03/15/2026
***THE RECAP POST***
Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.
To every single person that registered, showed up for, and supported this year's HJBL basketball players all season long, Thank You is the very least I can say.
After an overall great 25/26 season, the George Stottlemyer All-Star Saturday was a fitting ending, with several exciting games and a shoot out to determine a 3 point champion.
Game 1, sponsored by True Athlete Performance, saw the Elementary "B" All-stars take the floor, with the Red team taking the lead early and cruising to a 46-31 victory. Kai Grantham-Medley led the Red team with 10 points, while Amaree Taylor led Blue with 5.
Game 2, sponsored by Crabtree Golf, featured the Elementary "A" All-stars, and saw a strong 1st quarter effort from the Blue team's Xander Ferguson propel them to a comfortable lead and a 46-33 win. Ferguson led the Blue team with 18 points, and Elias Boulden led the Red team with 9.
Game 3, sponsored by Design Concepts LLC, saw the Junior Division "B" All-stars take the floor. The Blue team's Chase Nalley came out firing in the 1st quarter, helping his team build a comfortable lead. The Red team fought back in the 2nd half, but ultimately the lead was too big to overcome, with the Blue team prevailing 59-45.
Langston Naylor led Blue with 13 points, while Enoch Murdaugh led Red with 11.
The annual 3 Point Contest was an exciting one, with several shooters from each division knocking down big numbers each round! Dante Valencia, Xander Ferguson, and Kolton Hendershot led the 1st round of the Elementary side, while Styles Eyler, Hank Schnebly, and Carter McCauley led the Junior side.
In round 2, Blake Minter (8), Dante Valencia (7), and Akhir Haskins (7) continued to shoot consistently, landing themselves in the Elementary finals. On the Junior side, Eyler (17), Schnebly (11), and McCauley (20!) all stayed hot, with Jaxon D***s (11) shooting his way into a 4 man final along with them.
In the final round, Dante Valencia out shot Blake Minter 8-6 to take the Elementary Division win!
On the Junior side, Eyler and Schnebly both knocked down 16 shots, forcing a shoot off. After an additional 30 seconds, they both made 8, forcing ANOTHER shoot off!
After a shoulder-numbing 122 three pointers made between them, Hank "H20" Schnebly pulled out an 8-6 win to secure the Junior Division title!
The 4th of the day, sponsored by Cafe Del Sol - Hagerstown, featured the Junior Division "A" All-stars.
After a back & forth 1st half, the Red team pulled ahead for a 9 point lead after 3 quarters. The Blue team dug deep in the 4th, tied the game at 51, and had a chance to win it with a long attempt by Kaimari Burke that fell short, sending the game to overtime.
Both teams traded buckets in the OT, and a heave from the Red team's Zakkur Scott was offline, sending the game to DOUBLE OT!!!
In the end, the Red team has just a little more left in the tank, and after two extra quarters, they pulled ahead for a 68-63 win. I'd like to think that those 8 graders just didn't want their final game together to end, even though it made for quite the long day! Jaxyn Myers led the Blue team with 11 points, while Zakkur Scott mixed his strong inside presence with smooth outside shooting for 25 big points for the Red team, the highest all-star game point total in quite some time.
The final game, sponsored by Steve Swayne State Farm Insurance, was our annual coaches game. Not much of a recap needed for this one. 16 coaches came together after a long day and a long season, had a great time giving each other "the business", and thanks to hot shooting from Tim Smith and the "ringer" Jeremy Tanner, Team Smith pulled away for a big win. No one passed out, no one pulled or broke anything, so it was a win for all involved!
I'd like to thank our officials for the day, Greg Small, Chris Engle, and Eb Williams, Dwayne Freeman and the South Hagerstown High Athletic Boosters for providing us the gym and concessions for our event, Jaxon Holler, Parker Smith, Mikel Smith, & Khuran Claggett for their help throughout the day, and the following sponsors of season and the event:
TEAM SPONSORS
4State Contracting AC&T
Alsatia Club American Custom Contractors
Antietam Tree & Turf Comfort Central
The Granite Guys Huntzberry Photography
Point Vision Hoops Younger Toyota
American Custom Contractors Barrel Nation
Ellsworth Electric Hardell Fuels
Hinkle's Exterior Cleaning Knobley Mtn. Sheds
LIFE Financial PTL
UAW Screentique
GAME SPONSORS
True AP
Crabtree Golf
Protection Design Concepts, LLC
Cafe del Sol
Steve Swayne- State Farm Agent
EVENT SPONSORS
Eichelberger's Towing & Recovery
Eb Williams Player Development
North High Athletic Boosters
Tuckers Pucker with Stoner Dogs Subs and Sammies
Graphic Response
Showgurls Live Karaoke & Events
The Chop Bar
Mixy Chics
Stephanie Barton EXP Real Estate
Liberty Tax
And last, but most certainly not least, I must issue a major Thank You to Jen Holler. While my own plate is full for 5+ months straight in the foreground, her plate is just as full, if not overflowing, in the background. She creates our game and referee schedules, handles all of our uniform ordering along with sorting and individually bagging them, sends out weekly schedule email reminders to coaches and referees, serves as our treasurer, and maybe more importantly than all of those things, acts as my sounding board and calming presence when things get overwhelming and chaotic. There are very few folks that could truly understand just how much is involved with running a youth sports league, and how much it can wear down the folks trying to build it up. Without her, I don't know that I'd have it in me.
I wish our outgoing 8th graders all the very best as you move into your Spring/Summer sports and activities, and the best of luck next year as you hopefully try out for and compete on your first high school teams. The transition can be a tough one, but you've all shown that you are up for the challenge, and I hope that your time in our league has played even a small role in building that confidence and toughness that you'll take with you to the next level.
And to the 3rd-7th graders, my sincere hope is that you have all learned more about your game and yourselves this season, and your desire to improve both will lead you back to us again next season. There will always be other options out there, and some of them may present appealing opportunities, but my hope is that what our league has built for nearly 80 years will keep it fresh in your minds and continuing as part of your basketball journey. Enjoy your off season, and we certainly hope to see you back in October/November!
With all the appreciation and gratitude I can offer,
Mike Holler
HJBL President
