TERRE HAUTE — It’s been a high school football season Mike Stiener would have loved.
Probably the toughest kid in my class at Center Grade School and Lowell High School — or at least he would have tried to convince you he was the toughest — Mike was our team MVP in football our senior year as a 130-pound guard and middle linebacker (I was in the running for LVP, but that’s another story), flew supplies into the Middle East during the first Gulf War, and is currently the pastor of a little church in the hills of northern California.
(Of the three things you know about Mike by now, see if you can guess which one surprises people the most at our class reunions.)
Mike loved football. The only thing he loved more was football in lousy weather. I still remember a practice in the rain during which Mike dove head-first into a puddle at least 15 yards long, emerging from the other end after sliding face-down all the way through it.
Mike didn’t do his own laundry, except maybe for that one week.
So Mike would have been in his element — literally — during most Friday nights this fall. My own laundry piled up pretty quickly, but I was extremely lucky; I think I only spent two halves of two different games in the press box, even though several times the rain didn’t stop until moments before the kickoff. Plenty of mud, however.
I got my comeuppance once too. Wise guy that I am, I asked the chain gang at Zionsville — my muddiest sideline of the season — why their school didn’t have artificial turf yet. They just pointed toward the other sideline; behind it was their new field being constructed, so they’ll be relatively mud-free a year from now (when it probably won’t rain at all).
My award for best-kept, least-muddy field (even after a driving rainstorm) goes to North Vermillion, by the way.
It’s been a season with its share of fun, and with the potential of two more games to go.
If all goes as planned, by this time next week I’ll have seen three of the four teams that I’d put in a tournament at Memorial Stadium (Casey, Linton, Marshall and Rockville) for small-school supremacy; saw state-championship-caliber platoons compete most weeks in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (that would be Terre Haute North’s offense and Terre Haute South’s defense); and watched West Vigo turn into an old-school running juggernaut — for one muddy night, at least.
Steve Fields, not me, saw history being made a couple of weeks ago too, when Linton won its sectional championship over North Daviess 28-24 and Dyllanne Deischer kicked four extra points.
Dyllanne is 5-foot-2, 125 pounds, has long blonde hair and has to dress in a different locker room than the rest of the Miners. Yes, in the macho town of Linton (ask me about the car parked next to mine when I went there one afternoon to interview the Miners), the game-winning points in the biggest win of the year were scored by a girl.
Pretty sure that’s a first.
It’s been a lot of fun so far, in other words. If my teams didn’t win every time … well, Mike and I can relate. Our senior year Lowell was 0-10 and neither of us was scarred for life.
And now our Red Devils are one game — one very tough game, admittedly — from their third state-championship appearance in five seasons, with one state title already in the books. The worm will turn eventually. And now, the Amey Awards for Vigo County.
• Seniors of the Year — Aaron Allen, Nicholas Andreason (He can’t be a senior yet can he? Wasn’t he the ball boy just last week?), Steven Belleu, Joe Brentlinger, Dougie Collett, Brian Counterman, Ben King, Chris O’Leary, Shawn Riggs, Luke Sappington, Antonio Theriault, Logan Valentine, Shawn Walker and Trent Walls, North; Cody Bell, Brandon Brock, Billy Byerley, Mitchell Dagnon, Nate Drada, Joe Hamblen, Alex Land, Austin Nicoson, Bryn Schwartz, Michael Sutliff, Tanner Symon and Jeromy Wilson, South; and John Burt, Nick Cramer, Aaron Hofmann, Josh Hubbard, Don Humes, Jacob Kelley, Craig Knoepfel, Dyman Lewellyn and Jesse Murphy, West Vigo;
• Juniors of the Year — Dylan Aff, Brandon Blystone, Nick Brownfield, Lance Garrett, Luke Kernstein, Cole Lydick, Dalton Mix, Dustin Montgomery, Ryan Roach and Casey Sereno, West Vigo; Jeremiah Argudia, Elijah Beard, Joel Blakely, Josiah Blakely, Doyle Bledsoe, Kevin Bracken, Logan Buske, Dustin Galenski, Nate Hutchinson, Zack Lewis, Jimmy Maxwell, P.J. Montgomery, Tommy Moore, Isaiah Myers, Nate Schuster, Tre Stephens and Aaron Sullivan, South; and Dillen Bole, Jabari Bradshaw, Maris Clark, Andrew Fox, Daniel Gabbard, Cam Grim, Dillon Hare, Chad Holler, David Knight, Jacob Lunstrum, Michael Mace and Garrett Peabody, North; .
