Bearcats have a good second half against Eldroado on Tuesday

January 19, 2017 By Leave a Comment

WEST FRANKFORT -(Steve Dunford-franklincounty-news.com)  There is not a good way to put it but the Bearcats came out cold against the 6th. ranked team in class 2A the Eldorado Eagles.

The Bearcats were down 32-9.  Eldorado was pounding the ball inside and dominated Christopher on the boards 15-6 in the first half.  Eldorado coach Josh Bradley threw a variety of zones against the Bearcats and they were all successful.

Pedigo waiting for a pass on the wing Tuesday night in the Bearcat's 60-41 loss

Pedigo waiting for a pass on the wing Tuesday night in the Bearcat’s 60-41 loss

The second half was a different story.  For the second night in a row Kaeleb Pedgio was held scoreless in the first half.  He was on fire in the second half, connecting on five threes, four in the first quarter.

The turning point of the game was when Pedigo about hit his fifth three of the quarter, which would have brought the Bearcats within some six with about four and some change on the clock.

Christopher, being a class 1A team, just ran out of gas to stage the comeback against one of the top 2A teams in the state, as they fell 60-41.  There is nothing flashy about this Eldorado team, they just take care of business.  It would not surprise me to see them playing in Peoria.

The Bearcats fall to 11-6 on the season and 0-2 in the tournament.  If they beat Carterville tomorrow night they will play at 5:00 p.m. against the winner of Cairo and Anna-Jonesboro’s game tonight.   If they lose to Carterville they will play the loser of Cairo/A-J at 3:30p.m..

The Eagles improved to 20-1, with their only loss being to Fairfield on December 9th.

BOX SCORE:

ELDORADO (60) Attebury 7 1 2-2 19;  Partridge 4 0 3-4 11; May 4 0 2-4 10;  Meridith 1 2 0-0 8; Traxler 3 0 1-3 7; Kaiser 1 0 1-2 3; Oglesby 1 0 0-2

CHRISTOPHER (41)  Pedigo 0 5 2-2 17; Young 3 0 2-7 8; Pratt 3 0 2-2 8; Schimpf 1 1 0-0 5; Curry 1 0 0-0 2; Snell 0 0 1-2 1

SCORE BY QUARTERS:  

ELDORADO           14   18    13    15  – 60

CHRISTOPHER      4     5    14    18  – 41

 

 

 

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

Christopher has a big task in front of them tonight

January 17, 2017 By Leave a Comment

by Steve Dunford

Coach Eric Stallman will have Bradley Young who is averaging 15 a game, and Gabe Schimpf has been shooting the lights out and been in double figures the last few games.  He has signed a letter of intent to play baseball for SEMO.midwinterclassic

Last night was the first time I watched the Eldorado Eagles play live last night.  I watched them on video from the Eldorado Holiday Tournament.

Instead of writing a preview, I am going to share what coach Josh Bradley shared about his team:

“We pretty much play a 7 man rotation. Our back court is John Meredith at the point, and Kale Ogelsby is the other guard.  Braden Attebury.  Eathan Partrige is averaging 13 ppg., and 11 rebounds.  Jake Traxler 10 ppg and 11 rebounds.  Braden Attebury is averaging 16 ppg. and nine rebounds.”
For those who saw the Bearcats for the first time last night, they are a special group in full force.  It would have been a good ball game with West Frankfort last night.
Both teams will go far in the post season.  I would not be surprised to see the Eagles in Peoria. They cleared a big hurdle by beating Mt. Carmel.   T-town is standing in the way.
Christopher is a different team this year but they have the potential to play in the sectional finals like last year.  I will rank all the 1A and 2A teams in each regional or sectional complex.  I will either have the Bearcats or Wayne City one or two.
I said earlier the Bearcats will have a big hill to climb tonight.  They are facing the number six team in the state in 2A.  They can lose by 20 and come up a winner tonight.  This game is to help them in February.  I am going with the Eagles by 10.  If their shooters are hot they can play with them.  If cold Eldorado is going to kill them on the boards.
Filed Under: Christopher High School Sports, High School Sports, Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Sports, West Frankfort High School Sports

WF and S-V-W meet at 7:00 pm in the Midwinter Classic in a must see battle.

