Orange Beach, Ala. – (OBA) – In just two years as the Orange Beach boys basketball coach, veteran Chris Laatsch’s teams have set school records for wins each year. Laatsch’s team had 17 wins last year, including a trip to the Elite Eight, and, so far, 26 this year, with a Sweet 16 berth in the regionals coming up. As a reward, his team gets to face the two-time Class 4A state champion to start regional play this week.

The defensive-minded Makos will face off against 22-1 Jackson on Feb. 18 at 4:30 p.m. at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery. The same Aggies team beat Orange Beach 54-34 last year, with a trip to the state final four on the line. Jackson has also won the last three 4A football state championships.

 “We have a lot of respect for them. They are very, very talented, they have a really good coach who does a really good job,” Laatsch said. “I told my boys they’re the champs until they’re not, and we’ll go and try to be the one that finishes it.”

The Makos will try to end that two-title streak for Jackson with a young but hard-nosed group without a senior on the team.

“We’ve just got a bunch of great kids that have bought into what we’re doing and are playing really hard and committed to the vision the staff has set forth,” Laatsch said. “And they’re out there executing it every day.”

The Makos’ strength is on the defensive end, highlighted by allowing just 33.4 points per game over the course of 32 games this season, including just 39 points combined in the area championship win over St. Michaels (33-19) and a subregion win over Geneva (44-20).

“We try to change defenses to keep people off balance, and it’s been good for us,” Laatsch said. “We’ve had a hard time scoring, so we just hung our hat on being a great defensive team, and it’s amazing. We’ve allowed 33.4 points per game, which is just ridiculous. We’ve got good length, and our guys are really connected as we change defenses. We don’t have a lot of blown assignments. Guys, just get to the right spot. You’re just really disciplined, and really there’s not a lot of holes for guys to attack.”

Leading the way for Laatsch and the Makos has been 6-foot-6 sophomore standout Lee Steele, who does a little of everything for Orange Beach. His varsity career started as an eighth grader, and this fall, he surpassed the 1,000-point mark in his career.

“I think he’s got the chance to be one of the best players I’ve ever coached and I’ve been doing it a while,” Laatsch said. “He’s a hard worker, great teammate, coachable and just makes us better. He’s having to do everything for us. He’s bringing the ball up, he’s our leading scorer, our leading assist guy, he’s the leading rebounder and just kind of our leader in all areas.”

On the football field, Steele is a standout tight end as well and is considered the No. 6 overall tight end prospect in the recruiting class of 2028. Several SEC schools, including Alabama and Auburn, have expressed interest in Steele’s football abilities.

Laatsch said several underclassmen – he has no seniors on the team – have stepped forward to lead to the record 26 wins, including juniors Sutton Rambo and Miller Day.

“He’s kind of that utility guy that does a little bit of everything,” Laatsch said of Rambo. “He’s probably our second primary ballhandler, rebounder, one of our best defenders. He impacts every phase of the game in a positive way consistently. Another guy for us is Miller Day. He plays with an extremely high motor, one of the highest motor kids I’ve ever coached. Just plays extremely hard, keeps balls alive, rebounds really well.”

The rest of the top contributors have been sophomores Connor Ford, Jon Gentry, and 6-foot-5 sixth man Judah Spencer.

Orange Beach will face a Jackson team coming off of a 66-40 win over Opp in the subregion. The Aggies' only loss this season came against 7A Albertville by a 51-43 score on Dec. 19. The Orange Beach-Jackson winner will play the winner of St. Michael’s v. New Brockton on Feb. 24 at 5:45 p.m. with a trip to Birmingham and the final four on the line.

Laatsch came to Orange Beach last year from Spain Park and has coached at Helena High School, Briarwood Christian School, and UMS-Wright Preparatory School over a 30-plus-year career. See related story: Celebrated coach to lead Orange Beach basketball program

Brent & Madge Williams of Wolf Bay Media attended the tournament and shared these photos from the game.