHS game I’ve ever seen. Each team played with a ton of fire and passion and both refused to quit. There were a ridiculous amount of lead changes and the game stayed close until the very end. There was a certain level of chippy play that was very clear to everyone watching, with a lot of players being DQ’d for fouls. However, I expect nothing less from a CDO vs. Ironwood Ridge game.
Lerew vs IRHS Bigs
Apparently I need to pay more attention to Tyler Lerew. He looked very impressive scoring in the post and finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds. This is something I did not expect at all. I thought Ironwood Ridge would have a clear advantage in their forward play due to the high talent of Kolby Lathrop. If Lerew can score 19 points on the super athletically gifted athlete that Lathrop is, I need to pay more attention to him.
Bounce Back
I was curious to see how Ironwood Ridge would handle losing their home opener, especially since it came against CDO. They played a tough/close game and came up a bit short and I wanted to see how they would bounce back the next night against Rincon. Ironwood Ridge seemed to have handled the loss well and bounced back with a win against Rincon that ended in a buzzer beater 3 point shot from Trey Cox.
CDO Guard Play
I watched CDO play against Tucson High and I even mentioned their guard play in an article. However, the tone of that article compared to this one are day and night. Previously, I had mentioned that CDO desperately needed strong guard play if they wanted to be successful, as they struggled a lot against Tucson High. However, I think Jano Medina may be that guard they needed to be successful. He looked very good against Ironwood Ridge’s press, especially in the second half.
Game Stats:
Tyler Lerew 6’2 F (CDO 2020): 19 points/12 rebounds
Jano Medina 5’8 G (CDO 2020): 12 points/5 rebounds/5 assists
Antonio Vasquez 5’9 G (CDO 2020): 21 points/11 rebounds (5 3 pointers)
Kolby Lathrop 6’5 F (Ironwood Ridge 2020): 17 points
Eric Cochran 6’2 F (Ironwood Ridge 2020): 16 points
Final Score: 79-72 CDO