January 17, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Steve Dunford

There will be an outstanding girls basketball game on tap this evening in the second round of the West Frankfort midwinter classic between West Frankfort and Sesser-Valier-Waltonville at 7:00 p.m.

I am encouraging everyone from Christopher to go watch this game before the boys game with Eldorado.

The Redbirds feature the top scorer in the state Morgan Griffith averaging around 35 ppg.  I tell people all the time the only girls player I know all time better than her is Tyra Buss.  They also feature sharp shooter and zone buster Cali Wright.midwinterclassic

Megan Beery handles the point sometimes for WF when Griffith goes in and posts up.  She was her dads manager, football coach Brian Beery during football season.  During the Redbirds playoff run, I told the Canton press several times, she is like having another assistant coach on the sidelines.  She is like that on the floor for West Frankfort.

On the other side of the ledger, I watched Hannah Garascia grow up.  She was one heck of a running back on my sons flag football team several years ago.  She is one of the better players in Southern Illinois.  She can play the one through the five.

Jaylyn Haley can shoot the lights out and has over 1,000 points in her career.  She comes from a rich basketball tradition in Waltonville.  Sami McCowen from Waltonville is a scorer too.

I have watched post player Taylor Frank grow up as well.  She has a twist as well in the co-op.  She went to grade school at Waltonville and high school at Sesser.  She is from Valier and her mom Lori is a teacher at Waltonville Grade School.

I have watched Red Devils, Spartans and Cardinals in football mesh into Red Devils and Spartans.  It is a beautiful thing.  High School co-ops give the kids a chance to play that never would.

There are two veteran coaches on the sideline.  Rick Metcalf for S-V-W has over 500 wins between coaching the girls and boys head coaching jobs at Joppa, Vienna, and a long time at Sesser-Valier.  He was Herrin’s volleyball coach this fall.   Coach Metcalf did a huge favor for me when I was a young man.  I will be eternally grateful.

On the other sideline is Matt Hampleman.  He was my HS team mate at Thompsonville.  He grew up like a brother to me.  He has spent his whole coaching career at West Frankfort.  He has been at the helm over 20 years.

This is my first girls game preview and prediction that I have written.  I apologize if I was sentimental and places.  The Redbirds are down two post players and dressing eight.  The Devils in numbers look like an arena football team on the sidelines.

Rick Metcalf uses his bench.  S-V was in a barn burner with Herrin, which beat WF by 15.  I am going with the Devils by seven.  You will see me rooting for both teams tonight as I am torn.  Go Redbirds and go Devils.

 

 

Filed Under: Christopher High School Sports, High School Sports, Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Sports, West Frankfort High School Sports

Redbirds easily handle the Bearcats

January 17, 2017 By Leave a Comment

by Steve Dunford

WEST FRANKFORT – Austin Glodich Dominated both ends of the floor in the 12 minutes he played with thirteen points and seven rebounds as West Frankfort defeated Christopher 59-35 in the opening round of pool play at the West Frankfort Midwinter Classic.midwinterclassic

Glodich rolled an ankle with two minutes and some change on the clock in the first half.  He will be ready to play in Wednesday night’s game against Carterville.

Christopher was short handed to begin with without the services of Bradley Young and Gabe Schimpf, who will return for tonight’s game against Eldorado.  Coach Eric Stallman played a 2-3 zone all night against the Redbrids which the Bearcats play man to man 99% of the time.

It might have been storming outside, but the perfect storm happened on the floor for Christopher in the first half.  Jared Curry sit most of the second quarter with two fouls.  Different ones for the Redbirds guarded Kaeleb Pedigo, and he was held scoreless.  Both teams went to the locker rooms with the score 33-18.

There were a couple back breaking threes by Noah Allen in the third quarter that sealed the deal for the Redbirds.  Coach Kevin Toney subbed freely most of the second half.

