by Steve Dunford -franklincounty-news.com

This has the potential to be the best tournament in history.  Three teams in the tournament that were penciled in to be potential favorites are below .500

Number one seed Woodlawn is 3-4, and so is number five seed Goreville.  To be honest about the Goreville Blackcats it would not surprise me if they are in Peoria come march.  Number two seed Chirstopher is 2-3.  All three have played a very tough schedule.

Since the deck has been shuffled if I had to seed the tournament today I would go with the following:

• 1)  Waltonville
  

  Sesser-Valier High School- Southern Illinoisan file photo

• 2)  Chester
• 3)  Steeleville
• 4)  Goreville
• 5)  Woodlawn
• 6)  Christopher
• 7)  Sesser-Valier
• 8)  Marissa-Coulterville
• 9)  Century
• 10) Johnston City
• 11)  Cobden
• 12)  New Athens
• 13)  Galatia
• 14)  Odin
• 15)  Thompsonville
• 16)  Zeigler-Royalton

By no means I am not questioning the coaches in their seeding.  It has been a weird year.  Things have changed so much in the two week span.

The Chester Yellow Jackets out of the Black Diamond West come back to the tournament, after being at Pinckneyville a few years. They join conference foes Christopher, Z-R, and the host Sesser-Valier  They replace the Egyptian Pharaohs.  I thought Egyptian went to Dongola, but I was mistaken.  I do not have a clue where the Pharaohs went.

Another team that is back this year, is the Galatia Bearcats.  They left to go to Eldorado for a few years.  They are out of the Greater Egyptian conference.  Thompsonville is in the GEC as well.   There is a potential rival game in the consolation bracket if the parings play out.

Here is the order of my preview.  I am going to go with the Franklin County schools first.  Then I am going to go by seed order.  For the unseeded teams, I am going by opponents of the county schools first. I will do Galatia first of the unseeded teams, because I cover the GEC.

The bracket is at the end of the preview.  I tried to put it at the top, but I could not add text underneath it.  I had an awesome response from coaches.  The tourney should be a dandy.

CHRISTOPHER BEARCATS

SEED:  #2

RECORD:  3-4

COACH:  Eric Stallman

ENROLLMENT AND CLASS: 243 (1A)

CONFERENCE:  Black Diamond West

RESULTS AGAINST TEAMS IN THE FIELD (1-2)

lost to Woodlawn at home 49-46

lost to Waltonville at home 43-41

beat Sesser-Valier on the road 59-56

The Bearcats have had some close ones. They finished second in their own Turkey Tournament, losing to Wayne City in the championship game.  They lost in overtime to Flora who plays in the tough Little Illini Conference on Thursday night.

Guard Kaelab Pedigo has been a scoring machine for the Bearcats this year.  Jared Curry a 6′ 5″ has been a jack of all trades from playing the point to the five spot.

Defenders have been keying on Bradley Young, one of the top scorers in Southern Illinois last season.  He has been held below double figures in a lot of games.  He is due to reel off 30 against some opponent.

Sharpshooter guard Gabe Schimpf is Pedigo’s running mate.  He has signed a letter of intent to play baseball for SEMO.  Freshman Bryce Pratt is the fifth starter for the Bearcats.

Coach Eric Stallman had this to say about the tournament.  “The Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament is a very good 1A tournament. We look forward to the opportunity to play some very good teams.”

The Bearcats first round opponent is New Athens at 5 P.M. tomorrow.

SESSER-VALIER RED DEVILS

SEED:  #6

RECORD 2-6

COACH:  Shane Garner

ENROLLMENT AND CLASS 215 (1A)

CONFERENCE:  Black Diamond West

RESULTS AGAINST TEAMS IN THE FIELD (1-1)

Won at home against Chester 70-67

Lost at home against Christopher 59-56

The Devils have four starters coming back from last year’s squad that finished fifth in the tournament;  point guard Lukas Gunter, shooting guard Charles Farmer, Preston Launius who plays the tree spot, and post player Jaimie Lance.   Joshua Gunter, Addison Page, Clayton Smith and Seth Boles will see a lot of time on the floor Sesser-Valier this week.

S-V has played a brutal schedule so far, participating in the DuQuoin Tip-off Classic as well as losing to state ranked Okawville.

Here is what Red Devil coach Shane Garner said about the field; “This year’s tourney could go many different ways. I wouldn’t be surprised is any of the top eight teams won it. Many different styles and match ups. Biggest factor will be who can consistently play at a high level for four straight days. Each round will be a battle and could go in any direction.”

