Week 3 Preview: Pinckneyville 0-2 at Benton 1-1

September 8, 2017 By Leave a Comment

by Steve Dunford

Benton QB Hamilton Page (10), with receivers Cade Thomas (4) and Joey Craig (18) wide to the right in Week 1 against Carterville (Thank you Lana Schilli for allowing me to use your pics)

The Pinckneyville Panthers make their second trip to Franklin County on consecutive Friday nights at they face off against the Benton Rangers tonight at Tabor Field.

The Panthers (0-2)  fell at Johnson field as The West Frankfort Redbirds defeated them 36-14.  The Rangers went on the road and defeated the Sparta Bulldogs 29-13.  Tonight, West Frankfort will be traveling to Sparta, as both teams traditionally switch off opponents in weeks two and three.

On last weeks victory, Benton Coach Bob Pankey had this to say about last week’s win at Sparta, “Sparta we racked up 440 yards of offense but only put 28 points on the board. We dropped 2 TD passes and we dropped an interception that would have definitely gone for a TD as well. So we left at least 18 points on the field. I like how our offense moved the ball LastFriday night We just have to finish more drives. I also felt like our defense rose up when it needed to and got stops, kind of a ‘bend but don’t break’ approach. To be able to win even though we didn’t play our best shows the resiliency of our guys. Now we just need to clean up those mistakes for tonight.  

Stats from the Week Two victory will be included at the end.

About the upcoming matchup with Pinckneyville tonight,   “Pinckneyville’s line is big on both sides of the ball and seem to play fairly physical. Their skill positions are mostly seniors which means they have some experience. They will be well coached…Coach Rushing does a good job. They work in a lot of jet motion and misdirection so we will need to play ‘assignment-sound’ football.”

This will be a good measuring stick to see how the Rangers stack up entering into SIRR Ohio division play next week.  With week one opponent Carterville travelling to Murphysboro, and West Frankfort going to Sparta tonight will be a good measuring stick to see as they have the unenvious task of going to Herrin to open conference play.

As of now, I would slot the SIRR-Ohio going in as; 1. Herrin, 2. Harrisburg 3. Benton 4/5 Murphysboro and/or West Frankfort and 6. Massac County.

I am going with the Rangers by 21 tonight.  It will be another notch in their belt for a team that I can see playing in Week 10.

Week 2 Stats against Sparta

Box Score Report – 9/1/2017 7:00 PM
BOX SCORE

Benton 6   23   0   0     -29
Sparta 6     7     0   0 –   13
SCORING PLAYS

Benton 1 12:00 #10 Hamilton Page pass complete to #4 Cade Thomas for 75 yards.
Touchdown! (Point after kick by #1 Ian McMahon no good)
6 – 0 Benton

Sparta 1 12:00 #3 pass complete to #4 for 22 yards. Touchdown! 6-6

Benton 2 12:00 #46 Blane Pankey runs for 4 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion pass by #10 Hamilton Page to #18 Joseph Craig good) 14- 6 Benton

Benton 2 12:00 #15 Andrew Dunn runs for 4 yards. Touchdown! (Point after kick by #1 Ian
McMahon good) 21- 6 Benton

Benton 2 12:00 #10 Hamilton Page pass complete to #7 Neal Carlton for 21 yards. Touchdown! (Two point conversion run by #46 Blane Pankey good) 29- 6 Benton

Benton 2 12:00 #10 Hamilton Page pass intended for Team. Intercepted by Team. (Point after
kick by #9 good) 29 -13  Benton

Ranger Stats to Date

Name                       G Att Yds Avg TD YPG
#46 Blane Pankey 2 21 172 8.2 1 86.0
#10 Hamilton Page 2 26 97 3.7 2 48.5
#15 Andrew Dunn 2 11 51 4.6 1 25.5
#4 Cade Thomas 2 1 10 10.0 0 5.0
#18 Joseph Craig 2 1 (-2) (-2.0) 0 (-1.0)

PASSING
Name                       G Cmp Att Yds TD Int YPG Pct QBR
#10 Hamilton Page 2 33 61 405 2 2 202.5 54.1% 114.1