Along with Glodich’s 13 on the night Allen had 11 on the night to pace WF.  Gabriel Motsinger, a freshman making his first varsity start, led the Bearcats with 10 on the night.

The Redbirds improve to (7-8) on the season and (1-0) in their pool.  They play Carterville tomorrow night at 8:30.  The Bearcats fall to (11-5) on the season and (0-1) in pool play.  They have the unenvyous task of taking on the Eldorado Eagles, the No #6 team in the state in class 2A in the latest AP rankings.

BOX SCORE:

WEST FRANKFORT   (59)  Glodich 5 0 3-6 13; Allen 1 3 0-0 11; Hammers 3 0 0-1 6; D. Russell 1 1 0-0 5; Sturgill 2 0 0-0 4; Thrash 2 0 0-0 4; Clinton 2 0 0-0 4; Levanti 0 1 0-0 3; Wolfe 0 1 0-0 3; Riddle 0 1 0-0 3; Johnson 0 1 0-0 3; Russell 0 0 0-0 0; Powell 0 0 0-0 0; House 0 0 0-0 0; Clark 0 0 0-0 0; Croslin 0 0 0-0 0

CHRISTOPHER (35)  Motsinger 3 1 1-2 10; Pedigo 1 2 0-0 8; Curry 4 0 0-1 8; Snell 0 1 2-2 4; Sanders 0 1 1-2 3; Pratt 0 1 0-0 2; Saeger 0 0 0-0 0; Dorris 0 0 0-0 0; Hawkins 0 0 0-0 0; Dunford 0 0 0-0 0; Flowers 0 0 0-0 0

SCORE BY QUARTERS 

WEST FRANKFORT   15    18    14    12  –  59  

CHRISTOPHER              7    11      8      9  –  35

 

Filed Under: Christopher High School Sports, High School Sports, Slider, Sports, West Frankfort News

Franklin County HS Boys basketball preview 1/16/17

January 16, 2017 By Leave a Comment

by Steve Dunford

I was going to release a preview of both Mid Winter tournaments going on this week in the county.   I began to look at things and between both boys and girls teams, there are seven teams in midwinter tournaments this week.  I am going to incorporate what each coach sent me in the game previews this week.  I thank you so much for your response.  We will be previewing two games from the BIT, and one from the Midwinter tonight.  It seemed like the Holiday Tournament previews got very long and people dropped out reading them before finishing them all.  I am still very green and learning at this.

 

WEST FRANKFORT MIDWINTER CLASSIC

  • 5:30 p.m. Anna Jonesboro (6-10) vs. Herrin (10-4)
  • 7:00 p.m. Eldorado (18-1) vs. Carterville (10-6)
  • 8:30 p.m. WEST FRANKFORT (6-10)  vs. CHRISTOPHER (11-4)

 

We will be previewing game three of the night as the West Frankfort Redbirds take on the Christopher Bearcats.

Noah Allen and Kaeleb Pedigo match up well.  Austin Glodich and Jared Curry do as well too.  Who I see giving the Bearcats fits tonight is Keagan Thrash.  I can see him having a big game down in wf-redbirdsthe post.

When both WF coach Kevin Toney and Christopher coach Eric Stallman play man to man most of the time, I have defensive match ups going thorugh my head.

Freshman Bryce Pratt will have to guard either Glodich or Thrash tonight and Curry will have the other.  Who will match up with Andrew Strugill and Kyle Hammers will be the other two players that Jim Johnson will call their number before tip off.christopher-bearcats

Zack Snell a 5′ 11″ senior made a couple of starts at the first of the season.  The only ones other than him that have played much  at all is 5′ 9″ freshman Gabe Motsinger and 6′ 2″ junior Cole Sanders.

I will have to go with the Redbirds by 12 in this one.

BENTON INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT

I believe this is the 43rd annual.  The BIT was the first tournament in the area to go to the round robin format.  The Friday Night-Saturday afternoon and Evening sessions were designed to simulate the format of the IHSA State Tournament in two classes.  I wish I had the stats in front of me of the teams that played in the BIT that went on to take home hardware from then Champiagn and now Peoria.

