Whiting in Country Financial Three Point Showdown at Peoria

March 9, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Steve Dunford – franklincounty-news.com

Zeigler-Royalton’s Brendan Whiting will be participating in the Country Financial Three Point Showdown this weekend at the Class 1A/2A State Tournament at Peoria this weekend.

On the girls side of things, there were three young ladies advanced to state in Bloomington from Franklin County; West Frankfort’s Megan Berry and Cali Wright in 2A and Galatia-Thompsonville’s Kassidy Rizor in 1A.

Whiting 1,000 pointsBrendan eclipsed the 1,000 point mark for his career in a game against Sesser-Valier.  This is what Z-R Coach Matt Morgan had to say about his playing career.   “Looking back and seeing the 5’4 110 pound freshman ,walk into our summer workout and knowing how he developed into the player that he has is absolutely amazing. I don’t know if I know of a kid that has put more effort and time into their game than Brendan has. The kid is a gym rat that loves the game more than anyone can understand. I am excited to see what the future holds for him.”

Whiting earned the right to go to Peoria after being on of the to shooters at the Norris-City Omaha Sectional.  His team mate Nolan Domenick, as well as Chirstopher’s Bradley Young advanced from the Crab Orchard Regional.

Whiting shooting at the NCOE sectional. (Randall Risley photo)

Whiting shooting in the Three Point Showdown at the NCOE Sectional. (Randall Risley photo)

Along with Whiting and Domenick, Steven Anderson and Cam Newton participated at Crab Orchard.  Along with Young, Jared Curry, Gabe Schimpf, and Gabriel Mostinger for Christopher.  For Sesser-Valier, Tyler Winchester, Addison Baxter, Charles Farmer, and Lukas Gunter was in the contest.

Up at the Wayne City Regional, Jared Payne, Tyson Kessler, Zach Krikman, and Reed Raubach shot for the Thompsonville Tigers.  Payne and Kessler was in a tie-breaker in a shootout for five spots and did not advance.

All of us back home tonight will be rooting for you Brendan Whiting.  The times that I have crossed paths with him he an excellent young man. Again, good luck to you at Carver Arena whem you participate.

 

 

Filed Under: 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

Red Devils…Tigers win at the Murphysboro Sophomore Tournament

February 27, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Steve Dunford –  franklincounty-news.com

MURPHYSBORO –  Franklin County teams were featured in three games in a row at the 40th annual Murphysboro Sophomore Tournament on Saturday.

Since the IHSA lifted the 90 quarter rule several years ago, there are a lot of players that will appear in this tournament who were varsity starters, or saw some significant varisty playing time for their teams this year.

In the first of the three games, Seth Boles had 17 points and Eli Gunter added 14 as Sesser-Valier defeated Hamilton County 52-41.

The Devils crashed the boards very hard were very good on the defensive end.  Tyler Winchester did not play for Sesser-Valier that Saturday.

Shaefer led Hamilton County with twelve points on the afternoon.   The Hamilton County JV team, which was made up of mainly freshmen and sophomores, were very competitive in the Christopher Turkey Tournament, setting the all time tournament record for most three pointers it by a team.

HAMILTON COUNTY SCORING:  Shaefer 12, Braden 9, Webb 8, Sheldon 5, Downen 4, Weaver 2, Gray 1, Peters 0, Richards 0, Van Winkle 0

SESSER VALIER SCORING:  Boles 17, E. Gunter 14, Kirk 11, Basso 5, Bates 5, G. Gunter 0, Kiselewski 0, Thery 0, Stanley 0, Newton 0

In the second game, Thompsonville defeated Trico 49-26, in a game where there was a continuous clock in the fourth quarter.

Tyson Kessler led the Tigers with 13 points and Trey Bybee, back from injury, added 10.  Corbin Fitch had several steals and Anthoney Darge if not was very close to having ten plus rebounds.

THOMPSONVILLE SCORING:  Kessler 13, Bybee 10  Fitch 9, Darge 5, Raubach 5, Jones 4, Beavers 3.

The West Frankfort Redbirds stormed back from a 10-0 first quarter deficit to fall to the Breese Central cougars 45-43.

The Redbirds turned in a gutsy performance, but they just fell short on the evening.

C.J Johnson led WF with 12 points.  Kyle Hammers and Cole Levanti added eight in a losing cause.

