Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament Parings Released

December 11, 2017 By Leave a Comment

SESSER – The Parings for the Sesser Valier Holiday Tournament were released about an hour ago.   The Woodlawn Cardinals received the top seed in the event.  They will face the Zeigler-Royalton Tornadoes at 5:00 p.m, in a first round matchup.  All first round games will be played on December 26th.

The Christopher Bearcats (4-1) are the #3 seed, facing the Galatia Bearcats (2-6)  at 10:30 a.m.

The Sesser-Valier Red Devils (2-5) are the #4 seed and they will face the Waltonville Spartans in their traditional 8 p.m. matchup.

The Thompsonville Tigers (3-4) are unseeded and they face the #5 seed the  Cobden Appleknockers (6-4) at 6:30 p.m.

Below is the full bracket – sd

 

 

 

Filed Under: Christopher High School Sports, High School Sports, Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Sports, Thompsonville High School Sports, Zeigler-Royalton High School Sports

“Superfox” passes

December 11, 2017 By Leave a Comment

McLEANSBORO – The community of McLeansboro and a lot of high school sports fans across Southern Illinois are grieving this morning.

With a heavy heart, I am sharing that Charles Pendell, who was known as “Superfox” passed away this morning. He has battled numerous health problems for years.

There has been very few McLeansboro and later Hamilton County sporting events that he was not in attendance. He loved his Foxes. Most of all he had a special love for the kids.

He was a long time voice of the Hamilton County Foxes on WMCL. He also used to write for the McLeansboro Times-Leader. He served as a coach at the lower levels for several sports.

I met him my eighth grade year. We became close friends over the years. He has been a great help and support to me, since I became a sportswriter at middle age.

Funeral arrangements will be linked to this story.

 

 

Filed Under: High School Sports, Sports

Steve’s Bracketology: The Eldoroado Holiday Tournament

December 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Steve Dunford 

Eldorado’s Duff-Kingston Gymnasium

The parings for the EHT will be coming out in the next couple of days.  When I am asked by people in Franklin County, what is my favorite gym in Southern Illinois, Max Morris or Rich Herrin?  I say neither.  Duff-Kingston is my favorite gym.

It is on my bucket list one day to be at Eldorado for the 8:30 a.m. breakfast special all the way up to the 10:00 p.m. graveyard game.  When I still lived at home, I would make the rounds across Southern Illinois.  I would be at Eldorado at least one day for every game.  I am sure my top seed will cause a little controversy right off the bat.

Harrisburg (#1 6-1) – Randy Smithpeters has been waiting for this club to become seniors for a long time.  They might be as good as Pinckneyville.

Eldorado (#2 8-0)  – It could be a rivalry game between the two heavyweights in Saline County for the championship.  Eldorado barely got past West Frankfort on Tuesday.  The Bulldogs gave the Redbirds a shellacking on Friday.  Harrisburg has played a much tougher schedule so far.

Anna-Jonesboro (#3 6-1) –  The Wildcats lost big at Nashville on Friday night.  I had them as a three seed before them and still giving them the three

Carmi-White County (#4 5-2) –  The Bulldogs are a veteran club.  I know the pairings will probably be out before then, but I will be keeping an eye on their game with Benton on Tuesday to get a better read of the Bulldogs.

Union County KY (#5 3-2) –  Thanks for all the information I received on Facebook.  The Braves always seem to get in four games each year.  If they were in Illinois, they would be a 3A school.

Fairfield (#6 4-4) –  The Mules had a very good Thanksgiving tournament in Lawrence County. They have been upset prone over the last few years.  Gallatin County has their number.

Hamilton County (#7 3-3) – I know Oakley Dial has graduated.  The rest of the Foxes seems like they have been in high school for seven or eight years now.  This is a team that could be in double digits in wins.  Hamco is heading in the right direction after a long dry spell.

Herrin (#8 2-5) –  It was a dilemma to me what to do with this group of SIRR-Ohio teams.  I put the Tigers at the top of the heap.