Along with the Franklin County schools, we are going to start giving coverage to the Hamilton County Foxes as well this week.  There will be nights there will be three games previewed tonight there will be two.

Here is the schedule for this evening.

  • 5:30 p.m.  Meridian (7-9) vs SESSER-VALIER (7-9)
  • 7:00 p.m.  Carlyle (9-7) vs Pinckneyville (15-1)
  • 8:30 p.m.  BENTON (13-1) vs HAMILTON COUNTY (4-12)

 

We will preview the first game of the night the Meridian Bobcats and The Sesser-Valier Red Devils.

MeridianThis is a game that I am keeping a close eye on.  For one is that I hold both head coaches in high regard, Shane Garner and Erik Griffin.

Meridian has an enrollment of 125.  The conference schedule they play is schools of similar size in the southern seven counties.  Their non conference schedule consists of schools that are 1,000 plus in size.  Their record might not be pretty but the goal is to play games in March.

Sesser-Valier has the same goal in mind going to the BIT.  They have a second and a fourth place class 1A trophy in their case, and Meridian has a second place in the years they have been there.

Here is what coach Erik Griffin has to say about his team:

“Our losses resemble a who’s who in southern Illinois basketball; Marion (3A), Mt. Vernon (3A), Herrin (3A), Carterville (3A), Collinsville (4A) and Harrisburg, in addition to Saxony Lutheran (small school champion of the Carbondale Holiday Tourney) and most recently to Graves County, KY (with 7’0 Northern Kentucky University signee Chris Vogt).”

“We have gradually strengthened our schedule in the three years I have been head coach.   The only Class A schools on our non-conference schedule being Metro East Lutheran, Madison (canceled due to weather), and an upcoming match up with Waltonville at the Pinckneyville Shootout.”

“Our starters are guards Jabare Patrick (sr), TJ Nichols (sr), Darnell Lowe (jr) and junior forwards Demareon Nicholson and Demond Vasser. Seeing action off the bench, are senior big man Byron Nesby, guards Ja’Quan Jones (jr), Eddie Robertson (so), Malik Pratt (sr) and Jalil Amerson (jr).”

“Robertson leads us in scoring off the bench and Vasser, Lowe, Nicholson, Nesby, and Jones all hover near double figures. We are pretty balanced, and even though we are taking some lumps with our schedule, our kids continue to work hard and have shown great attitudes in regards to what our ultimate goals are.”

Both teams come into this with a balanced attack.  Shane Garner has been playing a solid nine man rotation as well.pitchfork

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record but Lowe and Nesby will give the Devils some big time problems in the post.  I am going with Meridian by five.

We are going to look at game three of the night, the Hamilton County Foxes and the Benton Rangers.

benton-rangersThe Rangers come into tonight’s action the number six team in Class 3A.  The Foxes have been very close to pulling an upset off any day now.  Their 4-10 record is a little deceiving.

Here is what Benton Coach Ron Winemiller had to say about tonight’s matchup, “Oakley Dial is playing as well as anyone in the tournament coming in. We will have to limit his looks and not let him have a big game. I really like (Jake) Whipple as well very athletic off the bounce and always plays very hard. We will have to force them into an up and down game.”mcleansboro

Here is what Hamilton County Coach Jeremy Varner had to say about the BIT in General,  “The Fox players, coaches, and fans always look forward to the BIT. It is always loaded with talented teams and players. The past few years have been rough for us over there, but teams get better when they play good competition.

“Our kids are very aware of the history of the tournament and that they will have to be ready to compete all week when they go. We fell like we know the challenges ahead and are looking for a good showing and bringing home some wins.”

Hamco is improved than when the two teams met in the Goreville Tournament.  Oakley Dial has been on an unreal roll since the Eldorado Holiday Tournament.  The Rangers just have too many horses.  I am going with Benton by 20.

