Heritage Hills at Jasper Tonight!

Heritage Hills vs. Jasper is one of my favorite rivalries in high school football.  I have covered this game numerous times in 18 years, but tonight for the first time I get to call the action. 

I will be doing play by play for the Wildcats hosting the Patriots at Alumni Stadium.  The broadcast is our Game of the Week on the NEWS 25 Sports Channel.  You can also watch the game live online by CLICKING HERE. 

One of my favorite memories of this series was in 1996.  The Patriots had never beaten Jasper, and it's hard to believe now but HH had never won a sectional.  The two schools drew each other in the first round of the 3A Sectional.  The game was at The Jungle and it was an insane atmosphere.  The one play I distinctly remember was a 4th and 1 for the Patriots around midfield....Bob Clayton elected to go for it.  Jasper pinched in the line up front, but Pats quarterback Jade Winchell still ran a quarterback sneak.  Winchell busted through the line, and there was no one back in the Cats secondary.  Winchell scored a go-ahead TD.  Jasper's field goal came up short and the Patriots won 24-21.  Heritage Hills went on to win its first sectional and regional titlle.

What will tonight bring?  Hard to predict.  Jasper has a massive offensive line, but you can't ever count out any Bob Clayton coached team. 

I can't wait!  Tune in tonight to find out which team goes to 4-0.

Week 13 Home Team Friday Recap - Final Version

The final 30 minute Home Team Friday show is in the books, and we still have 3 teams left in the Tri-State:   Reitz, Memorial, and Henderson County.  Not too bad.  We have had more, but I can remember a couple of years that we had no teams left.  Those were horrible depressing years for the HTF staff.

Let’s start with the Memorial victory over Heritage Hills in the 3A Regional.  What a great football game.  I am so glad we were able to televise the game again on RTV25.  The weather was absolutely perfect for a Friday night in mid-November. 

I have now seen Memorial in person six times this season.  The Tigers have gotten better and better every week.  You can really see head coach John Hurley expanding the playbook each week to keep the defenses off balance.  I have said it many times, but I really enjoy watching Grant Gribbins control the offense.  Calling him a version of Peyton Manning is absurd I know, but he does a lot of the same reads and has some of the same mannerisms as the Colts quarterback, and even the uniforms look the same.  Gribbins will fake the snap look for potential blitzers and he does a great job of stay on an even keel the entire game.

Me and Randall broadcasting game from the 3rd floor at BosseI said it in the broadcast, and I’m sure many of you read my blogs for Jay Cutler’s website, that the first school that I really covered on a consistent basis was Heritage Hills.  I still have a lot of great friends from Patriot Country.  Since we started doing a full 30 minute football show in the studio it is absolutely impossible for me to go that far on a Friday.  So this was my first time seeing the 2009 Patriots.  It was good to see a lot of familiar faces, and almost all of them gave me grief for never being in The Jungle.

I never like the cliché of “It is a shame one team has to lose.”  That really goes against the essence of competitive sports.  However, I definitely had that feeling with the Tigers and Patriots, and I think you could tell during the broadcast.  I got just as excited for both teams during the game. (probably too excited!  I need to bring it down a notch)

Memorial got off to such a great start.  The Tigers passing game looked superb on both scoring drives.  Memorial has so many talented weapons on offense.  Besides Gribbins in the passing game, his targets can really make him look good.  Jon Wandling, Eddie Reising, Steven Scheu, AJ Stuckey, and Bryce Lueken can really make a play at any time.

That offsides on the Patriots punt on fourth and seven really changed the complexion of the game.  Bob Clayton called two brilliant plays, the fake handoff and qb run with Cody Schmitt and then the screen pass to Ethan Coghill down to the one.  That cut the lead in half at 14-7 and from there it seemed like the outcome of the game was up for grabs on every drive.

I was very impressed with Cody Schmitt.  He can rifle the ball.  He made some nice plays on long down and distances to keep drives alive.  I was also impressed with Tigers defensive end Andrew Carlson who seemed to be in on every tackle.

However, the player of the game was definitely Ryan Hatler.  The small framed tailback for Memorial put the Tigers into the semistate.  Almost all of his damage was done in the fourth quarter when the Patriots defense were playing the run. 

Schmitt and receiver David Maldonado hooked up on two great touchdowns to keep Heritage Hills within striking distance.  However, Hatler and the Tigers offensive line were too much in the end.  Congrats to the Tigers for winning back to back regionals.  This brings me to a retraction.  I said a few times that it was the first time that Memorial won back to back regionals in school history.  I was told that at Tigers practice on Tuesday.  I should have looked it up, and I was wrong.  Memorial won the regional in three straight seasons in 1991, ’92, and ’93, so my apologies to those teams. 

During the telecast, I predicted a couple of times that I thought Reitz would beat East Central by 21 points.  I shortchanged the Mighty Panthers by 3.  Tony Lewis’ club built a 42-14 lead and ended up winning the 4A regional 52-28. 

The Panthers improve to 13-0.  That is really impressive, and few schools in our area have ever been 13-0.  Sometimes it easy to take things for granted on a special football team. 

The Panthers offense has sustained an unreal high level of proficiency.  So good that since September 18th the fewest amount of points Reitz has scored is 35!  On the road at a very good East Central team in the regional, the Panthers scored on five straight possessions.  That is just remarkable.  Matt McIntosh rushed and passed for over 300 yards combined and five touchdowns.  The kid just keeps getting better.

Congrats to Reitz.  The Panthers have been the number one team on pretty much everyone’s schedule, yet they are 13-0.

I will have more on why I think semistates are the most exciting and emotional games, even more than state championship games later on in the week.  I will look more at the Reitz/Cathedral and Memorial/Chatard games.

Mater Dei’s great season came to a close at unbeaten Paoli.  The Cats lead 7-0 in a sloppy turnover filled first half.  However, Paoli tied the game, and then in the second half scored to win the game 14-7.  The Rams have allowed just 6 points a game all season.  The Cats moved the ball, but just couldn’t punch it into the endzone.

I am happy for the young Wildcats.  So many of the starters are just sophomores.  They turned in a winning season and won a 2A Sectional Championship.  Mike Goebel’s club came a long way from two-a-days in August.  The Cats had 30 seniors to replace, they had some major injury problems, and question marks everywhere.  However, they turned in a nice year and laid the foundation for a great future.

