As I waited for Saturday’s Class 2A girls basketball state finals game to begin, I sat along the sidelines and watched as the Brownstown Central Lady Braves warmed up on the court.

The scene was familiar. They were smiling, they were energetic and they looked ready to go. It was just like I saw at sectional, regional and semistate. In fact, I felt more nervous than anyone, and I wasn’t even playing in the game. I was anxious to see how this game would go.

After the Brownstown and Fort Wayne Bishop Luers lineups were announced, the game tipped off. The teams started out well, and it was a 17-all score at the end of one quarter.

Brownstown’s Kaylee Bennett then knocked down a 3-pointer to open the second quarter, and the Braves were ahead the rest of the period, leading 30-27 at halftime.

They went up by five early in the third quarter before the Knights went on a run to go ahead, and they stayed in front the rest of the way, winning 59-46.

While accepting the loss was tough, a positive spin was when Brownstown senior Sammie Bane was named the recipient of the Patricia L. Roy Mental Attitude Award for Class 2A. A $1,000 scholarship will be presented to the school in her name.

Being recognized for something like mental attitude is special. I can say that, from my experiences working with athletes from the five Jackson County high schools, a lot of them display the right attitude and take that into consideration while they are competing. That can’t be said for all athletes, but I think Jackson County should be proud of how the local kids carry themselves.
The Lady Braves’ postseason run took me back to the boys basketball team’s run in 2009. I’ll never forget Ryan Shoemaker sinking the game-winning 3-pointer in overtime against Providence in the Providence Sectional. Then, the Braves went on to defeat Bloomfield and Forest Park in the Southridge Regional and Winchester in the Southport Regional.

Then, it hit me. The Braves were going to state, and I got to continue following them. Yeah, they lost that year and it was to the same school as the girls this year, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, but it was a great journey.

This year, the Lady Braves finally got past Austin in the sectional, defeating the Eagles 53-49 in the Clarksville Sectional. It was coach Karla Rieckers’ first sectional title in her fourth year as head coach and it was the girls basketball program’s first crown since 2004 and fifth overall.

The next stop was the Forest Park Regional, where they held off a tough Forest Park team and then fended off a valiant rally by Covenant Christian. The next stop? The Southport Regional, facing Winchester. I couldn’t believe it when the Lady Braves stormed out to a 20-6 lead after the first quarter. They played solid the rest of the way and won 69-58.

Then came the long trip to the other end of the state, and it was good to be back at the state finals. Yeah, the outcome wasn’t what everyone, including me, hoped for, but the Lady Braves gave it all they could.

I just want to thank Coach Rieckers, her coaching staff and, of course, all of the players for making it fun to follow. All of the hard work and effort you put into everything before and during the season definitely paid off, and I’m sure this will give you all something to work for in the coming years.

Also, kudos to all of the fans following the Lady Braves this year. It was impressive to see all of the red and black in the stands, from sectional to regional to semistate to the pep session before the state finals to the final big game. I’m sure that support truly made a difference for the girls.

Interviewing the coaches and players along the way was enjoyable, capturing all of the moments was exciting and thinking back on all of it is something I will be doing years down the road.

While that officially closed the 2010-11 girls basketball season, the boys postseason tournament kicked in gear, and now we have the Brownstown and Trinity Lutheran boys going on to regional after capturing sectional titles. So, Jackson County, you still have someone to cheer for.

On Saturday, Brownstown plays Eastern Greene in the Southridge Regional at Huntingburg, while Trinity takes on Wood Memorial in the Loogootee Regional. If they win those games, they will advance to the 8 p.m. championship games. I encourage everyone to either go to the games or listen to them on the radio.

It will be interesting to see how the Braves and Cougars do. It’s Brownstown’s third straight trip to the regional, while Trinity earned the school’s first sectional title in basketball and will be making its first appearance in regional.

Maybe, just maybe, I’ll get one more trip to the state finals.

Coming up….
-Check out an upcoming issue of The Tribune for a look back on the seasons of the five Jackson County high school girls basketball teams.
-On Friday, look for interviews with the coaches and players of the Brownstown Central and Trinity Lutheran boys basketball teams as they prepare for Saturday’s regional games. On Monday, there will be full coverage of how the teams fared.

It just seems like yesterday that the tassels were turned, the spring sports season came to an end and it was time to round up some local stories to do during the summer.

Now, it’s already time to be thinking about fall sports. Didn’t school just end?! It sure seems like it, and I’m not even in school anymore. Sometimes, however, it feels as if I’m still in school, having to follow all of these high school sports teams and keep up with all the schedules and everything.

I’ve had plenty to do once again this summer. Last summer, I was kind of worried. It was my first summer having to focus on getting local sprots stories together, but everything worked out great. There was plenty to do, and there weren’t very many days when we didn’t have at least one local story in the paper. That’s what we’re here to do, focus on the local aspect. I hope you find that we do a good job with that.

This summer, besides keeping busy covering all of the local schools’ sports camps for younger kids, Little League tournament games kept me particularly busy. Last summer, I only remember going to a couple of those, but this year, I’ve been traveling to Bedford and Greenwood numerous times covering these games, and I even went to Indianapolis once.
The Seymour teams have done exceptionally well this summer, and I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen.

The 9-10s made it to the final four of the state tournament after winning the district title over Bedford. The 10-11s also beat Bedford for the district title, and the cherry on top of that was the game was won in Seymour. They play their first state finals game on July 29 at Fort Wayne. The 15s also won their district at Greenwood over the host school. I didn’t get to see any of their games, but I’m hoping to venture up to Greenwood on July 28 to catch their state tournament game.

Other Little League teams did well this summer. The 11-12s went undefeated into the final district game before losing by one run. The 13s didn’t end up with a winning record, but they went through a three-and-a-half-hour game and won 16-14 (I was there and I remember it quite well). The game didn’t really mean anything to Seymour because it couldn’t advance, but the players sure gave a great effort anyway and pulled out a nice win. Finally, I watched the 15s on Saturday come back from a five-run deficit and tie the game in the bottom of the seventh to force an extra inning. But Seymour lost by one run to Greenwood. It was great to see a nice rally by a good team like that.

It’s county fair week this week, and tonight I’m going to the demolition derby. There are a few things this week that I consider to be sports-related. There are a couple of races at the speedway, and there’s the horseshoe pitching contest that we’ve covered the last few years. I might have to check out some or all of those things.

But next Tuesday, Aug. 3, girls golf season begins for two of the county schools, and it starts for another a few days later. Can you believe it’s already time for that? I can’t.

In a few weeks will be the first volleyball games, tennis matches, cross country meets and soccer and football games. I guess I just have to get ready for it all because it’s here whether I like it or not.

I’m looking forward to an exciting fall season, and I’m sure you are, too. Get out and enjoy the games, matches or meets and support the local schools. I enjoy it, and I know you will, too, and of course the players and coaches will appreciate your support.

Look for the fall sports preview section coming here in a few weeks. We have that scheduled to run sometime the week of Aug. 16. For the girls golf previews, since that sport starts first, we will run those in Monday’s edition of the paper.

The spring sports season only has about a month left.

Can you believe it?

This is my second year going through the spring sports season, and it’s gone pretty well so far. I can only think of three times rain has caused cancellations. The way it’s looking, though, Saturday’s events may be called off. We’ll wait and see if Mother Nature is right.

I went to a Brownstown baseball game tonight and watched pitcher Kelley Wagner throw a no-hitter. But not only that, a perfect game. That’s not something you see every day, as he struck out 13 of the 15 Scottsburg pitchers he faced in winning 11-0. Nice job, Kelley.
He’s continuing his baseball pitching career at Owens Community College in Ohio after he graduates this spring.

On Friday, I’m planning on covering the Trinity golf match and the Brownstown-Seymour golf matches at Seymour. Then on Saturday, it’s supposed to be another day of golf, covering Seymour and Brownstown in the BNL Invitational and then coming back to Seymour and covering Trinity’s Cougar Invitational.

The weather forecasters are calling for rain in the early morning hours of Saturday and into the day, and then again on Sunday, so we’ll have to see how everything goes.