 

 

Filed Under: Benton High School Sports, Christopher High School Sports, High School Sports, Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Sports, West Frankfort High School Sports

Redbrids win – Devils drop their first of the season

January 15, 2017 By Leave a Comment

by Steve Dunford

WEST FRANKFORT –  In game one, the Sesser-Valier-Waltonville Lady Red Devils experienced their first loss of the season falling to the Herrin Lady Tigers 54-48 in the opening game of the girls side of the West Frankfort Mid Winter Classic yesterday afternoon.

Herrin Coach Bill Green employed a 1-3-1 zone against the Devils and they handled it quite well in the first half.  There were several dribble drive penetrations out of it and a lot of run outs for Jayln Haley.

Herrin getting ready to in bound the ball in the middle of the fourth quarter.

Herrin getting ready to in bound the ball in the middle of the fourth quarter.

S-V-W led by double digits in the first half by several times and a late rally by Herrin at the close of the first half sent the teams to the locker room with the Devils having a five-point lead.

One of the keys to the game is when the Devils had the ball around the five minute mark of the third quarter.  They had the lead by seven.  They were very patient attacking the zone and missed a bunny inside.  S-V-W had one of their very few turnovers the next possession.

In the meantime Emma Deaton drains back to back threes for Herrin and it was a big momentum switcher, as the Tigers cut it till one.

Herrin took the lead and slowly built it to as high as eight.  S-V-W cut it to a one posession game late several times, but the gave the number eight team in the last Class 2A their first loss of the season.

Emma Deaton led Herrin with 15 points on the evening. Makayla Smothers added 14, and Maggie Connor had 12 on the evening.

Jaylin Hayley led the Red Devils with 25 on the night and Sami McCowen added nine.

The Hannah’s for both teams which are also their leading scorers Grotauge for Herrin, and Garascia for S-V-W was held to six each.

When I was talking to S-V-W coach Rick Metcalf after the game, he said two of the top teams in Southern Illinois were on the floor this afternoon, we just came up short.

Both Pinckneyville and WF battle for the boards in the nightcap.....

Both Pinckneyville and WF battle for the boards in the nightcap…..

In Game two of the night, Pinckneyville coach Alan Engleheart ran a triangle in two defense against WF most of the night with one defender keying on Morgan Griffith and the other either on Cali Wright or Megan Beery.

Griffith had a game high 33 on the night, three points below her average for the season and Wright had 14 including two deep threes in the first quarter as West Frankfort defeated Pinckneyville 54-45.

The Panthers had the lead whittled to four with three in some change left on the clock but Griffith iced it away from the free throw line.

Megan Breslin led the Panthers in scoring with 16 on the night.  Kiya Hagene added 11 in a losing cause.

The thrid game of the night was a boys game.  Jackson Connor, son of Z-R standout Sean Connor had a game high 25 points and Justin Shadowens had 10 as the Marion Wildcats held on to beat the Cairo Pilots 57-53.

Dave Taylor had 12 points, Malachi Brown 11, and Damarius Taylor added ten points for the Pilots.

SCHEDULE FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS

Monday, January 16

  • 5:30 p.m.  Anna Jonesboro vs. Herrin (boys)
  • 7:00 p.m.  Eldorado vs. Carterville  (boys)
  • 8:30 p.m.  WEST FRANKFORT vs CHRISTOPHER (boys)

Tuesday, January 17

  • 5:30 p.m.  Herrin vs Pinckneyville (girls)
  • 7:00 p.m.  WEST FRANKFORT vs SESSER-VALIER-WALTONVILLE (girls)
  • 8:30 p.m.  CHRISTOPHER vs Eldorado (boys)

GIRLS BOX SCORES -SATURDAY

HERRIN  (54):  Deaton 0 5 0-0 15, Smothers 5 0  4-6 14,  Connor 3 0 6-7 12, Groutage 2 2-6 6, Mad. Russell 2 0-0 6,  Lehnhoff 0 01-2 1, Smith 0 0 0-2 0,