I don’t think many people would have guessed that Henderson County would be the last team standing in our area in Kentucky.  That is a credit to the coaching job of Clay Clevenger, and the senior class.  Most of those seniors are three year starters that have willed the Cols to a great season.

Unlike Indiana, Kentucky’s playoff system is seeded, and the highest seed gets home field advantage.  So the Colonels great regular season has allowed them to play at Colonel Stadium for all of the post-season. 

Henderson handled Meade County pretty well.  The Colonels did a good job of not being passive with the lead in the second half, but building the bulge into a 24-13 victory.  Next up the Colonels play the Greenwood Gaters for the 6A Region Championship.  The Cols have a very legit shot at advancing to the semistate.  Good Luck to Henderson!

Owensboro, Union County and Hancock County all saw their seasons come to an end.

It is time for some thank yous as I wrap up the final edition of Home Team Friday recaps.  Thanks to such an awesome and dedicated staff.  Trust me the people behind the scenes are just as passionate about football as I am.  We are all texting each other on Friday nights finding out how teams are doing.  Thanks so much to the awesome folks at Wabash Valley College/Newschannel 15 who volunteered their time on Friday nights and during our two broadcasts.  They really improved the show, and I hope they enjoyed the hands on experience.  We had some rookies really step up and take the show to a higher level.  I really give them all of the credit for pulling off 13 flawless shows.  Our production staff is the best!

And of course thank you to all of the fans.  We do our best to cover as many teams, as many games in three states as possible.  We try not to just brush over a game, but we do our best to give you a feel of how the game played out.  It is not always perfect, but we try our best.  Thanks so much for watching and supporting the show, and thanks even more for reading my ramblings every week!

As everyone knows I root for all of our local teams.  Being from here, I love it when our area is represented well and earns the respect of the rest of the state(s).  In all sports I am always a homer for our teams when they get to this level and start playing out of town teams.  I will never apologize for being biased for the Tri-State.  Some people may not like my style.  That is OK.  I know there is no way to please everyone.  And with that….

Go Panthers, Tigers, and Colonels!

Jay's Journey: Football Hoosiers...The 2000 Season

November 8, 2009
By Lance Wilkerson
Special for jaycutlersix.com

The 2000 high school senior season for Jay Cutler was more than just winning a state championship and spring boarding himself into Division I college football.  It was a year that brought joy and pride to his rabid football hometown, and instilled important values in Jay that he still embraces to this day.

To get to know Jay Cutler, you have to understand the communities that make up Heritage Hills High School.  Patriots football is integrated into this area of Southwest Indiana.  Kids grow up in the tiny towns surrounding the high school dreaming of playing for the Patriots on Friday Nights.  The folks there pack into the small stadium affectionately known as The Jungle for every Heritage Hills home game.  It’s one of the greatest home field advantages in the entire state.  To this day few opposing teams ever escape The Jungle with a victory.

One of those tiny towns is Santa Claus, IN.  It is a place where Christmas is year round, and is the hometown of Jay.

I have covered Heritage Hills football since the beginning of my sports reporting career back in 1993.  I have seen some amazing drama play out with the Patriots.

Before all important games on the schedule, every house and business has their windows painted red, white, and blue, with words of encouragement for their football heroes.  Everyone is decked out in red, white, and blue clothing.  The only topic of conversation is football.

However, when you have that much passion for a team, it can also create incredible heartbreak.  Year in and year out the Patriots would lose in the playoffs in devastating fashion.  As great as the Pats would be every year, a trip to the State Championship would elude them each season. 

I covered some of the most painful ways for any football team to lose.  In 1996, the Patriots tied their semistate game against Zionsville with no time on the clock.  All that stood in their way to a trip to the RCA Dome was an extra point.  The kick sailed wide of the upright.  The Eagles scored a two point conversion in overtime for the win stunning the Patriots faithful. 

The following season in 1997, the Patriots were back trying to get to the Dome.  They traveled three hours north to Indianapolis to play in one of the coldest days of my life.  Despite being 12-0, the Patriots were the heavy underdog to the mighty Bishop Chatard catholic school out of Indy.  The Patriots had a short field goal to tie the game on the final play in regulation.  The snap slipped through the holder’s hands and again the Patriots dreams were smashed.  I saw players sobbing and grown men with frozen tears on their face.  I interviewed the very stoic head coach Bob Clayton.  He is the kind of guy that may have invented tough love.  Nothing ever gets to Coach Clayton, and even he broke down right there on camera.

In 1999, the Heritage Hills football team was absolutely loaded.  The best player was a beast of a running back and linebacker named Jon Goldsberry (ironically, he later made the Chicago Bears practice squad in 2007).  That season the Pats had their hot-shot junior quarterback Jay Cutler.  Going into the third round of the playoffs, it was a given that the Patriots would roll over an inferior Mt. Vernon Wildcats team who had never even won a Sectional Championship in school history.  Cutler already had a sparkling record of 17-1 as the starting quarterback going into the game. 

 The Patriots playoff curse continued.  In a sloppy muddy contest, the senior Goldsberry got injured in the first quarter, and was out for the game.  Mt. Vernon shocked the Patriots pulling off the biggest upset in Indiana winning 6-3.

The 2000 season started with the same typical optimism in Patriot Nation, however, you could not help but feel there was some skepticism as well.  Goldsberry had graduated, and the playoff nightmares had added up.  Despite it all, the Patriot fans were pounding their chest again, tailgating at The Jungle, dreaming of a Thanksgiving at the Dome.

Interviewing Jay during the 2000 SeasonJay Cutler was simply amazing his senior season.  He brought the best out of every teammate, and never took a single game for granted.  Cutler was on the field for just about every play.  He was as good of a safety on defense as he was a quarterback.  Jay caught nine interceptions as a member of the secondary.  He returned punts and kickoffs for touchdowns, he ran over and right past defenders on quarterback rushes, and then there is the powerful right arm.  High school defensive backs are not coached to defend a receiver more than 35 or 40 yards past the line of scrimmage.  Jay would plant that back foot and launch the ball as far as 75 yards to some talented receivers.