Gallatin County ( #9 5-2) –  The Hawks can slow it down against teams they are overmatched against and pull out a W.  They have been giant slayers at the EHT in the past.

West Frankfort (#10 0-5) –  The Redbirds playing Eldorado close bumped them up over Massac.  They have a big weekend coming up against Benton and Goreville.   Kevin Toney will have his troops well prepared.  I am sure he has several yellow legal pads on each team in the tourney.  It is on my bucket list to go with him when he scouts.

Massac County (#11 1-6) –  Joe Hosman knows his way around the EHT.  They have the potential to be a dangerous first round opponent for someone.  I would not be one bit surprised if they play four games.  Taking a beating from Sesser-Valier knocked them down a couple of notches.

Hardin County (#12 2-5) – Other than against Benton, they hung around with everyone at the Goreville tournament.  The Cougars crossed the Ferry and picked up a nice win over Crittenden County KY last night. Rodney Lane’s bunch has the potential to make some noise in the post season.  They play a brutal schedule.

Vienna (#13 4-3)  –  They are above .500 but their wins are over Century, Galatia, Carrier Mills and Z-R.  They are pretty deep and could cause some matchup problems for teams in the field.

Edwards County (#14 2-5)  –  The Lions are in a rebuilding mode.  They will most likely be two and out.

NCOE (#15 1-5)  – The Fighting Cardinals are a totally different animal.  Their goal is to put up 80 shots a game and half of them threes.  If their press is broken, they have no problem to give up an uncontested layup.  They shot close t0 50% behind the arc against Thompsonville earlier in the year and still got beat.  They hung around with Carmi for a while on Tuesday night. On the other side of the coin New Athens beat them by 25 in the consolation championship of the Christopher Tournament.

Carrier Mills (#16 1-7) –  No matter who they play, the Wildcats will struggle.  They own a 25 point win over winless Dongola.  I watched them against Thompsonville on You Tube this week.  T’ville beat them by 30 with Pete Gordon subbing liberally in the first half.  Coach Keil Peebles misses Will Gibbs bad, who is suiting up for Harrisburg now.

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: High School Sports, Sports, West Frankfort High School Sports

Cardinals reacquire Luke Gregreson

December 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment

 

Luke Gregerson #44 of the Houston Astros pitches during Game 6 of the 2017 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, October 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

ST. LOUIS, MO –  The Cardinals have reached an agreement with reliever Luke Gregerson, according to a report.

The right-handed reliever has reportedly agreed to a two-year contract worth $11 million dollars. The contract also features a vesting option.

Please click on the link below for the full story from KMOV-TV

http://www.kmov.com/story/37035257/report-cards-sign-reliever-gregerson

 

Filed Under: Sports

Hot-shooting SEMO tops Saluki Men’s Basketball, 75-69

December 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Tom Weber – siusalukis.com

CARBONDALE, IL — SEMO built a 22-point first-half lead and then held off a late rally by Southern Illinois to win, 75-69, on Saturday night in a non-conference matchup.

The Redhawks (6-4) won for the first time at SIU Arena since 1982 behind a lethal 3-point shooting attack. Six different players made treys and 12 of their 22 field goals came from long range. Leading the barrage was sophomore guard Denzel Mahone, who scored 18 points and connected on 3-of-4 shots from outside the arc.

The Salukis (4-4) were ice cold during the first half, missing eight-straight shots from long range during one stretch as SEMO sprinted to a 37-15 lead with 3:26 remaining. SIU finally came to life with a 10-2 run to end the half, culminating with a buzzer beater by Tyler Smithpeters just a few steps past midcourt.

“I came off the floor (at halftime), especially after Tyler (Smithpeters) three, I really felt we were still going to win the ballgame,” said SIU head coach Barry Hinson.

Southern’s comeback started when Hinson pulled 6-foot-10 center Kavion Pippen from the game and went with a five-guard lineup to better defend the perimeter.

