TERRE HAUTE — Once upon a time, Indiana State had a winning football season.
That happened back in 1996, before this writer had even thought about moving to Terre Haute to attend Indiana State.
Moving on to memories I was here to witness ...
In 2002, the Sycamores’ 5-7 record was their best since going 5-6 in 1998.
Behind honorable-mention All-America quarterback Julian Reese and fleet-footed Soso Dede at running back, coach Tim McGuire’s team came within a 20-12 loss to Illinois State in the season finale of finishing with a .500 record.
Despite the season-closing loss, the program seemed to be capable of building on that season.
Things have obviously turned sour for the Sycamores, who have lost 31 of their last 32 games, including last year’s 0-11 record.
The signing of highly touted quarterback prospect Calvin Schmidtke earlier this week has given the Sycamores that rare recruit that people around town can talk about. And hopefully the numbers fans talk about next year are a 60-plus completion percentage and not Schmidtke’s blood-alcohol content after another off-field incident.
More importantly, the 15th-rated quarterback in this year’s high school class, according to scout.com, could help make the Sycamores a winner sooner than we previously thought.
“That’s great to get a guy like that,” said the aforementioned Reese when hearing the news Thursday.
Reese is currently in the middle of an outstanding individual season for the Amarillo Dusters of arenafootball2. He plans to make a trip to Terre Haute for homecoming this fall. Reese said he former teammates such as wide receiver Chris Lewis have discussed making their first homecoming trip.
The new coaching staff is the main reason for Reese’s optimism for his alma mater.
“I’m real excited, especially with coach [Shannon] Jackson coming back [as defensive coordinator],” Reese said. “He’s a guy who played there; I was real excited when I saw that. Plus he’s a great guy, and he’s from Fort Wayne.”
Reese is also from Fort Wayne, a city that will have a chartered bus full of Reese’s family and friends making the long trek to Amarillo, Texas, next month.
Reese will celebrate his 27th birthday on July 23 and will marry Erica Mims three days later. Mims, a middle school teacher and high school track coach, was introduced to Reese at church and is the sister of one of Reese’s teammates during his first stint in Amarillo.
Reese led the Dusters to a championship in the Intense Football League in his first season in 2004 as the multi-talented quarterback ravaged defenses with his running and throwing ability. The Amarillo squad was invited to join Arena2 the following season, and Reese moved on to another Arena2 team.
This season, Reese is trying to help the Dusters scramble into the playoffs. Amarillo takes a 5-7 record into Saturday’s home game against defending league champion Tulsa.
The Dusters got off to a 3-1 start, but suffered a four-game losing streak midway through the season.
Reese has run for 200 yards and two touchdowns, while passing for 2,071 yards and 41 touchdowns.
“The individual stuff is good, but I’m a team guy. We should have more wins,” Reese said. “We’re trying to regain that momentum that we had early on the season.”
Reese is hoping to work his way up to the Arena Football League. Two torn ACLs in his left knee in the past two years have proved costly to Reese’s career progress.
But he loves the arena-style game.
“It’s a fast-paced game, high-scoring, it goes fast, you get to throw the ball a lot,” he said. “For me, I’m a little bit of a runner. If they get me out of the box, I can make a couple plays with my feet.”
Reese is also pondering the possibility of entering the coaching business. For now, he has started a recruiting business called Future College Athlete Association. Log on to www.fcaarecruiting.com or e-mail Reese at fcaa13@hotmail.com.
Craig Pearson can be reached by e-mail at craig.pearson@tribstar.com or by phone at (812) 231-4356.
Given to Fly
June 26, 2008
Former ISU QB gets back to Amarillo
- Given to Fly
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GIVEN TO FLY: ISU women have solid recruiting class
The caliber of athletes that the Indiana State women’s basketball coaching staff is bringing in is on an upswing.
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GIVEN TO FLY: Major leaguers John, Dorsett meet up at tonight’s game
Terre Haute’s only two big leaguers of the last 50 years — Tommy John and Brian Dorsett — will catch up with one another today.
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FOOT NOTES: Valley natives perform well on national stage
Several Wabash Valley natives continue to shine on the national track and field scene.
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'Til It's Over: Sycamores ‘in a good place,’ but searching for more in MVC
Can Teri Moren lift Indiana State, last year’s seventh-place team in the Missouri Valley Conference, to one of the league’s contenders in her first year on campus?
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'Til It's Over: Two sets of identical twins should keep North Central baseball a contender
The last high school baseball team standing in the Wabash Valley was the North Central, the Thunderbirds falling short 4-3 in the Class A Semistate on Saturday just one game shy of Victory Field.
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'Til It's Over: Jarvis, Anderson confident Olney, hard work leads to Division I dream
Olney, Ill., population 8,000-plus and known for its population of white squirrels, might not be the dream destination for high school basketball players in Indiana.
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'Til It's Over: Robinson 7-footer more focused in postseason; 6-foot Jones keeps producing
Robinson 7-footer Meyers Leonard is not going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA some day, but his odds of reaching the league are pretty solid if his game continues to evolve as it has during high school.
