Steamboat Pilot & Today

At the midway point of the Western Slope League schedule, the Steamboat Springs High School boys basketball team is perched atop the standings. The team is stout on defense and has a roster full of players who can score in double-digits.

Once again, the Sailors look like the class of the league.

But with second games against the other seven schools in the league still ahead, Steamboat coach Luke DeWolfe thinks there's still more to learn about his team.

"It's a great opportunity for us to get better," said DeWolfe, whose Sailors play at 7:30 p.m. today at Eagle Valley. "We have to make sure we don't take any team lightly. We know every team is shooting to beat us. We're going to get everyone's best shot."

That has certainly been the case the past two seasons. Steamboat has won 37 consecutive league games, and those recent wins come via a squad with limited experience.

Alex Wood is one player, however, who's been on the team for a majority of that streak.

The senior leader cautioned against getting too excited about the Sailors' recent performance - especially with six of Steamboat's final seven games taking place outside the comfort of Kelly Meek Gymnasium.

"You just have to go into every game like you're playing the top teams," said Wood, a starter since his sophomore year. "It has to be like we're playing Glenwood or Moffat. But it just makes it a whole lot more fun for us because it makes us better as a team. Plus, when we go on the road we come together more."

Steamboat's work starts today against an Eagle Valley team it beat 55-30 earlier this season. The Devils are led by senior point guard Cesar Castillo and 6-foot, 10 inch forward Zach Ramsay. In the teams' first meeting, Steamboat's 2-3 zone defense limited Castillo and Ramsay to 14 total points.

"It's real important for us to stay grounded and focused in those games," DeWolfe said. "We have to be there to play every single game."