A mainly sunny sky. High 83F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

A few clouds overnight. Low 64F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

A mainly sunny sky. High 83F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

A few clouds overnight. Low 64F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

(KMAland) -- The AHSTW boys basketball and Maryville boys golf teams are the next teams featured on KMA Sports' countdown of the top teams from the 2021-22 season. 

The AHSTW boys basketball team is the lone non-state qualifying squad on this list, but their impressive season was too much to overlook. 

The Vikings returned everybody from last year's 20-3 squad and entered the season determined to post a strong year. 

"I'm blessed as a coach," Coach G.G. Harris said. "These kids have put a lot of time into their individual game, and they've been playing together for so long, so they complement each other well."

The Vikings opened their season with a dominant 81-30 win over Riverside. 

"Defensive intensity," G.G. Harris, "we sustained that for four quarters. We want to get better in all facets, so we need to keep that intensity high."

The Vikings won their first 17 games, highlighted by a nail-biting 50-49 win over Treynor on January 3rd. 

Cole Scheffler's go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining erased a 10-point deficit for AHSTW and secured the win. 

Scheffler's game-winning deep triple was a satisfying ending to his frustrating night. He had six points in the first quarter but battled foul trouble throughout the game.

"Coach Harris talks about playing solid defense," Scheffler said. "I tried to, but I got in some foul trouble. I thought I was shooting good. They left me open, so I had to make it."

"We told them to keep playing," Harris said about the comeback. "Even when you're not playing at your best, you have to compete at your best. Credit to the kids. I'm not saying we were lucky, but I'm glad we came away with this one."

The Vikings completed the season sweep of Treynor with a 48-41 win on February 3rd. The victory secured the Vikings outright possession of the Western Iowa Conference title. 

“I think we’ve had a share and one outright maybe four or five years ago,” Harris said, “but to do it against a really good team and well-coached program at home, all those things are great. We still have one more conference matchup, and we want to finish this thing the right way.”

AHSTW suffered just one loss in the regular season and entered the postseason with a 20-1 record.

They drew the top seed in their district and looked the part with wins over Griswold and Audubon by 62 and 26 points to put them in a district final. 

AHSTW held off Exira-EHK's valiant effort in the district final and moved one game closer to state with a 62-53 win. 

"We are hungry and want more but today is the most important day," said AHSTW Coach GG Harris after the win. "That's a really good team. It was a game of runs. Perspective-wise, we just won a district final. We'll take a step back and then wake up tomorrow and be hungry."

"We were in a district final last year, and that one did not go as planned," said senior Raydden Grobe. "It was good to come out and get the win."

Grobe paced the Vikings with a game-high 17 points behind a bevy of mid-range jumpers.

"It's nice when you can score from all three levels," he said. "That's what I try to do."

Unfortunately, the Vikings' bid for a first-ever state tournament appearance ended with a 59-55 loss to West Harrison in a substate final. 

Grobe and Lund shined for the Vikings all season with 18 points per game apiece while Kyle Sternberg added 15.8 points per game. 

"If we have fun and play like we can, we can beat anyone," Lund said. "All my teammates having big games is exciting. It's been awesome. I've played with this group since first grade. We know what everyone is good at. It's a well-oiled machine. It's cool to see how we have adapted to each other's games."

This squad produced the KMAland Missouri Golfer of the Year and the KMAland Golf Coach of the Year. 

The Spoofhounds put together a strong season while fighting through some of the most demanding elements in recent memory.

“It wasn’t an easy season,” Coach Brenda Ricks told KMA Sports. “The weather was challenging the whole way through, but the last two days were great.”

And those last two days are what Maryville’s 2022 season will be defined by, as the Spoofhounds played at the state tournament for the first time since 2017.

“They just had a great season,” Ricks said. “I was deeper than I’ve ever been. That fifth position was up for grabs all year. There were about four or five that had the average, and I had to use numbers. I couldn’t just say you’re going to play fifth today. I kept their averages faithfully all season long, and so what it did was bring out the competitiveness.”

While the Spoofhound ended the season on a high-note, they were consistent all season, such as when they claimed the team title at Shenandoah's Mustang Invitational on April 12th. 

The Spoofhounds leaned on the core of Trevin Cunningham, Jacob Scott, Ethan Scott, Jack Dinsdale and Marcus Henggeler. 

Those five saved their finest performance for the Class 3 district meet, where they scored a runner-up finish to qualify for state. 

"This means a lot to us," Ricks said. "I have to say I didn't see this as a possibility. I didn't know what the other schools in our districts would be like."

The Spoofhounds ultimately finished fifth in Class 3. 

“I think they handled (state) well,” Ricks said. “State is a different beast. It’s not an easy field. It’s tough. I know they didn’t do as well as they wanted to, but that’s golf.”

Maryville's memorable season earned Ricks the 2022 KMAland Golf Coach of the Year Award. And Cunningham was named the 2022 KMAland Missouri Golfer of the Year. 

Cunningham took medalist honors in three of Maryville's five matches, won the Lafayette Irish Invite and was the Spoofhounds' top finisher in every tournament with an average score of 78.80.

"(I made) continual improvement this year," Cunningham said. "The year did not start great, but I battled back and got better. I was near where I wanted to be when the season ended. I'll remember that forever."

48. Nodaway Valley/West Central Valley Boys Soccer

40. Falls City Sacred Heart Boys Basketball

At KMA, we attempt to be accurate in our reporting. If you see a typo or mistake in a story, please contact us by emailing kmaradio@kmaland.com.

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.