The Officiating Crisis: What Can I Do?

December 5, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Long time official Bobby Blondi with C-Z-R assistant football coach Buddy Velasco (Randall Risley photo)

Long time official Bobby Blondi with C-Z-R assistant football coach Buddy Velasco (Randall Risley photo)

NOTE: This was passed on to me by long time official Bobby Blondi. It is getting tougher to find officials as the days go on. This has been a matter of discussion for years. Please click to read the following article from The National Federation of High School Sports….For the past several years, state association leaders have warned that we were about to face a crisis relative to the number of officials we have. The crisis is upon us and it has reached epidemic proportions. Newspapers across the country all have the same headline in the sports section: “Schools forced to reschedule games due to officials’ shortage.” The next headline will be even worse: “Games cancelled due to a lack of sports officials.” The writing has been on the wall for quite some time but little has been done to truly heed the warning and to address the problem – the “why” of where we are and the “how” to fix it…

 

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

Franklin County High School Basketball Preview 11/29/16

November 29, 2016 By Leave a Comment

 

Steve Dunford-Franklin County Hoops and Gridiron

I am just going to share something first.  I am not slighting the girl’s game at all.  In the next year or two I will be able to write previews and maybe give a prediction.   I have close contact with nearly every boy’s coach in the BDC West, SIRR Ohio division and the GEC.  From all this, I feel I do not have the knowledge yet to give a preview of girls basketball in the county.

In girl’s action tonight, a very tough Harrisburg team will be traveling to Max Morris Gym to take on the West Frankfort Lady Redbirds; Andy Sloan and his Benton Rangerettes have a SIRR Ohio match up at Herrin tonight;  Sieger Shurtz’s Christopher Lady Bearcats will be on the road at Cobden to face the Lady Appleknockers this evening.  In boys action, I am previewing the Benton Hardin County match up at Goreville and the Pope County vs Thompsonville game this evening.

Benton (1-0) vs. Hardin County (0-1)- Goreville Invitational 5:30 p.m.

Benton’s win over Hamilton County last night was what most people expected.  I was a little surprise that Johnston City beat Hardin County last night, especially the margin of victory.

The Rangers had a balanced attack in the opener.  I expect the same tonight.  Benton will be much quicker than the Cougars.  If Coach Ron Winemiller chooses to press, Hardin County might have difficulty breaking it.  I see the Rangers getting some easy transition buckets tonight.  The Rangers have a much deeper bench, which is the usual case when you play a school three times their size.

Other than Thompsonville, most in the county are not familiar with Hardin County High School.  I am going to give you a little information.  They have an enrollment of 175.  Their school was built in the early 80’s when the county schools consolidated, which is a K-12 facility which is similar to Sesser-Valier.

Their gym seats about 2,500, and that is the reason why they host the 1A sectional frequently.  They play a very tough 1A schedule, playing some much larger Kentucky schools.  Along with this week at Goreville, they play in the Eldorado Holiday Tournament.  Most have them as a top three team in the Greater Egyptian Conference.

I will give the edge to the Cougars on being a little more physical than the Rangers.  This along with their size inside might cause some problems in the post for Benton.   Hardin County plays mainly zone.  Like Derek Oxford they have a 1,000 scorer in Tyler Winters.  If he, along with Cameron Shaw gets hot the Cougars might hang around with the Rangers.

Hardin County will win a lot of games this year.  I was taking to Cougar Coach Rodney Lane a couple weeks ago and said, even if we come out of here 0-5, we are here to prepare us for February.  I am giving the edge to the Rangers by 20 tonight.  They just have too many horses.

POPE COUNTY (2-3) vs. THOMPSONVILLE (2-1)

tville-consolation-champions

The Tigers had a very good week at Christopher.  They almost knocked off a very good Webber Township club, beat NCOE in a thriller, and beat Zeigler-Royalton in the consolation championship game.  As Dick Vitale would say the “Diaper Dandies” played very well, especially PG Tyson Kessler.