I didn’t realize it until coaches had pointed it out to me, but the tennis season ends in mid-May and the sectional is not far after that, and the track and field teams only have a few dual meets left before competing in conference meets and then sectional. Golf sectional isn’t until early June, and baseball and softball sectionals begin the last week of May.

Before you know it, it will all be over with.

It’s been nice getting outside and going to a variety of events. I’ve enjoyed it all, and let’s hope the rest of the season ends on a dry note, and let’s hope some teams or individuals carry on into the postseason.

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Besides the sunburn on my forehead and arms that I got from sitting outside at a doubleheader baseball game on Saturday, I’m liking the spring sports season so far.

It’s only a couple weeks in and things have gone well. The new coaches have been great to work with and they are getting the system down of sending in results and that sort of thing. We’ve only been late on deadline a couple times, but not by much. Most Tuesdays and Thursdays have anywhere from 10 to 15 things going on, but we somehow manage to fit all of it in the paper.

I’ve had the whole realm of spring sports already. I’ve been to softball and baseball games, golf and tennis matches and track meets. I don’t necessarily like one more than the other. I think the best part of it all is just being outside.

Don’t get me wrong, I totally enjoyed the winter sports season. I started writing basketball games here at the Trib, and then I eventually moved into all of the other sports. Basketball probably remains my favorite sport, but it’s good to get outside and check out the spring sports after going to things inside all winter.

Last fall was my first dip into fall sports, and I liked all of those sports, too. I didn’t pick up football until a couple years ago, and writing about it and keeping stats during games were different to get used to, but again, it’s all about developing a system. And the system ended up working out great.

This is my second go-around of spring sports. I remember last year before the season began, people told me to brace myself for spring sports. That’s because there’s a lot going on. Those people were right, but if you manage your time well and you have yourself organized, it works out just fine.

If I can do it, most people probably could. But first, you have to like what you’re doing, and I do. Following the local teams is something I take a lot of pride in, and I hope all of you enjoy reading about them. We try to get to as many things as we can and try to balance the coverage of the sports and schools.

Let me know if you ever have any suggestions or comments. I’d be happy to hear them.

But for now, get outside and enjoy the spring weather and the spring sports and support your team or teams. Just remember to pack your sunscreen.

Do you want to know what local coaches have to say about the upcoming baseball, softball, track and field, girls tennis and boys golf seasons?

Do you want to know who you’ll see out there on the fields, courts and courses and when they’ll be playing?

If so, check out Wednesday’s print edition of The Tribune and look that day for the stories online at tribtown.com previewing the five county schools’ spring sports seasons.

It’s your source for everything related to the upcoming Jackson County high school spring sports season.

Seymour and Brownstown Central softball teams open play on Thursday, while Seymour’s baseball team and golf team and Brownstown Central’s golf team will begin play on Saturday. The rest of the teams begin their seasons next week.

It was rough looking up at the scoreboard after Saturday’s championship game of the Southridge Regional at Huntingburg.

The designated home team, Forest Park, had 44 and the guest team, Brownstown Central, had 42.

I then watched as the Forest Park fans rushed the court and joined in on the celebration with the players.

I couldn’t believe it.

After following the Braves all the way to the Class 2A state finals last year, and then seeing Brownstown make history with the school’s first undefeated season (21-0) and win the sectional at Paoli this winter, I had a good feeling they would march right back to Conseco Fieldhouse.

They battled past a tough Tri-West Hendricks team in the first game of the regional and won 43-39. In that game, the Braves didn’t seem like the same team I had seen all year. They had several early turnovers that I hadn’t seen them make, and they were lucky late in the game that Tri-West missed seven free throws and several 3-point attempts in the final minute.

After that game, someone told me that last year’s 2A champion, Fort Wayne Luers, had lost their regional semifinal game. That made me think that the field was wide open for any team, including Brownstown. I thought they had a good chance of getting back to the semistate and then on to the state finals.

Forest Park wasn’t going to let that happen.

The Rangers made it a close game all the way. The Braves had a couple of five-point leads in the second half, but three big 3-pointers by the Rangers in a short span in the third quarter was an unwelcomed punch. Then, another one in the fourth quarter, giving the Rangers a two-point lead, was the final blow.

The Braves tied the game on free throws and they had several opportunities to regain the lead in the final two minutes, but it just didn’t happen. A missed one-and-one by the Rangers opened the door for the Braves to take the lead, and they were within one point on Taylor Wischmeier going 1-for-2 at the line and then the Braves getting a lucky bounce with the miss going off of a Forest Park player.

But then came one of the hardest calls of the game. A charging call along the perimeter went against the Braves. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t see it, but I think I got so caught up in the moment of Brownstown getting the ball back and having a chance to take the lead and possibly winning the game. I looked up and I heard a whistle, and the ball was going Forest Park’s way.

Forest Park was fouled and made 1 of 2, and Brownstown had 11 seconds to get down the court and get a good look, but the shot was off the mark.

I just sat there for what seemed like an hour in total disbelief. I kept thinking back to last year at Huntingburg when the Braves pulled out a three-point win in the first game over Bloomfield and then held off Forest Park in the finals. That was an exciting time, and on Saturday, it just didn’t seem right that the Rangers were cutting down the nets and celebrating.

After talking with Braves coach Dave Benter, I climbed the stairs to the top of Huntingburg Memorial Gymnasium and looked down and noticed the Brownstown players coming out of the locker room. It was rough watching them cry on the shoulders of parents, family members, fans and friends. It was especially emotional for the five seniors, Wischmeier, Ryan Shoemaker, Michael Leitzman, Cody Allman and Kelley Wagner, as it was the final game of their high school career.

But at the same time, they have so much to be proud of.

A 25-1 season is not easy to accomplish. As the Braves won game after game, I was impressed. I didn’t know that there hadn’t been an undefeated regular season at Brownstown. I knew last year’s team was pretty solid, but this year’s team really clicked.

The Braves were 21-0 in the regular season, including winning the Mid-Southern Conference title, and they won 16 of those games by double digits.

Going into regional, I kept thinking back to the Braves defeating the Rangers 61-39 in the semifinals of the Graber Post Buildings Classic over the holiday break. That big of a win was surprising to me then, and when I saw Forest Park was in the regional again, I was wondering if a win would come by that easily again.

But Saturday’s final game was proof that it’s hard to beat a team twice and you never know what can happen when it comes to the postseason in high school basketball. Coach Benter had told me that he heard Forest Park played its best game of the season in the sectional finals, and apparently that carried into regional.

In talking with Benter after the game and also talking with the seniors for a preview story for the regional, it was apparent that this was a really solid group of Brownstown players. It wasn’t just about how they played basketball. It was about how they got along and cared about each other.

Isn’t that what’s really important? I totally think so. Yeah, it’s nice to win games and try to score and rebound and set records. But I think it’s equally important to find a way to gel as a team. It’s not all about one person, it’s about the team, and that’s what you got with the Braves.

You could just see it on the court, and you could even tell by talking with the players and coach. That could be rare to come by, but not at Brownstown.

Sure, it’s difficult for the Brownstown players to accept Saturday’s loss. I know they felt there was a target on their backs, going in as the No. 1 team in 2A and being undefeated. I’m sure they had a good feeling they were going back to the state finals, and I’m sure they wish they would have made just one more shot or made a few more free throws. But those are things you can’t change. It just didn’t happen when it needed to.

But one thing they can hang onto is knowing they were a part of Brownstown history and they did it together as a team. That says a lot, and hopefully when they look back on this season, that’s something they can remember with pride.

I had a good feeling last weekend that the Brownstown Central Braves boys basketball team would repeat at sectional champions.

Of course, I thought last year’s team was good, but I think this year’s team is even better. The players that were juniors then who are now seniors have really stepped up their game, whether they score or not.
Sometimes, it’s the little things they do that make the difference.

Granted, the sectional championship game this winter wasn’t quite as exciting as last year’s when the game went into overtime with the host school, Providence, and it went the Braves’ way when Ryan Shoemaker launched a 3-pointer and made it at the buzzer.

After the game, even some of the players said it wasn’t quite as thrilling as last year. This time around, the Braves jumped ahead early and beat Eastern 56-31. That’s a lot different than a 43-40 win.

