Kickoff - Prep Football Preview

2 Friday, August 27, 2010 The Southern Illinoisan

PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW: INTRODUCTION

SOUTH SEVENCarbondale.................. 4Mount Vernon.............. 5Centralia...................... 5Marion.......................... 6Belleville Althoff.......... 7Cahokia........................ 7

SIRR OHIOMurphysboro............... 8Massac County............9Benton........................ 10West Frankfort........... 10Harrisburg.................. 11Herrin..........................12

SIRR MISSISSIPPIDu Quoin.....................13Nashville..................... 14Sparta......................... 14Pinckneyville............. 15Anna-Jonesboro........ 15Carterville.................. 16

BLACK DIAMONDHamilton County........17Vienna......................... 17Chester....................... 18Elverado-Trico............ 19Johnston City............ 20C-Z-R........................... 21Carmi-White Co......... 21Fairfield...................... 22Eldorado..................... 22S-V-W-W......................23

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAUL NEWTONTHE SOUTHERN

Murphysboro’s DiamanteBradley runs downfieldwhile running drillsduring practice Aug. 17.

Tonightis thenight.

Anotherprepfootballseason getsunderway.

As usual,there are anumber ofintriguingstory linesthroughout

Southern Illinois.How will Chester and

Carterville fare in theirnew conferences? Howwill Vienna progress in itssecond year of varsityfootball? How willMurphysboro respond tonew coach Jim Hammers?Will Du Quoin keep itsincredible streak of playoffappearances alive?

There’s a lot of watch.There are a lot of things I

like about prep footballand a few things I dislike:

Like: I’ll admit, prepfootball isn’t my favoritesport. However, when Ihear a marching bandstrike up a school’s fightsong, the hair on my armsstands on edge.

Dislike: Driving homefrom road trips to Cahokiaor Belleville Althoff. Thattrip seems to get longerevery year.

Like: The smell of ribeyescooking on the grill atHarrisburg.

Dislike: Early seasongames when game timetemperature is in the mid-to high-80s.

Like: I enjoy getting togames about an hour early.It’s great fun to walkaround the field andhobnob with coaches,officials, fans and the guyson the chain gang.

Dislike: Weather delaysare a killer.

Oh, I fully understand

the need to be cautious.However, planning andexecuting footballcoverage every Fridaynight is a delicatesituation. Timing is of theessence.

We allot extra space toget all the games stories inSaturday morning’s paper.If the games aren’t played,it causes everyone toscramble.

And, those delays? Well,they certainly makedeadline more interesting.

Like: Some of thefacilities around SouthernIllinois have beenupgraded in recent years.The playing surface atCarmi is incredible — thegrass looks like the greensat Augusta. Carterville’snew facility is state-of-the-art. The facilities helpcreate a good atmosphere.

Like: I like the fact thatVienna’s new field is stillwithout lights. Saturdayafternoon football gamesare fun. And, deadline isnever an issue.

Like: The 40-point ruleis the best thing theIllinois High SchoolAssociation has done inyears. For those unfamiliarwith the rule, if a teamtakes a 40-point lead inthe second half the clockcontinues running.

The continuous clockavoids furtherembarrassing a school,and it minimizes thelikelihood of on-fieldscuffles. Getting knockedaround by another teamcan sometimes be a bitterpill to swallow. Therunning clock minimizesthe possibility offrustrations boiling over.

Dislike: Fans hecklingkids is one of my primarypet peeves concerningprep football. Inexplicablyfans like to stand along the

sidelines rather that sit inthe bleachers.

I’ve heard unruly fanstaunt opposing players.I’ve heard fathers beratetheir children.

It’s totally unacceptablebehavior.

These are high schoolkids playing a game.

Respect them, respectyourself and keep thegame in perspective.

Like: Watching kidshaving fun makes givingup every Friday nightbetween here and the endof October worthwhile. Tosee a kid make a play thateven he didn’t think he

was capable of making …well, it’s hard to duplicatethe look of unbridled joyon their faces.

LES WINKELER is the sportseditor of The SouthernIllinoisan. Contact him [email protected] or call 618-351-5088.

OFFTARGET

LES WINKELER

PAUL NEWTON / THE SOUTHERNHarrisburg players run drills with a sled during a team practice Aug. 19.

THE SOUTHERN FILE PHOTOCasey Hammond (31) of Sesser-Valier-Waltonville-Woodlawn celebrates during a game in 2009.

There’s a lot to like and dislike about football season

BY PETE SPITLERTHE SOUTHERN

It has been a difficultsummer for Sparta coachPhil Watson.

Faced with low numbers,Watson had to go door-to-door in the local commu-nity to try and get playersto come out.

He knocked on 27 doorsand got four players out ofit. He sent letters four dif-ferent times to formerplayers that had driftedaway from the team to tryand lure them back into theprogram. Kids that playedas freshmen are now backas seniors.

“We’ve got 53 kids,”Watson said. “But I thinkthey’re 53 pretty commit-ted kids. There’s a few onthe bubble, but you’ll getthat if you have to go outbeating on doors or walk-ing the pavement.”

It’s been five years sincethe Bulldogs won morethan two games in a sea-son, 16 since they had awinning record. Ever sincecurrent Marion coachKerry Martin went 21-10 inthree seasons in the early1990s — including a 8-3record in his final season in1992 — Sparta has strug-gled.

“We have to get back tothose days where Spartawas expected to go to theplayoffs,” Watson said.

But things are differentnow than they were 20years ago. There are videogames, jobs, cars and otherdistractions that get in theway of extracurricularactivities.

“The way I’ve alwaysexplained it is that kidsnowadays can get instantgratification a lot easierthan 20 years ago,” saidCarmi-White Countycoach and athletic director

Kurt Simon. “There’s alsoa trend where the playersthink ‘If I’m not going to bea starter, then I’m notgoing to participatebecause it’s too muchwork.’”

With most small schoolslike Carmi, enrollmentfunctions on a cycle. Threeyears ago in 2007 was thelast time Carmi had dou-ble-digit seniors in itsfootball program.

But it hasn’t affected theteam’s success becauseSimon has worked veryhard to make putting onthe Carmi jersey an honor.Even with low numbers,the Bulldogs have won atleast four games in 12 ofSimon’s 13 years in Carmiand have gone to the play-offs in eight of those years— including an 11-1 recordin 2003 and a 10-1 recordin 2005.

“This is my 14th season,and 14 seasons ago ourenrollment was 550 andnow we’re under 400,”Simon said. “We’ve hadthree or four classes comethrough where we werescratching to find 11 play-ers to play football.”

But things are looking upfor Carmi, which has 21freshmen out for footballthis season opposed to 22varsity players.

“Coaching football isdifferent than coaching

other sports becauseyou’re dealing with theelements,” Simon said.“Whether it’s 110 degreeswith the heat index or 10degrees.”

West Frankfort is anoth-er school dealing withdeclining enrollment andhas 34 players on its varsityroster in 2010.

Combined with 20freshmen, the Redbirds aredown roughly 15 playersfrom their average the lasttwo seasons.

“We finished the seasonin the low 40s last year,”said West Frankfort coachChad Spence. “There’s somuch for kids to do and alot of our kids work. We’velost several kids to makingmoney.”

The sports landscape isanother thing that’schanged in the last 20years. IHSA rules giveteams 25 contact days dur-ing the summer and if anathlete plays multiplesports, that can make for avery busy schedule.

“Basketball’s trying toget its 25 days in, and we’retrying to get our 25 days in,and you have to get in theweight room three days aweek, and there’s just notime anymore to be a kid,”Spence said.

[email protected]

The Southern Illinoisan Friday, August 27, 2010 3

PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW: FEATURE STORY

Coaches do everything they can to keep rosters filled

THE SOUTHERN FILE PHOTOVienna’s Dillon Hall looks for a hole between Hamilton County defenders in 2009.

THE SOUTHERN FILE PHOTOPinckneyville’s Bryant Shute prepares to hand the ball off.

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PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW: SOUTH SEVEN

BY GEARY DENISTONFOR THE SOUTHERN

In just his second year ascoach of the CarbondaleTerriers, Dan Koester ledhis Terriers to their firstwinning record and playoffberth since 2004.

“Our top priority lastyear was making the play-offs,” Koester said. “Step bystep we’ve progressed, sothis year we don’t talkabout getting in. Thisyear’s goal is to advance tothe second round and get ahome game.”

Last year, the Terriersfinished 5-4 in the regularseason and fourth in theSouth Seven (2-3) behindCahokia, Marion andBelleville Althoff.

Carbondale lost its playoffgame to undefeatedSpringfield Sacred HeartGriffin, 48-21.

The 2009 Terriers wereled by running backKendell Edwards, who haswalked on to play for SIU.Edwards was named TheSouthern Illinoisan Playerof the Year and honorablemention all-state afterleading the area in rushingwith 1,769 yards and scor-ing 22 touchdowns.

“Offensively we are goingto change our focus fromspreading it out to beingrun oriented and wear peo-ple down,” Koester said.“We have three or four bigrunning backs in JordanPratt, Jordan Bowlby, BryceReno-Gibson and Elijah

Sykes and a big strongquarterback who likes torun.”

Koester is moving juniorKaid Koester from tightend to quarterback toreplace Matt Crouse andhas three offensive linemenreturning in senior tackleKyle Baity, senior guardChris Pugh and juniorguard J.D. Whitback. Hewill also have senior tightend Jackson Treece andsenior kicker ZachLindberg back.

“Our offensive line isgoing to be solid and wehave two big tight ends inTreece and sophomoreMarqui Edmonds,” Koestersaid.

Koester, Carbondale look to take it to the next level

CHUCK NOVARA / THE SOUTHERNCarbondale’s quarterback Kaid Koester hands the ball to a freshman running back.

SEE CARBONDALE / PAGE 24

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MOUNT VERNON RAMS

Coach: Dan MingsCareer Record: 57-522009 Record: 2-7Conference: South Seven (Class 6A)Returning Starters (4): Brady Rose (G),

Victor Brooks (DE), Eric Heinzman (ILB),Anthony Moore (CB)

ScheduleAug. 28 at Miller Career Academy

(St. Louis)Sept. 4 NILES NOTRE DAMESept. 10 at Troy TriadSept. 17 BELLEVILLE ALTHOFF*Sept. 24 at Marion*Oct. 1 at Carbondale*Oct. 8 CAHOKIA*Oct. 15 CENTRALIA*Oct. 23 at Grayslake Central*Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Kellin Edwards 6-1 220 QB\LBNick Torrez 5-7 150 RB\DBTrinity Albritton 6-2 145 WR\DBDamon Wright 5-7 155 RB\LBBlake Deaton 6-0 180 TE\DBKevon Fortney 6-2 170 WR\DBVictor Brooks 6-1 185 TE\DEMichael Bryant 5-10 185 RB\LBDarnell Maxey 6-0 185 TE\LBMario Thompson 5-9 150 RB\DBHugo Papazian 5-8 175 FB\LBEric Heinzman 6-0 195 FB\LBEric Young 5-11 170 OL\DLBrady Rose 6-1 235 OL\DLClay Jackson 6-2 275 OL\DLCody McLearin 6-0 255 OL\DLBrad Rose 6-3 215 WR\LB

JuniorsAnthony Moore 6-2 175 RB\DBD’Ante Gardet 5-8 175 FB\LB

Blake Stricklin 5-6 155 RB\DBDarrell Haynes 5-10 165 FB\LBNick McMillan 5-8 165 FB\LBNick Workman 5-6 170 OL\DLChris Moffitt 5-6 200 OL\DLTyler Bourland 6-1 190 OL\DLJake Johnson 5-9 200 OL\DLCaleb Jones 5-9 190 OL\DLCorey Gibson 6-2 235 OL\DLCraig Vishy 6-1 185 OL\DLVashonte Brooks 6-0 230 OL\DLZay Harbon 5-8 295 OL\DLDaniel Morrison 6-4 350 OL\DLJordan Williamson 5-7 125 WR\DBCody Rector 6-1 190 WR\LBLonta Badger 6-0 170 WR\DB

SophomoresClayton Reeves 5-8 140 WR\DBTravis Mitchell 5-11 160 WR\DBPatrick Bradford 6-1 185 TE\LBDerek Hunter 6-1 155 WR\DBMichael Jefferson 5-10 150 RB\DBZach Swinnen 5-5 130 KNico Melendez 5-9 150 RB\DBDiamond Hodge 5-7 130 RB\DBAustin Hogue 5-8 150 QB\DBMichael Gray 5-8 140 WR\DBTerrance Watson 5-10 165 WR\DBWesley Song 5-7 135 WR\DBDalton Moore 6-2 215 OL\DLJustin Armstrong 6-0 235 OL\DLSeth Felty 5-9 195 OL\DLJacob Stern 5-9 175 OL\LBGerry Lappin 6-2 260 OL\DLBrendan Mings 5-9 215 OL\DLCharlie Whitt 6-2 275 OL\DLSeth Brown 5-7 320 OL\DLZane Young 5-8 150 WR\DBAaron Burge 5-8 140 WR\DBJosh Brinson 6-0 185 TE\DLBryan Presley 5-10 190 TE\LB

FreshmanCaleb Burns 6-5 300 OL\DL


New faces lead Rams into battleBY GEARY DENISTONFOR THE SOUTHERN

After having his streak offour straight playoffappearances snapped lastyear, coach Dan Mings’Mount Vernon Rams willbe an unknown commodi-ty this season. Mings hasjust four starters return-ing.

“Last year, we were 2-7

and lost almost everybody,so I don’t know whetherthat’s good or bad,” Mingssaid. “I have no idea whatthe product will be sincewe are going in withuntested kids. It could bean uphill battle for us.”

The Rams not only fellfrom 5-5 the year before,but dropped from secondwith a 4-1 record to fifth at1-4 in South Seven play.

The only win came overCentralia in the eighthweek of the season. Thatsnapped a four-game los-ing skid.

You will have to forgiveBrady Rose for not recog-nizing the players aroundhim since the senior guardis the only returning offen-sive starter.

Centralia hopes to break new streakBY GEARY DENISTONFOR THE SOUTHERN

Last year, the good newswas new coach RayKauling needed only onegame to snap the longestlosing streak in school his-tory.

The bad news was the

Orphans started a new los-ing streak, losing its lasteight games.

Kauling, who had posteda 64-25 record at BreeseMater Dei, took over anOrphan team that had losta staggering 35 games in arow, but a 42-35 victoryover Salem in the first

game put that streak to bed.

“The kids got some con-fidence winning that firstgame that they could scoresome points and possiblywin ballgames,” Kaulingsaid.

CENTRALIA ORPHANSCoach: Ray KaulingCareer Record: 65-332009 Record: 1-8Conference: South Seven (Class 5A)Returning Starters (6): Alex Fritch (WR),

Nick Renfrow (G/DT), Skyler Guidish(C/DT), Gavin Heern (T/DE), BraydonLockwood (S), Albert Fory (CB).

ScheduleAug. 27 SALEM Sept. 3 At Bethalto (Civic Memorial)Sept. 10 HIGHLANDSept. 17 At Carbondale *Sept. 24 BELLEVILLE ALTHOFF *Oct. 1 At Cahokia *Oct. 8 MARION *Oct. 15 At Mount Vernon *Oct. 22 TRENTON WESCLIN* Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Chris Ainsworth 6-0 220 OL/DLFory Albert 6-1 175 WR/DBMason Beaver 6-0 250 OL/DLJoe Chumley 5-11 140 WR/DBAlex Fritch 6-2 175 WR/DBSkyler Guidish 6-3 280 OL/DLGavin Heern 6-1 225 OL/DLZach Holt 6-1 200 OL/DLJake Holtkamp 6-1 250 OL/DLShawn Jones 5-8 180 RB/LBBraydon Lockwood 5-11 175 WR/DBTodd Pearce 5-9 150 WR/DBDenzel McChristian 5-9 160 WR/DBTyler Obermeier 6-4 185 WR/DBLane Owen 6-0 230 OL/DLRonnie Owens 5-9 185 OL/DLSean Phee 6-1 185 WR/LBNick Rentfrow 6-0 250 OL/DLBrandon Sanders 6-1 170 WR/DBRobby Shaw 5-6 145 WR/DBDeron Wiggins 5-11 165 WR/DB

JuniorsLevi Alli 6-4 260 OL/DL

Matt Baumgartner 6-0 155 WR/DBDeAndre Downey 6-0 185 WR/LBChaquaris Flournoy 5-7 140 RB/DBTyler Guidish 5-8 190 OL/DLAdam Halstead 5-10 200 OL/DLBrandon Hill 6-0 175 OL/DLDavid Jackson 6-5 160 WR/DLAnthony Linder 6-0 145 WR/DBDylan McAbee 5-8 160 WR/DBTroy Miller 6-2 230 RB/LBStephonta Moore 5-9 145 WR/DBAndrew Panega 5-10 175 RB/DBTanner Pitts 6-1 240 OL/DLCurtis Schneider 5-11 160 QB/DB Adrian Williams 5-11 195 RB/LBBlake Witthaus 5-9 160 OL/DL

SophomoresJason Boyer 5-9 200 OL/DLRashad Campbell 5-11 190 RB/DBDustin Dekalb 6-0 195 OL/LBMichael Dobroski 5-8 210 OL/DLCharlie Evischi 6-0 150 WR/DBEmory Flournoy 5-9 135 WR/DBKameron Glover 5-7 235 OL/DLXavier Green 6-1 180 WR/DBSteven Guern 5-8 205 OL/DLOskar Gunther 5-10 180 OL/DLTrevor Gyorkos 5-7 140 WR/DBDevian Harris 5-4 115 WR/DBDakota Kracht 5-7 185 OL/LBTravondis Lee 5-10 145 WR/DBCody Martin 5-8 150 OL/DLNathan Miller 5-6 175 OL/DLKlayton Norman 5-10 225 OL/DLAsante’ Poore 5-6 135 RB/LBMark Pozeg 5-11 210 OL/DLJonathan Reichert 6-0 160 OL/LBKaleb Robinson 6-0 170 WR/DBQuentin Sandrowski 5-10 135 WR/DBMalik Scott 5-11 205 RB/LBBlake Shafron 6-6 275 OL/DLDrew Shores 5-10 185 RB/LBDyman Sodsaikitch 5-9 160 QB/DBJonathan Watson 5-10 120 WR/DB

FreshmenChase Alcorn 6-0 150 QB/DB

SEE CENTRALIA / PAGE 24

SEE RAMS / PAGE 24


Coming off a 9-2 seasonand five straight years inthe playoffs coach KerryMartin will have eightstarters returning in his bidto make it six in a row.Martin’s Wildcats will beseeking their first SouthSeven title since tying withCahokia and Althoff in2006.

