HENRYVILLE — New Washington began its defense of the Southern Athletic Conference championship with a 62-30 victory over Henryville on Saturday.
SELLERSBURG — Reserve forward Shanice Gholson scored a career-high 27 points as the Jeffersonville girls’ basketball squad cruised to its second straight win, defeating host Silver Creek 68-21 Friday night.
The Floyd Central girls’ swimming team has won the past two sectional championships and has nearly every swimmer back from those teams, giving the Highlanders high hopes for 2009-10.
Even with the loss of 12 seniors, Floyd Central wrestling coach Brandon Sisson said he expects the Highlanders to reach goals of winning their sixth straight Hoosier Hills Conference championship and winning the sectional, in which they finished second to Jeffersonville a season ago.
Several wrestlers return for a Jeffersonville team that won its fourth sectional championship in school history last season.
The Big Ten is back.
For the first time since 1988-89 — when Michigan and Illinois both went to the Final Four — the Big Ten may have the best men’s basketball conference in America.
Senior Megan Eve nailed a career-high six 3-pointers to lead the Providence girls’ basketball team to its first victory of the season on Tuesday at Shawe Memorial in Madison, 61-46.
I bet there aren’t too many of you out there — even in soccer circles — who are aware the area just produced a national high school championship winning team.
Down one point in overtime to Evansville North, New Albany Kayton Cole missed a potential game-winning shot in the lane. However, the junior followed her miss, got the rebound and put the ball in the basket as the buzzer sounded, giving the Bulldogs a 58-57 season-opening victory over the Huskies.
CLARKSVILLE — With Casey Johnson struggling to score in New Washington’s season opener, Katelyn Walker picked up the slack and led the Mustangs to a 67-39 win over Clarksville in their season opener on Saturday.
Last Sunday in my lead to ITFL, I was surrendering to Jimmie Johnson.
A year ago, Utica ended the Wilson dynasty at the Greater Clark County Schools girls’ basketball championship tournament.
GREENWOOD — The Floyd Central football team ran into a “machine” as it made its first trip to regional in more than a decade.
JEFFERSONVILLE — When he began his college search, Jeffersonville senior Kegan Clark wanted to find a basketball coach who was just like his high school coach, Tim LaGrange.
CLARKSVILLE — Providence girls’ basketball coach Brad Burden knew his squad faced a tall order as Class 2A No. 5 Austin invaded the Robert I. Larkin Center on Friday night, so he encouraged the Pioneer fans to wear white and make the atmosphere as raucous as possible.
The Silver Creek girls’ basketball team outscored Borden 21-5 in the the first quarter, and went on to a 58-32 victory over Borden on Friday in its first contest of the season.
RAMSEY — In its season opener, Jeffersonville’s girls’ basketball team looked in mid-season form.
Ever since head coach Wiley Brown took over the IU Southeast men’s basketball program in the 2007-08 season, the Grenadiers have gone through a series of significant steps.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
• Ariel Martin (Purdue women’s swimming, Jeffersonville graduate, Jr.) — top performance: four victories (50-yard freestyle, 100 free, 200 free, 400 free relay) in a 171-129 home victory over Notre Dame last Friday; season-best times in the 50 free (23.23) and 100 free (50.78); notes: two more victories (50 free, 400 free relay) in the Boilermakers’ 156-144 home win over Northwestern last Saturday. It was her third victory in as many races in the 50 free this season, as she matched her season-best time of 23.23. Martin helped the 400 free relay squad post an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 3:23.02. She also was second in the 100 free (51.16) and third in the 200 free (1:50.9) against the Wildcats.
The hot rumor around Southern Indiana the last few seasons has been that Donnie Hale would become a Purdue Boilermaker someday. On Tuesday morning at New Albany High School, that rumor turned into reality.
After missing four games with a shoulder injury, Floyd Central quarterback Max Guenther returned to the Highlander lineup with something he didn’t have before. Nerves.
For Floyd Central’s football team, an offseason of painstaking labor did pay off on Friday in its first sectional championship since 1998.
It took 22 years but indoor professional soccer returns to the area this Friday the 13th and the Louisville Lightning will be hoping it’s a lucky beginning.
Its inaugural season in the Professional Arena Soccer League will kick off against Cincinnati at the newly-renovated Mockingbird Valley Soccer Club at 7:30 p.m.
YORKTOWN — On Saturday at Yorktown High School, the Floyd Central volleyball team put forth its best semifinal effort in its third consecutive trip to the Class 4A State Finals.
MUNCIE — After 14 straight wins, Silver Creek’s late-season streak came to an halt at the state finals at the hands of Class 3A’s second-ranked team on Saturday.