But still, the Braves have a lot to be proud of. They finished the regular season 21-0, and they won all three sectional games in a sectional consisting of pretty solid teams. Austin and Eastern were both ranked teams, and Providence was pretty solid early on in the second-round game with the Braves. Plus, Paoli was a team you couldn’t overlook.

Brownstown also won the Mid-Southern Conference title, defeating a tough Corydon Central team.

Now, the Braves are looking to repeat as regional champions. I don’t know much about Tri-West Hendricks, the team they are meeting in the first game. All I know is they are 17-5, and they have two starters averaging 15 points per game, and one of them is 6-foot-6.
But really, Brownstown’s 6-8 Taylor Wischmeier hasn’t had too many problems with players of his size this season. He has really taken his game to the next level this season, and he’s been a reliable player inside.
Hopefully, Tri-West’s size doesn’t pose a problem, because I honestly think if the Braves can get by the Bruins in the first game, I’ll be returning that night to Huntingburg to see them go for the title.
Forest Park and South Knox are in the second game, and Brownstown beat Forest Park in the title game last year. These three teams also were in a holiday tournament together and Brownstown beat them both. It was a surprisingly easy win over Forest Park this time around, but Braves coach Dave Benter said he heard the Rangers played their best game of the season in the sectional title game.

So the further along you get in the tournament, the teams do get tougher. I mean, why wouldn’t they? They didn’t just get there out of luck; they earned their spot there.

I wish the Braves the best of luck this weekend, and I’ll be there watching all of the action. Hopefully I’ll see them win in the morning and then have to come back at night. I’m sure that’s what they want, too.

Be sure to check online at tribtown.com sometime on Saturday as I will post information on how the Braves did at regional. Of course, you can also check Monday’s print edition of the paper and online for full coverage.

Go Braves!

After a 51-33 win over the pesky Providence Pioneers on Friday night in sectional action at Paoli, the 23-0 Brownstown Central Braves earned a chance to repeat as the Class 2A Sectional 47 champs.

With Medora losing on Friday night, Brownstown is the only Jackson County team remaining in sectional play.

Providence’s slow-paced play early on could have worked against Brownstown, but the Braves did what they do best, being aggressive defensively. It paid off in the end, and they hit their free throws in the second half to secure the win.

Last year’s sectional finale pitted these two teams against each other at Providence, and it took an overtime to decide the winner. That’s when Brownstown’s Ryan Shoemaker had the ball at the end, shot a 3-pointer and nailed it for a 43-40 win.

This year, the Braves will battle the Eastern (Pekin) Musketeers, so it will be No. 1 Brownstown against the No. 18 team in 2A. Brownstown won by 15 points on the Musketeers’ floor on Feb. 19. Eastern played the host school in Friday’s second semifinal game and only won by two points.

It will be interesting to see how the teams fare on neutral ground, but it would be great to see the Braves make another journey to the state finals at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. That sure was an exciting trip last year.

For the Braves to make the trip to Indy again, they must win on Saturday, and I truly believe they can do it.

Good luck, Braves!

On another note from Friday, Seymour freshman Kelly Deppen placed third all-around at the Columbus East gymnastics sectional, qualifying her for the March 12 regional at CEHS.

That’s quite an accomplishment for a freshman, and I’m sure she’ll work hard this week in order to represent Seymour well at regional.

So, Kelly, congratulations on a great all-around performance, and best of luck at regional!

As one of many witnesses to Saturday night’s sectional semifinal game at Brownstown, all I could think afterward was, “Wow! What a game.”

Of the 15 Brownstown Central girls basketball games I saw this winter, the Lady Braves lost three times. On the season, they played 23 games and lost only four, including Saturday’s heartbreaking, season-ending sectional game against Austin.

The Braves lost 62-46 on Dec. 12 at Austin, but I in the back of my mind I kept thinking about the teams’ two meetings last season.

During the 2008-09 season, Brownstown shocked Austin by winning 55-50 at Brownstown, and in the sectional finals game at Austin, the Braves had an early double-digit on the Eagles before Austin slowly crept back late in the game and won 67-62.

This winter’s sectional game was in the semifinals instead of the finals, and it also ended with a five-point difference, 74-69.

This time around, however, it was a reversal.

That’s because the Braves were down 18 twice in the second quarter and 16 at halftime, and at that point, I thought, “Is this going to be a blowout?”

That certainly wasn’t the case.

At the 5:30 mark of the third quarter, Brownstown outscored Austin 9-4 to get within 11, capped off with Maria Allen’s leaping steal off of an Eagle inbounds play and layup at the other end.

The Braves were within 10 four more times in the third before getting within single digits on Allen’s free throw at 58 seconds and Kaylee Bennett’s offensive put-back at the buzzer, making it a 56-49 game.

Brownstown opened the fourth with five straight points to get within two, forcing an Austin timeout. The Eagles scored out of the timeout, and then Taylor Fleetwood scored inside and Jamie Wehmiller drove the baseline for a tie game at 58-all.

At 4:14, Wehmiller nailed both free throws on a one-and-one play for the Braves’ first lead of the game, 60-58.

Austin tied the game on a transition bucket at 3:40, took the lead on a wide-open look inside and went up four on two free throws at 3:01.

Then, Allen made two free throws, and 35 seconds later, Katelyn Shoemaker had an offensive put-back for a 64-64 score.

The Eagles went back up two points on free throws at 1:46, Sammie Bane went 1-for-2 at the line for the Braves and Austin had another nice look inside to go up three at 1:21.

A crucial turnover by the Braves—their fourth of the period—at 1:19 returned possession to the Eagles, but they were called for five seconds.

Brownstown then missed a shot on their end, Austin got the rebound and a player was fouled and made both free throws for a 70-65 game.

Allen then drove down the court and made a shot in the paint at 29 seconds for a 70-67 score. But on the ensuing possession, near midcourt, Allen fouled an Austin player and the referees called it intentional.

Austin’s Michelle Goodin stepped to the line and made both, and with the intentional call, the Eagles also got the ball. They were quickly fouled, but one thing they are known for is hitting free throws, and Katy McIntosh made both at 8 seconds.

The Braves’ Hailey Brown scored off of a teammate’s missed shot as the buzzer sounded, but the Eagles had the game in the bag.

It was so disappointing to me, after watching the Lady Braves all season and seeing them come back from being down a whole half at Hauser and winning, and they nearly upset Seymour in their third game of the year.

Also, just listening to the Brownstown fans on Saturday as they saw their team getting back into the game, it was thrilling to think the Braves were that close from knocking off the No. 2 team in Class 2A.

But the Lady Braves should be extremely proud of the season they had. They finished 19-4 overall, claimed the No. 2 spot in the Mid-Southern Conference with a 7-1 record, ended the year on a 10-game win streak and were among the state rankings a majority of the season.

I also have to give high credit to Wehmiller, a senior. She suffered an injury during the Jan. 19 home game that put her out of the final four regular-season games. She then returned to Friday’s first-round sectional game against Eastern (Pekin), but she only scored three points.

On Saturday, however, she stepped up like any senior should, going 5-for-9 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line for 14 points. She scored 12 of her points in the second half, including big 3-pointers in the third and fourth quarters.

Watching her play on Saturday, you wouldn’t have ever guessed, just a few weeks prior, that she had suffered an injury.

Saturday’s loss also brought an end to Fleetwood’s high school basketball career. The senior center stepped her game up with Wehmiller’s absence, and she added six points and five rebounds in the semifinal loss.

Also key contributors in the game were Shoemaker leading the team with 15 points and Sammie Bane scoring 13. Both fouled out in the fourth period.

Austin’s five starters reached double figures, totaling nine players doing so in this game.

I think that speaks highly of the girls basketball talent in southern Indiana.

Lady Owls still making run

Crothersville and Medora both lost in the first round of the Orleans Sectional, while Trinity Lutheran lost in Saturday’s semifinal game at Orleans.

The only Jackson County team remaining in sectional play is Seymour.
Now, it’s time for the county to rally behind the Lady Owls, who are 17-5 heading into tonight’s championship game against the 22-1 Floyd Central Lady Highlanders.

Seymour came out strong in the first round against Bedford North Lawrence, winning 78-55.