SESSER-VALIER-WALTONVILLE (48):  Haley 6 3 4-7 25, S. McCowen 0 3 0-0 9, Tucker 3 0 0-0 6, Garascia 3 0 0-0 6; Frank 1 0 0-0 2; Wilderman 0 0 0-0 0; Genesio 0 0 0 0-0; Hale 0 0 0-0 0; Breese 0 0 0-0 0; Page 0 0 0-0 0

HERRIN (14-6)(1-0)     11    8    15    20 – 54

S-V-W(18-1)(0-1)         16    8      6    18  -`48

PINCKNEYVILLE (45): M. Breslin 4 1 4-4 16, Hagene 4 1 0-0 11 Anderson 1 1 5-5 9;  Bartnicki 2 0 0-0 4; Doerflein 1-0 1-2 3, Yates 1 0-0 2, Kling 0 0 0-0 0

WEST FRANFKORT (54): Griffith 9 1 12-14 33; Wright 3 2 2-2 14, Beery 1 1 0-0 5, Prather 1 0-1 2, Peavey 0 0 0-0 0; Carpenter 0 0 0-0 0; Turner 0 0 0-0 0; Britton 0 0 0-0 0

 

PINCKNEYVILLE  (11-11)(0-1)       11    12     9   13    45

WEST FRANKFORT (10-5)(1-0)     14    16   12   12  – 54

Filed Under: Christopher High School Sports, High School Sports, Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Slider, Sports, West Frankfort High School Sports

Christopher-Goreville box score

January 14, 2017 By Leave a Comment

christopher-bearcatsBOX SCORE:

CHRISTOPHER (83)  Curry 7 0 6-8 20; Young 6 1 4-8 19; Pedigo 3 0 13-13 19; Schimpf 2 4 0-0 16; Pratt 2 0 2-4 6; Motsinger 1 0 0-0 2; Snell 0 0 1-2 1; Sanders 0 0 0-0 0

GOREVILLE (73)  Massey 3 4 4-4 22; Dunn 7 0 4-4 18; Webb 2 3 4-6 17;  Glidwell 4 0 1-2 9; Helton 2 0 0-0 4; Dunning 0 1 0-0 3; Tosh 0 0 0-0 0; Bishop 0 0 0-0 0; Geyman 0 0 0-0 0

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

CHRISTOPHER (11-4)(4-0)   18    18     17    30 – 83

GOREVILLE (9-6) (3-1)          14    16     20    23-  73

Filed Under: Christopher High School Sports, High School Sports, Sports

Previews and Rescheduled Games 1/13/17

January 13, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Steve Dunford-

First of all here are the games that are rescheduled-

  •  WF-Massac County girls/boys DH is still on as scheduled
  • Christopher at Goreville there will not be a freshman game, and the JV game is pushed up to a 6:00 tip.
  • Z-R at Sesser-Valier will be tomorrow afternoon, with a 2:30 tip for the JV game.
  • Carrier Mills at Thompsonville has been pushed back to tomorrow night at 6:00 pm.
  • Murphysboro at Benton has been rescheduled for Wednesday February 8th at 6:15. I will start on a full listing around 4 pm on the website
  • Freshmen tournament game at Pinckneyville has been moved up an hour. Game will start at 10. Van leaves at 9:00 a.m
  •  Benton freshman game vs Harrisburg on tomorrow has been cancelled.
  • Class L Junior High Girls Championship between Benton and DuQuoin at BMS scheduled for tonight has been moved to Tuesday night.

 

There will be short and sweet previews.  Thank you to everyone who provided school closings and game information.

CHRISTOPHER (10-4)(9-5) at GOREVILLE (3-0)(9-5)

christopher-bearcatsThere is a Battle Royal down at Johnson County tonight.  The teams are more than familiar with each other playing eight times in two years.  Christopher won four times against them last year.

No introductions should be given.  The Bearcats have Bradley Young, Kaelab Pedigo, and Jared Curry.  in the other side of the fence you have Braden Webb and Brant Glidwell.

This week there were some scores that lit things up.  Gabe Schimpf had 18 against Z-R.  Mavis Helton and Peyton Massey had a big game against Sesser-Valier.  You better not foul Cool Hand Luke Bryce Pratt if the Bearcats get the lead.