“Last year’s record wasthe most satisfyingbecause we had a success-ful year even though wehad some key injuries, likelosing our 1,000 yard rush-er from 2008, TerraniusStanley, after the secondgame,” Martin said. “Westruggled to get our fullteam on the field fromweek one to week 11, butwe were still able to winnine ballgames.”

Offensively, Martin hasthe biggest challengereplacing quarterbackDalton Robertson, runningback Zach Irwin, tackleLavelle Simon and kickerKolton King.

“We are going to be abalanced offensive teamagain,” Martin said.

“We have some goodyoung receivers andreturning running backs.Hopefully we can keep

teams guessing.”Returning starters on the

offensive line are guardAustin Dickson and centerMatt Griffith . Tyler Wolzis back from a season longinjury. Junior Brett Bradleyand sophomore Matt Lewiswill be competing at quar-terback.

“We also have HerbertMcMillan back, whoplayed a lot as a freshmanand sophomore, but didn’tplay last year, and he willsee a lot of action at run-ning back and safety,”Martin said. “TaylorRidgeway from our verysuccessful soccer programwill be taking over forKolton as kicker.”

On defense, Martinreturns six starters in cor-nerback Toren Stanley,safety Jay Riley, defensivelinemen Colin Soldner andAaron Adeoye and line-backers Shekeil Ivey andMarcus Green.

“We run a multiple frontdefense out of our 3-4base,” Martin said. “Ourdefense is predicated onspeed to shut people down.We are going to rely on ourexperienced linebackercrew of Marcus, Shekeiland Alex Long. We alsohave two starters returningin the secondary, so we feellike our defense returns anice blend of talent andathleticism.”



Marion strives for continued success and a sixth straight playoff berth

PAUL NEWTON / THE SOUTHERNCoach Dean Schulmeister gives instructions to Keegan McGeewhile going over kickoff returns during a team practice

MARION WILDCATS

Coach: Kerry MartinCareer Record: 140-682009 Record: 9-2Conference: South Seven (Class 5A)Returning Starters (8): Austin

Dickson (OL), Matt Griffiths (OL),Toren Stanley (WR/CB), Colin Soldner(DE), Aaron Adeoye (DT), Shekeil Ivey(LB), Jay Riley (S), Marcus Green (OLB)

ScheduleAug. 27 GRANITE CITYSept. 3 at HighlandSept. 10 HARRISBURGSept. 17 CAHOKIA*Sept. 24 MOUNT VERNON*Oct. 1 at Belleville Althoff*Oct. 8 at Centralia*Oct. 15 CARBONDALE*Oct. 22 at Herrin* conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Aaron Adeoye 6-6 215 DLPatrick Clark 5-11 260 OLJoey Conley 6-0 225 OLAustin Dickson 6-2 255 OLMarcus Green 5-10 175 DB/SEMatt Griffith 6-2 240 OLRicky Hatfield 5-10 175 SE/DBBraden Hill 5-9 150 SEDeShaun June 6-3 250 OL/DLHerbert McMillan 6-0 185 RB/DBKeenan Minor 6-1 180 SE/DBRyan Null 5-8 165 SE

Doug Plumer 5-7 165 SEHolden Reel 5-9 175 RB/DBTaylor Ridgeway 5-10 165 KColin Soldner 6-4 220 DL/SEToren Stanley 5-10 175 RB/DBTroy Stuckey 5-10 150 DBTyler Wolz 6-5 250 OL/DL

JuniorsD.J. Boggs 6-0 250 OL/DLBrett Bradley 6-2 205 QBDylan Carrico 5-10 225 OL/DLBraxton Dallas 5-10 175 DB/SEDarien Daniel 5-10 205 DL/OLBrandon England 5-10 200 OL/DLTyler Forbes 5-10 165 HBSpencer Glasnovich 5-11 190 OL/DLDanny Gooch 6-3 215 TE/DLShekeil Ivey 5-11 205 RB/LBDrew Johnson 6-0 155 SE/DBAlex Long 5-9 210 RB/LBCody Luckett 6-1 185 LB/SEKeegan McGee 5-10 205 OL/DLCedric Neal 5-7 160 RB/DBMichael Norris 5-10 195 LB/OLZach Peterson 6-3 200 OL/DLChris Ramey 6-2 210 LB/DEJay Riley 6-0 175 SE/DBBrandon Sweitzer 5-7 155 SE/DBDylon Woolard 6-2 200 DL/OL

SophomoresHenry Jones 5-9 170 RB/LBMatt Lewis 6-0 165 QBGeorge Ray 5-8 160 RB/DBTroy Slinkard 5-10 190 RB/LBJohn Stutz 5-10 255 OL/DLGavin Taylor 6-3 275 OLJake Weaver 6-2 180 SE/DB

PAUL NEWTON / THE SOUTHERNMarion’s Shekeil Ivey runs downfield while practicing kickoff returns during a team practice.

Go

Wildcats!!


CAHOKIA COMANCHES

Coach: Antwyne GollidayCareer Record: 58-222009 Record: 9-2Conference: South Seven (Class 5A)Returning Starters (1): Joshua Bell (SS)

ScheduleAug. 27 at O’FallonSept. 3 ALTONSept. 10 CARNAHAN, Mo.Sept. 17 at Marion*Sept. 24 CARBONDALE*Oct. 1 CENTRALIA*Oct. 8 at Mount Vernon*Oct. 15 at Belleville AlthoffOct. 22 SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES *Conference game

SeniorsPos. Ht. Wt.

Dondre Leflore WR/DB 6-2 170Brandon Gates WR/DB 5-8 150Joshua Bell WR/QB/DB 6-5 190Kevin Ash WR/LB 6-1 175Darvin Fridge WR/LB 6-3 215Thomas Gantt QB/WR 6-0 160Brandon Fair WR/LB 6-1 195Greg Hayes RB/LB 5-9 215Walter Lockett WR/LB 5-9 170Markevion Chairs RB 5-5 140William Pruitt OL/DL 5-10 230Rodney Young OL/DL 5-10 235Travion Williams OL/DL 5-11 210Deandre Motley OL/DL 5-11 270Dominique Leflore OL/DL 6-5 215Jamaal Green OL/DL 6-7 290Ronyell Johnson WR 5-5 140Nehemiah GreenleeWR/DL 6-5 195Wesley Moore WR/LB 5-11 175

Three-peat? Cahokia has work to doBY GEARY DENISTONFOR THE SOUTHERN

Cahokia has been in theplayoffs every year sinceAntwyne Golliday tookover the program in 2003.During that span theComanches have been atthe top or near the top ofthe South SevenConference, posting a 29-6 record includingwinning its second straighttitle last year by sweepingthe field again.

However, this yearGolliday has his work cutout for him with only onestarter returning from theteam that went 9-2 lastyear.

“We don’t rebuild, wereload,” Golliday said. “Onpaper it will look like we’regoing to be down, butwhen we show up we will

be up. I think we are goingto fool some people thisyear. We’re going to beyoung and make mistakes,but we’re going to be com-petitive.”

Gone are top talents likequarterback Patrick Ivy,running back Joe Grinston,wide receivers/defensivebacks Jimmie Hunt andDonald Collier, wide recei-ver/linebacker KhyreeBeckley, wide receiver/kicker Brad Schmid andboth his offensive anddefensive lines. Hunt willbe playing for Missourithis year.

“Offensively we’re goingto be fast again and takewhatever you give us,”Golliday said. “We aregoing to run the ball andare ready to throw the ball.The running back positionis a toss-up right now and

at wide receiver I have ninedifferent guys fighting forfour positions. I do knowwe have nice size on theline.”

The leading candidatesto replace Ivy, who passedfor 1,915 yards and 21touchdowns last year, arejunior Xjavion Boyd andsenior Thomas Gantt.

“Defensively we willcome at you from a varietyof schemes,” Golliday said.“We are going to be fastand aggressive like wealways do. The only thingthat changes is the faces.”

The lone returningstarter is strong safety JoshBell. Two new starters willbe senior cornerbackBrandon Gates and juniordefensive tackle ParisGrimmitt, who will also bestarting at center onoffense.

BELLEVILLE ALTHOFF CRUSADERS

Coach: Ken TurnerCareer Record: 8-112009 Record: 6-4Conference: South Seven (Class 4A)Returning Starters (5): Jabari Taylor (QB),

Vinton Harris (G/DT), Carson Sonnenberg(TE/OLB), Kyle Johnston (G/DE), JerryCostello (DE/WR)

ScheduleAug. 27 at CollinsvilleSept. 3 BELLEVILLE WESTSept. 10 at MascoutahSept. 17 at Mount Vernon*Sept. 24 at Centralia*Oct. 1 MARION*Oct. 8 at Carbondale*Oct. 15 CAHOKIA*Oct. 22 TROY (TRIAD)*Conference game

SeniorsPos. Ht. Wt.

Nick Krietemeyer WR/DB 6-1 185Vison Arterbridge RB/DB 6-3 225Jerry Costello WR/DE 6-4 205Darren Grinston WR/DB 5-8 140Alex Hietzman WR/DB 5-8 165Jeffrey Schutzenhofer DB 5-8 180Carson Sonneberg TE/LB 6-5 227Kyle Johnston OL/DE 6-0 240Vinton Harris OL/DL 5-11 260Nick Hehmann C/DRE 5-11 205Kyle Siekmann OT/DT 6-0 226

De’Marrion Bogans WR/DB 5-9 156James Lewallen K 5-11 170

JuniorsJabari Taylor QB 6-0 165Kameron Harris RB/LB 5-9 195Nesh Quarles WR/DB 6-4 195Jeffrey Mayo WB/DB 5-9 145Nick Fiore RB/DB 5-10 160David Fischer RB/DB 5-8 180Greg Ceferatti OT/LB 6-0 165Andre Roberts C/DE 5-8 223Adam Dettenmeier P/K 5-11 160Luke Schwartz DT 5-7 245Colin Cozart OT/DT 5-9 280

SophomoresNick Hawthorne WR/DB 5-8 140Zach Donaldson QB/LB 6-1 160Derek Newgent WR/DB 5-9 150Ryan Cannady WR/DB 5-11 145Garland Henley WR/LB 5-11 165Jeremy Miller WR/LB 5-7 140Kordell Harris WR/LB 5-8 180Mike Harris WR/DB 5-6 165Luis Garcia WR/DB 5-7 135Dalton Crunk TE/DB 6-0 165Erik Furmanek OT/LB 6-4 240Nolan Abernathy OT/DE 6-4 225Daniel Hopkins OT/LB 6-2 171Brock Jenkins OT/DE 5-7 184Brandon Harris OG/DE 5-8 203Gerrardo Herrera OT/DT 5-6 214Merrick Jackson OG/DT 6-3 277

FreshmenEric Mertens QB/LB 6-2 196

Belleville Althoff begins season on a mission to get back to postseason



Belleville Althoff gotback into the playoffs aftera two-year absence, but aquick exit after a 10-7 lossto Effingham left theCrusaders on a missionthis year. Althoff finishedthird in the South Seven at3-2 behind Cahokia andMarion.

“It was big returning tothe playoffs, but our kidswere striving higher,” saidcoach Ken Turner. “We aretrying to get back to wherewe used to be, getting to

the playoffs every year.”Turner runs the spread

offense and will have lastyear’s starting widereceiver Jabari Taylormoving to quarterback toreplace Brady Nowak.Helping Taylor will be twothree-year starters atguard Kyle Johnston andfirst team all-conferenceand all-area Vinton Harris,all-conference tight endCarson Sonnenberg andwide receiver JerryCostello.

“Jabari is a really goodathlete who fits perfectlywith what we want to do,”

Turner said. “He throwswell and runs extremelywell. He was the backupquarterback as a freshmanand is ready to step in.”

New starters on offensewill be left tackle NolanAbernathy, right tackleKyle Siekmann, centerAndre Roberts and widereceivers Nesh Quarles andDarren Grinston. KameronHarris will play fullbackand Vinson Arterbridgewill replace Paul Cefarattiat running back.

“Kameron, who we call

SEE ALTHOFF / PAGE 24


MURPHYSBORO RED DEVILS

Coach: Jim HammersCareer Record: 0-02009 Record: 3-6Conference: SIRR Ohio (Class 4A) Returning Starters (9): Eben Brooks

(QB/DB), Jeremy Marshall (QB/DB),Dylan Craig (WR/LB), Bryce Mueller (WR/LB), Orlando Jarrett (RB/DB), Caleb Bost(OL/DL), Bradley Sauer (OL/DL), ColeGould (OL/DL), Michael Roberts (OL/DL)

ScheduleAug. 27 CARBONDALESept. 3 at Anna-JonesboroSept. 10 at SpartaSept. 17 at Benton*Sept. 24 MASSAC COUNTY*Oct. 1 HERRIN*Oct. 8 at West Frankfort*Oct. 15 HARRISBURG*Oct. 22 DU QUOIN*Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Jalen Banks 5-6 160 WR/DBCaleb Bost 5-11 185 OL/DLKeon Cathey 5-11 225 OL/DLDylan Craig 6-3 195 WR/LBAustin Crane 5-10 200 OL/DLEben Brooks 6-3 195 QB/DBRapheal Gibson 5-9 180 WR/LBCamryn Greer 5-7 140 WR/DBDomonic Hampton 5-7 250 OL/DLNapoleon Hughes 5-8 165 OL/DLOrlando Jarrett 5-11 200 RB/DBDale Kinsell 5-5 250 OL/DLRay Loyd 5-10 190 OL/DLBryce Mueller 5-11 155 WR/LBBrandon Nicks 5-6 150 RB/LBRobert Parnell 6-4 370 OL/DLMichael Roberts 6-2 275 OL/DL

Bradley Sauer 6-7 300 OL/DLChris Scholz 5-11 150 WR/DBCaleb Stanton 6-0 150 WR/DB

JuniorsDevan Baril 5-7 165 RB/LBMichael Bytner 5-7 180 OL/DLCole Gould 6-0 180 OL/DLBrandon Jackson 5-6 170 RB/LBDarion Jarrett 5-8 160 RB/DBNick Keller 6-2 290 OL/DLMatt Kupcikevicius 5-10 150 WR/LBJeremiah LaGrone 5-10 250 OL/DLBryce Layne 5-9 190 OL/DLMitch Maloney 5-10 155 WR/DBKyle Miller 6-0 170 QB/DBRyan O’Leary 5-8 215 OL/DLJosh Thompson 5-11 160 WR/DBTanner Troutman 5-10 240 OL/DLJacob White 5-10 155 RB/DB

SophomoresAndre Adams 5-6 170 OL/DLFrancisco AmbrocioN/A N/A RB/LBDiamante Bradley 5-5 190 RB/LBDalton Bruns 5-9 140 WR/DBKevin Cude 6-0 180 OL/DLZach Evans 6-2 135 QB/DBDevian Gaines 5-4 140 RB/DBHoston Gee 5-7 114 WR/DBLarry Golden 5-10 165 RB/LBDaShawn Henry 5-9 150 RB/DBRobert Jennings 5-9 185 OL/DLAlex Kartje 5-5 115 WR/DBDonald Kellum 6-2 160 WR/DBTylon Kerrens 5-10 155 QB/DBNick Kupcikevich 5-6 120 WR/DBJesse Loyd 6-1 270 OL/DLTim Phillips 6-3 225 OL/DLLaMarcus Spillers 5-9 150 OL/DLDylan Spradling 6-3 310 OL/DLTrey Stewart 5-8 125 WR/DBKane Wilson 5-9 150 RB/DBLloyd Woolard 6-0 230 OL/DL

PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW: SIRR OHIO

Murphysboro looking for leadersBY PETE SPITLERTHE SOUTHERN

New Murphysboro coachJim Hammers has a lot ofskill to work with, but itwill be the character guyswho could make thebiggest difference this sea-son.

After 22 years as anassistant with the RedDevils, Hammers movesinto the top role in a pro-gram that hasn’t won morethan three games in a sea-son since 1999 and went 7-38 in five years underformer coach Bob Stilley.Hammers becomes thefourth coach to attempt toreturn Murphysboro torespectability for the firsttime this century.

“We have a number ofskill players coming back,”Hammers said. “We have asenior class that is veryclose, and we look for themto lead us.”

Seniors Eben Brooks,Jeremy Marshall andthree-year starter DylanCraig are in competitionfor the quarterback spotfor the Red Devils, whoscored an average of 16.3points per game last yearwhile allowing 35.5 a game.Brooks was a second-teamall-conference selectionand team MVP, while

Marshall was Murphys-boro’s lone All-South pick.

“We rely on our QB to doa lot in our offense,”Hammers said. “If onedoesn’t start at QB, they’llstart at wide receiver.”

After two straight 3-6seasons, Murphysboro willneed good character guyslike Craig to make a differ-ence in the locker room ifthe team hopes to breakout of its current rut. TheRed Devils lost four of theirlast five after a 2-2 start tothe 2009 slate.

“Craig is an outstandingyoung man and an out-standing athlete,”Hammers said. “We’relooking for him to do a lotfor us this year.”

First-team, all-confer-ence running back OrlandoJarrett returns as a senior,while younger brotherDarion will contribute inthe backfield as a junior.

Orlando had more than400 yards on the groundand 200 receiving forMurphysboro last season.

“We’re looking to thetwo brothers to carry themail for us a lot this sea-son,” Hammers said.

Possibly joining three-year starter Marshall atwide receiver is CalebStanton and juniors MitchMaloney and Jacob White.With more than 100 play-ers program-wide out forfootball this year, depthfigures to be an asset forthe Red Devils.

“We’re in a situationwhere we’re a little deeperthan we expected to be,”Hammers said.

“That’s because the kidshave worked so hard andthe turnout has been sogood.”

[email protected]

PAUL NEWTON / THE SOUTHERNMurphysboro’s players push a sled during a team practice.

Go Red Devils!

1 1/2 Mi. W. of Murphysboro on Rt. 149Murphysoboro, IL 687-3663 • Hours: Mon-Sat 9-5pm Sun 12-5pm

GO RED DEVILS!GO RED DEVILS!


MASSAC COUNTY PATRIOTS

Coach: Kelly GlassCareer Record: 128-1062009 Record: 7-3 Conference: SIRR Ohio (Class 4A)Returning Starters (10): Jordan

Jackson (RB/DE), Daniel Duncan(RB/DB), Malcom Amos (RB/DB),Caleb Crim (QB/DB), Jarel Johnson (WR/DB), Jon Haverkamp(K/WR), Levi McDuffee (LB),Marshall Burkhead (OL/DL),Jonathan Dye (OL/DL), Mitch McClellan(LB).

ScheduleAug. 27 MARION (Crittenden County,

Ky.)Sept. 3 At Hickman (Fulton County, Ky.)Sept. 10 ANNA-JONESBOROSept. 17 At Harrisburg *Sept. 24 At Murphysboro *Oct. 1 BENTON *Oct. 8 HERRIN *Oct. 15 WEST FRANKFORT*Oct. 22 At Olney East Richland* Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Isaiah Cruz 5-10 165 WR/DBJonathan Dye 5-11 200 DL/OLDaniel Duncan 5-9 185 RB/DBO’Shay Everett 5-9 165 DB/RBJordan Jackson 5-10 180 RB/DEMitch McClellan 6-1 190 LBLevi McDuffee 6-2 230 LBAdam Penrod 6-2 180 OL/DLKeeton Walker 5-9 170 WR/DB

JuniorsMalcom Amos 6-0 150 RB/DBMarshall Burkhead 5-7 210 OL/DL

Caleb Crim 5-5 160 QB/DBNick Deasel 5-9 250 OL/DLRobert Fager 5-9 180 DLGuyllermo Gonzalez 5-10 200 OL/DLMason Heine 5-9 190 OL/DLBlake Herbert 6-0 170 OL/DBNate Hillebrand 5-9 170 QB/DBJarel Johnson 5-10 155 WR/DBCody Jones 6-1 260 OL/DLJeremy Konemenn 6-2 255 OL/DLJarel Mackey 5-7 145 RB/LBJohn Matlock 6-0 230 OL/DLErik Merrill 5-11 210 OL/DLKenneth Miller 5-11 260 OL/DLWill Norwood 5-6 130 DB/WRTodd Pergande 5-11 200 OL/DLKelvin Skinner 6-2 170 WR/DBJeb Stewart 5-10 165 OL/LBDalton Stoner 5-11 190 QBPaul Turner 5-10 210 OL/DLJay Tyson 5-7 160 DB/WR

SophomoresJordan Ablett 5-9 155 RB/LBMatt Buchanan 5-7 150 OL/LBStephen Cooper 6-1 165 WR/DBTrey Copley 5-9 190 OL/LBAndrew Cromeenes 6-1 175 WRRoss Devers 6-1 145 WR/LBAustin Green 5-8 140 WR/DBJon Haverkamp 5-7 125 K/WRThomas Hicks 6-0 215 OL/DLCole Jenkins 5-10 170 LBCurtis Kerley 6-1 290 OL/DLDaz Nickerson 5-8 140 WR/DBJared Oliver 5-11 150 WR/DBMarquis Thompson 5-10 160 DB/WRLamar Tyson 5-6 130 WR/RBZach Trumpower 6-2 250 OL/DLEli Wheeler 5-9 250 OL/DL

FreshmenLandon Cornwell 5-10 205 OL/DL


Stoner has big shoes to fill for PatriotsBY PETE SPITLERTHE SOUTHERN

Entering his 25th year asMassac County’s headcoach, Kelly Glass stayedthe course in his assess-ment of the Patriots’chances in 2010.

“I think we’ll be fine,”Glass said. “There’s been abunch of seasons for me.It’s a mixed feeling of emo-tions — optimism, enthu-siasm and wanting to seewhat you can do.”

Massac County has wonseven games in each of thelast three seasons underGlass, who has a 128-106record in Metropolis. Butthe Patriots look to be a bitdifferent this year follow-ing the graduation of 16seniors — including multi-

threat quarterback/run-ning back Jarelle Johnson.

“We like the determina-tion of our kids, and I thinkwe’ll be competitive,”Glass said. “We’ve beenblessed over the last coupleof years.”

Johnson threw for morethan 500 yards and addedmore than 1,000 on theground for Massac Countyin 2009, and his departurecreated a huge hole behindcenter that will be filled byjunior Dalton Stoner.

And Stoner appears to beready to become another ina long line of successfulPatriots quarterbacks,with the most recentexamples being Johnsonand Zach Kester.

“One of his best buddiesis Zach Kester and they

have a lot of things in com-mon,” Glass said of Stoner.“I think he wants to outdoZach a little bit.”

Glass had glowing praiseabout his new quarterback.

“He has a believable andearned passion to be a goodfootball player,” Glass said.“He has never missed apractice and attendedevery weight lifting ses-sion.

“He’s the guy I hopemakes us go.”

Massac County has theunique opportunity ofhosting a bowl gamebetween Herrin andHopkins County, Ky., at 7 p.m. Saturday. The neu-tral-site contest is the firsttime the Patriots havehosted, and it will be theseason opener for Herrin.

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Friday, August 27, 2010 The Southern Illinoisan

BENTON RANGERS

Coach: Jeremy ClodfelderCareer Record: 8-192009 Record: 3-6 Conference: SIRR Ohio (Class 3A)Returning Starters (7): Hunter

Rone (OL/LB), Kyler Smith (WR/QB/DB), Landon Stewart (OL/LB), Mason Childers (WR/LB),Trey Garrett (WR/DB), Landon LaBuwi (WR/DL), Cody Smith(WR/QB/DB).

ScheduleAug. 27 At CartervilleSept. 3 SPARTASept. 10 At PinckneyvilleSept. 17 MURPHYSBORO *Sept. 25 WEST FRANKFORT *Oct. 1 At Massac County *Oct. 8 At Harrisburg *Oct. 15 At Herrin *Oct. 22 ANNA-JONESBORO* Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Tyler Arnett 6-0 305 OL/DLTrenton Browning 5-11 310 OL/DLDylan DeForest 5-10 190 RB/LBJalen Heil 6-1 170 WR/DBTyler Lampley 5-10 160 OL/LBJohnny Piazza 5-8 165 RB/LBHunter Rone 5-10 235 OL/LBKyler Smith 5-9 175 WR/QB/DBMichael Stark 6-0 305 OL/DLLandon Stewart 6-1 200 OL/LBMatt Summers 5-10 180 OL/LBDylan Warren 5-8 135 WR/DB

Damon Wilson 5-9 155 WR/DBJuniors

Colby Allen 5-9 175 RB/LBDerek Butler 6-0 250 OL/DLMason Childers 6-0 180 WR/LBColt Dugger 5-10 205 OL/DLTrey Garrett 6-0 180 WR/DBBeau Gibbs 5-11 215 OL/DLJake Harris 6-1 175 WR/DLScott Johnson 6-1 155 WR/DBJared Johnston 6-0 150 WR/DBKyle Kink 5-8 160 WR/LBLandon LaBuwi 6-3 200 WR/DLTyler Leffler 6-1 165 QB/DBCory Leslie 5-6 140 WR/LBEric Price 5-11 150 WR/DBJerett Shockley 6-2 320 OL/DLCody Smith 5-9 145 WR/QB/DB

SophomoresShane Bettenhausen 6-2 240 OL/DLDakota Cali 5-7 160 RB/LBAaron Casey 6-2 230 OL/DLShane Chapman 6-3 275 OL/DLCole Forby 5-11 160 WR/DBEthan Hughes 6-2 230 OL/DLLane Hutchinson 6-2 315 OL/DLFrank Kulich 6-0 210 OL/DLJeremy Lay 5-9 175 WR/LBRyan Lowery 5-9 165 OL/LBSlater Moore 5-4 150 RB/LBAustin Myers 5-7 135 WR/DBCameron Rock 5-7 150 RB/LBDylan Sheeks 6-0 210 RB/LBNick Shelton 5-11 200 OL/DLMax Summers N/A N/A OL/LBGavin Suver 6-4 210 OL/DLDaulton Ward 6-4 220 OL/DLAlex Yates 5-9 145 WR/DB

WEST FRANKFORT REDBIRDS

Coach: Chad SpenceCareer Record: 33-342009 Record: 1-8Conference: SIRR Ohio (Class 3A)Returning Starters (10): Addison

Eggertsen (QB), Jarod Dial (WO),Derrick Davis (DB), Ben Cunningham(WO), Nathan Butler (WO), Joe Burgess (OL), Brady Melvin (OL), MilesWilliams (OL), Koty Rains (OL), DustinMoss (OL)

ScheduleAug. 27 At Anna-JonesboroSept. 3 At PinckneyvilleSept. 10 NASHVILLESept. 17 HERRIN *Sept. 25 At Benton *Oct. 1 At Harrisburg *Oct. 8 MURPHYSBOROOct. 15 At Metropolis (Massac County) *Oct. 23 FREEBURG* Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Nathan Butler 6-2 190 WOBen Cunningham 6-0 185 WODerrick Davis 6-0 170 DBCody Elders 5-10 180 WOKaleb Gardner 5-9 155 RB

Colton Gass 6-1 170 WOBrady Melvin 6-1 220 OLDustin Moss 6-3 295 OLJoshua Tharp 5-10 195 RBLuke Ward 6-2 225 OLMiles Williams 5-11 225 OLMatt Wright 6-0 195 DL

JuniorsJoe Burgess 6-3 240 OLJarod Dial 6-1 185 WOAddison Eggertsen6-1 195 QBCharles Leach 5-9 185 LBJoe Mash 5-9 200 OLDakota Pratt 5-10 165 WOKoty Rains 6-2 220 OLColton Williams 5-11 165 DB

SophomoresZack Baize 5-11 230 OLMichael Dodd 5-7 160 DBJosh Erthall 6-0 150 OLGarrett Gibbs 5-10 190 RBBrady Karnes 5-10 230 OLNic Korolenko 6-1 190 WOMichael Laswell 6-0 180 OLGavin Restivo 5-7 160 RBHadin Restivo 5-10 175 QBBryce Rich 5-11 220 OLJosh Rich 6-0 230 OLJosh Rodely 6-1 180 DEDakota Tyler 6-0 200 OLJonathan Utley 6-0 180 DE


Dealing with tragedy, an experienced Benton team is ready for a turnaroundBY PETE SPITLERTHE SOUTHERN

Dealing with death isnever easy, especially whenthe deceased is your coach.

Longtime Benton assis-tant coach Mark Harbenpassed away in his hotelroom June 19 while mem-bers of his fellow coaching

staff and players were par-ticipating in the Rangers’summer football camp atCamp Rantoul. The 54-year-old was lookingup defensive formationson his computer hoursbefore his death.

“It has been a tryingsummer for us with thedeath of a coach and that is

not easy on anybody,” saidBenton coach JeremyClodfelder. “There was alittle bit of a recoveryprocess and I’m proud ofthe way the kids stood backup and got back to work.”

The Rangers finished 3-6in 2009 and are 8-19 in

Redbirds come into season with new styleBY PETE SPITLERTHE SOUTHERN

After a pair of lean years,West Frankfort looks to tryand reverse the trend witha young team sprinkledwith skill players in 2010.

The Redbirds are 3-15 thelast two years after finish-

ing 7-4 in 2007. But anemphasis on offseasonconditioning and a simpli-fied strategic approach hasWest Frankfort optimisticabout its chances.

“I think the results we’vehad over the last season ortwo has made the kidsrealize there needs to be a

change,” said WestFrankfort coach ChadSpence.

“We’re pretty excited,and we’re kinda young, butthe kids have bought intowhat we’re doing andthey’ve worked hard.

SEE BENTON / PAGE 27

SEE REDBIRDS / PAGE 27



A year after seeing a 6-4season end with a 42-0loss to Quincy NotreDame, Harrisburg pins itshopes on John DavidRollins and a number ofthree-sport athletes in2010.

Without fullbackDawson Montfort, quar-terback Reid Roper, defen-sive end Noah King andrunning back KollinDowdy, the Bulldogs figureto have a lot less namerecognition this season,but that hasn’t ever affect-ed Harrisburg’s success.

“There’s a couple of sen-iors we’re looking to get alot of mileage out of,” saidHarrisburg coach JasonRoper. “I don’t think we’llbe as big as we were lastyear, but overall, our teamspeed is pretty good andI’m happy with that.”

Harrisburg will missMontfort’s 6-foot-1, 220-pound frame and the morethan 1,000 yards and 20touchdowns the McKen-dree University prospectscored to help the Bulldogswin the SIRR Ohio titlewith a 6-3 record.

In his place, runningbacks Issac Behme, Rollinsand Keelin Rasch look to

share the load by commit-tee.

“Those three should begood for us,” Roper said.“We don’t have that big,physical Harrisburg full-back. We’ll be a littleundersized, but hopefullywe can make up for thatwith our speed.”

And Rollins — the self-proclaimed “Fastest Manin Illinois” — has speed toburn. The Bulldogs trackstar, who spent time at aspeed camp in Texas thissummer, racked up 1,000yards on the ground in2009 and was Harrisburg’smain return threat on spe-cial teams.

“He’s got a lot of confi-dence and has set his goalsreally high,” Roper said.“He’s been impressive sofar. Track is his No. 1 sport,but we’re glad he likesfootball.”

Up front, Harrisburg isreloading following thedepartures of all-confer-ence linemen NathanHunt, Mitch Mitchell andStewart Neal. Second-team all-conference line-man Johnny Donaldsonreturns as mentor to thenext crop of athletes towork the trenches.

“We have some juniorlinemen that I hope canmature really, really fast,”

Roper said. “We’ll havesome seniors playing, butthey lack experience.”

Harrisburg consistentlyplays one of the toughestschedules in SouthernIllinois and this year is nodifferent, with theBulldogs hosting MountCarmel at today and thentraveling to Du Quoin andMarion in Weeks 2 and 3.

“Mount Carmel shouldbe outstanding and thisyear should be a great yearfor them,” Roper said.“We’ve got to go to DuQuoin and then Marion,which is the best team inSouthern Illinois in myopinion.”

[email protected]

HARRISBURG BULLDOGS

Coach: Jason RoperCareer Record: 19-202009 Record: 6-4 Conference: SIRR Ohio (Class 4A)Returning Starters (7): John David

Rollins (RB/DE), Keelin Rasch (RB/LB),Nick Borders (RB/LB), Isaac Behme(RB/LB), Robby Brown (K), CalebThompson (RB/DB), Johnnie Donaldson(OL/DL)

ScheduleAug. 27 MOUNT CARMELSept. 3 At Du QuoinSept. 10 At MarionSept. 17 METROPOLIS

(MASSAC COUNTY) *Sept. 24 At Herrin *Oct. 1 WEST FRANKFORT *Oct. 8 BENTON *Oct. 15 At Murphysboro *Oct. 22 CARBONDALE* Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Jacob Blackman 5-11 215 OLNick Borders 5-9 174 RB/LBRobby Brown 5-11 150 KJesse Condra 5-11 160 DBTyler Cox 5-9 230 DLJohnnie Donaldson 6-0 299 OL/DLLogan Leverett 6-2 205 LBAndrew Maxam 6-1 172 QBNate Morris 6-5 277 DLKeelin Rasch 5-11 181 RB/LBScott Riley 5-10 133 DB

Mical Rockford 6-2 171 TEJohn David Rollins 5-10 150 RB/DBMichael Thomas 5-10 162 LBCaleb Thompson 5-10 167 RB/DBPaul Walker 6-2 161 DBJames Wilton 6-0 194 OL/DLAustin Younger 6-2 162 LB

JuniorsRaven Abell 6-0 168 LBKashmere Barners 5-8 160 RB/DBCaleb Beal 5-11 226 OL/DLKyle Butler 5-6 168 RB/LBZach Cletcher 6-0 211 OL/DLCameron Cummins 5-7 149 RB/DBDylan Davis 5-5 177 LBAlex Delgado 5-11 233 OL/DLZach Devillez 5-11 149 RB/DBBrandon Gibbs 6-3 244 OL/DLDustin Gulley 5-6 158 LBNick Hamp 5-11 198 DLDerek Hardin 5-8 167 LBTim Jeffries 5-9 209 OL/DLAustin Johnson 6-0 203 OL/LBKaleb Martineau 5-10 208 OL/DLTyler McGowan 6-1 182 QB/DBAaron McRoy 5-9 162 LBMatt Milligan 6-0 164 TE/LBPayton Moss 5-10 180 RB/LBRahul Patel 5-8 155 KDalton Rightnowar 6-0 150 DBKelly Shimp 6-3 147 DBTyler Short 6-2 174 TE/LBTerry Taborn 6-2 230 OL/DLTyler Tuttle 6-0 167 RB/LB

SophomoresCapel Henshaw 6-2 172 TE/DBRyne Roper 6-1 172 QB/DB


Harrisburg puts fate of teamin hands of some new players

PAUL NEWTON / THE SOUTHERNHarrisburg’s Payton Moss takes a handoff from Andrew Maxam during a team practice Aug. 19.

‘He’s (John David Rollins) got a lot of confidenceand has set his goals really high. Track is his No. 1sport, but we’re glad he likes football.’

JASON ROPERHARRISBURG COACH



Herrin coach JasonKarnes is eager to get backto a winning season afterrecording a 4-5 record in2009, the only sub-.500season in the coach’s four-year career.

The Tigers hadn’t had aseason with less than sevenwins during Karnes’ tenureprior to last year, but thereasoning behind the mis-step was simple.

“I look at two thingsevery year — depth andtaking care of the football,”Karnes said. “For us lastyear, we had 15 turnovers inthe first three games.”

Herrin is without gradu-ated All-South runningbacks David Mallow andTyler Gooden. Mallowracked up 1,178 yards and16 touchdowns as a seniorin 2009. Gooden added 561yards and five scores.

On the defensive side ofthe ball, Mallow recorded64 tackles, five sacks andfour interceptions. Goodenled the team with 72 tack-les. Their departure meansjunior running backDeMarlo Harris will figuremore prominently into the

offense after seeing spotduty for the Tigers lastseason.

“I think there are five orsix kids that played lastyear that I’m excitedabout,” Karnes said.“We’ve done a lot of thingsin strength and explosionand I’ve been realimpressed by their pro-gression.”

Among that group islikely outside linebackerAntuan Davis, right tackleZeb Williams, center CodyWard and lineman BrandonBevis. All but Davis areseniors in 2010, with

Williams being a three-year starter and Ward andDavis being two-yearstarters.

“I think they’ve workedextremely hard in theweight room sinceDecember,” Karnes said.“It could be a very goodline for us. We’ve got somebig guys and some speedand that’s a good combina-tion in the line.”

After the down year in2009, Herrin looks toreturn to its primary focusstarting Saturday at 7 p.m.against Hopkins County,Ky., with Massac County

serving as a neutral sitehost.