Cutler and the Patriots were so dominant, not a single regular season opponent scored more than 7 points in a game.  The D registered five total shutouts.  The offense averaged an incredible 58 points per game.  The high water mark:  A 90-0 whitewashing on the road at Pike Central.

In Indiana, a team has to win 6 playoff games to become State Champs.  There are no seedings, so opponents and venue sites are a blind draw.  Heritage Hills got the worst of the bracket in 2000.  As if the playoff curse weren’t enough, the Patriots played just one post-season game at The Jungle. 

Playing on the road did not matter, Cutler and his teammates continued to just devastate teams.  After four straight playoff blowouts, the Patriots found themselves in the exact same spot that had seen so much sorrow:  semistate. 

Another big-time Indianapolis catholic school named Roncalli stood in the Patriots dreams of the Dome.

Jay Cutler was literally in the zone that Michael Jordan talked about during those great Chicago Bulls years.  Every pass was on target, every stiff arm right to the chest of a would-be tackler, every decision was correct, and every time Jay was near a pass on defense, he picked it off.  Cutler finished with 4 touchdowns on offense, and 3 interceptions on defense in the 27-0 semistate victory.  Tears of heartbreak turned to tears of disbelief for the ever loyal Patriots fans.  Their beloved team was Dome Bound for the first time ever.

Thousands of Patriots fans at Dome At the RCA Dome in 2000, the stage was set like a Hollywood movie script on the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving.  The small town tough-nosed country kids in their brand new turf shoes led by their tall gun slinging quarterback were in the big city to take on another Indianapolis school for the 3A State Championship.  Not just any opponent, the same Zionsville team that the Patriots lost to just four seasons ago after the errant extra point.

The game even played out like a movie: Football Hoosiers if you will.  After Zionsville struck first with a touchdown, the Patriots responded quickly, scoring three straight times.  Cutler banged across the goalline on a quarterback sneak, and Heritage Hills was cruising into halftime with a 21-7 lead. 

The momentum completely changed in the second half, and the Patriots and their massive fan base that filled their side of the Dome found themselves in a familiar nightmare playoff scenario.  Zionsville scored twice to tie the game.  Then with just five seconds left, the Eagles had a 33 yard field goal attempt to win the game and send the Patriots to a runner-up finish.  I stood right near head coach Bob Clayton.  I had this horrible feeling in my stomach.  Please no, don’t let this happen again.   I didn’t even watch the kick, I just watched Coach Clayton as he looked up at the ball falling woefully short, then he pumped his fist! No Good!!!

Now it is time for overtime, in which both teams had four downs from the 10 yard line.  The Heritage Hills defense held Zionsville to a field goal, and the Patriots had a chance to win State with a touchdown.  First down, Cutler took the snap, and the exchange on the handoff to the tailback is bobbled and the ball just lies on the ground.  If Zionsville recovered, the game is over.  Cutler jumped on the football, but now it is second down and 13. 

Football Hoosiers needed that Hollywood flair finish to become a blockbuster.  Cutler took the snap and fired a backwards pass to sophomore sensation Cole Seifrig.  Cutler then slipped out the opposite side while the Eagles over pursued to tackle Seifrig.  After deking the defense, Cole fired a pass right back to Jay.  Cutler had no one in front of him, and he sprinted toward the corner of the endzone with his arm raised and his hand pointing number one!  It’s a play that will never ever ever ever be forgotten. 

A moment frozen in time in Heritage Hills HistoryJay Cutler and his teammates erased the playoff curse, and brought the ecstatic loyal fans the State Championship trophy that some thought would never arrive.

I had the honor of speaking at the pep rally the next day.  My first words into the microphone:  “How does State Champs sound?!”   It was one thunderous round of applause after another that day in the high school gym.  The heroes all lined up in their jerseys with their state champion medallions around their necks.  I remember so vividly seeing Jay Cutler with a permanent massive smile on his face. 

As he had done all year long, Jay was quick to point out his teammates during my interview with him.  However, after piling up 42 touchdowns, and nearly 3000 total yards of offense, and nine interceptions on defense, and leading his team to a 15-0 record and the school’s only State Championship, it is safe to say that in the town of Santa Claus, the hero that the young kids growing up dreaming of becoming is Jay Cutler.

Week 10 Home Team Friday Recap

I have had a pretty hectic week, so my apologies for getting this out later than normal.  Since it is already Thursday, I will make this both a recap, and a preview of tomorrow.

We set another record on Home Team Friday.  We had 17 games of highlights.  It was a lot of fun to see if we were up to the challenge of being able to pull it off.  It wasn’t easy! We went right up to the final seconds.  Overall, I thought it was a great show.

There were very few intriguing matchups in Week 10.  Nothing at all jumped off the page.  The favorite won every game, but one.  In 2A, North Posey avenged a regular season loss to Southridge.  The Vikings Cameron Calvert has really lifted his team.  He has been a huge spark on offense.  Quarterback Colton Motz continues to make the highlights.  For the second straight year North Posey is trying to get to the Sectional Championship.  That should happen. The Vikes have Tell City at home.  North Posey handled the Marksmen pretty well on the road just a few weeks ago.

The other 2A semifinal features Mater Dei at South Spencer.  This is a game I am really looking forward to.  I wish I was able to cover it.  Randall will have that honor in our Showdown game.  Wayne Hart says we will have heavy rain tomorrow night.  So does that favor the Rebels or the Cats?  Normally, I would say it would help South Spencer.  However, the Rebels passing game is pretty strong.  The Rebels only two losses came in sloppy muddy conditions against Boonville and Heritage Hills.  However, Mater Dei has played the majority of its games on the turf.  So it is hard to say what kind of advantage Mother Nature will play for either team. 

MD had its best win in throttling Forest Park.  I thought that game would be much closer.  Cats head coach Mike Goebel told us they caught the Rangers without their best player, and FP was battling the flu.  Goebel gave a lot of credit to Terry Wagner and Forest Park.

South Spencer advanced last week with a win at Sullivan.  We had some pretty good highlights from that game from our friends at WTHI.  That game was close all the way to the end when the Rebels pulled it out 30-20.  I am sure Mater Dei scouted that game Friday, and South Spencer scouted MD on Saturday.  Should be a great one in Reo tomorrow night!

