Chester’s Micah Bondon makes his way down the court during Chester’s 76-50 win against Burney last Thursday. The Volcanoes’ victory marked their 10th in a row. Photos by James Wilson

  The Chester boys’ basketball team seems to be unstoppable after winning its tenth game in a row in the second round of playoffs. The Volcanoes slapped down Burney 76-50 Feb. 21. Chester’s win bumped its record up to 23-5 for the season.

  Chester was seeded first in the Northern Section Division VI playoffs and was given a bye during the first round. The Volcanoes are now the only Plumas County team remaining in the playoffs.

  The Chester girls played two games last week. In the first round of playoffs Chester beat Princeton 51-34 Feb. 19. On Feb. 22 the girls lost 32-31 to Hayfork in a hard fought game. The girls ended their season with a 14-14 record.

  Chester’s boys started slowly in the Burney game. After the first-round bye, the Volcanoes were a bit rusty on the court. Chester missed 15 layups in the game; most in the first quarter.

  “We hadn’t played in a while and were trying to get back in the groove,” said Chester’s coach Joe Gilmour. “We missed a lot of layups in that game, but I’m just chalking that up to us not playing much the last two weeks.”

  Once Chester regained its momentum, however, the team was unstoppable. By halftime Chester was up 45-20.

  The Volcanoes continued their rampage through the second half. Wyatt Durkin was the Volcanoes’ high scorer with 21 points. Durkin also got 12 rebounds and four blocks.

  Thomas Kelly also performed well. Kelly averaged 10 points per game this season, but scored 18 points against Burney. Kelly also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out seven assists. Every player on the Chester roster scored at least one point.

  Gilmour has high expectations for the Volcanoes’ playoff run. The team is ranked the best team in the section division.

  “I think we are as prepared as we can be,” said Gilmour. “I think we have a really good chance of winning the section.”

  The Chester girls came close to beating Hayfork, but fell too far behind in the first half to catch up. Both teams’ defenses were at their best, resulting in a low scoring game.

  The two teams battled to put any points on the board through the first quarter. Hayfork ended up leading 6-5 at the end of the first quarter.

  Chester basically lost the game in the second quarter. Hayfork made one basket after another to outscore the Volcanoes 17-10.

  Both teams stood at a stand still in the third quarter. Chester finally started coming back in the final quarter, but ultimately fell one point shy.

  Chester’s game against Princeton was a stomp. The girls were on equal ground in the first quarter, but the Volcanoes took off before the half to lead 25-13. The domination continued through the last half for a Volcanoes’ win.