“I’ve played a differentteam in Week 1 every yearI’ve been here,” Karnessaid. “We kind of have asimilar schedule with

(Harrisburg) coach (Jason)Roper.”

Herrin proposed a con-test against the SIRRMississippi’s newestmember in Carterville, butwas denied.

“Travel-wise andmoney-wise, it’s so mucheasier to cross over,”Karnes said.

[email protected]

HERRIN TIGERS

Coach: Jason KarnesCareer Record: 27-142009 Record: 4-5 Conference: SIRR Ohio (Class 4A)Returning Starters (9): DeMarlo

Harris (RB/DE), Jakob Caldwell (RB/DB), Antuan Davis (QB/LB),Conner Butler (RB/LB), Cody Ward(OL/DL), Zeb Williams (OL/DL),Devon Lohman (OL/DL), Nolan Murphy (OL/DL), Brandon Bevis(TE/DE/P).

ScheduleAug. 28 At Metropolis vs. Madisonville

(Hopkins County, Ky.) Sept. 3 At CarbondaleSept. 10 DU QUOINSept. 17 At West Frankfort *Sept. 24 HARRISBURG *Oct. 1 At Murphysboro *Oct. 8 At Massac County *Oct. 15 BENTON *Oct. 22 MARION* Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Craig Bartelsmeyer 5-10 170 KBrandon Bevis 6-4 230 TE/DE/PJakob Caldwell 6-1 160 RB/DBT.J. Clover 6-0 190 RB/LBNathan Dawson 6-1 150 RB/LBGarrett Epps 6-4 215 OL/DL

Jo Jo Hart 5-8 158 RB/DBTrenten Johnson 6-1 168 WR/DBDevon Lohman 6-3 245 OL/DLTyler Lukens 5-9 155 QB/DBWade Rea 6-0 145 WR/DBCody Ward 6-3 255 OL/DLBen Wayer 6-4 220 TE/DEZeb Williams 6-3 230 OL/DL

JuniorsCaleb Benitone 6-5 255 OL/DLBen Bouse 5-10 185 RB/LBConner Butler 6-0 172 RB/LBLayton Chiaventone 6-1 233 OL/DLToby Coffey 5-6 150 RB/LBTyler Cravens 6-2 230 OL/DLKyle Cullum 5-7 147 WR/LBAntuan Davis 6-0 198 QB/LBLevi Fortner 5-10 150 WR/DBDeMarlo Harris 6-3 202 RB/DEMarlon Harris 5-9 180 RB/LBDashawn Hart 5-9 160 WR/DBJosh Hunt 6-1 250 OL/DLTyler Mabry 6-2 235 OL/LBAustin Martin 5-8 120 WR/DBBrock McGee 5-10 140 RB/DBNolan Murphy 6-5 300 OL/DLJaggar Odam 5-8 160 WR/LBShane Shapkoff 6-0 180 OL/DEPaul Sims 6-4 245 OL/DLJames Smith 6-1 285 OL/DLJack Wilcox 5-10 130 QB/DBJake Yancey 6-0 160 LB

SophomoresAustin Butler 6-1 170 RB/DB


After disappointing 2009, Herrintries to get back to winning ways

STEVE JAHNKE / THE SOUTHERNHerrin coach Jason Karnes talks to his team during practice.

621 N. Park Ave.Herrin, Illinois

888-988-1667888-988-1667

“Ron Ward will send you home happy!”

HOURS: 8-7 Mon.-Th., 8-6 Fri., 8:30-5 Sat.

GO TIGERSTIGERS

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TTigers!!igers!!

The Southern Illinoisan Friday, August 27, 2010 Page 1133

PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW: SIRR MISSISSIPPI

DU QUOIN INDIANS

Coach: Al MartinCareer Record: 226-452009 Record: 9-2 Conference: SIRR Mississippi (Class 3A)Returning Starters (9): Seth Baxter

(RB/DB), Chaz Bland (RB/LB), JerelHolmes (RB/LB), Karson Hoffman(RB/DB), Aaron Smith (RB/DB), BrandonWilliams (TE/DE), Bryce Hamburger(OL/DL), Cory Campanella (OL/DL),Kenny Kabat (DE).

ScheduleAug. 27 BETHALTO CIVIC MEMORIALSept. 3 HARRISBURGSept. 10 At HerrinSept. 17 SPARTA *Sept. 24 CARTERVILLE *Oct. 1 At Pinckneyville *Oct. 8 NASHVILLE *Oct. 15 At Anna-Jonesboro *Oct. 22 At Murphysboro* Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Will Alstat 5-9 200 OL/DLSeth Bard 5-8 195 DLSeth Baxter 6-0 170 RB/DBTrent Bigham 5-9 160 QB/DBChaz Bland 6-0 175 RB/LBCory Campanella 6-5 300 OL/DLStorm Clarry 5-8 155 RB/LBBryce Hamburger 6-1 245 OL/DLKarson Hoffman 5-11 140 RB/DBJerel Holmes 5-9 190 RB/LBJeremy Jones 6-0 298 DLKenny Kabat 6-0 195 DE

Colin Keith 6-2 220 OLSam Kuhnert 6-6 200 TEBrock Morgenstern 6-0 265 DLEthan Nevill 5-8 145 DBJoey Perez 6-5 330 OLLuchie Porter 6-0 170 DBAaron Smith 6-0 150 RB/DBJames Williams 5-10 157 WR/DB

JuniorsAlex Angleton 5-11 265 OLDillon Beltz 5-11 180 RB/DBQuivon Bledsoe 5-5 150 RB/DBJonathan Boss 6-2 180 WRZack Cavitt 5-6 130 DBCayle Diggins 6-1 180 RB/LBJohn Galik 6-2 160 WR/DBSam Gossett 6-2 180 QBBlayne Harris 6-0 165 LBNathan Harris 6-0 145 DBCaleb Harsy 5-11 200 OL/LBTim Mabrey 6-0 190 CQuinton Mathis 6-1 175 DEJesse McDicken 6-5 210 OL/DLJared Morgan 5-9 135 DBBrice Nelson 6-6 236 OLDylan Pyron 6-2 190 TE/LBJordan Ragland 6-0 250 DLKegan Robbins 5-7 135 WRGene Rodely 6-6 180 DLJosh Sanders 6-0 165 DBLogan Spain 6-2 205 LBTJ Thorpe 5-8 205 CDakota Wheatley 5-10 150 DBNathan Zoller 6-2 235 OL

SophomoresTim Cochran 5-11 165 RB/LBBrenden Fred 6-1 160 QBTrevon Jones 5-10 180 RB/DL

Rock solid Du Quoin ready for run at 27th straight postseason

BY SCOTT MEESTHE SOUTHERN

The Du Quoin footballprogram has made theplayoffs 26 years in a rowand basically seems toreload even when it loses atalented core group ofplayers. That could be thecase this year as well.

Quarterback MattGossett has graduatedalong with running backDavid Gayton. The teamalso must replace top widereceivers David Rose andMarcus Clarry.

“They all made big playsfor us, and we tried to putthem in a good position todo that,” said coach AlMartin. “We have to getthree to four yards everyplay this year. We can’t relyon David Rose making a bigplay for us anymore. Wehave to be very consistentand disciplined.”

The Indians do haveAaron Smith returning atrunning back. Smith madea name for himself lastseason as a key contributorout of the backfield.

“He did a good job for us

running the football,”Martin said of Smith. “Heis a year stronger and he’smatured physically.”

Martin’s squad will alsobe counting on Seth Baxterand Storm Clarry at therunning positions alongwith Brandon Williams attight end. Sam Gossett willtake over at quarterbackwhile Trent Bigham is alsoworking out at the posi-tion.

“We think Sam will begood for us, and Trent willplay a lot on defense,”Martin said. “We think wehave receivers that canreally catch the ball and wethink our quarterbacks canget it to them.”

The defensive frontshould be solid once againfor the Indians. They’llhave six starters back onthat side of the ball.Williams, BryceHamburger and KennyKabat shore up the line.Chaz Bland and JerelHolmes return at line-backer, and KarsonHoffman will be back inthe secondary.

Cory Campanella per-

formed well on the offen-sive line last season as astarter, and the 6-foot-5blocker is close to 300pounds this year, accord-ing to Martin. Joey Perez(6-5, 340) will also be inthe mix.

“This is the first yearthat (Perez) has playedmuch, and he’s workedvery hard,” Martin said.“But we also have somegood, quick smaller kidsaround 200 pounds. Wehave a lot of competitionwith our offensive line.”

Du Quoin finished 9-2overall last season and wonthe SIRR MississippiDivision with a perfectrecord of 5-0. The team fellin the second round of theplayoffs at Tolono Unity.The Indians have finishedundefeated in conferenceaction in each of the pasttwo seasons.

“I think everybody willbe looking at Nashville tobe very strong,” Martinsaid. “I think it will be astrong conference again.”

[email protected]

PAUL NEWTON / THE SOUTHERNDu Quoin coach Al Martin gives instructions to players during a team practice Aug. 11.

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NASHVILLE HORNETS

Coach: Matt GajewskiCareer Record: 16-232009 Record: 7-5 Conference: SIRR Mississippi (Class 3A)Returning Starters (13): Gannon Mamell

(RB/DB), Alex Lietz (QB/DB), Bryce Harre(RB/LB), Tyler Meyer (RB/DB), ZachFieber (WR/DB), Chris Storey (FB/LB),Brady Harre (QB/DB), Colton Deering(OL/DL), Ryan Schmid (OL/DL), DylanBoozer (OL/DL), David Gill (OL/LB),Travis Newman (OL/DL), Craig Dalman(TE/DE)

ScheduleAug. 27 CARLYLESept. 3 BREESE MATER DEISept. 10 At West FrankfortSept. 17 At Carterville *Sept. 24 PINCKNEYVILLE *Oct. 1 At Anna-Jonesboro *Oct. 8 At Du Quoin *Oct. 15 SPARTA *Oct. 22 At Columbia* Conference game

SeniorsPos. Ht. Wt.

Brady Harre QB/DB 6-1 178Bryce Harre RB/LB 5-11 170Gannon Mamell RB/DB 5-10 185Alex Lietz QB/DB 6-1 170Tyler Meyer RB/DB 5-10 150Zach Fieber WR/DB 5-10 145Justin Tubbs WR/DB 5-10 165Chris Storey FB/LB 6-0 205Mitchell Stein FB/LB 6-0 170Chris Horst RB/DB 5-9 175Scott Polczynski TE/DB 6-2 175

Wil Niermann OL/DL 6-0 250Colton Deering OL/DL 5-9 230Ryan Schmid OL/DL 6-3 240Dylan Boozer OL/DL 6-1 250David Gill OL/LB 6-2 245Travis Newman OL/DL 6-2 305Craig Dalman TE/DE 6-2 235Ben Grote TE/DE 6-2 195Jeff Stern TE/DE 6-0 200

JuniorsBrady Haertling RB/DB 5-11 155Robert Hankins TE/DE 5-11 150Jesse Krawiecki QB/LB 5-10 150Josiah Nelson RB/DB 5-10 170Matt Brown RB/Db 5-10 155Michael Shubert RB/DB 5-11 145Josh Derick RB/LB 5-9 145Brandon Heckert RB/LB 5-10 165Brett Warchol FB/LB 5-11 200Trey Meyer RB/LB 5-10 140Darren Rucker TE/DE 6-0 160Kyle Brink OL/DL 5-10 185Rusty Wheeler OL/DL 5-10 200Chris Bergman OL/DL 6-3 250Brandon Fortag OL/DL 6-1 235Erik Harris OL/DL 5-9 260Ben Wolf OL/DL 6-0 235Chris Rybacki TE/DE 6-0 150

SophomoresKenny Vogt RB/DB 5-8 130Austin Haegne FB/LB 5-11 170Alex Caplin QB/DB 5-11 147Caleb Harper RB/DB 5-10 150Tristan Gill OL/LB 5-10 215Dalton Kurtz OL/DL 5-10 160Kaleb Zimmerman OL/DL 5-9 215Devin Holle OL/DL 6-4 190Cody Buss OL/DL 6-2 265TJ Horst TE/DE 5-9 140

SPARTA BULLDOGS

Coach: Phil WatsonCareer Record: 26-412009 Record: 0-9 Conference: SIRR Mississippi

(Class 3A)Returning Starters (6): Kirk Henley

(OL/DL), London Oliver (RB/DB), ZachFerguson (RB/LB), Darius Jackson(QB/DB), Josh Reese (RB/LB), MattWasson (OL/DL).

ScheduleAug. 27 COLUMBIASept. 3 At BentonSept. 10 MURPHYSBOROSept. 17 At Du Quoin *Sept. 24 ANNA-JONESBORO *Oct. 1 At Carterville *Oct. 8 PINCKNEYVILLE *Oct. 15 At Nashville *Oct. 22 RED BUD*Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Seth Buch 5-8 160 RB/LBZach Ferguson 5-6 175 RB/LBKirk Henley 6-4 270 OL/DLWeslen Kiner 6-4 190 WR/DECarl Lobdell 5-10 140 WR/DB

London Oliver 5-11 160 RB/DBJeremy Picket 5-9 160 RB/LBAntoine LeSouder 5-7 175 RB/DBMatt Wasson 5-10 160 OL/DL

JuniorsDarius Jackson 6-0 175 QB/DBOrlando Oliver 6-0 150 WR/DBJosh Reese 5-7 160 RB/LBJames Sanchez 5-11 360 OL/DLShequel Sleydin 5-5 135 RB/DBAlek Sopiars 6-2 190 WR/DECJ Windes 5-6 145 RB/DBIan Wolter 5-10 185 OL/LB

SophomoresTyler Adams 5-8 200 OL/DLSharvell Austin 5-7 135 RB/DBDeunta Baker 5-5 140 RB/DBJay Baue 6-2 180 TE/LBHayden Beattie 6-2 165 OL/LBCedric Briscoe 5-4 190 OL/LBJustin Dunning 5-7 150 RB/LBAaron Hall 5-7 165 RB/LBDylan Hatley 5-6 180 OL/DLLuke Henley 6-0 255 OL/DLJustin Krantz 6-0 160 OL/LBJon Lueth 5-9 255 OL/DLSean Lukes 6-0 165 QB/DBJared Penny 5-11 235 OL/DLGreg Scheibal 5-11 135 OL/DL

Watson says Sparta wants to ‘close the gap’BY SCOTT MEESTHE SOUTHERN

Things can only go up forthe Sparta football teamafter finishing with a win-less season in 2009. Thesquad returns six startersfrom last year, and coachPhil Watson is hoping theteam will be competitive.

“We want to close thegap on some of these teamsthat have been putting iton us,” said coach PhilWatson. “We want to becompetitive and put our-selves in the position in thefourth quarter to get lucky.The harder we work theluckier we get. We want tobe within striking distanceand sneak up on somebodyand hopefully get a win.”

Seniors London Oliverand Zach Ferguson are twoof the team’s top returning

offensive players. Oliverwill be counted on at run-ning back once again, andFerguson will handle run-ning duties as well as sometime at receiver.

“It’s great having themback because they knowthe offense, and they areboth hard workers in theweight room,” Watsonsaid. “Oliver has to be oneof the fastest kids in theconference, and Fergusonis a low to the ground run-ner who is tough to bringdown.”

The Bulldogs have toreplace Blake Shelton, whostarted at quarterback forthe past two-plus seasons.

“He was a great leaderand that’s what we’regoing to miss,” Watsonsaid. “He brought intensityto the field and led byexample. He was an

unselfish player andmoved from quarterback tofullback when we neededmore blocking.”

Watson said juniorDarius Jackson will takeover the role of quarter-back this season. Ondefense, Oliver will playdefensive back andFerguson is back at line-backer.

Josh Reese (linebacker),Matt Wasson (defensiveend) and Kirk Henley(defensive tackle) are alsoreturning starters for theunit.

Although the team didn’tpick up any wins last sea-son, it only lost to Chester,7-0, and was leadingAnna-Jonesboro at halftime before falling 30-15.

Hornets try to build on successBY SCOTT MEESTHE SOUTHERN

Nashville made a playoffrun to the quarterfinalslast year, and the squadbrings back nearly every-one from its 7-5 season.

Most coaches believeNashville is the favorite towin the SIRR MississippiDivision, but coach MattGajewski looks at it a littlebit differently.

“I think the conferencethis year is very up in the

air,” Gajewski said.“Everybody says we’re theteam to beat, but untilyou’ve won it you’re notthat team.”

The Hornets finishedjust 2-3 in conference playlast season and had to wintheir final two regular sea-son games just to make theplayoffs.

A pair of close losses toChester and Pinckneyvillehalfway through the sea-son put the team underpressure to win.

“As the season went onyou can question yourselfwhen you’re under .500,but you can grow and turnthings around,” Gajewskisaid.

“Last year was my firstseason with a winningrecord. When you get somespeed and some athletesyou have to learn how tocoach them, too.”

Gannon Mamell is thetop offensive weapon at

SEE HORNETS / PAGE 25

Page 1144 Friday, August 27, 2010 The Southern Illinoisan

SEE SPARTA / PAGE 25



PINCKNEYVILLE PANTHERS

Coach: Tod Rushing Career Record: 31-522009 Record: 2-7 Conference: SIRR Mississippi

(Class 3A)Returning Starters (6): Mike Huggins

(OL/DL), Keegan Kellerman (OL/DL),Clinton Graff (OL/DL), Bryant Shute(QB/DB), Neil Kellerman (RB/LB), AdamBarczewski (WR/DB).

ScheduleAug. 27 At Red BudSept. 3 WEST FRANKFORTSept. 10 BENTONSept. 17 At Anna-Jonesboro *Sept. 24 At Nashville *Oct. 1 DU QUOIN *Oct. 8 At Sparta *Oct. 15 CARTERVILLE *Oct. 22 At Dupo* Conference game

SeniorsPos Ht. Wt.

