12/01/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - Tuscola and head coach Justin Bozarth had about as disappointing of an ending of a postseason as one could imagine.

As one of the favorites to reach the state finals again after finishing third in 2022-23, the Warriors won the program's 20th regional championship to reach the Effingham St. Anthony Sectional.

But the season came to a halt as Centralia Christ Our Rock Lutheran ended the dream of back-to-back trips to Champaign, 49-46 on a last second made 3-pointer by CORL guard Jayden Bazile.

The Warriors finished 28-6 and important pieces are missing from that club that won the third of three consecutive regional championships.

Seniors Jordan Quinn, Josiah Hortin, and Jackson Barrett have left the program but the ones remaining will still have the same sort of goals for this prominent Central Illinois program.

Kam Sweetnam, a 5-11 senior, returns after being a starter for the past two seasons.

Six-three senior Parker James also returns as he also started games last winter.

Sawyer Woodard, a 6-5 senior, also started last season for Coach Bozarth.

The trio are the core of the club that looks to keep the string of 20-win seasons going, which is standing at five-consecutive, not counting the Covid19 shortened campaign.

Five-ten junior Logan Kurtz saw time off the bench in 2023-24.

There are others looking to help.

Six-three junior Kaedan Chenoweth, 6-5 senior Sawyer Woodard and 6'6 Caiden Russo junior will give Tuscola some size and depth along with some expectations to thrive in 2024-25.

“We've got really good size this year within our rotation. Our two smallest guys are our most athletic guards,” said Coach Bozarth. “The rest of the rotation will work itself out over the first couple months of the season but we're excited about the potential of what we can become.”

Arcola had a special season for the players and head coach Greg Gisinger.

The Purple Riders, who had high expectations heading into 2023-24 season, exceeded what most experts believed.

Coach Gisinger, who was honored as the ABV 1A “Coach of the Year,” guided the team on a brilliant second half of the season march.

After a first game loss to host of the Dieterich Holiday Tournament, the Purple Riders closed the regular season by winning 16 of 17 games.

The entered the postseason a decided underdog in the regional at Okaw Valley.

But Arcola was up to the task, putting together wins over CHBC, host Okaw Valley and then shocked the state by topping the state's top ranked team, Effingham St. Anthony to win the regional, 57-52 in overtime.

A win over Webber Township in the first round of the sectional got the Purple Riders to the sectional championship game where the run ended with a defeat to Centralia Christ Our Rock Lutheran, 49-39.

The book closed at 27-7, a memorable campaign.

Although four seniors were lost to graduation (Gerardo Alanis, Tyson Lewis, Jackson Miller, and Ryan Lindstrom) the rest return including ABV First Team All-South selection Braden Phillips, a 6-4 senior.

Phillips scored 14 points and pulled down nine rebounds per game as a junior.

Other returning starters include 5-11 senior Tanner Thomas and 5-10 sophomore Brody Phillips.

Thomas scored 12 points a night while dishing out three assists a game to go with six rebounds per outing.

Coach Gisinger will count on some others moving up.

Five-nine junior guard Canton Wesch, 6-3 junior Brevyn Whisman, 6-2 sophomore Remi Roberts and 6-1 senior DJ Stevens are in the picture.

We lost good players off of the Sweet 16 team from last year but feel like we have a good core back and have some other guys ready to step up,” said Coach Gisinger. “I'm not sure what this teams ceiling is, but if we reach it, we could be a tough out come postseason.

Waterloo Gibault Waterloo Gibault and head coach Dennis Rueter will look to reload, or rebuild, for another 1A postseason, heading into 2024-25.

The Hawks, a metro-east area powerhouse, won the state title two seasons ago and lost in the sectional title game last March to Mounds Meridian.

They said goodbye to seniors Gavin Kesler and Kanen Augustine, who were mainstays on the past three seasons of success including the 2022-23 state championship.

An actual independent, this program plays a tough schedule each year which keeps the Hawks prepared for February.

Other seniors gone are Konnor Cartee, Blake Powers, Andy Altes and Alonzo McIntosh from the 21-15.

Ryan Biffar, a 6-1 senior, and 6-1 senior Michael Wessel were involved in significant minutes for Gibault last season.

Five-ten sophomore Jack Holston, 6-2 junior forward Jai Lavington, and 6-3 senior Payton Schaefer will have work to do as the season begins.

Cairo has a new outlook heading into the 2024-25 season.

The song in question is entitled “Starting Over.”

Coach Smith lost to graduation nearly everyone from last season's 10-21 club.

The Raiders dropped their final eight contests of the season, losing to Okaw Valley 63-31 in the first game of the Okaw Valley 1A Regional.

