Northern Illinois Sports Beat: State Tournament Miscellany

Writer's Note: I just happened to be the only reporter at the state tournament without a laptop. That's how demanding coverage can be: Rush to the tables, type, type, type, send and upload. It doesn't take long for them to process information into story form. I had to remind myself I'm on a meager budget.

Because of my limited armory, it took me a day or two to publish these stories.

The power of thought and analysis now comes in: Breakdowns, reviews, facts, after thoughts, they will already be old news as you look at this.

But how many articles will have all of that? Old news, yes. Thorough? You bet!

Give me a laptop and I can do what everyone else was doing. This is old PSO-era writing I started my career with. If it was somewhat appreciated seven years ago, it may still be that today.

Let's find out.

State Tournament Miscellany
By Cody Cutter

PEORIA � This is the second year of the four-class system in Illinois high school basketball. It's my first appearance to Carver Arena since covering Rockford Boylan's Class AA run in 2007. Annawan and Winnebago had their sights set on the Class 1A and 2A trophy, respectively.

*From the media standpoint of things, I received my afternoon session parking pass after walking in Carver. Of course, I had already parked in the appropriate parking lot.

Okay, that doesn't make sense. But they could have been picked up Thursday during practices, assuming the media covered that.

Assigned seating was used for the first time. Metro newspapers and radio stations got baseline tables. Everyone else got a chair. This was different from two years ago, where working press for one's particular team were given tables when they were playing.

*I practice-reported (awwww!) the first Class 1A semifinal game between Woodlawn and Lewistown. It was just practice, so I paid an increased amount of attention to the surroundings.

Woodlawn led 3-0 in fouls going into the fourth quarter.

Fan after foul No. 4: �Zero to four!�

Fan after foul No. 5: �There's two teams out there!�

Mind you, I'm sitting between the bucket and their fan section in this arena; a distance of about 40 feet. These are shouts I can't stand. There were five violations of the rules committed by Woodlawn. Lewistown didn't make one. Foul tallies were not made to be even, although it happens 90 percent of the time.

A Lewistown player commits a foul. There are Woodlawn fans off their seats, hands up high across like a miracle had happened from above. The same player would commit the next three fouls.

Two minutes later a Woodlawn player goes down hard underneath in the paint during a drive. He is down long enough to stop play: �Yeah, he knocked him down, why don't you call a foul?!?!�

I don't think there's a certain about of decibels the thud has to be in order for a no-call to have happened, or a down time.

*Woodlawn's just passionate about being here, that's all.

The Cardinals were up 34-23 at half and beat Lewistown 56-44. The small school of 210 kids went into the championship game. They hoped to give the town of 638 something special.

"A lot of these kids � three of them in particular � grew up across the street from the high school,� said Woodlawn coach Shane Witzel. �I would always look out my window of my classroom, and I'll see these kids playing on the playground.�

Brothers Bronson and Dawson Verhines combined for 30 of Woodlawn's points. Cousin Jase Green had ten.

"They've been playing the game for a long time, and that's a big factor,� Witzel added. �Just getting out in the back yard and just playing.�

*Those at the game and on television may have heard PA announcer Paul Herzog give one more tournament appearance credit to Annawan. The Braves made it to the super-sectional in 1986. The game was played at Moline's Wharton Fieldhouse, but it's still counted as a game in Assembly Hall.

This is Annawan's first actual appearance in the state tournament finals.

*Macon Meridian coach Jack Blickensderfer is one of only a handful of current coaches to have coached before the division into classes in 1972. He began his coaching career at Cerro Gordo in 1970.

"When the IHSA went to four classes, and our enrollment figure last year made it so we would be in 1A the next year,� replied Blickensderfer when asked when he knew his team had a chance at making it.

Meridian plays a Class 2A schedule, and was the smallest 2A school last year. But don't credit their tournament appearance because of that.

"We were at our highest enrollment last year at 353,� Blickensderfer said. �That's when I knew we had a chance. It doesn't mean we'll get here.�

*Fan sign that got on television: �Murph Please Coach Till 2016!�

Winnebago coach Joe Murphy will have been coaching boys basketball for 29 years come 2016. Murphy was also girls head coach for a few years before switching roles. The Indians finished second in Class A in 2004 and 2005.

*Seaton Academy's fans were the most spirited during this tournament. They had a lead fan starting sheers during timeouts.

It's a much positive display of spectator showmanship than student sections coming up with one-liners to make a name for themselves.

One of Seaton's fan cheers was �We want Marshall� with less than four minutes left in their game against Winnebago. The Marshall section replied with cheers toward the Seaton section.

However, Marshall fell to Metropolis Massac County in the next game.

*Another ridiculous act of poor fan actions took place during Winnebago's game with Marshall for third place.

A charge no-call occurred at the Winnebago side of the court with three minutes left in the third quarter. Once the action got closer to the Marshall section, a student fan went down to the media aisle in front of me.

"He was out of control down there! You guys are bad officials!�

It was probably loud enough to be heard on Winnebago's WNTA-AM and Rochelle's WRHL. They were in front of this fan broadcasting the game.

*Program correction: Winnebago beat Rockford Lutheran three times this year, not Springfield Lutheran.

*At halftime of the Winnebago-Marshall game, fans qualified for a shot to make long basketball shots for money at the March Madness Experience showed their stuff.

The prize was $250 for the individual and $250 for the individual's school.

The event started with people lined up behind the free throw line. They shot for five minutes. With each successful basket, the line moved further back to certain points on the court. The line got as far back as the far free throw line. That's where Kewanee Wethersfield's Terry Yelm heaved the ball into the far bucket.

"Just, wow!� was the only thing Yelm could say thereafter. He later said he doesn't know what he'll do with the money.

*Probably no one was more thrilled to be at the tournament that Annawan coach Ryan Brown.

The 29-year-old coach began his career at Scotland County, Mo. before arriving at Annawan in 2004. His Braves went 27-8 this season, and hit the Carver Arena floor for the first time.

"It's just ... when you come out on the floor, you're awestruck,� said Brown. �You get this feeling and emotion of what you've done throughout your career: late practices you have, and athletic performances, big wins and tough losses. All those experiences hit you right when you hit the floor.�

It was just unfortunate for them that Meridian and Lewistown altered their feelings.

"I had a hard time leaving the floor tonight,� added Brown, who will go for career win No. 100 next season. �You never know when you're going to get back.