Eagles drop finale on Senior Night
By TERRY LIDY
Fifteen senior athletes said good-bye, but not in the manner intended as Breese Mater Dei belted the Eagles 44-0 on soggy Chizevsky Field last Friday.
Mater Dei (MD) came in as the #8 ranked team in the state with a 7-1 record in 4A. They also were ranked #1 among small schools in the St. Louis area according to the Post-Dispatch.
"We knew coming in that they were a good team. I can see them going two or three deep, maybe more, in the playoffs," said Eagle Coach Jason Fulton.
Mitch Mammoser got the game started by kicking to Lucas Hemann who returned to his 31.
On third down, QB Tyler Detmer passed 32-yards to John Huelsmann down the sideline to the Eagle 33.
Hemann eventually gained another first down at the 23 on three carries. A Detmer to Adam Fuehne pass gave MD a first and goal at the 6. However, the Eagles got a break when MD was called for holding on the next play with 8:33 left. The Knights were able to move inside the 5 as the Eagles turned stubborn at the goal line. On fourth down, John Dulle left-footed a 21-yard field goal to put MD ahead 3-0.
The Eagles came back as Jerry Howze returned the kick to the 30. Brian Emmerich went to the air as he found Howze for 8-yards. Later Alex Frohning moved the chains with a first down at the 41.
An Emmerich to Frohning pass on a diving catch moved to the MD 37. The Eagles advanced to the 30 on an Emmerich-Howze connection, but an illegal motion penalty stopped the drive as Dustin Hord punted to the MD 10.
On the next play QB Detmer ran an option right and broke free for a 90-yard score with 1:54 left. Dulle missed the PAT as MD led 9-0.
An illegal block placed the ball at the 18 on the Eagles' next series as Howze returned the kick. Emmerich then found Kelby McCoy to the 29, but the ball squirted away and MD recovered at the 29 with 1:39 left. On the second play, Hemann scored the first of his four scores with a 25-yard dash going down the left sideline. The Dulle PAT made it 16-0 with 48.4 seconds left.
The next Eagle series started at the 34 as the quarter ended. An Emmerich to Howze pass was called back from the 45 due to a motion penalty. The Eagles couldn't recover and Hord punted to the Eagle 42. MD moved down to the 13 where a holding call pushed the Knights back to the 23. However, MD recovered and Hemann scored eventually from the 2 with 6:01 left. The Dulle PAT made it 23-0. After Garrett Birch returned the kick to his 30, the Eagles fumbled the snap as Emmerich lost the handle and MD recovered at the 30. Six plays later, Hemann scored again on a 13-yard run. A 2-point pass from Detmer to Hemann suddenly made it 31-0 with 3:50 remaining.
The Eagles went three plays and a punt as Hord kicked to the MD 39 with 35 seconds.
Now MD went to the air as Detmer threw a 15-yarder to Huelsman and other to Heamnn for 31 to the Eagle 15 with 10 seconds left. After Detmer gained 7-yards to the 8, the MD QB next found Fuehne in the far left corner as time expired for the third MD score of the quarter and a 37-0 halftime edge after the PAT was blocked.
In the third quarter, the Eagles got the ball first as Howze returned to the 30. Jake Pilman ran to the 38, but the Eagles advanced no farther as Hord punted to the MD 35. Here MD conducted a four-play drive that covered 65-yards as Hemann scored his final touchdown with a 27-yard dash. The Dulle PAT made it 44-0 and a continuous clock for the rest of the night.
Neither team moved the ball for the rest of the quarter as punts became the norm. The Eagles had one last chance to move when they recovered a fumble at the 50 with 7:34 left. However, MD held on downs as the Eagles were stopped at the 45. MD then ran out the clock ending a tough season for the Eagles at 2-7.
"Our kids came out fired up and held them to a field goal. We were then moving the ball, but their athleticism and size took over. All in all I know we lost, but the kids played hard. We have to say goodbye to 13 kids that played in this program for four years. We had a total of 15 seniors because two came out this season. I feel bad for the seniors, they worked hard and deserved to win more games. These guys had a lot of work to do filling the shoes from last year. I wish them the best and hope they take something from football that will help them through their lives," said Jason Fulton.
Those recognized on Senior Night were #5 Kelby McCoy, son of Greg and Joanna McCoy. McCoy played tight end and defensive back and lettered two years. #6 Alex Frohning, son of Darren and Amy Frohning. Frohning was a running back and defensive back lettering for three years. #12 Sam Zuber, son of Chris and Pat Zuber and grandson of Sam Zuber. He lettered for one-year as a wide receiver and defensive back. #22 Danny Weishaar, son of Jeff and Brenda Weishaar, lettered for one-year as a running back and defensive back. #24 Jared Woodard, son of Clinton and Rohnna Woodard, lettered two-years as a wide receiver and defensive back. #25 Mitch Stanciu, son of Gary and Annette Stanciu, has lettered for two-years as a running back and defensive end. Mitch has been in band four years on the drum line. #33 Marc Brandenburg, son of Donnie and Sharon Brandenburg, has played football for two years and lettered both years as a tight end and linebacker. #34 David Storer, son of Charles and Debbie Storer, has played football for one-year and lettered as a running back and defensive back. #42 Jake Pilman, son of David and Pam Pilman, has lettered for three-years as a running back and linebacker and served as one of the team captains. #53 Adam Helregel, son of David and Kathy Helregel, has lettered for two-years as an offensive lineman and linebacker and served as one of the team captains. #58 Dominic Ginder, son of Dale and Nancy Ginder, has lettered for one-year as an offensive and defensive lineman. #66 Doniton Nelson, son of James Nelson and Melissa Maroon, has played for one-year and lettered as an offensive and defensive lineman. #86 Caleb Will, son of Carl and Becky Will, has lettered for one-year as a tight end and defensive end. #87 Jerry Howze, son of Roy and Lori Cavazos, has lettered for one-year as a wide receiver and defensive back and served as a team captain. #89 Kendall Bahl, son of Leland and Jane Bahl, has lettered for two-years as a wide receiver and defensive back.