Adam Barczewski WR/DB 6-2 200Andrew Benbrook WR/LB 6-0 160Taylor Beninati WR/DB 5-10 155Neil Kellerman RB/LB 5-9 175Brandon Long WR/DB 5-9 140Jacob Hagston RB/DE 5-9 165Kraig Bryan OL/LB 5-11 175Clinton Graff OL/DL 6-1 275Mike Huggins OL/DL 6-0 270

JuniorsWes Fisher WR/DB 5-8 130

Bryant Shute QB/DB 5-9 160Devon Schubert WR/DB 5-9 140Grady Dunihoo WR/DB 5-8 130C.J. Opp TE/DE 6-3 220Robbie Knight RB/LB 5-9 165Austin Pyatt WR/DB 5-10 150J.D. Conner RB/LB 5-10 175Justin Hale RB/DB 6-0 155Tommy Knight RB/LB 5-8 170Cole Kellerman FB/LB 6-2 230Brad Thornton OL/DL 6’-1 240Keegan Kellerman OL/DL 6-2 270Dustin McCurdy OL/DL 6’1 230Sheldon Simpson OL/DL 6-2” 258Tyler Glenn OL/DL 6-0 210Blake Thornton OL/DL 5-9 245Sabin Kohut OL/DL 5-9 210Aaron Dunn OL/DL 5-11 230Laine Justynski OL/DL 5-11 180Evan Chapman TE/DE 5-11 180Marian Brammeier TE/DE 6’-2 200

SophomoresMason Miller OL/DE 6-3 220Zach Phillips FB/LB 5-10 175Quentin Shopinski RB/DB 5-10 155Brandon Edwards RB/DB 5-9 160Caleb Howard FB/LB 6-0 220Tyler Hirsch WR/DB 5-10 145Daulton Hubler QB/LB 6-0 205Derek Sizemore OL/LB 5-10 155Tyler Harmon OL/DL 6-2 210Phillip Catt OL/DL 5-11 185Hayden Kelly OL/DL 5-9 200Logan Woods OL/DL 6-4 280Steven Hess OL/DL 6-2 200Kelton Lively WR/DB 5-8 130

Young Panthers face tough taskBY SCOTT MEESTHE SOUTHERN

Pinckneyville only wontwo games last season, butone of those was againsttheir arch rival, Nashville.This year, coach TodRushing is hoping for moreconsistency out of hisyoung squad, whichreturns only six starters.

Bryant Shute performedwell at quarterback lastseason as a sophomore. InPinckneyville’s win overthe Hornets, Shute rushedfor 144 yards and threw for138.

“He learned a lot in thatfirst year and realized howfast the game was,”Rushing said of Shute.“Some of the mistakes hemade will be greatlyreduced. He is running theoffense with confidenceand taking charge of thesystem.”

But unfortunately forRushing and the Panthers,Shute will miss the firstfour games of the seasonfor disciplinary reasonsalong with runningback/linebacker RobbieKnight. Clinton Graff, areturning starter on the

line, is also suspended fortwo games along with widereceiver/defensive backTaylor Beninati.

All four players aredefensive starters for theteam.

Sophomore DaultonHubler will start at quar-terback for the first fourgames of the season,according to Rushing.

One of Hubler’s primarytargets early in the seasonwill be Adam Barczewski,who returns at widereceiver.

A-J looks to reload on offenseBY SCOTT MEESTHE SOUTHERN

Anna-Jonesboro willattempt to make the play-offs for the 11th year in arow, and the team mustreplace quite a bit of itsoffense from a year ago.

Quarterback J.R.Woodward was the key tooffense last season alongwith running backs GabePecord and JordanChamness. Those playersaccounted for about 90percent of the offense, butthey graduated.

“We lost three fourthsof our starting backfield,so we have to try to figurethose things out,” saidcoach Brett Detering,whose team finished 7-4in 2009. “This year maybe a year where we don’thave the one or two big-name guys. It’s more of abalance on offense anddefense.”

Brady Carter is the onlyreturning starter amongthe running backs. He’llbe counted on this seasonalong with a host of otherplayers in the triple optionoffense for the Wildcats.

“We have about nine or10 guys that have thepotential to play in thefirst game at runningback,” Detering said. “It

depends on which of thoseguys can start on defense.”

Skylar Benefield, a sen-ior, is one player thatDetering thinks couldbecome a key part of therunning core.

“He was a good backupand got reps on offenseand defense last year,”Detering said. “We arelooking for him to transi-tion into a starter.”

Woodward’s replace-ment at quarterback willeither be senior AaronSmithey (6-0, 180) or jun-ior Brady Wright

(6-3, 190). That positionis of high importance for ateam that runs the tripleoption.

“Wright has a good armand is a smart player,”Detering said.

“Smithey isn’t as big,but he runs our option real well and ran track towork on his speed.We have an opportunity toget both guys some expe-rience and not decideuntil we get in game situations.”

STEVE JAHNKE / THE SOUTHERNAnna-Jonesboro running back Skylar Benefield tries to getsome separation between himself and a defender on a passplay during the first day of practice in Anna.

SEE A-J / PAGE 16

SEE PANTHERS / PAGE 25


ANNA-JONESBORO WILDCATS

Coach: Brett DeteringCareer Record: 147-742009 Record: 7-4 Conference: SIRR Mississippi (Class 3A)Returning Starters (8): Brandon Cerney

(WR/DB), Aaron Smithey (QB/DB), BradyWright (QB/DL), Brady Carter (RB/LB),Taylor Fitzgerald (OL/DL), Brett Turner(OL/DL), Josiah Miller (OL/DL), MichaelDillman (OL/DL).

ScheduleAug. 27 WEST FRANKFORTSept. 3 MURPHYSBOROSept. 10 at Massac CountySept. 17 PINCKNEYVILLE *Sept. 24 At Sparta *Oct. 1 NASHVILLE *Oct. 8 At Carterville *Oct. 15 DU QUOIN *Oct. 22 At Benton* Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Skylar Benefield 5-9 140 RB/DBAdam Bennett 5-8 165 RB/LBCody Campbell 5-8 170 RB/LBBrady Carter 5-8 180 RB/LBBrandon Cerney 5-8 155 WR/DBTaylor Fitzgerald 5-9 200 OL/DLChase Hargrave 5-8 160 WR/DBKemo Martin 5-8 170 OL/DLJerad Merriman 5-10 180 OL/DLJosiah Miller 6-0 350 OL/DLAaron Smithey 6-0 160 QB/DB

Brett Turner 6-0 195 OL/DLDolton Yunker 6-1 160 RB/DB

JuniorsJaden Ayers 5-11 160 WR/DBDalton Baker 6-1 160 RB/DBPreston Brimm 6-0 150 TE/LBMichael Calhoun 6-0 170 RB/DLJimmy Daniels 6-3 240 OL/DLMichael Dillman 5-10 255 OL/DLCole Grass 5-8 165 OL/DLJordan Johnson 6-3 265 OL/DLAllen Johnston 5-10 130 WR/DBAndrew McMahan 5-10 180 TE/DLWestin Meinhold 5-10 145 WR/DBRyan Mixen 5-8 205 OL/DLLevi Pearson 6-0 150 WR/DBJohn David Pinnon 5-10 175 WR/DBBrent Taylor 5-9 155 RB/DBBrady Wright 6-4 195 QB/DL

SophomoresRyan Brown 5-10 120 WR/DBJay Davis 5-9 185 OL/DLChris Edwards 5-9 210 OL/DLZeb Goessman 5-3 130 RB/DBSeth Heern 5-8 165 RB/LBChris Hill 5-9 145 WR/DBEvan Hughey 6-2 230 OL/DLGaryt Johnson 5-11 165 RB/DBDavid Knupp 5-11 145 RB/DBDamian Martin 5-4 190 OL/DLEian Mull 5-8 205 OL/DLAlex McRaven 5-8 145 WR/DBAustin Noble 5-6 140 RB/LBJacob Schaefer 5-10 145 WR/DBLogan Tripp 6-0 185 OL/LBLogan Tweedy 5-8 150 QB/DB

A-J: Hopes new starters can make big differenceFROM PAGE 15

On defense, Deteringwill have to find replace-ments for linebacker JoshFlamm and defensive line-man Alex Gonzalez. Bothplayers were key compo-nents to the defense lastseason.

The Wildcats are fortu-nate that they’ll get to playboth Du Quoin andNashville at home, butDetering thinks his clubcan play solid football onthe road as well.

“I don’t make too muchabout where we play,”Detering said. “Over the

last 10 years our roadrecord may be even betterthan our home record.We’ve got our hands fullwith our schedule. It might

be one of those years wheregames may be very close.”

[email protected]

STEVE JAHNKE / THE SOUTHERNAnna-Jonesboro coach Brett Detering watches as quarterbackAaron Smithey throws downfield during offensive drills.

Carterville ready for new challengeBY SCOTT MEESTHE SOUTHERN

It’s a new beginning forCarterville football as itexits the Black DiamondConference, which it hasdominated for years, andenters the SIRRMississippi Division.

The Lions finished 8-2last season and fell to newconference opponentAnna-Jonesboro in theopening round of theplayoffs.

There will certainly bean adjustment period for ateam that had to sit itsstarters frequentlybecause of lopsided half-time scores.

“It’ll be a different chal-lenge, and one of theknocks on our program iswe’ve not had to play forfour quarters,” said coachDennis Drust.

“We know our kids willhave to play four quartersevery Friday. Now, it’splayoff football just aboutevery Friday night.”

Last season, sophomoreJeff Aldridge wasn’t thestarting quarterback toopen the season, but thatchanged quickly. He wasinserted as the starter inthe Lions’ second game ofthe season and scored fourtouchdowns running theoption, including a 74-yard score. Now, as ajunior with a year of expe-rience under his belt,Aldridge will be the maintarget opposing teams arelooking to keep undercontrol.

“We knew Jeff was ath-letic and could handle it,”Drust said.

“We put him in Week 2against Carmi and his firstdrive was a 90-yard drive.We won eight in a rowafter that.”

Dan Frey is the leadingreturning running back

for the team, and LoganMann along with J.D.Helton return in the back-field as well.

Although Cartervillemay pass the ball a littlebit more, Drust doesn’tplan on abandoning theoption offense.

“We’ve been successfulin the past and our kidsbelieve in it,” Drust said.“We’ll still run it and dothe things we’ve been suc-cessful at the last fewyears.”

The Lions have plenty ofquick players on both

sides of the football, butthe size of the players is aconcern.

“We’ve got to offset thesize of some of the teamswe will play,” Drust said.

“We have to rely on ourquickness to compensatefor that lack of size. Wehave to learn to playagainst those bigger kidseach week. But we do havegood speed at skill posi-tions and personnel ondefense.”


SEE CARTERVILLE / PAGE 25

PAUL NEWTON / THE SOUTHERNCarterville quarterback Jeff Aldridge throws a pass during ateam practice Aug. 12, in Carterville.


PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW: BLACK DIAMOND

VIENNA EAGLES

Coach: Mike Rude Career Record: 192-1312009 Record: 3-6 (Class 3A)Conference: Black DiamondReturning Starters (7): Dillon Hall (TB),

Garrett Mattox (OT), Brandon Leeds (DB),Trae Foster (WB), Austin Woolverton(NT/DT), Ryan Brown (LB), Patrick Gray(OLB)

ScheduleAug. 27 at Hamilton County*Sept. 4 FAIRFIELD*Sept. 11 SESSER-VALIER*Sept. 17 at Carmi White County*Sept. 24 at Elverado-Trico*Oct. 2 CHRISTOPHER*Oct. 8 at Eldorado*Oct. 16 at Johnston City*Oct. 23 CHESTER**Conference game

SeniorsPos. Ht. Wt.

Dustin Ball OT/NG 5-9 225Luis Blanco OL/NG 5-9 185Adam Brenningmeyer TE/DE 6-3 185Travis Dodson C/NG 5-10 235Eric DeWeerd WB/CB 5-6 140Trae Foster WB/DB 5-10 150Robert Fraemile DE 6-0 155Kalib Kinder DE/FS 6-1 170Jake Hackman WB/DB 5-10 145Dillon Hall TB/DB 5-9 165Tyler Langley G/DE 5-11 228Brayton Leeds SE/DB 5-9 162Garrett Mattox TE/DE 6-4 218

Joe Murphy TE/DE 5-11 175Patrick Osteen OB/DB 5-8 145Tyler Racey C/DL 5-9 205Dakota Runge TE/DE 5-10 170Sean Seavers OL/DL 6-0 245Stephen Sullivan FB/LB 6-2 190

JuniorsDylan Cremeens WB/CB 5-8 145Geoff Kramp TB/LB 5-10 150Patrick Gray FB/LB 5-10 165Austin Woolverton T/NG 5-10 220Dakota VanCleve DE/LB 5-9 145Brock Brown G/LB 5-9 165Cody McKibben G/LB 5-10 170Jon Meyers OL/DL 6-0 175Ryan Brown G/LB 5-8 170Taylor Cain WB/CB 5-8 145Chase Taylor TB/LB 5-9 150

SophomoresAndrew Trambley C/DT 5-9 180Wyatt Miles G/DE 5-9 175Austin Rhoades G/DE 5-9 170Nathan Gurley T/DT 6-0 185Cody Edmonds T/DT 5-10 185James Ellis DE 5-10 155Caleb Belcher TB/LB 5-9 145Colton Brown TB/DE 5-11 180Hayden McClain TB/LB 5-10 150Kyle Berndt TB/LB 5-7 150Dallas Bent DE 5-10 150Joe Aldridge E/CB 5-10 145Tait Phillips TB/CB 5-10 145Caleb Schelcher T/DT 5-10 190

FreshmenChristian Dancke RB/DB 5-9 140Connor Seavers FB/LB 5-7 150Will Dahmer BB/LB 5-9 145

HAMILTON COUNTY FOXES

Coach: Jeff RushCareer Record: 36-482009 Record: 4-5 Conference: Black Diamond (Class 2A)Key Returners: Adam Irvin (QB/LB),

Clint Hopfinger (WO/LB), StevenLemmons (RB/DL), Aaron Cravens(WO/LB), Lucas Johnson (WO/LB), ChadFlannigan (OL/DL), Austin Hybbert(WO/DB)

ScheduleAug. 27 VIENNA*Sept. 3 at Sesser-Valier*Sept. 10 CARMI-WHITE COUNTY*Sept. 17 at Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton*Sept. 24 at Eldorado*Oct. 1 ELVERADO-TRICO*Oct. 8 JOHNSTON CITY*Oct. 15 at Chester*Oct. 22 at Fairfield**Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Tim Crow 5-8 150 WR-LBAustin Hybbert 5-9 150 WR-DBLucas Johnson 6-1 190 WR-LBAdam Irvin 5-10 180 QB-LBClint Hopfinger 5-11 205 WR-LBSteven Lemmons 6-3 230 RB-DL

Jedd Holloman 5-7 180 OL-DLTyler Scrivner 6-2 220 OL-DLCameron Shelton 5-8 180 OL-DLShane Williams 5-10 175 WR-DB

JuniorsCJ Lemmons 5-11 160 WR-DBTerry Thompson 5-11 175 WR-DBAaron Cravens 5-10 180 WR-LBTyler Warren 6-3 240 RB-DLClint Gwaltney 5-10 175 OL-DLChad Flannigan 6-3 220 OL-DLDyllon McCarley 6-1 190 OL-LBLogan Smith 5-9 220 OL-DLBrandon Davis 5-8 180 OL-DLJustin York 5-10 170 WR-LB

SophomoresRiver Steele 5-10 160 WR-DBLevi Lueke 5-10 170 WR-DBAaron Allen 5-6 140 WR-DBGavin Files 5-7 140 WR-DBRoger Taylor 6-1 250 OL-DLDaniel Jamerson 5-9 150 OL-DBDavid Busler 5-9 165 OL-DLJustin Scott 5-8 170 OL-LBJacob Strumpher 6-1 220 OL-DLTyler Ragan 5-9 220 OL-DLPhillip Rexing 6-2 220 OL-DL

FreshmenDavid Potter 5-9 170 OL-DLJohnathan Stover 5-8 140 WR-DBKyle Summerville 6-1 200 WR-LB

Foxes ready to bounce back after letdownBY PHILIP KOWALISTHE SOUTHERN

After Week 6 last season,coach Jeff Rush’s HamiltonCounty Foxes had a 4-2record and appeared to beheaded toward a playoffbirth.

Three weeks and threehard-fought losses later,the Foxes were 4-5 and lefton the outside of the play-off picture. Rush hopes histeam has learned a valuablelesson from that experi-ence.

“We have to be able toclose out games,” Rushsaid. “We did not do thatlast year, other teamsplayed better than we diddown the stretch and thatreally hurt us. Hopefully,

we learned that you have toplay hard all the way to theend.

“We have to be able toclose games better.”

This season, the Foxesreturn senior Adam Irvinat quarterback to guideRush’s spread offense.Irvin, a three-year starter,will be joined by seniorsSteven Lemmons and ClintHopfinger in the backfieldand will have ShaneWilliams, Austin Hybbert,Aaron Cravens and LucasJohnson as targets on theoutside.

Giving Irvin time tothrow the ball downfieldcould be a concern, as theFoxes return only onestarter on the offensiveline.

On the defensive side ofthe ball, the Foxes will beled by middle linebackerHopfinger, an all-confer-ence and All-South selec-tion last season. He will bejoined by defensive endsLemmons and ChadFlannigan. Cravens willmake the move from safetyto linebacker.

“Hopfinger will be ourleader on defense,” Rushsaid. “Aaron Cravens willbe taking on a bigger rolefor us this year and ChadFlannigan will have to stepup and really play well forus to be successful.”

Rush said he likes the way his team is shapingup.

Vienna prepared for second seasonBY DEREK CRAINTHE SOUTHERN

Senior tailback DillonHall will lead a senior-laden Vienna team lookingto improve on an impres-sive 3-6 inaugural seasonfrom a year ago.

But that won’t be easy, asthe Eagles have several bigholes to fill left by graduat-ed seniors.

“We have some holes,some big holes,” coachMike Rude said. “Some ofthose holes are in some keyareas. We have to havesome kids step up. They’re

working hard. We havetwo, three-hour practicesa day in the heat. You haveto be dedicated and youhave to want to improve todo that.”

Rude has 13 seniors onthe team, including threenew players that havenever played the gamebefore and Marion transferStephen Sullivan, who willget the starting linebackerand running back position.

“That’s a guy that’splayed against BellevilleAlthoff, Cahokia andMount Vernon,” Rude said.“That’s going to be a big

advantage for him and forus that he’s played againstthose big schools.”

The Eagles open with thesame Hamilton Countyteam they beat 30-28 lastyear to start off their firstyear.

“We’re looking forwardto getting it going againand see what happens,”Rude said. “When the kidsgive you all they have anddo their best, you have toaccept it and be happywith it. The kids are work-ing hard, I’ve been very

SEE VIENNA / PAGE 23

SEE FOXES / PAGE 23


BY CHUCK HIGHLANDTHE SOUTHERN

Third-year Chestercoach Bryan Lee hasturned the Yellow Jacketsinto a perennial contender,taking them to the playoffsin his first two years ascoach, and this seasonpromises to be no differentin the team’s first year inthe Black Diamond.