“We are focusing on playing a complete game. Being consistent in what we do well. Our thoughts are being simple. Take care of the ball and take open shots. Keep the ball in front of us, rebound and go get it. If we can be good at the simple we should have opportunities to win ball games next week. We are deep and that’s in our advantage and obviously being at home helps. We are looking forward to a great week of basketball.”

The Devils play Galatia tomorrow night at 8 pm.

THOMPSONVILLE TIGERS 

UNSEEDED

RECORD:  3-4

COACH:  Pete Gordon

ENROLLMENT and CLASS:  110 (1A)

CONFERENCE:  Greater Egyptian

RESLUTS AGAINST TEAMS IN THE FIELD: (1-0)

Beat Zeigler-Roaylton 51-38 in the Consolation Championship at the Christopher Turkey Tournament

The Tigers are one of the tallest and youngest teams in the tournament.  Their leading scorer is sophomore point guard Tyson Kessler.  Anthoney Darge a 6′ 7″ sophomore, Reed Raubach a 6′ 4″ sophomore, and Corbin Fitch a 6′ 1″ freshman are all in the Tiger’s rotation.

A pair of senior guards Jared Payne and Cory Wilce have been three year starters for T’ville.

The Tigers were off to a 3-2 start but were blown out by Carrier Mills and Webber Township in their last two games.

Thompsonville coach Pete Gordon had this to say about the tournament; “I believe these players are ready to compete at a higher level.  I need them to believe it.  We have addressed some effort issues we have had early, now we need to walk the walk.”

The Tigers play Steeleville at 6:30 pm tomorrow night.

ZEIGLER-ROYALTON TORNADOES 

UNSEEDED

RECORD: 1-4

COACH:  Matt Morgan

ENROLLMENT AND CLASS:  161 (1A)

CONFERENCE: Black Diamond West

RESULTS AGAINST TEAMS IN THE FIELD (0-1)

Lost to Thompsonville 51-38 at the Christopher Turkey Tournament.

The Tornadoes have a very good back court tandem of Steven Anderson and Brendan Whiting.  One the Z-R front line is Cam Newton (and yes it was C-Z-R’s QB this season), Nolan Domenick and Jakob Baxter.

Here is what Z-R Coach Matt Morgan had to say about the tournament;  “Coming into the tournament we will have had 17 days off since our last game so you sometimes don’t know what to expect. We have had a very good 2 weeks of practice and our kids have worked tirelessly.”

“The whole season is a process and this is another part of that process. The tournament itself is very deep with a lot of good teams. I’m excited to get started and see what happens.”

The Tornadoes open against Woodlawn at 1:30 P.M.

WOODLAWN CARDINALS 

SEED:  #1

RECORD:  4-5

COACH:  Brian Gamber

ENROLLMENT AND CLASS: 175 (1A)

CONFERENCE:  Midland Trail

OPPONENTS PLAYED IN THE FIELD (2-1)

Won at Odin 55-32

Won at Christopher 49-46

Lost at Waltonville 55-47 (OT)

The Cardinals have became a Dynasty in 1A Basketball the last few years by taking home hardware from Peoria in recent history.  They finished second in 2008-09, 3rd in 10-11, state champs 2011-12, and finished fourth last season.

The Cardinals were hit heavily with graduation.  Three role players are back from the state tournament team in Jordan Hoppa, Trey Isaac and Blake Wollerman.

STEELEVILLE WARRIORS 

SEED:  #3

RECORD:  6-3

COACH:  Bryce Bainter

ENROLLMENT AND CLASS:  157  (1A)

OPPONENTS PLAYED IN THE FIELD:

(1-1)

Lost to Chester in the Trico Tournament 61-54

Won at Marissa-Coulterville 41-27

I had a great conversation talking HS basketball with coach Bryce Bainter on  Friday.  I will publish the post season sites and assignments next week.  The assignments have not changed in the regional/sectional complex for the 1A teams in the northern part of the sectional.  Steeleville will be ” Road Warriors” again as the regional sites are Wayne City and Crab Orchard.  The SVHT gives them the chance  to see local teams.

Coach Bainter filled me in on the Warriors; ” Owen Gross is averaging 13ppg., Reid Frederking 10 ppg.,, Andrew Grafton 9 ppg. Smith and Sutton are averaging around 7 ppg each.

