Next Wednesday, the Woodmen will begin their post season play with Sectionals hosted at Shelbyville.

The team will face Indian Creek in a rematch. The first game ended with an Woodmen overtime win by five points. Then, they will face the winner of Roncalli vs. Shelbyville, which were both close wins for GHS during the regular season.

Preparing for Sectionals is much like preparing for regular season games except the outcome can end the season abruptly.

“We are going to prepare for Sectionals by reviewing our offense and making sure our defense is ready for the teams we are going to be facing. A lot of the teams in our Sectionals are going to be very hard to beat,” senior Isaac O’Neal, guard, said.“The ideal pick is a team we have beaten before, like Shelbyville or Indian Creek, because if we beat them before, we could definitely do it again. We also would be more familiar with their playing style.”

Sophomore Joey Ortman, guard, talked about the biggest challenge.

“The biggest challenge is going to not let the nerves get to us. A Sectional game is completely different then a regular season game, and we as a team have to work together to get through this,” he said.

Senior Chris Lukins, guard, was hoping for a bye.

“The best pick would definitely be a bye. A bye is where there is an uneven amount of teams for the Sectional draw so that means one less game to get to the championship while everyone else has to play an additional game to get to the championship,” he said.

While the team does feel confident, there are plans to make the team even better.

“I feel like they are pretty confident so far which is really good because I feel like your mindset can change how you do the whole game, but I am going to treat this like any other game to hopefully not make their nerves worse than they already are,” Coach Keith Witty said.

Preparation is important.

“I want our team to just finish off strong this year even if we win or lose. I just want all of us to try our best that we can. It just really depends on the draw and who we get,” junior Parker Doolin, forward, said. “I am going to come with lots of energy to this game, and I am definitely going to play harder because it’s a bigger game with all the adrenaline of it being a Sectional game. It’s going to push me to play harder than I ever have.”

To prepare, the team is working on anticipating their opponents’ moves.

“As a team, preparing for Sectionals will just include making sure we are feeling good about our game plan and that we are prepared for anything that could happen,” Ortman said.