West Frankfort back to .500 – Picks up big road win at Sparta
Benton goes to Massac and gets a win
METROPOLIS- The Benton Rangers went down to Massac County and picked up a 53-40 win Friday night. Massac has been a buzzsaw and burial ground for teams in the SIRR Ohio With Joe Hosman on the sidelines, the veteran with over 700 wins will find a way to keep his team in the game.
I grabbed Coach Ron Winemiller’s comments off Saturday Morning Talking Sports on Q106. A lot of the comments are about the second half of the game. The Rangers went to the locker room tied with the Patriots. Here was his keys to the Ranger win:
- The press was much more effective
- They rebounded much better
- They tweaked how they guarded Isaiah Thompson. He was coach Winemiller’s biggest concern going in when I talked to him earlier in the week. When I watch at team, I always look how teams that are opponents of Franklin County schools will match up. I saw the potential of him giving the Rangers problems. He had 18 on the night, but the Rangers walked away with the win.
- The bench gave him some big minutes, especially Gehrig Wynn popping three home run balls in the second quarter.
I think it is noteworthy but whoever guarded Darius Roundtree did an awesome job holding him to five points.
One thing that will stick with me for a long time, he mentioned how his kids hate to lose and been in big situations. They have been in other situations. He mentioned how Derek Oxford a four year starter and Austin Wills a three year starter was faced with a big put. (You might as well call Timmy Henson a four year starter with his time at Thompsonville. When he was a freshman, the GEC tournament is full every night and the crowd is very loud.)
He mentioned how Hamilton Page and Blaine Pankey faced some big time situations on the gridiron. He also mentioned for the ones that played baseball has walked up to the plate facing situations with second and third, two outs in the bottom of the seventh, down a run.
The Rangers improved to 13-1 on the season and 4-0 in the SIRR Ohio. The Murphysboro Red Devils will be coming to Rich Herrin Gym on Friday. This is a game that can have huge implications on the SIRR ohio race.
Massac County stands 4-6 and 1-2 in the conference. They dropped a 57-48 decision at DuQuoin last night. They host the West Frankfort Redbirds Friday night in a girls/boys doubleheader.
BOX SCORE:
BENTON (53) Oxford 0 4 3-4 15; Wills 2 3 0-0 12; Wynn 0 3 0-0 9; Willams 3 0 2-2 8; Henson 0 1 3-3 5; Page 1 0 2-2 4
MASSAC COUNTY (40) Thompson 7 0 5-7 19; Brugess 2 0 2-2 6; Roundtree 2 0 1-2 5; Fortman 2 0 1-2 5; Miller 2 0 1-3 5
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
BENTON (13-1) 15 10 14 14 – 53
MASSAC COUNTY (4-6) 17 8 9 6 – 40
Christopher pulls away late from Hamco
Steve Dunford
CHRISTOPHER- Free throw shooting wins basketball games. The Bearcats were stellar at the line on Friday night down the stretch as they pull away from the Hamilton County Foxes 59-48.
There was a full house at “The Cave” on Friday Night as Christopher has been packing them in for the last few years and Hamilton County has always traveled well. Pictures pulled from FoxesFans.net video
This was a much closer game than the final indicated. Christopher was up by 10 at times early in the first half, the Foxes cut it to one with about 4:48 to go. Jared Curry hits a big three the next trip down the floor. HamCo kept hanging around. They were within one with a minute and some change left on the clock.
Hamilton County coach Jeremy Varner had this to say about Friday Night’s game “Our kids played hard tonight. We fought back from an early deficit and tied the game at one point in the second half. We missed some easy opportunities in the first half and the Bearcats cashed in on some easy transition offense.
The transition game of Kaleab Pedigo, Bradley Young, and Jared Curry was not there as much as the Foxes did a better job getting back on defense the second half.