“I thought when they went small and subbed Kavion Pippen out of the game, that was a win for our team,” said SEMO head coach Rick Ray.

The Salukis had no choice because Pippen couldn’t keep up with SEMO 6-foot-7 forwards Milos Vranes and Isaiah Gable, who combined to make five 3-pointers. The Redhawks lost both of their centers during the past week when Mark Laros came down with mono and Justin Carpenter sustained a concussion in practice.

“Ball-screen pick and pop — we wanted Kavion Pippen to have to guard the 3-point line,” said Ray, explaining his strategy to offset the loss of his post players. “We asked our guys to get two more defensive rebounds than they normally get.”

Hinson said it was the first time he’s ever played a five-guard lineup.

“We were caught off-guard by their starting lineup,” he said. “We felt like (playing five guards) was the only way we could get back in the game and it later proved that it was.”

As cold as the Salukis were in the first half, they suddenly found their range in the second. Led by Aaron Cook, who finished with 18 points off the bench, SIU made 9-of-15 treys in the final 20 minutes in a frantic bid to climb out of the deep first-half hole.

Several times, Southern cut the deficit to single digits, but SEMO always had an answer. The Salukis came as close as 59-54 on a dunk by Armon Fletcher with 5:52 remaining in the contest, but Mahoney countered with a triple, and SEMO eventually pushed the lead back to 14 points with two minutes left.

“We’ve only got four guys that have played Division I college basketball,” Ray said. “We need to be able to count on (Mahoney) and depend on him in crucial situations.”

SEMO won its fourth-straight game, but Ray said this victory was different than the others.

“I’ve been on my team that we hadn’t beaten a quality ball club to this point,” he said. “We had yet to beat a sound, disciplined team. Watching film on Southern Illinois I thought they were excellent defensively and they never beat themselves.”

There were bright spots in the loss for the Salukis. Sean Lloyd had 15 points and was 3-for-3 from downtown. Marcus Bartley had six assists in his second game back from injury. They outscored the Redhawks by eight points in the second half.

“The only thing I was disappointed with was we let our offense determine how hard we played defense in the first half, and that bothered me,” Hinson said. “This isn’t one of those games where I come in here and tell you that we played bad, I think you have to give SEMO a lot of credit.”

Filed Under: College Sports, Sports

Steve’s Bracketology: The Sesser Valier Holiday Tournament

December 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Steve Dunford 

Panoramic view of Sesser-Valier high school gym last season.

Over the last week, I have been asked by a few people to share my thoughts on the seedings of the Sesser-Valier and Eldorado Holiday Tournaments.  They will be released in the next few days.

I am not a coach, so I do not get a ballot to seed the teams.  I am going to go 1-16 in case they seed the teams all the way through.  In the past, both tournaments list 9-16 as unseeded.

I love to hear your thoughts.  I hope this spurs some conversation. Franklin County teams are in bold.

Goreville (#1  4-2) –  The Blackcats gave A-J all they wanted in their own tournament banged up.  They are in the middle of a two week break, which could not come at a better time for Coach Todd Tripp.  I have watched Goreville a few times this season on film.  I will get to see them live, if the Lord is willing on Saturday night against West Frankfort.

Sesser-Valier (#2 2-4) –  You might ask why I have seeded the hosts so high?  I am going to pull a “Mo” on you by answering my own question.  They hung around with every team at DuQuoin in their losses.  A blowout win over Joe Hosman’s Massac County Patriots as DQ and leaving Chester with a 15 point win on Friday upped their seed a few notches.  It is no disgrace getting beat by Okawville by 20.  

Woodlawn (#3 3-3) –  The Cardinals had a very good weekend, beating Odin by 20 and Christopher by 10.  They just keep reloading and winning.

Christopher (#4 4-1) –  The Bearcats slid a few notches after falling to Woodlawn.  They were projected as my top seed going into the game with the Cardinals.  If Young and Curry are on fire, they can be cutting the nets down two years in a row. 

