Thomas Coltrain is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Dobson High School for AZPreps365.com.

The Chaparral Firebirds men’s basketball team ended the regular season off with a bang against the Horizon Huskies, winning 71-36.

The Chaparral firebirds came into this game with alot of momentum, winning their last two and it showed on the court. 

The firebirds went up 15-0 against the Huskies to start  the first quarter. 

The defense of the Firebirds was immaculate, limiting the Huskies’ offense to just 13 points in the first half. 

The offense was explosive, scoring 42 points in the first half. 

“The Chosen One” Ben Rosenberg had another spectacular performance scoring 15 points. 

Rosenberg feels that the team is in a great place heading into the playoffs. 

“We’ve got some good momentum, we are going to rest up and prepare for the games ahead."

It is clear in the way that the Firebirds play, they trust Ben’s skills and leadership during the games. It is not lost on him how much of a responsibility that is.

“It is a huge responsibility but I love it. Me, Blake, and Nic got voted by the team to be team captains so obviously we have the team's respect,” said Rosenberg. 

“It’s our job to go out there and take care of business, " Rosenberg said. 

Rosenberg, every chance he gets, points out the fact that this is a team win and it is not just him that is responsible for the positive outcomes of the games.

He isn’t wrong. Another stellar performance came from Connor Honig who scored 13 points. 

Connor Honig plays with an intensity and passion that drives him. Conner is very driven to win and he feels that that is who he is as a player and he embraces.

He channels his energy in the most effective way to help his team win.

“I love driving the ball, tonight the pump-fake driving was working and I kept on taking it to the rim because that was what was working."

As good as Honig was tonight against the Huskies, the number one thing that he feels is the driving force behind these last three wins is the team developing more as a team recently. 

“The last two games we’ve developed more as a team and played as a team, we’ve put 4 quarters together,” Honig said. 

They have done exactly that, they hardly had any turnovers and scored when the opportunities presented themselves. 

Not only did the usual starting lineup play tonight but the sophomore Cam Connell and freshman Chase Swenson stepped in and did their part to secure the win. 

“They’re doing great, they’ve been with us for most of the year so they have gotten good experience at the varsity level which is good for the program to build our younger players, " Rosenberg said. 

“Everybody that comes into the game whether their freshman, sophomore, or junior we have expectations of everybody. I don’t really look at their class, I look at how they perform,” said Person. 

Their experience showed on the court because both Connell and Swenson had solid performances each hitting three-pointers. 

Both Rosenberg and Honig were proud of their fellow teammates for performing the way that they did.

Peterson feels that the team has good momentum and winning strategy heading into the playoffs.

If the Firebirds continue their path of dominance they will be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs.