Wow.
Not just the new-look Marauder gymnasium -- which isn't complete yet, but still has received an overhaul that almost makes it unrecognizable to those of us who have been there in the past. It has new bleachers (and is double-decked on both sides), new lights, new paint job, new floor. Looks great, too (for those who might wonder ... yes, it's still a wise idea to wear short sleeves when you attend a game there. Some things don't change :) ).
However, what was even more impressive was the Marauders' performance against 2A #8 Lapel. MV showed it's worth every bit of its #4 ranking in Class 3A with a 68-39 victory. The Marauders won this with their defense -- using four different defenses during the game to befuddle Lapel and then using their size and quickness to create turnovers and turn them into transition baskets -- lots of transition hoops. Many of those touched off an 18-point first-half run that put the Marauders up 30-13. Lapel cut the deficit to 14 late in the third quarter, but MV quickly pushed the lead north of 20 and it stayed there.
Daniel Turner was impressive in his work ethic. He battled foul trouble, but he twice got position, missed the initial shot against 6-5 Lapel center Logan Ingle, and then stuck with it for a putback. He finished with 18 points, most of them in the 3rd and early 4th quartesr. But the guy who was most impressive was Jake Stafford, who scored 14 first-half points and ended up with 16 overall. He also had several rebounds and ran the point much of the night for the Marauders.
For the record, Turner scored the first basket in the newly-renovated gym -- a 3-pointer 12 seconds into the game. He actually scored the first six points in the new gym. MV center D'Armond Davis became the first to dunk, quickly flushing an alley-oop pass late in the third quarter (although it was the Marauders' fifth attempt at said dunk ... the other four went awry somehow). Quinn Williams, a transfer from Fishers, played some point guard and had the move of the night, running on the break using his 5-7 body against three significantly taller Lapel players, squirting through to hit a scoop shot and draw the foul for a 3-point play.
MV has a HUGE game Saturday, traveling to Hinkle Fieldhouse to face Hamilton Heights, the team that upset the Marauders in sectional play last year. Tipoff is approximately 4 p.m., right after the Marauder and Huskie girls play at 2:30.
Wednesday was a good night for Hancock County teams -- including the two we'll have on the next Game of the Week broadcast. Defending sectional champion New Palestine spoiled Dean Foster's debut as Jennings County coach by a 39-38 score. Eastern Hancock won its traditional opening game against Centerville 72-57. Greenfield-Central played Tuesday, and wasn't as fortunate in being doubled up by Richmond in Josh Johnson's debut with the Cougars.
Elsewhere in the HHC, Shelbyville won Tom Beach's debut as the Golden Bears' coach, knocking off Beech Grove 73-70. Pendleton Heights beat Alexandria Tuesday 68-61.
Everyone in Hancock is in action this weekend. In addition to the aforementioned MV game against HH, New Palestine travels to New Castle on Saturday, while Eastern Hancock visits Frankton the same day. Greenfield-Central hosts Whiteland Friday night. Our next Game of the Week broadcast will feature New Palestine at Eastern Hancock at 7:10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
We're back with hoop season!
We've been gone a couple of weeks, but CCSN's Hancock County Game of the Week crew is back TONIGHT with basketball season.
It's the season opener between the 3A #5 Mt. Vernon Marauders and the 2A #8 Lapel Bulldogs.
Lots of great storylines -- MV is the defending Hoosier Heritage Conference champion. Lapel is the defending White River Athletic Conference titlist, although the Bulldogs will be starting play in the Indiana Crossroads Conference this year. MV has two Div. I players -- Daniel Turner (UWGB) and P.J. Hubert (IUPUI), while Lapel has an always-strong attack that is very deep. Both teams have accomplished, outstanding coaches -- MV's Steve Lynch and Lapel's Jimmie Howell, who spent many years at MV and became a legend. He took the Marauders to the Elite Eight twice, in 1987 and 1991.
Yours truly and Chris Lambert will be on at 7:10 tonight to bring you the action of a great season
opener. Listen LIVE!
Make sure you support our game sponsors -- the Daily Reporter, Hancock Telecom, St. Vincent Sports Performance and Hiday Custom Builders.
We'll be back virtually every week, with a slew of great matchups and rivalry games on the schedule. Check www.crosscomsports.com for the season schedule!
It's the season opener between the 3A #5 Mt. Vernon Marauders and the 2A #8 Lapel Bulldogs.
Lots of great storylines -- MV is the defending Hoosier Heritage Conference champion. Lapel is the defending White River Athletic Conference titlist, although the Bulldogs will be starting play in the Indiana Crossroads Conference this year. MV has two Div. I players -- Daniel Turner (UWGB) and P.J. Hubert (IUPUI), while Lapel has an always-strong attack that is very deep. Both teams have accomplished, outstanding coaches -- MV's Steve Lynch and Lapel's Jimmie Howell, who spent many years at MV and became a legend. He took the Marauders to the Elite Eight twice, in 1987 and 1991.
Yours truly and Chris Lambert will be on at 7:10 tonight to bring you the action of a great season
opener. Listen LIVE!
