TERRE HAUTE —
With only one week of the IHSAA football state tournament in the books, the Wabash Valley is down to three possibilities for a sectional championship heading into tonight’s second-round games.
n In Class 5A Sectional 6, No. 11-ranked Terre Haute North (6-4) will play host to Avon (6-4), the same school that eliminated the Patriots in 2011 and 2005, at 7 o’clock.
“The one thing that will be consistent with those two games is that both were very tight contests, very good football games [35-26 in 2011 and 38-21 in 2005],” North coach Chris Barrett assessed Thursday. “And this one will be the same way. I think what could make this different is our ability to make plays on both sides of the ball and on special teams.
“We’re a lot better football team [than North demonstrated in 2011 and 2005]. We’re a lot more sound in all three phases of the game. Our offensive and defensive lines have played extremely well, but I could say that about all of our position groups.
“With that said, Avon is very well coached [by former North assistant Mark Bless]. They’ve got a lot of good football players… Coach Bless does a great job with his teams. [Senior defensive end] Elijah Daniel, No. 90 for them, is one heckuva football player. We’re going to have to know where he is… Defensively, they just seem to bring people from everywhere. So we’re going to have to keep our poise and pick up the blitzes. And the quarterback’s going to have to make good, quick decisions.”
In his last comment, he was referring to his son/quarterback — junior Chris Barrett II — who has completed 98 of 190 passes for 1,254 yards and 11 touchdowns with nine interceptions this season.
The Patriots’ leading rushers are junior Ricky Brookins with 630 yards (three TDs) and senior Brother Scank with 572 yards (five TDs). Senior Austin Lewis is one of their top receivers with 26 catches for 397 yards.
n In Class A action, the No. 2-ranked Linton Miners (10-0) will welcome Perry Central (7-3) to their field for an 8 p.m. clash in Sectional 40. Also, No. 12 North Central (8-2) will travel north to No. 6 North Vermillion (10-0) to battle for the right to meet the Cloverdale-Attica winner for the Sectional 38 championship next weekend.
The North Central-North Vermillion matchup is interesting for a couple of reasons.
First, these same teams squared off in the regular season Sept. 8 at North Vermillion, with the host Falcons emerging with a surprisingly lopsided 48-0 triumph. Second, North Vermillion coach Brian Crabtree formerly guided North Central for six seasons — leaving the program after the 2010 campaign — and some of the Thunderbirds’ assistant coaches remain from Crabtree’s staff there.
“Most of the [North Central] kids, I worked with in the weightroom when I was there,” Crabtree told the Tribune-Star. “I think [going against North Central] was stranger the first time we played each other. Come tournament time, you want those guys to do well, but not at the expense of the guys you’re working with now.”
From the North Central perspective, second-year coach Travis Nolting said his team is “100-percent healthy now” after junior fullback Chase VanSchoyck missed last Friday’s 20-7 sectional victory over Turkey Run with a concussion suffered one week earlier.
“It’ll be tremendous [getting VanSchoyck back],” Nolting admitted. “He’s our leading rusher [with 1,773 yards in 2012] and a lot of our offense goes through him.”
Regarding tonight’s contest, Nolting stressed that the Thunderbirds — coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the second time in school history (the first time came with 8-3 marks in 2006 and 2007 when Crabtree was coach) — cannot commit nine turnovers (according to North Central statistics) the way they did against North Vermillion in the regular season if they want a chance to win or even stay close.
“They had 34 points and 75 yards of offense in the first quarter,” he recalled. “When you turn the ball over that much, it leads to problems.”
“I don’t think they played as well as they’re capable of,” Crabtree said of the T-Birds.
Meanwhile, Nolting emphasized that North Vermillion is “definitely a good team … no doubt about it.”
“We’ve got to play flawless football,” the T-Birds’ coach continued. “We can’t have turnovers.”
Nolting is probably correct. Just look at some of North Vermillion’s statistical leaders for the season.
They include junior quarterback Brayden Woodard, who has passed for 1,341 yards and 18 TDs and rushed for 1,202 yards and 26 TDs, and senior running back Kody Zumwalt, who has gained 1,293 yards on the ground with 19 rushing TDs and four receiving TDs.
“Woodard has thrown only four interceptions and he’s completed 65 percent of his passes,” Crabtree noted. “That’s pretty efficient for a high school quarterback.”