But this coach has been around long enough to rebuild which is what is in store for the program this winter.

Seniors missing this season from 2023-24 include Maddix Pain, Gavin Houchins, Hunter White, Drew Damery, Carter Thomas, Hayden Sams, and Kaden Piersall.

But this coach and staff are optimistic because they had a pretty good junior varsity season last winter which could translate into a more productive varsity campaign.

Six-three sophomore Ace Spinner came off the bench for the Raiders last season and has the most experience of the returning players.

Senior Paul Brown, a 6-3 forward, returns as does 6-5 junior Briston Sims.

Coach Smith is looking for contributions from both of those kids.

Central A&M will have some youngsters ready to take the varsity plunge.

Kadyn Higgins, a 5-9 sophomore guard, returns as will 5-9 classmate Talon Rhodes.

Six-one sophomore guard Emett Stenger was mentioned along with 6-2 sophomore forward Dawson Templeton.

Max Taylor, a 5-11 sophomore forward, is also among the eligible players to give the team added depth.

Coach Smith mentioned a pair of freshmen; 5-10 guard Rhett McLain and 6-foot freshman guard Victor Ravelo.

“We had a very good summer and were more than competitive. We are anxious to get our program headed back in to a place where we can compete for regional and sectional titles,” said Coach Smith.

This might be the season that Glen Carbon Father McGivney finds a way to get back over the .500 mark.

Coach Cory Clouser heads into his second season after the Griffins finished 12-20 last season, which included a 53-44 first round loss to Edwardsville Metro-East Lutheran at the Madison Regional.

Only two seniors, Noah Garner and Ryker Keller, departed in the spring so Coach Clouser has kids to work with heading into the season.

Chase Jansen, a 6-3 junior forward, averaged 7.1 points a game last season while 5-9 senior guard David Carroll ended up with 7.3 p.p.g.

Both are back with the most varsity experience.

Six-two junior forward Owen Kolesa will be looking for varsity time as well as 6-1 sophomore forward Will Rakers.

Aiden Willis, a 6-2 sophomore center, and 5-9 guard Carson Barone 5'9 Sophomore Guard

All look to expand on their roles from last season as they played mostly JV last season.

After being injured all of last season with an ACL injury, 6-foot junior forward Tyler Jacobs is back for the Griffins.
Landon Hall, a 6-foot junior guard, and 6-2 freshmen Brendan Kayser and Noah Chleboun will also add to the competition for PT.

“Hope to continue to grow the program. Now that double digit wins are the expectation, we want to make winning seasons the expectation,” said Coach Clouser, who heads into his second season in command. “We will be a very good shooting team. We have several high IQ players. The core of our team is really starting to buy into basketball and really commit. We are still a very young team with our only senior being David Carroll, but he will play a big role. We've beefed up our staff and schedule as we grow the program. This year we are in the Mater Dei Holiday Tournament for the first time.”

Getting off to horrendous start wasn't in the game-plain for head coach Chad Ambuehl and his Maryville Christian Lions.

The early season contests were like being 'thrown to the lions' as his team went through the first half of the season 2-12 and ended up 5-27 with a 74-50 loss to Madison to close out a quick postseason stay.

But the team showed signs of improvement late in the season and there is renewed optimism for the coaches and players.

Logan Schwenk, a 6-5 senior forward, was the only senior from last season who is missing so everyone returns as they look to get off to a good start.

Coach Ambuehl mentioned three returning players who have experience.

Six-two senior forward Levi Gray is one of the returning players.

Two junior guards; 6-foot Cade King and 5-9 Judah Amsden return.

Six-foot junior Dillon Paul and 6-foot sophomore Gavin Ambuehl return for the Lions, who are looking for a much better beginning of 2024-25 than last season.

“We will have a younger team working through multiple players that don't have much varsity experience. Our goal is to be as competitive as possible in a difficult conference and work towards great improvement during the second half of the season,” said Coach Ambuehl.

Nokomis and head coach Dan DeWerff headed into the 2023-24 season with some optimism of carrying over the success from the season earlier the finished up 27-7.

However the Redskins ended up a game under .500 at 16-17 with a 45-33 loss to Effingham St. Anthony at the Okaw Valley Regional semifinals.

Six seniors are missing from that club, including ABV first team all-south player Reece Lohman.

Kennedy DeWerff, Mason Stauder, Saint Newman, Maddux Himes and Brody Steele also hit the bricks, leaving just a few kids with varsity experience heading forward.

However the team closed the season winning five of six games before the St. Anthony loss.

The ones coming back will need to continue the improvement.