RECEIVING
Name                     G Rec Yds Avg TD YPG
#4 Cade Thomas 2 12 150 12.5 1 75.0
#7 Neal Carlton   2 7 106 15.1 1 53.0
#99 Bailey Hopson 2 5 64 12.8 0 32.0
#18 Joseph Craig 2 6 57 9.5 0 28.5
#15 Andrew Dunn 2 1 23 23.0 0 11.5
#46 Blane Pankey 2 2 5 2.5 0 2.5

DEFENSE
Name                       Total Tackles Solo Assist Sack – Yds TFL Safeties Pass Breakups
#46 Blane Pankey 21 9 24 0 – 0 6 0 0
#12 Ty Gordon 9.5 8 3 0 – 0 3.5 0 2
#15 Andrew Dunn 9.5 6 7 0 – 0 1.5 0 0
#18 Joseph Craig 8 1 14 1 – 0 3.5 0 0
#76 Tyler Butler 7.5 5 5 1.5 – 0 1.5 0 1
#4 Cade Thomas 7 5 4 0 – 0 2.5 0 2
#68 Warren Smothers 7 3 8 0.5 – 0 1.5 0 0
#17 Caleb Pemberton 6 2 8 0 – 0 1 0 0
#7 Neal Carlton 5 2 6 0 – 0 0.5 0 1
#77 Tristan Bigham 3.5 0 7 0 – 0 0.5 0 0
#44 Dalton Roberts 1 0 2 0 – 0 0 0 0
#99 Bailey Hopson 1 1 0 0 – 0 0 0 0
#71 Austin Crawford 1 0 2 0 – 0 0.5 0 0
#66 Lane Kelley 1 0 2 0 – 0 0 0 0
#62 Carston Sanders 0.5 0 1 0 – 0 0.5 0 0
#9 Jaxon Williams 0.5 0 1 0 – 0 0 0 0

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Benton High School Sports, High School Sports, Slider, Sports

Prep Football: Eldorado’s Traxler gives Hill, Salukis verbal commitment

September 8, 2017 By Leave a Comment

http://www.dailyregister.com/sports/20170905/prep-football-eldorados-traxler-gives-hill-salukis-verbal-commitment

ELDORADO, IL – (Michael Dann, Harrisburg Register.  Please click on the link above for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

He’s a kid described as someone who is a “true hard hat lunch pail guy” and when that description comes from someone like Southern Illinois University head football coach Nick Hill, you know you’re doing something right.

Hill had that to say on twitter Monday night, minutes after Eldorado’s Jacob Traxler gave Hill and the Salukis a verbal commitment.

Eldorado head coach Joe Clark said that Traxler’s perspective on football on and off the field, which is what’s going to be his biggest benefit moving forward.

“He’s a super kid with god-given abilities, he’s humble and he appreciates things a lot more than most typical kids in his position would. SIU got a good one,” Clark said. “I don’t know where he fits in with (SIU) plan right now, but I’m happy for him and Jake is in a position to stay local and find a comfort zone still being close to home.”

Filed Under: Sports

WSIL Sack Hunger: Benton Ministerial Alliance

September 8, 2017 By Leave a Comment

http://www.wsiltv.com/story/36315164/sack-hunger-benton-ministerial-alliance

WSIL-TV Photo

BENTON, IL – Evie Allen, WSIL-TV.  Please click on the link to read the full story and watch the video.  Here is an excerpt below.

We’re just one day away from Friday night football and Sack Hunger. This week News 3 is in Benton as the Rangers host Pinckneyville.

Last week, fans helped us collect more than 2,200 items for pantries in Herrin and Carterville.
Benton resident, Ellen Colley, knows first-hand what it’s like living paycheck to paycheck.

“Some of us don’t even make it to the next paycheck and that’s why places like this really help,” said Colley.

She says getting free food at Benton-West City Ministerial Alliance has allowed her to stretch her dollars.

“If it wasn’t for this place, we just wouldn’t make it,” she said.

