The Franklin County Rangers

by Steve Dunford – franklincounty.news-com.

Tuesday night, I made my first trip to Rich Herrin gym this season. The renovations look great.  Thank you to the “Governors” grandparents, Rick and Debbie Webster, for hauling my lard butt to the game Tuesday.  I will be writing a feature story on Jonathan Kinsman soon.

I was sitting in the rafters on the top row.  It was probably the first time I sat in a chair seat in Rich Herrin gym.  They are awesome seats with a lot of leg room.  I have watched hundreds of games over the years in that gym.  I think it was the first time I ever sat in a chair seat.

Even though the first time I watched them live, I have watched the Rangers on streaming video multiple times this year.  Listening to Jim Muir (and no I am not sucking up to my boss) and Tom Wheeler over the years is as good as being there.

I am going to call the crowd 3,500 Tuesday night.  It was pushing the McLeansboro crowd in the BIT in 1984.  With the 1A and 2A Super Sectional going on last night as well,

I didn’t run into anyone from Z-R , but I saw people who had maroon on last night from each of the other teams in the county. There were some Redbirds in maroon even.

I ran into Austin Glodich Wednesday morning at Caseys.  The first question he asked was, “Did you go to Benton last night?”  I am going to miss watching him play.

It was the first time I had the “privilege” of witnessing Travis Severin in his Halloween costume Tuesday.  A lot of the awesome Ranger student section was dressed to go trick or treating too.   One thing that I have witnessed in general around Southern Illinois, students are starting to turn out again at High School games again.  It warms this old geezers heart.

I am going down memory lane for a second.  From an early age, Ron Head and Bobby Blondi brought Ranger basketball to me on WQRX. I especially loved listening to games from the Centralia Holiday Tournament and the BIT.  I would go around the house pulling up my socks and stomping the floor like Rich Herrin.  It is a privilege to cover Morthland College games and be able to sit behind the bench in an intimate setting.

I played hooky from school to watch a Bruce Baker team take on Marty Simmons and Doug Novseck for Ron Felling and Lawrenceville in the in the State Tournament in 1982.

My heart was broke watching a 1984 team that was the smallest AA team in the state, lose an overtime thriller to Evanston in the Elite Eight.  There were several division one players on that team.  A lot of them played for Rich Herrin at SIU.

Somewhere in this time frame around 1982-84, I wanted a maroon Jacket with Benton Rangers stitched on the back.  They were coming from a new business on the square.  Their phone number was 435-555-55-5.

I mentioned to my mom and dad I wanted one for Christmas.  This resulted in a fist fight with my brother in our garage, saying I was showing disrespect for T’ville.  I don’t know if the jacket came from All Stars-n-Stitches, but for Christmas I received a blue and gold Thompsonville Tigers jacket in the same format.

I was able to watch Jo Jo Johnson and the 1992 team in B section, center court, at the Assembly Hall.  It was great to see the Rangers take home some hardware.

Every time I went into a restaurant, I would run into a lot of people from Franklin County.  I arrived in Champaign two hours before the quarterfinal game.  There was so many Franklin County people in there,  John and Mary Moreland should have received a cut of the sales.

I have enjoyed taking basketball with Kenny Irvin over the years.  I pull up in the parking lot in my Buick Regal I drove at the time, and I noticed him with Jo Jo Liquid Papered all over his recently shaved head.  I do not know this for sure, but rumors said he had a tough time removing.  It was good to see him last night and crossing paths with him several times during the season.

Lets get into the present day.  I jotted down some notes but only used them as talking points discussing the game.  One was slowing the game down in the second half.  Ron Winemiller and Wade Thomas let their McLeansboro roots show.  The Rangers patient offense was effective outscoring Cahokia 13-6 in the third quarter to turn a four point half-time deficit into a three point lead.

The Rangers weathered the storm missing eight free throws in the fourth quarter Tuesday night, and a few unforced turnovers in the first half.  They weathered the storm being behind by double digits in the first quarter to Carbondale.

Leaving Tuesday night, I just had a gut feeling you will see this team play in Peoria.  The reason why, they seem to find a way to win.  My mind is going all the way back to December, when they squeaked out a win down at Herrin.

I have a lot of ties to this Ranger team.  I am going to share some with you.

I am distantly related to coach Ron Winemiller.  I posted this on Facebook after the regional championship win with Carbondale on Friday night.

Most of you know that Benton coach Ron Winemiller is a distant cousin of mine. My great aunt is Coach Winemiller’s great grandma. We spent a lot of time in the backyard at my maternal grandparents house talking basketball. She would go down the list of the Corn’s which was her grandkids. First the UAB blazers, then the Pinckneyville Panthers, the McLeansboro Foxes, and finally the Benton Rangers. I believe when the bible says the windows of heaven are open, you are allowed to see happy times on this earth. I think my aunt Doris was smiling from heaven last night, seeing her great grandson, who is a second generation coach, guiding the Rangers to a victory last Friday night.

The first is Timmy Henson.  I guess you call his mom Penny my first girlfriend. (Don’t be jealous Mike)  We would hold hands on the playground in first grade. Our families were friends.  It is a friendship that still lasts today.

Something else about Timmy is he slid on the same uniform up to his freshman year that I slid on, a Thompsonville Tiger jersey.  In the three years that he has been a Ranger, there are several from T’ville that has followed his playing career.  It has been special watching him play all four years in high school.

I became friends with Derek Oxford’s uncle, Terry Drone, when I went to school at Rend Lake.  We don’t cross paths a lot, but when we see each other we have a long conversation, mainly about High School Basketball.

Even though he was a few years younger than me, Benton football coach Bob Pankey lived a block and a half from me, until his family moved between Whittington and Ewing when he was in grade school.  I always liked talking to that red headed kid back then.  There is my tie to Blaine Pankey.

Hamilton Page’s mom Cindy, was always around my cousins house in Akin alot.  She was not as much, but you can throw Gehrig Wynn’s mom Trudee in there.  I would cross paths with Matt a lot when I was a student at  SIU.

The little I have been around this team, they play the game right. They are good kids off the court.  The grade school age kids in Benton idolize this team.  They set an example for them to look up to.

Knowing that several of the Ranger players went to the “Governor’s” seventh birthday party was awesome.  There were always little hands that were stuck out wanting five during the game at both of the end zones of Rich Herrin gym.  The Ranger players did at every opportunity.

Tickets for tonight’s game sold out quickly yesterday.  I am going to be watching tonight from my recliner from the YouTube stream.

Enjoy the run.  I have a feeeling the journey is far from over.