- 'Til It's Over: ‘Stepping stone’ game points Sycamores in right direction Whether the win comes against a top-25 team or a conference pushover, ending a four-game losing streak is always a relief.
- 'Til It's Over: Indianapolis ISU recruit rolling along in senior season As Indiana State recruit Anna Munn approached Christmas with the Decatur Central basketball team, the senior guard didn’t seem to need much of a wishlist.
- 'Til It's Over: Magic’s still there for '79 Sycamores For the former Indiana State players who visited the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in late November, the weekend was a chance to relive memories with teammates and see Larry Bird’s career with the Sycamores celebrated again.
- CRAIG PEARSON: North has strong history in cross country state finals Vigo County is home to just four IHSAA state championships in team sports. Most recently, Terre Haute South won girls titles in basketball (2002) and tennis (2001).
- 'Till It's Over: It’s been rough year but no need to break up Cubs' core Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry is only in the first year of a three-year contract, and aren’t back-to-back division championships enough to keep him around despite this year’s season filled with bad luck?
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'Til It's Over: Hansbrough, Hibbert give Pacers glimpse of future
You might have heard of the Indiana Pacers’ 2009 first-round draft pick. He was on the television once in a while during his four-year career at North Carolina.
- 'Til It's Over: Bertoli, Moore put on show in abundance of events “Anthony and Erica” may not have the marketing capability of “Dan and Dave,” but neither of Indiana State’s outstanding multi-event participants had let-down performances this weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
- ‘Walking wounded’: ISU seniors return to provide spark All three ISU seniors will graduate in May, and all three will be in uniform today as Indiana State battles Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals.
- Given to Fly: Northview standout runner Thacker coming to ISU Doc Brown told an old-timer in a saloon in “Back to the Future III” that despite having automobiles in the future people run for recreation.
- Given to Fly: Schilli’s Rodman-like performance aids ISU With Indiana State’s women’s basketball team ranking eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference in field-goal percentage (36.5), the Sycamores need as many shot attempts as possible to maintain their standing on top of the league.
- Given to Fly: A classic in every sense of the word What tournament director and co-founder Gary Fears had in mind when creating the tournament came to fruition Tuesday. Marshall, with an enrollment of 438 students, became the smallest school to win the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic in the ninth season of the tourney.
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Given to Fly: ISU women should build confidence off strong outing
Indiana State did not pull off the monumental upset Saturday against No. 23 Kansas State, but the Wildcats are —aside from Connecticut in 2005 — the best team the Sycamores have played in the Jim Wiedie era.
- Given to Fly: ISU women's hoops team slides onto commercial radio Coach Jim Wiedie expects the Indiana State women’s basketball team to have a bit of a retro feel this season, meaning the Sycamores have the potential to get back to creating havoc with their full-court press.
- Given to Fly: ISU vets hope to prove pundits wrong Indiana State’s only two seniors were surprised to see they were picked ahead of just three Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball teams Tuesday morning.
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Footnotes: In first marathon, former Sycamore comes out a winner
Indiana State graduate Dani Prince made her debut in the event with a victory in the Columbus Marathon on Sunday.
Prince’s goal was a time under 2 hours and 50 minutes, and she ran a 2:48.56. -
Given To Fly: ISU volleyball turning things around
It was an extremely busy weekend for Indiana State athletics this weekend.
- Footnotes: Here’s hoping perfect weather is still around for Nationals in November The weather made for a perfect fall afternoon Saturday at LaVern Gibson Championship Course. For what it’s worth, the Farmer’s Almanac calls for more sunny conditions from Nov. 20-24, with the NCAA Championships falling on the 24th this year.
- Terre Haute natives cherish memories of ‘House that Ruth Built’ Yankee Stadium was packed as usual on Easter Sunday in 1979. George Steinbrenner’s Yankees were one loss away from being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers to start the season. That was no way for the two-time defending World Series champions to perform, so the boss had a conversation with his new veteran left-handed starting pitcher prior to the game.
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Footnotes: Oregon men and women have strangehold on preseason NCAA cross countryrankings
The Oregon men and women were almost both unanimous picks as the No. 1 teams in the nation in the preseason cross country national rankings released recently.
- Given to Fly: Bronze medalist has strong ISU ties One of the remarkable American medalists of this 2008 Olympics thus far also provided one of the most sparkling stories in the brief history of the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course here in Terre Haute.
- Former ISU QB gets back to Amarillo This week, Indiana State signed its most highly-touted football prospect in years, and former quarterback Julian Reese is ripping it up for the Amarillo Dusters of Arena2.
- Indiana State track sending strong group to NCAA regional Three sophomore women and three senior men lead a large Indiana State contingent of track and field athletes into the NCAA Mideast Regional this weekend at Fayetteville, Ark.
- Given to Fly: Sycamores embracing underdog role at MVC Tournament The frustration of not living up to expectations can cause problems within any sports team, from the coach down to the players at the end of the bench.
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