Iron Horses ride high

The Philip Simmons High School boys’ basketball team has momentum as it prepares for the final week of the regular season — and playoffs.

 

The Iron Horses also have a region championship to celebrate: they topped Timberland High School, 56-37, on Feb. 7 in a Region 6-AA game played at The Phil.

 

It was the program’s second region title in its brief eight-year history as the Iron Horses won for the 10th consecutive game to push their record to 16-5, including 8-0 in league contests.

 

The Iron Horses’ other title came in the memorable 2021-22 campaign when they went 25-4 and 10-0 in league play.

 

The Iron Horses were slated to close out the regular season with a home game against Andrews High School on Feb. 11 and a road game at Woodland High School the following night.

 

They will host at least one Class AA playoff game at The Phil, and possibly two.

 

“It’s always a goal,” coach Garrett Campbell said. “We accomplished it by playing to our strengths.”

 

The Iron Horses fell to 6-5 when they lost to T.L. Hanna High School on Dec. 27. Since then, the team has been undefeated in 2025. The Iron Horses outscored foes by an average of 57-33 in the 10-game stretch.

 

“We’ve focused on our strengths, and that’s our size and the pace of the game,” Campbell said. “We shot too many 3s, played too fast, and turned the ball over too many times.

 

“Now, we’re playing inside out (on offense) and coming out with strong defense,” Campbell added. “We’re dominating the glass and are more efficient on offense. We are playing to our strengths.”

 

While the program has produced four 1,000-career-point players in less than a decade, this team is about balance and size.

 

Hudson Hatch and Blake Darby, a pair of 6-9 players in the paint, both scored 10 points in the victory over the Timberland Wolves. Point guard Corbin Driggers also tallied 10 points while Kolten Kellermann added nine points.

 

Driggers’ point production was only half of his performance. He also dished out seven assists. He should break Robert Watson’s career record of 96 assists in the final week of the regular season.

 

“He was our eighth or ninth man last year, and has really stepped into the point guard position,” Campbell said. “He controls the game. He’s the best point guard in the region, without a doubt. We aren’t the same team without him.”

 

PSHS GIRLS

Meanwhile, the Philip Simmons girls’ team continues to show improvement under first-year coach Allen Gethers despite a 34-32 loss to Timberland.

 

The Iron Horses girls opened the season with one win in eight games, but own an 8-14 record, including 4-4 in Region 6-AA heading into the final week of the regular season.

 

Timberland upped its record to 7-1 in league play by jumping to a 20-12 halftime lead and withstood the Iron Horse rally.

 

The Iron Horses are third in the region with a 4-4 record and were scheduled to play Andrews on Feb. 11, and close out the regular season Feb. 12, with a road game at Woodland.