WALTONVILLE SPARTANS 

SEED:  #4

RECORD:  6-2

COACH:  Tyler Mitchell

CONFERENCE:  Midland Trail

ENROLLMENT AND CLASS:  103

OPPONENTS PLAYED IN THE FIELD (2-0)

Beat Christopher on the road 43-41

Beat Woodlawn on the road 56-49

The Spartans come in the hottest team in the field.  After starting 1-2, they have reeled off five in a row.  They finished fourth in the Christopher Thanksgiving Tournament, losing to conference foes Wayne City and Webber Township back to back.  Those four “W” teams in the  Midland Trail will be very dangerous come February.  Tuesday night they had a very impressive win over a very good Crab Orchard Trojan team 61-46.

Two transfers that are no strangers to the tournament are playing well for the Spartans; Isaac McPhail from Chirstopher, and Zane Wilson from Sesser-Valier.  Throw in Dalton Banach,  who is one of the better 1A defenders in the south, Caleb Jordan, and big man Tanner Spihlmann, I say Waltonville has to be the favorite to cut the nets down.

Here are some thoughts from Coach Tyler Mitchell on the tournament; “Yes, we are playing well right now. My biggest concern would be how are we going to respond after two days off playing at 9a.m.”

“Will we be ready to go?  Cobden by no means is a bad team, and have been playing with a lot of good teams from what I’ve seen. It won’t be an easy first round and the fact that we play that early after two days off, can be concerning for any coach.”

GOREVILLE BLACKCATS

Seed:  #5

Record:  3-4

Coach:  Todd Tripp

Enrollment and Class:  200 (1A)

Conference:  Black Diamond West

Opponents played in the field:  (1-1)

Lost to Johnston City 78-75 in their own tournament

Won at Cobden 77-67

I have watched the Blackcats several times this season.  I want to think superintendent Steve Webb, AD/Coach Todd Tripp, and play by play man Tim Petrowich for streaming games from there.  It helps me greatly with coverage.

When putting this together I realized all of Goreville’s losses has been against 2A teams.  They have played a brutal schedule that will help them this week.

The Blackcats are led by one of the better guards and a post player/3 man in the South in Braden Webb and Brant Glidewell.  Peyton Massey and Tanner Dunn has played a lot of varsity minutes for Goreville.  Their fifth starter, Davis Helton, is a blue collar post player that crashes the boards hard.

Here is what Coach Todd Tripp says about the SVHT.  “The tournament is pretty wide open I believe the potential second round games could be really good this year.”

CHESTER YELLOW JACKETS

SEED:  #7

RECORD:  7-2

COACH:  Brad Norman

ENROLLMENT AND CLASS: 294 (2A)

CONFERENCE:  Black Diamond West

GAMES AGAINST COMMON OPPONETS IN THE FIELD

Beat Steeleville in the Trico Tournament 61-54

Lost to Sesser-Valier 70-67 at home

The Yellow Jackets have everyone back except Jason Schwartz from a 20-9 team last season.   Savion Smith is 6 3″ and can play all over the floor.  Deomonte Martin was the point guard.  Jack Weir was a blue collar post player in the inside.  I remember Jake Golding being the same type of player.  Drake Bollman was the sixth man, and Jake Haberberger was the first guard off the bench.

They ran the field in their own tournament before dropping their first two conference games to Vienna (who is 8-1) and Sesser-Valier. The Yellowjackets have wins over Anna-Jonesboro and Trico during this stretch.

This is what coach Brad Norman had to say about the field;  “I feel like the Sesser-Valier Tournament has as much equal talent across the board as I have ever seen. I think the top eight  teams all have a shot at making it to the championship round.”

“We are battling some injuries. but feel as if we can compete with anybody on any given night. I believe the team that can utilize their bench and be consistent every night, will be the team that wins it all.”

I guarantee you, this is the toughest seven seed in the history of the tournament.

JOHNSTON CITY INDIANS

Seed:  #8 

Record:  4-5

Coach:  Jerry Hampleman

Enrollment and Class:  334 (2A)

Conference:  Black Diamond East

Opponents played in he tournament:  (2-0)

Beat Goreville 78-75 in their own tournament

Beat Sesser-Valier 88-86 at home.

The Indians have SIU football bound 6′ 6″ Max Edwards in the middle.  They have some good athletes can chuck up the three, in Wyatt Rix, Lucas Galdoni, Chase Shelby, and the Hall’s (I assume they are brothers.