I am going to add a little to coach Varner’s comments. The Foxes have been in a lot of ball games to some very good teams. They lost a couple of barn burners to Harrisburg and West Frankfort. The Foxes have taken their lumps over the last couple years, as it has been lean times in McLeansboro. Soon, they are going to get a W in one of the close games they have been in, and it will result in a few more.
There might be a few pixels but I love this shot. There is a battle of the boards, especially the Fox and Bradley Young.
I have watched this Foxes team several times on FoxesFans.net They are starting to remind me of the Curt Reed coached teams. They play their guts out, are pesky on the defensive end and they never go away. The half court, deliberate style of play was getting to Christopher some in the second half. Waltonville was effective with it when they played at Christopher, the first time those two teams met. This bunch from McLeansboro can sneak up on some teams at the BIT.
Christopher coach Eric Stallman gives his team instructions during a timeout in the third quarter.
Bradley Young led the Bearcats with 19, Kaleb Pedigo added 16 to lead the Bearcats. I have a shout out to Bryce Pratt. In close games when Christopher has the lead, he has been deadly from the free throw line. He went 6-6 down the stretch last night. A lot of teams are “fouling the freshman”. He came up big in the Sesser-Valier Holiday tournament in the Championship game against Waltonville. I am going to give him the nickname “Cool Hand Luke”
Oakley Dial led all scores with 28 on the night. Here is what coach Jeremy Varner said about the Foxes performance:
Tigers drop their seventh straight
Steve Dunford
THOMPSONVILLE- The Thompsonville Tigers were sitting at 3-2 on the season after their 71-55 win over NCOE on December 2nd. They dropped their seventh straight game in a 50-27 loss to Hardin County in Greater Egyptian Conference play.
“Cougar Chaos” traveled well last night, as the visitors bleachers on the east Side of Doc Harvey gym were packed. They did not make the long 75 mile trip back home on Route 34 disappointed.
6′ 7″ sophomore Center Anthoney Darge steps to the free throw line last night for the Tigers
Coach Pete Gordon all year has been telling over and over what his young squad needs to do. They need to cut down on turnovers. I had them with 10 in the first quarter alone. I don’t know how many they finished with for the game with but several were unforced.
Free throw shooting has been another point by Coach Gordon where they have struggled. The Tigers were 7-18 39% from the line.
In my view, there were several of opportunities to attack the zone that were passed up. Hardin County is very prone to get in foul trouble. It is something this young ball club is going to have to learn to do. The GEC is a dominant zone league. The only teams that play mainly man-to-man is Gallatin County and NCOE. Crab Orchard mixes it up.
Tiger G-F Reed Raubach being guarded by Tyler Winters, who has over 1,000 points in his career.
Even though they are struggling, it seems like any team filled with sophomores. Please be patient with the coaching staff. There are three very good ones on the sidelines. Most of all be patient with these kids.
I left a disgusted alumnus last night, I am going to be honest. I have thought about last night a lot. The Benton Rangers have a lot on their roster that had to step up and play when they were young. They were 25-4 last year. They are 13-1 and ranked 7th in the state in the latest AP class 3A poll. Again, I said just be patient. Good things will come in time.
I talk to Hardin County coach Rodney lane a lot throughout the season. I did not get direct quotes but he was very pleased with the defensive effort from the Cougars. He said they missed too many layups.
He also gave me an update on sharp shooting guard Cameron Shaw. He went down with a knee injury with six minutes to go in the first quarter. He said his knee is still swollen today.
The post players had their way last night inside for the Cougars. Craig Hudson led the way with 15. Jamison Hicks had 12. Tyler Winters had 11. Cory Wilce was the only Tiger in double figures with 12.
The Tigers dropped to 3-8 on the season and 1-4 in the GEC. They are 1/2 game ahead of Pope County for the cellar. Hardin improves to 4-8 and 2-2 in the conference. With last night’s win, they are in sole possession of third place.
Hardin County has Galatia at home on Tuesday night in their second home game of the year.
Thompsonville has Carrier Mills in a non conference game. The first game a team plays each other counts in the conference race in the GEC.
