03/07/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - Head coach Patrick Weathers has had a pretty memorable first year as the head coach of the Nashville Hornets.

“Taking the reigns” isn't the right phrase for this season and program.

It is more like having “the keys to the Cadillac Coupe DeVille” handed to him with a full tank of premium high octane fuel.

This program, in all sports (girl's and boy's) knows how to win at all levels.

The kids on this basketball team have all been part of winning teams on the court and outside on the fields at Nashville H.S.

The same kids running the floor this winter were marching down the gridiron this past fall, getting all the way to the 2A state championship game at DeKalb.

They are pretty good on the diamond as well and they will likely be a factor in the state baseball tournament in the spring.

However the Hornets still have some hardwood work to do.

Nashville heads to SIU Arena with a 27-4 record.

After the football season cut into the early going of the hoop campaign, the shorthanded Hornets lost two games at the Mascoutah/Wesclin Tournament to Columbia and Mascoutah.

The other two defeats came on back-to-back nights in their own Nashville Invitational Tournament, losing to Breese Mater Dei (37-36) and Breese Central (51-40).

In between those defeats were winning streaks of 16-games and nine-games.

Nashville only played five teams this season that had losing records, with two of them being 3A teams Cahokia and Carbondale; both wins.

During the 16, Nashville won the Breese Mater Dei Holiday Tournament with significant victories over the host Knights, 1A regional champ Edwardsville Metro-East Lutheran, and Doss (KY.).

Doss is 24-7 currently and are slated to play in the 6th Region championship game (equivalent to Illinois Sectionals) on Tuesday night.

The also beat Pinckneyville three times during the year, with the third one coming in overtime to win the DuQuoin 2A Regional championship, 51-42.

The most recent wins were also gut-checks.

The Hornets rallied past Murphysboro, 33-30 before getting some revenge against Breese Central.

Nashville advanced to Monday night with another overtime win, 47-45 over the Cougars to snag the 2A Carterville Sectional title.

The win was the program's 12th such title.

Coach Weathers has weapons and the squad is dingy on the defensive end, giving up on average 36-points a game.

Senior guard Isaac Turner (6-4) and senior forward Saxton Hoepker (6-7) have been strong this season.

So has 5-10 senior guard Nolan Heggemeier, 6-5 senior forward Kolton Gajewski and 6-0 junior guard Carter Schoenherr.

Six-five senior Hayden Robinson comes off the Hornets' pine.

Athletically Nashville has wore teams down on the defensive end for most of the season, making up for some offensively challenged nights.

The Hornets will meet a familiar foe on Monday night.

The last two times that Nashville played in the Carbondale 2A Super-Sectional the opposition was the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes.

In 2019, the Hornets advanced to the state finals with a 41-28 win and in 2014 they took care of T-Town, 51-45 in 2014.

For Chet Reeder and his club Teutopolis Wooden Shoes, they have flown under the state radar but here they are, back in a super-sectional.

Unfortunately this round of the tournament hasn't been too kind to Teutopolis in the last several seasons.

Since head coach Ken Crawford and his club took home third place at the 2006-07 state tournament (the final tournament of the two-class era) Teutopolis has lost its last six supers.

There were two heartbreaking losses; Pittsfield on a last second shot in 2011 43-42, Normal University High, 50-49 after having an 11-point lead to begin the fourth quarter.

Also losses to Harrisburg 77-66 in 2013, Nashville 51-45 in 2014 and Breese Central 67-42 in 2016.

As mentioned in the preseason and postseason previews, in Teutopolis the first names change but the last names stay the same.

Six-foot senior Brendan Niebrugge, 6-1 senior Dylan Pruemer and 6-5 junior center Caleb Siemer have been strong throughout the campaign

Mitch Althoff, a 6-2 senior, and 5-10 senior Max Niebrugge fill the starting lineup.

Added to the resume are two wins last week, beating Alton Marquette 41-33 and then putting the hammer to Mount Carmel, 56-35 to snag yet another sectional championship for the program (13th).