Make sure you support our game sponsors -- the Daily Reporter, Hancock Telecom, St. Vincent Sports Performance and Hiday Custom Builders.
We'll be back virtually every week, with a slew of great matchups and rivalry games on the schedule. Check www.crosscomsports.com for the season schedule!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Regional week
New Palestine's first season under Tim Able was a successful one, led by an outstanding senior class.
It began with a thrilling OT win over Whiteland. It continued with a second-place HHC finish, and a 7-2 record in the regular season whose only blemishes were to undefeated sectional champions.
That record became 10-2 after the Dragons rolled to a sectional title, winning games by an aggregate score of 122-43, winning the school's first title as a 4A school.
However, the Dragons ran into Class 4A's best team Friday night. Heck, they probably ran into Indiana's best team. Led by one of the state's most dynamic players in IU recruit Kofi Hughes and an offensive line & defense that would be the envy of most small colleges, the Dragons saw their season come to a conclusion with a 45-6 loss to No. 1 Cathedral at North Central HS.
Still, it was a successful year for NP -- with Pat Feeney having a huge season offensively & defensively, and a team that saw players step up from everywhere, from Nathan Penley's big receiving games to the 100-yard games of Bryce Pierson and Michael Phelps against Yorktown, to the huge second half by Austin Cahoy in the Boundary Rail Game. It saw Coach Able's 100th career victory. It saw two games at Lucas Oil Stadium, a game where the defense scored almost as many points as the offense (the 33-0 win over Arlington that saw two defensive TDs and a safety), and of course, a sectional championship.
A year that started late ended maybe two weeks sooner than the Dragons had hoped, but it was an outstanding year, both for NP and for football in Hancock County. It's one we were thrilled to bring to you throughout the regular season.
It also ended two weeks to early for the HHC's other surviving team, the Delta Eagles, who fell to Fort Wayne Dwenger 49-12 tonight, ending their perfect season at 12-1.
For us at CCSN, we now turn our sights to basketball, which looks to be strong again. We have a defending sectional champion in NP, a Top 10 team in Mt. Vernon, a team that has been a sectional threat in Eastern Hancock and a team with a new outlook & a new coach in Greenfield-Central. Andrew Smith & Chris Lambert will have the call of the Hancock County Game of the Week broadcasts, starting on Nov. 25, when the Lapel Bulldogs visit the Mt. Vernon Marauders. Stay tuned for CCSN basketball!
It began with a thrilling OT win over Whiteland. It continued with a second-place HHC finish, and a 7-2 record in the regular season whose only blemishes were to undefeated sectional champions.
That record became 10-2 after the Dragons rolled to a sectional title, winning games by an aggregate score of 122-43, winning the school's first title as a 4A school.
However, the Dragons ran into Class 4A's best team Friday night. Heck, they probably ran into Indiana's best team. Led by one of the state's most dynamic players in IU recruit Kofi Hughes and an offensive line & defense that would be the envy of most small colleges, the Dragons saw their season come to a conclusion with a 45-6 loss to No. 1 Cathedral at North Central HS.
Still, it was a successful year for NP -- with Pat Feeney having a huge season offensively & defensively, and a team that saw players step up from everywhere, from Nathan Penley's big receiving games to the 100-yard games of Bryce Pierson and Michael Phelps against Yorktown, to the huge second half by Austin Cahoy in the Boundary Rail Game. It saw Coach Able's 100th career victory. It saw two games at Lucas Oil Stadium, a game where the defense scored almost as many points as the offense (the 33-0 win over Arlington that saw two defensive TDs and a safety), and of course, a sectional championship.
A year that started late ended maybe two weeks sooner than the Dragons had hoped, but it was an outstanding year, both for NP and for football in Hancock County. It's one we were thrilled to bring to you throughout the regular season.
It also ended two weeks to early for the HHC's other surviving team, the Delta Eagles, who fell to Fort Wayne Dwenger 49-12 tonight, ending their perfect season at 12-1.
For us at CCSN, we now turn our sights to basketball, which looks to be strong again. We have a defending sectional champion in NP, a Top 10 team in Mt. Vernon, a team that has been a sectional threat in Eastern Hancock and a team with a new outlook & a new coach in Greenfield-Central. Andrew Smith & Chris Lambert will have the call of the Hancock County Game of the Week broadcasts, starting on Nov. 25, when the Lapel Bulldogs visit the Mt. Vernon Marauders. Stay tuned for CCSN basketball!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Sectional finals: Dragons, Eagles win
When Tim Able took over New Palestine's football program in May, there wasn't a lot of time to get everything put in before the season began.
Learn new personnel. Put in a new defense. Move new players to new positions to maximize talent. And kickoff was only a couple of months away.
The Dragons rapidly became one of the top teams in the area -- and became a sectional champion in the process.
NP had a first quarter for the ages in a 48-22 victory over Anderson Highland, starting from the opening kickoff, to win the Sectional 13 title. It was the Dragons' first sectional title as a 4A school after winning a handful in Class 3A (most recently in 2004-05). NP was barely challenged -- winning by margins of 41-21, 33-0 and 48-22 -- in the sectional.