In Saturday’s semifinal game, the Owls had a strong start before New Albany made a short surge. That’s when senior Erin Murphy stepped up, scoring the team’s final eight points and finishing with 21 overall in the 67-56 win.

The Owls have had good contributions across the board in the first two sectional games, and that will be just as important if they want to win their second sectional title in three years. To do that, they will have to beat the Highlanders, who at one time were ranked in the top 20 in the nation.

The Owls can’t let that intimidate them, and they need to realize they only lost to Floyd Central by four in the regular season.

A year after a disappointing first-round loss to the Highlanders, the Owls should keep in mind the title is there for their taking.

She’s done it again.

Mother Nature has created problems for winter sports events, and I think this is the third time this winter.

Girls basketball sectionals were supposed to begin today, but those four inches of snow we received overnight ruined those plans. Now, schools have announced some changes, and two of the three sectionals that county schools are in are now supposed to begin on Wednesday. Let’s hope that happens.

I thought I would take time to share my thoughts on the county teams, including what they’ve accomplished thus far and what I expect them to do in the sectional.

First, let’s go with the Class A sectional at Orleans. Three county schools, Crothersville, Medora and Trinity Lutheran, all compete against two Orange County schools, Springs Valley and Orleans.

Medora and Trinity Lutheran were drawn to play each other in the first game. This should be an interesting matchup, as Medora only lost to Trinity 52-44 back in early December. Last year, Medora didn’t win any games, so it’s been a nice accomplishment for the team to win six games this winter. The solid group of freshmen has carried the Hornets this season, and I’ve been impressed with what this team does against other teams, considering they only have seven girls on the roster.

Trinity hasn’t had a winning record all season, but the Cougars did have a three-game winning streak going in early January before losing their final six games.

Crothersville had a good start to the season, winning a tournament and starting out 5-0. They then lost four straight games before going back and forth with wins and losses and then winning eight of their final nine games. The core group of three seniors has led the Tigers all season, and it’s expected they will do the same at sectional. But first they have to get past Northeast Dubois, a team that has won sectional a tying state-record seven times in a row.

The Medora-Trinity game, to me, is a tossup, and I really don’t know what to say about this game, given it’s two county teams going up against each other. On one hand, I’d love to see Medora pull out another win, but it’s been a rough season for Trinity and they need a pick-me-up. All I’m going to say on this one is I expect it to be another close score.

With the Crothersville game, you don’t know how much I’d love to see the Lady Tigers pull this one out. If they win there, they would play Springs Valley, a team they beat during the season and could again. Then they would be in the championship game if they win there, and it would be great to see the girls bring home the school’s first sectional championship. It’s always good to make history, and I feel even more excited about this, given it’s a small school. I tend to pull for the small schools like that.

The Brownstown girls sectional is a tough one for me. It features the 18-3 Lady Braves as well as three other schools with winning records: Austin, Paoli and Eastern. The Lady Braves drew Eastern in the first round, and that’s a team they beat earlier in the season, but it was no small order. The only team that beat the Braves during the season is 2A No. 2 Austin.

But here’s the situation…Austin took control late in the game against the Braves when the game was played at Austin this year. But last year, the Braves upset the Eagles by five points at The Pit and during the sectional, at Austin, they came out and surprised the Eagles with an early double-digit lead. But, they gave that up in the third quarter, when the Eagles rallied, took the lead and won by a slim margin.

So given the track record, if it stays that way, the Braves are playing host to the sectional, so hopefully the home-court advantage plays to their advantage.

I admit, I’m a graduate of Austin High School. But now I’m torn because I’m working for The Tribune and following Brownstown, among the other four county schools, so I find myself pulling for those teams now. I think the Braves have a great chance at the title this year, and I’d like to see them go as far as I expect the boys team to this year.

The difference this year, however, is that the Braves and Eagles can’t meet in the championship game. The winner of the Brownstown-Eastern game plays the winner of the Austin-West Washington game. The Austin-WW game is almost a gimme (Austin should definitely and easily win) and I’m predicting the Braves will beat Eastern again, so that means a rematch of the championship game, except this time it will be in the semifinals.

So my thoughts are that this is the year for the Braves…they win sectional. We’ll see what happens.

With the Class 4A sectional at Floyd Central, Seymour probably has a slightly more difficult road than Brownstown. You have two teams in that sectional (Jeffersonville and Floyd Central) that have matching 20-1 records. BNL also is a quality contender, and that’s who Seymour drew in the first round. When the Owls and Stars met in the final regular-season game, Seymour notched out a win at the free-throw line, so I think we can expect this game to be another close one. I favor the Owls in this one again. Plus, this week they finally entered the state rankings in 4A for the first time this season. I think they have the right nucleus to get the job done again.

If they beat BNL, Seymour will then have to go through New Albany, a team that’s struggling and that the Owls beat not too long ago. Then they would be in the championship game again, just a couple years after they won sectional at New Albany. I think the intriguing second-round matchup will be Floyd Central and Jeff. I’m positive Floyd will have no problem with Jennings County in the opener, and if the Highlanders win, they would meet up with Jeff.
Jeff’s only loss in the season was an overtime defeat to Floyd, so that should be a heck of a game.

I would love to see Seymour reach the title game, and I think they could give Jeff and Floyd a run for their money. They were competitive with both teams during the season, only losing to Floyd by four and losing to Jeff by 10 after staying close in the first half.
Whoever gets through this sectional should consider it a great feat.

My prediction with this sectional is a tough one, but here I go again…I’d like to see the underdog pull it out…Go Owls!

Well, there you have it. I can’t believe how fast this girls basketball season has gone, but I’m not ready for it to be over for the county teams. Of course, I know everybody can’t advance. But it would be nice to follow at least one, two or, heck, even three teams beyond sectional.

I think if the county teams keep the right mindset and have an attitude they can do it, anything’s possible. I’m just glad I’ll be right there to follow it all.

Where I come from (Scott County), we didn’t have high school football. But where there is high school football, it’s a big community event.

Just look at Elm Street at Brownstown lined with campers and tailgaters, kids playing football near the field and lots of people cheering from the stands.

Then look at Seymour and the people in the parking lot tailgating before the game and then entering Bulleit Stadium ready to cheer on the Owls.

When the two schools collide on the football field, it’s another ball game. In fact, that’s not limited to football–it’s for every sport.

A lot of people look at it as “the big rivalry,” and that was revived only a few years ago after a several-decade absence. It was pitted “Jackson Bowl” last year, and I’ve seen it called “Battle at the Bulleit” this year. The big thing last year was Brownstown winning for the first time in the teams’ eight meetings. That was a back-and-forth game that was exciting to watch, and it was pure high school football.

When I talked to both coaches, Reed May (BC) and Jeff Richey (Seymour), about this week’s game, I got a new perspective on the game, and it’s one I think all people should consider.

While it’s a great money-maker for whichever school hosts it and it draws lots of people, it’s really just another high school football game. Both coaches said they want their players focused on the game–not what goes on in the community (i.e., talk about who’s going to win this year and who won last year, etc.) or the fact that it’s a rivalry game or what each team’s record is. When you get down to it, it really is just another game (as is the case in any sport).

I like that perspective, and I think it’s good the coaches choose not to overhype it all. It’s nice to see the stands full of people and people standing all around watching the game, but it’s another thing to see the players play hard and do their best. No one wants to see trash talk and bullying about who’s winning or going to win. It’s just a game, people. Like Coach Richey said, it’s not the Super Bowl, it’s high school football. I like that perspective.

When the players take the field, I would like to see them play to the best of their ability and do their best to represent their school. That’s what it’s all about, on the field and off the field.

I think that’s what we’ll see on Friday, and I’m sure all of the players and coaches would like to see you there. Whether you’re a football fan or not, just coming out and supporting these high school players is a good thing to do. Maybe it will give you a new perspective, too.

Quarterbacks, linebackers, kickers and others can be seen on the football fields.
Volleyballs are being served, spiked and bumped in gymnasiums.
Tennis players are taking the court outside, cross country runners are working out, stretching and running and soccer players are going for the goal.

A lot of this has taken place in the past few days, as fall sports practices have begun.

