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Folk surpasses 1,000 points as Durand Bulldogs fall to Galena
By Trenten Scheidegger
TRENTEN SCHEIDEGGER PHOTO The Gazette
Folk (center) surrounded by his parents Amy McIntosh and Nick Folk with the 1,000-point game ball.
The Durand Bulldogs got their 2023-24 boys’ basketball season off to a hot start with four early wins, including an impressive showing in this year’s AFC Tournament. On Nov. 30, the Bulldogs faced off with the Galena Pirates in a highly anticipated matchup.
Galena came into the game with a record of 3-1, while the Bulldogs were a half game up at 4-1. Despite the impressive records, people came to see much more than just a basketball game. Durand senior Nathan Folk has dominated the court throughout his high school career. Although his team doesn’t always come out on top, Folk always finds a way to keep his team in the game. Thursday night was no different, as Folk put up 21 points in an effort to battle with Galena.
The Bulldogs needed every bit of Folk’s efforts, and then some. After a sloppy first quarter, Durand found themselves trailing the Pirates 14-2. Not only did it look like a worrisome start for Durand, but there was some fear that Folk wouldn’t reach his milestone. Entering the night, he had 988 career points. He would have likely reached the milestone in the Bulldogs’ next game, but it was clear the Durand community came out in support of their electric senior.
In the second quarter, Folk started giving the crowd what they wanted. On the first possession of the quarter, Folk let it fly from deep as he drained a three-pointer to cut into the Galena lead. On Galena’s next possession, he stole the ball and found Tyler Anderson for a quick layup. Anderson converted a successful and-one as the Bulldogs brought themselves within 10.
The Bulldogs cut even further into the lead when Ethan Rager and Max Millbrath hit back-to-back shots in the paint. Later in the quarter, Folk hit a pair of free throws before draining another three-pointer as he caught fire. Before the end of the half, Folk sunk another three-pointer, giving him 11 points in the second quarter alone. Heading into the break, the Bulldogs trailed 23-20 while Folk sat just one point away from Durand history.
It didn’t take long for Folk to eclipse the milestone in the second half. While his shooting skillset is what many people notice, you can’t overlook his hustle on the defensive end. That’s exactly how he reached his career milestone, as another defensive steal led to some easy fastbreak points for the senior. His layup tied the game at 25-25 and Rager eventually gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the day on their next possession.
It was a game that came down to the wire, but missed free throws, turnovers, and some unlucky shots wound up costing the Bulldogs in the end. Galena walked away with a 57-53 victory over the Bulldogs.
Although Durand took a loss in the score column, you couldn’t take anything away from the Bulldog community that night. If you know anything about the history of Durand basketball, you know it’s been a rough couple of decades. Last year, the team finished 17-15, and that was their first winning season in 40 years. Despite another tough loss, Durand’s fans had plenty to celebrate – from Folk’s 1,000 points, to being able to compete with the tougher teams.
Durand head coach Micah Voigt is in his second year at the helm of the team. Players like Folk have helped him turn the program around. Voigt spoke about not only Folk reaching his milestone, but the team’s improvement over the last two years. “Our whole goal was to start a program here, get everybody up to speed on what we are running. A little bit more of a free-flowing offense that suited our team a little bit better. It’s been a learning curve for a lot of them because they played in a lot of set-based offenses where you get told to go at what time. We are trying a little bit more of a free flow that opens it up for a lot of our guards, like Nathan, Brayden [Hughes], and Zhane [Sheldon], to get those opportunities. Then we got our big guy, Ethan Rager, he can score in the middle and he’s a beast in there,” Voigt said.
Folk spoke about what it meant to reach the milestone, despite the loss. “We lose and win, but these thousand points mean a lot to me. Of course, I want to win on this night, but it’s a great feeling,” Folk shared. For the Durand senior, he’s been through the ups and downs of the program. He spoke about that, and what it’s been like to see the team get to where they are now. “It’s been hard,” he shared. “I’ve had three coaches in four years. Going through different plays, building chemistry with new guys, but I’ve been with these guys since like third grade. I feel like we really came together this year and we are going to have a great season.”
After going down 14-2 to end the first, things didn’t look so good for the Bulldogs. Folk spoke about why you can’t count this team out. “I feel like we have some of the most heart in the state. Even though, sometimes we come out with losses, we work hard for this. I feel like we made a good comeback even though we didn’t get the outcome we wanted,” he shared.
Voigt spoke more on that first quarter and how it likely cost the team in the long run, “If we play a better first quarter, we win the game. We started out slow, got a little shell shocked. A little bit of fanfare today with the thousand points. Eventually, we finally hit our stride and playing actual team basketball. They played a hell of a game; we played a hell of a game. It came down to a couple of missed free throws for us and it’s what cost us the game.”
Although the Bulldogs fell to 4-2 on that night, it was an incredible sight to see the Durand community out in full support for their team and their seniors. The team will get another opportunity on Tuesday, Dec. 12, when they play host to Ashton-Franklin Center at 7 p.m. that night.