A lot of points will be put up on that awesome scoreboard they havegoreville down there.  It is going to come down to the benches.  Goreville Coach Todd Tripp has played Cole Tosh, Blaine Dunning , Peyton Massey, and Morgan Bishop a lot.  The first two off the bench for Christopher coach Eric Stallman has played limited minutes. guard Zach Snell and post player Cole Sanders.

I am going with Goreville by five.  I am keeping a close eye on this one.

WEST FRANKFORT (6-7)(0-4) vs MASSAC COUNTY(4-6)(1-2)

wf-redbirdsThis is the second meeting between these two teams.  The Redbirds beat the Patriots 46-33 in the Consolation Championship of the Eldorado Holiday tournament.

Austin Glodich had his way against Massac the first game.  Noah Allen kept Darius massac-countyRoundtree in check.

I would love to see the battle on the bench between Kevin Toney and Joe Hosman tonight.

The Patriots will make some adjustments.  Massac County is a burial ground.  The Redbirds will come out of Metropolis tonight with a one point win.

HAMILTON COUNTY  (4-11)(1-4) at JOHNSTON CITY (0-4) (6-10)

mcleansboroWhen I wrote the story on their game Friday night against Chirstopher, it had over 2,000 views.  Several were from McLeansboro.  With access to video on Foxes Fans.net, I can give them some very good coverage.

Oakley Dial has been dominant.  He was WSIL’s player of the week.  Jake Whipple has been playing well.  Coach Varner has played nine or ten deep.

The Indians have some good athletes.  They live and die by the three.  They do not get their big man, SIU football bound, Max Edwards involved a lot.

The Foxes have played with a lot of good teams.  They gave Harrisburg all they wanted in the BIT.  They have been oh so close several times, but can not get over the hump.  I am going with Hamco by one in a barn burner tonight.

 

 

 

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

Christopher Z-R box…around the BDC West

January 11, 2017 By Leave a Comment

bdc-logoCHRISTOPHER- The Christopher Bearcats Race out to a 39-17 lead, and goes on to defeat Zeigler-Royalton 77-41.

Gabe Schimpf led the Bearcats with 18 points on the night, Kaeleb Pedigo had 15, Bradley Young added 15 and Jared Curry was the fourth from Christopher in double figures with 14.  The Bearcats sank 11 threes on the night.

Austin Bollinger and Brendan Whiting led the Tornadoes on the night with nine points each.

Christopher improves to (10-4) on the season and (3-0) in the Black Diamond West.  Z-R falls to (1-9) on the season and (0-4) in the BDC West.

Both teams will be on the road Friday night as the Tornadoes go to Sesser-Valier to take on the Red Devils.  The Bearcats will head to Johnson County to take on Coach Todd Tripp’s Goreville Blackcats.  (The Southern Illinoisan story from the game will be posted on franklincounty-news.com shortly)

Around the conference, Jordan Myerhoff scored 19 points as Trico pulled a big upset over Vienna 59-42.  Brandon Casey led the Eagles with 16 points in a losing cause.  Chester beat New Athens 59-42 last night in the opening round of the Chester Invitational.  Savion Smith led the Yellow Jackets with 17 points.

The undefeated Sesser-Valier-Waltonville Lady Red Devils cracked the class 2A Statewide poll at number 8 this week. -sd

BOX SCORE:

CHRISTOPHER:  (77)  Schimpf 4 3 1-1 18; Pedigo 1 4 2-2 16; Young 7 0 1-4 15; Curry 4 2 0-0 14; Snell 1 1 0-0 5; Dunford 0 1 0-0 3; Motsinger 1 0 0-0 2; Sanders 1 0 0-0 2

ZEIGLER-ROYALTON (41)  Whiting 1 1 4-5 9; Bollinger 4 0 1-2 9; Domenick 2 1 0-0 7; Anderson 1 1 3-3 7; Imhoff 1 0 0-0 3; Newton 1 0 0-0 2