What about girls golf, you ask? Well, they’ve been at it for a whole week now, and they are beginning their second week. Their season starts a few weeks earlier than the other fall sports. They’ve already climbed around the golf courses and battled the heat in some instances.

Yep, whether you can believe it or not, the fall sports season is gearing up. Doesn’t it just seem like spring sports just finished? Doesn’t it seem like school just ended? It does to me. But, whether we are ready or not, it’s here.

We’ve been working on contacting coaches for our fall sports preview, which is set to print in the Thursday, Aug. 20 edition of The Tribune and online at tribtown.com.
There, you can look for interviews with coaches from Seymour, Brownstown Central, Trinity Lutheran, Crothersville and Medora, as well as rosters and season schedules.

We already ran previews for the girls golf season in the regular edition of The Tribune, and you can find those online. If room allows (and we hope it does), we will at least run a roster and schedule (along with results from matches already played) of the girls golf teams.

If you’re interested in getting a glimpse at some of the teams before the season begins, you have an opportunity this Thursday (Aug. 13) and Friday (Aug. 14) to attend some scrimmages. On Thursday, three county volleyball teams, Seymour, Brownstown Central and Trinity Lutheran, will play host to scrimmages. Seymour will take on Columbus East and Trinity will take on Austin, and BC’s will be intrasquad, including the freshman, JV and varsity teams. All of them begin at 6 p.m. (By the way, if you go to the BC scrimmage, the cost of admission is a bottled sports drink.)
Also that night, the BC tennis team will play host to Scottsburg for a scrimmage. It starts at 5 p.m.

Then on Friday, the Seymour and Brownstown Central football teams will take the field for scrimmages, a week before the season kicks off. Seymour will travel to New Albany, and BC will travel to Jennings County. Both of those games start at 7 p.m.

Check out the Friday edition of the paper and online for coverage of the tennis and volleyball scrimmages, and check out the weekend edition of the paper and online for coverage of the football scrimmages.

Some teams begin their seasons early next week (starting Aug. 17). You may ask why we aren’t running the preview section until Aug. 20. Well, that’s just the date that worked out best, and plus, many of the coaches are finalizing their rosters (and in some cases making cuts). So in the end, it’s just going to work out best to run it that date.

Be sure to stay tuned to tribtown.com and the print edition this fall for full coverage of all five county schools. Best of luck to all of the teams, and we look forward to following your progression this fall.

After a crazy, working-six-days-a-week spring sports season, I was ready to see what summer had in store.

At first, I figured there couldn’t be as much going on, and then maybe I could get down to the normal five-day workweek. Well, I am working five days a week, but there’s actually been a good amount of local stuff to cover this summer. But I’m not complaining. That’s a good thing. I’m sure our local reader would much rather read as much local stuff in our paper, given we are a local hometown paper. I know the wire stuff (meaning the national sports) is something people may want to see, too, but I feel we’ve had a pretty good mix this summer.

The summer camps have worked out really well this summer for local sports stories. I figured I would go to all of them between several of the local county high schools. There were several in one week, but that provided a lot of good local stories, and we were able to include two pictures from each camp, which put more kids in the paper (that makes them and their parents happy, I’m sure). I think it’s great to see so many kids involved in these summer camps. That tells the coaches and those helping with camp that athletics at the respective schools have a bright future ahead. It also shows that kids are keeping busy with something fun in the summer, while learning a lot at the same time. Some of these kids do multiple camps in the summer, and that helps them learn the various sports and maybe gives them an idea of what they want to pursue at the elementary, middle or high school level.

One thing I’ve found with the camps is that some of the stories feel like the same thing, but then again, I’ve found a twist to a couple of them. For instance, at the Seymour girls basketball camp, I discovered the high school varsity players are helping with the camp in hopes of obtaining a grant to help them with team expenses. They coordinated the camp and after the week was over they had to get together and answer some questions. I think they also had to include pictures and maybe even video of what they’ve done. I think that’s great.

Another example of a twist to a camp story was the Brownstown volleyball camp. It was for a variety of grades, just like the other camps, but I decided to go to the freshman camp. With all of the success that the high school team has had (making it to the state finals several times in the past seven years or so), there is a growing interest in the camp and the team. It was nice talking to the girls who will be entering that program, and I’m sure they will contribute well to keep that success going.

You go to some of these camps and there may be nearly or more than 100 kids participating. Then there was one camp that had six people. No matter what the numbers are, those kids are still obtaining essential athletic skills that will only make them better.

Speaking of that, I have also done several other feature stories that I just happened to come across. One was about Crothersville’s strength training program, which I didn’t even know existed until I was contacted by the athletic director, Drew Markel.

Markel said it was a growing program and that nearly 60 kids were involved. That’s a lot of kids for this small school. When I walked into the weight room to get some pictures and talk to Markel and the kids, it was a very serious environment, but the kids were having fun. Who knew lifting weights and sweating in the middle of summer could be so fun? Well, it was to them. Kids were scattered all around doing squats, lifting weights, jump roping, etc. and they were helping each other, too. After talking to a couple of the kids involved and to Markel, it was obvious that this truly is a big thing for everyone involved. It was great to see the enthusiasm and the dedication toward this program, which in turn, will boost their athletic program and make it stronger and make more kids interested in going out for sports.

I had heard of the success of the Brownstown Brave Wave swim team, and when I started receiving results from their meets and a schedule, I decided to go to one of their home meets. I remember how much I liked going to high school swim meets with Seymour’s team, so I figured I would like this, too. This was a little different, though. The Brave Wave involves right above 100 kids and they are age 5 to 18. They compete against three other schools in their conference and they all competed this past weekend in the conference meet, which I went to as well. Even though I only went to the two meets (they had six regular season plus the conference meet), I could see the seriousness these kids put into the team. I had the opportunity to talk with two kids after each meet, as well as their coach, Sharon Koch, and I was very impressed with the program. They have now won conference eight straight years and they’ve been undefeated eight straight years. Way to go, Brave Wave.

Another story I did recently came from a story I had received from a local woman. She talked about her sister, Ann Marie Miller, who had recently won a national cycling competition in Louisville. Miller is a former Seymour resident who now lives in New York City. After reading this article about the one race and a little bit about Miller, I knew I wanted to do more than just run the article that was submitted. I had a feeling there was more to this story. It turns it, there was.
It was one of the neatest stories, I thought. After graduating from Seymour High School in the early 1970s, Miller went to Ball State and pursued a teaching and music degree. While in college, she got her first introduction to cycling, but after graduation, she taught back at Seymour for a year. She reverted back to music and ended up in New York and traveled for eight years doing Broadway shows. While in New York, she got back into cycling and joined a club and eventually got her master’s degree related to exercise physiology. She later became a licensed coach and has done a variety of other cycling and fitness things. She’s even met Lance Armstrong a couple of times, and she’s ridden in competitions all over the United States. In all, she’s won nine national championships in her age group (she’s 54), with the two most recent ones being in Louisville within the past couple of weeks. It was just a fascinating story, and there’s more to it than what I just explained. You’ll have to read the full story on our Web site…just search for Ann Marie Miller and you should find it.

Most recently, I was able to sit down and talk with Chris Baker, who is a former Brownstown Central and Iowa State golfer who became professional a year ago. He had a lot of success at the high school level, qualifying for state three times and winning it his junior year. In college, he was the team’s stroke average leader all four years and competed very well there. He ended up winning an Indiana Amateur before he decided to go pro. He then took second in the Indiana Open in 2008, and a year later he was vying for the first-place spot in the Open. He held within the top three in three of four days and ended up placing fourth. But earlier in the spring, the 23-year-old won his first tournament as a professional.
I was able to talk with him and his parents at a recent event at Shadowood Golf Course where Baker invites people that have supported him in his pro golf endeavors in the past year. What people don’t realize is that it takes money to be a pro golfer. You may enter a tournament and pay to get in, but if you don’t place high enough, you go home with nothing. That is money you don’t get back. You may put $5,000 in to enter a tournament to try to make it to the next level (eventually the PGA Tour), and if you don’t make it past a certain stage, that’s lost money.
Can you imagine? I didn’t realize until I talked with him how much of a gamble being a pro golfer is. But at 23, Baker has accomplished a lot and he’s got a great future ahead of him. His ultimate goal is to make it to the PGA Tour, and at the rate he’s going, that’s possible. It’s great to see success like that, and I’m pretty sure he’s the only professional in any sport that’s come out of Brownstown.