Filed Under: Benton News, Featured, Slider

ATTORNEY GENERAL MADIGAN & 15 ATTORNEYS GENERAL SUE TO UPHOLD THE RIGHTS OF DREAMERS

September 8, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Attorneys General Lawsuit Alleges Federal Government Violates Due Process Rights; Harms Residents, Institutions, and Economies; and Violates the Equal Protection Clause by Discriminating Against DREAMers of Mexican Origin

Press Release from the office of Attorney General Lisa Madigan

Chicago, IL – Attorney General Lisa Madigan today joined with 15 attorneys general to file a lawsuit to protect Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) grantees. Madigan and the coalition allege the federal government’s rescinding of the DACA program violates Due Process rights; violates the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution by discriminating against DREAMers of Mexican origin, who make up 78 percent of DACA recipients; and harms the states’ residents, institutions, and economies.

The lawsuit was filed earlier today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against President Trump, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Click here to read the lawsuit.

Since DACA’s inception five years ago, nearly 800,000 young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children have been granted DACA status after paying application fees, submitting to and passing background checks and applying for work permits.
Illinois has the third highest number of approved initial DACA applications, trailing only California and Texas. Since 2012, over 42,000 Illinoisans have been accepted to participate in the DACA program. Studies show that Illinois’ economy would suffer an approximate $2.3 billion loss with the elimination of the DACA program, including nearly $55 million in local and state tax revenue. In addition, one expert estimates that rescinding the program will cost Illinois $6.9 billion over the next decade.

“To deport DREAMers to countries foreign to them is fundamentally unfair, hurts our state economy and violates the law,” Madigan said. “These are Americans in every way but their birthright. For centuries, our country has benefitted from immigrants who came here and worked hard for a better life. Rescinding DACA is contrary to what makes our country prosper.”

Filed Under: Breaking News, State News

Emotional Statements Heard, No Action Taken By NCHS Board Regarding Ernie Fowler

September 7, 2017 By Leave a Comment

http://nash-news.com/news-lead/emotional-statements-heard-no-action-taken-nchs-board-regarding-fowler/

NASHVILLE, IL (Alex Haugland, Nashville News.  Please click on the link for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.

Following the publication of the “Volleyball” column by Nashville Community High School Superintendent Ernie Fowler and the ensuing fallout from it, the NCHS board called a special meeting which was held at starting at 6 p.m. on the evening of Wednesday, September 6.

Along with the members of the board (all members were present except for John Hallock), there were numerous NCHS faculty members present at the meeting, as well as a handful of members of the community.

The only item on the agenda was a closed session, and board president Shawn Cook told those present that due to it being a special meeting, the board would not be able to take any action or make a vote until a regular meeting (The next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 18). The special meeting was called because without an official meeting, the board is prohibited by the open meetings act from even discussing the matter as a group.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Franklin Co. News

Saluki Men’s Golf travels to Indiana for Wolf Run Intercollegiate this weekend

September 7, 2017 By Leave a Comment

by Kari Johnston, siusalukis.com

Southern Illinois tees off its season on Friday at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate in Zionsville, Indiana as part of a competitive 15-team field that includes five squads in the top 100 on golfstat.com.

The lineup includes top 50 programs Central Florida, Kentucky and North Carolina State. SIU begins the season ranked second in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Wolf Run Golf Club is a demanding, world-class course that was ranked No. 15 on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses in 2007.

The top two returning players from the 2016 Wolf Run Intercollegiate are Brian Carlson from Purdue, who finished in third, and Ian Snyman from North Texas, who finished in fourth. Last year, Illinois won the tournament.

“Wolf Run will be a great test for us,” said SIU head coach Justin Fetcho. “The golf course is very challenging and will require us to control our emotions and cope with any adversity that pops up.”
The Salukis’ five-man squad will be returnees Sam Meek, Luke Gannon, Peyton Wilhoit and Frankie Thomas, plus newcomer Hunter York. York is a transfer from John A. Logan College and was ranked as the No. 11 juco Player to Watch in the country as of last fall.
“Practice and qualifying have been very competitive and the guys have been working very hard,” Fetcho said. “Everyone traveling this week has played some great golf over the last couple of weeks and they are chomping at the bit to compete against some of the best teams in the country.”
The first teams will tee off at 9 a.m. on Friday morning with the Salukis teeing off at 9:50 a.m. Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com.