Ian Keller, a 6-2 senior forward, missed his junior season with a broken wrist but is back healthy now according to Coach DeWerff.

Keller was a strong defender as a sophomore and he will help lead the Redskins.

Six-three senior Drake Taylor is the only returning starter for Nokomis.

Taylor added some points and rebounds to the club as a junior.

Another 6-3 senior, Atticus Bertolino, looks to move up.

Carter Wexstten, a 5-9 sophomore, led the junior varsity in scoring as a freshman.

Kannon Jones, a 5-11 sophomore, came off the bench for the varsity last season as the squad had a good summer for Coach DeWerff.

This mentor mentioned some others.

Junior guards Blain Goodwin, Kadynn Petty, Glavine Himes and junior post player Daryl Evans will look for playing time.

Sophomores Kannon Jonas, Carter Wexstten and Konner Reynolds are newcomers to the varsity roster.

“No one on the roster has ever been asked to provide varsity scoring on a consistent basis. That is something we'll figure out in practice and in the early part of the season. Our defense and rebounding should be pretty solid though based off the size and athleticism we have coming back. Hopefully we can figure it out sooner rather than later,” said Coach DeWerff, who played at Nokomis and took over the program four seasons ago (74-43).

Considering that the Okaw Valley Timberwolves lost their first four games of the season, the turnaround from that point on through the end of 2023-24, Coach Kyle Pierce, his assistants and his players should be commended on a turnaround.

The Timberwolves ended up going 19-8 after the beginning, 12-3 down the stretch before losing to Lincoln Prairie Conference rival Arcola in the 1A regional semifinals at Okaw Valley.

Two of the defeats were at the hands of the Purple Riders, who eventually reached a sectional championship game.

Only two seniors; Gibson Dickens and Dylan Miller, were lost due to graduation.

The rest are back, including three starters.

Six-one junior Braden Montgomery was first team all-LPC last season as a sophomore.

Three others with experience are from the senior class.

Six-foot Grady Sparks, 5-10 Chase Creviston and 6-foot Cameron George are experienced kids.

Coach Pierce mentioned some others hungry for playing time for the Timberwolves, which is a consolidation of schools from Bethany and Findlay that happened before the 2001-02 school year.

Six-one Seth Forlines returns along with 6-1 Camdem Mitchell and 5-10 Parker Spellman are seniors as is 6-foot Dalton Vanuasdoll.

Wyatt Hildabrandt, a 6-3 junior, and 6-foot junior Tucker Montgomery were also on the list.

“We return three everyday starters and one other guy that shared the fifth starter roll in 2023-2024. Also returning are four upperclassmen that gave us solid minutes last year. Coming into 2023-2024 season, we replaced nearly all the scoring and the minutes from the year prior, which resulted in early season struggles and streaky play at times. We're looking forward to having more consistent play this season and a deeper bench with several guys that have had plenty of varsity experience,” said Coach Pierce.

Coach Cory Arentsen and his Knights run quite a gauntlet of contests each season and 2024-25 won't be any easier.

The won-loss mark of all the opponents last winter ended up 500-286 (63-percent) with 12 games played against teams with at least 20-wins and one who had 30.

Only three of the teams, all wins, were against teams who were below .500.

The end result was a 15-17 mark and a loss to Nashville in the first round at the Breese Central Regional.

The Knights graduated senior Drake Wagner, an ABV first team all-south selection, along with senior Nick Lampe, Garrick Winkeler and Luke Haake.

Coach Arentsen has 11-players he mentioned with varying degrees of experience heading to 2024-25.

Six-five senior Elliott Rakers is a returning starter who started all 32-games as a junior.

He averaged 5.1 points and 5.5 rebounds last winter.

Luke Brefeld, a 6-2 senior, added a few points last winter for the Knights coming off of the bench.

Six-two senior guard Conner Diekemper is a physical player according to Coach Arentsen.

Four other seniors have upsides.

Six-four forward Jared Hemker looks for more minutes as will 5-8 point guard Nolan Goebel.

Ben Pollmann, a 6-5 senior, is a expected to continue to improve around the basket.

The football team's quarterback, 6-1 senior Chase Jansen, returns for BMD.

Six-foot senior Chandler Toennies is among the suitors for minutes.

There there is the matter of the returning players who were hurt last season.

An ACL tear took away the sophomore season of 6-2 guard/forward Gavin Peppenhorst.

A hip injury cost 6-foot senior Carter Murphy his junior campaign, as he is also a multi-sport athlete.

One other player on the disabled list last year is Reagan Woomer, a 5-11 junior, who got hurt in practice before the 2023-24 season (ACL tear).