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

CHRISTOPHER (10-4)(3-0)               22    17    15    23 – 77

ZEIGLER-ROYALTON (1-9)(0-4)      2     15     6    18 – 41

 

 

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

Franklin County Boys Basketball Preveiw 1/10/17

January 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment

by Steve Dunford-

There are three games on tap involving four county schools tonight, two in the Black Diamond and one in the River-To-River Ohio division.  There will be full coverage of West Frankfort-Murphysboro (if it is not coming a flood at game time) and Goreville-Sesser-Valier from the blackcatsnewtork.com feed.  Any information that I could receive from Christopher and Z-R, I would appreciate it.

ZEIGLER-ROYALTON (1-8)(0-3) at CHRISTOPHER (9-4)(2-0)

z-r-logo-2The two football co-op partners and the two schools that are three miles apart meet up for a Black Diamond Conference game at “The Cave” tonight.  Friday night the Tornadoes gave Vienna all they wanted in a 57-42 loss.  Christopher pulled away from the foul line late in a 59-48 win against Hamilton County.

Kaeleb Pedigo and Brendan Whiting can both shoot the lights out.  Steven Anderson is just a good all around athlete.  It helps Z-R withchristopher-bearcats an inside presence that Austin Bollinger.

It is going to be very tough for several teams to have an answer for the three prong attack of Pedigo, Jared Curry and Bradley Young. One of three will give Z-R problems.  I am going with Christopher by 15.

MURPHYSBORO (9-3)(2-0) vs WEST FRANKFORT(6-6)  (2-3)

West Frankfort crossed over to the Mississippi Division and picked up a 54-39 victory over Sparta on Saturday night.  Murphysboro beat SIRR Ohio conference foe Harrisburg 56-41 Friday night.

muphysboroMuprysboro coach Daryl Murphy expects a “Deliberate style of offense in the form of (Former West Frankfort and McLeansboro Coach David) Lee.”

Here is what West Frankfort Coach Kevin Toney had to say about tonight’s game, “I’m really looking forward to playing Murphysboro at home. We have great fans that support us on the road who have seen us win a few recently, but we’d like to get another win at The Max…especially before the Mid-Winter.”

“I really can see a fair amount of improvement in our players andwf-redbirds the folks who have seen us throughout season can see that improvement, too. I hope we can continue that improvement.”

The Redbirds can hang with anyone in the SIRR Ohio this year.  They hung around with Herrin until deep in the game on Friday night. I think Gatson, Gibbs, Martshon, and the rest of that Red Devil bunch that will come up from Jackson County will be too much for the Redbirds.  I am going with Murpysboro by 10.

SESSER-VALIER (6-8)(2-2) at GOREVILLE (9-3)(2-0)

pitchforkNormally the Devils biggest plus is their bench.  The last several times I have watched the Blackcats, they have went nine deep.

I have been playing how these teams matchup in my mind.  The combination of Tyler Winchester/Preston Launius are two hybrids both are 3/4’s with Winchester slipping in the back court a lot.  You might as well call Brant Glidwell a three. I have to give the edge to Glidwell there.

Jamie Lance and Mavis Helton can beat and bang each other to gorevilledeath on the inside.  Both are very physical and this old post player likes to see them play down low.  The Devils will have to worry about Tanner Dunn as they do not have that second post player that is pretty physical.  Seth Boles could see a lot of minutes to counteract.

I have to give the edge to Goreville in the back court too.  Braden Webb has been on an unreal tear.  Lukas Gunter is in the top five 1A point guards in the South, but Webb and Seth Ramsey of Gallatin County is in a league of their own.  I can see coach Todd Tripp employing that 1-3-1 trap to take the 22 footer away from Charlie Farmer.

I am not dissing the Red Devils by no means.  They can play with anyone of the northern part of the 1A Regional-Sectional complex in Southern Illinois.  Goreville is clicking on all eight cylinders. I am going with the Blackcats by 8.  In all honesty, I believe Christopher is in some real trouble going down there Friday night.

 

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