Benton, West Frankfort, Illinois News | Franklin County News
Newspaper covering Franklin County, Illinois
WAYNE CITY – Webber Township takes the 64th Conrad Allen Holiday Tournament Championship with a 46-43 win over the Wayne City Indians.
In the third place game, Gallatin County was impressive in a 65-47 win over Bridgeport-Red Hill.
The Crab Orchard Trojans won fifth place, with a 68-50 win over Louisville-North Clay.
Please click on the link below to read the game coverage from Jack Bullock of A Baseline View.
http://abaselineview.com/abvwcwebber.html
Charlie “Super Fox” Pendell, 60, of McLeansboro IL, passed away on Monday, December 11, at his residence.
He was born on April 9, 1957, in Mt. Vernon, IL to Carl Albert Pendell Mother: Betty Maxine (Lowery) Pendell.
He was a member of the First Baptist Church in McLeansboro.
Charlie attended McLeansboro Township High School, Rend Lake College, and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale IL.
He worked as disc jockey for WMCL Radio Station. Charlie was an AVID sports fan also working as Sports Editor for the McLeansboro Times Leader where He wrote endless articles and took photographs of athletes’ accomplishments. He very rarely missed a sporting event whether in town or out.
Charlie also helped coach Summer League for many years in addition to coaching young athletes of any and all sports they were involved in, always giving encouraging self confidence builders especially those who were struggling the most.
Starting in High School or before Charlie was one of the most vocal and supportive Fans and soon became known throughout Southern Illinois and anywhere the FOXES participated as “SUPERFOX”.
He is survived by a brother Carl Pendell and wife Gerri of Chester, VA, a sister Nancy Yesley and husband Richard of New Athens, IL, and several nieces and nephews.
The arrangements are entrusted to the Harre Funeral Home in McLeansboro.
A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 P.M., Saturday, December 16, 2017 at The Old High School Gym on Jerry Sloan Ave, McLeansboro, IL. Reverend Mark Byar will
officiate the Service.
In lieu of flowers, memorials will be accepted at Harre Funeral Home or The Old Gymnasium the day of the Service for The Charles Pendell Scholarship Fund.
BLOOMINGTON- The IHSA Board of Directors met for their regularly scheduled meeting at the IHSA office in Bloomington on Monday, December 11, 2017, where the Board approved one action item.
ACTION ITEMS
1. The Board approved the Cheerleading Advisory Committee’s recommendation to change the Cheerleading State Final Ticket pricing from $10 per day to $10 per session in order to alleviate issues with saved seating and overcrowding.
APPEALS & HEARINGS
1. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Normal (Community West). The student was ruled ineligible for non-compliance with IHSA By-law 3.030.
2. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Elmhurst (Timothy Christian). The student was ruled ineligible for non-compliance with IHSA By-law 3.040 and its sub-sections.
3. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Elmhurst (Timothy Christian). The student was ruled ineligible for non-compliance with IHSA By-law 3.040 and its sub-sections.
4. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Chicago (Brother Rice). The student was ruled ineligible for non-compliance with IHSA By-law 3.040 and its sub-sections.
5. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on a student from Mundelein (Carmel). The student was ruled ineligible for non-compliance with IHSA By-law 3.040 and its sub-sections.
6. The Board sustained the Executive Director’s ruling on an accommodation request for a head gear device. The device is not considered legal equipment for the sport of basketball per the NFHS Basketball Rules Book.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
At each meeting of the Board of Directors, there are certain items the Board discusses, but upon which no action is taken. The following is a report of those items from the December 11, 2017, agenda:
1. The Board heard a report from the Executive Director on the annual Town Hall/Principals Rules Meetings that were held at 28 high schools during November.
2. The Board heard a report from the Executive Director on the action taken by the Legislative Commission at its second meeting on November 20 and the membership voting. The Commission voted to move six proposals forward to the all-school ballot. Membership voting occurred from November 21 to December 5, with five of the six proposals passing.
NOTE: Here is the vote breakdown on member schools voting for boys and girls basketball to expand the schedule to
3. Representatives from the accounting firm, Striegel Knobloch & Co LLC, presented the annual audit to the Board. The audit can be reviewed by clicking here.
4. The Board heard a report on the NIAAA Conference on December 8-12, which included the Hall of Fame induction of John Van Fleet.
