Sunday, November 26, 2017

BOYS’ BASKETBALL: Langford scores school-record 48 in season-opening win 110-36

By KEVIN HARRIS
CHARLESTOWN – Romeo Langford broke two school records last Tuesday at Charlestown Sports Arena to lead Class 4A No. 1 New Albany to a 110-36 victory over Charlestown. It was the season opener for both teams.
It was the most points the Bulldogs have scored since a 113-39 home win over Scottsburg on Jan. 16, 2016.
Langford snapped his own single-game scoring record with a game-high 48 points. The senior shooting guard shot 17-of-29 from the field, including one 3-pointer, and knocked down 13 of his 15 free-throw attempts.
His previous record was 46 points in the Bulldogs’ 82-64 victory over Southport in the 2016 Class 4A Richmond Semistate.
The second record Langford broke against the Pirates was the all-time rebounds mark at New Albany. He snagged 15 boards to give him 666 in his career and pass previous recordholder, former Bulldog standout Chad Hunter.
Teammate Sean East wound up with 22 points, nailing 10-of-12 field goals and 2-of-3 3-point attempts. East also recorded team-highs in assists (eight) and steals (six).
New Albany sophomore forward Julien Hunter, the son of Chad Hunter, registered a double-double with 10 points and shared team-high rebounding honors with Langford with 15.
Bo Braunecker led Charlestown with nine points.
* SOIN PREPS STAR: Romeo Langford, New Albany – The Bulldog standout poured in 48 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and set two school records. Just another night in the office for Romeo.
* NEW ALBANY HEAD COACH JIM SHANNON COMMENTS (Courtesy of Inside The Hall): “You can’t go out there and disrespect yourselves or your opponent by coming out there nonchalant. You won’t play well. I don’t think we did that. We played really hard. We pressed the whole first quarter. I felt a little bit bad about that, but we had to get going. We had to take care of our stuff first. I thought our kids handled themselves really well.”

NEW ALBANY 110, CHARLESTOWN 36
New Albany       30  28  31  21-110
Charlestown        6    5  16    9-  36
New Albany (1-0): Romeo Langford 48, Sean East 22, Julien Hunter 10, Derrick Stevenson 8, Trey Hourigan 7, Darin Starks 7, Anthony Irvin 4, Kolt Kaiser 2, Savion Southers 2, Caleb Brown 0, Chris Johnson 0.
Charlestown (0-1): Bo Braunecker 9, Courtland Black 8, Addison Logsdon 8, Ty Crace 3, Max Mitchell 3, Matt Parella 3, Brady Lathem 2, Matt Fellows 0, Braiden Murphy 0.
3-point field goals: New Albany 4 (East 2, Langford 1, Starks 1); Charlestown 7 (Braunecker 3, Black 2, Mitchell 1, Parrella 1).


Saturday, November 25, 2017

BOYS’ BASKETBALL: No. 1 Bulldogs top Brebeuf in preseason scrimmage 86-60

By KEVIN HARRIS
NEW ALBANY – Senior guard Romeo Langford scored 35 points to lead Class 4A No. 1 New Albany to an 86-60 victory over Class 3A No. 9 Indianapolis Brebeuf in a preseason scrimmage last Saturday at The Doghouse.
“We played fairly well, especially offensively. Defensively, we’ve got some things to work on,” Bulldogs’ head coach Jim Shannon said. “We had some bright spots out there. The kids played well together. They shared the ball. But again defensively, I think we have some work to do.”
Langford tallied 18 of his 35 points in the first quarter as New Albany built a 28-20 lead.
The Bulldogs struggled in the second quarter as both teams were required to play zone defense. The Braves outscored New Albany 23-16 in the stanza to cut their deficit to one point at 44-43.
“Our only poor quarter was when both teams agreed to play some zone. We’re not going to play a lot of zone, but we did that quarter and that’s the only one we lost,” Shannon said. “We played some 1-3-1 trap and we played some 2-3 zone and we didn’t do very well. Other than that, I thought (the scrimmage) went very well.”
The Bulldogs dominated the third by outpointing Brebeuf 20-4 to go up 64-47. New Albany claimed the fourth period 22-13.
Three other Bulldogs recorded double-figure scoring outputs. Sophomore forward Julien Hunter wound up with 16 points, senior guard Sean East had 13 and sophomore guard Darin Starks scored 10. Rounding out the scoring for New Albany were sophomore forward Trey Hourigan with nine and junior guard Anthony Irvin with three.
Even though the Dogs have been practicing well in the preseason, Shannon said they were anxious to play an actual opponent.
“They were definitely ready to play against somebody else,” Shannon said. “They’ve been practicing hard. We haven’t had a bad practice yet. We’ve had some good practices.”