The Pirates had a mediocre week at Crab Orchard.  They defeated Dongola and Egyptian, which both will be lucky to have five wins this year.  Elverado thumped them, which does not look good on their résumé.  They had a barnburner though, with a good Joppa ball club.  They also hung around with Crab Orchard longer than I expected.  It seems like they are going to be a Jeckel and Hyde ball club. It is hard to anticipate what kind of team will step off the bus tonight.

This is the conference opener for both teams.  The Tigers have a strong back court.  I am just being blunt, but Pope County struggles at the guard spot.  The transfers from Massac County last year will cause some GEC teams some match up problems with their size, but the Tigers have a lot of size too.  In all three games, the Tiger press was very effective.  I would not be surprised if Tiger coach Pete Gordon comes out pressing and use that 2-3 zone, which was very effective at the end of last season.

I say the Tigers will be 3-1 after tonight with a solid ten point victory.  It would be nice if they could go into the Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament a couple of games above .500 or more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Christopher Falls in Turkey Tourney Championship to Wayne City

November 27, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Christopher Falls in Turkey Tourney Championship to Wayne City

Steve Dunford, Franklin County Hoops and Gridiron

CHRISTOPHER-  I talk to a lot of basketball fans across Southern Illinois .  When it came to the Christopher Turkey Tournament, most of us had penciled in a potential championship game against the Christopher Bearcats and the Waltonville Spartans.  In fact, as a Thompsonville alumnus, I was hoping to draw Wayne City in the first round instead of Webber Township.  For 31 minutes, the Indians flat out outplayed the Bearcats on both ends of the floor in route to a 61-57 victory over the hosts in the 42nd annual Christopher Thanksgiving Tournament.

 

The pace was very slow in the first quarter.  Christopher coach Eric Stallman comes out in a 2-3 zone, which the Bearcats play man-to-man 90 percent of the time.  The Indians had a 7-6 lead with about two minutes to play in the first.  The Bearcats go on a 6-0 run at the end of the quarter to take a 12-7 lead after one.

Wayne City goes on an 8-0 run to take a 15-12 lead at the 6:15 mark at the second quarter.  Christopher coach Eric Stallman calls a time out and the Bearcats come out in a full court press.  Wayne City broke the press but for a few possessions, it forced them to play up tempo which the Bearcats like to play.  Christopher took back the lead for a short while.  In the last three minutes of the quarter the Indians began to bust open the Bearcat zone open by hitting three very deep three pointers.  At the intermission Wayne City has a 22-18 lead

The Bearcats come out of the locker room going back to playing man-to-man.  They also came out of the locker room flat.  There were several unforced turnovers and the lid was on the bucket.  To put it bluntly the Bearcats just looked out of sync. Wayne City extended the lead to nine on several occasions.  In the closing seconds of the quarter Kaelab Pedigo hits a three to cut the Wayne City lead to 34-28.

The fourth quarter became very rough.  Both sides of the gym became very vocal with the boo birds coming out.  When the officials tried to establish control, it was tool late.  When Wayne City was pulling away Pedigo would come up with something big, as he had 15 on the quarter.  The Indians kept pounding the ball into 6’ 4” center Chad Dickey who had 14 on the quarter.  It was looking like Wayne City was going to blow the game wide open when the Bearcats were storming back in the closing seconds.  They could not get the lead under three as Wayne City takes the title with the 61-57 victory

Pedigo had a game high 26 points for the Bearcats.  Bradley Young added 12 on the night with seven rebounds.  Jarred Curry chipped in 10 and led the Bearcats with six assists.  There are some little things that does not show up in the box score from time to time.  Zach Snell had four rebounds and an assist in the fourth quarter

For Wayne City Eric Green had a game high 22,  Dickey added sixteen, Jordan Greenwalt added 10 for the Indians.

The Bearcats won the cheerleading title.  The All Tournament Team was the following:  Kaleab Pedigo was named MVP with Bradley Young and Jared Curry from Christopher;  Chad Dickey and Eric Green From Wayne City; Charles Neal and Jaxon Helm from Webber Township;  Isaac McPhail and Zane Wilson from Waltonville and Matt Long from NCOE.