“We have to play ourstyle of football. Whetherit is the River to River orthe Black Diamond, we’regoing to have to play ourstyle of football, which ishard-nosed, disciplinedand fundamentally sound,”said Lee.

Chester returns sixstarters on offense and fivestarters on defense,

including two unanimousall-conference selectionsat linebacker in DannyRoth and John Baughman,from a team that went 7-3in their last year in theSIRR Mississippi Divisionand fell to Red Bud in thefirst round of the playoffs.

“We are in the third yearof our system. We havesmart kids, and I feel wehave a clear sense of teamidentity. Our kids havebought into our system,which makes our jobs easi-er. We have a very goodstaff, and they’ve workedvery hard to become goodteachers of our offense anddefense,” said Lee.

The Yellow Jacketsbought clearly into Lee’sphilosophy defensively asChester had the No. 1

defense in SouthernIllinois last year and prom-ises to be just as good thisyear.

One of the YellowJackets’ main strengthswill be their offensive line,which has a little bit moresize than it did last season.

“This will be, potentially,the most solid offensiveline that we’ve had in thelast three years. We havesome size. Last year, wehad one kid over 200pounds on our offensiveline, and this year four ofour offensive linemen areover 225 pounds.”

Returning on offense forthe Yellow Jackets is seniorquarterback ZachLochhead, who at 6-foot-3is the only player on theteam taller than 6-feet.

He will have someweapons in the backfield inrunning backs Clint Cole(junior) and JohnBaughman (senior).

Chester will be youngthis year as well, as theYellow Jackets will have tofill some spots on offenseand defense.

“We have a nice mix ofyounger and older kids andare young at fullback, butwe’ll make it work.” saidLee.

CHESTER YELLOW JACKETS

Coach: Bryan LeeCareer Record: 15-14Conference: Black Diamond (Class 2A)Class: 2A2009 Record: 7-3Returning Starters (4): Zach Lochhead

(QB/DB), John Baughman (RB/LB),Danny Roth (OL/LB), Clint Cole (RB/LB)

ScheduleAug. 27 SESSER-VALIER*Sept. 3 at Carmi (C.-White County)*Sept. 10 CHRISTOPHER (C.–ZEIGLER

ROYALTON CO-OP)*Sept. 18 at Elkville (Elverado-Trico Coop) *Sept. 24 at Johnston City*Oct. 1 ELDORADO*Oct. 8 at Fairfield*Oct. 15 MCLEANSBORO (HAMILTON

COUNTY)*Oct. 23 at Vienna (Coop)** conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

John Baughman 5-9 180 RB/LBTrever Brant 5-11 250 OL/DLJustin Eggemeyer 5-10 175 RB/DB

Logan Handel 6-1 160 SE/DBRhett Holley 6-0 190 OL/DLSeth Johnson 6-3 270 OL/DLTyler Jones 5-8 160 RB/DBZach Lochhead 6-3 180 QB/DBCody Martin 5-8 165 RB/DBSteve McIntyre 6-0 210 OL/DEAustin McLean 6-2 215 OL/LBBlake Nanney 5-6 155 RB/LBDanny Roth 5-10 195 OL/LBBrandon Straight 5-11 160 SE/DBJustin Woodward 6-1 205 TE/DE

JuniorsBrad Bindel 6-1 265 OL/DLTylor Brockhouse 5-6 150 RB/DBTyler Chandler 6-0 185 OL/DLClint Cole 6-1 180 RB/LBZach Murdach 5-9 160 QB/DBDonavan Richardson 5-8 260 OL/DL

SophomoresCaleb Arbeiter 5-11 150 SE/DBAusten Barnhart 5-10 165 RB/LBJake Cowan 5-11 160 QB/DBDillon Ladendecker 6-1 155 OL/DEBoyd Miles 6-1 185 TE/LBStephen Roth 5-9 170 RB/LBCasey Venable 5-11 185 OL/DEZane Wallace 5-9 195 RB/DLPatreek Williams 6-1 155 SE/DB


In a new conference, Chester keeping its same philosophy

PAUL NEWTON / THE SOUTHERNCoach Bryan Lee and the Chester Yellow Jackets prepare to take the field for a scrimmage.

PAUL NEWTON / THE SOUTHERNChester’s Justin Eggemeyer bounces off Stephen Roth while warming up for a team scrimmage.



ELVERADO-TRICO FALCONS

Coach: Duffy SandersCareer Record: 4-322009 Record: 0-9 Conference: Black Diamond (3A)Key Returners: Curtis Compton

(OL/DL), Randy Goetz (FB/LB), TylerGrigsby (RB/LB), Bryce Mathis (RB/FS),Alex McGill (QB/LB), Dalton Porter(RB/SS).

Schedule:Aug. 27 FAIRFIELD*Sept. 3 ELDORADO*Sept. 10 at Johnston City*Sept. 18 CHESTER*Sept. 24 VIENNA*Oct. 1 at Hamilton County*Oct. 8 at Sesser-Valier*Oct. 15 CARMI-WHITE COUNTY*Oct. 22 at Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton**Conference game

SeniorsPos. Ht. Wt.

Steven Batteu WR/NG 5-11 185Dakota Bayles TE/LB 6-0 175Bombardo Antonio OT/DE 5-8 190Curtis Compton OG/DE 5-8 200Randy Goetz FB/LB 5-9 175Michael Harbor OG/DT 6-0 210Donavan Weideg C/DT 6-0 255Adam Miller RB/SS 5-8 140

JuniorsWade Bowlin WR/DB 5-8 150Jessie Griffith OT/DT 6-0 180Tyler Grigsby RB/LB 5-8 165Brandon Lewis OT/DT 5-8 195Bryce Mathis RB/FS 5-6 130Alex McGill QB/LB 6-2 185Aaron Miller WR/DB 5-11 155Clayton Morrison WR/D 5-10 155Dalton Porter RB/SS 5-10 165Wesley Ramsey OG/DE 5-7 180

SophomoresMarshal Bell FB/LB 5-10 165Dallas Blessing TE/LB 6-0 170Jordan Crews OT/DE 5-9 180Travis Crum WR/FS 5-7 135Logan Dallas OG/NG 6-1 285Nick Denning C/DE 5-8 190

Abigal Grammer OG/DE 5-6 195Collin Hester WR/LB 6-2 165

Corey Hill OG/DT 6-0 190Andrew Jeschke TE/LB 6-0 185Jacob Jeschke RB/FS 5-7 135Caleb Light WR/DB 5-9 145Kenny Loos RB/FS 5-8 145Brian McClanahan FB/LB 5-10 165Bryan Miller RB/LB 5-9 145Joshua Sorenson WR/DB 6-3 140Stevon Sedillo WR/DB 5-6 120Kyle Whittington QB/FS 5-9 145

Falcons staying optimistic aftertwo straight winless seasonsBY PHILIP KOWALISTHE SOUTHERN

Although his team iscoming off of back-to-back winless seasons,Elverado-Trico coachDuffy Sanders sees reasonto be optimistic about theupcoming season.

One reason for his opti-mism is the size of his ros-ter this season. TheFalcons have 36 varsityplayers on the roster,which is an improvementfrom 24 in 2009 and just 18two years ago.

“The increase in num-bers gives us some optionsthat we did not have lastyear,” Sanders said. “Weare going to be a veryyoung team, but we haveplayers with varsity expe-rience and now we will beable to give those players abreak from time to time.”

Another reason forSanders’ optimism is histeam’s familiarity with theoffensive and defensivesystems his team will run.

“The kids have workedhard this summer and areshowing signs of reallygetting better,” Sanderssaid.

“They understand theirreads better on defenseand are getting more com-fortable running the tripleoption on offense.

“The players have reallymade great strides overlast season.”

The Falcons return jun-ior quarterback AlexMcGill and running backsDalton Porter and BryceMathis and senior fullbackRandy Goetz to run theoffense, but will have torely on a rebuilt offensiveline that returns just onestarter in senior guard

Curtis Compton.On defense, the Falcons

will rely on the linebackerduo of junior Tyler Grigsbyand sophomore BrianMcClanahan.

Sanders will have a goodidea how much his teamhas improved early on asElverado-Trico will haveplayed conference titlecontenders Fairfield,Johnston City and Chesterby Week 4 of the season.

“We do have a toughearly schedule, but thereare really no easy games inthis conference. We haveto focus on one game at a

time and be ready to playeach and every week.”Sanders said.

“Right now all our focusis on our Week 1 oppo-nent.”

A final reason for opti-mism is a sophomore classthat finished its freshmancampaign with a 5-4record.

“Things are starting tolook up around here,”Sanders said. “It will beslow as we are still takingbaby steps, but we areexcited to see the amountof improvement the teamhas made from last year.”

THE SOUTHERN FILE PHOTOAlex McGill of Elverado-Trico searches for a receiver during agame with Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton on Oct. 23.

GoFalcons!

MemberFDIC

BY PHILIP KOWALISTHE SOUTHERN

Johnston City coachBrian Beery hopes histeam will be able to buildon a successful 2009 sea-son. The Indians finished5-5 after a 47-12 loss toPetersburg PORTA in thefirst round of the Class 2Aplayoffs.

Beery’s Indians enter2010 having to replace theentire offensive backfield.

Jory Kee will be theIndians’ quarterback andBeery has been happy withthe way the sophomorehas been progressing dur-ing practice.

“Jory is coming alongpretty well,” Beery said. “He has done a goodjob of commanding theoffense. He still makesmistakes from time totime and has room forimprovement.

“Overall, he has done agood job, and he still hastime to develop.”

Johnston City will usethe running back-by-committee tactic as Beerysaid a group of players willall share time.

“We have five or sixrunning backs that will allbe sharing time backthere,” he said.

“They all have beendoing a good job in prac-tice and deserve a shot toshow what they can do ingame action.”

While the Indians enterthe season with littleexperience in the back-field, that is not the casealong the offensive anddefensive lines.

On the offensive front,the Indians return senior,three-year starters J.R.Roberts, Matt Turner andAustin Haynes.

“The offensive line hasreally meshed and playedwell together,” Beery said.“They have a lot of gameexperience and this couldbe the best offensive line Ihave had in my three yearshere.”

On the other side of theball, the Indians will lookto defensive end DanielDavison, linebackerTaylor Kirkman and safety Jesse Jeffords toanchor a defense that hasmore team speed than lastyear.

“We have more teamspeed as a whole, “Beerysaid. “We will be able toswarm to the ball betterand react to plays on the

perimeter better then wedid last year.”

Beery expects theIndians to be in the mix forthe conference title in avery competitive battlethis season.

“The conference raceshould be very even thisyear,” he said. “I don’t seeanyone to be head andshoulders in front of any-one else.

“I would be shocked tosee someone go throughthe conference undefeat-ed, there are just too manygood teams.”

While Beery says everyteam in the conference iscapable of winning on anygiven week, Johnston

City’s schedule gets muchtougher starting in Week5. The Indians close theseason with games againstChester, Fairfield,Hamilton County, Viennaand Sesser-Valier.

Johnston City must playthe Mules, Foxes and RedDevils on the road.

“It will be important forus to get off to a fast start,because starting withWeek 5 our schedule gets real tough,” Beerysaid.

“It is very possible thatall five games could haveplayoff implications aseach of those teams couldbe fighting for a playoffspot.”

Page 2200 Friday, August 27, 2010 The Southern Illinoisan

JOHNSTON CITY INDIANS

Coach: Brian BeeryCareer Record: 13-82009 Record: 5-5 Conference: Black Diamond (2A)Key Returners: Taylor Kirkman RB/DB,

Austin Haynes (OL/DL), J.R. Roberts(OL/DL), Daniel Davison (TE/DL),Jesse Jeffords (SE/DB), Matt Turner(OL/DL).

Schedule:Aug. 27 CARMI-WHITE COUNTY*Sept. 3 at C-Z-R*Sept. 10 ELVERADO-TRICO*Sept. 17 at Eldorado*Sept. 24 CHESTER*Oct. 1 at Fairfield*Oct. 8 at Hamilton County*Oct. 16 VIENNA*Oct. 22 at Sesser-Valier**Conference game

SeniorsPos. Ht. Wt.

Brandon Robinson SE/DB 6-0 160Danny Woodhall SE/DB 5-9 150Jesse Jeffords SE/DB 6-1 170Sean Dobbins RB/LB 5-10 210Daniel Davison TE/DL 6-2 210J.R. Roberts OL/DL 5-9 210Brady Oslager OL/LB 6-1 180Matt Turner OL/DL 6-1 210Jared Partee OL/DL 5-8 210Austin Haynes OL/DL 6-2 275Brandon Crider SE/DL 6-2 205

JuniorsGrant MontgomerySE/DB 5-9 160

Angelo Hightower SE/DB 5-10 150Tyler Spiller RB/LB 5-8 170Isadore Garrison RB/DB 5-10 165Taylor Kirkman RB/DB 5-10 225Daniel Farmer RB/DB 6-2 175A.J. Godell OL/DL 5-9 185Tony Johnson OL/DL 6-2 200Jonathan Lamb OL/DL 5-9 180Lex Glasco OL/DL 5-9 260Logan Holland OL/DL 6-1 285

SophomoresZach Lovett SE/DB 5-9 140Josh Woodhall RB/LB 5-8 175Jory Kee QB/DB 5-10 170Blake Marshall RB/DB 5-9 160Alex Adkins SE/DB 5-9 140Tyler Johnson RB/LB 5-10 180Jon Stroud RB/DB 5-10 160Zack Murphy SE/DB 5-8 145James Key OL/DL 5-9 170Keegan Travis OL/LB 5-8 165Kyle Savant OL/LB 5-8 195Landon Wolf OL/DL 5-9 160Dylan Cook OL/DL 5-9 200Tyler Winch OL/DL 5-9 175Ben Farmer OL/DL 6-2 175Jon Bolte OL/DL 6-2 270

Quentin Davis OL/DL 5-9 230Freshmen

Christian Harrell RB/LB 5-5 120Levi Tanner QB/DB 5-10 150Will Cottonaro SE/DB 5-11 155Levi Flute RB/LB 5-8 14Cody Clark SE/DB 5-5 130Blake Casey RB/LB 5-7 150Andy Godell RB/LB 5-8 150


Sophomore quarterback will be Keefor Johnston City to make postseason

ALAN ROGERS / THE SOUTHERNTaylor Kirkman takes a knee during practice Aug. 18.

ALAN ROGERS / THE SOUTHERNTyler Winch does a drill with a teammate during practice.


BY PHILIP KOWALISTHE SOUTHERN

Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton coach Nick Battshopes his team can buildon the success they experi-enced at the end of whatproved to be a rollercoaster2009 season.

Batts’ Bearcats won theirseason opener before com-ing out on the short end offour straight games to dropto 1-4 on the season.

C-Z-R bounced back towin three of their final fourgames to finish the seasonat 4-5 and just miss a play-off berth.

This year, the Bearcatswill return honorable men-tion all-conference quar-terback and senior Steven

Dial to lead the offense.“Steven will be the key to

our offense this year,” Battssaid. “We have been pri-marily a running team butwe want to be a little morebalanced this year to takeadvantage of Steven’s abil-ity to throw the ball a littlemore.

Dial, along with seniorlineman Tyler Slomka andjuniors Payton Clark andCaleb Calloni, will beasked to provide leadershipfor a young Bearcat team.

“We lost quite a bit tograduation last year, thiswill be one of the youngestteams we have had since Ihave been here,” Batts said.“Senior leadership is thehardest thing to replace,Steven and Tyler will be

asked to provide some ofthat for the team this year.”

Another adjustmentBatts will have to make thisseason is playing with anundersized team.

“We are smaller this yearthan we have been in thepast, but we are also quick-er,” Batts said. “We aregoing to have to takeadvantage of our teamspeed to swarm to the ballon defense, if we are notable to do that we may havetrouble stopping people.”

The Bearcats will havekey games early in the sea-son as they play JohnstonCity, Chester, HamiltonCounty and Sesser-Valierin Weeks 2 through 5, astretch of games that couldgo a long way in determin-

ing the team’s playoff fate.“That will be a key

stretch for us,” Batts said.“But, we need to be

focused and ready to playEldorado in Week 1. “Theywill be an improved teamand there are several teams

in this conference that canbeat anyone on any givenweek. We have to focus onone week at a time.”


CHRISTOPHER-ZEIGLER-ROYALTON BEARCATS

Coach: Nick BattsCareer Record: 12-162009 Record: 4-5 Conference: Black Diamond (Class 3A)Key Returners: Steven Dial (QB/DB), Tyler

Slomka (OL/DL), Caleb Calloni (OL/DL),Payton Clark (TE/LB)

ScheduleAug. 27 at Christopler-Zeigler-Royalton*Sept. 3 JOHNSTON CITY*Sept. 10 at Chester*Sept. 17 HAMILTON COUNTY*Sept. 24 SESSER-VALIER*Oct. 2 at Vienna*

Oct. 8 at Carmi White County*Oct. 16 FAIRFIELD*Oct. 22 ELVERADO-TRICO**Conference game

SeniorsPos. Ht. Wt.