FLOYDS KNOBS — The Floyd Central football team rode 14 early points off two turnovers and never trailed visiting Castle in capturing the 5A Sectional 8 championship last night at Ron Weigleb field, 42-32.
Jeff Zimmerman knew before he even had the job.
He had a plan to be a varsity volleyball coach somewhere, at some time.
He also knew who the first spot on his coaching staff would go to — his brother Todd.
Danielle Ramser is a rarity in high school sports — a junior captain.
Despite Silver Creek having four seniors, the Silver Creek setter was tabbed to be the Dragons’ leader, along with senior LeAnn Osterhoudt.
Floyd Central heads to Delaware County Saturday with the expectation of winning its first volleyball state championship.
The Highlanders had the same expectation the past two seasons when they fell short in the state semifinals.
In 2007, the Highlanders were first-timers and played like it in a four-set loss to New Castle. Last year, Floyd won its opening set against Muncie Central, but dropped the next three in a 14-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-21 defeat.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
• Eric Schulz (Indiana State men’s cross country, New Albany graduate, Sr.) — top performance: fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships last Saturday in Peoria, Ill., 26:11; notes: Schulz earned a spot on the all-conference squad in leading the Sycamores to the Missouri Valley title by one point over second-place Southern Illinois. Schulz was ISU’s top runner in the meet.
It may seem odd for some to hear it, but the Floyd Central football team will be doing its best just to keep up with the mass of success at its school this Friday night.
NEW ALBANY — Ever since he retired as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts earlier this year, Tony Dungy has been making his rounds.
Prior to his speech in the Chick-fil-A “Desire to Inspire” Dinner Series at Northside Christian Church in New Albany on Tuesday night, Evening News and Tribune sports writer Kevin Harris conducted a brief but exclusive interview with former Indianapolis Colts’ head coach Tony Dungy.
Here is Harris’ one-on-one, question-and-answer session with the Super Bowl XLI-winning coach:
Silver Creek faced a daunting task at last Saturday’s Class 3A Jasper Regional.
Not only did the Dragons have to face strong Jasper and Sullivan programs, but it appeared that they would have to do it without their best offensive player.
Floyd Central will be making its third straight trip to the volleyball state finals on Saturday.
And it is likely no coincidence that the Highlanders’ recent dominance has coincided with the career of Melanie Stutsman.
Every year, there is chatter about whether the format of the IHSAA soccer tournaments should be changed.
And every year, it remains the same.
Now that the dust is settling on another high school soccer season, maybe it’s time for the powers that be to consider some alterations.
Floyd Central had a goal for Saturday’s Seymour Regional: get in, get out, get to state.
The Highlanders had little trouble advancing to next Saturday’s Class 4A State Finals in Muncie for the third straight year.
JASPER — When he arrived at Silver Creek High School three seasons ago as the head volleyball coach, Jeff Zimmerman promised his sophomores, who are now seniors, that he would guide them to the IHSAA State Finals before they graduated.
On Saturday, the former New Albany assistant coach came through for his four seniors.
In baseball and football terms, wild cards mean the playoff spots given to Major League Baseball and NFL teams that failed to win their respective divisions, but got into the postseason because of a solid record.
In NASCAR terms, wild card is defined by just one word — Talladega.
New Albany’s season finished on Saturday with a 24th-place showing at the IHSAA State Cross Country Meet in Terre Haute.
The Bulldogs, who grabbed the final spot at state by placing sixth at the Brown County Semistate last weekend, had two runners finish in the top 100.
FLOYDS KNOBS — Two key fourth-quarter defensive stops by the Floyd Central football team ended New Albany’s chances of scoring a second win over the Highlanders in three weeks on Friday night at Ron Weigleb Stadium.
PAOLI — The Paoli football team has never been more proud of a sloppy win.
On a night better served for ark construction and a field that resembled the Everglades, Paoli scored a decisive two-point conversion after a penalty and held off Providence 8-7 in the Class 2A Sectional 31 semifinal at Cook Field.
Floyd Central’s volleyball team has been victorious 33 times this season, but it may have been one of its three losses that turned the Highlanders into the squad that dominated last Saturday’s Seymour Sectional.
In last week’s sectional, the New Washington volleyball team accomplished a rare feat. The Mustangs defeated three teams to whom they had lost in the regular season en route to winning their third straight sectional championship.
All season, the Silver Creek volleyball team has lived by one motto — unfinished business.