WEST FRANKFORT SCORING:  Johnson 12, Hammers 8, Levanti 8, King 6, Stewart 4, Rains 3, McPherson 2, Hopkins 0, Melvin 0

In the consolation bracket tonight Hamilton County will play St. Louis Confluence at 6:15p.m. and West Frankfort will play Trico at 7:30.

In the winners bracket on Thursday night, Sesser-Valier will play Marion at 6:15 p.m. and Thompsonville will play Breese Central at 7:30 p.m.

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

Redbirds fall in another heart-breaker to Eldorado

February 22, 2017 By Leave a Comment

wf-redbirdsELDORADO – (Michael Dann- Harrisburg Daily Register. Click to read the whole article. Here is an excerpt. ) Beating a team three times is no easy task. Eldorado was presented with that conundrum Tuesday night, taking on West Frankfort in the IHSA Class 2A Regional at Duff-Kingston Gymnasium, on the campus of Eldorado High School. In two previous meetings, the Eagles won 60-48 on December 6 and were victorious 48-44 on January 20 at the West Frankfort Mid-Winter Tournament. Tuesday, a healthy dose of EHS senior Ethan Partridge in the fourth quarter, helped propel Eldorado to a 42-40 win, putting Eldorado in the regional championship Friday night. & “(Kevin” Toney has probably seen us play more than half of our fans have,” Bradley said of West Frankfort and their head coach. “They know us very well and they are a well coached team, so you knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Don’t be fooled, that West Frankfort team has some talent. & Noah Allen led the Redbirds with 15 points and was their only player to reach double figures. Austin Glodich and Andrew Sturgill each scored six points, while C.J. Johnson finished with five points. Keegan Thrash tossed in four points, while Kyle Hammers and Lucas Wolfe both had two points.

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

Redbirds take on State Ranked Eldorado…Z-R and S-V play again

February 21, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Steve Dunford – franklincounty-news.com

Last night two of the teams we cover ended their season.  Hamilton County ended their season with a 60-46 loss to the hosts at the Flora Class 2A regional.

Thompsonville ended their campaign at 7-18 as they fell to the Woodlawn Cardinals 50-38, at the Wayne City Class  1A regional. It was a  valiant effort by the Tigers as they were without the services of one starter and their sixth man because of illness.

West Frankfort is still on the road to Peoria as they improved to 10-16 with a 68-63 win over the hot shooting Johnston City Indians at the Eldorado Class 2A regional.

Their reward is getting to play the hosts tonight at 7:00 p.m. at Duff Kingston Gym.  The Eagles come into the game 26-3 and ranked sixth in the latest Associated Press Class 2A Statewide Poll.

During the Midwinter Classic the Redbirds gave the Eldorado everything they wanted, losing 48-44.  WF turned in one of the gutsiest performances I ever witnessed on a basketball floor.

It will take that type of performance or even a little more for the Redbirds to pull the upset tonight.  Eldorado is not flashy or pretty at anything they do, they just win and win a lot.

Game time is 7:00 p.m.   If you can not make it catch Rick Westemeyer and Michael Marlo on WFRX 95.5 The Fan.

Two county rivals, Zeigler-Royalton (3-20) and Sesser-Valier (16-13) that are thirteen miles apart from each other will head down to Williamson County to play in the Crab Orchard Class 1A regional.

In my book, the Devils are coming into the regional as the hands on favorites.  They are peaking at the right time.  They picked up two big road wins last week against Christopher and Chester.

The Tornadoes are playing well.  They picked up a recent victory against a good Webber Township ball club, who notched their 16th win last night.  They have recently gave Goreville and Chrstopher all they wanted.

S-V comes in as a heavy favorite blowing out the Tornadoes twice.  Z-R will not roll over and play dead.  If they pulled the upset it would be the shot heard around the state, however it should be a good hard fought ball game.

Game time is 6:00.  Tonight’s game will be broadcast on WMIX-FM 94.1 with Danny Czerwinski and Wes Choate.

Benton is still in the regular season.  They go on the road to face the Salem Wildcats tonight as it is their last tune up before the Class 3A regionals start next week.

 

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

FCHS Cheer Coach Crissy Rains talks about her seniors

February 20, 2017 By Leave a Comment

I have been using “unpugged” comments from coaches about their seniors.  I asked FCHS Cheer Coach Crissy Rains if I can use this, in which she posted on Facebook.  She graciously gave me permission. -sd

Tonight, we celebrated our seven, beautiful Senior cheerleaders. What a special group these young ladies have been. I’ve watched them grow up before my eyes and cannot believe that this was their last home game.