Filed Under: College Sports, Sports

Explore Colorado, UK through RLC’s Collette Vacations

September 7, 2017 By Leave a Comment

by ReAnne Palmer, RLC Public Information

INA, IL – Join Rend Lake College on the trip of a lifetime. RLC has partnered with Collette Vacations to offer two unique travel opportunities in 2018. Sightsee through the United Kingdom (UK) by rail in March or tour the “old west” through the Colorado Rocky Mountains in July.

The UK by Rail trip is scheduled for Saturday, March 17, 2018, through Monday, March 26, 2018, with stops in three of the UK’s most iconic destinations: Edinburgh, York, and London. Begin the adventure in Edinburgh, touring the city’s castle and the nearby town of St. Andrews.

Participants will then take the train to York and spend two days exploring England’s medieval capital at Castle Howard and the market town of Helmsley. End the trip with a train ride to London and receive a tour from a local expert, including a stop at Windsor Castle.
The UK by Rail trip costs $4,099 per person, double occupancy. The costs include 10 days of stay and travel, and 12 meals.

Enjoy a scenic tour of Colorado and Utah with the Colorado Rockies trip, set for Friday, July 20, 2018, through Saturday, July 28, 2018. The tour begins in the “Mile High City” of Denver and consists of many stops on the nine-day journey, including four national parks.

Attendees will visit Rocky Mountain National Park and Colorado’s wine country, and will experience traditional cowboy entertainment and food. One highlight of the tour will be a visit to the historic Stanley Hotel, inspiration for Stephen King’s “The Shining.”
The Colorado Rockies trip costs $2,999 per person, double occupancy. The costs include nine days of stay and travel, and 12 meals.

Early booking discounts may apply to both trips, and single and triple rates available upon request.

An informational meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2 at the RLC Historic Schoolhouse on the Ina campus to discuss the trips. Details on early booking discounts will also be available. To RSVP to the meeting, contact RLC’s Community and Corporate Education Division at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1714.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Franklin Co. News

Son indicted for murder in connection to Murphysboro, IL couple’s death

September 7, 2017 By Leave a Comment

http://www.kfvs12.com/story/36129252/son-indicted-for-murder-in-connection-to-murphysboro-il-couples-death

Keith Ritcherson, provided to KFVS by Jackson County Sheriff’s department

MURPHYSBORO, IL – (Alicia Dombrick, KFVS-TV. Please click for the link for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

A Grand Jury in Jackson County, Illinois has indicted a Murphysboro man on four counts of First Degree Murder in connection to the shooting deaths of his parents.

Keith R. Ritcheson, 40, is being held at the Jackson County Jail on $1 million bond. Court documents show that Ritcheson is accused of shooting his parents, Brenda and Burl Ritcheson in their rural Murphysboro home overnight between Sunday, Aug. 13 and Monday, Aug. 14.

According to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, an arrest warrant was issued for Keith Ritcheson on Thursday, Aug. 17 and he was arrested at 11 p.m.

Filed Under: Breaking News, Franklin Co. News

Public safety concerns over legalizing recreational pot discussed at hearing

September 7, 2017 By Leave a Comment

https://www.ilnews.org/news/economy/public-safety-concerns-over-legalizing-recreational-pot-discussed-at-hearing/article_8f4253a8-932e-11e7-8d2e-5f876e576858.html

SPRINGFIELD, IL – (Greg Bishop and  Dan McCaleb, Illinois News Network.  Please click on the link for the full story.  Here is an excerpt below.)

Expect more hearings on efforts to legalize and tax adult marijuana use in Illinois in an effort lawmakers say is meant to craft the best law possible.

During a joint House and Senate hearing Wednesday on public safety aspects of proposals to legalize recreational pot, state Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, said if weed is legal for adult recreational use, law enforcement needs more tools to go after bad actors.

