TERRE HAUTE —
Some big football games are on the schedule this week in both the college and high school ranks.
In the Missouri Valley Football Conference, Indiana State and Northern Iowa share first place with 2-0 records. They’ll meet Saturday evening in the UniDome.
The Sycamores are 4-1 — losing only to Penn State — and the Panthers are 3-1, losing only to Iowa State.
UNI has not lost many conference games at home. This week would be good time for that to happen.
In Illinois, Marshall and Casey both are undefeated and ranked in the Class 2A polls. The Warriors were third last week while the Lions were seventh.
They’ll meet Friday night at Bush Stadium in Marshall and it should be as full as it can be for the action.
Casey takes a 45-game winning streak in regular-season games into the contest. Palestine-Hutsonville was the last team to beat the Warriors in 2006.
Neither team has had a close game this season. One of Casey’s victories was 48-0 over a Vincennes Lincoln team after the Alices had beaten a very good Jasper team.
In Indiana, Linton and North Central could meet in another biggie next week in the final game of the regular season.
Neither team has lost a game and both will be favored to win this week, Linton meeting Union and North Central taking on Wood Memorial.
So if they win as expected this week, they’ll be unbeaten for their game that will decide the Southwest Seven Conference title and decide which team is unbeaten and which finishes 8-1.
In a battle of ranked unbeatens last week, No. 1 Warren Central nipped No. 2 Carmel 22-20, kicking a field goal in the final seconds of the game played in Lucas Oil Stadium.
In last week’s USA Today prep poll, Warren Central was 15th nationally and second in the Midwest Region. Carmel was sixth in the Midwest.
Castle remained unbeaten with a 49-13 victory over Evansville Harrison.
In the Big Ten this week, Nebraska and Ohio State will meet this week for the first time in a conference game after both lost their openers.
The Cornhuskers ran into the powerful Wisconsin Badgers at Madison and the Buckeyes fell at home to Michigan State.
Illinois, meanwhile, rallied to remain unbeaten and go 1-0 in the Big Ten. The Illini are at Indiana this week.
• Leaders in the area — Athletes from the area continue to be among the leaders in different sports in the state.
In football, Dante Rehmel of North Central is first in solo tackles with 81 and in sacks with 14 while Cody Jeffries of Rockville is in the top 10 in return yardage with 300 in kickoff returns.
We have a feeling some other players should be listed or are close to the top 10.
In girls soccer, Christina Haag was tied for third last week in goals with 29 and Caryssa West of Sullivan was tied for second with 16 assists.
In boys soccer, Sonny Brasham of Greencastle was second in goals with 37. Tucker Smith of Sullivan was fourth with 31, Jacob Parham of Terre Haute North seventh with 28 and Nic Henderson of Terre Haute South was tied for ninth with 25.
In assists, Evan Smith of Greencastle was second with 21, Brandon Query of Greencastle fourth with 16 and Liam Beard of Sullivan fifth with 15.
• Tom-Cattin’ It — Two more basketball players have decided where they intend to play college basketball.
Nolan Berry, a 6-foot-8 junior at DeSmet High School in St. Louis, said he will go to Butler. He averaged 18.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots as a sophomore.
Brent Calhoun, a 6-8 senior at Warren Central, says he will go to Detroit, coached by Ray McCallum. One of Detroit’s current players, 6-10 Indiana transfer Eli Holman, is on indefinite leave for personal reasons.
And Delvin Roe, who has been a regular for Michigan State, has decided to quit because of knee pain.
• My Pittsburgh Pirates did not avoid another losing season — 19 in a row — but certainly were better. They won more than 70 games for the first time in several years and edged out Chicago for fourth place in the NL Central.
• The New York Times ran a story noting that it has been 60 years since Norm Van Brocklin, playing for the Los Angeles Rams, established an NFL record by throwing for 554 yards against the New York Yanks.
Tom Brady of New England earlier this season had 517 in a game.
• It was good to see Ed Carpenter win an IndyCar Series race. He’s from Marshall, Ill., you know.
That’s all folks.
Tom Reck may be contacted by telephone at (812) 232-3231, by email at tm_reck@yahoo.com or by mail at 4284 South 5th Street, Apt. 3, Terre Haute, IN 47802.