The New Albany boys’ cross country team has not hid from lofty expectations this season. The team said before the year started it would be the first to win a Hoosier Hills Conference title in school history — which it did. It said it would reserve a second-straight spot in the IHSAA state finals — which it claimed last weekend at the Brown County Semistate.
• Cordario Collier (Thomas More football, New Albany graduate, Sr.) — top performance: 20 carries for 189 yards, including two touchdown runs of 35 and 18 yards, and eight receptions for 109 yards, including a 52-yard TD reception, in the Saints’ 28-14 victory last Saturday at Thiel; notes: Collier’s 298 total yards against Thiel helped him win the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week honor for the second consecutive week. A win Saturday at Washington & Jefferson will give Thomas More (7-0, 5-0 PAC) its second consecutive conference championship.
Remember when October was great for sports? The glorious time when this month meant good things were going on in the world.
More than two weeks ago, New Albany’s football team was sitting at 0-8. It was a place Bulldogs’ coach Kevin Roth didn’t like — and a place he hasn’t been in his last 20 years of coaching.
So here it is: “Kick It’s” boys’ and girls’ high school soccer “Teams of the Season.”
And they probably bear little resemblance to your own teams, but isn’t that what it’s all about — opinions?
In fact, just on that point: If we’d picked teams straight after the regular season, they wouldn’t look remotely like what you’re reading before you today.
Congratulations to all and we would be interested to hear what your lineups would be.
JEFFERSONVILLE — About three weeks ago, the Floyd Central volleyball team decided it was time to make the season fun again.
One area cross country team was able to advance to next Saturday’s IHSAA State Finals at Saturday’s Brown County Semistate. As for one area individual, he came up just short of going to state himself.
SELLERSBURG — Nearly 1,000 Indiana University men’s basketball fans received a treat on Saturday afternoon at Nolan Fieldhouse.
BORDEN — At 5-foot-6, New Washington outside hitter Lindsay Krohn hardly cuts an imposing figure on the volleyball court.
RAMSEY — Silver Creek weathered an early storm and cruised to a three games to none Class 3A sectional championship victory over Corydon Central Saturday night at North Harrsion.
If you were in Brian France’s position, what would be the one change you would make to the Chase?
NEW ALBANY — New Albany played its best quarter of the season, outscoring Evansville North 20-0 in the second period to advance in Class 5A Sectional 8 play with a 33-21 victory over the Huskies at Buerk Field.
NORTH VERNON — Floyd Central’s offense was near perfect.
Jennings County’s defense had no answer.
CHARLESTOWN — Early missed opportunities proved costly to Charlestown on Friday as it fell 20-0 to Class 3A No.6 Indian Creek in the opening round of Class 3A Sectional 23 at Dutch Reis Field.
JEFFERSONVILLE — On Friday night at Blair Field, the Jeffersonville football team got its chance to avenge last year’s loss to Castle in the Class 5A Sectional 8 championship, but failed to take advantage of that opportunity in a 21-14 loss.
CLARKSVILLE - Providence senior Jacob Golembeski walked back to the locker room, drenched in mud and still feeling the effects of a flu bug that he had been battling all week.
CLARKSVILLE — Unbeaten Paoli kept its perfect season going strong on Friday as the visiting Rams topped Clarksville in the opening round of Class 2A sectional play, 48-16.
JEFFERSONVILLE — Both the Floyd Central and New Albany volleyball teams had little trouble on opening night of the Class 4A Jeffersonville Sectional on Thursday.
The Washington High School boys’ soccer team is 19-1-1, has only been scored on 11 times in 21 matches, is ranked eighth in the state, has won 13 sectional titles in the last 15 years and has captured seven regional crowns in school history.
All season, the Bellarmine men’s and women’s cross country teams have been looking forward to one meet — the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championships.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
• Cordario Collier (Thomas More football, New Albany graduate, Sr.) — top performance: 13 carries for 117 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown run, and two receptions for 29 yards in the Saints’ 17-7 home victory over Grove City last Saturday; notes: Collier was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week. He has helped lead the Saints to a 6-0 record and 4-0 mark in the PAC.
BORDEN – Henryville and New Washington advanced to Saturday morning’s Borden Volleyball Sectional semifinals with victories on Thursday.
COLUMBUS—Columbus North’s girls soccer team came away with a regional title with a 1-0 win against Floyd Central on Wednesday.
The following predictions were written with a tiny flashlight in a poorly lit attic, as I attempt to quarantine myself from the onset of the flu epidemic that has invaded my extended family.
The Clark-Floyd Counties Convention and Tourism Bureau will commit $120,000 per year for the next three years to help promote the Nations Baseball Park development, if the program chooses to locate a new facility in Jeffersonville.
