No one knows Noxon basketball like Ryan Weltz, you could even call him Red Devil Ryan.

Once a star player for the Red Devils while he was in school in the West End, Red Devil Ryan has spent many of the winters of his adult life since then coaching either the boys or girls.

One year removed from a one-year stint as the Lady Devils' coach, Weltz agreed to coach the Noxon boys team this season and guided his young charges into the Western C Tip-Off tournament in Ronan last week to open the season, marking his eleventh campaign overall as a head coach for Noxon basketball teams.

"I'm enjoying it," Weltz said of his latest Red Devil coaching assignment (he had several years off in-between coaching the boys previously and girls recently). "It was kind of good to get out of it and then step back in, that allowed me to see things a little differently."

The Devils split non-conference games in Ronan, falling to Darby 54-41 Friday and coming back to stop Victor 49-24 Saturday.

Although the Devils are very young overall, their two seniors, Ryan's son Rylan Weltz and Michael Antonich led them to the win over Victor as Rylan bucketed 16 points and Antonich a game-high 18.

Brody Hill added five points to the Devils' winning total, Avery Vogel four, Derreck Christianson two and Silas Hay one. Carson Varner scored 16 points, mostly late in the game, to pace Victor.

Rylan Weltz was a hoop force in the game with Darby, putting down 31

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PlePof Noxon's 41 points and clearing an amazing 19 rebounds to lead the Noxon charge. Hill scored six points, Hay added two and Nate Cano and Antonich one apiece.

The Smith brothers led Darby as Nelson Smith tallied 14 points, Preston Smith scored 13 and Gabe Smith 12.

Now 1-1, the Devils' next scheduled game is next Tuesday at Clark Fork, Idaho, although Weltz said NHS officials have been trying to reschedule a game with Troy for this Saturday.

John Hamilton

JOCKEYING FOR POSITION - Noxon's Wyatt Lackner works for position for a rebound between Victor's Canyon Parks and Caleb Rosen in Ronan Saturday as Noxon coach Ryan Weltz looks on from the background. Devils won 49-24.

He felt the Ronan tourney was a good one to start the season with.

"That was good, we got to play a couple of low pressure, non-conference games," he said. "We got the chance to go out there, play and see where we are at."

Weltz admits that his Red Devils are a shade on the green side this year. "We are pretty young and inexperienced, this was a good opportunity to get playing time and varsity experience," he said of the Western C Tip-Off tourney. "Our goal, of course is to get better as we go.

"It's every coach's dream," he concluded, "to have your team playing its very best at the end of the season, and that's what we are aiming for."