5. The Board heard a report on the 11 States meeting held in Chicago on December 4-5.
6. The Executive Director and Board discussed Illiana Christian’s relocation to Indiana for the 2018-19 school year and sought feedback on how transferring students will be handled.
SESSER – The Parings for the Sesser Valier Holiday Tournament were released about an hour ago. The Woodlawn Cardinals received the top seed in the event. They will face the Zeigler-Royalton Tornadoes at 5:00 p.m, in a first round matchup. All first round games will be played on December 26th.
The Christopher Bearcats (4-1) are the #3 seed, facing the Galatia Bearcats (2-6) at 10:30 a.m.
The Sesser-Valier Red Devils (2-5) are the #4 seed and they will face the Waltonville Spartans in their traditional 8 p.m. matchup.
The Thompsonville Tigers (3-4) are unseeded and they face the #5 seed the Cobden Appleknockers (6-4) at 6:30 p.m.
Below is the full bracket – sd
McLEANSBORO – The community of McLeansboro and a lot of high school sports fans across Southern Illinois are grieving this morning.
With a heavy heart, I am sharing that Charles Pendell, who was known as “Superfox” passed away this morning. He has battled numerous health problems for years.
There has been very few McLeansboro and later Hamilton County sporting events that he was not in attendance. He loved his Foxes. Most of all he had a special love for the kids.
He was a long time voice of the Hamilton County Foxes on WMCL. He also used to write for the McLeansboro Times-Leader. He served as a coach at the lower levels for several sports.
I met him my eighth grade year. We became close friends over the years. He has been a great help and support to me, since I became a sportswriter at middle age.
Funeral arrangements will be linked to this story.
By Steve Dunford
Eldorado’s Duff-Kingston Gymnasium
The parings for the EHT will be coming out in the next couple of days. When I am asked by people in Franklin County, what is my favorite gym in Southern Illinois, Max Morris or Rich Herrin? I say neither. Duff-Kingston is my favorite gym.
It is on my bucket list one day to be at Eldorado for the 8:30 a.m. breakfast special all the way up to the 10:00 p.m. graveyard game. When I still lived at home, I would make the rounds across Southern Illinois. I would be at Eldorado at least one day for every game. I am sure my top seed will cause a little controversy right off the bat.
Harrisburg (#1 6-1) – Randy Smithpeters has been waiting for this club to become seniors for a long time. They might be as good as Pinckneyville.
Eldorado (#2 8-0) – It could be a rivalry game between the two heavyweights in Saline County for the championship. Eldorado barely got past West Frankfort on Tuesday. The Bulldogs gave the Redbirds a shellacking on Friday. Harrisburg has played a much tougher schedule so far.
Anna-Jonesboro (#3 6-1) – The Wildcats lost big at Nashville on Friday night. I had them as a three seed before them and still giving them the three
Carmi-White County (#4 5-2) – The Bulldogs are a veteran club. I know the pairings will probably be out before then, but I will be keeping an eye on their game with Benton on Tuesday to get a better read of the Bulldogs.
Union County KY (#5 3-2) – Thanks for all the information I received on Facebook. The Braves always seem to get in four games each year. If they were in Illinois, they would be a 3A school.
Fairfield (#6 4-4) – The Mules had a very good Thanksgiving tournament in Lawrence County. They have been upset prone over the last few years. Gallatin County has their number.
Hamilton County (#7 3-3) – I know Oakley Dial has graduated. The rest of the Foxes seems like they have been in high school for seven or eight years now. This is a team that could be in double digits in wins. Hamco is heading in the right direction after a long dry spell.
Herrin (#8 2-5) – It was a dilemma to me what to do with this group of SIRR-Ohio teams. I put the Tigers at the top of the heap.
Gallatin County ( #9 5-2) – The Hawks can slow it down against teams they are overmatched against and pull out a W. They have been giant slayers at the EHT in the past.
West Frankfort (#10 0-5) – The Redbirds playing Eldorado close bumped them up over Massac. They have a big weekend coming up against Benton and Goreville. Kevin Toney will have his troops well prepared. I am sure he has several yellow legal pads on each team in the tourney. It is on my bucket list to go with him when he scouts.