In other action of the evening Webber Township took third place with a 58-55 win over Waltonville.  Thompsonville won the consolation bracket with a 51-38 win over Zeigler-Royalton.  NCOE won the 7th place game with a 77-49 win over the Hamilton County JV squad.

The Hamilton County JV squad set a tournament record with most three pointers made in a tournament with 26.  The record was previously held by the 1996 Christopher Bearcats.

The Bearcats will have a very long extended break from action.  Their next contest will be on Saturday, December 10 at home against the Woodlawn Cardinals.

BOX SCORE:

CHRISTOPHER (57)  Pedigo 5 4 4-5 26;  Young 2 0 8-11 12;  Curry 5 0 0-0 10;  Sanders 2 0 0-0 4 Pratt 0 1 0-0 3;  Schimpf 1 0 0-0 2; Snell 0 0 0-0 0  Motsinger 0 0 0-0 0    TOTALS:  15  5 12-17  57

FOULED OUT:  Pedigo, Young, Schimpf

WAYNE CITY  (61)  Green 1 3 10-14 21; Dickey 7 0 2-2 16; Greenwalt 2 1 3-9 10;  Willett  0 1 1-2 4; Caudle 0 1 0-0 3; Tubbs 1 0 1-4 3  Henson 1 0-0 0 2;

King 0 1 1-2 1   TOTALS:  12 6 19-31 61

FOULED OUT:  King, Tubbs

SCORE BY QUARTERS

CHRISTOPHER (2-1)           12   6  10  29- 57

WAYNE CITY  (3-0)                7  15  12  27-61

 

 

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

Christopher vs. Wayne City Preview

November 26, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Christopher vs. Wayne City Preview

By Steve Dunford

Franklin County Hoops and Gridiron

 

At the Championship of the 42nd annual Christopher Turkey Tournament the host Bearcats will match-up against the Wayne City Indians.  I am taking the Bearcats by three in this one tonight.

 

In semi-final wins, Christopher defeated Webber Township 61-52 Wednesday night.  In an overtime thriller, Wayne City defeated Waltonville 61-58 on a last second half court shot by Landon Willett.  Darren Kinnard and Caleb Martin were searching for the video.  I would say there is a very good chance that will be on  Martin’s moments on Monday night.

 

The keys to the game are following:

 

  1. For Wayne City,  it seems Chad Dickey has been in high school for eight years now. The four year starter had 24 in last nights win.  Eric Green is a bomber from the outside he had 13.  Last nights hero. Willett was the third in double figures with 10.  Clayton Tubbs and Jordan Greenwalt looked like they spent a lot of time on the hardwood from Jack Bullock’s story on the game last night.  I let Richard Blakely and Mike Fleming on WXAN tell me about it.  I had my good friend Kevin Smith scouting for me.  He said the team out of the Midland Trail Conference looked very good.

 

  1. I have a gut feeling Bradley Young will explode against the Indians tonight. He spent the night in foul trouble all night in the win against NCOE.  If I told you that Bradley young would only have six that night and the Bearcats would have put up 100, I would have tried to sell someone my beach front property in Buckner.  Teams are keying on him defensively and he is due.

 

  1. Webber Township coach Brad Beatty went to a 1-3-1 zone Pedigo was shut down,  but Curry was dominant on the post.  Curry stepped up big.  I remember that Wayne City was a man to man team.  This will leave some openings for either Pedigo or Young.

 

  1. Bryce Pratt played very well all week. Coach Eric Stallman worried about his bench coming into the season.  He has nothing to worry about.

 

I am cutting this short.  I get to see it with my own eyes.  My opinion will go out the window when they tip it up tonight at 7:30.

 

 

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

Thompsonville vs. Zeigler-Royalton Preview

November 26, 2016 By Leave a Comment

Thompsonville vs. Zeigler-Royalton Preview

By Steve Dunford

Franklin County Hoops and Gridiron

The cross-county rivals will meet at 4:30pm today in the consolation bracket at the Christopher Thanksgiving tournament.  As always, I will make my prediction first in case you want to scroll down.  I am going with the Tigers by 12 this afternoon.

