The Falcons have big shoes to fill, but no one on the team is backing away from the challenge. The Fountain Hills High School boys basketball team is chasing a state title, and they start the 2022-2023 season at home this Friday, Nov. 18, against American Leadership Academy – West Foothills at 7 p.m.

The Falcons lost four starters in the offseason, including an all-conference first team and region offensive player of the year in point guard Xavier Mike. They lost a lot of size with the graduation of Alex Rieck and the departure of Mitchell Perkins to Notre Dame Prep too.

“I'm excited, I really am,” Falcons coach Jeff Bonner said. “Since Mitchell decided to make his choice and since then, me telling you about some of the other guys are stepping up; that has not stopped.”

Perkins was an all-conference honorable mention as a sophomore, and his departure is the first thing Bonner wants to see in the rear view mirror of this season. Senior Luke Bloedel, the only remaining center from the varsity squad last year, played a larger role in the summer league and is ready to be a leader in the regular season too. He only averaged 5.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game last season, but Bonner said this year is a “night and day” difference.

“I'll say Luke is taking the forefront as far as communicating, throughout the whole entire program,” Bonner said. “But not even that, he really committed to working out in the weight room, which kind of carried over to other guys kind of wanting to work as hard as him. Guys saying, ‘if he's lifting that, I'm lifting that,’ so just being a leader on and off the court. His body's filling out and his ability just to put the ball in the basket, rebound strong for us, that is what we need him for.”

The Falcons have senior Jack Ervin and Napherious Doka-Johnson that can also play in the post, but they are just over six feet while Bloedel is 6’5”. The Falcons will be running smaller lineups more often, which will put more strain on the guards. They’ll be taking a committee approach at first to try to replace the output Mike had, averaging 13 points and five assists last season.

Second on the team in three-point shooting percentage was JT Mitchell, who also graduated and was a good corner shooter. Without the two of them, most of the offensive pressure will be on junior Keaton Ort, who was third on the team in scoring with 8.6 ppg last season, and he was third in three-point shooting at 30%. Senior guards Diesel Giger and Tyler Cosman will also see an increased role this season, and Bonner views them as bulldog defenders.

“[Keaton’s] hungry. He's been really, really shooting the ball fantastic for us. Obviously, you can tell with another year under his belt, he feels confident in the offense,” Bonner said. “Knocking down shots, whether it be three point shots, mid-range floaters, he's kind of doing it all offensively for us…Diesel and Tyler Cosman are going to be phenomenal defenders for us, like always, and just great, solid role players that do their job, don't turn the ball over.”

Bonner believes that championships are won through team effort and the supporting cast. While Mike was the unquestioned leader in the locker room last season, he didn’t always take the game winning shot. For instance, in the thrilling first round of the playoffs, it was Aiden Logan who kept the season alive with a buzzer-beating three pointer that sent it to double overtime. The Falcons beat Chinle 73-71, and Logan is ready to take another step as a senior.

“[Logan] was a guy that did a lot with his actions, a lot with his game, but didn't really necessarily talk to his teammates,” Bonner said. “He's come out of that comfort zone this year and is really trying to be that guy that can talk to his teammates.”

Logan received second team all-conference and first team all-region honors averaging 8.4 points, 5.5. rebound and 3.4 assists per game. He’ll continue to improve on his game, but his progress in leadership is due to the program’s teachings and the players that came before him.

Mike inspired several of the players with his actions over the past two years and his final locker room speech following the 64-52 loss to Valley Christian in the semi-finals. It was the second straight semi-finals Mike had lost in, but he continues to talk with players and impact the program according to Bonner.

The Falcons went 22-7 last year and 10-1 in the region. They weren’t crowned region champions due to a forfeit loss technicality, and there is a new obstacle on the way to a region championship this year. Scottsdale Christian Academy entered 3A North Central after winning the 2A state championship last season.

The Falcons will play nine home games, with six of them in January. After this Friday, they host Shadow Mountain on Monday, Nov. 21, at 8 p.m. and then they have a five game road stretch. They’ll also play in two tournaments before the new year, and they’ll return home on Thursday, Jan. 12 to host Wickenburg at 7 p.m.

“I think that the first game will be a lot of fun,” Bonner said. “I think guys will surprise themselves as far as how good we are, and defensively, I think we are gonna smother teams with how we play defense.”