Expect more hearings on efforts to legalize and tax adult marijuana use in Illinois in an effort lawmakers say is meant to craft the best law possible.

During a joint House and Senate hearing Wednesday on public safety aspects of proposals to legalize recreational pot, state Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, said if weed is legal for adult recreational use, law enforcement needs more tools to go after bad actors.

“If you’re going to create a regulated system,” Righter said, “if you want to drive down the grey market that we heard about from Colorado that’s 25 percent, you’re going to have to beef the penalties up for people playing outside the system.”

 

Filed Under: Breaking News, State News

SIU SOFTBALL OPENS FALL SEASON ON SUNDAY

September 7, 2017 By Leave a Comment

by Tony McDaniel, siusalukis.com.

Saluki Softball opens its fall season this weekend with a double header from Charlotte West Stadium against two in-state foes, Rend Lake College and John A. Logan College.

Sunday’s doubleheader marks the first of eight home exhibition games that the Salukis will play this fall in a series of preseason warm-up games to give the defending Missouri Valley Conference Champions a chance to gel as a team.

“We’ve got two pitchers that are coming back and we have seven starters that had significant playing time returning. We also have five freshmen that are coming in that are very talented,” head coach Kerri Blaylock said. “We use fall ball as a chance to play everybody to see where we are at. We will play multiple lineups, positions and those types of things.”

Last season, the Salukis posted a 33-24 record while going 17-8 in Missouri Valley play. Southern capped off the regular season by winning eight of its last 10 games before defeating Missouri State, Illinois State and UNI in the MVC Tournament to win the league title and earn its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2007.

Southern lost several key players to graduation last year including all-time RBI and doubles leader Shaye Harre. Luckily for the Salukis, returning to the team is a nucleus of young talent including senior infielder Syndey Jones and sophomores Katelyn Massa and Maddy Vermejan. All three players were selected to All-MVC teams at the end of the 2017 regular season.

Also returning is the Salukis’ ace pitcher, Brianna Jones. Jones won 18 games in 2017 striking out 130 batters and walking just 35 in 213.1 innings pitched. She posted an ERA of 2.40 on her way to an All-MVC First Team selection.

The Salukis will welcome freshmen, Maris Boelens, Megan Brown, Shelby Hodo, Jenny Jansen and Meredith Wernig to the team this year. Blaylock said that the Saluki faithful will get a chance to see all five newcomers play throughout the fall and that they are settling into the team nicely.

“What is nice about early recruiting and early verbal commitments is that it allows new players to the team a chance to visit campus several times and get to know our kids,” Blaylock said. “It really makes that transition a lot easier. We scrimmaged earlier this week and all the freshmen played and hit the ball very well. They look like they belong.”

Throughout the fall, the Salukis will play eight games at home from Sept. 10 to Oct. 1. The team will welcome some stiff competition into Charlotte West Stadium. Southern takes on three Division I programs in Saint Louis, Southeast Missouri State and Murray State. The three Division I opponents combined to win 84 games in 2017 and Murray State qualified for the National Invitational Softball Championship. Southern is also hosting two very good Division II programs in Southern Indiana and Missouri – St. Louis. In 2017, USI made a run all the way to the NCAA Division II Softball Championship and UMSL hosted the Division II NCAA Midwest Regional.

“We try to always schedule Division I teams,” Blaylock said. “A lot of Division I schools don’t schedule other Division I teams in fall ball, but we feel like it is very important. We have a good mix of Division I, Division II and junior college teams that we play. The junior colleges are very, very good. It is really a good way to test our kids.”

Southern’s fall season kicks off on Saturday at SIU’s football game against Mississippi Valley State when the 2017 MVC Championship team will be awarded their rings in a ceremony at halftime. The following day, the Salukis will take on Rend Lake College at noon and John A. Logan at 2 p.m. Admission is free to all children 12 and under.

For all of the updates with Saluki softball, be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Instagram @SIU_Softball and on Facebook at Saluki Softball.

Filed Under: Slider, Sports
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