Thursday, November 23, 2017

OLD KEV’S FOOTBALL PICKS – WEEK 15

By KEVIN HARRIS
JEFFERSONVILLE – Here are my picks for this weekend’s IHSAA State Finals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis:

CLASS 6A
Ben Davis 24, Penn 21

CLASS 5A
Columbus East 37, Kokomo 16

CLASS 4A
Lowell 21, East Central 19

CLASS 3A
Evansville Memorial 31, Brebeuf 24

CLASS 2A
Southridge 34, Woodlan 28

CLASS A
Pioneer 27, Eastern Greene 20
OLD KEV’S RECORD FOR WEEK 14: 8-4.
OLD KEV’S SEASON RECORD: 150-35 (.811).

Saturday, November 18, 2017

GIRLS’ HOOPS: Red Devils crush Silver Creek 61-10

By GREG BURTON
Special to Southern Indiana Preps
SELLERSBURG — Jeffersonville was a buzzsaw Friday night against host Silver Creek.
The Class 4A No. 6 Red Devils opened the game with an 11-0 blitz, forcing their hosts to call two timeouts in the first 2 ½ minutes. The intensity seldom let up the entire game, and Jeffersonville emerged as a 61-10 winner.
“We set out with the mindset of pressuring them and trying to speed them up a little bit and see how they reacted,” said Jeffersonville coach Mike Warren. “We had a lot of kids doing good things.”
The Red Devils (2-0) pressured relentlessly, and Silver Creek coughed up the ball 12 times in the first quarter and 10 more times in the second. The Dragons took only four shots in the first period, connecting on one.
Jeffersonville, meanwhile, was 10-of-19 from the field in the opening frame, and it led 23-2 after one quarter.
“When you compete against a team like this, you cannot turn the ball over, and we did,” said Silver Creek coach Scott Schoen, whose team dropped its fourth straight game and fell to 2-4 overall. “We usually compete better than this against Jeff. It was a tough matchup for us, and we didn’t play well.”
About the only negative for Jeffersonville was when senior Jacinta Gibson took a blow to the head early and did not return for the rest of the game.
Taking up any slack, though, was sophomore Nan Garcia. She led the Red Devils in scoring with 21 points on 8-of-15 field goal shooting and 5-of-7 from the free-throw line. Garcia also pulled down five rebounds.
“I thought Nan did a good job,” said Warren. “She’s playing better each game. But really, overall we had a balanced effort. If we can do that night in and night out and put 60 points on the board, we’re going to be all right.”
The defensive barrage continued the entire night for Jeffersonville. It led 35-4 at the half, once again limiting Silver Creek to two points in the quarter. The Dragons hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter for their six points, but then Jeffersonville shut them out in the final period.
The Red Devils had a stellar game from Jaylynn Brown as well, as she had eight steals and dished out seven assists while scoring six points.
Every player who saw action for Jeffersonville scored, and the defense stayed focused for most of the second half. Silver Creek committed 36 turnovers for the entire game.
For Warren, the season is exceptionally young for his team, this being just its second game.
“This was only our second game of the year,” he said. “A lot of teams are ahead of us, and so we’re just trying to get some experience. Defensively, we need to make sure we’re in our right spots. I thought we did a nice job in the press and defensively in the half court, and that led to a lot of easy baskets.”
Jeffersonville will open Hoosier Hills Conference play on Saturday at Class 4A No. 8 Bedford North Lawrence. Silver Creek’s road will not get any easier as it travels to Class 4A No. 13 North Harrison on Wednesday.