T’ville’s road to this afternoon was a 78-75 thriller over Norris City-Omaha-Enfield Wednesday night.  Z-R beat Hamilton County’s JV team 73-63 last night.

One of the greatest HS games I ever witnessed was quoting Shooter Flach in Hoosiers was “That purgatory of a gym” we had at Thompsonville at the time.  On February 7, 1984 Sean Conner scored 61 in a 97-89 victory for the Tornadoes.  According to the IHSA website he was 27-35 from the field and 7-10 from the field.  This is before the days of the three point line.  He would have had 75-80 today.  He was bombing from the center circle or the second 10 second line on the wing a lot in the old T’ville gym.  Lost in the shuffle was a 42 point performance from long time Lady Redbird coach Matt Hampleman for the Tigers, and Greg Clark chipped in 31.  Jerry Rea had 25 for the Tornadoes that night.

I shared a little history, now on to the keys to today’s game.

  1. Both Z-R coach Matt Morgan and Thompsonville coach Pete Gordon have a lot of mutual respect for each other. I talk to both of them frequently.  This old geezer behind a computer monitor has a lot of respect for them both.
  1. The last time both squads met was in a consolation semi-final game where the Tigers were victorious with a 49-21 victory. I remember Jared Payne shutting down Brendan Whiting who exploded for 42 right before the tournament against Galatia.  It was the best defensive performance for the years.
  1. Both teams basically have everyone back from last year, except 6’ 6” center Jesse Darnell for Thompsonville.  For Z-R, Whiting is a shooter.  All conference RB Steven Anderson is one heck of an athlete he is Whiting’s  running mate and can drop some threes too.  Cam Newton (yes he was C-Z-R’s QB) plays the three.  Nolan Domineck started down low for the Tornadoes.  The whole Tiger back court is back in Payne, Cory Wilce and Tyson Kessler, who has had a great tournament.  Tiger Center Anthoney Darge made some starts last year.
  1. In the starting lineup has been Jakob Baxter down low for the Tornadoes. Reed Raubach has grown to 6’ 4” over the summer and has been starting for the Tigers.  Corbin Fitch a 6’ 1” freshman started Wednesday night and scored 21 points for the Tigers.
  1. I have not watched the Tornadoes this year but I am going off blind speculation. I just think the Tigers size and the athleticism that Fitch brings to the floor will cause the Tornadoes match up problems.  Jacob Dixon a 6 4” junior did not play against NCOE Wednesday night.  It would not surprise me if he sees a lot of time this afternoon or even gets the start.  Not very many 1A schools this year have the probable combination of putting kids 6’ 7” and a pair of guys that are 6’ 4”.  The Tigers are big.
  1. For Thompsonville to win this afternoon they have to show up to play. It is easy to have a let down after a huge win   I am not disrespecting the Tornadoes at all; I just see the Tigers matching up better with them.

 

I will say this at the end of every preview.  I analyze in advance.  Games are played on the hardwood.  Being an alumnus, I have a tendency to see things through blue colored glasses.

 

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

Christopher Beats Webber Township

November 25, 2016 By Leave a Comment

http://www.register-news.com/sports/trojans-fall-to-christopher/article_6d88706a-b208-11e6-ac2b-1f6edc1a4a80.html

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

Saluki Football picked seventh in MVFC Preseason Poll

July 29, 2013 By Leave a Comment

ST. LOUIS – Southern Illinois has been picked to finish the season seventh in the 2013 Missouri Valley Football Conference Preseason Poll, which was released Monday morning. The poll consists of votes from the coaches, local media and sports information directors of the 10-team conference. Two-time defending national champion North Dakota State is the unanimous pick to win the conference.

MyCole Pruitt led the team with 49 receptions and 577 yards in 2012.

MyCole Pruitt led the team with 49 receptions and 577 yards in 2012.

