Rath is the Bears lone returning starter

Rath lone returning starter for Bears LAUREL — Jake Rath is the lone returning starter for the Laurel-Concord-Coleridge Bears, but the cupboard is far from bare for head coach, Todd Erwin in his ninth season.

Rath is an inside bruiser who averaged a double-double last season at 17 points and 10 rebounds per contest., pacing the Bears to an 18-7 record.

Three additional players earned letters in 2021-22 in Carter Kvols, Tyler Olson and Gibson Roberts. Olson is a junior while Roberts and Kvols are sophomores.

Olson is a great jump shot shooter, Kvols is an athletic forward with a lot of length who can guard all five positions and Roberts can hit the three and passes the ball very well.

Dylan Taylor (11) and Kolby Hansen (10) will likely fit in the mix for LCC this winter.

Hansen is a 6-foot-9-inch post player, Taylor is an athletic player who can also shoot the three.

Players who may contribute include Brayden Urwiler, Caleb Erwin and Eli Haisch.

“With one returning starter we are a new team that needs to find our rhythm,” Erwin said. “We still plan to play our pressure defense and up tempo offense.”

The Bears open the season on the road for three games before coming home to play Tri County Northeast on Dec. 9, the only home date before the Christmas break.

After the moratorium, LCC will head to Wayne for the Elkhorn Valley Bank Northeast Nebraska Shootout then another road game, this one to Cedar Catholic on Jan. 5.

The Lewis & Clark Tournament is set for Jan. 28 through Feb. 6.

Laurel-Concord-Coleridge will play in the C2-6 SubDistrict along with Cedar Catholic, Crofton, Ponca and Tri County Northeast.