Chester (#5 5-2)  –  Like Christopher, they slid down a couple of notches, after the Devils beat them on their own floor over the weekend.  A fifteen point loss to Murphysboro would not have hurt them one bit.

Odin (#6 5-3)  –  Eagle Coach Tyler Mitchell is no stranger to the SVHT.  The Eagles dropped two in a row to the top dogs of the Midland Trail, Webber Township and Woodlawn.

Cobden (#7 6-4)  –  If I ever need an attorney, I want Appleknoker coach Rhett Barke representing me.   I love to watch him coach.  They about knocked off Meridian over the weekend.

Steeleville (#8 4-4)  –  Owen Gross is one of the better players in the tournament.  Whether they go left or right, the Warriors seem to always play four games.

Johnston City (#9 2-5)  –  This is a homecoming for Indian coach Scott Burzynski.  The coach can point to his #54 jersey hanging in the commons.  I have not watched them play, but it seems that JC gets better every time out.  They might make some noise.

Thompsonville (#10 3-4)  –  A fifteen point loss at Pope County probably cost them a top 8.  If the team shows up that played in the second half against Webber Township, the Tigers can spring an upset and move right. 

New Athens (#11 4-4) –  The Yellow Jackets are solid.  Jackson Heintz will be one of the better post players in the tournament.  They waltzed through the consolation bracket of the Christopher Tournament.

Century (#12 3-4) –  They had a decent Vienna Classic.  A loss Egyptian caused their stock to plummet.

Galatia (#13 2-6) –  A lot of people comment to me about T’ville and their big front line.  Galatia equally is as deep on the inside.  They lost their backcourt due to graduation.   The Bearcats picked up a nice win over Crab Orchard Friday night.

Marissa-Coulterville (#14 4-4)  The Meteors have a couple wins against private schools in the Metro East that are in the startup phases of their program.  Steeleville beat them by 30.  This is the reason for the low seed.

Waltonville (#15 2-6)  Their wins are against winless Z-R and Sandoval.  It is going to be a tough year for the Spartans.

Zeigler-Royalton (#16 0-6)  It is no secret the Tornadoes are rebuilding.  They came an eyelash from knocking off Woodlawn last year.  

 

 

Filed Under: Christopher High School Sports, High School Sports, Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Sports, Thompsonville High School Sports, Zeigler-Royalton High School Sports

Sesser-Valier defeats Chester in BDC West matchup

December 9, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

CHESTER — The Sesser-Valier Red Devils put together one of their best outings of the young season Friday night with a 62-48 Black Diamond Conference road victory over Chester.

S-V jumped out an 11-7 lead in the opening quarter and extended it to 28-19 at the intermission. Coach Shane Garner was pleased with the way his team got out of the gate to start the game.

“We moved the ball much better tonight and our scoring was much more balanced,” Garner said. “It was just a great team effort.”

Chester battled back and cut the deficit to 45-40 at the end of three quarters but the Red Devils turned up the defensive pressure in the fourth quarter, holding the Yellowjackets to only eight points in the final frame.

“I thought it was just a great defensive effort all the way around tonight,” Garner said. “Our kids really earned everything they got tonight. It was a really nice road win.”

Tyler Winchester led the balanced Red Devils scoring with 16 points, one of four S-V players in double figures. Preston Launius had his best offensive outing this season with 11 points and Seth Boles also contributed 11 points. Rounding out the scoring Peyton Rock added 10 points, Lukas Gunter and Addison Page added six each and Josh Gunter scored two points.

The Red Devils have a big week of basketball in front of them with a pair of BDC West matchups. On Tuesday the Red Devils will host Johnston City and then on Friday night S-V will be on the road to renew old acquaintances with Route 148 rival Christopher. The Red Devils will close out the pre-Christmas portion of the schedule on Dec. 19 in a BDC road game again Vienna.