Let’s move over to 4A.  Aaron Hancock covered the game for us at the Bowl.  Reitz hosted Seymour.  It was an early 6pm start time, and Aaron called me before I was going on the air for my 6pm sportscast.  He said, “I don’t know what Seymour was thinking.  The Owls stomped on the R in pre-game, and then Reitz promptly scored a touchdown in just 57 seconds!”  Just a few minutes later I got these texts on my phone:  “14-0 Reitz”  “21-0 Reitz, the beating is on”.  Ironically, Reitz only scored in the first and fourth quarters. 

The Panthers now have an interesting matchup with Central tomorrow night.  I say that because of how the first game between these two teams played out.  Reitz just blasted the Bears 55-7.  Obviously, Central is much better than that.  The Bears just had one of those nights.  You know Coach Andy Owen will have his team remembering that loss, and I can imagine the Bears have had some pretty lively practices all week getting ready for Reitz.  On the Panthers point of view, even though this is a playoff game, I am sure it is hard not to overlook the Bears a bit for the possible matchup with Jasper. 

Even though this has the markings of a letdown game for Reitz, I don’t think that will happen.  Coach Tony Lewis’ demeanor will really help in this game.  He and his team never get too high, or too low.  That even keel will keep the Panthers focused at the task at hand.  We were out at practice yesterday, and Lewis told us that exact thing.  The only thing Reitz is worried about this week is Central.  However, I cannot help but get a bit excited about the possibility of Reitz versus Jasper next week.

Speaking of Jasper, wow what a statement the Cats made in the opener!  Jasper had to play on the road at Northview (north of Terre Haute), and the Knights were 8-1.  Now if you read my recap last week, I predicted at least a 28 point win.  As a matter of fact I told photographer Blaine Jasper would win by 50.  Well, that is exactly what Tony Ahrens team did.  The Cats turned in a 50-0 shutout on the road.  Both Jasper and Reitz are just obliterating teams.  How can you not look ahead if you are a fan?  Tomorrow night Jasper hosts Boonville.  I am not slighting the Pioneers at all.  Boonville has had one of its best seasons in school history.  The Pioneers will have an uphill battle tomorrow night in Dubois County.

I was really happy for Doug Hurt and Castle.  They have the hardest draw of any of the 5A teams in that sectional.  I knew it would be tough to win at Jeffersonville.  Our old HTF photographer Greg now works at WHAS in Louisville.  Greg was nice enough to shoot some great highlights of both Castle at Jeff, and North at New Albany.  Knights’ tailback and HTF MVP Logan Hayford had some spectacular runs.  That game was close the entire way, but Castle pulled it out 21-14.  I think the Knights loss to Memorial the week before in the muddy slop helped Castle in this game.  Jeffersonville’s field was pretty beat up too, and the Knights seemed prepared.

Castle now hosts BNL in a mud bowl tomorrow night.  I was pretty confident the Knights would win, but with the prediction of heavy rains, it is hard to be confident in any pick.  I think for any teams playing in horribly muddy conditions, scoring first will be huge.  It will be much easier to play with the lead in a low scoring slop game.

No surprises in 3A.  Memorial is the clear favorite in Sectional 24, and Heritage Hills will win Sectional 23.  I thought Mt. Vernon would be able to score on the Tigers, but I did not see how they could stop Memorial’s offense.  That was pretty much the case.  Memorial won 44-21.  The Tigers offense is absolutely peaking right now.  During the Tigers 6-game winning streak, they are averaging 37 points a game.  I think the Memorial/Bosse game will be similar for the Tigers.  Bosse won’t be able to stop the Tigers, but I do think the Dogs will be able to put up some points.  I give the Bulldogs a puncher’s chance with that dynamic offense.  Weather could be a factor with quarterback Grant Gribbins passing game even on the turf if it is windy.

Bosse won at Pike Central.  The Dogs had a 31-7 lead, but the Chargers made a furious comeback.  I got an email from a viewer and a Pike Central Parent named Jennifer.  She said PC should have won.  Here is what she wrote me:

Just to let you know, Pike Central scored a touchdown in last few seconds of Bosse game and should have won.  Even the radio announcers said it was plain as day.  For some reason the refs refused to call it.  Game film clearly shows they were in with time to spare. If the refs would have called touchdown correctly we would have won and should be advancing to next round.  The team is absolutely devastated!  I have never seen anything like this and wow I'm still in shock.  It will be protested by Pike but what good will that do.  We should all be celebrating, instead there is pain and shock.  Our boys played the best game of the season and did in fact beat Bosse.  Please give Pike Central the credit they deserve and make it aware we had a clear victory taken away.  How awful for these boys.  Those refs should never be allowed to officiate another game, ever!

I don’t know anymore to that story than her email.  If anyone else can shed some light on this, please make a comment below.   

Gibson Southern is at Washington in the other 3A semifinal.  I will give the edge to the Hatchets in this one.

It is hard to write much about Heritage Hills.  The Patriots play in such a weak sectional.  Bob Clayton’s club has won every sectional this decade except one.  The Pats have Salem in The Jungle tomorrow night.  I’m going with a 35-0 prediction.

The best 1A game in the entire state will be in Leopold.  Perry Central hosts North Daviess.  Both teams have had great seasons.  It is another game that could be affected by the weather.  I picked the Cougars to win the Sectional, so I will stay with that.  However, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see PC pull it out.

There is still one week left in the regular season in Kentucky.  Henderson County is at Owensboro tomorrow night.  Before the season, I think most of us would have expected the Devils to win in a blowout.  Not now!  The Colonels are playing so well.  Henderson has won six straight, and the Colonels have won the district.  The Devils have struggled scoring.  In their last four games Owensboro has posted scores of 10, 16, 16, and 16.  I still think Owensboro is the favorite, but not by much.

Henderson had a thrilling win at home against Apollo.  The Colonels erased a late six point deficit by scoring twice and rallying for a 27-20 win.  I talked to one Colonels fan this week that said it was one of the most thrilling games he had seen in years.  Randall talked with head coach Clay Clevenger this afternoon.  The staff was scouting their playoff opponent tonight.

Union County wins the district.  The Braves used another great defensive performance to win 19-2.  Union County is down at Hopkins Central this week.

