Physical Elk Rapids team hands East Jordan exit from Division 3 regionals
· Yahoo Sports
CHARLEVOIX — The view from the stage changes a bit once regionals roll around.
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Sections of bleachers you never knew existed are rolled out and standing room only still fills the gym.
While the rims are still 10 feet off the ground and it’s still a five on five game, it’s a lot to take in if you’re on the court and have never played in that moment.
The East Jordan boys basketball team got its first taste of it in over a decade Tuesday, March 3 in a Division 3 regional semifinal in Charlevoix and the wide-eyed Red Devils were a bit stunned early against Elk Rapids.
The Elks’ physical style of play put the ‘Devils in an 18-3 hole from the start, then eventually sent EJ home in a 55-42 final.
“It got big and we knew if the game was physical like that, we were going to struggle,” East Jordan coach Tim Smith said. “We really needed a game where we could get into our stuff. We just couldn’t get open. It was so physical and almost impossible to play.”
The Elks barely gave an inch early to East Jordan, though they too only scored 10 in the first quarter.
Having just three points a few minutes into the second quarter is what hurt the Red Devils more than anything.
Whistles did add up for the Elks between the second and third quarters, giving an path back into the game for EJ, though it sat in a 22-9 halftime.
East Jordan pulled to within eight points in the third quarter, then trailed by 10 in a 36-26 game heading to the fourth, an advantage that felt insurmountable with the Red Devils gassed and leading scorer Ellis Malpass winded from being sick and hobbled from an ankle injury during the game.
“You take a guy that’s been averaging 22 points a game over the last five games and you’re sitting there at the five minute mark in an eight point game and your leading scorer hasn’t scored,” Smith said. “So, there was an avenue where we could play with this team.”
The Elks had been used to winning ugly games throughout the season, leaning on a defense that frustrates opponents just like Tuesday’s game did to EJ.
Since the start of February, the Elks had allowed an average of just 45.8 points a game, holding five opponents to under that mark.
William Webb finished with 12 points to lead EJ, then Hadley McCafferty scored 11. For Elk, Cameron Kerfoot had 16 and Jayden Hresko added 10.
The loss ended a 22-3 season for East Jordan that came with a Ski Valley and district title. For Elk Rapids (21-3) it’s now a regional final trip to Newberry to meet Menominee on Thursday, March 5.
While it’s always tough exiting a season, the Red Devils will have to do so while graduating a core group of five seniors. Those include Malpass, Max Beal, Trace Wynkoop, Griffin Boyer and McCafferty.
“Hadley hadn’t played much and then was a double-digit scorer for us this year. He played his guts out tonight,” Smith said. “Trace came off an injury and didn’t play much until January and really accepted his role. Griffin, another kid that hadn’t played much until this year but was a dual guy. Max, one of my favorite kids I’ve ever coached. Just a gentleman and competitor. Represents our school and community with class. Ellis took his game to another level this year. I wish this crowd could have seen him healthy.”
Smith, who was in his first season leading the EJ boys, has been coaching in the sport long enough to know when a run can continue and he believes it can at East Jordan with what’s back, if more work is put in.
“Hopefully this becomes more of the norm rather than an every 12 years thing,” Smith said. “It really comes down to what you do in the offseason. If we have a really good offseason, I think we can be really competitive again. If we don’t, then this is the end of the road.”
Smith also took the time to acknowledge the support his team received this season.
“We’ve had great community support,” he added. “The caravan that we had coming into town last Friday with the emergency vehicles and people lined up on the streets. It was pretty cool. Since COVID it hasn’t quite felt like March Madness, but this year it did. The community showed up.”
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: East Jordan boys exit 2025-26 campaign in regionals vs. Elk Rapids