• Sophomores of the Year — Ben Bird, Jake Clark, Harley Elkins, Matt Flesher, Nathan Gregg, Dakota Lewellyn, Chase Silcock, Jacob Soliday and Cody Thornton, West Vigo; Enreque Brown, Warren Bryant, Stewart Dagnon, Leon Hill, Tyler King, Tsali Lough and Gabe Valadez, South; and Thomas King, Tyler Lawrence and Dakota Vermillion, North.
• Freshmen of the Year — Calvin Blank, Lee Davis, A.J. Grady, Sydney Moore and Brother Scank, North; Dillon Bell, South; and Austin Wallace.
• Senior Good Guys — Jon Brainard, Nick Graham, Broc Hudson, Victor Price and Jacob Schneider, North; Braxton Collins, Joey Etling, RaShaun Lynch, Caleb Manley, Bobby McKenna and DeAndre Shaffer, South; and Chris Waller, West Vigo.
• Most Improved — Jacob Kelley, West Vigo, and Alex Land and Isaiah Myers, South.
• Injured Too Soon — Don Humes, Craig Knoepfel and Tyler Randolph, West Vigo.
• Hitters of the Year — Cody Bell, South, for the hardest; Billy Byerley, South, for frequency; and Lee Davis and Michael Mace, North, for future leaders in this category.
• Ryan’s baseball teammates (and opponents) who made good — Jake Clark, Brentin Owen, Kevin Stewart and Cody Thornton, West Vigo; and Maris Clark, David Knight, Michael Mace, Garrett Peabody and Shawn Walker, North.
Amey Takes Aim
Amey Takes Aim: Envelope please … it’s the annual Amey Awards for Valley football
- Amey Takes Aim
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Huntsville’s Stars, Havoc take back seat to GGS
The second-best thing about the Amey family’s spring-break trip to Huntsville, Ala., is that we left a lot of things on the table to do the next time we’re down there.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Rox well represented on Amey teams
If having the state finals in town makes it a successful girls high school basketball season, then certainly having a team to follow at the state finals makes it a very successful boys high school basketball season . . .
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AMEY TAKES AIM: A feeling of pride, not disappointment, comes from watching Rox play
It’s not going to come as a startling admission that I — once the rest of the local opposition has been eliminated from consideration — am an unabashed fan of whatever team the Wabash Valley sends onward in postseason high school sports competition.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: This private school plays basketball the right way
Any girls high school basketball season that ends with state championship games in Hulman Center is a pretty good one — even though I wished I’d seen Riverton Parke and Seeger knock off a couple of private schools the week before to even the public school-private school battle a little bit.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Even 2 of state’s best once had doubts
Look at them now.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Getting ready for the dance
Terre Haute North got the good news Sunday night — or did it?
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Harrowing path for state hopefuls
The bad news is that the winner of Class 4A Sectional 13 in boys basketball heads northeast instead of southeast for regional play in March — to Hinkle Fieldhouse instead of Seymour as a result of Indiana High School Athletic Association’s changes.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: A superior all-star arrangement
I don’t work on Wednesdays, so I wasn’t able to attend the first Wabash Valley Football Coaches Association draft last week to set up the annual all-star game that will be June 23 this year.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: The biggest & baddest of a holiday classic
There are more things to love about the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic than could fit in this newspaper, but one of this year’s best things was that for an hour or so on Wednesday, it was Justin Paddock’s world and we were just living in it.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Taking note of ISU’s latest football win
The biggest difference I’ve noticed, as I transition from the high school football beat to quasi-official status as the Indiana State football beat writer for a few weeks, is the length of the games.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: IHSAA playoff draw not as bad as it could have been
First reaction to the Indiana sectional football pairings drawn late Sunday by the Indiana High School Athletic Association? It could have been a lot worse.
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ANDY AMEY: Between the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & a hard place
Just in case any of you noticed — with some anticipation — the recent lack of my bylines, I can tell you that your wish (and mine) did come true. It was vacation week for the Amey family.
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Amey Takes Aim: UFC fighter’s bloodines traced back to ISU brothers
As a mild-mannered reporter from a great metropolitan newspaper — or thereabouts — I admit I haven’t paid much attention to the burgeoning mixed martial arts scene.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Predators’ win is music to new fan’s ears
For many, many years, the number of live games televised on WGN has been cited as perhaps the main reason for the popularity of the Chicago Cubs (it’s got to be something besides masochism, right?).
