Cerro Gordo County Iowa
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Rockwell & Sheffield, Iowa
Due to declining enrollment,
West Fork School was established in the fall of 2008 with a whole-grade sharing agreement between Sheffield-Chapin/
Merservy, Thornton and Rockwell-Swaledale school districts. The new school adopted the "Warhawks" as their mascot.
Rockwell and Swaledale communities consolidated in 1960, reorganized as the Rockwell-Swaledale Community School. Also in 1960, Chapin and
Sheffield communities reorganized as the Sheffield-Chaplin Community School District. In 1963, the communities of Meservy and Thornton
consolidated in to the Meservey-Thornton Community School District. The Meservey school building closed in 1983 with all
of the students attending classes in the Thornton school house. Sheffield-Chapin and Meservey-Thornton Community School
Districts began whole grade sharing beginning in the fall of 1988. Students in grades 5-8 attended classes in the Thornton
school house; students in grades 9-12 attended classes in the Sheffield school house. Although the school operated as SC-MT,
they were financially two different districts. This arrangement continued throug the Spring of 2007. From the Fall of 2004
through the Spring of 2007, the Rockwell-Swaledale Community School District and the SC-MT Community School Districts functioned
as a dual campus high school. This allowed students to enroll in classes and participate in programs offered in the neighboring
distric. To accommodate the students, shuttle buses provided transportation four times a day. The SC and MT School Districts
reoraganized on July 1, 2007 as the SMCT Community School District. West Fork School District established the following
year on July 1st. PreK-3 classes are offered in the students' home community or at either Rockwell or Sheffield. Grades
4-8 attend classes at Rockwell and Grades 9-12 attend classes at Sheffield. West Fork Community School was established
on July 1, 2011. The district serves the communities of Chapin, Dougherty, Meservey, Rockwell, Swaledale, Thornton and
Sheffield. PreK-3 grade and 9-12th grade students attend classes at Sheffield. PreK-8th grade students attend classes
at Rockwell.
Globe Gazette Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa March 07, 2013 by Jared Patterson
One glance and Plagge, the West Fork big man, smiled, then waved his index finger. Yes, it was a block party and now the top-ranked Warhawks have an invite to the biggest party in the state --- the Class 2A state title game. The 6-foot-8 senior authored one of his most memorable games, recording 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots as West Fork turned away MFL-Mar-Mac 51-38 on Thursday afternoon inside Wells Fargo Arena. The Warhawks will play for their second state title in three years Friday night at 8 vs. Sheldon (24-3). “He had a couple (blocks) that went to about the fifth row,” Amsbaugh said. West Fork has made its identity crystal clear through two games at the state tournament: It begins and ends on the defensive end. In two games at state, the Warhawks have produced their two lowest-scoring outputs of the season. But in those two victories, the Warhawks haven’t allowed an opponent to reach the 40-point plateau. West Fork tallied its final 17 points of the game from the free-throw line Thursday. The Warhawks shot 35 percent (13 of 37) from the floor, but it was the work on the glass that proved to be the difference. West Fork dominated the boards to the tune of a 41-25 advantage with Halloran crashing the glass from his guard spot for 11 rebounds to go along with seven points. “Great defense,” Plagge said. “It was amazing. That’s what won us all these games down here.” West Fork held MFL-Mar-Mac (22-4) 32 points below its season average. The Bulldogs’ leading scorer, CJ Mason, finished with three points on 1 of 12 shooting. “Not really flashy,” West Fork coach Frank Schnoes said. “But my golly, when it gets tough we just make plays.” Plagge was the one making plays to stake West Fork to a double-digit lead in the first half. He scored nine of his 17 points in the first quarter and showed some handle for a guy that lives in the post. Plagge’s lone steal of the game came early in the first quarter when he nearly went the length of the floor, knifed through a defender and converted a