Well, I think I’ve touched on quite a bit. This shows how busy I’ve actually been, and it’s been great. I hope you have enjoyed reading these stories about the success of local athletes. There is a lot, and I’m sure there’s more out there of stories we could do. If you think of something, let me know.

Before you know it, fall sports will begin. I don’t know yet if I’ll be back to working six days a week. Stay tuned. I’ll let you know how that goes.

As the spring sports season winds down, we now shift to the summer sports season.

We are going to make rounds at the local sports camps that are held at the schools and try to work up some pictures and/or stories from that. If you know of a different twist or interesting story idea from these camps (other than just talking about the camps), let me know by phone at 523-7080 or by e-mail at zspicer@tribtown.com.

I’m sure there are stories out there from these camps that we don’t know about–maybe someone has helped with the camps for a long time….there are just things that we may not know about that you may know about that would make a nice story.

Or if you know of any other type of sports-related story (not the camps) that you think would be a story idea, let me know. I’d be glad to hear from you.

I look forward to your thoughts, ideas and input.

The final Jackson County high school softball team, Trinity Lutheran, was eliminated from the sectional on May 29. They defeated Crothersville earlier in the week to advance to the championship game. But they lost to Springs Valley 11-1.

Brownstown Central and Seymour each lost by one run in their first-round games May 26.

So that leaves the four baseball teams and the four golf teams that have yet to get through sectional, and eight track and field athletes will be competing in next weekend’s state finals.

Brownstown Central is the only baseball team that’s begun play. They defeated West Washington May 28 7-1. Games continued at Providence the next night, with the host school beating Austin 10-1 and Clarksville beating Paoli 4-2.
Play resumes there on Monday, when Eastern (Pekin) will take on Providence, followed by Brownstown Central and Clarksville. The Braves defeated Clarksville 3-2 earlier in the season, and they beat Providence and Eastern during the season, so it will be an interesting finish down there. Let’s hope the Braves come out victorious.

If they do, they’ll head to Austin that weekend for the regional.

For Seymour, they are playing host to the baseball sectional. Bedford North Lawrence and Jeffersonville won first-round games on May 28. Seymour plays Class 4A No. 5 New Albany this weekend (May 30) after BNL and Jeff face off. The championship will be Monday.

Whoever wins the Seymour Sectional will venture to Evansville North for regional the following weekend.

At the Class A Springs Valley Sectional, Crothersville and Trinity Lutheran both play Monday (June 1). Crothersville will battle Springs Valley in the first game, followed by Trinity taking on Northeast Dubois in the second game. ND defeated Orleans May 29 to advance.

The winner of this sectional will play in the Loogootee Regional.

Brownstown Central, Seymour, Crothersville and Trinity Lutheran golf teams will compete in the June 5 sectional at Bedford’s Otis Park Golf Club. Three of the teams will participate in invitationals and/or matches this coming week, and they also will have practice rounds at Otis Park. Check the paper next weekend to see if any teams or individuals advance to regional…I have a feeling there may be some.

Finally, boys and girls track will end after next Saturday (June 6). The boys state finals is on Friday and the girls is Saturday, and both take place at Indiana University in Bloomington.
Brownstown Central’s Mark Crossman and Seymour’s Nolan Fife will compete in the 800-meter run, BC’s David Baker in shot put and Seymour’s Drew Royalty in discus.
For the girls, BC’s Maria Allen will go for the title in long jump (she was seeded first and won that at regional), BC’s Jenna Hackman and Seymour’s Christina Moravec will run the 400-meter dash and Seymour’s Taylor Schultz will compete in discus.

Best of luck to all of these teams and athletes in the postseason. It’s been great watching how you’ve done so far, but for several of you, it’s not over yet.

As the spring sports season winds down (already), some things have caught my attention along the way, whether it be related to the season or just things that have happened with local athletes. It’s in a segment I’d like to call “You know what impresses me?”

-You know what impresses me? The small schools in Jackson County, like Crothersville, Medora and Trinity Lutheran, giving students the opportunity to participate in sports (in some cases, more than one sport). In the first place, they are small schools and I think it’s great they offer the sports. Secondly, the kids have done really well this year. They don’t care about there being three or four, maybe a few more, competing in one meet or match. They just look to improve their own game, and that’s something to be admired, in my opinion. They go out there and put forth a great effort. Good for them.

-You know what impresses me? The teams that have turned their seasons around is something to be looked at. Seymour’s softball team is one, as they were 4-12 last season and they are currently 7-7. Also, Brownstown Central’s baseball team was 8-21 and they are 10-7 as of May 15. The Braves recently had a five-game winning streak.

-You know what impresses me? Speaking of winning streaks, the Seymour baseball team put together 10 straight wins recently. Yeah, they then lost three straight, but they’ve picked it back up by winning their last two. They have about five games left before sectional to improve their 17-6 record. Also, kudos to senior Jesse Wilson, who set a school record for career home runs (14) earlier this month.

-You know what impresses me? Trinity Lutheran’s boys and girls track and field teams have done well in their debut at the school. They have participated in five meets this season. The girls won a four-team meet midway through the season and the boys and girls were second in a five-team meet in their final outing. The girls will compete in the Seymour Sectional May 19 and the boys will be at Bedford May 21. Who knows? There may be some Cougar runners advance to regional and beyond.

-You know what impresses me? The Brownstown Central girls track team won the Mid Southern Conference meet May 12 at Eastern High School. It was their eighth straight year of winning the MSC. The girls have had some strong performances this season. They won eight of 10 meets, and they were second in a three-team meet at Jennings County and fourth in a tough Jeffersonville Invitational. The boys and girls team continued their streak at the BCHS Relays, too, each winning for the 16th time this season. They may very well have some runners move out of sectional, too. Same goes for the Seymour track teams.

-You know what impresses me? Two of Jackson County’s baseball teams made their way onto the state rankings list in their respective classes. In recent weeks, Trinity Lutheran moved as high as No. 7 and they were No. 9 last week in Class A. Seymour is on the brink of the 10 top, as they stood at No. 12 in Class 4A last week. Trinity has had a few winning streaks along the way, and they are currently 12-5.

-You know what impresses me? All of the county golf teams have had their ups and downs this season. Part of that is due to young squads. But for the several of the teams, those underclassmen have stepped up quite well. At Seymour, two freshmen, Travis Thompson and Austin Felix, started out the season competing in one of the top four spots in matches, and they have basically remained there. The Owls also have several seniors who have produced some nice scores in different matches, and they are expected to fill that role.
For Brownstown Central, a group of sophomores have had some solid scores this season, and junior Zach Pranger has been consistent. For the seniors, Jeff Turmail recently had his best round of the season (41) and was able to be a part of the team’s match score.
At Trinity Lutheran, a bulk of their players are underclassmen, too. Their scores have varied throughout the season, but the team was 4-1 at one point. Finally, at Crothersville, the golfers have struggled to find a rhytm lately, but earlier this spring, the team won the school’s first-ever match, as they defeated Columbus Christian. The Tigers have only had a team about three years, and several of them play other sports in the spring. Golfers will compete in conference tournaments the weekend of May 23, and all county golfers will play in the Bedford Sectional.

-You know what impresses me? Seymour’s No. 1 doubles team of Rachel Haskett and Kelsey Black have put together a winning senior season so far. The young Owls squad has lost some tough matches this season, but the team will once again play host to the sectional this week, and I’m sure they are looking to put forth a great effort. Haskett and Black advanced to regional last year.
Brownstown Central and Trinity Lutheran also will be at the Seymour Sectional. BC has lost several 3-2 matches this season, and they won their first match of the season (against Trinity Lutheran) on May 14. Trinity also has only won one match this spring.