The city has been courting the Cooperstown, N.Y.-based program in the last several months, as it looks to expand to the Midwest. If the program chooses Jeffersonville, as many as 25 fields would be built, a complex that could make for the country’s largest youth baseball park.
BORDEN – The Class A sectional host Borden Braves cruised to an easy opening-round win over Christian Academy on Tuesday, 25-13, 25-16, 25-9, and advanced to play Lanesville in Saturday’s semifinal round.
RAMSEY—Silver Creek’s volleyball team began its Class 3A sectional title defense with a 25-9, 25-7, 25-19 victory over Charlestown in first-round play.
Clarksville dropped its Sectional 47 opening match to Paoli, 25-22, 25-16, 25-17, on Tuesday.
Clarksville coach Anne Bird said she was impressed with the Generals’ effort.
“We held our own,” she said. “I was proud of them.”
Charlestown High School quarterback Zack Donahue was arrested early Saturday morning for allegedly stabbing another man during a fight concerning his ex-girlfriend.
Donahue, 18, allegedly stabbed 21-year-old Jonathan P. Westfall twice with a knife. Westfall was listed Monday afternoon in fair condition at University Hospital in Louisville.
FLOYDS KNOBS — The New Albany boys’ soccer team’s surprising run through the IHSAA state tournament continued in dramatic fashion on Monday at Floyd Central High School.
FLOYDS KNOBS — Four games. Four shutouts. Four straight sectional championships.
The Floyd Central girls’ soccer seniors capped off the season the only way they’ve know how — winning a sectional title.
On Monday, the Highlanders finished their latest victory, blanking Corydon Central in the final of the Floyd Central Sectional, 7-0.
The last seven days have been pretty eventful in the world of Southern Indiana high school soccer, eh?
I’m not quite sure where to kick off, so I’ll start in the middle and end with the beginning. And I’ll present it to you as thus: Four statements we can all keep in mind going into the future.
FLOYDS KNOBS — By virtue of its 2-0 victory over Providence on Saturday, the Floyd Central girls’ soccer team will face Corydon Central in Monday’s Floyd Central Sectional championship.
FLOYDS KNOBS — Revenge hasn’t been the goal of New Albany’s boys’ soccer team. It has just been an added bonus of its run to Monday’s Floyd Central Regional championship.
NEW WASHINGTON — The surprise to some is that it just happened officially on Saturday night.
Jim Matthews may have made a name for himself because of the things that happened on the basketball court on Saturday nights in New Washington.
MARENGO — Saturday was a day of triumphant returns for the Clark-Floyd area at the Crawford County cross country regional.
Silver Creek will send both its boys’ and girls’ cross country teams to next weekend’s semistate race at Brown County.
The Floyd Central volleyball team closed out the regular season on a high note on Saturday, winning the Columbus East Invitational.
Spend a few minutes on the sidelines taking in the scene in this short video compilation taken at New Albany High School.
Buoyed by solid defense and an offense that struck through the air and on the ground, Providence crushed host Clarksville 37-8 last night in the annual town championship.
JEFFERSONVILLE — Jennings County’s Tieler South out-jumped Jeffersonville defenders on two second-half touchdown receptions to lead the visiting Panthers by Jeffersonville on Friday at Blair Field, 12-6.
Charlestown was held to 189 yards of total offense and the Pirates turned the ball over twice, as they fell for just the second time this season, 20-14 on Friday night at Lawrenceburg.
FLOYDS KNOBS — Class 4A No. 3 Floyd Central ended Brownstown’s 24-game win streak on Thursday.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
• Stephanie Cave (Indianapolis women’s cross country, Fr.) — top performance: second in the Lucian Rosa Invitational last Saturday in Kenosha, Wis., 15:11.5; notes: Cave’s time last Saturday was a personal record in a 4-kilometer race.
In the final game of their careers, Silver Creek seniors Leann Osterhaudt, Brittany Rayborn, Mollie Hamilton and Shirley Jones helped lead the Dragons to a straight-set 25-13, 25-20, 25-22 victory over rival Henryville.
As happy as Pioneer coach Terri Purichia was to beat New Albany on Wednesday, she was equally disappointed in Thursday’s 25-16, 21-25, 25-13, 25-17 win over Jeffersonville.
Jeffersonville’s Connie Chan edged out Silver Creek’s Olivia Horvath to win the Southwestern Sectional individual championship on Tuesday.
Providence junior Ashley Ricks was too much for New Albany all night, especially in the fourth and deciding set of Providence’s 25-20, 25-21, 16-25, 31-29 volleyball victory on Wednesday.