Meanwhile, the Eagles have plenty of hard work ahead to return to a winning program. "We have a good group of juniors and sophomores returning to build on," added Fulton.
Three Apollo teams made the IHSA playoffs with #3 seeded Mt. Zion (9-0) hosting Freeburg (6-3) seeded #14 in Class 4A. also in 4A, #5 seeded Effingham (8-1) hosts Belleville Althoff (6-3) seeded #12. In 3A, Robinson (5-4) seeded #14 travels to Tolono Unity (9-0) and seeded #3.
Lady Eagles are Apollo Champs!
By TERRY LIDY
The NCHS Lady Eagles won their twelfth straight Apollo match last Thursday with a hard fought 25-23, 25-23 two set victory to claim the Apollo crown with a 13-1 record at Robinson.
Kimberlin Wallace led in kills with 12, while Joni Hahn led in the assist department with 11. Lucy Emmerich had 9 digs on defense. Wallace also contributed 9 assists, 4 digs, 3 blocks and an ace. Hahn added 8 digs, 4 kills and an ace. Whitney Koebele had 7 digs, 3 kills and a block. Terra Flowers added 5 digs and an ace, while Nicole Schackmann had 3 digs. Erica Earnest helped out with 5 kills. Sydney May had 2 blocks at the net, while Beth Helmink had one. Hillary Keller also had a kill for the Lady Eagles.
Earlier in the week on Tuesday, the Lady Eagles traveled to Mt. Zion and defeated their host 25-11, 25-14 as Kimberlin Wallace led with 11 kills, 8 digs, and second in assists with 8. Joni Hahn was close behind leading in assists with 9, tying in digs with 8 and producing 6 kills.
Others who helped out included Megan Jansen with 6 digs. Terra Flowers with 5 digs, Nicole Schackmann with 4, and Lucy Emmerich with 3 as defensive specialists.
Whitney Koebele added 3 digs, 2 kills and an ace. Erica Earnest produced 3 kills at the net, while Sydney May had 2 blocks, a dig and a kill. Hillary Keller had a dig, while Beth Helmink had a block and a dig.
The Lady Eagles carry a 22-9 overall record with their 13-1 Apollo mark into the St. Anthony regional on Thursday at 7:30.
In freshman action last week, Newton defeated Robinson 12-25, 25-17, 15-13. Robinson won the junior varsity match 25-15, 25-22. Last Thursday, Mt. Zion defeated Newton in junior varsity action 25-20, 25-16.
Congratulations to Coach Nicole Underwood and her assistants Beth Probst and Stephani Beverlin and the Lady Eagles for a great season thus far as they head into the St. Anthony regional.
"It was a balanced team effort," said a proud Nicole Underwood after clinching the Apollo title.
Four Eagles make sectionals
By TERRY LIDY
The NCHS Eagles boys and girls Cross Country teams competed in the Robinson 1A Regional on Saturday with four runners qualifying for the St. Teresa Sectional this Saturday.
For the boys, Ross Johnson finished seventh in 17:43 over the 3-mile course. Austin Dart of Robinson won the race in 16:34. Robinson won the boys meet with 39 points followed by Sullivan with 62, Shelbyville 76, St. Anthony 122, Teutopolis 140. Those five schools advance as a team to the St. Teresa Sectional.
Other school scores were Dieterich 154, Cumberland 156, Neoga 167, Newton 204.
Dieterich's Ray Hingson and Vince Higgs also qualified as individuals with times of 17:51 and 17:57.
Besides Ross Johnson's seventh place finish, the Eagles received a 41st place from Levi Newton in 19:20. Evan Brooks was 53rd in 20:23. Ridge Finn was 58th in 21:07. Corey Davidson was 62nd in 21:26. Jeff Short was 64th in 22:32.
For the girls, three runners qualified for the sectional. Carly Niebrugge finished 11th on a non-qualifying in 21:28. Morgan Swingler was 17th in 21:46 and Jamie Michl was 23rd in 22:28.
Katelyn Duchett of Shelbyville won the 3-mile race in 19:33. Altamont won the girls race with 51 points and will advance as a team along with Shelbyville with 60 points, Neoga with 94, Teutopolis with 96 and St. Anthony with 103. Newton was sixth with 112. Robinson had 142, Sullivan 207 and Dieterich 249.
Other finishers for the girls were Maura Cummins 27th in 22:48, Jackie Michl 35th in 23:17, Cecilia Lindgren 40th in 23:33, Erin Schackmann 48th in 24:07.
Newton, Ill. —