J.R. Meyers RB/DB 5-10 145Steven Dial QB/DB 6-2 180Adam Lampley QB/DB 5-8 145Devin Austill TE/DB 6-2 180Andy Moschino TE/LB 6-0 150Tyler Slomka OG/DT 5-11 200Mardi Nikolich OG/DT 5-11 170Dustin Booker OG/DT 6-0

C-Z-R wants to even things out after rollercoaster 2009

CARMI-WHITE COUNTY BULLDOGS

Coach: Kurt Simon Career Record: 83-482009 Record: 4-5Conference: Black Diamond (Class 2A)Key Returners (4): Logan Rogers (RB/

LB); Cole Fechtig (OT/DT); CodyMasterson (OG/DE); Rasheem Jemine(OG/DT)

ScheduleAug. 27 at Johnston City*Sept. 3 CHESTER*Sept. 10 at McLeansboro (Hamilton

County)*Sept. 17 VIENNA*Sept. 24 FAIRFIELD*Oct. 1 at Sesser-Valier (Co-op)*Oct. 8 C-Z-R*Oct. 15 At Elverad0-Trico*Oct. 22 ELDORADO**Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Cole Fetchig 6-2 250 OL/DL

Larrin Keck 6-0 320 OL/DLCody Masterson 6-0 180 OL/DETrevor Nelson 5-9 215 OL/DLLogan Rogers 5-9 185 RB/DELawson Warren 6-6 210 TE/DE

JuniorsCameron Gunter 5-9 180 RB/DBIsaac Hayse 6-4 230 C/DERasheem Jemine 5-11 200 OL/LBCole Peterson 5-10 175 OL/LBMatt Snelling 5-7 170 OL/DLCamden Stewart 5-10 170 TE/DB

SophomoresBrent Bingman 5-9 170 OL/DEJosh Burtis 6-0 165 TE/DBRyan Farr 5-11 155 QB/DBLukas Matsel 5-10 185 RB/LBNick Nelson 5-9 170 RB/LBJustin Pulley 5-7 150 OL/LBCody Purcell 5-7 145 RB/DBDylan Rankin 5-10 170 RB/DBJake Russell 5-11 165 RB/LB

FreshmenChase Sailer 6-0 175 QB/D

Young Carmi-White County team will haveplenty of questions to answer this seasonBY CHUCK HIGHLANDTHE SOUTHERN

Carmi-White Countylooks to improve upon lastyear’s 4-5 mark, and coachKurt Simon looks to hisyoung talent and persever-ance as keys to this seasonfor the Bulldogs. Thereseems to be a lot of ques-tions for Carmi-WhiteCounty, though.

“A big question mark isthat we have only 23 varsi-ty players and one of themis a freshman, and attritionis going to be a critical partof it whether we can lastfour quarters. Most of theplayers are going to beplaying on both sides ofthe ball,” said Simon.

Carmi-White Countyreturns seniors LoganRogers (RB/LB), ColeFetchig (OT/DT), CodyMasterson (OG/DE) and

junior Rasheem Jemine(OG/DT).

On offense, the Bulldogswill run a multiple setoffense, which is two tightends and three players inthe backfield, and it will goall the way to no one in thebackfield and five wide-outs. Defensively, the teamwill run a 3-4, same as lastyear.

One of the main objec-tives for the Bulldogs willbe winning five games withtheir young talent.

“Our first objective is towin enough games. We feelthat we have enough youngtalent to be competitiveand we hope to haveenough talent to win atleast five games. It’s a goalof ours,” said Simon.

The Bulldogs look to be alittle bit healthier this sea-son, which might havecontributed some to the

team’s slow start last year,and with a young team andnumbers being low, theimportance of that isheightened.

“We’ve been stuck by theinjury bug the last coupleof years. We have a veryyoung team, and it’s goingto be a matter of us notmaking mistakes,” saidSimon.

Simon said he feels thekey to this season is howfast the younger kidsmature and get used to thepace of a game.

“Realistically, with sucha young team you have a lotof inexperience comingback, and it’s a matter of how fast the kids mature and get used to thephysicalness and pace of a varsity football game. We’re a year awayfrom contending,” saidSimon.

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Eldorado hopes to eliminate big playsBY DEREK CRAINTHE SOUTHERN

The Eldorado Eagles areeager to exit the basementof the Black DiamondConference.

And, head coachBrandon Hampton saidthey’re ready to do it.

“We felt like last year ifwe kept some guys healthywe could have made thatjump,” he said. “This year,we’re ready and we have tomake the jump.”

The Eagles’ defensivenumbers were glaring lastyear, allowing more than42 points per game. Thesummer workouts empha-sized speed on the edgesand eliminating the bigplays — two areas in which

this year’s squad is much improved.

“We had as many as 14sophomores on the fieldlast year,” Hampton said.“This year, we have 15 jun-iors that have a year undertheir belts. They’restronger, faster and under-stand the speed in whichthe varsity game is playedat and they’re ready to go.”

Junior Joe Blair will takethe snaps this year as sen-iors Dakota Metten (MLB)and Derek Miller (TE/FS)will be the foundation onwhich the Eagles will ride.

“Derek is a big guy withgreat speed and he’s beentough for us to block whenwe go best on best so far,”Hampton said. “We plan toget him the ball in space

and let him go to work.”Hampton expects the

trenches — on both sidesof the ball — to be thestrength of the team. Thedefensive unit as a whole isexpected to be muchimproved.

“When you have thatmany young kids out theretrying to run down andstop juniors and seniors,you’re going to struggle,”Hampton said. “We thinkwe’re stronger, we’refaster, we know theschemes, it’s just a matterof turning on the lights andgoing to work.”

Hampton said his squadhas bought full-in to theteam aspect.

They’ll win and lose as ateam in 2010.

Mules have many starters comingback from last year’s playoff teamBY CHUCK HIGHLANDTHE SOUTHERN

Fairfield looks to buildupon last year’s 8-3 mark,when they knocked offBreese Central in the firstround of the playoffs andnarrowly fell toGreenville, 29-21. TheMules return 14 seniorsand eight starters ondefense and seven onoffense, which shouldmake the Mules a team tocontend with this seasonin the Black Diamond.

“We return a lot of guyswith playing experience.If we can stay healthy wewill be pretty competitivein the conference,” said

Fairfield coach JustinTownsend.

All-conference quarter-back Andrew Atteberry,who threw for 400 yardsand rushed for more than600 last year, returns tolead the offense. Alsoreturning for Fairfield atrunning back is CameronWilliams, a second-teamall-conference selectionwho rushed for more than900 yards last year.

The Mules will have toreplace all-conferencerunning back Matt Brown,who was the Mules’ lead-ing rusher and will rely ona running back by com-mittee to replace him.

“The guys we put at his

spots are going to be moredownhill runners and big-ger and more physical butnot going to be as quick asBrown was. Brown was aquicker and shiftier back,”said Townsend.

Fairfield will also haveto fill some holes as theylost some skill players atsome key positions.

“We lost some skill guys(receiver, tight end) andwe need to have some guysstep up and fill those roles.We’re just hoping that thesophomores and juniorscan step in and fill in for usand with the seniors theycan bring the sophomoresand junior around,” saidTownsend.

FAIRFIELD MULES

Coach: Justin TownsendCareer Record: 42-452009 Record: 8-3Conference: Black Diamond (Class 3A)Returning Starters: Luke Townsend

(OL/DL), Shelby Esmon (OL/DL), VictorSkaggs (OL/DL), Andrew Atteberry(QB/DB), Cameron Williams (RB/DB),Cody Yarnell (RB/LB)

ScheduleAug. 27 At Elkville (Elverado-Trico Coop)*Sept. 4 At Vienna*Sept. 10 ELDORADO *Sept. 17 at Sesser (S.Valier) (Coop) *Sept. 24 at Carmi (C. White County)*Oct. 1 JOHNSTON CITY*Oct. 8 CHESTER*Oct. 16 At C. Zeigler-Royalton*Oct. 22 HAMILTON COUNTY**Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Andrew Atteberry 5-10 170 QB/DBShelby Esmon 6-3 265 OL/DLAustin Gibbs 5-10 185 TE/LBJordan Griffith 5-9 200 RB/DLAustin Moore 5-10 205 RB/LBBlake Owen 5-10 165 RB/DBBlake Powell 5-10 210 OL/DL

Wes Reynolds 6-0 230 OL/DLVictor Skaggs 6-1 205 OL/DLThomas Smith 5-9 135 WR/DBLuke Townsend 6-2 205 OL/LBLance Werner 5-11 155 WR/DBCameron Williams 5-10 170 RB/DBJeremey Withrow 5-10 155 WR/DBJake Wright 6-0 160 WR/DBCody Yarnell 5-9 170 RB/LB

JuniorsDustin Downen 5-8 130 OL/LBRolando Gomez 5-10 135 RB/DBJoe Halley 6-4 250 OL/DLTyler Hutcheson 6-0 195 OL/LBLuke Harl 5-6 120 WR/DBZane McMeen 6-2 150 TE/DBColton Slover 5-9 165 QB/DBNolan Taylor 5-10 180 OL/DLKyle Thomason 6-1 175 RB/LB

SophomoresDyllan Bailey 6-0 155 RB/DBDon Bielecki 5-2 110 WR/DBAndrew Garrison 5-5 175 RB/LBJaymin Gregory 5-10 225 OL/DLWill Griffith 5-11 135 QB/DBTriston Guthrie 6-0 200 OL/DLRobby Hite 5-9 170 RB/LBCorey Rinebold 6-1 145 TE/DLCody Smith 5-6 215 OL/DLClayton Titzer 6-1 230 OL/DLBryton Withrow 6-0 195 OL/DL



ELDORADO EAGLES

Coach: Brandon Hampton Conference: Black Diamond2009 Record: 1-8 (Class 2A) Career Record: 2-16Key Returners: Derek Miller (TE/DL), Joe

Blair (QB), Dakota Metten (OL/DL)

ScheduleAug. 27 C-Z-R*Sept. 3 at Elverado-Trico*Sept. 10 at Fairfield*Sept. 17 JOHNSTON CITY*Sept. 24 HAMILTON COUNTY*Oct. 1 at Chester*Oct. 8 VIENNA*Oct. 15 SESSER-VALIER*Oct. 22 at Carmi White County**Conference game

SeniorsPos. Ht. Wt.

Caid Griffin OL/DL 6-2 210Dakota Metten OL/DL 6-0 220Derek Miller TE/DL 6-2 215Dakota Parker WR/DB 5-3 130Nick Stewart RB/FS 6-0 160

JuniorsDevin Bartok TE/DL 6-2 180

Joe Blair QB 5-10 160Dustin Brandsasse OL/DL 6-5 325Jared Brown RB/DB 5-7 125Garth Clooen OL/DL 5-7 180Shay Flowers OL/DL 5-10 225Ben Genet WR/DB 6-0 160Sam Glenn OL/DL 5-11 235Ryan Langley OL/DL 6-4 200Tyler Mayberry OL/DL 5-9 170Jacob Ninness OL/DL 5-1 145JackPatrick OL/DL 5-10 175Deshawn Turner RB/DB 5-6 140Rain Walker OL/DL 6-1 215Brian Ward RB/DB 5-10 165Ramsey Woolard OL/DL 5-7 135

SophomoresJoe Boulds TE/LB 5-10 185Champ Gilbert FB/S 5-10 14Austin Gollihur RB/S 5-9 155Garrison Hathaway QB/DB 5-10 145Dustin McGuire OL/DL 5-11 185Dakota Prather FB/LB 5-9 175Tanner Smith OL/DL 5-8 165Aaron Vailes TE/DL 5-10 150Joey Watson OL/DL 5-10 235Dustin Williams OLB/TE 5-10 135

SESSER-VALIER-WALTONVILLE-WOODLAWN RED DEVILS

Coach: John Shadowens Conference: Black DiamondClass: 3ACareer Record: 39-442009 Record: 9-1 Key Returners (4): Dawson Verhines (SR-

QB), Curtis Edwards (SR-LB/FB), ShaneBennett (SR-TB), Dylan Rock (G/NG).

Schedule:Aug. 27 at Chester*Sept. 3 HAMILTON COUNTY*Sept. 10 at Vienna*Sept. 17 FAIRFIELD*Sept. 24 at Christopher*Oct. 1 CARMI WHITE COUNTY*Oct. 8 ELKVILLE (ELVERADO)*Oct. 15 at Eldorado*Oct. 22 JOHNSTON CITY** conference game

SeniorsPos. Ht. Wt.

Stetson Bauman G/DE 5-11 200Shane Bennett RB/CB 5-8 150Dakota Elison, SE/CB 5-8 145

Michael HampelmanT/NG 6-4 325Josh Robinson TE/LB 5-10 165Mikey Phelps C/LB 5-8 155Dustin Hicks FL/CB 5-8 150Dalton Thompson G/DE 5-10 200Caleb Spann C/NG 5-8 300Dawson Verhines QB 6-2 180Chad Wynn T/DE 6-0 245

JuniorsDrew Dorris OT/DE 6-3 235Greg Jenkins HB/S 5-10 165Tom Newbury TE/CB 5-10 140Curtis Edwards TE/NG 5-11 175Rock, Dylan G/NG 5-10 240Blake Smolley QB/S 6-0 155Johnnie Vercellino FL-LB 5-11 160

SophomoresTy Coleman FL/CB 5-4 130Cody Lingle SE/CB 5-6 135Trey Witges QB/S 6-2 150James Watts HB/CB 5-8 150Derek Hood HB/LB 5-9 150Reggie Eubanks C/LB 5-8 155Kyle Lynch T/DE 5-7 190Matt Loucks G/LB 6-0 185Dustin Kulich TE/DE 6-3 220


S-V-W-W keeps expectations highBY DEREK CRAINTHE SOUTHERN

Senior quarterbackDawson Verhines will lookto lead a group of four mainreturning starting RedDevils back to the playoffsthis season.

After completing a per-fect 9-0 campaign a yearago, the Red Devils werestopped by Nashville,21-19, in the opening roundof the Class 3A playoffs.

“It was nice to get backto the playoffs,” coach JohnShadowens said. “We hadsome lean times there withsome 2-7 years and whenyou have those, it’s hard toget back out, but we’vedone that and now we havea title to defend and that’simportant to us.”

All-BDC performer

Curtis Edwards will play alinebacker and a fullbackfor his senior season andthe Black DiamondConference will get its firstlook at senior tailbackShane Bennett.

“Shane’s a guy that couldhave started for a lot ofBlack Diamond teams lastyear, but he just happenedto be playing behind BrockWheatley,” Shadowenssaid. “Shane’s a guy thatcan have a big year. Wehave our offensive lineback, they were all youngand inexperienced lastseason, so that should paydividends.”

Shadowens and his RedDevils will open the seasonwith the BDC newcomer,in Chester. He looks forstiff competition to comefrom the Yellow Jackets, as

well as Fairfield andJohnston City.

“You have to be ready inthe Black Diamond,” hesaid. “Last year, we playedCarterville in Week 1 andthat was the conferencechampionship game asthey didn’t lose again.There are some good teamsin the conference, we haveto be ready for Chester,they’re going to be talentedand they are theunknown.”

With 13 seniors and eightjuniors on the team, theRed Devils will have towork hard for an identityearly.

“We’re not last year’steam,” Shadowens said.“And we need to find outwho we are right away andif we do that, we will besuccessful.”

VIENNA: Eagle ready for their second seasonFROM PAGE 17

happy with our work ethic.”The Eagles offense soared much of last

season, averaging better than 21 pointsper contest.

But it was the defense that surrenderedover 32 a game that cost the Eagles morewins.

“Defense is going to be a big key for us,”Rude said.

“We don’t yet have the physical defen-sive unit that I want here. We didn’t tack-

le well last year at all. Scoring 21 points a game is enough to win more than three games, but your defense can’t allow30 points a game. We have to fix thatfirst.”

FOXES: Hamilton County prepared for seasonFROM PAGE 17

“They have worked really hard thissummer, the team gets along well, and theattitude is very upbeat,” Rush said.

“If we go out and give our best effortevery week, I expect us to be in a positionto get a playoff berth.”

Like last season, Rush expects to seehard-fought games week in and week outin the Black Diamond Conference this year.

“With Carterville leaving the confer-

ence we don’t have the real dominantteam at the top,” Rush said.

“There are a lot of teams that are prettyeven and are capable of beating anyone inthe conference, and I think that the teamsthat have been at the bottom of the conference will be betterthis year.

“If we are not ready to play each week,there will be a team that is capable ofknocking us off. It all comes back to thepoint that we have to be able to finishgame stronger.”

‘We don’t yet have the physicaldefensive unit that I want here. Wedidn’t tackle well last year at all.

MIKE RUDEVIENNA COACH


CENTRALIA: Wants to end new losing streakFROM PAGE 5

Even though Centralialost its remaining games,Kauling established a newattitude on his squad andhopes with six returningstarters he can get theprogram back on track.

Offensively, Kaulinghas four senior startersreturning in guard NickRenfrow, tackle GavinHeern, center SkylerGuidish and wide receiverAlex Fritch. The presenceof those returnees shouldhelp in the transition from

quarterback Brady Greear,who passed for more than1,500 yards in just fivegames before getting hurt,to sophomore DymanSodsaikitch.

“Last year Sodsaikitchgot some experience beinga situational player the last two games,” Kaulingsaid. “He’s come a longway throwing and build-ing arm strength. Fritch isby far our best player. Heis an all-conference kidand in my mind he mightbe the best wide receiverin the conference.”

Joining Sodsaikitch inthe backfield will be jun-ior Andrew Panega andsophomore RashadCampbell. Filling out theline will be senior tackleLane Owen and juniorguard Tanner Pitts.

On defense, Kauling hastwo returning seniorstarters in safety BraydonLockwood and corner-back Fory Albert.

“We will be a 4-3 teamthis year,” Kauling said.“The strength of ourdefense will be our threejunior linebackers.”

CARBONDALE TERRIERS

Coach: Dan KoesterCareer Record: 8-112009 Record: 5-5Conference: South Seven (Class 5A)Returning Starters (6): Kyle Baity (T),Chris Pugh (G), Kaid Koester (QB), JacksonTreece (TE), J.D. Whitback (G), JordanBowlby (MLB/RB)

ScheduleAug. 27 at MurphysboroSept. 3 HERRINSept. 10 at WaterlooSept. 17 CENTRALIA*Sept. 24 at Cahokia*Oct. 1 MOUNT VERNON*Oct. 8 BELLEVILLE ALTHOFF*Oct. 15 at Marion*Oct. 22 at Harrisburg

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Adam Alderson 5-10 190 LBKyle Baity 6-3 240 TSteven Burris 5-10 200 LBJeVonte Cleaves 6-2 185 DECaleb Cobb 5-8 225 DEJaylyn Jones 5-6 140 CBWilliam Kuykendall 6-3 215 DETim Lewis 5-8 160 CBTom Leonard 5-10 155 FSZack Lindberg 6-1 200 KAlzon Milan 6-1 265 NGChris Pugh 6-1 225 GDevon Robinson 5-10 155 CBDom Robinson 6-0 280 TWill Stewart 5-10 160 LBConnor Thompson 5-9 155 CBJackson Treece 6-4 200 TE

Mike Willis 6-1 185 FSJuniors

Larry Benz 5-9 170 LBJordan Bowlby 5-10 225 LBJared Brown 6-3 300 TLawrence Croft 5-10 165 CBNick Harrdson 6-0 180 GKaid Koester 6-2 225 QBDevon Kohn 6-5 320 TDaniel Lustman 5-7 140 CBJosh Patterson 5-8 145 CBGavin Perry 6-1 265 NGJordan Pratt 6-1 205 RBDD Roseman 6-4 300 NGZach Simmons 6-4 265 TChase Smith 6-0 180 GEldron Staten 5-10 190 LBJorrian Sutton 6-0 205 GElijah Sykes 5-10 185 RBJD Whitback 6-0 225 OGAntroll Williams 6-2 170 SEForrest Wright 5-10 165 TE

SophomoresOwen Abarca 6-0 215 TEAngel Agarwal 5-8 205 GBrandon Blewett 5-9 200 LBNick Carlson 5-10 185 LBBrandon Carlton 5-10 205 LBZach Doan 5-10 175 RBMarquis Edmonds 6-1 225 TEJacob Gaertner 6-1 210 GJacob Garwin 5-8 145 SEDalton Joles 6-1 290 TIsiah Jones 5-7 150 FSRichard Ketten 5-10 150 CBMarcus Meyerhoff 5-11 240 TBryce Reno-Gibson 5-7 165 RBEli Uffelman 5-10 185 LBWalker Upton 6-0 210 C

CARBONDALE: Terriers look to take next stepFROM PAGE 4

“So we’re pretty big upfront with big runningbacks and we have to takeadvantage of that.”