The Salukis finished the 2012 season with a 6-5 overall record and tied for third place in the MVFC with a 5-3 conference mark despite also being picked seventh in last year’s preseason poll.

The MVFC also announced the Preseason Team. Junior tight end MyCole Pruitt earned a spot on the team, and senior punter Austin Pucylowski is an honorable mention.

Pruitt was a first-team All-MVFC selection and third-team All-American following the 2012 season. He led all tight ends in the Valley with 49 receptions, 577 yards and four touchdowns in 2012. Nationally he ranked fourth in receiving yards and sixth in the nation with 4.5 receptions per game. Pruitt has also been named a preseason second-team All-American by The Sports Network and Phil Steele this preseason.

Pucylowski was an All-MVFC honorable mention following the 2012 season. He ranked third in the conference and 20th in the nation in net punting with a 36.7 average. In addition he was second in the conference with 71 punts for 2,855 punting yards and averaged 40.2 yards per punt with 23 punts inside the 20.

SIU will open training camp on Sunday, Aug. 4 and start the season on Saturday, Aug. 31 on the road against Illinois.

2013 Missouri Valley Football Conference Preseason Poll

School (First Place Votes) Points
1. North Dakota State (39) 390
2. South Dakota State 269
3. Northern Iowa 269
4. Illinois State 264
5. Youngstown State 253
6. Indiana State 197
7. Southern Illinois 188
8. Missouri State 123
9. Western Illinois 77
10. South Dakota
Filed Under: Benton High School Sports, Christopher High School Sports, College Sports, Franklin Co. News, High School Sports, Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Thompsonville High School Sports, West Frankfort High School Sports, Zeigler-Royalton High School Sports

SIU’s Black Out Cancer game scheduled for Sept. 28

July 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Saluki Athletics and Southern Illinois Healthcare announced today that the 2013 Black Out Cancer game is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 28 when the SIU football team hosts Youngstown State at 6 p.m.

blackout_logo_1

The third annual Black Out Cancer event will again feature a jersey auction. Fans can bid to place their name or the name of a loved one affected by cancer on the back of one of the 80 special black jerseys the Salukis will wear during the game. The game-worn jerseys will be given to successful bidders following the game.

All funds raised from the auction will go toward SIH’s plans to build a new cancer treatment center in southern Illinois, the SIH Cancer Center. Presently, cancer patients who live in the region are often required to travel long distances for treatment. A new, centralized treatment center would bring more quality care to the area.

“This community, through Saluki Way, made a significant investment in Saluki Athletics,” Director of Athletics Mario Moccia said. “This is one more way that we can repay that investment that the community made.”

Saluki Athletics and SIH are entering the second year of a three-year agreement to sponsor an annual Black Out Cancer game. The partnership with SIH also includes the Saluki Volleyball team’s Dig for the Cure, women’s basketball’s Pink Out game and softball’s Strikeout Cancer game.

To bid on a jersey, go to salukisblackoutcancer.com. Bidding will end at 8 p.m. on Sept. 16.

Filed Under: Benton High School Sports, Christopher High School Sports, Franklin Co. News, High School Sports, Junior High Sports, Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Thompsonville High School Sports, Uncategorized, West Frankfort High School Sports, Zeigler-Royalton High School Sports

IHSA to look at ‘success factor’ formula

June 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The IHSA board of directors approved the forming of a committee to review a “success factor” formula that could move schools that have experienced sustained postseason success within their classification up a class.

Here’s the link to the story in the Peoria Journal-Star
Filed Under: Benton High School Sports, Christopher High School Sports, High School Sports, Sesser-Valier High School Sports, Thompsonville High School Sports, West Frankfort High School Sports, Zeigler-Royalton High School Sports

Chester tops Christopher Bearcats

January 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment

STAFF REPORT

In a regular season, non-tournament game Friday night, the Chester Yellowjackets knocked off the Christopher Bearcats 61-51.

The second quarter proved to be the difference as the Yellowjackets had a 20-11 advantage in the stanza. That coupled with a 2-point advantage ( 17-15 after one quarter ) proved to be enough for the win.

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