The Dragons are 10-2 heading into a regional matchup with No. 1 Cathedral.
The first quarter was sparked on the opening kickoff, when Brett Jackson broke free and ran 73 yards to the 3-yard line of Anderson Highland. Pat Feeney ran one in from there, and after 18 seconds, NP led 7-0. The Dragons kept rolling. Feeney's 59-yard run set up a 6-yard pass from Jackson to Feeney on a halfback option.
Next play, a Highland fumble, and a short run by Austin Cahoy to make it 21-0. After a Highland punt, Feeney went 61 yards for his third TD of the night -- on his fourth touch. On NP's next offensive snap, Feeney broke a TD 46 yards.
NP led 35-0. Pat Feeney had five touches -- the four TDs and a 59-yard run to set up another. All told, he had 175 yards in those five touches, an average of 35 yards.
And the first quarter wasn't over.
Feeney finished the night with 190 rushing yards on eight carries, and the six-yard TD reception. Brett Jackson added 3-yard TD runs in the second and third quarter, and Highland rallied a bit after the second TD made it 48-7, as the Scots scored two TDs in the final five minutes to make the score respectable.
The Dragons had 317 rushing yards and had over 330 yards of total offense -- more than half coming in the first quarter. NP went more conservatively later, but still managed to grind out yards and points.
It's been an incredible run for the Dragons, who have now won eight consecutive games to go 10-2. They finished second in the HHC, and their two losses are both to undefeated sectional champions -- Delta and Batesville. They've done their damage with an offense that has been very efficient, and a defense that has allowed very little in the second half of the year.
Next week, it's a trip to No. 1 Cathedral (12-0), a team against which NP will be an underdog.
It wasn't the only sectional title for the HHC, as Delta (12-0) knocked off Fort Wayne Wayne 18-6 on Friday night in Sectional 12. The Eagles have continued to roll, and they'll have a tough contest against unbeaten Fort Wayne Dwenger on the road next Friday night.
Shelbyville nearly made it 3-for-3 tonight, but the Golden Bears (9-3) fell on a late touchdown to East Central 21-17. Shelby led until the closing minutes.
Next Friday is regional night. It should be enjoyable!
Learn new personnel. Put in a new defense. Move new players to new positions to maximize talent. And kickoff was only a couple of months away.
The Dragons rapidly became one of the top teams in the area -- and became a sectional champion in the process.
NP had a first quarter for the ages in a 48-22 victory over Anderson Highland, starting from the opening kickoff, to win the Sectional 13 title. It was the Dragons' first sectional title as a 4A school after winning a handful in Class 3A (most recently in 2004-05). NP was barely challenged -- winning by margins of 41-21, 33-0 and 48-22 -- in the sectional.
The Dragons are 10-2 heading into a regional matchup with No. 1 Cathedral.
The first quarter was sparked on the opening kickoff, when Brett Jackson broke free and ran 73 yards to the 3-yard line of Anderson Highland. Pat Feeney ran one in from there, and after 18 seconds, NP led 7-0. The Dragons kept rolling. Feeney's 59-yard run set up a 6-yard pass from Jackson to Feeney on a halfback option.
Next play, a Highland fumble, and a short run by Austin Cahoy to make it 21-0. After a Highland punt, Feeney went 61 yards for his third TD of the night -- on his fourth touch. On NP's next offensive snap, Feeney broke a TD 46 yards.
NP led 35-0. Pat Feeney had five touches -- the four TDs and a 59-yard run to set up another. All told, he had 175 yards in those five touches, an average of 35 yards.
And the first quarter wasn't over.
Feeney finished the night with 190 rushing yards on eight carries, and the six-yard TD reception. Brett Jackson added 3-yard TD runs in the second and third quarter, and Highland rallied a bit after the second TD made it 48-7, as the Scots scored two TDs in the final five minutes to make the score respectable.
The Dragons had 317 rushing yards and had over 330 yards of total offense -- more than half coming in the first quarter. NP went more conservatively later, but still managed to grind out yards and points.
It's been an incredible run for the Dragons, who have now won eight consecutive games to go 10-2. They finished second in the HHC, and their two losses are both to undefeated sectional champions -- Delta and Batesville. They've done their damage with an offense that has been very efficient, and a defense that has allowed very little in the second half of the year.
Next week, it's a trip to No. 1 Cathedral (12-0), a team against which NP will be an underdog.
It wasn't the only sectional title for the HHC, as Delta (12-0) knocked off Fort Wayne Wayne 18-6 on Friday night in Sectional 12. The Eagles have continued to roll, and they'll have a tough contest against unbeaten Fort Wayne Dwenger on the road next Friday night.
Shelbyville nearly made it 3-for-3 tonight, but the Golden Bears (9-3) fell on a late touchdown to East Central 21-17. Shelby led until the closing minutes.
Next Friday is regional night. It should be enjoyable!
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