Foresthill boys driven by senior leadership and chemistry

In small towns across the country, things shut down when the local high school is playing. Kids grow up idolizing the varsity athletes and dream of future glory for themselves. That is no exception in Foresthill, where the high school has an enrollment of 167 students. At a school this size, the athletes usually find themselves playing three and sometimes four sports. This season, the Wildfires' boys basketball team has a chance to put their small school on the map. The team is composed of 11 seniors on the 12-man roster, many of whom grew up playing with each other. This level of leadership and experience is rare to find at a high school in general. "We've known each other since elementary school. And I guess yeah, that really does translate to our chemistry and really does make us play like a whole better team," said senior center Jason Ensey. "We've grown up in a small town. I've known them my whole life, too. So that chemistry has always been there," said Aemon Aldrich. "I think playing all these different sports brings a lot of different aspects that help us succeed." "It definitely helps having those seniors. They do pick up on stuff fairly quickly. So we're throwing a lot at them early," coach James Kuykendall said. "I'm starting to find a rotation and figuring out who plays well together. I can say that I've got eight, nine, 10 guys I have confidence in." Leading the charge for the Wildfires is senior forward Caleb Byers, who is averaging a double-double on the season. Byers has been a force for Foresthill on both ends of the floor and scored 22 points in Wednesday night's 70-56 victory over John Adams Academy. "Caleb is a huge energizer for us. He's a good finisher, he can step out and knock down the three when he's left alone. Very unselfish and he's really starting to become one of the main leaders of the team, especially, for example, running the floor. Like I said, just that big-time energy guy," Kuykendall said. "We see each other every single day. We're constantly hanging out with each other. So it's good to have a smaller school," Byers said about the team's chemistry. "I would say our big thing that we're doing right now is we're working together as a team. And in the past years, we really have struggled with that. So I think that's one of our main strong points right now." Another leader for the Wildfires is the man in the middle, Jason Ensey, a unique player who can stretch the floor as a big man but still gets the dirty work done in the post. "Jason is a special athlete. He also can play inside and outside. He can knock down the three. I've no problem stepping out and taking that shot," Kuykendall said. "Earlier in the season, he locked up Bear River's senior center fairly well. He gives us a lot of flexibility." Sharing the point guard duties is Aldrich, one of the nation's leaders in interceptions during football season. While many of his contributions don't reflect in the box score, Aldrich's energy on both sides of the floor is unmatched. "I think a lot of teammates can just feed off my energy and I kind of worked to bring it up. And then once they get going, they're self-proficient," said Aldrich. "Defensively, when we go into our press and I'm in the back, it's just like playing free safety baby. I'm looking for that ball in the air." The Wildfires battle tested themselves early, taking on larger opponents such as Bear River, Argonaut and Summerville. While those battles have not always gone their way, it helped prepare Foresthill for its schedule down the stretch. "Our coaches got us set up there to put in the hard games early so that the games when we get to league, they start feeling easier and we start racking up the wins and hopefully get ourselves a banner," said Aldrich. "I think our biggest challenge was Bear River. They're a strong, well-rounded team, and we put up a lot of points on them. And we did very well, defensively and offensively," Byers said. The Wildfires are 7-4 and will have the weekend off before opening league play Monday night (Dec. 20) at home against Encina Prep.