“I'm excited and encouraged by what I saw in the summer. We still weren't fully healthy in the summer, but as it stands, we're full strength. I'm optimistic on our depth and look forward to seeing our guys compete. Before his ACL tear in the summer of 2023, Gavin Peppenhorst was going to be a starter as a sophomore. Him returning, along with the other two, is nice to have,” said Coach Arentsen, who is 50-46 in his three previous seasons coaching his alma mater.

It was a season of losing streaks for Cumberland as they dropped seven games in a row at one point and only twice did the win consecutive games.

But with only two seniors missing from last season, the Pirates could show improvement heading into the 2024-25 season.

Blake McMechan and Zack Buescher were the only seniors from last season.

Coach Roedl has four starters back for Cumberland as they host their own Thanksgiving Tournament to begin the season.

The team will have some athleticism returning and also some size to contend with a pretty salty schedule.

Five-eleven sophomore Cameron Roedl, who excels running long distance races, also plays some basketball for his father.

Kaleb Bierman, a 6-2 senior, and Kelby Bierman, a 6-1 junior, return for the Pirates as does 6-7 junior Zach Harmon.

Coach Roedl mentioned four others who will vie for time on the floor.

Five-ten juniors Reed Miller and Kade McMechan along with sophomores; 5-10 Chase Stewart and 6-1 Isaac Venatta.

“We return 4 starters (eight of our top nine) including seven letter winners from a team that finished 11-19 last year,” said Coach Roedl. “I am excited to see where we go as we return a ton of kids with lots of varsity experience that have gotten bigger and stronger over the summer. We are still going to be relatively young with only 1 senior with varsity experience but the potential for a good year is there.”

This will be the final season for Cumberland in the Lincoln Prairie Conference as they will join the National Trail Conference in all sports except football beginning in 2025-26.

Despite losing three seniors to graduation, the St. Joseph-Ogden Spartans, as is the norm, are contenders for collecting postseason hardware every year.

This winter will be no exception as head coach Kiel Duval (128-45 in eight seasons) has kids returning from a squad that lost a heartbreaking 61-55 overtime decision to Teutopolis at the 2A Shelbyville Sectional championship game.

It was the third consecutive regional title for SJO and the program's history has 20 such trophies to go with three sectional titles and a state championship from 2015-16.

St. Joseph-Ogden lost seniors Logan Smith, Tanner Jacob and Luke Landrus to graduation.

But the rest return for what should be another successful run towards the normal goals that get set at programs of this ilk.

Six-foot senior guard Coy Taylor has been around the block for this coach and program, as he has earned varsity letters (four) in his time spent with the program.

He averaged 10 points a game as a junior.

Six-five senior Tanner Siems was the top rebounder for the Spartans while adding 12.6 points a game.

Coach Duval hopes that those numbers will go up in 2024-25.

Collin Thomey, a 6-3 senior, was the first off the bench last season for SJO and will play a bigger part of the lineup this season.

Five-ten junior Ryker Lockhart is a point guard for the Spartans while Parker Fitch, a 6-3 junior, can play forward or guard.

Lockhart is another of the multi-sport athletes in the crew.

Coach Duval has others to work with.

Six-two sophomore Kaden Wedig is moving up from last season.

Tim Blackburn-Kelley, a 6-foot junior, and 5-10 juniro Will Haley will be a part of the club that will also play important roles in the success of this season.

“This group will be able to surprise some teams because of their athleticism. Will go through ups and downs in finding consistent outside shooting with two of the better shooters on the team graduating,” said Coach Duval. “This group should improve tremendously as the year goes on. We play a very tough schedule, so hopefully getting challenged early will make us that much better come postseason time!”

The Wooden Shoes took out the Rockets, 48-39 in the semifinals at the Shelbyville Sectional.

The Rockets, a football power who reached the 3A semifinals, appear to have another strong team to challenge for another postseason run.

Unity is a member of the Illini Prairie Conference, a 10-team league that had eight squads over .500 last season and four clubs won 20+ games.

Coach Matt Franks has some kids returning from the 26-5 team after losing five seniors to graduation.

Andrew Thomas, Eric Miebech, Henry Thomas, Dalton O'Neill and Jay Saunders left in the spring.

The sophomore class has moved up and Coach Franks thinks they have the personnel to keep the winning going.

Six-five forwards Colten Langendorf and Dane Eisenmenger give the Rockets some size.

Tyler Henry and Brayden Henry are 5-10 junior guards while Tre Hoggard is a 6-1 junior forward.

“We have a nice core of guys returning from a team that went 26-5, won a regional title and lost to T-Town in the sectional semi-final,” said Coach Franks, who starts his second season at Unity. “It should be an exciting year for the Rockets.”