Prep Plus: Central girls short a head coach for a night

 Seiler, 15 years at McIntosh and 15 at Aberdeen Central, missed the game Feb. 12 at Sioux Falls Roosevelt due to an illness. Her Central assistants, Jake Phillips, Steph Daly, Tevan Wenbourne and Ashley LaFave, stepped into the void and the Golden Eagles won 62-54.

 So, who should get credit for the win?

 “Every win we have, it belongs to all of them,” said Seiler. “This staff has been together a while. I was watching the game at home on the computer. I’m thinking to myself, ‘It might be time to mix up the defense.’ Sure enough. We had a defensive change. ‘It’s time to do something different on the offensive end.’ That’s what I saw the players do. We as a staff sit down and decide what we have to do with this team to make it go. It’s not a one person thing. It’s always a team win.”

 The coaching staff recorded another short-handed win on Jan. 25 at Sturgis. That time, Daly and Wenbourne stayed in Aberdeen with an illness and the rest of the staff carried on.

 “I wouldn’t trade this staff for the world,” said Seiler. “I told Gene (Brownell, Central athletic director), ‘I have the best staff and I’m lucky to have them.’ ”

 The Golden Eagles (18-1) will host Huron (4-16) on Monday at Golden Eagles Arena in the first round of District 3AA play.

Sports writer Deb Smith

Figuring out the weather

 If you think meteorologists have a difficult job this time of the year, try being an athletic director.

 Those school officials must not only try to figure out what the weather will do, but also how it will impact area athletic contests.

 Langford Area athletic director Toni Brown knows that job full well. He estimates that he has had to reschedule about 10 basketball games this winter.

 “That’s just high school,” Brown noted. “That’s not counting junior high.”

 That’s also not counting his role as chairman of the District 2B girls’ and boys’ tournaments. The girls’ tourney has also taken a hit with weather this week and next week’s weather appears a bit iffy for the boys’ event as well.

 Brown said there are several elements to work around when games have to be rescheduled.

 “It’s hard to find dates when both schools are open,” he said, “and finding replacement officials if the original ones can’t work them.”

 And sometimes, like in the case of the Langford Area-Warner boys’ game, you just have to keep trying. This afternoon will mark the third attempt to get that game in. That contest is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Warner.

 Brown said that he ended up canceling three girls’ games this season, the most since he has been AD at the school.

 He said while he attempts to reschedule all games if possible, the conference contests have added priority.