layup and was fouled. Plagge, a 49-percent foul, shooter, was 5 of 5 from the line Thursday. “Spur of the moment thing,” Plagge joked. The highlight reel didn’t end there. During one sequence, MFL-Mar-Mac’s 5-foot-8 Jared Dotzler was on a fast break with Plagge running beside him. Dotzler attacked the rim with Plagge stuck in foul trouble. It turned out to be Plagge’s most emphatic swat of the game. “He created a mismatch for us,” MFL-Mar-Mac coach Eric Dettbarn said. MFL-Mar-Mac trimmed the West Fork lead to three at 37-34 after Cody Mason buried a 3-pointer with 3:40 remaining. Mason, the younger brother of CJ, finished with a team-high 16 points. The lead quickly ballooned back to nine after Hunter Myers made four straight from the line before Plagge added a pair. West Fork finished 23 of 33 from the charity stripe. “We haven’t had too many good offensive games but we’ve played real well defensively,” said Amsbaugh, who scored 11 points and snared seven rebounds. “We do what it takes to win. That’s all that matters down here.” West Fork won the Class 2A state title in 2011 with an overtime victory over Western Christian. “We were down here two years ago so we know what it feels like,” Halloran said. WEST FORK 51, MFL-MAR-MAC 38
Globe Gazette
DES MOINES -- Tucked underneath Wells Fargo Arena, Payton Plagge and teammates Sam Amsbaugh and Spencer Halloran were looking at the stat sheet. Read more
Spencer Halloran is that guy you hate to play against.
He’s the guy that’s always in your face on defense. He’s the guy that’s always around when the ball is on the floor.
And he’s the guy that always gets in your head.
Stats don’t tell the story for the West Fork junior, although 11 rebounds from a guard spot in Thursday’s Class 2A state semifinal victory over MFL-Mar-Mac is impossible to ignore.
“He’s 6-1 and sometimes plays 6-4,” West Fork coach Frank Schnoes said. “If he wants to get a rebound nobody is going to get it from him, other than maybe (6-8) Payton (Plagge).”
That sums up Halloran’s game. He’s all effort all the time.
He’s the point guard for a team that plays Sheldon in the Class 2A title game at 8 p.m. tonight.
But he’s so much more.
He fights. He distributes. He defends. And he plays with emotion.
Sometimes that emotion boils over just a little — he received a technical foul on Thursday — but that’s what makes him who he is. You don’t want to lose that passion.
Schnoes said his team hasn’t been flashy at state, but they’ve been effective. Halloran leads the way in that regard.
MFL-Mar-Mac’s leading scorer CJ Mason was held to three points on 1 of 12 shooting, thanks to superb perimeter defense from Halloran, Hunter Myers and Kyle Parcher.
The West Fork backcourt has been the perfect compliment to the font line that shoulders the majority of the scoring load.
Halloran, Myers and Parcher don’t seem inundated with stats. They play for one reason and one reason only, and that reason is to win. Each had their moments Thursday.
Halloran was a man on the boards, going amongst the trees to secure pivotal second-chance opportunities.
Parcher, off a team-high 11 points Monday, nailed a pair of 3-pointers to stretch the defense just enough to let Plagge and Sam Amsbaugh have some breathing room in the post.
And Myers’ key free throws down the stretch helped thwart a Bulldog rally.
Offensively, they have their moments. Defensively, it’s turned into a cohesive unit, yielding 37 points per game in two state tournament contests.
“We know we need to step it up on defense,” Halloran said. “When we get a lead we need to keep the lead.”
This West Fork team isn’t perfect in a lot of ways. They don’t shoot it great from the 3-point line. Offensively, they find themselves in a rut from time to time.
But they are perfect in the only category that matters: Winning.
“I guess we win ugly a little bit,” Schnoes said with a grin.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
One more win and this team will sit side by side with that 2011 state title team. Stats don’t tell the story for this team, but the record does. And so far, the record says this is a team for the ages.
Transcriptions by Sharon R. Becker, November of 2013
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DES MOINES -- Tucked underneath Wells Fargo Arena, Payton Plagge and teammates Sam Amsbaugh and Spencer Halloran were looking at the stat sheet.