Ramblin' Reck
RAMBLIN' RECK: Big college, prep football games scheduled this weekend
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Castroneves a safe bet at Indy 500
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RAMBLIN’ RECK: A good week to be a Sycamore
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RAMBLIN’ RECK: Clauson, 22, to make rare jump from USAC to Indy 500
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RAMBLIN’ RECK: May means it’s time for some thoroughbred horse racing
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RAMBLIN’ RECK: Following the changing Illinois coaching scene
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Golf battle at Rea Park
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Retiring Casey football coaches Sinclair, Vidoni will be missed
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Big Ten tourney wide open
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Big week for preps, ISU, Rose-Hulman
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RAMBLIN' RECK: No guaranteed wins in difficult Class 2A Casey regional
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Assessing the NCAA tournament jumble
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RAMBLIN' RECK: And now, on to the next beloved winter sport
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Fox gives TH punter kudos
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Hile inducted into Hall
Indiana State grad Amy Lynn Hile will take her place in another Hall of Fame this year.
Inducted into the ISU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005, the former Sycamore standout has been named as one of the 2011 inductees into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
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RAMBLIN' RECK: It’s time now for some intraleague hoops rivalries
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RAMBLIN' RECK: A long distance relationship
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Indiana Mr. Football still has big decision to make
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RAMBLIN' RECK: No dearth of good basketball
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Big Ten-ACC challenge gets under way tonight
Conference championship football games and challenge action in basketball will make for a busy week for college teams.
Wisconsin and Michigan State will meet in the very first Big Ten football championship Saturday at Indianapolis. Kickoff is 8 p.m. and the action will be carried by Fox.
Michigan State nipped the Badgers in the regular-season contest at East Lansing. We like Wisconsin to win and earn a trip to the Rose Bowl.
Other games and picks:
SEC — LSU over Georgia on Saturday
Mid-American — Northern Illinois over Ohio U. on Friday
Pac-12 — Oregon over UCLA on Friday
ACC — Virginia Tech over Clemson on Saturday
Conference USA — Houston over Southern Mississippi on Saturday
Western Kentucky will not play for a championship but the Hilltoppers won seven of their last eight games to finish with a winning mark. That’s the same team that lost to Indiana State, you will recall.
Meanwhile, the hiring and firing already has begun with Urban Meyer coming out of retirement to accept the job at Ohio State. That was a no-brainer.
Illinois is bowl-eligible but Ron Zook is out. Ditto for Turner Gill at Kansas and apparently Dennis Erickson at Arizona State.
In basketball, the first games in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge will be played tonight. The biggie tonight is Duke at Ohio State. Miami of Florida is at Purdue and Illinois plays at Maryland.
On Wednesday, Indiana is at North Carolina State, Wisconsin is at North Carolina and Michigan State goes to Florida State.
Indiana State is at Boise State on Saturday for a Missouri Valley-Mountain West Challenge game,
It was fun and gratifying to be able to watch the Sycamores on national television as they took third in the Old Spice Classic. The team got tons of favorable publicity and comments from the three games.
And what a game for Jake Odum and his triple-double. Wow.
I I I
n White honored — Taylor White of Casey has earned academic all-state honors in Illlinois football.
White was one of the top players at linebacker and fullback and was one of the captains on the team but did not play as the Warriors lost to Morrison in the Class 2A title tilt.
He was sidelined by injury in the game against Marshall and underwent surgery.
The Warriors gave Morrison all it wanted in the final game, concluding another banner season for coach Keith Sinclair and the team.
Nice work, Warriors.
I I I
n Tom-Cattin’ It — Carmel was the only public school to win a prep football championship in Indiana and was impressive in its 54-0 victory over Penn in the 5A finale.
Other winners — all private schools — were Lafayette Central Catholic in A, Fort Wayne Luers in 2A, Indianapolis Chatard in 3A, and Indianapolis Cathedral in 4A.
n Sullivan puts its undefeated girls basketball record on the line tonight at West Vigo. Its victory over Terre Haute South last week was its first over the Braves since 1992.
n Terre Haute North grad Steve Weatherford, now punting for the New York Giants, was featured in a nice story in The New York Times on Monday.
He was singled out for his conditioning program and called the strongest player pound for pound — at 210 pounds — on the team that met the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football.
n Jim Rathman died last week at 83.
He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1960, edging Rodger Ward in a race in which there were a record 29 lead changes.
Rathman also was runner-up in the race in 1952, 1957 and 1959.
n Flora has been tabbed by one newspaper as the preseason pick to win the Little Illini Conference boys basketball championship and to make it to the Final Four.
The Wolves play Marshall, off to a 3-1 start, next week.
Tom Reck may be contacted by telephone at (812) 232-3231, by email at tm_reck@yahoo.com or by mail at 4284 South 5th Street, Apt. 3, Terre Haute, IN 47802. -
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