The Indians looked like they were poised for a very high seed.  The wheels fell off when they entered conference play.  They like to get up and down the floor and live and die by the three.

GALATIA BEARCATS

Record:  3-5

SI Dollar Saver Photo

Coach:  Rod Wallace

Enrollment:  116 (1A)

Conference:  Greater Egyptian

Opponents played in the field: (0-2)

Lost to Century 69-55 at Vienna Classic

Lost to Cobden 78-73 in OT at the Vienna Classic

Coach Rod Wallace is back for his second tour of duty as coach of the Bearcats.  He also spent some time as the women’s coach at Southeastern Illinois College.

They have a couple of sharp shooting guards in Luke Lawrence and Devyn Verbeck who I remember from last year.  Coach Wallace will run people in and out in waves and they will run and gun.

This is what coach Wallace had to say about the tournament and their season so far,  “I am planning on playing in the winner’s bracket. We will see how that works out for us.   We have been very close in several big games and fell just short. Most of the time we have self destructed. Hopefully it will be a different outcome on Monday.”

 NEW ATHENS YELLOW JACKETS 

Record:  3-6

Coach:  Conrad Widdersheim

St. Louis Post Dispatch photo

Enrollment:  164 (1A)

Conference:  Cahokia

No opponets in the field

Coach Widdersheim gave me a very good summary about his team;  “This is my first year coaching the New Athens Varsity team.  I took over for Marc Derwort who had a very successful nine year stint with the program.  We are currently 3-6 overall and 1-1 in our conference.”

“Wins have been against O’Fallon First Baptist Academy, Flora and Dupo.  Losses have been against Okawville, Hillsboro, Freeburg, Carlyle, Trico and Valmeyer.  We ended up getting 4th place at the Kaskaskian Classic in Carlyle over Thanksgiving.  We’ve got a pretty experienced team with six seniors on the rosters.”

 “We’ve got a good balance of post play and guard play that has kept us competitive against the bigger schools on our schedule.  The boys are continuing to make improvements every day and we are excited to be a part of the SVHT again this year.”

MARISSA-COULTERVILLE METERORS

Record:  5-3

St. Louis Post-Dispatch logo

Coach:  Scott Wine

Enrollments:  Marissa 165, Coulterville 72

Conference:  Cahokia

Common Opponents in the field: (1-1)

Beat Odin 52-51 in the Metro East Lutheran Tournament

Lost to Steeleville 41-27

One player that will be exciting to watch this week is Kyle Smith, who is the number three scorer in the Metro East at 22 points a game.  Tony Stoddard averages 11 a contest for the Meteors.  James Inman, and Blaine Knope will see a lot of time for M-C this week.

The Meteors went up to the Metro East Lutheran tournament and played some stiff competition up there and gave some teams a game.  One thing that stands out is they played the hosts to 10 points.

I had a great conversation with coach Wine on the 23rd, and expect the Meteors to have a great week at the SVHT

CENTURY CENTURIONS 

Record:  6-3  

Coach:  Derek Williams

Enrollment:  121 Class (1A)

Conference:  South Egyptian

Games against opponents in the field:  (2-0)

Won 67-50 over Cobden at Vienna

Won 69-55 over Galatia at Vienna

The Centurions have been led by Christian Halverson and Marcus Davis this year.  They have top the 20 point plus mark in several games.

Cason Hight, Marcus Davis, and Dawson Wright will see some time on the hardwood for Century this tournament.

Thank you to coach Williams for talking to me on Christmas Eve when you were out of town visiting with family.

COBDEN APPLEKNOCKERS

Record:  4-7

Coach:  Rhett Barke

Enrollment:  164 (1A)

Conference:  South Egyptian

Games against opponents in the field:  (1-2)

Lost 67-50 to Century at the Vienna Classic

Beat Galatia 78-73 in OT at Vienna

Lost at home to Goreville 77-67

I had the opportunity to see the Appleknockers play several times last year.  They have a good backcorut in John Russel and Austin Lewey.  Clayton Eck was a three/four player if I remember right and Dylan Duty was a blue collar rebounder on the inside.

ODIN EAGLES 

Record:  5-5

Coach:  Mark Burton

Enrollment:  75

Conference:  Midland Trail

Games against opponents in the field:

Lost 52-51 to Marissa-Coulterville at Metro East Lutheran

Lost 55-32 to Woodlawn at home

I do not have a clue what to expect out of the Eagles.  I could not find a box score, preview etc.  I received no response as well from their coach.