Massac County (#11 1-6) – Joe Hosman knows his way around the EHT. They have the potential to be a dangerous first round opponent for someone. I would not be one bit surprised if they play four games. Taking a beating from Sesser-Valier knocked them down a couple of notches.
Hardin County (#12 2-5) – Other than against Benton, they hung around with everyone at the Goreville tournament. The Cougars crossed the Ferry and picked up a nice win over Crittenden County KY last night. Rodney Lane’s bunch has the potential to make some noise in the post season. They play a brutal schedule.
Vienna (#13 4-3) – They are above .500 but their wins are over Century, Galatia, Carrier Mills and Z-R. They are pretty deep and could cause some matchup problems for teams in the field.
Edwards County (#14 2-5) – The Lions are in a rebuilding mode. They will most likely be two and out.
NCOE (#15 1-5) – The Fighting Cardinals are a totally different animal. Their goal is to put up 80 shots a game and half of them threes. If their press is broken, they have no problem to give up an uncontested layup. They shot close t0 50% behind the arc against Thompsonville earlier in the year and still got beat. They hung around with Carmi for a while on Tuesday night. On the other side of the coin New Athens beat them by 25 in the consolation championship of the Christopher Tournament.
Carrier Mills (#16 1-7) – No matter who they play, the Wildcats will struggle. They own a 25 point win over winless Dongola. I watched them against Thompsonville on You Tube this week. T’ville beat them by 30 with Pete Gordon subbing liberally in the first half. Coach Keil Peebles misses Will Gibbs bad, who is suiting up for Harrisburg now.
By Steve Dunford
Panoramic view of Sesser-Valier high school gym last season.
Over the last week, I have been asked by a few people to share my thoughts on the seedings of the Sesser-Valier and Eldorado Holiday Tournaments. They will be released in the next few days.
I am not a coach, so I do not get a ballot to seed the teams. I am going to go 1-16 in case they seed the teams all the way through. In the past, both tournaments list 9-16 as unseeded.
I love to hear your thoughts. I hope this spurs some conversation. Franklin County teams are in bold.
Goreville (#1 4-2) – The Blackcats gave A-J all they wanted in their own tournament banged up. They are in the middle of a two week break, which could not come at a better time for Coach Todd Tripp. I have watched Goreville a few times this season on film. I will get to see them live, if the Lord is willing on Saturday night against West Frankfort.
Sesser-Valier (#2 2-4) – You might ask why I have seeded the hosts so high? I am going to pull a “Mo” on you by answering my own question. They hung around with every team at DuQuoin in their losses. A blowout win over Joe Hosman’s Massac County Patriots as DQ and leaving Chester with a 15 point win on Friday upped their seed a few notches. It is no disgrace getting beat by Okawville by 20.
Woodlawn (#3 3-3) – The Cardinals had a very good weekend, beating Odin by 20 and Christopher by 10. They just keep reloading and winning.
Christopher (#4 4-1) – The Bearcats slid a few notches after falling to Woodlawn. They were projected as my top seed going into the game with the Cardinals. If Young and Curry are on fire, they can be cutting the nets down two years in a row.
Chester (#5 5-2) – Like Christopher, they slid down a couple of notches, after the Devils beat them on their own floor over the weekend. A fifteen point loss to Murphysboro would not have hurt them one bit.
Odin (#6 5-3) – Eagle Coach Tyler Mitchell is no stranger to the SVHT. The Eagles dropped two in a row to the top dogs of the Midland Trail, Webber Township and Woodlawn.
Cobden (#7 6-4) – If I ever need an attorney, I want Appleknoker coach Rhett Barke representing me. I love to watch him coach. They about knocked off Meridian over the weekend.
Steeleville (#8 4-4) – Owen Gross is one of the better players in the tournament. Whether they go left or right, the Warriors seem to always play four games.
Johnston City (#9 2-5) – This is a homecoming for Indian coach Scott Burzynski. The coach can point to his #54 jersey hanging in the commons. I have not watched them play, but it seems that JC gets better every time out. They might make some noise.
Thompsonville (#10 3-4) – A fifteen point loss at Pope County probably cost them a top 8. If the team shows up that played in the second half against Webber Township, the Tigers can spring an upset and move right.
New Athens (#11 4-4) – The Yellow Jackets are solid. Jackson Heintz will be one of the better post players in the tournament. They waltzed through the consolation bracket of the Christopher Tournament.