Turning to Perry Central vs. Linton, coach Steve Weber and the Miners will tangle with the same oppponent they faced to open their 2011 tournament run, which ended in the semistate, and they would be happy with a similar result — a 48-7 win for Linton.
“They’ve changed their defense around a little bit to better handle the spread offense this year,” Weber warned about the Commodores from the town of Leopold.
“As for us, we’ve played pretty well, we’ve stayed healthy and we most defeinitely hope that continues. We strive every week to outdo what we did the week before.”
High School
Terre Haute North one win from playing for sectional title
North Central visits North Vermillion, and Linton tries to stay unbeaten
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Freshman Hambrock, THS seek semistate tennis title
Having already claimed Terre Haute North Sectional and Greencastle Regional championships in girls high school tennis, Terre Haute South will try to add a semistate title to its 2013 list of accomplishments today as the Braves battle No. 25-ranked Greenwood.
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Prep roundup: South Vermillion reaches baseball sectional final
South Vermillion built an early 7-0 lead late Thursday night, then held off Owen Valley by a 10-4 score to advance to the championship game of the Class 3A West Vigo Sectional for high school baseball.
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West Vigo advances to sectional championship with walk-off win in ninth
High school baseball sectional games between West Vigo and Edgewood have had a tendency to be unpredictable over the years, but the Vikings and Mustangs outdid themselves in that area Thursday evening — and Thursday night.
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BOYS TRACK REGIONAL: North gets three winners, South two at Evansville
Terre Haute North had three winners, Terre Haute South two, and the Patriots and Braves finished second and third respectively at the Evansville Regional for boys track on Thursday at Evansville Central.
Hurdlers Cam Stewart and Cole Seward and discus thrower Lee Davis were the winners for North, enabling the Patriots to finish with 60 points to 59 for the Braves. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Martinsville adavances in Class 4A THS Sectional
Martinsville slipped past Mooresville 4-2 in the only game played Thursday in the Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional for high school baseball.
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South Vermillion pitches team to sectional title, wins for her dad
South Vermillion snapped one streak and extended another Thursday night to win Class 3A Sectional 28 8-5 over Brown County at Edgewood High School.
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Green's grand slam helps Shakamak to sectional win
Patrick Green pitched the first four innings for his seventh win of the year and made things easier for himself with a second-inning grand slam as Shakamak opened the Class A Shakamak Sectional with a 9-1 win over Clay City on Thursday.
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Rockville, Attica winners in Class A sectional baseball action
Host Rockville defeated North Vermillion and Attica came from behind to overhaul defending champion Turkey Run on Thursday in the first round of the Class A Rockville Sectional for high school baseball.
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North baseball pulls away from South in sectional opener
In high school baseball little things mean a lot, and the crack in the door doesn’t have to be open very wide.
Terre Haute North burst through that crack in the bottom of the second inning Wednesday evening at Terre Haute South, scoring seven two-out runs and going on to a surprisingly easy 12-2 victory over the host Braves. -
Blank, Mundy named McMillan Award winners
Posing side-by-side for photos following Terre Haute North High School’s Senior Awards ceremony, seniors Calvin Blank and Chanli Mundy couldn’t look more different.
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West Vigo baseball advances with 10-0 win behind Stewart's two-hitter
West Vigo got off to a good start in Class 3A high school sectional baseball action Wednesday evening at Dick Ballinger Field.
The Vikings scored four runs in the first inning of the first sectional game and went on to defeat Brown County 10-0 in five innings with Kevin Stewart hurling a two-hitter. -
Terre Haute South tennis claims regional crown
It was a lot tougher than some thought it would be, but the Terre Haute South girls tennis team won the Greencastle regional for the second year in a row Wednesday evening at DePauw University Tennis and Track Center.
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Big group of Wabash Valley boys head to Evansville looking for state berths
The top four finishers in each event from last week’s Terre Haute North, Evansville Central, Jasper and Princeton boys high school track and field sectionals will converge on Evansville Central today for regional competition.
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West Vigo comes up short against 19-9 Brown County softball
West Vigo got off to a good start but Brown County finished better in Class 3A high school softball sectional semifinal action Tuesday night at Edgewood.