JEFFERSONVILLE 61, SILVER CREEK 10
Jeffersonville    23   12   9   17 – 61
Silver Creek       2     2   6     0 – 10

Jeff (2-0): Jacinta Gibson 1-1 0-0 2, Tori Handley 2-8 0-0 5, Kelsie James 3-6 0-0 7, Nan Garcia 8-15 5-7 21, Britney Epperson 3-6 1-2 7, Jaylynn Brown 1-3 4-5 6, Jasmine Lilly 2-5 0-0 4, Diamond Taylor 1-5 1-2 3, Kiersten Poor 2-3 0-1 4, Aaleiah Winford 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-54 11-17 61.
Silver Creek (2-4): Kylie Wilkinson 0-2 0-0 0, Jordan Balz 1-1 0-1 2, Jaclyn Emly 1-5 0-0 3, Alyssa Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Savannah Kirchgessner 0-2 0-2 0, Jordan Leddon 0-1 0-0 0, Lauren Hall 0-2 0-0 0, Katie Emly 1-5 0-0 2, Megan Ekart 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Scott 1-3 0-0 3, Anna Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Katlin Berg 0-1 0-0 0, Bella Hinton 0-0 0-0 0, Vic Hutchings 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 4-26 0-3 10.
3-point field goals: Jeff 2-14 (James 1-3, Handley 1-5, Epperson 0-1, Winford 0-1, Garcia 0-2, Lilly 0-2); Silver Creek 2-16 (Scott 1-2, J. Emly 1-3, Wilkinson 0-1, Kirchgessner 0-1, Ekart 0-1, Berg 0-1, Hutchings 0-1, Hall 0-2, K. Emly 0-4).
Rebounds: Jeff 21 (Garcia 5); Silver Creek 15 (Kirchgessner 4).
Assists: Jeff 13 (Brown 7); Silver Creek 1 (Balz 1).
Steals: Jeff 31 (Brown 8); Silver Creek 2 (Balz 1, J. Emly 1).
Blocked shots: Jeff 3 (Garcia 1, Brown 1, Lilly 1); Silver Creek 2 (Wilkinson 1, An. Wright 1).
Turnovers: Jeff 14, Silver Creek 36.
Total fouls: Jeff 13, Silver Creek 15.
Fouled out: none.
Junior varsity: Jeff 40, Silver Creek 26.

Friday, November 17, 2017

OLD KEV’S FOOTBALL PICKS – WEEK 14

By KEVIN HARRIS
JEFFERSONVILLE – Here are my picks for this weekend’s IHSAA semistates:

CLASS 6A
Penn 23, Carmel 13
Ben Davis 38, Avon 21

CLASS 5A
Kokomo 32, Michigan City 28
Cathedral 41, Columbus East 31

CLASS 4A
Fort Wayne Dwenger 24, Lowell 23
East Central 38, Greenwood 34

CLASS 3A
Brebeuf 21, Mishawaka Marian 19
Evansville Memorial 29, Danville 27

CLASS 2A
Eastbrook 28, Woodlan 17
Southridge 31, Scecina 24

CLASS A
Pioneer 34, Monroe Central 21
Indianapolis Lutheran 35, Eastern Greene 33
OLD KEV’S RECORD FOR WEEK 13: 5-1.
OLD KEV’S SEASON RECORD: 142-31 (.821).


