03-01-11
BY JACK BULLOCK
ALTAMONT – The Woodlawn Cardinals have made it a habit of winning regional titles since the IHSA switched the state from a two to four-class system four years ago.

Head coach Shane Witzel's club just won regional championship number four-in-a-row last Friday in beating Wayne City 39-25 at home to add yet another piece of hardware to the overflowing case at WHS.

The Cardinals – the ABV Preseason Top Team in Class 1A in the Salem Supersectional Area - stand 26-3 on the season with just three blemishes on the schedule – a loss to 3A powerhouse Breese Mater Dei; a two-point defeat to 2A Flora at the Centralia Shootout and a road loss at Okawville back in December playing short-handed.|

Woodlawn has a clear-cut and clean-cut team-leader in Dawson Verhines.

There isn't enough room on the page to explain what he has meant to this team, school and community at large.

The 6-foot-2 senior guard/forward/center, etc, can do it all and has done it all for this program for four consecutive seasons.

He is listed at 6-2 but seems so much longer and bigger than that. He is a three-sport standout playing football and baseball very well.

Six-foot-seven senior Josh Wiggs has also been a part of regional and sectional championship teams since his sophomore season.

Both Verhines and Wiggs scored 14-points each in the regional title game win.

Gabe Owens is a 6-foot-3 sophomore who has played well since stepping into a starting role this season.

As a freshman last year – Owens got some face-time on television at last year's state finals as he won the 3-point Showdown.

He is a second-generation Woodlawn player as his father Scott Owens was a big part of a successful run back in the 1980's for this program.

The extras on this club have played their roles in Academy Award style – doing what they can to help out without a lot of mistakes.

To play for this coach and this program you have to be able to defend and A.J. Webb and Christian Hollenkamp can do just that.

Webb is a 5-foot-11 junior and classmate Hollenkamp is listed a 6-foot-4. Both and contributed on both ends of the floor.

Six-foot-one sophomore Logan Isaac has also contributed to the Cardinals success story in 2010-11.

Woodlawn won three tournaments this season – the Okawville Post-Turkey Tournament with a win over the host Rockets; the Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament and the Midland Trail Conference Tournament – a tourney that they have won for three-straight seasons since joining the league.

They are the clear choice to cut down the Friday nets and head back to the Salem Class 1A Supersectional.

But first on the agenda for the Cardinals is a meeting with National Trail Conference and Egyptian Illini Conference member the St. Elmo Eagles.

Under the guidence of head coach Greg Feezel the Eagles soared past North Clay 40-35 on Friday night to win their own regional championship – the first for the school in boy's hoops since 1988 when St. Elmo finished fourth in the state.

Coach Feezel was a part of that team 23-years ago and would like to see his club make an extended journey this March.

The Eagles have been led in scoring this year by Connor Beasley - 6-foot-4 sophomore forward who is averaging some good numbers with 11.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and a pair of assists a night for St. Elmo.
Ben Sperry - a 6-foot-4 sophomore – has chipped in 8.7 points and 6.3 boards a contest for the 13-15 club.

Five-foot-nine junior guard Jake Mansker has added 8.5 points a game to go with 2.7 rebounds. Blake Pruett – a 6-foot-2 junior guard has a 4.8 points per game average while 5-foot-11 senior guard Garrett Buzzard puts up 7.6 p.p.g.

The Eagles' record (13-15) is a bit deceiving as they have won 9-of-11 games currently and have some good wins in the run over Altamont, Beecher City and Odin to claim the EIC title with an 8-0 mark.

Eight of the teams' losses have come by six points or less. St. Elmo lost a pair of games on last second shots and they finished second at their own holiday tournament.

The matchup on Tuesday night between Red Hill and Neoga is a rematch from two seasons ago at the Red Hill Sectional.

The Red Hill Salukis overall record isn't as sharp looking as some other teams (16-12) but Coach Bryan Havill's team has endured a tough schedule and are ready for the opportunity to reach their first Supersectional since 1993.

Havill has three players averaging double-figures in scoring this season.

Six-foot-three junior forward Cameron Lawson leads the way with 11 points a game for a club that finished in fourth place in the Little Illini Conference standings.

Both Matthew Young – a 5-foot-10 sophomore and 6-foot-2 senior Cameron Lewis average right at 10 p.p.g.

Robert Young – a 6-foot-2 senior – scored 19-points in a 60-41 win by Red Hill over Oblong to win the Red Hill Regional on Friday night.

Red Hill had some good showings on the 2010-11 docket – having beaten Marshall and losing to Flora, Olney and Newton by a combined seven points.

The Neoga Indians (17-12) didn't look like a regional championship caliber team ten days ago.

Picking up an impromptu game with Egyptian – the Indians were thumped by a team that drove 340 miles round trip to Neoga.

The Pharaohs hopped off the bus and thrashed Coach Jason Hanson's squad 75-52 on February 19.

As it turned out it was just the wake up call that the Tribe needed as they won a pair of games this past week at home to claim the Neoga Class 1A Regional championship with a win over fellow National Trail Conference foe Dieterich, 60-53.

Travis Cornell – a 5-foot-11 senior guard – leads Neoga in scoring at 13.6 points a game and he netted 20-points in the Friday night triumph.

Cornell is the top rebounder for the club at seven boards a game.

Five-foot-ten junior TJ Roy adds 12.6 points a game for the Indians while 5-foot-7 junior Adam Probst chips in 9.6 p.p.g.

Neoga won the Monticello Holiday Tournament back in December in beating Tuscola 46-42 in the title tilt and have wins over Altamont, Fairfield, Monticello and Blue Ridge this season with losses coming to Teutopolis and St. Anthony – both 2A powers – and a pair of losses to Windsor who is still playing this week.

Back in November – Neoga and Red Hill met in the first day of the Lawrence County Capital Classic and the Indians won 41-31.

ABV Projected Sectional Champion – Woodlawn.