April 8, 2025
We talked recently with a few members of the 2014-15 Cardinal basketball team—Alan Schmidt, Dan Schmidt, Andy Algreen, A.J. Leporte, and head coach Kevin Williamson—and reminisced about their state tournament run. Part 1 of that story was in the March 25 issue of The Echo, and we resume with Part 2 here.
Moose
We met with the former Cardinals and Coach Williamson via Zoom. While the conversation was enjoyable, it was evident early on that everyone was thinking the same thing—someone was missing. Moose should be on this call.
While the ten years since the Cardinals made the trip to the state tournament seemingly went by in a flash, the fact that the world has been without Canyon Hopkins for nearly six years is even more difficult to fathom. After a courageous battle with an aggressive form of cancer, Moose succumbed in November of 2019.
While Moose became ‘famous’ for his sports exploits—particularly on the basketball court—he will be remembered more for the type of person he was. His genuine kindness, sense of humor, and cheerful demeanor made him a magnet to everyone he met. Because he connected with people in a different way than many of us do, everybody that knew him still has at least one ‘Moose story’ that they cherish. The people who knew him well have a million. To say that “Everyone loved Moose” is real—not hyperbole.
In our interview with his coach, friends and teammates, the shift to a discussion about Moose was not easy. The pain of his passing is still fresh and the void it left is immense. Still, they were able to share some memories.
“He was undoubtedly the leader of the team,” said Alan. “He inspired so much confidence in everybody else. We’d go play in the summer and play in teams like Valley and ADM. We always had a joke that he wouldn’t play well against any normal 1A team and then we’d go play Valley and he might be the only one who could score. He just inspired all of us. When he was on the floor with us, we figured we could beat just about anyone.”
Dan added, “He was a guy, in pre-game warmup, you just feel better knowing that that guy’s on your team. It just kind of brings everyone up. There’s always going to be a belief that hey we have someone like this on the team. You always felt pretty confident with that.”
Leporte said, “He was someone who could score or shoot the ball every single time, yet he would find open teammates and dish it to us, letting us all feed off of that. It goes to show what a good basketball player he was, but just a great person as well. Selfless, always looking out for others.”
Coaches love teamwork and unselfish play, of course, but occasionally Coach Williamson had to remind Moose to just go for it.
“I remember having a conversation with him multiple times like, ‘Man, go ahead and shoot a little more. Go look for yours.’ And it wasn’t in his nature to do that.”
Coach Williamson continued, “He was kind of the glue. He got along with everybody. There were times on the floor when maybe Andy and A.J. were getting a lot of pressure to get the ball up the floor—and you just gave it to your 6-4½ kid and said, “Okay Canyon, dribble it up and see if your guy can guard you.’ And they couldn’t. So, we would just clear out. There were so many things you could do with him.”
After Moose’s diagnosis and during his treatment, he came back to Earlham as an assistant coach.
“That was some of the best ‘Moose time’ I can remember having,” said Coach Williamson. “Just sitting on the bench with him. (Coach Williamson’s son) Trent was playing and I’d say, “Canyon, talk to Trent, because he’s not going to listen to his dad. He’s going to listen to you.” So he could have that conversation. It was super special.”
Memories can be fickle. The same cherished thoughts that we feel deep in our hearts can also cut like a knife sometimes. When friends and loved ones pass, the price we pay for remembering is a little pain.
Perhaps no one outside his family knew Moose better than Algreen. The two had been best friends since they were 3 feet tall. (Well, Moose was a lot taller than everybody in those days). On and off the court, the two friends were as close as it gets. On the day we discussed the 2015 team, Algreen struggled to sort through the myriad of memories. But no words were needed to express how he feels. Just a few days after our interview, Algreen and his wife Sydney welcomed into the world their new son, Mills Canyon Algreen.
The district playoffs
In the opening round of district play on February 19, the Cardinals smashed East Union at home, 69-28. Nine different Cardinals scored, with Alan leading the way with 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting, including 4 3-pointers.
Bedford gave the Cards a pretty good tussle in round two on February 14, but Earlham shot a sizzling 73% for the game and pulled away in the 2nd half to win, 78-55. Alan was hot again, making 8 of 9 shots, and scored 24 points. Moose had 16 and Leporte had 12.
In most seasons, the crowds at Earlham basketball games consist mostly of family, friends, and the student section, of course, along with a smattering of hardcore Cardinal fans that don’t fall into any of those groups. As this season wore on, though, word got out about this team and the stands started to fill up. People weren’t just jumping on the bandwagon—they were coming out to be entertained. The team was fun, fast, and athletic and scored a ton.