Illinois playoffs start Saturday.  Mt. Carmel throttled Robinson last week.  Quarterback Alex Hale rushed for 285 yards in the win.  The Golden Aces have a tough opponent at the Snake Pit in the first round.  Mahomet will be the favorite.

As for the HTF show, it was more insane than I would like.  I was at Enlow Field for the Bosse/Harrison game.  Fewest fans I have ever seen there.  I got back and edited my game, plus the Reitz and Memorial games.  We had three different feeds.  2 games from WTHI in Terre Haute, 2 from WHAS in Louisville, and Ryan Jenkins shot some games and fed out of Newschannel 15 in Mt. Carmel.  It was a lot to organize.  We had all kinds of troubles getting our 2 games from WHAS.  We literally were able to pull them off the satellite about 5 minutes before the show.

We have a very short amount of time after the 10pm newscast ends and HTF begins.  My first mic didn’t work, so I tried a second, and it didn’t work!  That never happens.  So I had to use Brad Byrd’s mic.  So literally after Brad signed off, he ran over to me to give me his wireless mic.

The HTF open is playing, and I am try to run the mic under my shirt, by pants are undone, belt out(it was quite the site I’m sure!)  So I am tucking everything in, making sure that production is receiving good audio levels.  I am still getting together when BAM I’m on camera.  I needed just 10 extra seconds to take a breath and get my composure. 

However, time does not stand still.  I knew I had 17 straight games of highlights to get through, and I am thinking in the back of my mind, “God I hope I zipped my zipper!”  I wasn’t even sure what the first game was, and I looked at my scripts and saw Reitz.  That is why I said, “Let’s just get to the highlights as we start off with Reitz.”  After I got going, all was well, and as I said before, I thought it was a pretty good show.

Editor Erica had 27 pieces of video to keep straight with those three different feeds, and she made deadline for every single one of them.

Now that we are losing teams, our shows won’t be so jam packed.  I will miss that.  However, we will now go longer with our highlights as we go deeper into the playoffs.  We have 13 games tomorrow night on the schedule.

Thanks as always for reading.  It means a lot to me that you take the time.  If you ever want me to touch on anything else, let me know.  I will see everyone tomorrow night at 10:35 for NEWS 25 Home Team Friday Live!

 

Week 9 Home Team Friday Recap - Her Name is Rio!

After the insanity of the Week 8 show, I am happy to report that Week 9 was pretty smooth.  Stress level was high, but that is always the case. 

Here we are, mid-October and the regular season is over in Indiana.  At this time next week, nearly half of the teams will be eliminated in the Hoosier state.  It is so sad for us on the HTF staff when the season winds down.  We truly love covering football on such an intense basis.

Let’s start the recap of rivalry week with the game that I normally look forward to the most:  Reitz vs. Mater Dei.  It is amazing how this rivalry has come full circle again.  After the Cats won five straight from 1997-2001, now it is the Panthers who have won five in a row.  What is more amazing is that Reitz has shutout Mater Dei three straight years. 

You could see this lopsided game coming.  Mater Dei is very young, and pretty thin in some spots.  The Cats will be just fine in the playoffs.  I’m sure MD’s confidence has been shaken these past couple of weeks, but starting on Saturday, I really think the Cats can make a run in 2A. 

As for Reitz, what more can you say?  It is almost becoming impossible to come up with different angles to look at this team.  The last five weeks in particular, Reitz is averaging nearly a whopping 50 points a game!! (47.2).  Only twice has the defense given up double digits in points all season, and they are now averaging just a shade over a touchdown per game. 

Quarterback Matt McIntosh has blossomed this second half of the season.  He is as healthy as he has been his entire career.  Alordo Bell had a monster night with 200 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns.  How about giving some credit to both lines?  The big guys are quick enough to block downfield on so many of the screen plays.  Size and strength is always the number one asset for lineman, but for Reitz you have to be quick to get into the linebackers and secondary on those screens.  The defensive secondary for Reitz has been great in the passing game, but they can also play near the line of scrimmage to control running teams. 

I knew Reitz would be good this season, but I honestly didn’t know the Panthers would be this strong.  It is not just the fact they are 9-0, it is how high of a level they’re playing the game.  I would be interested to know how many Reitz fans even saw this dominant of a team coming.

Next up: North.  Our photographer the Blaine Train was worried that after he left the Bowl for Central Stadium he might miss all of the Bears touchdowns.  He was worried that the game would be lopsided in favor of Central.  I have to give myself a little bit of credit on this one.  I told him, that this rivalry is truly one where the cliché of throwing out the records really applies.  It is amazing how many times the favorite in this series gets upset! 

Great win for Mike Wilson’s club.  As I have said 1000 times, Wilson’s teams may start off slow, but they always seem to make a run at the end.  Tailback Richard Compton rushed for 261 yards and 3 scores.  North has had a tough year with youth and injuries, but the win over Central I would imagine has erased some of the bitterness of the season.  That shows what a coach Wilson is.  He had his guys prepared, even with a 2-6 record.  North is now at New Albany for the 5A Sectional, while Central will try to regroup against Harrison at Enlow Field in Class 4A.

Speaking of Harrison, what a wild game at Enlow for the Eastside rivalry between the Warriors and Bosse.  I covered this game.  If you have been reading my blogs each week, you know what I think of Bosse.  The Dogs are fun to watch, and are much better than their 2-7 record.  Harrison fans were pinning their hopes of ending their three game losing streak against Bosse. 

We probably set some kind of nationwide record in this game.  We have to be the only station to have 3 different photographers covers a game with a combined record from the teams of 1-15.  I had a lot of highlights while I was there shooting the first half.  Josh Pendleton was just unreal this game.  He rushed for a jaw dropping 344 yards and 7 touchdowns!!

At half the game was tied at 19.  I was determined that if Harrison broke the streak, that we had to have a camera there.  I called Blaine to ask him how he was doing up at Central Stadium.  He said he got a touchdown from the Bears, and they are down 20-14.  I asked him who has the ball, and he said Central. I told him to stay for the Bears drive then head to Enlow.  He called me back a few minutes later.  Central scored a touchdown to go up 21-20 in the fourth quarter.  He left thinking he may have the game-winning touchdown for the Bears.  Of course Compton and the Huskies rallied to win.

