Castle Rock upsets their way to District title

The Castle Rock boys basketball team worked through three upsets and claimed the District IV 1A Tournament by defeating La Center on Friday night at W.F. West High School.

They may have finished 3rd in their league, but the Castle Rock Rockets boys basketball team polished off La Center on Friday night for their first District IV Championship since 2009.

This win came on the heels of two additional surprise victories by a group of kids that surprised more than a few through the regular season. The first was on a trip to Hoquiam where CR took on the number-two team from the 1A Evergreen Conference and escaped with a 51-45.

The Rockets' next two opponents featured teams that were responsible for four of their six losses on the season.

Two nights after leaving Hoquiam in their wake, CR dropped King's Way Christian 58-54, which served as a little retribution after suffering 73-56 and 76-56 losses to the Knights earlier in the season.

"I think our most impressive win would have to be Kings Way because they took the league," said Rocket senior Mason Klingberg.

La Center finished ahead of them in league and dealt CR 73-56 and 82-66 losses during the regular season, but the post season is a new season.

"It's been a crazy fun run the last few weeks," said Rocket Senior Ty Johnson. "This being my senior year and being able to get three upsets in a row to get the trophy and cut that net down was amazing! This team has really gained some confidence in a way that's helped us get rolling and we hope we can keep it up in state."

It was Ty's brother Brock Johnson that scored most of the points on Friday night against La Center, but it was rebounding, defense and the total team game that brought the trophy home to Castle Rock.

"Yeah as much hype as me, Brock and Mason get, those guys don't get enough credit, with everything they do that translates into winning," said Ty Johnson.

He was referring to contributors like Taite Kleine and Nick Proudfit who worked hard to limit the contribution of La Center's Will Rice. The Rocket defense held the Wildcats to just 10 of 42 from the field, including a 2-of-20 from behind the golden three point boundary.

"So proud of my guys," said CR Head Coach Kevin Johnson. "Just a fantastic effort from a group of kids."

Castle Rock will now be playing Overlake (of Redmond) in a regional seeding game at W.F. West High School in Chehalis at 4 p.m. on Saturday.