Century (#12 3-4) – They had a decent Vienna Classic. A loss Egyptian caused their stock to plummet.
Galatia (#13 2-6) – A lot of people comment to me about T’ville and their big front line. Galatia equally is as deep on the inside. They lost their backcourt due to graduation. The Bearcats picked up a nice win over Crab Orchard Friday night.
Marissa-Coulterville (#14 4-4) The Meteors have a couple wins against private schools in the Metro East that are in the startup phases of their program. Steeleville beat them by 30. This is the reason for the low seed.
Waltonville (#15 2-6) Their wins are against winless Z-R and Sandoval. It is going to be a tough year for the Spartans.
Zeigler-Royalton (#16 0-6) It is no secret the Tornadoes are rebuilding. They came an eyelash from knocking off Woodlawn last year.
BLOOMINGTON – Illinois High School Association (IHSA) member schools approved five amendment proposals and rejected one in the annual by-law referendum that ended December 5, 2017.
The online ballots were tabulated and certified in the IHSA Office on Wednesday, December 6. Proposal 6 takes effect on January 5, 2018. The remaining by-laws that won approval take effect on July 1, 2018.
Here is a summary of the proposals and the vote totals. (The numbers in parentheses indicate the total of yes, no, and no opinion votes. For an amendment to pass, yes votes must outnumber no votes.)
• Proposal 6 (passed 428-138-41): Grants eligibility to a student who has received a Legislative Waiver, who lives in a unit district with one high school, and whose parent is on the faculty of a school in the district. In the current by-law, the parent must be on the faculty of the high school. This by-law would go into effect 30 days after passage.
• Proposal 17 (rejected 292-305-10): Would have reduced the number of summer contact days from 25 to 20.
• Proposal 20 (passed 435-147-24): Allows a baseball or softball team to play more than 5 contests during a tournament if the tournament takes place over the member school’s spring break.
• Proposal 24 (passed 384-201-22): Changes the contest limitation in girls and boys basketball to 31 games exclusive of the IHSA state series and removes the limit on the number of tournaments. The current limitation is a combination of games plus tournaments. Also eliminates the limitation on the number of tournaments an individual in girls and boys basketball may participate in.
• Proposal 25 (passed 243-154-208): Increases the contest limitation in girls and boys bowling from 20 to 25 dates exclusive of the IHSA state series.
• Proposal 27 (passed 379-204-25): Changes the contest limitation in girls and boys volleyball to 35 games exclusive of the IHSA state series and removes the limit on the number of tournaments. The current limitation is a combination of games plus tournaments. Also eliminates the limitation on the number of tournaments an individual in girls and boys volleyball may participate in.
A total of 609 of 811 member schools (75.1%) participated in the amendment balloting, an increase from last year’s 72.6%, and the third-highest percentage in 21 years of recordkeeping.
Please click on the link below for the full list from the IBCA website.
By Jim Muir
A fourth quarter run by Hamilton County spelled defeat for the Benton Rangerettes in non-conference action on Monday night. The loss dropped the Rangerettes to 2-4 on the season.
Benton trailed only 35-33 heading into the final frame but was outscored by the Lady Foxes 18-7. Benton Coach Andy Sloan said a four-minute surge by Hamilton County in the decisive fourth quarter was the difference-maker.
“We executed our game plan for 28 minutes but unfortunately a high school basketball game is 32 minutes long,” said Sloan. “We trailed by two points with four minutes to play and lost by 13.”
Sloan said turnovers by his young team were costly.
“We just had too many mental errors and mistakes down the stretch that really cost us,” said Sloan. “But, we got beat by a good basketball team tonight.”
The Rangerettes were led in scoring by sophomore Madyson Wallace who scored 23 of the 40 points her team tallied. Ember Milby added seven points, Kelsey Wilcox added four and Eb Casey, Addisyn Miller and Zoe Carlton all scored two points each.
“Hopefully this will help us move forward,” Sloan said. “We want to be like Hamilton County, they are a good team. But, we’re not there yet.”
The Rangerettes are back in action on Saturday afternoon to take on the always-tough Nashville Hornettes. The Junior Varsity game will begin at 1 p.m. with the varsity matchup to follow.