Blaine got to Enlow and Harrison is down 5 points but is driving.  I called Blaine and he answered and is talking to me on the phone while shooting the highlights. (not easy!) You can literally hear him on HTF show saying “Harrison just scored” on the phone to me during that highlight.  Harrison would get the 2 point conversion to go up 34-31 with 7:30 to play.  Blaine now had all of the Reitz/MD highlights, the Central/North highlights and this Harrison TD.  No way could I have him stay that long.  I told him to get all of that back to the station.

Now my mind is scrambling.  Harrison is up three.  The Warriors could break this streak, and they would surely celebrate like crazy.  David Heckard covered the Memorial at Castle game and was almost back at the station.  I grabbed his disk full of highlights and sent him right back to Enlow.  Yep, that’s right…a third photographer at the Bosse/Harrison game!  It’s kinda funny now looking back on it.  I gave our meteorologist/sports guy a microphone.  I told him whoever wins will be celebrating, so make sure to get some good video, and to interview the winning coach.  I told him Andrew Weinzapfel is a great guy if Bosse comes back.  

So David got to Enlow, and Bosse is already up by three.  Again, I am eager to hear what is going on, and I called him.  He answered and said Bosse is up three….errrr….they just now scored a touchdown!  I asked him if he shot it.  “Nope, I was formatting the disk.”  Oh well, we had plenty of Bosse highlights.  David got the Dogs dancing and celebrating the win with the Eastside trophy.  He interviewed Coach Weinzapfel, and that aired on Saturday.  As for the Warriors, another regular season without a win.  I truly feel horrible for those players.  To think how they work that hard from two-a-day practices in the summer to now and never have a win.  I can’t imagine how tough that must be.

Let’s go to Reo for another awesome HTF Showdown game, and another game with a team trying to snap a streak.  I have to tell a funny and perhaps corny story first.  Every time I drive to South Spencer high school, I sing Rio from Duran Duran.  I am showing my age.  I do it every time.  I sing that dumb song even in the newsroom when we start talking about traveling to South Spencer.  I apologize to my Rebel friends for incorporating Duran Duran into your school!  What is worse is I always combine two songs: “Her name is Rio and she dances like a wolf.”  I probably need some kind of therapy for that.

Ok, I digress, on to the game.  Heritage Hills had beaten South Spencer every year since 1991.  It is hard to imagine the streak is that long with so many great Rebels teams.  That just goes to show you how awesome Heritage Hills has been.  However, this was the year all of the Rebels were pointing to end the streak.  The Rebels have a great team, and they had their county rival at home. 

In the sloppy field, the defenses dominated the game.  That wasn’t a huge surprise.  After all, both schools had some of the best defenses in the Tri-State.  For the second straight week, the mud really hampered the Rebels passing game with quarterback Zeke Harmon.  You just cannot expect to be able to throw deep in those kinds of conditions.  The Patriots were just suffocating on defense, and they were great on first down. 

With the game tied at 7, Heritage Hills had the ball at the Rebels 30 with 1:00 left.  However, the Rebels came up with an interception and returned it to midfield.  So now the Rebels had a chance with: 40 left.  However, the Patriots picked off a pass, and they’ve got the ball back down to the 30.  The Rebels hold to end a furious final minute and this game went into overtime.  Heritage Hills stuffed the Rebels, and the Patriots end it with a touchdown run.  Final score 13-6, and the streak continues.

Video can be so moving, and can really be transcending.  The instant the Patriots won the game; the Rebels Zeke Harmon fell to the ground pounding his hand into the ground in what must have been a crushing moment for him.  Just moments later, a Heritage Hills player showed amazing class in bending over to console Harmon.  He told him to keep his head up, that they were a great team, and he knew they would make a deep run in the playoffs.  Randall got this shot, and overhead the entire exchange.  It was a piece of video I will never forget, and what makes high school football in our area so great.  Here are two bitter rivals, after an extraordinary overtime game showing the ultimate sportsmanship.  I don’t know that player for Heritage Hills offhand, but if I find out, I will write about it in the future.

Congratulatons to one of, if not the best, coach in the Tri-State.  Bob Clayton earned his 300th career victory with the Heritage Hills win.

Randall had his own crazy night.  On Thursday our satellite truck broke down and had to go into the shop.  Our other main live truck was already in the shop!  So we were in a bind.  Our boss Mark Glover stepped up and had the mechanics patch together a temporary fix for our regular live truck so we could use it for HTF.  Here is the problem; Reo/Rockport is on the very fringe of being able to getting a live shot signal.  If we couldn’t get it, we didn’t have a satellite truck to make it happen.

Randall and Aaron Hancock made their trip out early in the afternoon to go test the signal.  No go in Reo.  It just was not a strong enough signal.  Ugh.  So for the 6pm show, I told them to try and go to Yankeetown elementary school (yours truly is an alumni…go Yanks!)  I thought that would be close enough to get a signal.  They make it to Yankeetown up on the hill, but the video was scratchy, and the audio was definitely crackly.  It was now time for both of them now to get to their games.  I told them that after the games to go to the Newburgh Lock and Dam.   My last words to Randall were, “as long as the HH/SS game doesn’t go to overtime, we should be OK.” 

So here it is, Randall is in Reo.  The game has ended, he has to get to the lock and dam to meet Aaron to feed back, and the worst part, he now has to fight traffic out of Reo!  Randall told me he was pretty sure every living person in Spencer County was at the game, making the traffic a nightmare.  Here is where it kind of gets funny.  Being a Newburgh native, I know that the Lock and Dam is a popular spot for young couples to make-out.  Of course, I would never know about this first hand.  Anyhow, here comes Randall screeching into the parking lot of the lock and dam with a NEWS 25 vehicle, and a NEWS 25 Live Truck.  He said he saw some cars with some fogged up windows.  He laughed and told me, I can only imagine how much they were freaking out seeing the news crew there!  Somehow, Randall managed it all.  He edited his entire story and fed it back in plenty of time for the show.  That is why Randall wasn’t live in Reo. 