Around the GEC last night, Seth Ramsey burned up the nets in Golconda last night as he had 48 points in a 91-69 victory over Pope County. Crab Orchard went down to Century and won 77-67. Galatia made the trip to Marion and thumped Agape Chirstian 77-49.
I just got a Tweet that Gallatin County beat Webber Township 52-40 this afternoon.
The seeding meeting is taking place Monday. I always do some bracketology. Here is my “fly on the wall” ballot.
- Gallatin County
- Crab Orchard
- Hardin County
- Carrier Mills
- Galatia
- NCOE
- Pope County
- Thompsonville
BOX SCORE:
HARDIN COUNTY (50) Hudson 6 0 3-9 15, Hicks 5 0 2-5 12; Winters 3 1 2-2 11; Austin 1 0 4-6 8; Cullum 1 0 0-0 2; Fields 0 0 2-2 2
THOMPSONVILLE (27) Wilce 2 1 3-5 10; Fitch 2 0 1-5 5; Kessler 01 0-0 3; Payne 2 0 0-0 4; Darge 1 0 0-2 2; Summers 0 0 2-4 2; Woodring 0 0 1-2 1; Jones 0 0 0-0 0; Bybee 0 0 0-0 0; Dixon 0 0 0-0 0; Kirkman 0 0 0-0 0; Cardwell 0 0 0-0 0
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
HARDIN COUNTY (4-8) (2-2) 9 11 8 22-50
THOMPSONVILLE (3-8)(1-4) 2 8 2 15-27
Z-R hangs around with a very tough Vienna club
Steve Dunford
Bollinger goes up for two to lead all scores with 18 in a 57-42 loss to Vienna (WSIL TV photo)
ZEIGLER- Last night I was thumbing through Twitter looking for scores, this grabbed my attention. When I read in the box score that Austin Dillinger had 18 on the night to lead the Tornadoes, against an Eagle team that is very deep in the post, that really raised my eyebrows. Brendan Whiting added eleven on the night for Z-R.
Here is what coach Zeigler-Royalton coach Matt Morgan had to say about the game, “The kids competed and battled. We had some mental lapses late and got away from what we are comfortable doing and things got away from us a bit.”
“We’ve just got to continue batting and moving in the right direction. I’m proud of our kids at both levels last night. They made strides and showed some flashes of what we are capable of.”
The Eagles were led by Center Brandon Casey who had 16 points on the night. Trenton Hyde had 11 and the back court duo of Ben Daine and Lucas Strickland had 10 each on the night to lead Vienna.
The Tornadoes fall to 1-8 on the season and 0-3 in the BDC West. Their next game, they go on the road for a very short trip to Christopher on Tuesday night.
Vienna improves to 11-3 on the season and 4-0 in the conference. They take on their Johnson County rivals Goreville down at the Eagles Nest tonight.
BOX SCORE:
VIENNA (57) Casey 6 0 4-7 16; Hyde 3 2 1-1 11; Strickland 0 2 4-5 10; Daine 5 0 0-0 10; Snell 2 0 0-0 4; Dahkune 1 0 0-2 2
ZEIGLER-ROYALTON (42) Bollinger 7 0 4-7 18; Whiting 1 2 3-4 11; Anderson 3 0 1-3 7; Domenick 1 1 0-0 5; Newton 0 0 1-2 1
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
VIENNA (11-3)(4-0) 19 14 11 13 – 57
ZEIGLER-ROYALTON (1-8)(0-3) 16 5 8 13 – 42
Herrin pulls away for win over West Frankfort
HS Boys Basketball Preview-1/6/17
by Steve Dunford
Every team in the county is in action tonight except Sesser-Valier, which they travel to Trico tomorrow night. I am sure the faithful from Pitchfork Nation will be a little sad making the trip over there as they took over an establishment in Willisville that is closed now.