The crowds grew during the playoffs and the Earlham fans followed their team in droves once they hit the road in the playoffs. A noisy, energetic crowd greeted the Cardinals in Truro on February 26, when they took on Murray (19-4) in the substate final in Truro.
The Cardinals were crisp from the opening tap, but the Mustangs hung tough. Murray led, 10-9, with just under 3 minutes to go in the 1st, but Earlham scored 11 points in a row to go up by 10. Murray hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to make the score 20-13 after 1.
Murray kept the game close for the first couple minutes of the 2nd, but Earlham gradually pulled further ahead and led, 39-27, at halftime.
The Cards led, 45-34, near the 6-minute mark in the 3rd. Keyed by their swarming defense, the Cardinals closed the quarter on a 15-0 run to all but put the game away. Coach Williamson cleared his bench halfway through the 4th quarter and the Cardinals won, 74-48.
Moose led all scorers with 20 points. Alan had 14 and Leporte had 13.
Next up was the substate final against Grand View Christian. One more win and the Cards, who were on a 9-game win streak, were onto state.
That season was Grand View Christian’s first in their era of dominance that has lasted for a decade. With just one loss on the season, they were favored in the game against the Cardinals on February 28.
Coach Williamson had a lot more on his mind than basketball and teaching 4th grade that season. For several years, his daughter, Taelor, had been dealing with a serious illness. It worsened that season and required several trips to Mayo Clinic. The physical and mental stress was taking its toll on the coach. On top of that, his team was getting ready to play for a trip to the state tournament. Nobody could blame him if he was a little out of sorts before the game.
“I was a nervous wreck,” he said. “I told (assistant coach Tim) Harskamp, ‘I don’t know how I feel about this.’ We were in a long hallway, and there was a Bruno Mars song playing. What is it? Uptown Funk, or whatever. And I looked back and there was Andy and Moose in front everybody and they were singing and dancing. And I was like, ‘Holy (cow). We got this. These guys are so loose right now.’ I needed that that night.”
The big gym at Johnston High School pulsed with the energy from the crowd that filled both sides. The Cardinals couldn’t find any rhythm early, but their defense kept the high-scoring Thunder in check. The Cards trailed after 1, 14-9.
The Thunder stretched the lead to 7 with an early bucket in the 2nd, but the Cards answered with a 10-0 run. After Moose made a layup, Alan stole the ball in the front court and drove for a layup-and-one. Moose scored on a putback and then made a free throw on the Cards’ next trip down the floor. After Leporte stole the ball, he drove and dished to Alan for a layup, and the Cards led, 19-16. The Thunder broke the run with a free throw, but they only made one more field goal in the quarter. The Cards scored on a short hook shot by Moose, a 3 by Alan, and a hook shot by Algreen. They led at the half, 26-20.
The Thunder didn’t know what hit them in the 3rd quarter. The Cardinals’ crisp ball movement was dizzying, and defensively, the Cards swatted shots and stole the ball with regularity. Alan started the scoring with a 3, Moose followed with an elbow jumper, Zack Schreck scored on a putback, and the Cards had their biggest lead of the night, 33-20. After a Thunder bucket, the Cards answered with another run. Moose made 2 free throws. Algreen made a soft bounce pass to Moose, who made an easy layup. Leporte made a driving layup, Schreck scored right at the rim, and the Cards led, 41-22. Derek Hensley drove for a layup and Alan made a fadeaway 3-pointer in the right corner at the buzzer to give the Cards a 46-26 lead at the final break.
Grandview Christian averaged 70 ppg that season, so they were bound to get hot. They finally did, but the Cardinals matched them in a high-flying 4th quarter. The Cards beat the Thunder’s full court pressure at times by throwing over the top of it, getting a handful of breakaway layups. The Cardinal ballhandlers were strong, and when they were fouled, they knocked down their free throws. The Thunder never made a dent in the lead, and Alan’s breakaway dunk late in the quarter was a bold punctuation mark to a near perfect Cardinal victory, 73-51.
Alan led all scorers with 23 points. Moose had 19 and Leporte added 12.
The Cards knew there was more work to be done, but for the time being, the celebration was on.
“After the game, we were huddled up as a team and Coach was saying something to us,” said Algreen. “We already had the banner. There was a short pause, and then we just ran over to the crowd with it, and they came out. It was awesome.”
The confident Cardinals were more than ready for what awaited them at the state tournament.
What we thought was going to be a two-part series is now a three-part series! Read the exciting conclusion of this tale in next week’s Echo.
Earlham Echo 
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