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By DAVID WOLMAN
Traveler Sports Editor

Many of Arkansas City's players didn't experience last season's playoff loss to Newton.

The Railers used a stifling defensive effort to run out to an early 10-0 lead before surviving a push late in the first half by Ark City and earning a 45-27 win in a Class 5A sub-state final.

Bulldogs coach Bill Stinson remembers the loss, but has moved on from it.

"We played them three times (last season) and they got us three times," he conceded. "They were probably the better team."

Ark City gets its chance to avenge that loss tonight when it travels to Newton.

Despite the loss, last season was a pinnacle for a senior-laden team (six seniors) that saw its win total increase each year. After finishing with only four wins three years ago, they finished 12-10 in the 2006-07 season. They also helped Ark City to win its first playoff game in over a decade, a 55-53 win over Ottawa.

"That was good to get to the sub-state final, especially for those seniors because they spent so much time (working for it)," Stinson said.

Despite returning only one starter this season (Natalie Stinson), Bill Stinson hoped Ark City would build off its increasing success the last three seasons. Instead, the Bulldogs are looking to pick up the pieces after suffering their fourth straight defeat last Friday, a 53-21 loss to McPherson.

With three games this week, including back-to-back home games on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon against Valley Center and Campus, respectively, Stinson hopes the Bulldogs can start getting closer to the level his team played at last season.

"We just haven't got there yet," he said. "We're not playing up to the varsity level speed. We're still an awfully young and inexperienced team. So, hopefully within the next couple of weeks we can start to pick up and get a little bit more basketball savvy."

And it starts tonight against the Railers.

Like Ark City, Newton lost a core group of seniors last year, including leading scorers Amanda Hiebert and Chelsea Harris. This season, the Railers are relying on a more balanced effort.

"I think they've got several girls who can score baskets," coach Stinson said. "There's not necessarily one girl that's just their go-to player."

Stinson is anxious to see how his team responds from Friday's loss to the Bullpups.

"It's hard to get a lot of stuff out of that when you get your butt beat," Stinson said. "It's always a character test. Are you going to fold or are you going to come back and try harder?"

Ark City boys look to get back on track: The Arkansas City boys will look to get back on track tonight against Newton after suffering a lopsided 80-38 loss to McPherson last Friday. It snapped a three-game winning streak for Ark City.

Bulldogs coach Ben Proctor felt the loss was a big learning experience for the team.

"I don't think it's a bad thing to let that game linger," he said. "It was about as low as we could get. We've talked about that and we can learn from it, and I think, by reminding them about that every once in awhile. We watched some film over it today, just to let them know that we have a lot of work to do. We don't want to harp on it too much, but at the same time we want to make sure it motivates us a little bit."

Ark City committed over 40 turnovers in its loss to McPherson, an area the Bulldogs will look to quickly patch up.

"We talked extensively about turnovers and just doing things better and being more competitive," Proctor said. "We turned the ball over because we didn't want to play. It's a deal that I think that we came out and had a better practice today and I think that we're much better prepared."

Ark City will look to slow down Jordan Voelker, who leads the Railers in scoring with 14.7 points per game.

"He's kind of a monster in there," Proctor said. "He's big and strong. He's got a good left-hand turnaround jump shot. He plays excellent defense. He's just a real athletic kid and he's a very good basketball player."

But Voelker is just one cog in Newton's offense. Winfield slowed down Voelker, for the most part last Friday, but the Railers had other players who stepped up in leading them to a win over the Vikings.

"I think they're a very balanced team," he said. "It's tough to nail down who's there best player. I think Voelker's the one who stands out. But I say they've got two other guys, on any given night who can be their best player. There's no single guy we can focus on."

Tonight's the start of a stretch where Ark City plays three games in five days. It concludes the week with home games on Friday night against Valley Center and Saturday afternoon against Campus.

"I think the kids really like it," Proctor said. "I guess I'll know Saturday night, whether I like it or not."