I will have West Frankfort coverage from either the Southern Illinoisan or westfrankfortsports.com. I am going to Thompsonville tonight. I am also going to write something on the Christopher game. I am watching the video stream from FoxesFans.net in the archives sometime tomorrow. The other two games I will squeeze enough out to get a story out of.
Since the surprise icon comes up, you will have to look at my ugly mug for the pic for a while. Wherever you go tonight, sit back and enjoy a night of good high school basketball. There are some dandies on tap.
HERRIN (8-3)(0-1) at WEST FRANKFORT (5-5)(0-2)
Both teams have been off since the Eldorado Holiday Tournament and went 3-1. The Redbirds took the consolation bracket by beating conference foe Massac County 46-33. The Tigers ended up losing the championship to the hosts, 57-47. It is noteworthy after winning the EHT that the Eagles cracked the class 2A AP poll at #10 in the state.
Here is what WF coach Kevin Toney had to say about this evening’s contest, “I think Herrin is a very talented and deep team. Their inside players of the Downen twins and DJ Spell are athletic and very skilled. Add to that, the perimeter shooting of Nessler and Bush, make them a formidable group.
Hartline and Ringel handle the ball well, too. If by chance, someone isn’t performing well for them, they have Holloway, McCormick, and others coming off the bench. All that being said, I like our players’ attitudes and their work ethic. Winning some games at the EHT also gives us some added confidence.”
Here is what Herrin coach Mike Mooneyham had to say about tonight, “Herrin is looking forward to getting back to regular season action. We had a good Eldorado Tournament but came up a little short. The atmosphere was great and I can’t fault their effort.but we just didn’t finish it off when we had the chances.”
“Thompsonville Coach Pete Gordon had this to say about tonight’s contest, “We just need to play to our potential relax and play. We have been so tight, and need to have fun. If we do that we will play well, and when we play well, we can compete with anyone.”
This is what Benton Coach Ron Winemiller had to say about tonights outing, “It is a very tough place to go play. The number one reason it is a tough place to play is that the Patriots are always good and well coached. Roundtree can really catch and shoot and is as capable
This is what Vienna Coach Cory Waters had to say about tonight’s game. “Last time we played ZR it was on Homecoming night and we had a lot of energy. We need to make sure we bring that same energy and work on being more disciplined on defense. They have some kids that can score and we need to make sure they don’t get in a rhythm.”
extremely well and use their athleticism on the offensive end to attack. It will be key for us to contain their dribble drive and force them to take contested shots. The key for us offensively will be moving the ball and valuing possessions. When we limit our turnovers we usually have good results.”
Morgan Griffith explodes for 61….sets West Frankfort all time scoring record
Griffith drives the lane in Tuesday night’s OT win over Gallatin County (westfrankfortsports.com photo)
Rangerettes get Road Victory at Massac County
METROPOLIS- Benton only puts three in the scoring column, as the Rangerettes go on the road and pick up a 33-24 road win over the Massac County Lady Patriots.
Alexis Abney had 16 points in the post for the Rangerettes, Ally Gisher added 13.
The Rangerettes next game is at home on Monday night against a very good Herrin Lady Tigers team.
I had an incomplete box score so I apologize.
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
BENTON 8 11 7 7 – 33
MASSAC COUNTY 6 4 7 7 – 24
Tuesday Night Basketball-1/3/17
Steve Dunford
My goal is to at least have a box score or a story from every girls or boys High School varsity game in the county. Every day is a learning experience for me. Speed and timeliness will come in time.
I might not be the best sports writer. News is something new to me. I want to keep everyone informed of the things around Franklin County to the best of my ability.
VIENNA 63 SESSER-VALIER 50
SESSER – Watching Ben Daine on film for the EHT, he is one of the most exciting and explosive players in the BDC west. With Brandon Casey on the inside, Vienna could push for the conference crown.
I caught the post game show on WMIX last night. It sounded like the Devils were cold from behind the arc.
Daine had 26 on the night to lead all scores. Casey had 11.
Lukas Gunter led the Devils with 14. Preston Launius added 13 on the night.