The Eagles bested the Vikings 7-5 and will meet South Vermillion, a 12-7 winner over Owen Valley, for the sectional championship on Thursday starting at 6 p.m.
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Valley baseball teams have been keeping busy heading into sectionals
When high school baseball sectionals begin around the Wabash Valley today, one complaint that’s not expected to be heard from any coach is that his team has had too much time off.
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Northview powers way past Terre Haute South in sectional semifinal
Northview unleashed power rarely seen in high school girls softball Tuesday night to eliminate Terre Haute South 8-1 in the Class 4A Sectional at Martinsville High School.
The Knights hit three home runs in an eight-run third inning to reach the championship game. -
Terre Haute North dominates field at regional
Keirra Porter took first place in two individual events and helped Terre Haute North win one of its relays as the Patriots captured the Evansville Central Regional team championship in girls high school track and field Tuesday night.
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PREP ROUNDUP: South tennis cruises into regional final
Terre Haute South didn’t lose a game en route to blanking Seeger 5-0 in girls high school tennis Tuesday to advance to today’s championship match against Crawfordsville in the Greencastle Regional.
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Terry enjoys strong year with Wildcats, and still enjoying suiting up to play
South Vermillion’s Tim Terry is the longest tenured coach in Wabash Valley high school baseball as his Wildcats are set to begin sectional play Thursday against Owen Valley.
But on the Yankees, a 35-and-over team in the Terre Haute Men’s Senior Baseball League, Terry is “just a youngster” if you ask Larry Roesch, his 68-year-old teammate on the Volkers Group Yankees. -
West Vigo softball holds off nemesis Edgewood in softball sectional
Ice cream was enough of a reward Monday night after the West Vigo Vikings beat eight-time defending champion Edgewood 6-2 in extra innings in the opening game of the Class 3A softball sectional at Edgewood High School. But that’s not what Vikings want.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Shakamak's Green hits two homers in win over West Vigo
Shakamak improved to 22-3 on the season behind a complete-game effort from Brett Yeryar, and Patrick Green hit two solo home runs in a high school baseball game Monday.
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Terre Haute North offense unable to get going in loss to Mooresville
Jack Kirchner chose to give credit Monday night to Mooresville pitcher Taylor Chitwood, not to the Greg Maddux-size strike zone she seemed to enjoy.
But if there were no excuses forthcoming from Kirchner and his Terre Haute North High School softball team, it wouldn’t have been hard to find a spectator or two to come up with extenuating circumstances about the Patriots’ 4-1 loss at the Class 4A Martinsville Sectional. -
Terre Haute North looking strong going into girls track regional
Terre Haute North might need an off night for anyone to catch them in the girls track regional at Evansville Central.
The Patriots are as well-rounded as they’ve ever been, and two relay teams are state contenders with times ranking No. 2 in Indiana among times recorded all spring.
Terre Haute South, Northview and Sullivan have athletes among the contenders in multiple events as well. -
South tennis ready for potential challenge in regional
Terre Haute South and Northview take respective records of 10-5 and 11-5 into the Greencastle Regional today.
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Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
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Terre Haute South, Northview vie for tennis regional title
Terre Haute South and Northview take respective records of 10-5 and 11-5 into the Greencastle Regional today.
Coach Bill Blankenbaker’s Braves will play Seeger at 4:30 p.m., while coach Emily Goff’s Knights will take on Crawfordsville about 6 p.m. -
Vikings win in extra innings at Rockville
West Vigo scored six runs in its first two innings Saturday, then needed a ninth-inning single by Lucas Fagg to escape with a 7-6 extra-inning win in nonconference high school baseball at Rockville.
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TH South beats Northview in Big Four makeup baseball game
Terre Haute South wrapped up a share of the MIC baseball title and finished up the Big Four Classic with an 8-1 victory over Northview in less than 24 hours on Saturday morning.
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Olds pitches South to share of MIC baseball title
Friday night, winning the second game 5-0 and earning a share of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title.
Damon Olds was dominant on the mound for the Braves, striking out 14 and walking just one while pitching a three-hit shutout. -
South wins first half of doubleheader against Lawrence North
Host Terre Haute South kept its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title hopes alive — and clinched no worse than second place in the process — by downing Lawrence North 4-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night.
The second game, which started after Senior Night festivities between games, ended past the Tribune-Star deadline. - More High School Headlines
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