Elizabeth, was a tiny baby when I first met her. Her family would sit in front of me in church and often I would just adore her precious

The 2016-17 FCHS varsity cheerleaders.

The 2016-17 FCHS varsity cheerleaders.

self. Today, I know her heart and recognize the bright and inspiring future that lies ahead for her.

Kassy, Rheann and Fairen, have only cheered for me for the last four years, but many more on the sidelines while their sisters cheered for me, as well. They have always been spirited, serious about their craft and a lot of fun to be around. They are rooted in friendship and a deep love for cheer!

Lexi, took a year off her Sophomore year and oh how she was missed! Her gentle way, need for perfection, hard work and perseverance will never be forgotten.

Kourtney, is my candid, straight forward, beauty that makes me laugh. Her open book style has been most uplifting and refreshing because she’s so true to who she is!

And last, but furthest from least, is Dakota. This timid, meticulous, talented and genuine doll has grown so much in four years! I have pushed her out of her comfort zone and watched as she and her stunt group dominated on the floor. She never gave up and continually strived to extend her personal best, even when it was really scary and sometimes, overwhelming.

They are lovely, talented, smart and funny! They have made me proud and prideful! Today and always, they will remain in my heart and I wish them the very best in their incredibly bright futures!

Filed Under: Sports, West Frankfort High School Sports

WF, T’ville, and Hamco start post season play tonight

February 20, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Steve Dunford-franklincouny-news.com

February Fever will be turning into March Madness soon as Class 1A and 2A boys basketball teams tonight start on the Road to Peoria.

Three teams that I cover will be starting their post season journey tonight.  It is ironic that in the three games tonight, they are all first time opponents too each other.

WEST FRANKFORT (9-16) vs JOHNSTON CITY (15-15) at the ELDORADO CLASS 2A REGIONAL 7:00 P.M.

The Indians rotation consists of Wyatt Rix, a 6′ 1″ senior, 6′ 2″ E.J. Thompson a 5’9″senior, Chase Selby a 5’9″ sophomore, Gage Hall a 6′ 0″ senior, and Huston Hall a 5’9″ sophomore.  All in this group can shoot the lights out.

The two others are superstars on the gridiron and are two pretty decent basketball players in 6′ 3″ Luca Galdoni and 6′ 6″ Max Edwards, who will be playing linebacker for Nick Hill’s SIU Salukis the next four seasons.  In my opinion JC does not get Edwards involved in the offense as much as they should.

The Indians are 2-4 against common opponents.  They beat Anna-Jonesboro and Goreville at the Goreville Invitaional.  Lost to Carmi-White County twice, and were blown out twice by Eldorado.

West Frankfort is 2-2 against common opponents.  They lost two heart-breakers to  A-J and Eldorado and won two barn-burners against Carmi and Goreville.

The keys to tonight are; which team can control the tempo and who is hot.  Johnston City lives and dies by the three.  They like to run.

The Redbirds have a size advantage down low with Austin Glodich and Keagan Thrash.  If Noah Allen is hot, the Redbirds will most likely move on and face the Eldorado Eagles.

If Johnston City is shooting the lights out and running and gunning, they will be playing Eldorado.

The first one to 50 points wins.

HAMILTON COUNT Y (6-21) vs FLORA (13-16) at the FLORA CLASS 2A REGIONAL 7:00 P.M.

Most of the Wolves offense goes trough Trevin Smith and Jeffery Gaither two 5′ 11″ senior guards.

Flora is 2-1 against common opponents losing to Edwards County and narrowly defeating Christopher in OT and Fairfield.

The Foxes are 1-4 against common opponents losing to Edwards County twice, Christopher and splitting with Fairfield, the last an overtime win at the Mule Barn.

The Wolves even though they are not big point producers have a little size inside.  They held Christopher’s Bradley Young to eight points when they played back in December.

The Foxes are not the same team as the start of the year.  Oakley Dial does not have to carry the bulk of the offensive load.  Matt Rubenacker and Jake Whipple have become scoring threats for Hamco as the season progressed.

I think it will be a close tight ball game tonight.

THOMPSONVILLE (7-17) vs WOODLAWN, (12-13) 7:30 P.M. at the WAYNE CITY CLASS 1A REGIONAL 

The Woodlwan Cardinals are led by 5′ 8″ Blake Wollerman and 6″3 Jordan Hoppa.  The others in the rotation for the Cardinals are 5′ 10″ Senior Zack Ashby, 6 0″ Junior Trey Issac, 5′ 11″ Sophomore Jackson Bennett, 6′ 1″ freshman Blake McKay, and 6’0″ junior Kaden Devore.