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AMEY TAKES AIM: You’ll be having a good ol’ time on vacation with the Ameys
When one of the first people you meet is Tammy Wynette’s stepdaughter, when you’ve stepped on the feet of people you haven’t met while trying to navigate Ernest Tubbs’ old Silver Eagle tour bus, and when the activities director of your resort is, well, Elvis, you might be vacationing in Nashville.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: The Annual All-Amey basketball teams close out the prep season
The most encouraging boys high school basketball event I’ve attended so far in 2011 has been the Lafayette Semistate a couple of weeks ago.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Family remembers Cheryl Weatherman as caring grandmother
As far as Riley and Keely Davis are concerned, Cheryl Weatherman was simply their grandmother, and a pretty darn good one at that.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Honor to see Turkey Run girls close out memorable career
I don’t know if anyone in this part of the state could actually say they enjoy going to Fort Wayne and back, but I was glad to see the Turkey Run Warriors play one last time during the girls basketball state finals Saturday.
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So many matches, so many favorites
Go ahead, ask me anything about the 224 wrestlers who competed last week at the Indiana state finals — or at least about the 112 wrestlers who survived Saturday’s first round.
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ANDY TAKES AIM: A sportwriters’s lament: Oh, the games we missed
I was already tired of winter by the time that first bitterly cold snap passed through in mid-December, so it’s safe to say the season hasn’t grown on me.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Time of the season for teams to tough it out
In the last month or so I figure I’ve seen at least four boys high school basketball teams with legitimate state-championship dreams as the season heads into its dog days.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: It's the fall 2010 Amey Awards
I won’t get to know the kids from Casey and North Putnam until they come to Terre Haute in droves next June for the Wabash Valley Football Coaches Association All-Star game, so I guess it’s not too early for the high school football awards from this space.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: An early look at Indiana prep football playoffs
I wasn’t at all surprised to watch Linton pick up a 20-point win over previously unbeaten North Knox in high school football last Friday, one week after the Miners had lost by 40 to North Daviess.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Baseball season rounding third for an exciting ending
Major League baseball is coming down to an interesting week for the National League, then a couple of interesting weeks for the American League.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Look for me in the yellow shirt
I won’t be wearing pink or blue tonight for the Terre Haute South-Terre Haute North volleyball match at North, but I’m anticipating that plenty of you will be.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Little QB had big moments in ISU blue
You won’t find his name easily in the Indiana State record book, but for my money the best quarterback the Sycamores have ever had was Verbie Walder.
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Amey Takes Aim: Biggest baseball pet peeve … Nibbling
Having seen some outstanding baseball — and some not-so-outstanding baseball — at literally every level of play this spring and summer, I have identified what without a doubt is my main pet peeve with the sport. Nibbling. I’m not referring to popcorn or pretzels or nachos or cheese sticks or corn dogs or snow cones or candy or ice cream. Those can also be a serious problem — particularly if the kids are with me — but one that can be solved by simply running out of money.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Head to the high seas: Ameys’ vacation cruise
It’s good to be king. Abdication? Not so good.
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World Cup replaces void opened when Stanley Cup ended
It’s niche sports day here at the Tribune-Star, so we’ll start with a test of how much you learned while watching the recent National Hockey League season.
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Win or lose, a softball season to remember
Well, this is awkward. I’m writing this late Monday night, with my Tuesday and Wednesday days off in the future, not knowing entirely how happy I am with state-finals softball.
- More Amey Takes Aim Headlines
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AMEY TAKES AIM: Huntsville’s Stars, Havoc take back seat to GGS
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Patz Suspect's Sister: I Went to Police in 1980s
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Romney Campaigns Ahead of Claiming Nomination
Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face
Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington Cemetery
Man in Crane at Texas College Says He's Armed
Obama Honors Medal of Freedom Recipients
Raw Video: Deadly Explosion at Minn. Paper Mill
Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report
White House: No Military Intervention in Syria
Police Probe Similarities in 2 Disappearances
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Panetta: Asia the 'Project' for New Navy Grads
Even Fla. Police Shocked by Face-Mauling Attack
Romney Promises World's Strongest Military
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
Couple doesn’t let tropical storm ruin their big day
Tori Bares Baby Bump in Monokini
Letterman on Family Life Post-Scandal
Evans: Serena in shock
Pregnant Reese Wears LBD
Volcano covers Colombian cities in ash
Meet the Crew and Good Ship 'Prometheus'
Los Angeles Bar Bans Bachelorettes
Hamster Plays Dead
Beyonce Shows Off 60 Pound Weight Loss at Concert
Drunk Women Breaking Into Houses: A New Trend?
LeAnn Rimes Rocks Short Shorts
Gordon Ramsay Carried Off Field
Man Dies Getting Lap Dance
Kim Kardashian Claims Items Stolen from Her Luggage
Bear cools off in Calif. family's pool
Ep. 3: Chopped Desserts
Air Force dad surprises family at baseball game
