BLOOMINGTON — Kellen Lewis didn’t even see the final play as he hugged Jane Hoeppner and then ran out on the field, sprinting nowhere in particular. The student section stormed the field, creating a large mass of people radiating around the state of Indiana painted on the 50-yard line.
Memorial Stadium had a sellout crowd for the Purdue game for the first time since 1989, creating post-game traffic jams three hours after the game was over. Austin Starr — the game’s hero — found himself holding the Old Oaken Bucket aloft as students chanted his name.
Marcus Thigpen basked in the mayhem, never believing he would see a scene like this at Indiana. James Hardy rode on the shoulders of several fans, shaking hands with students like a beloved politician running for president. Senior fullback Josiah Sears held the Bucket for the first time in his career as Hoosier fans stretched for a small brush with the celebrated trophy.
Indiana coach Bill Lynch said it was great to see a post-game locker room where players were crying — out of joy.
In the words of Jane Hoeppner, Saturday was Terry Hoeppner’s legacy. Indiana likely fulfilled its former coach’s exhortation to “Play 13” as the Hoosiers will probably play in a post-season bowl for the first time since the 1993 Independence Bowl after their 27-24 victory over Purdue on Saturday. Indiana (7-5, 3-5) defeated Purdue (7-5, 3-5) for the first time since 2001.
“[Terry] would be so proud of those kids,” Lynch said after the game. “Jane put the “I” in the bucket in the locker room after the game. Terry loved Bucket week. He loved the rivalry and loved every part of it.”
After drilling the game-winning kick, Starr said the first thing he thought of was Hoeppner and pointed toward the heavens. After the game, he found Hoeppner’s daughters and told them that this win was for their father. Even as the fans chanted his name, Starr quickly began chanting “Terr-y Hoep-pner” to recognize the man he considered to be the game’s hero.
Hoeppner’s legacy won’t be complete until the Hoosiers find out if they make a bowl. Given the state of flux surrounding the top college football teams, it likely wouldn’t be announced until the BCS games are announced on Dec. 2. Representatives of the Motor City Bowl and Insight Bowl were present Saturday.
Lynch said he hasn’t given any thought to where Indiana might end up, but believes that Saturday’s win set the tone for the program.
“It’s the next step. I think that’s the biggest thing. We have seven wins and a winning record,” he said. “We felt all along that this was a better football team, but you have to prove it on the field. I think getting the Bucket back is huge. The seniors have not seen it in the complex, so this is big in the program.”
I I I
n Lewis — Lewis played a strong game, going 23-for-39 for 216 yards and a touchdown while running for two more.
“He’s more effective, I think, in ad-libbing off a broken play than he is running the option,” Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. “When he takes off back there and scrambles and runs around and you’re playing pass coverage that makes it very difficult.
But Lewis’ most important contribution ended with a field goal.
The sophomore quarterback went 6-for-7 for 44 yards in Indiana’s final drive, culminating with Starr’s career-long 49-yard field goal with 30 seconds remaining.
It wasn’t the first time this season Lewis had the ball late in the game with a chance to win. He fumbled the ball with 40 seconds left in a 36-31 loss to Penn State and fumbled with 12 seconds remaining last week in a 31-28 loss at Northwestern.
“We played with confidence (on the final drive),” Lewis said. “Our attitude was lets go out there and win the game.”
n Thigpen — Sears and fellow running back Bryan Payton were injured in the first quarter, leaving only Thigpen and Trea Burgess for the Hoosiers. Thigpen was all that they needed.
The lightning quick junior ran the ball 19 times for a career-high 140 yards, routinely gashing the Purdue defense as the offensive line opened gaping holes.
“It didn’t seem real to see holes that big,” Thigpen said.
n Lynch — Lynch doesn’t know if he will be back as head coach next year. He has a one-year contract and would only say that he wanted the job and expected to have conversations about his future in the coming weeks.
He has a vote of confidence from Jane Hoeppner, who said she “absolutely” hopes that Indiana hires Lynch on a more permanent basis.
