The gauntlet of Indiana high school basketball is relentless and puts teams through a constant battle every night. Especially in Central Indiana, every team plays a tough game and requires players to be their best and play together to win.

The Woodmen will travel to Speedway tonight in a non-conference matchup, renewing a new rivalry. Beginning with a tough game two seasons ago, Speedway and GHS competed in a chippy and aggressive battle culminating in a 47-45 win for the Woodmen.

“They’re always a tough match-up for us,” senior Jake Mosemann, guard, said. “When we went there two years ago, they played us tough and played a full game. They play aggressive defense and run a fast offense. They’re handsy on defense and extremely athletic. We have established a new kind of rivalry with them, too. They were chirpy on social media before the game and during, so we kind of clapped back and took a photo in front of their banner.”

 After kicking off the season slower than anticipated, the team looks to flip the switch on a season with a lot of hope still left.

“We have some younger guys that are playing well with JV that could be getting some minutes and come up to play with the varsity,” Mosemann said. “That freshman class has a ton of athletes, and they have some bigger guys too that could help us down the stretch.”

Speedway (2-2) has dropped games to Covenant Christian and North Montgomery early this season. Speedway basketball is a storied program but has struggled in recent years. The Sparkplugs have won 12 boys Sectional titles with more than half coming before the 2010s and none since 2014. Along with those Sectional wins are three Regional titles, one Semi-State and State appearance both coming from 2002.

“You go in their gym and see the banners from their Sectional wins over the years and then the big banners from 2002,” senior Jude Thompson, forward, said. “They have a lot of history there, and it can be intimidating until you see that some of those wins are older and pre-2000s. They still run a good program there, and it’s evident they have been for a long time. They play hard and have a strong history of being a tough team.”

Last season, the Woodmen hosted Speedway and won convincingly 54-44. The team hopes to repeat last year’s outcome to gain another win on the young season.

“Winning these games early in the season are important for building momentum,” Thompson said. “If we can string together wins and keep building upon those wins and streak some together, it just builds confidence. If we win these non-conference games, it builds momentum into conference play, County tournaments and, eventually, the State tournament.”

Speedway plays a smaller roster, similar to that of GHS. Without any rostered player over 6 ‘4, the Sparkplugs play fast and like to play in transition. The half-court offense is not as strong as their fast break game, leading to their aggressive style of defense and trying to create turnovers and forcing unwanted shots early in offensive possessions.

“They play quick and want to play in transition,” senior John Ollanketo, guard, said. “They take advantage of bad shots, bad passes and sloppy offense. We need to move the ball around and move it effectively, not taking bad shots and not being afraid to make the extra pass. If we have the open shot and opportunity to make a play, we should take it. We are trying to work more on ball control and keeping the ball on our half of the floor. If we can work them in half court sets, that would help us as well.”

The fast play style plays into the hands of the Woodmen. With the smaller roster and quicker, more athletic bigs, playing an up-tempo offense has been a different look for GHS.

“When we played them in the past, we never played this quick and up-tempo,” Mosemann said. We have always played a slowed down game and focused mostly on creating offense from our defense under (Coach) Bradburn. We have been shifting our focus and culture this year more into playing fast and trying to wear down teams with relentless pace. It’s been different for a lot of us returning guys, but I find it fun to play in and definitely more fun to watch. We hope to catch them off-guard a bit and surprise them with our new style.”

For Thompson, playing basketball at the school level has not been possible due to transfer eligibility coming in from Greenwood Christian Academy. After taking a year off during the 2022-23 school year, Thompson returned to the game in hopes of enjoying his final year and bringing Woodmen basketball back to what it once was.

“I grew up in the area and came to some of the Hensley camps back in the day,” Thompson said. “We as a group of seniors know it’s our last chance to make a run and go win the Sectional and make some noise beyond. The other guys were here in middle school in 2020 when Greenwood won the Sectional. I was at GCA and saw the success Greenwood was building and wanted to come over to be part of that. It was hard leaving GCA, which also has a great program, but the decision is one I don’t regret making. We want to make a difference and change the culture around here for the better. We think Coach Witty is doing a great job at that so far.”

The Woodmen will hit the road to Speedway tonight with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.