Sunday, November 12, 2017

BOYS’ BASKETBALL: Romeo narrows list to three schools

Romeo's tweet
By KEVIN HARRIS
NEW ALBANY – New Albany senior Romeo Langford announced on Twitter on Saturday that he has cut his list of NCAA Division I schools he is considering playing at in the 2018-19 season to three schools. The three universities are Indiana, Kansas and Vanderbilt.
During the past few weeks, Langford made official visits to those three schools along with North Carolina and UCLA. He is expected to not make a commitment to a university during the NCAA’s early signing period.
Langford averages 28.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last season for the 25-4 Bulldogs. He also distributed 3.4 assists, blocked 2.1 shots and made 2.1 steals a contest.
Langford earned several honors for his incredible season. That included making The Associated Press All-State first team and the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Underclass Supreme 15 All-State squad and being named a Naismith All-American and a MaxPreps All-American.
This summer, Langford earned a spot on USA Basketball’s U19 World Championship team that played in FIBA U19 World Cup in Cairo, Egypt.
Langford is the front-runner to win this season’s Indiana Mr. Basketball award. No New Albany player has ever earned that honor.
Langford is the all-time leading scorer in Bulldog history with 2,079 points. Langford needs two rebounds this season to pass former New Albany standout Chad Hunter as the school’s all-time leading rebounder.

Friday, November 10, 2017

OLD KEV’S FOOTBALL PICKS – WEEK 13

By KEVIN HARRIS
JEFFERSONVILLE – Here are my picks for this weekend’s IHSAA regionals involving Southern Indiana teams:

CLASS 2A
Southridge 28, Providence 14

CLASS 5A
Columbus East 38, Terre Haute North 20
Indianapolis Cathedral 31, Bloomington South 21

CLASS 4A
Evansville Central 29, East Central 17

CLASS 3A
Evansville Memorial 34, Lawrenceburg 31

CLASS A
Eastern Greene 42, Fountain Central 38
OLD KEV’S RECORD FOR WEEK 12: 7-3.
OLD KEV’S SEASON RECORD: 137-30 (.820).


Saturday, November 4, 2017

FOOTBALL: Pioneers claim first sectional title in 10 years 41-25

By GREG BURTON
Special to Southern Indiana Preps
CLARKSVILLE — The Providence Pioneers are sectional champions again. The last time this occurred was 10 years ago, but Friday night the 2017 edition took home the trophy.
The Pioneers scored the final 20 points of the game against Paoli, electrifying the crowd at Murphy Stadium. They turned a close game into a comfortable 41-25 victory in the late stages by scoring twice in the final 4 ½ minutes in the Class 2A Sectional 39 championship game.
Paoli (9-3) appeared to have the upper hand early, and in the second quarter seemed to have Providence (7-5) on the ropes. However, the Pioneers responded to keep themselves in a position to win.
Paoli got on the board first with a 14-yard run by Ian Strange with 3:54 remaining in the first quarter. Kevin Smith broke free for 53 yards for the Pioneers on their next possession to tie the game at seven.
The visiting Rams scored twice in the second quarter, putting Providence in a hole at 19-7. First, Tyler Smith scored on a 1-yard run at the 10:49 mark. Next, Garrett Vincent took the ball into the end zone from 4 yards.
That hole, however, was very shallow, as Kevin Smith found the end zone for a second time. This one was for 2 yards, and Providence trailed 19-14 at the half.
Things really turned around for the Pioneers on their first possession of the second half when Kaden Williams scored on a 1-yard run to give Providence its first lead of the game at 21-19.
Paoli responded immediately, retaking the lead at 25-21 at the 6:21 mark of the third period when Strange converted on a 25-yard pass from Vincent. The conversion failed, and Paoli led 25-21.
That was the end of the offense for the night for Paoli, though. Providence tightened its defense into near strangulation mode, while its offense kicked into gear.
Williams took matters into his own hands 11 seconds later on the kickoff following the last Paoli score. The junior returned the kickoff 80 yards to the end zone to give the lead back to the Pioneers 28-25, a lead they would not surrender for the remainder of the game.
The kickoff touchdown by Williams appeared to be a major turning point in the game, as Providence fairly controlled the game from that point.
In the final quarter, two breakout runs by Providence sealed the win. Kevin Smith scored his third touchdown of the game on a 44-yard jaunt. This was followed by Williams breaking free for a 43-yard score with 2:10 left in regulation.
Kevin Smith and Williams, in the same manner in which they have been producing lately, did heavy damage on the ground for the Pioneers. Smith racked up 137 yards on 15 carries, while Williams added 96 yards on 15 carries.
Providence will play at Class 2A No. 5 Southridge (10-2) at 7:30 p.m. next Friday night for the Class 2A regional championship. The Raiders defeated Class 2A No. 7 Evansville Mater Dei in overtime in the 2A Sectional 40 final Friday 38-31. Mater Dei has eliminated Providence in the sectional the past two seasons.