 

Filed Under: Featured, Sports

Rangers move to 5-1 with Ohio Division win over Herrin

December 9, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

 BENTON — Cade Thomas scored 22 points and the Benton defense held Herrin to eight second half points as the Rangers opened SIRR Ohio Division play Friday night with a 47-27 victory over Herrin.

A large and enthusiastic crowd was on hand at Rich Herrin Gym for the home-opener and the first game in the tough Ohio Division. After both teams played to a 12-12 first quarter score, Benton began the second frame with back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers – two by Gehrig Wynn and one by Mason Morris to open up a nine point lead at 21-12. Benton led 26-19 at halftime.

“Overall I was pleased with the way we played,” said Benton Coach Ron Winemiller. “I thought Cade played well and the three 3-pointers in a row was a big turning point. I thought we settled in and really guarded them in the second half.”

The victory moved Benton to 5-1 on the season with a tough week of basketball in front of them. The Rangers are on the road for the next three games, traveling to Carmi-White County on Tuesday and then head back to Ohio Division play on Friday night with a road game against cross-county rival West Frankfort. Benton will close out the busy week by traveling to Nashville on Saturday night to face the always-tough Hornets.

“This is a very big week for us,” said Winemiller. “All three are tough places to play but if we can guard like we did tonight we are going to have a chance in most games we play.”

Along with Thomas’ 22 points, Wynn also double figures with 11 points, followed by sophomore Carson Lewis with seven points, Parker Williams with four points and Morris with three. Brandon Anthony led Herrin with 13 points.

Pairings were released this week for the Duster Thomas Hoops Classic in Pinckneyville. The tournament is a 12-team pool format with four pools with three teams in each pool.  The tournament runs two days, Dec. 29 and Dec. 30. The Rangers are in Pool B with Greenville and Cissna Park. Benton will face Cissna Park on Dec. 29 at 3:30 p.m. in the Auxiliary Gym and then that night face Greeenville in an 8:30 p.m. contest at Duster Thomas Gymnasium. Game times for December 30 are determined by each team’s record on the opening day. Teams in Pool A are Pinckneyville, Jerseyville and Olney, Pool C is Wesclin, Carterville and Trico and Pool D is Jerseyville, Du Quoin and Elverado.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Benton News, Featured, Sports

Lady Devils move to 10-0 with BDC win over Christopher

December 8, 2017 By Leave a Comment

By Jim Muir

The Sesser-Valier-Waltonville Lady Devils kept their unbeaten string intact last night as they eked out a hard-fought 62-57 road victory over the Christopher Lady Bearcats.

The win moves S-V-W to 10-0 overall (4-0 in the Black Diamond West). The Lady Bearcats fell to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

The game was a see-saw affair with no enjoying a lead bigger than the final margin of victory by the Lady Devils. Christopher jumped out to an 18-16 first quarter lead but the Lady Devils rallied back to outscore the Lady Cats 16-9 in the second frame to take a 32-27 halftime advantage. Christopher fought back and pulled to within one point at 43-42 before the Lady Devils outpointed the host school 19-15 in the fourth quarter to grab the victory and remain undefeated on the season.

“It was an awesome game,” said S-V-W Coach Rick Metcalf. “It was one of those games where our offense kind of disappeared and our shots weren’t falling. Hats off to Christopher, they had a lot to do with that. I thought both teams played well. It was a very nice win for us on the road.”

The game was actually won at the free throw line for the Lady Devils where they connected on 19-23 (83 percent) free tosses. The Lady Bearcats actually notched one more field goal than S-V-W but connected on 13-25 (52 percent) free throws.

“We are shooting 79 percent from the line as a time through 10 games,” said Metcalf. “That is excellent at any level.”

Despite the loss Christopher Coach Seiger Shurtz had high praise for his team’s effort.

“We played a really good game,” Shurtz said. “We were solid in a lot of areas. We came to compete and we had ourselves in a position to win the game. Free throws and a couple missed opportunities down the stretch were the difference in the game. I’m proud of the way we competed and hopefully it’s a sign of good things to come.”