“Apparently Terry’s role was to lay the foundation,” Jane Hoeppner said. “Continuity is so important for these kids and Bill has done such a great job. [The players] have played their hearts out.”
But even if Lynch isn’t brought back, he capped his tenure off with an unforgettable game and will enjoy it.
“We are going to go to the banquet and celebrate and its going to be great to see the Bucket at the head table,” he said.
n Powers — Senior quarterback Blake Powers, who lost the starting job to Lewis last year, got one last play in for his career.
On fourth-and-one from the Purdue 43 with under two minutes remaining in the first half, Powers lined up at quarterback and snuck ahead for two yards and the first down. He ran off the field to high fives as
Lewis returned and drove the Hoosiers down the field for an eight-yard touchdown pass to Hardy.
“Blake’s a good quarterback … and a big strong guy,” Lynch said. “He did a great job and made as big of a yard as we needed for the game.”
Softball Scene
Hoosiers may have fulfilled Hoeppner’s legacy
- Softball Scene
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Swingers win state title
The Swingers from Greencastle double-dipped Carlisle Plaza 10-7 and 8-6 to win the ASA coed novice state title in Lafayette last weekend.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Brent D. Long Tournament a success on and off field
Somebody forgot to tell the Tykal’s American team that they weren’t the favorite in the Brent D. Long Tournament last weekend at Spencer Field.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Team Bud takes third at coed state tourney
Following last week’s news that local softball fortunes had improved with Crawlworks/All American Auto Repair’s seventh-place finish in the Amateur Softball Association men’s Class D state finals, this weekend’s news is even better.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Wabash Valley slowpitch team takes seventh at state
News from the state softball front has improved as a result of Crawlworks/All American Auto Repair’s seventh-place finish in the ASA MSP Class “D” state tournament this past weekend. With their finish, this is the first local team with a .500-or-better record in state tournament play.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Tough tournament trail
Results from various ASA state tournament play continue to trickle in and unfortunately for local softball interests, they are disappointing. The combined record for the Outkast men’s team and the Ladies Last Call women’s team was one win and four defeats.
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Valley softball teams fail to impress in ASA tourneys
“Disappointing” might be the operative word to describe the outcome for Wabash Valley softball efforts in the ASA men’s slowpitch Class D (North) and men’s slowpitch Class E (North) state tournaments last weekend.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Copeland’s wins its first Show-Me’s coed tournament
Results are in for the Show-Me’s coed city softball tournament and Copeland’s are the new champions.
The eight-team affair was divided into two four-team pools, with the pool winners matched in the championship game. -
SOFTBALL SCENE: Valley squad wins Bedford tourney, series titles
This past weekend the Crawlworks/All American Auto Repairs squad ventured to Bedford to participate in another leg of the Tanel 360/Dudley Challenge Series. In doing so, Crawlworks/All American Auto Repair not only captured the tourney title but also annexed the season-long series title.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Sign-up now under way for city slowpitch championship
Arrangements for the Show-Me’s city slowpitch softball tournaments have been completed and interested teams are encouraged to sign up.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: The talent ladder for local softball
I would like to open this week’s column with a “thank you” to Tribune-Star sportswriter David Hughes for his excellent article featuring local softball star Kevin Kull, which ran in Wednesday’s paper.
The article, which chronicled Kull’s rapid rise to prominence, was a much-discussed topic around the ballpark Wednesday and Thursday evenings. In addition, it provided me with an idea for this week’s installment of “Softball Scene.” -
SOFTBALL SCENE: Teams give some pep to area men’s softball
Wabash Valley softball action picked up briefly at Spencer Field last Saturday as four men’s slowpitch squads competed in tournament play.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Coed slowpitch softball tourney raises money for cancer research
Last weekend, Hamilton Center and the Terre Haute Parks and Recreation Department co-hosted a co-ed slowpitch softball tournament to raise money for cancer research.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Valley teams strong at tournaments
The results are in from last weekend’s Bedford All-Nighter and Wabash Valley softball interests fared well in the 42-team men’s slowpitch tournament.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Local adult softball teams gearing up for action
Well softball fans, it’s time for yet another season of adult softball in the Wabash Valley.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Wabash Valley well-represented in state tournamen t
The Wabash Valley was well-represented in the ASA Coed Class D/E state tournament last weekend at the Avon softball facility.