-You know what impresses me? It’s not about spring sports, but two things have recently happened that are worth mentioning. Two Seymour girls athletes have recently signed to play college sports. Junior Erin Murphy verbally agreed to play basketball at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne after she graduates from SHS in 2010. This past winter, Murphy scored her 1,000th career point, and she has a whole season to add to that.
This last Thursday, May 14, senior Chelsea Hendrix officially signed to play volleyball at the University of the Cumberlands. She’ll begin there in August, and she’s going to study pre-med.
Congratulations to both of these young ladies on quite an accomplishment. People should keep in mind that these are student-athletes, and they have to balance school and sports. That’s no easy task, and I’m sure if you ask them, they’ll agree. But they have shown that it’s manageable.
I’m sure they’ll represent Seymour well.

There may be some other things that I’m forgetting to mention. There also may be some things coming up that I could add to this list. Sectionals for different sports begin soon, with tennis this week and softball the following week. I can’t believe it’s wrapping up already. It’s been a busy one, even with the many rainouts.

Are there some things that have impressed you about spring sports or anything that’s gone on in local sports this spring? If so, feel free to e-mail me at zspicer@tribtown.com. I would be glad to hear your feedback.

So to the Jackson County teams, I wish you all the best of luck as you close the chapter on another season of spring sports.

I’m getting my first dose of spring sports and the weather that goes along with it.

Who would have thought you’d be wearing your winter coat and gloves in April? And how does a person manage to get a sunburn while wearing two coats and gloves at a baseball game? Welcome to southern Indiana.

I don’t know how many 40-degree days we’ve had in the past week, but it’s feeling more like winter if you ask me. And I’m sure the athletes and coaches will say the same thing. I’ve heard several of them talk about it. While they are actually out there running or swinging the softball or baseball bats, the tennis raquets or golf clubs, you might think they would be warmer since they are moving. I’m just standing in one place, usually, taking pictures and taking in the action, and I stay cold.

But if you ask them, I’m sure every one of them would say it has an effect on their performance. You have to give them credit, though, for going out there and practicing and competing in weather like that. And so far, I’ve seen some pretty good performances in this weather, so it looks like they are pulling through quite well.

It has, however, caused many events to be postponed, and some are set to be made up and others are unknown. It’s surprised me at the number of things called off so far. Some nights I’ll have 10-12 things scheduled, but by the time I get all of the cancellations, I’m down to about half or even less. Before the season began, some of the spring sports coaches told me they had several games they lost to the weather last year. Some of them even said, had they played those games, they might have had a better record. That’s too bad the weather has that effect on the sports, but that’s certainly out of our control.

From what I have seen so far this year, I’ve been impressed. Like I said, it’s my first time covering any spring sports. Even in high school, I didn’t compete in many sports at all (just my freshman year, I played tennis and golf) and I didn’t go to any spring sport events. I did go to many basketball and volleyball games, but those were indoors. Before this past winter, basketball was my limited writing knowledge, but I got into wrestling and swimming and I liked covering those events. It was a learn-as-you-go thing for me, but I feel more comfortable with it now.

That’s kind of the way I felt about some of the spring sports. Yeah, it may not be too difficult to understand things at a track meet, tennis match or a golf match, but with baseball and softball, you really have to know quite a bit of different rules and things as you are watching. I have learned more in the past few weeks about baseball than I ever knew. I remember going to Louisville Redbirds games when I was a kid, and I used to play minor league, but that was a long time ago. To me, those things really don’t count. Writing about them and keeping your own statistics is a lot different, I’ve learned.

To get to my point (finally), if you haven’t been out to see any of the local high school teams compete in track and field, baseball, softball, golf or tennis yet, I would suggest it. Sometimes, you may think you don’t have an interest in it or even a knowledge of it, but, like me, the more you go to the games the more you learn.
For instance, a few years ago, I didn’t have the slightest clue about football. But when my brother introduced me to it and the more I watched it, I understood it more than I thought I ever would. And now, I really like going to Indianapolis Colts games and watching them on TV.

Three of the Jackson County high schools — Seymour, Brownstown Central and Trinity Lutheran — have all five spring sports. Crothersville has all of the sports besides tennis and Medora only has track.

The most important thing about going to these games, I think, is supporting the student-athletes. Do you realize how much time these kids spend after school working to perfect their swing or their pole vault or their pitch? Plus, they are doing that on top of all of their school work. I don’t see how they do it, but you know what? All of these kids do it, and many of them excel in academics and athletics.
And they should be applauded for their efforts.

Also, no matter how good an athlete is, I think just the fact that they are out there competing and working hard, and in some cases, trying new things, that’s something to commended, too.
Best of luck to all of the student-athletes of Jackson County. I look forward to seeing your progress throughout the (much warmer) season.

***Be sure to follow these teams with complete coverage in the print edition of The Tribune and online at tribtown.com.

(Photos by John Armuth and Zach Spicer)

The Tribune has devoted five pages of Section B of the Friday, March 27, 2009, print edition of the paper for the boys basketball state-bound Brownstown Central Braves. The Braves will play for the Class 2A state title Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

In the section, you will find a front-page story that includes comments from Braves coach Dave Benter as well as an analysis of the other team, the Fort Wayne Bishop Luers Knights.
Information regarding team rosters, recaps of both the teams’ seasons, notes on each team (including a comparison of each), information regarding tickets for the game, directions to Conseco Fieldhouse, complimentary programs, coverage via radio, TV and the Web of all the games, and more can be found in the print edition.

Also, look for pictures from the regular season, sectional, regional and semistate games. There is so much we could have included, picture-wise, but we tried to use as many new things as we could, and we also wanted to be sure to include at least one picture featuring each sectional team player.

So I hope you find the information helpful and valuable and I hope you like the pictures we chose. It is something many people will want to keep, so we tried to put as much info in there as possible. And the pictures really tell a story of the Braves’ stellar season.

You can also visit tribtown.com to read the stories and get all of the information you need. Just click on the blue “Sports” tab at the top of the main page. You can view the photo galleries as well and look around at the sports photos by month and there’s also a special gallery for the Braves’ sectional and regional wins.

If you go to Saturday’s game, I hope you enjoy the experience. Conseco Fieldhouse, I think, is one of the premier sports arenas in the nation, and Indianapolis also is lucky to have the new Lucas Oil Stadium, which is the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts and it’s also where the girls high school basketball state finals games were played.

Here’s to the Braves, and best of luck to the team. You’ve made Jackson County proud so far, and win or lose, you can still look back on a great experience that you’ll remember the rest of your lives.

***Feel free to leave feedback to me, the sports editor, either here on my blog or e-mail me at zspicer@tribtown.com. Also, you can give me a call at 523-7080. I’d be happy to hear your thoughts on the special section, the Braves, etc.

When Ryan Shoemaker hit the game-winning shot for Brownstown Central in overtime of the Class 2A Providence Sectional final game, the Braves celebrated.
When the Braves knocked off Bloomfield by three in the first game of the regional, they celebrated again.
When the Braves overcame No. 9 Forest Park in the regional final game, another celebration was on tap.
And who knew they could do it one more time against No. 4 Winchester in Saturday’s Southport Semistate?
Well, they did just that, by a score of 54-43, and they once again celebrated and gathered on the court for a group photo.

There were so many photo opportunities along the Braves’ postseason journey, and it’s a been a great one to follow. Yeah, those group photos, with the players, cheerleaders, coaches and managers, may get repetitive with the trophy or trophy plate designating them the winners.
But the best thing for me to see is the joy and excitement in everyone. It’s really what high school basketball is all about, and that’s always been a big thing in Indiana, of course.

I feel like I’ve covered the Braves quite a bit over the past year or two. I started out covering games a few times a week in February 2007 for The Tribune, and my first one was at Brownstown. Then, the next winter, I did a few games while I was a full-time reporter. Finally, this past winter, in 2008, I became sports editor and covered the Braves some more, as well as the other four high schools in Jackson County.

I have truly savored every game I’ve had the chance to cover since December. I like going to all of the games and following the teams throughout their seasons. But once you cover a team so many times, and see their ups and downs along the way, you really feel like you understand them better.

Brownstown has had some great games this season. Their first win, a Mid Southern Conference game at Salem, was a good way to open the season. Three days later, they played host to county rival Seymour in a game that took two overtimes for the Braves to conquer the Owls, 68-63.