Defensively, the Terriersimproved by cutting their

points given up in half,but with the graduation of 10 starters, Koester will have only Bowlbyreturning at middle line-backer.

“This year we are goingfrom a 5-3 slant to more of

a 3-3 slant man-to-man,”Koester said. “Our line is alittle thin, but we have a lotof good linebackers, so weare going to do a lot morestunting. We are also goingto try to stop the run andforce them to pass.”

ALTHOFF: Crusaders on a postseason missionFROM PAGE 7

“‘Mini-Vinnie’ is VintonHarris’ little brother,”Turner said.

“He runs hard and lovesto hit. Vinson transferredfrom East St. Louis andrushed for 1,100 yards hisfreshman year. He washurt his sophomore and

junior years, but is healthynow.”

Turner runs a 4-3defense and has threestarters back on the line inHarris at tackle andCostello and Johnston atend. Colin Cozart will bethe new tackle.

Carson Sonnebergreturns at strong side line-

backer with KameronHarris on the weak sideand sophomore ErikFumanek in the middle,replacing Ed Fink andRyan Maitland.Arterbridge and Quarlesare new at safety withGrinston and senior NickKreitemeyer at corner-back.

CHUCK NOVARA / THE SOUTHERNCarbondale players run conditioning and agility drills on the first day of practice.


RAMS: Mount Vernon led by new facesFROM PAGE 5

“Brady is a great kid,”Mings said. “He played forus as a sophomore andstarted as a junior. He’s 6-0and about 260 pounds andshould be a solid anchor forus.

Offensively, Mings will have to replace quar-terback Jim Mulvaney,fullback Jesse Stuckey,tight end Eric Fowler andguard Dontez Phipps

among others.“Even though we are

going to be a run-firstpower offense, hopefullywe can throw the ballmore,” Mings said. “KellinEdwards will play quarter-back. He’s got good sizeand is a good athlete. He’splayed defensive end, line-backer, tight end and run-ning back and in basketballhe’s the shooter.”

Defensively, Mings has alittle bit better situation

with defensive end VictorBrooks, inside linebackerEric Heinzman and corner-back Anthony Moore back.

“I have a lot of guys bat-tling for playing time,especially at nose guardand linebacker and on theoffensive line,” Mings said.“We had a good spring sea-son and the summer wentpretty well with a greatturnout. We are still goingto be Mount Vernon and tryto put a lick on you.”


FROM PAGE 16

Carterville has a toughnon-conference schedulethat includes St. Joseph-Ogden in Week 2.

The Lions finish the sea-son with Breese Centraland have all of the toughMississippi opponents inthe middle.

“Our players will besore, and we may have tobattle injuries and adapt,”Drust said.

“I think our kids arerealizing the importanceof practice every day.We can’t look past any-body and we have to be prepared every week. There’s been a lottalk and questions about

how we would play and our kids want to prove we’re capable of playing at the

next level.”

[email protected]

CARTERVILLE LIONS

Coach: Dennis DrustCareer Record: 74-142009 Record: 8-2 Conference: SIRR Mississippi (Class

3A)Returning Starters (10): Jeff Aldridge

(QB/DB), Ryan Bonifield (WR/DB),Alec Waldron (WR/DB/K), Logan Mann(RB/LB), Dan Frey (RB/LB), JD Helton(RB/LB), Curtis Pitt (OL/LB), Tyler Baker(OL/DL), Bryce Usher (WR/DB), ZackHalterman (TE/LB).

ScheduleAug. 27 BENTONSept. 4 At St. Joseph-OgdenSept. 10 at OblongSept. 17 NASHVILLE *Sept. 24 At Du Quoin *Oct. 1 SPARTA *Oct. 8 ANNA-JONESBORO *Oct. 15 At Pinckneyville *Oct. 22 BREESE CENTRAL* Conference game

SeniorsHt. Wt. Pos.

Jordan Allensworth 6-0 193 OL/DLTyler Baker 6-0 237 OL/DLRyan Bonifield 6-3 171 SE/DBCody Church 5-10 230 OL/DLJacob Conder 5-8 148 SE/DBChris Ferguson 6-2 230 OL/DLDan Frey 5-9 169 RB/LBZack Halterman 6-2 172 TE/LBJordan Kiesling 5-10 143 SE/DBMatt Luper 5-5 134 RB/DB

Logan Mann 5-9 183 RB/LBDylan Orr 5-10 214 OL/LBBryce Usher 5-11 145 SE/DBAlec Waldron 6-0 163 SE/DB

JuniorsChris Aschermann 6-2 204 OL/DLJeff Aldridge 5-10 174 QB/DBJake Behan 6-0 234 OL/DLZach Bollman 5-8 154 RB/DBTyler Bundren 5-7 150 RB/LBLevi Cummins 6-2 258 OL/DLChris Fleming 5-11 194 OL/DLJD Helton 5-10 193 RB/LBKyle Helton 5-10 162 TE/LBKeegan Henderson 5-9 137 SE/DBBlake Jerrells 5-7 140 SE/DBSkyler Neumann 6-3 285 OL/DLCurtis Pitt 6-1 190 OL/LBMatt Weeks 5-11 232 OL/DL

SophomoresTyler Barber 6-0 176 OL/DLDalton Brown 5-8 126 QB/DBPatrick Brown 6-0 154 RB/LBShane Caudill 5-7 160 OL/LBDanny Crosby 6-9 136 OL/LBDavid Eaton 5-7 126 SE/DBJake Fulton 6-0 136 SE/DBJimmy Hall 5-5 155 OL/DLSpencer Hees 5-9 164 OL/DLTyler Horn 6-2 237 OL/DLLucas Hunter 5-10 138 SE/DBTaylor Mitcheson 5-7 150 RB/LBJacob Ninness 6-0 191 OL/DLMichael Oyler 5-10 438 OL/DLBrett Prince 5-9 181 OL/DLSam Stearns 5-10 144 SE/DBNeal Wachter 5-7 120 RB/DB

CARTERVILLE: Lions ready for new conference

PAUL NEWTON / THE SOUTHERNCarterville wide receiver David Eaton hauls in a pass.

PANTHERS: Pinckneyville faces tough taskFROM PAGE 15

“He’s got good size andgreat hands but not a lot ofspeed,” Rushing said ofBarczewski. “He is big andhard to tackle. He’s a goodpossession receiver thatcan run good routes.”

Barczewski will have tohelp make up for the lossesof key receivers, JakeBathon and NathanMorton, both of whomgraduated. Rushing saidsenior Brandon Long hasalso shown a lot of prom-ise at wide receiver.

The Panthers have been

running the spread offenserecently, but not so muchto put up huge passingnumbers.

“We’re not really a truespread team,” Rushingsaid. “We are spreading itout for space for our quar-terback to run. We adaptedour Wing T into thespread.”

Although the Panthersusually have more than 80kids out for football, thenumbers are down to 64this season. But Rushingthinks his defensive frontshould be one of the posi-tives and solid against

teams running between the tackles.

“Our coaches are doinga great job with thedefense, and we’ll be pret-ty good against the run,”Rushing said. “We havegood size and good kidsthere. We aren’t really fastso we’re worried about theedge.”

Rushing believes Nash-ville is the team to beatthis year because of alltheir talent coming back.

“Du Quoin will be Du Quoin, but I thinkNashville is at the top,”Rushing said.

HORNETS: Nashville has some large holes to fill FROM PAGE 14

running back, and ChrisStorey returns at fullbackfor the Hornets.

“I am confident in mywhole stable of runningbacks,” Gajewski said.“Gannon really stepped upas a junior.”

Brady Harre will take thesnaps at quarterbackagain, and Gajewski islooking for a solid year outof his senior leader.

“Brady has shown somegrowth, and we’ll be doingmore with him,” Gajewskisaid. “Last year was an

average year for him, andwe think he’ll get his com-pletion percentage up.”

A major strength for theHornets, once again, willbe the offensive line.Travis Newman (6-2, 305)and David Gill (6-2, 245)lead the way in that area.As big as Newman is, hecan still run the 40-yarddash in just 5.1 seconds.

“I’ve had some peopleinterested in Travisbecause he’s aggressiveand strong,” Gajewski said.“David Gill is getting somelooks, too. Everyone hasgotten bigger, faster

and stronger.”The Hornets are solid

up front on defense as wellas the linebacker position.The defensive secondaryshould be a strength aswell.

Mamell, Tyler Meyer andZach Fieber are all quick inthat unit.

“Everybody runs a 4.7 orfaster in our secondary,”Gajewski said. “Hopefully,if they can read their keys,we should be able to com-pete with anyone.”

[email protected]


SPARTA: Bulldogs look to ‘close the gap’FROM PAGE 14

“I would’ve liked to havewon the Chester game, butat least we had a chance towin,” Watson said. “It’s alot more fun if you have achance to win. We hadAnna down at halftime,and I don’t think it was afluke. We controlled the

ball and cut time off theclock. We ran out of gas afew times.”

The Bulldogs may have52 players on the roster, butWatson wishes he couldget more of the good ath-letes in school to play foot-ball.

“Some kids don’t want toplay because we haven’t

been winning,” Watsonsaid.

“But we don’t winbecause guys like thatwon’t play. If some kidswould play we’d be OK. I’mnot predicting we’d winthe conference, but we’dbe competitive.”

[email protected]


PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEW: MASTER SCHEDULE

Week 1Johnston City at Carmi -WhiteCountySesser-Valier at ChesterChristopher-Zeigler-Royaltonat EldoradoFairfield at Elverado-TricoVienna at Hamilton CountyBelleville Althoff at CollinsvilleCahokia at O’FallonCarbondale at MurphysboroSalem at CentraliaGranite City at MarionMount Vernon at Miller CareerAcademy (St. Louis Mo.) West Frankfort at Anna-JonesboroBenton at CartervilleBethalto Civic Memorial at DuQuoinCrittenden County (Ky.) atMassac CountyMount Carmel at HarrisburgHerrin at Hopkins County(Ky.)Carlyle at NashvillePinckneyville at Red BudColumbia at Sparta

Week 2Chester at Carmi WhiteCountyJohnston City at Christopher-Zeigler RoyaltonEldorado at Elverado-TricoFairfield at ViennaHamilton County at Sesser-Valier Belleville West at BellevilleAlthoffAlton Sr. at CahokiaHerrin at CarbondaleCentralia at Bethalto CivicMemorialMarion at HighlandNiles Notre Dame at MountVernonMurphysboro at Anna-JonesboroCarterville at St. JosephOgdenHarrisburg at Du QuoinBreese Mater Dei at NashvilleWest Frankfort atPinckneyvilleSparta at BentonMassac County at FultonCounty (Ky.)

Week 3Carmi-White County atHamilton CountyChristopher-Zeigler Royaltonat ChesterEldorado at FairfieldElverado-Trico at JohnstonCitySesser-Valier at ViennaBelleville Althoff atMascoutahCarnahan (Mo.) at CahokiaCarbondale at WaterlooHighland at CentraliaHarrisburg at MarionMount Vernon at Troy TriadAnna-Jonesboro at MassacCountyCarterville at OblongDu Quoin at HerrinNashville at West FrankfortBenton at PinckneyvilleMurphysboro at Sparta

Week 4Vienna at Carmi-WhiteCountyChester at Elverado-TricoHamilton County atChristopher-Zeigler-RoyaltonJohnston City at EldoradoFairfield at Sesser-ValierBelleville Althoff at MountVernonCahokia at MarionCentralia at CarbondalePinckneyville at Anna-JonesboroNashville at CartervilleSparta at Du QuoinMurphysboro at BentonMassac County at HarrisburgHerrin at West Frankfort

Week 5Fairfield at Carmi-WhiteCountyChester at Johnston CityChristopher-Zeigler-Royaltonat Sesser-ValierHamilton County at EldoradoVienna at Elverado-TricoBelleville Althoff at CentraliaCarbondale at CahokiaMount Vernon at MarionAnna-Jonesboro at SpartaCarterville at Du QuoinPinckneyville at Nashville

West Frankfort at BentonHarrisburg at HerrinMassac County atMurphysboro

Week 6Carmi-White County atSesser-ValierEldorado at ChesterChristopher-Zeigler-Royaltonat ViennaElverado-Trico at HamiltonCountyJohnston City at FairfieldMarion at Belleville AlthoffCentralia at CahokiaMount Vernon at CarbondaleNashville at Anna-JonesboroSparta at CartervilleDu Quoin at PinckneyvilleBenton at Massac CountyWest Frankfort at HarrisburgHerrin at Murphysboro

Week 7Christopher-Zeigler-Royaltonat Carmi White CountyChester at FairfieldVienna at EldoradoElverado-Trico at Sesser-ValierJohnston City at HamiltonCountyBelleville Althoff atCarbondaleCahokia at Mount VernonMarion at CentraliaAnna-Jonesboro at CartervilleNashville at Du QuoinPinckneyville at SpartaBenton at HarrisburgHerrin at Massac CountyMurphysboro at WestFrankfort

Week 8Carmi-White County atElverado-TricoHamilton County at ChesterFairfield at Christopher-Zeigler-RoyaltonSesser-Valier at EldoradoVienna at Johnston CityCahokia at Belleville AlthoffCarbondale at MarionCentralia at Mount VernonDu Quoin at Anna-JonesboroCarterville at PinckneyvilleSparta at Nashville

Benton at HerrinHarrisburg at MurphysboroWest Frankfort at MassacCounty

Week 9Eldorado at Carmi-WhiteCountyChester at Vienna

Elverado-Trico at Christopher-Zeigler-RoyaltonHamilton County at FairfieldJohnston City at Sesser-ValierTroy Triad at Belleville AlthoffSt. Francis de Sales atCahokiaCarbondale at HarrisburgTrenton Wesclin at CentraliaMarion at HerrinMount Vernon at Grayslake

CentralAnna-Jonesboro at BentonBreese Central at CartervilleDu Quoin at MurphysboroNashville at ColumbiaPinckneyville at DupoRed Bud at SpartaMassac County at Olney EastRichlandFreeburg at West Frankfort

2010 WEEK-BY-WEEK SCHEDULE

THE SOUTHERN FILE PHOTOPinckneyville quarterback Bryant Shute runs through defenders during a game with Nashville.


SPORTS MEDICINE CLINICA Saturday Clinic is offered during the regular football season for injuries sustained in Friday night action.

The clinic is staffed by our sports medicine team, which includes orthopedic surgeons with sports medicine subspecialty, athletic trainers, and physical therapists.

Athletes should arrive by 9:00AM for evaluation.Our Sports Injury Drop-In Clinic is also available Monday through Friday.

Athletes are asked to arrive by 8 AM throughout the week unless other arrangements are made.

510 Lincoln Drive • Herrin618.997.4310 [email protected]

Offi cial Orthopedic Provider for:

BENTON: Rangers ready to turn things aroundFROM PAGE 10

three seasons underClodfelder, who will bene-fit from an experiencedsenior class in 2010.

“We’ve got some skillkids and some nucleus kidswho can step up and dosome things,” Clodfeldersaid. “The critical thing ishow the development inthe offensive line goes.”

The Rangers have three-year starter and leadingtackler Landon Stewartback at linebacker and fel-low senior Hunter Ronewill contribute at the line-backer and lineman posi-tions. Junior Trey Garrett

was an all-conferencepunter for Benton in 2009— while also seeing somerunning back duty — andjunior defensive back JaredJohnston has made a hugeamount of improvement inthe secondary.

“We played a lot ofyoung kids last year whenwe moved some sopho-mores up,” Clodfelder said.“Jared had a great summerand we look forward to himgrowing up in this processand being a full-time var-sity player.”

Benton also gets theunique opportunity to bethe first team to face theconference’s newest pro-

gram in Carterville at 7 p.m. today at Lions Field.

“I think it’s going to havea big impact on both ourseasons with us going toCarterville, but we’re notgoing to blow it out of pro-portion,” Clodfelder said.

Clodfelder was an assis-tant coach at Carterville in1998 under current Marioncoach Kerry Martin andDennis Drust was a mem-ber of that same staff aswell.

“It will be an interestingWeek 1 ballgame,”Clodfelder said.

[email protected]

REDBIRDS: Come into season with new styleFROM PAGE 10

“We’re gonna let it all hang out.”Ben Cunningham returns for his senior

year at wide receiver, as do receiversDerrick Davis and three-year starterNathan Butler. Junior Addison Eggertsenwill serve as West Frankfort’s quarter-back.

“We have several skill kids returning,but we’re kinda young up front,” Spencesaid. “We’ve had several kids in theweight room lifting pretty hard thissummer, but we’re kinda low on linemennumbers.”

The Redbirds had a bit of a two-facedmentality in 2009, something thatSpence hopes will be rectified this sea-son.

“Our consistency,” said Spence, whenasked what the focus of the team wasthis year. “We would play a good firsthalf, but the second half would get us.We’re trying to get in shape and simplifya few things.”

West Frankfort opens the first twoweeks of the season on the road againstAnna-Jonesboro and Pinckneyvillebefore returning home to face Nashvilleand Herrin.

“We play a pretty tough schedule allyear,” Spence said. “Last year, there werea couple of times where we could havecompeted a little better.”

[email protected] / 618-351-5073


THE SOUTHERN FILE PHOTOBenton’s Quincy Hamilton runs in front of a slew of West Frankfort defenders.

THE SOUTHERN FILE PHOTOWest Frankfort quarterback Ben Cunninghamlooks for an open receiver.


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