CLASS 2A SECTIONAL 39
CHAMPIONSHIP
PROVIDENCE 41, PAOLI 25
Paoli                   7  12   7    0–25
Providence         7    7 14  13–41
First quarter
Pa — Ian Strange 14 run (Strange kick), 3:54.
Pr — Kevin Smith 53 run (Brandon Schafer kick), 2:26.
Second quarter
Pa — Tyler Smith 1 run (kick failed), 10:49.
Pa — Garrett Vincent 4 run (kick failed), 7:22.
Pr — Smith 2 run (Schafer kick), 4:05.
Third quarter
Pr — Kaden Williams 1 run (Schafer kick), 8:43.
Pa — Strange 25 pass from Vincent (pass failed), 6:21.
Pr — Williams 80 kickoff return (Schafer kick), 6:10.
Fourth quarter
Pr — Smith 44 run (kick blocked), 4:32.
Pr — Williams 43 run (Schafer kick), 2:10.

Friday, November 3, 2017

OLD KEV’S FOOTBALL PICKS – WEEK 12

By KEVIN HARRIS
JEFFERSONVILLE – Here are my picks for Friday’s championship games in sectionals involving Southern Indiana schools:

CLASS 2A SECTIONAL 39
Paoli (9-2) at Providence (6-5), 7 p.m.: The Pioneers seemed to be coming together during the sectional after suffering back-to-back losses to Milan and Linton-Stockton to end their regular season. If junior running back Kaden Williams, who is Providence’s X-factor, can make big plays on both sides of the ball, the Pioneers have a chance to win their first sectional title since 2007.
But the Rams have a lot of firepower on offense. They rank sixth in Class 2A in scoring average at 39.7 points per game. Their defense has been stingy as they have allowed single-digit points versus seven of their opponents. Plus like Providence, Paoli has played a few bigger schools this season in Class 4A No. 3 Evansville Central and another tough 4A team in Greenwood.
The Pioneers need to play really well to win this title game, but I think the Rams are too strong.
Old Kev’s pick: Paoli 26, Providence 17.

CLASS 5A SECTIONAL 15
Class 5A No. 2 Columbus East (10-1) at Class 5A No. 7 Floyd Central (8-2), 7 p.m.: The Highlanders have lots of veterans and their defense is solid. But once again, I think the Olympians will show too much muscle and collect another sectional championship trophy.
Old Kev’s pick: Columbus East 38, Floyd Central 21.

CLASS 4A SECTIONAL 23
Silver Creek (9-2) at Class 4A No. 9 East Central (8-3), 7 p.m.: The Dragons are in a sectional final for the first time and they must go on a long trip to compete in it. The Trojans have lots of experience playing in sectional championships and I think they will put that experience to good use.
Old Kev’s pick: East Central 27, Silver Creek 14.

CLASS 3A SECTIONAL 31
Class 3A No. 5 Lawrenceburg (10-1) at Class 3A No. 6 North Harrison (11-0), 7:30 p.m.: Even though the Tigers have a really good team and they are the defending Class 3A state runners-up, I have liked the Cougars all season and I think they find a way to earn that first-ever sectional championship. If North Harrison runs the ball and plays solid defense like it has all season, then the Cougars have an excellent chance.
Old Kev’s pick: North Harrison 23, Lawrenceburg 20.