Woodlawn is 1-1 against common opponents.  They lost to Webber Township by one at home and was nearly upset by Zeigler-Royalton in the first round of the Sesser-Valier-Holiday-Tournament.

Thompsonville is 1-2.  They lost to Webber Township twice, once narrowly in the opening game of the Christopher Turkey Tournament, and was blown out at Bluford.  They beat Z-R in the consolation championship of the Turkey Tournament.

The Tigers match up well at the guard position.  The match-up to watch is down low with Jordan Hoppa.  He can also step out and hit the three. For T’ville to stay in the game Anthoney Darge and Jake Dixon have to stay out of foul trouble.

T’ville has been playing much better of late.  You have to say Woodlawn is the favorite.  This is one of those games that Woodlawn can either win by 20 or Thompsonville could upset them.

It is the post season.  Everyone is 0-0 coming into tonight in reality. Let it all begin.

 

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

Redbirds fall in regular season finale to Pinckneyville

February 19, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Rebdird Seniors being honored on Senior Night; Scotty Clinton (51) Austin Glodich (10) Scotty Clinton (12) and Ethan Riddle (21) - Richard Sitler, Southern Illinoisan Photo

Rebdird Seniors being honored on Senior Night; Scotty Clinton (51) Austin Glodich (10) Scotty Clinton (12) and Ethan Riddle (21) – Richard Sitler, Southern Illinoisan Photo

WEST FRANKFORT, IL – Click on the link to read the full article. Here is an excerpt) His defender having stumbled, West Frankfort’s Noah Allen finally had space and started a drive to the lane. But before Allen could think about a shot, a Pinckneyville man quickly cut him off and forced him to pass. A few more ineffective passes later, the Panthers had forced a turnover and turned it into points. It was that kind of mindset that coach Bob Waggoner sought in the regular season finale, and it was that kind of mindset that rendered their non-conference visit to West Frankfort a rout before halftime.

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

Game times for Class 1A -2A Boy’s Basketball Regionals first round games

February 10, 2017 By Leave a Comment

ihsaHere are the game times for the class 1A/2A Regional/Sectional complexes involving Franklin county schools.

There are a couple of things I am old school about .  First of all the IHSA calls the Sectional Finals the Super Sixteen.  On any thing I write, it will be the Sweet Sixteen.

Second, after the complexes are seeded, they are regionals now.  I will give the seed like it is a regional.

Game times will be listed in chronological order.  Records are going into tonight’s action.

Here are some links to the statewide pairings:

CLASS 1A:  http://ihsa.org/SportsActivities/BoysBasketball/StateSeriesInformationResults.aspx?url=/data/bkb/1bracket.htm

CLASS 2A:

http://ihsa.org/SportsActivities/BoysBasketball/StateSeriesInformationResults.aspx?url=/data/bkb/2bracket.htm

FIRST ROUND GAME TIMES FOR AREA SCHOOLS

  • (4) WEST FRANKFORT (8-14) vs (5) Johnston City (12-13)  Monday, February 20,  6:00 P.M., at the Eldorado Class 2A  Regional
  • (4)  Flora (11-15) vs (5)  HAMILTON COUNTY (6-19) on Monday, Feburary 20,  7:00 P.M., at the Flora Class 2A regional
  • (3) Woodlawn (12-13) against (6) THOMPSONVILLE (6-15) a on Monday, February 20, 7:30 P.M., at the Wayne City Class 1A Regional
  • (2) SESSER-VALIER (14-12)  vs (5) ZEIGLER-ROYALTON (2-18) on Tuesday. February 21. 6:00 P.M., at the Crab Orchard Class 1A Regional
  • (1) CHRISTOPHER (13-11) vs the winner of (4) Steeleville (17-9) and (5) Elverado (17-9) Wednesday, February 22,  6:00 P.M;. at the Crab Orchard Class 1A Regional

sd

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

Rangerettes drop nail-biter to rival Redbirds

January 26, 2017 By Leave a Comment
Zoe Carlton steps to the free throw line for the Rangerettes in Tuesday nights game against the Redbirds. (William McPherson photo)

Zoe Carlton steps to the free throw line for the Rangerettes in Tuesday nights game against the Redbirds. (William McPherson photo)