Sesser-Valier (5-8)(1-2) travels to Trico (0-2)(4-9) on Satruday, who took it on the chin against Christopher on Tuesday.
Vienna (10-3)(3-0) makes another trip to Franklin County as they go to Z-R Friday and the host the Goreville Blackcats on Saturday.
BOX SCORE:
VIENNA (63) Daine 9 0 8-9 26; Casey 3 1 1-2 11; Strickland 2 0 4-7 8; Quintanna 3 0 2-2 8; Dahncke 1 0 3-4 5; Smith 2 0 0-0 4; Sneall 0 0 0-2 0; Hyde 0 0 1-2 1;
SESSER-VALIER (50) L. Gunter 7 0 0-0 14; Launius 5 0 3-4 13; Farmer 3 1 0-0 9; Lance 3 0 0-0 6; Winchester 2 0 0-0 4; Gunter 1 0 0-0 2; Boles 1 0 0-0 2; Baxter 0 0 0-0 0
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
VIENNA (10-3)(3-0) 16 7 16 23 – 63
SESSER-VALIER (5-8)(1-2) 12 15 12 11 – 50
CHRISTOPHER 73 TRICO 43
This is a screen shot of an awesome dunk that Bradley Young had against Trico Tuesday night. My editing skills will improve-SD
CAMPBELL HILL- Kaleab Pedigo had a game high 26 points and Bradley Young had 22 as the Bearcats blew out the Pioneers at Campbell Hill. Ryan Voght led the Pioneers with 12 points on the night.
The Bearcats improve to 8-4 on the season and 2-0 in the BDC West. The Pioneers fall to 4-9 and 0-2 in the BDC West.
The Hamilton County Foxes come to Christopher Friday for a intra division Black Diamond contest. The Sesser-Valier Red Devils make the trip to Trico on Saturday.
BOX SCORE:
CHRISTOPHER (73): Pedigo 7 4 0-0 26; Young 7 2 2-3 22; Schimpf 3 2 0-0 12; Curry 4 0 1-3 9; Pratt 2 0 0-0 4; Snell 0 0 0-0 0; Dunford 0 0 0-0 0
TRICO (43) Voght 0 4 0-2 12; Myerhoff 2 1 4-4 9; Bauersachs 3 0 2-2 8; Thies 4 0 0-0 8; Compton 0 1 0-0 2
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
CHRISTOHPER (8-4)(2-0) 23 19 19 12 – 73
TRICO (4-9)(0-2) 13 9 7 14 – 43
CHESTER 67 ZEIGLER-ROYALTON 35
ZEIGLER – I did not have a box score for Chester that added up but Davonte Martin and Hefferman led all scorers with 14 and Jack Weir added 11 in the victory for the Yellow Jackets
Brendan Whiting led the Tornadoes with 14 on the night, Nolan Domenick added eight, Austin Bollinger had 6, Steven Andreson four, Cam Newton 3, and Bryce Leeper and Dalton Humphrey added two.
CHESTER (10-4)(2-2) 16 16 15 20 – 67
ZEIGLER-ROYALTON (1-7)(0-2) 10 2 15 8 – 35
BENTON 37 MURPHYSBORO 33 (GIRLS)
MURPHYSBORO- The Rangerettes went on the road to pick up a big SIRR Ohio win.
Alexis Abney led the Rangerettes with 13 and Ally Gisher added 12. Brasel led the Red Devils with 13
BOX SCORE
BENTON (39) Abney 5 2-2 12; Gischer 3 3-7 11; Pedigo 4 0-0 8; Wilcox 1 2-2 4; Zinzeletta 0 4-4 4
MURPHYSBORO (33) Brasel 5 3-8 13; Jones 4 4-7 12; Walker 2 0-0 4; LaBrande 1 0-0 2; Jarett 1 0-0 2
BENTON 8 7 5 13 – 39
MURPHYSBORO 8 11 9 11 – 33
