Striking Oil: Oilers Journey to District 10 Class 4A Playoffs

Posted By: VenangoExtra.com March 14, 2022

By JACOB HORNBECK

Student contributor

After 50 years, the Oil City High School Oilers boys basketball team finds itself back in the District 10 championship game.

Oil City High School Boys Basketball Coach Bundy Fulmer

At the beginning of the season, Coach Bundy Fulmer and his Oilers were unsure of what to expect after one of the more shorthanded scrimmages against the Rocky Grove Orioles and the Slippery Rock Rockets, only having their lone senior Judias Johnson and two returning juniors Cam Vanwormer and Jacob Hornbeck. The Oilers did not have a lot of varsity experience. Due to this, the Oilers struggled in their first four games, netting a 1-3 record. As the season went on, the Oilers’ play heated up, and the team was able to string some wins together, collecting 10 of their next 12 games. Throughout this span, they went on a 7 game winning streak, reviving their record and making them 11-5. Oil City pulled off some amazing victories, one being their real first test against the 11-0 Fairview Tigers that were ranked 9th in the state. This game would have made Fairview 12-0, which would have been a new school record for them. The Oilers came to play and played a great game at that, winning the contest 35-30.

Pictured (Left to Right): Matthew Ames, Connor Highfield, Gavin Stephens, James Henry, Cam Vanwormer, Jacob Hornbeck, Ethen Knox, Will McMahon, Jacob Teeter, Johnny Hargenrader, and senior Judias Johnson in front

As the Oilers kept chugging along, playoffs were a guarantee for them. Although their playoff run was not expected, Fulmer made some lineup adjustments in this period, while rotating some guys in and out, to make up for the varsity experience they were lacking. Fulmer wanted his guys to be in what you call “Mid Season Form” for the upcoming playoffs. Mid season form means that the coach wants to have his team playing its best and with the most confidence. Fulmer started to feel a little confident, and I had asked him how he had felt going into the late season. Fulmer said, “We had finally come together and started playing as a team, while everyone was contributing and everyone knew and executed their role regardless of what it was.” Knowing their roles is what really made the Oilers strive. I also asked the coach what he was most surprised about this season, and he responded by saying, “Some of the younger guys really surprised me. They came off the bench and did their job, giving us some very good quality minutes.” Key contributors to that statement were freshman Will McMahon, sophomores Johnny Hargenrader and Sayyid Donald, and junior James Henry. Ethan Knox and Connor Heighfield stepped up as well.

Sayyid Donald

Playoffs were the only thing on the Oilers minds as their excellent regular season came to an end with a 14-8 record. The Oilers found themselves with another hard test as they were locked in as the 6th seed in the District 10 4A playoffs, and they were set to play the Harbor Creek Huskies, which were the third seed. The Oilers had struggled with the Huskies in the regular season losing both games they played against them. Luckily for the Oilers, the regular season outcomes did not mean a thing to them anymore, and this was a must-win for them. Fulmer’s thoughts on playing Harborcreek: “They were a beatable team if we stuck to our game plan and controlled the pace of the game. They might have taken us lightly after blowing us out at their place two weeks prior.” The Oilers stuck to their game plan and controlled the tempo the whole game, the score at halftime was 12-12. The Oilers found themselves in a little hole in the second half after being down 8 points, not one time but twice. Each time, the Oilers came back to tie the game, but with 30 seconds left in the game, it was tied at 35. Jake Hornbeck got the go ahead jumper to fall, giving the Oilers the lead, and they never gave it back as they went on to win the game 39-36. Cam Vanwormer and Judias Johnson had stellar performances for the Oilers, leading the way for this extraordinary win. Winning a playoff game was not the norm for the Oilers, and the win over Harbor Creek was their first playoff win since former coach Logan Way in 2014 when they beat General McClane.

Judias Johnson

Oil City would move on and face Grove City at Slippery Rock University. The Oilers felt like this was a very winnable game. Oil City came into the game wanting revenge after losing to Grove City in the first round of playoffs last year. The Oilers got just that and came out very strong against Grove City, building a 20 point lead in the second quarter, but Grove City chipped away and cut it back down to a ten-point deficit. Oil City would not let off the gas as they maintained an eight-point plus lead the whole entire rest of the game, and the final stanza was 58-46. Johnson and Vanwormer lead another amazing game for the Oilers to cement them into the District 10 Championship game.

Jacob Hornbeck

The Oilers had not been to the championship game since 1972, and the last time they won the championship was in 1921. These droughts have ended about 50 years apart, and this new Oilers squad earned their spot for a chance at the title. Not only did the Oilers make the championship game, but they also punched their ticket into the interdistrict state playoff tournament. This was Fulmer’s response on how it felt to make the championship game and playing in the interdistrict state playoffs: “I am elated for the players and that their hard work paid. It is great not only for the team, but it is also great for the community. It is a very good experience for our players and our young team. It is very helpful to further their experience against the better teams in Pennsylvania.” Getting to the huge championship game was also Fulmer’s favorite moment of the season, but the Oilers could not celebrate the opportunity too much since they had to focus on their next goal, winning. The Oilers had not felt any pressure in their playoff run because not a single person thought they would get that far. They were undoubtedly the underdog and sincerely had nothing to lose. The whole team knew that, regardless of the outcome, everyone was proud of them. In the championship game, they were matched against the 23-2 Fairview Tigers, and the Tigers had a very strong and lengthy lineup. The game plan for the Oilers was once again to control the tempo and their our game, but unfortunately, they could not execute, and the Tigers jumped out to a 13-4 lead and never let off the gas. The Oilers could not get it going that night, and the final score showed that, as the Tigers gave it all to the Oilers, beating them 61-38. This experience will be very memorable for the Oilers even though they did not complete the goal of winning the championship, but for them, they did not care. They just love the game of basketball, and they were blessed to be able to play a couple more games for and with their senior leader, Judias Johnson. We asked junior guard Cameron Vanwormer about his thoughts on how the season went and what we should expect for next season, “This season gave us a great look on what a young team can truly accomplish. I felt that our outcome showed people that our team is more capable of going farther than what people have truly thought. The expectations for the next season would be the same as this one, which is taking the season game by game and preparing for each one”.

Pictured: (Left to Right) Will McMahon, Gavin Stephens, Ethen Knox, Connor Highfield, Jacob Hornbeck, Cam Vanwormer, and in the back row, Frankie Kee, and Ethan Plowman

Although, the Oilers still had a chance to hoist some hardware as they were going on to play Montour in the first round of the state playoffs. Oil City did not know what kind of game this would be, even though the two-hour bus ride could have given them some time to think. The Oilers came out slow and found themselves down 25 to 4 at the end of the first quarter. The Oilers finally settled in and ended up winning the second half 27-26. There is one thing about this Oiler team, and that is whenever they are down, they never give up and always find a way to fight back. Even though they still lost 63-42, they showed some fight in the second half.

The Oilers’ season has ended, but for the players, it will not be forgotten. Each and every player, parent, coach, and Oiler fan are more than proud of this 2022 team. They had put themselves up there with some of the best teams in Oil City history.