OTHER GAMES
CLASS 6A SECTIONAL 8
Center Grove 28, Columbus North 24

CLASS 5A SECTIONAL 14
Bloomington South 31, Martinsville 20

CLASS 4A SECTIONAL 24
Evansville Central 45, Evansville Bosse 14

CLASS 3A SECTIONAL 32
Evansville Memorial 35, Gibson Southern 34

CLASS 2A SECTIONAL 40
Evansville Mater Dei 33, Southridge 28

CLASS A SECTIONAL 48
Eastern Greene 29, North Central (Farmersburg) 26
OLD KEV’S RECORD FOR WEEK 11: 12-0.
OLD KEV’S SEASON RECORD: 130-27 (.828).


Thursday, November 2, 2017

VOLLEYBALL: Pioneers capture first Class 4A sectional title

By KEVIN HARRIS
NEW ALBANY – The Providence Pioneers have had a lot of accomplishments in their history.
On Oct. 14 at The Doghouse, Providence added another achievement as it collected its first-ever Class 4A sectional championship.
The Pioneers downed Seymour in the Class 4A New Albany Sectional final 25-17, 25-16, 25-11. It was Providence’s 32nd sectional championship in program history and its seventh title in a row. The Pioneers (35-1) became the first program in IHSAA history to win sectionals in three different classes (2A, 3A and 4A). The defending Class 3A state runners-up moved up to Class 4A this season because of the success-factor rule.
“I was a little bit disappointed that we couldn’t bring a little bit more energy to the table tonight,” said Providence head coach Terri Purichia, whose squad extended its school-record win streak to 34 matches. “But a 4A sectional championship is so exciting and so impressive. This team is so impressive in so many ways and I’m so proud of them.”
The Pioneers expended lots of energy in the afternoon when they defeated archrival Floyd Central in the sectional semifinal 15-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-20. The Owls (8-25) also had a very competitive semifinal earlier in the day when they ousted Bedford North Lawrence 25-21, 19-25, 17-25, 29-27, 15-13.
“They were so emotionally out of gas and that is not an excuse,” Purichia said about her players. “It’s just how it is. It was really hard to rebound after that. I think Seymour had a hard time doing the same thing because they had a really emotional victory over Bedford.
“That wasn’t the greatest of championship matches for either team. We just did enough to survive and advance.”
Two of Purichia’s top hitters – senior Marissa Hornung and sophomore Courtney Glotzbach – helped Providence collect another sectional championship.
Hornung led the Pioneers in kills with 14. More importantly, Providence’s lone senior provided her teammates the leadership they needed to win the sectional title.
“I can’t explain it. It is phenomenal. She is one of the best leaders that I have been blessed enough to coach,” Purichia said. “It’s so hard to be a senior class of one – it is.  And I wouldn’t want to have it any other way because she has just accepted that role and just blossomed. She’s really responded to bringing this team together.”
Glotzbach ended up with 12 kills. In the semifinals and championship combined, she smacked 28 kills with 16 coming against the Highlanders.
“I think Courtney was our MVP today. She was here to play. Courtney really, really played good for us on both ends, both blocking the ball and offensively,” Purichia said.
Providence setter Lilly Bivens distributed 37 assists and teammate Ali Hornung had 10 kills.

CLASS 4A NEW ALBANY SECTIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIP
PROVIDENCE 3, SEYMOUR 0
Seymour              17  16  11
Providence          25  25  25
Providence stats
Marissa Hornung: 14 kills, 6 digs.
Courtney Glotzbach: 12 kills.
Ali Hornung: 10 kills, 4 digs, 1 ace.
Hanna Mitchell: 6 kills, 2 assists.
Lilly Bivens: 37 assists, 4 digs, 1 block.
Madison Kruer: 4 digs, 2 assists.
Ceci Rush: 4 digs.
Megan Flanagan: 1 ace.