WARRENTON – When Vashon seniors Kain McCaskill and Armon Aaron return to the Show-Me Showdown at Mizzou Arena for the fourth consecutive year later this week, they plan to visit a few of their favorite Columbia eating establishments.
Number one on that list?
“Touchdown Wings,” they say in unison.
McCaskill and Armon hit momentum-changing shots to help Vashon defeat Orchard Farm 68-53 in a Class 4 quarterfinal Saturday at Warrenton High School.
Vashon (24-3), which has won eight state titles in the last nine seasons, will face Logan-Rogersville (27-3) in a Class 4 semifinal at noon Friday, March 20 at Mizzou Arena.
“That’s another home for us,” McCaskill said. “We love it there.”
Clayton (23-7) will meet Benton (29-1) in the other Class 4 semifinal at 10 a.m. Friday.
To earn a return trip to the final four, Vashon had to match the energy of a vibrant Orchard Farm student section that was given plenty to cheer about early.
Will Wolf, who led the Eagles with 24 points, drained a three on the opening possession. Madden Bohning and Jaylen Edwards scored on the next two trips and Orchard Farm led 9-6 after going 4-for-4 from the field.
“We approached it with the mentality of going at them. You watch film of teams that hesitate against them, and I don’t think that works for us. That’s not our style,” Orchard Farm coach Michael Hohe said.
Aaron drained a three in transition to quiet the crowd, Leon Powell converted a three-point play and when McCaskill’s jumper beat the first quarter buzzer, Vashon led 22-13.
“They played hard. They got energy and confidence from their crowd,” McCaskill said of Orchard Farm. “What people don’t know is that we get a boost off that, too.”
Orchard Farm (25-5) got off to another hot start in the second quarter. A pair of interior baskets by Collin Sinclair and a three-ball by Wolf sliced the deficit to 26-21, but once again, McCaskill and the Wolverines had the answer.
McCaskill drained two left-wing threes on successive possessions and pushed the lead back up to double digits.
“(Vashon) is so well-coached, so organized, they play so well as a team, and every time we had a run where I thought we were making up ground, boom, they would hit another three,” Hohe said.
Vashon went 9-of-17 from behind the arc, with McCaskill, Aaron and junior Jimmy McKinney III each draining three apiece.
Trailing by 10 at halftime, Orchard Farm made another run to open the third. Wolf drained a three to start it, then hit a tough, baseline fadeaway to slice the deficit to 40-35.
With the Orchard Farm crowd revved up, Vashon calmly found the answer once again.
During a display of exquisite ball movement, Powell directed a pass to McCaskill in the corner who, in one motion, leaped and tipped it to Aaron for another dagger three.
“He tips it out at practice like that,” Aaron said. “I see it, I find it, I shoot it. He inspires me to shoot the ball every time I catch it.”
Then, McKinney took over. He drained a pair of threes, exploded for an old-fashioned three-point play and hit a full-speed layup in transition for a personal 11-point run in three minutes.
McKinney led Vashon with 20 points, McCaskill had 17 and Powell added 14, including an emphatic dunk midway through the fourth quarter that put the result to rest.
“They play the game the way you’re supposed to,” Hohe said of Vashon. “It’s just a great program, and honestly, we were just hyped to be a part of that. It’s a program that you hear about for so long, but we never got to be a part of that, and to get that opportunity was really cool for our seniors to go out with.”
Orchard Farm will graduate 10 seniors, including Wolf and Sinclair, who were varsity starters as freshmen. The senior class finishes with 88 wins, three conference titles, two district titles, and this season, the school record for wins with 25.
“Over the last four years, this senior group has just been amazing,” Hohe said.
When Vashon arrives at their second home in Mizzou Arena later this week, there will bring a few differences from years past. The defense, while still man-to-man, does more helping and less full-out denial than years past.
“We play big, hands out and we’re moving on the defensive end,” McCaskill said. “It looks like we’re running a zone, but it’s just our help side (defenders).”
Offensively, the Wolverines still get out in transition, but they are also extremely comfortable in the half court. Vashon runs brilliant offensive sets that create driving angles, while lights-out shooters stand ready to launch.
“On the offensive end, we’re seeing the ball, cutting, passing the ball, finding the shooters,” McCaskill said. “We play together, we have shooters all around and we play with energy.”
And despite the lack of a huge Vashon student section, they gain energy and confidence from a vibrant crowd of alumni.
“They come to every game. We’re all a family. We’re here together,” McCaskill said.
They will all soon arrive to Columbia, where McCaskill and Aaron are excited to show the newest Vashon players, including senior Christian Potts and sophomore Braiden Alford, the ins-and-outs.
“This is going to be our fourth one. We know everything down there,” Aaron said. “We’re ready to show them what it is.”
For a photo gallery from this game, visit: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Boys-Basketball-Photos/Boys-Basketball-2025-26/Vashon-vs-OFHS-Class-4-quarterfinal