Their third game of the season, an MSC matchup at Scottsburg, was their first bump in the road. The Braves lost by four points. I remember, as a student at Austin High School, seeing the Eagles and the Scottsburg Warriors duke it out every year. Austin always seemed to falter against the Warriors, no matter where they played. But Scottsburg’s Meyer Gym, which is where the Braves played this season, always seemed to be a tough place to play. I don’t know why, but it was, and it still is.

BC then won two straight, but another slump came at the Graber Post Buildings Classic over the holiday break. They went 1-2 there, and they had a season-low by only scoring 38 points in one of the games. They could have faltered from that point on, but they knew they had to pick up the pieces.

In the new year, the Braves seemed to pick it back up as they won all five games in January, and they were 6-3 to close out the regular season. One of the toughest losses came Feb. 7 at Paoli, when the Braves had the game in their hands until the Rams hit a desperation 3-pointer to win 61-58. Also, their makeup game at Austin was rough, as the Braves also had a good lead through the game but the Eagles made a comeback and won 60-55.

But the one game that has stood out to Braves players, coaches and fans is the final home game of the season Feb. 27 against Orleans. It was their only home loss of the season, and they only had 10 points at halftime and lost 51-39. Turnovers also were a factor in that game, and it was just one that the team wanted to forget, but at times it was hard to.
That game was the week before the sectional, which could have played against them.

The good news at sectional was the Braves received the bye, but the bad news was they would have to play the winner of Paoli and Austin, the two teams they lost to in February. It ended up being Paoli, and the teams battled it out on March 6. The Rams’ Logan Laswell produced 33 points, but he was really the only one doing anything for the Rams this time around. The Braves held on and won 58-49.

Then, in the final game the next night, the Braves met up with the host team, Providence, who barely scraped by West Washington on March 6. Providence was the only team in the sectional that the Braves didn’t play in the regular season, so they had to expect the unexpected.

Going into the game, coach Dave Benter knew the Pioneers liked to slow down the ball, and he was right. It was a pretty tight game, except for the first few minutes when the Pioneers scored the first eight points. The game ended up going into overtime, and it was Ryan Shoemaker who took the final shot and made it for the Braves’ first sectional title since 2004.

The next stop was the Southridge Regional at the Huntingburg Memorial Gym, and what a place that was to play. It’s the 19th largest gym in the nation, and there is so much history around the walls of the gym.

The Braves knew going into their first game with Bloomfield that the Cardinals also liked to slow the ball down. It was a pretty tight game until the end, too, but BC won 38-35 to advance to that night’s finals against past regional nemesis Forest Park.
The Rangers defeated the Braves in 2003, but the Braves got redemption the next year, and that was also the year BC advanced to the state finals.
The Braves surprised the Rangers by winning 55-47 to move on.

This past weekend, on March 21, was another neat environment at the Southport Fieldhouse. The Braves were facing another ranked team, this time No. 4 Winchester, who claimed the semistate victory the past two seasons. The Braves got a great start from Spencer Allman, who sank 3-pointers to give BC an early advantage. Then, Winchester’s top scorer Tyler Koch went down with an injury in the first quarter. The Braves took control, but Koch returned in the second quarter.

The Braves led by 10 at halftime, and Koch and the Golden Falcons came alive in the third quarter by going on a 10-0 run and tying the game twice, one of which was the end of third quarter when it was 37-37.
BC scored the first six points in the fourth on their way to the 54-43 win. Two unforced turnovers late in the game for Winchester doomed their bid to the state finals.

So it was then time, once again, for the Braves to take the floor for another group photo, cut down the nets and join the fans in celebration. It was nice for me this time just kind of standing around watching the celebration unfold, and just seeing the excitement on these players’ faces as well as the fans, coaches, managers and everyone involved.

There was a lot of red and black (BC’s school colors) backing the Braves, and I thought it was a nice opportunity for the Band of Braves to get to perform at the game, including doing the national anthem. That’s something they’ll remember, too.

I wonder if it really helped the Braves by having all the fans there and having the band there, because it may have felt more like playing a home game than playing a game that was one away from the state finals.
I didn’t see too many nerves set in throughout the game, and I would think that could easily happen at that stage.

But the Braves have done just the opposite in postseason play so far. Turnovers have been limited at sectional and regional, and that was good to see after the Orleans loss. Yeah, they had more turnovers in the semistate game than they had the previous four games, but they got the win and that’s all that mattered.

This Saturday, when the Braves take the court for the final time this season, I wish all of them the best. They will be facing Class 2A No. 2 Fort Wayne Luers, but so far, the unranked Braves have done well against ranked teams, so who knows what will happen? Maybe third time’s a charm.

Getting the chance to play at that level and getting to play at Conseco Fieldhouse is such an honor and it has been well-deserved. That’s not something that just happens…it takes work and dedication and consistency along the way, and I have really seen that of late.

And it all couldn’t come at a better time. This weekend, Braves, it’s your time to shine once again.

I can’t believe it.
I have been so busy since my last blog (Nov. 26). That’s because, as of Dec. 1, I took on a new position here at The Tribune. I went from being a reporter to being the sports editor.
Also, at The Tribune, everyone had a big switch on Dec. 1 when we started printing the paper in Columbus instead of here in the building. That also came with one final change: hours. Our paper comes out earlier now, and that means some people have to be here during the day and others work at night (that would be me). We have different deadlines now, and it’s 1 a.m. every day instead of 10 a.m.

Really, my job has worked out well. That first week was a little shaky. I had to readjust and get used to not getting up in the morning anymore. Now, I can sleep in a little bit, but I practically have somewhere to go every night. Plus, I’ve had to get used to writing sports again.
The first time I ever wrote sports was in February 2007. In January that year, I had gone to a journalism job fair at Franklin College. Among the editors I met there was Dan Davis, editor of The Tribune. He’s the only one I ended up hearing from, and at the job fair, he asked if I was interested in helping with sports. It was nothing full-time, but I thought maybe it would turn into something. So I took him up on the offer and a few weeks later, I was going to my first basketball game. It was a boys game at Brownstown Central.

I did that for about a month, covering different games at different places. At the time, I didn’t have a full-time job. I had quit my previous employer the summer before and had been looking for a job all that time.
But you know what? Getting my foot in the door via the sports writing paid off. That May, I was hired as a reporter at The Tribune. The job I had been looking for for 10 months had arrived.
The next time I did sports was helping former sports editor Arv Koontz during the winter of 2007-2008. When Arv made the decision earlier this year to retire on Dec. 1, Dan Davis had asked me if I would be interested in taking on the job. I thought, well yeah. For one, it would be a new experience. Two, it was something I was interested in. Three, it was a good way to advance and challenge myself.

So here I am. I now have about one month on the new job. And I can tell you, I feel like it’s going to suit me well. So far, I have written nearly 20 game stories, including boys and girls basketball and wrestling and swimming. I have written a few preview stories, highlighting the weekend’s game. I have done two feature stories, and I have covered one awards ceremony.
Plus, there’s the games and events you have to get results for that you can’t get to or one of the stringers (other writers/photographer) can’t get to. Having those extra people helps, and Arv is still around helping out.
I have appreciated all of the help I have received so far, and I know it’s going to continue. It’s a lot for one person to do, covering five county high schools and three winter sports. Plus, you consider all of those schools have boys and girls basketball, but only one has wrestling and swimming. Oh, and that school (Seymour) has a bowling team, too, that is new this year.

It’s a lot of work, I’ve discovered. But it’s something I enjoy and it definitely requires organization. I actually had tonight off (and yes, it’s Friday during winter sports and I have it off!). That won’t happen for another two months, so I thought I would take some time to write a blog. Better late than never, I guess.

While I may not see people I used to see a lot, covering town government in Crothersville or going to the schools or other places to do stories, maybe if you come to a basketball game or other sporting event, you can see me there. I’ll be there somewhere with a pen and notepad in hand watching high school sports as it happens. If you haven’t ever been or it’s been a while, I would recommend it. The games can get exciting at time, and believe me, I’ve been to a couple of those barn-burners this year. It takes me back to my younger days at Austin Schools, going to volleyball and girls and boys basketball games. The environment is really neat, I think.

So, I guess I’ll see you at the game.