WEST FRANKFORT – (William McPherson – Benton Gazette NOTE: William has a similar story from the West Frankfort Gazette from a Redbird point of view)   The Benton Rangerettes (13-12, 3-4 SIRR) fell to rival West Frankfort Lady Redbirds (12-8, 5-2 SIRR) in a key River-to-River Conference game that went down to the wire Tuesday night at Max Morris Gymnasium. & . “Honestly, we’ve been trying to beat Benton for three years now,” said West Frankfort coach Matt Hampleman after the game. “And to do it on some of our senior kids next-to-last home games—excluding regionals; that feels pretty good.” & Benton Coach Andy Sloan said the Rangerettes have struggled with consistency this season, looking at times like two different teams from night to night. …..

Filed Under: Benton High School Sports, High School Sports, Slider, West Frankfort High School Sports

Herrin blows out WF in the third place game of the MWC

January 23, 2017 By Leave a Comment

Steve Dunford – franklincounty-news.com

WEST FRANKFORT IL-  I watched the first quarter of this one.  I apologize for having to leave due to illness after the first quarter.  The Redbirds just looked wore out Saturday night to me, after giving the number five team in the state in the latest AP poll that came out today, the Eldorado (20-2) all they wanted Friday.

The Redbirds were defeated by the Herrin Tigers 54-35 on Saturday night in the third place game of the Midwinter Classic.

Jack Bullock (ABV Jack) of abaselineview.com had the Eagles moving up to number three in his poll that covers all of the 618 and half of the 217.  He needs to give the Redbirds a little love.  He does not have them cracking the honorable mention this week after having a very good tournament.  Carterville was a signature win for WF.

When I got home, I turned Mike Murphy on.  Rick Westemeyer is one of my favorite people in the world.  I just hadn’t heard Murph call a ball game in the while.  I enjoyed listening to him.

Everyone received some playing time in the game.  Ten players were in the scoring column for the Redbirds, eleven for the Tigers.

There was no one in double figures in the game, which was unusual. For West Frankfort, Lucas Wolfe led the Redbirds with six on the night.  DiAngelo Russell and Kyle Hammers added five.  It is noteworthy the Herrin Defense held Noah Allen to two points, and Austin Glodich scoreless.

For Herrin, DJ Spell led all scorers with nine points on the night. Bronson Nessler, Drew Ringel, and Ty Downen added eight.

The Redbirds (8-10) turn to River-to-River Ohio play traveling to Davenport Gym (The Airport Hanger) on Friday to face Randy Smithpeters’ and the Harrisburg Bulldogs.  They are at Max Morris Gym on Saturday to face the Anna-Jonesboro Wildcats.

Herrin (13-5)  has a big weekend, as they travel to Rich Herrin gym to face the Benton Rangers.   The Rangers are the number six team in the state in Class 3A in the new Associated Press poll that came out today.  They travel to Mt. Vernon on Saturday Night to face Doug Creel’s Mt.Vernon Rams.

BOX SCORE:

HERRIN (54)  Spell 4 0 1-2 9; Nessler 1 2 0-0 8; Ringel 1 2 0-0 8; T. Downen 3 0 2-2 8; Bush 0 2 0-0 6; McCormick 2 0 0-0 4; J. Downen 1 0 1-2 3; Cagle 0 0 2-2 2; Stucker 0 0 2-4 2; Stucker 0 0 2-4 2;  Johnson 0 02-4 2; J. Vaughn 0 0 2-4 2; Hartline 0 0 0-0 2; Holloway 0 0 0-0 0; C. Vaughn 0 0 0-0 0; Rivera 0 0 0-0 0;

WEST FRANKFORT (35) Wolfe 2 2 2-2 6; D. Russell 1 1 0-0 5; Hammers 1 1 0-0 5; Thrash 0 1 1-2 4; Johnson 0 0 4-6 4; House 0 1 0-0 3; Clinton 1 0 0-0 2; Clark 1 00-0 2; Allen 1 0 0-0 2; Levanti 0 0  0-0 0; B. Russell 0 0 0-0 0; Glodich 0 0 0-0 0; Powell 0 0 0-0 0; Riddle 0 0 0-0 0; Davis 0 0 0-0 0; Sturgill 0 0 0-0 0

SCORE BY QUARTERS:

HERRIN                            12    15    17    11 -54

WEST FRANKFORT       3     8    11    13 – 35

 

 

 

 

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