S-V-W was led by Sami McCowen with 18 points, including 8-8 from the free throw line. Paige Tucker and Jada Hale added 10 points each and Adrianna Fedderke came off the bench with nine points. The play of Fedderke did not miss the eye of Metcalf.

“Fed (Fedderke) gave us a big lift off the bench with nine points,” said Metcalf. “And I thought Sami (McCowen) and Paige (Tucker) played outstanding.”

Rounding out the S-V-W scoring, Carlie Page added six points, Brooke Wilderman scored six points and Jaice McCowen scored four points.

Game scoring honors went to Christopher’s Courtney Hoppers who scored 20 points, followed by Jayla Willilams with 12, Maya Hewitt with nine points, Kassie O’Bryan with six points and Lauren Kent with three points.

Christopher is back in action on Monday, December 11 when they host Webber Township in a non-conference matchup. S-V-W returns to the hardcourt on December 13 when they host Trico.

 

Sesser-Valier/Waltonville   16 16 11  19 —  62

Christopher                            18   9  13  15 —  55

 

SVW (62) S. McCowen 4 8-8 18, B. Wilderman 1 304 5, Tucker 3 4-6 10, Page 3 0-0 6, Hale 3 2-2 10, J. McCowen 1 1-2 4, Fedderke 4 1-1 9

Team Totals: 19 19-23 62

 

Christopher (57) Williams 4 4-4 12, Henson 2 0-0 5, Hewitt 4 1-4 9, Miller 0 0-3 0, Hoppers 6 8-14 20, O’Bryan 3 0-0 6, Kent 1 0-0 3

Team Totals: 20 13-25 57

 

Filed Under: Christopher News, Sesser News, Sports

IHSA Schools Approve 5 By-Law Amendments

December 7, 2017 By Leave a Comment

BLOOMINGTON –  Illinois High School Association (IHSA) member schools approved five amendment proposals and rejected one in the annual by-law referendum that ended December 5, 2017.

The online ballots were tabulated and certified in the IHSA Office on Wednesday, December 6. Proposal 6 takes effect on January 5, 2018. The remaining by-laws that won approval take effect on July 1, 2018.

Here is a summary of the proposals and the vote totals. (The numbers in parentheses indicate the total of yes, no, and no opinion votes. For an amendment to pass, yes votes must outnumber no votes.)

• Proposal 6 (passed 428-138-41): Grants eligibility to a student who has received a Legislative Waiver, who lives in a unit district with one high school, and whose parent is on the faculty of a school in the district. In the current by-law, the parent must be on the faculty of the high school. This by-law would go into effect 30 days after passage.

• Proposal 17 (rejected 292-305-10): Would have reduced the number of summer contact days from 25 to 20.

• Proposal 20 (passed 435-147-24): Allows a baseball or softball team to play more than 5 contests during a tournament if the tournament takes place over the member school’s spring break.

• Proposal 24 (passed 384-201-22): Changes the contest limitation in girls and boys basketball to 31 games exclusive of the IHSA state series and removes the limit on the number of tournaments. The current limitation is a combination of games plus tournaments. Also eliminates the limitation on the number of tournaments an individual in girls and boys basketball may participate in.

• Proposal 25 (passed 243-154-208): Increases the contest limitation in girls and boys bowling from 20 to 25 dates exclusive of the IHSA state series.

• Proposal 27 (passed 379-204-25): Changes the contest limitation in girls and boys volleyball to 35 games exclusive of the IHSA state series and removes the limit on the number of tournaments. The current limitation is a combination of games plus tournaments. Also eliminates the limitation on the number of tournaments an individual in girls and boys volleyball may participate in.

A total of 609 of 811 member schools (75.1%) participated in the amendment balloting, an increase from last year’s 72.6%, and the third-highest percentage in 21 years of recordkeeping.

Filed Under: High School Sports, Sports
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