In Newburgh, Castle hosted rival Memorial.  I really thought this could be the best game of the night.  Because of that, I had David Heckard shoot just this game.  I wanted to make sure to get a lot of highlights, not only for HTF, but for file video to use in later stories.  It seemed to me that Castle Stadium was the sloppiest of all fields.  Players were just covered from head to toe in mud. 

It was tough going for either of the talented quarterbacks to be able to pass.  However, once again Grant Gribbins put together a spectacular highlight.  It was very similar to the best play from 2008.  Gribbins scrambled far to his right, made a sliding stop in the mud, and went the other direction eluding the Castle rush.  He made it all the way to the other side, keeping his head up the whole time looking at his receivers, and then he stopped again, barely planted his back foot and threw it all the way across back to the right side to Jonathon Wandling for a touchdown.  It was simply amazing, especially in those conditions.  That wasn’t the play that won it for Memorial.  It was Ryan Hatler’s kickoff return for a touchdown to start the second half that put the Tigers on their way to their sixth straight win. 

Doug Hurt’s team now has a tough opponent to start the 5A Sectional.  The Knights are at Jeffersonville.  The Red Devils are 5-4, and boast a solid defense.  Castle is the defending sectional champ.  Memorial meanwhile starts its hopeful second straight run to Lucas Oil Stadium with Mt. Vernon.  The game will be played at Central Stadium.

The only other 9-0 team besides Reitz is Jasper.  The Cats ended the regular season with Mt. Vernon.  Jasper won 49-13.  Taylor Day had another typical night for him:  193 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns.  Jasper has so many weapons on offense.  Because Aaron was late getting out of Yankeetown, he missed the very beginning of the game. 

Jasper plays 8-1 Northview in the first round.  The game is in Brazil, but despite all of that, I predict the Cats win by 28 or more.

The other game that I was very interested in was in Illinois.  Mt. Carmel hosted Boonville.  This ended up being the Runner-Up Bowl for the Big Eight.  Obviously Jasper was the champ, but the race for number two was interesting.  I really thought this would be a closer game.  Boonville was coming off an impressive shutout win against South Spencer.  However, the Pioneers were blitzkrieged by Mt. Carmel.  The Aces just opened it up in the first half.  It was 28-0 in a hurry.  Mt. Carmel has really put together a nice season.  Darren Peach is one of our favorites.  The Aces are now 6-2 with one more regular season game to go at Robinson before the Illinois playoffs start.

Other news and notes from Indiana.  Southridge and North Posey both had shutout victories.  Those two meet in Poseyville for the opening round of the 2A Sectional.  The Raiders won easily in the regular season.  I was surprised Perry Central lost.  The Commodores dropped their first game of the year.  A home loss against second ranked Paoli 14-13.

In Kentucky, Henderson County has won five in a row.  I knew the Colonels would whip up on Marshall County.  Henderson has such a physical defense.  We went out to Cols practice today and Coach Clay Clevenger explained how they give out “Big Hit” hats for the best hits in the game.  That attitude carries over the field.  Not a lot was expected from this young group, but here they are with a 6-2 record and a great chance to get the top seed in the district.  Henderson hosts Apollo Friday night for Senior Night. 

It was not pretty, but Owensboro outlasted Hopkinsville 16-6, and Owensboro Catholic hammered Todd County Central 49-0.

We also made another trip to see Union County.  The Braves were on the road at Webster County.  Union County wins again.  The Braves host McLean on Friday.

Our main director for Home Team Friday was on vacation.  Filling in was Gary.  He had a pretty much flawless show.  The only minor error was the wrong background under the full screen scores, but that was no big deal.  I’m sure none of you even realized it.  Thanks to Gary. 

If I can find the time, I will do a special blog entry for Sectional Previews. 

Thanks so much for reading and watching each and every week, and I look forward to reading your comments below.

I leave you with this song in hopes you get the chorus stuck in your head!  You need to feel my pain.  It is my gift to you!  Crank it up and enjoy!

 

Week Seven Home Team Friday Recap

Only two short weeks left in the regular season in high school football.  This Friday night, it looks like it could be a rainy mess!  I hope the forecast changes.  Maybe I can sneak into Wayne Hart’s weather castle and change all of his numbers!

I had a most interesting night last Friday.  I couldn’t get a highlight to save my life!  I covered Mt. Vernon at Mater Dei.  A couple of years ago, these teams had a shootout.  Of course I am always hoping for a lot of touchdowns.  I even joked with Mike Goebel before the game about putting up some scores for me.  I don’t cheer for teams, I just cheer for offense.  Fans ask me all of the time who I am rooting for.  I always use that line.

So as I have mentioned in past recaps, I have not been able to figure out Mt. Vernon.  Well, I had a much better look at MV last week.  There are two players that really standout for Paul Maier’s club. Skylar Davis is a playmaker.  On offense and defense, he is everywhere.  Quarterback Jason Stemple is very confident and poised.  He does a nice job of moving the pocket and staying with his receivers.  Stemple got hit hard and missed some plays.  So who fill in?  Skylar Davis.  It was goal to go at the 2.  I am thinking, Mater Dei should stack the line, no way he is going to throw.  What does he do?  He just throws a tight spiral right towards me for a touchdown.  He has a perfect quarterback rating!  Unfortunately for me, that was pretty much my only great highlight in an entire half of football!

Mater Dei on the other hand had a terrible time on the center/quarterback exchange.  I was told the Cats had a new center.  That is not an easy position to just dive into.  There is a lot of timing, and MD quarterback Dane Maurer is sometimes under center, and sometimes in the shotgun.  Too many times the Cats were third down and 20+. 

Even with very little highlights, I knew I couldn’t wait through halftime.  I needed to get back to the station and start getting ready.  As I drove back towards HTF headquarters, I called photographer Blaine.  The Blaine Train was shooting two games in the city.  Blaine was just leaving Central Stadium.  He said he was low on battery power for his camera.  So I met him at Enlow Field.  I got there first, so I went inside to shoot the Bosse/Providence game.   I get my focus, and my camera set.  I hit the record button for the first play…and the Dogs Colin Bridges takes the kickoff around 90 yards for a touchdown.  It was an awesome highlight.  Breaking tackles and making people miss.  Two plays later, Providence goes play action and gets a touchdown.  Then a few plays after that Bosse throws an interception.  I already have 100 times more action in just 5 minutes than I did at the Bowl!