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Budweiser team has mixed results in national slowpitch regional tourney play
The local Budweiser men’s softball squad ventured to Columbus, Ohio, this past weekend to participate in the 82-team ASA MSP national regional tournament.
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Myers family softball tradition carries on
This past Jan. 10, local softball icon Wayne Myers passed away leaving behind two brothers, Fred and Bill, son Terry, daughter Elaine as well as grandchildren Haley, Whitey and “Chicky.” In addition, the Indiana Amateur Softball Association was left without its commander in chief.
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Softball Scene: Softball moments of years past
With the summer softball season coming to an end, I thought it might be interesting to look to past Softball Scene columns and dredge up a few old memories from seasons gone by. This type of column also serves as a reminder to those presently playing that in a few short years, your achievements will be largely forgotten by those who will be playing in future seasons.
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Softball Scene: Valley squads fare well at state tournaments
The results from the Indiana Amateur Softball Association’s MSP Class “C”, “D” and “E” state tournaments are in and local softball interests fared well. Of the five local men’s teams participating, four managed to come away with winning records.
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Softball Scene: 8 Valley softball teams competing in 5 different state tournaments
This weekend several local softball teams are vying for titles in Amateur Softball Association state tournament play. In all, eight local squads are competing in five different state tournaments.
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Softball Scene: Outkast heating up at right time with state tournament approaching
Local softball player and enthusiast Ryan Dehart recently made an astute observation when commenting on the Outkast softball squad. He said, “they’re getting hot at the right time of the year.” Lending support to Dehart’s claim was Outkast’s showing in the recent Hooter’s Invitational hosted by Indy Sports Park.
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Softball Scene: Get scoop on upcoming men’s, co-ed tournaments in Wabash Valley
Several questions have arisen concerning the upcoming city tournaments for men’s and co-ed softball teams. In an attempt to dispel any rumors and to address the questions, I will now address callers’ concerns.
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Softball Scene: Terre Haute ready for first-time city tournaments in July
The Terre Haute Parks and Recreation Department, working in conjunction with several interested softball parties, will be hosting city championship tournaments for both men’s and coed softball teams.
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Softball Scene: Hit Men making their mark on travel softball scene
I have recently noticed a dearth of young softball squads coming up through the ranks. In short, I am interested in knowing who will replace the Wabash Valley’s top-caliber talent as they fall pretty to age, injury work and family obligations.
- Softball Scene: Valley teams have mixed results in state tournaments
- Softball Scene: ‘Old School’ softball at Saline City withstands test of time As the college football season begins and Wabash Valley adult softball action starts to wind down, those interested in a dose of “old school” softball should travel to Saline City this weekend.
- Softball Scene: Crawlworks’ hard work to host tournament pays off Recent Softball Scene columns have been devoted to efforts to raise funds for various causes. The opening segment of this week’s column will stick with that theme.
- Fund-raising tourneys a great way to contribute to community
- SOFTBALL SCENE: Crawlworks prevents Valley shutout Thank goodness for the efforts put forth by the Crawlworks men’s slow pitch team in the ASA MSP Class D state finals. Without their 6-2 finish, local softball efforts were almost shutout in ASA state tournament play this past weekend.
- Softball Scene: Several Wabash Valley softball teams preparing for state-tournament action The next three weekends should prove interesting for local softball squads as several local teams will be competing for state titles. Hoping to improve on last year’s second-place finish in the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) women’s class C tournament, the Chop Shop women’s team will be traveling to Kokomo this weekend. Chop Shop’s second-place finish at state earned it a nationals’ berth, and the squad finished fourth.
- More Softball Scene Headlines
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SOFTBALL SCENE: Swingers win state title
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