As a Bishop Ward freshman with a head for defense but reluctant to take a shot, freshman Tyler Holmes was an unlikely candidate for the thousand-point club, or for breaking the school’s thirty-year old season scoring record.
After a lot of bench time, Holmes got a new start when six seniors graduated from the program after his sophomore year and Kevin Walterbach came on as head coach.
Walterbach talked after the game about his senior guard. “ He’s just consistently our go to guy — always an energy giver. I just love being able to coach him. He’s an easy kid to coach.”
“ When I first started here, our team was really struggling. We started to turn around, and he’s really reshaped how we do things in the program and taken us to a whole other level.”
Holmes took the opportunity and ran with it like a fast break, jumping up from 6.6 points-per-game in his sophomore year to 17.6 his junior year.
Friday night, senior Tyler Holmes celebrated his last home game in the cozy confines of the Cyclones’ field house with his 1,000th career point and also became Bishop Ward’s single-season scoring record-holder.
Holmes surpassed the previous mark of 471 set by Dorian Estell in the 1992-93 season. Chris Wing’s career mark of 1,356 points, set between 2003 and 2007, is still safe.
Holmes spoke after the game, surrounded by his entire team doing a mock-fanning motion, and focused on enjoying the ride with his teammates.
“We won and got to send the seniors away on a good note,” said the senior guard. “I love that. I love playing with these guys. I’m going to miss it. [In the playoffs,] I just want to get out to a good start, get a deep run, and go as far as we possibly can.”
Holmes’ mom, LaShonda Jackson Sawyer, was also thinking about high school coming to an end. Holding back tears after the post-game ceremony, she talked about Tyler’s time at Bishop Ward.
“He has thrived. He’s had great teachers. I love his teachers. His education has been on point. He’s had good coaches, and his teammates, his classmates have all been very supportive of him. He’s a multi sport athlete and they’ve encouraged that.”
Holmes and his teammates made sure the night would be a celebration by dominating the Kansas City Christian Panthers 58-29. Holmes finished with 30 points. Fellow seniors Noah Jensen and Gabe De La Torre scored ten and nine points.
The Cyclones wrapped up the regular season with a 13-7 record, earning a home game to start the KSHSAA 3A playoffs starting on Friday. The game will be hosted at Wyandotte High School against the West Franklin Falcons of Pomona.