Blaine gets to Enlow Field, and I take his disk with the Reitz/North highlights and I send him back to the Bowl.  I told him I had garbage from the first half and maybe he would have better luck.

I return to the station to edit the 3 games I had in hand.  It turns out to be a great decision.  Blaine gets three touchdowns and the game-sealing interception by Aaron Choate.  Davis had an awesome touchdown run too.  Congrats to MV…a very nice win.  Great job to Blaine for shooting some really nice highlights!

What else did we learn?  If you are going to try and upset Reitz, don’t give up an opening kickoff for a touchdown!  Cuda Dimmett went right down the middle for a score.  The Panthers never looked back.  What I noticed about the Panthers the past few weeks is how great they do blocking down field.  Whether it is Matt McIntosh scrambling, or Alordo Bell busting a long run, or a quick wide receiver screen, the blocking is just perfect to spring long gains.  Coach Tony Lewis must have a pretty large playbook.  Reitz runs a lot of sets, and can throw so many looks at defenses.  Reitz always has a tough time with Bosse.  The Dogs and Panthers are at the Bowl this Friday.  Then the season finale is the Westside showdown between Reitz and Mater Dei.

Jasper has won the Big Eight.  Shocker I know!  The Wildcats completely dominated the first half at the Snake Pit.  Mt. Carmel was held to just 9 total yards in the half!  Radio and TV voice of the Aces Kyle Peach told me he talked with Jasper staff after the game.  They told him that Austin Ahrens hyper-extended his knee.  I really really hope that Austin is OK.  He has had a perfect senior season.  The kid just does it all for that offense.  Taylor Day continues to shine on the ground.  What was up with that call when Max Bawel seemingly caught a touchdown?  Not sure how the refs called that incomplete.  It didn’t matter.  Give credit to the Aces.  They fought hard in the second half.  Quarterback Alex Hale has had a very good season.

I was shocked Owensboro lost at Christian County.  Last year, the Devils lost only two games.  Both times were against the Colonels.  I thought for sure Owensboro would crush Christian County.  The Devils played sloppy and have lost their second game this season 13-10.  Randall drove all the way down to Hopkinsville for the highlights.  With a team as good as the Devils, and with such a great fan base, no way do we want to ever miss one of their games.  I feel sorry for Apollo this week.  The Eagles will have an angry team to contend with.

Another surprise was how close Forest Park hung with unbeaten South Spencer.  The Rangers looked like they would pull off the upset.  South Spencer just pulled it out by six points...31-25.  What more can you say about FP coach Terry Wagner.  Just two years in existence and the Rangers are competing with an unbeaten team.  Well done.  The 7-0 Rebels will now travel to 6-1 Boonville this Friday.  That is our no-brainer HTF showdown game.  The Pioneers had no troubles in shutting out Princeton.  The Tiger Chavis brothers quit the team.  The Tigers will try to get their second win of the season at Mt. Vernon.

Heritage Hills got a nice game from tailback Jordan Lubbehusen.  The Patriots outlasted Southridge 21-14.  We talked to Bob Clayton yesterday.  He is still fine tuning his team as they get ready for the playoffs.  Here is the stat of the week.  HH is giving up only 8 points a game!  What a defense.  The Pats finish the season at Forest Park and at South Spencer.

Perry Central improved to 7-0.  I got to say Mikey Wilkerson’s name on the air again.  Maybe someday I’ll meet him.  On video, he looks like a tough-nosed running back.  Just down the road, North Posey picked up win number four at Tell City.

Photographer/Reporter Aaron Hancock made the trip deep south in Kentucky.  Henderson County put up 62 points on the Mustangs of Muhlenberg County.  Clay Clevenger has really done a great job with such an extremely young team.  Aaron also got highlights of Madisonville’s win against rival Hopkins Central.  We will be down in Storm country again this Friday.

I was on the road to Chicago for the Saturday games.  Castle won its fifth game of the year knocking out Harrison.  I said this on the air tonight, but like Clevenger, Doug Hurt has done a great coaching job this season too.  He is very proud of how his kids keep getting better and continue to learn.  I will call the MD/Castle game on the radio this Saturday.  Kickoff is at 1:30pm at the Bowl.  Should be fun!  I love doing radio!

Memorial doubled up Central 20-10.  The Tigers are coming into their own.  Memorial has Harrison this week.  I will be at that game.  I am going out on a limb and will guess Grant Gribbins will have a big night!  I am leading HTF with this game.

This Friday we plan on covering an astonishing 15 games!  That is so much to organize and get on the air!  We will literally have crews all over the Tri-State.  Be sure to tune in to see if we make it all come together!  I will also have my feature on Jay Cutler for the big show.

As always, thanks for reading, and watching.  Please leave me a comment if you have anything at all to add!  I will see y’all Friday night at 10:35 for NEWS 25 Home Team Friday Live!

Best High School Football Coaches in SW Indiana

Evansville ESPN Radio Sports Director Dan Egierski is doing a special show on All About Sports on 106.7 this Wednesday.  The topic is who are the best of the best among high school football coaches in Southwestern Indiana.  Dan's criteria:  "These would be coaches selected based on consistency in winning and having their teams prepared, not necessarily the coach with the most wins."

Egierski asked for the local sports media's feedback.  Here is what I submitted. 

Bob Clayton - His record speaks for himself. I think he is great because he doesn't just have one system. Each year he changes his offense and defense around his players.  

Mike Goebel - There is no better motivator. He has a great offensive playbook, and a great staff. Very disciplined.  

Andy Owen - There's no coincidence that when Owen came over as offensive coordinator for his dad Mike, Central immediately started winning. He has coaching in his blood, and the Bears football program has really improved under his guidance.

Kelly Murphy - He has done a tremendous job in just five years at Southridge.3 sectional, 2 regional, and 1 semistate championships.

Joe Gengelbach - 40 years and 224 wins all at North Posey. A member of the Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame, and the classiest coach in the Tri-State.

Honorable Mention to Mike Wilson, Tony Ahrens, Paul Maier, Bruce Green,and Darren Peach.

There has been so much turnover lately, it is hard to know where to put in the newer coaches. Doug Hurt, Tony Lewis, and John Hurley have gotten off to great starts, and definitely will be great.