8/24/05
Wednesday,
August 24, 2005
Bluestreaks,
Panthers hope to be competitive
Little Illini Conference football
capsules
MARTINSVILLE
For fourth-year coach Rick
Hilderbrandt, the glass is half-full one day, half-empty the next.
“One day I’ll be feeling really
good,” he said. “The next, I’m like ‘what’s going on here?’ You just
never know until the first game. But we’ve looked pretty sharp. We’re a
quick team and this is the best condition we’ve ever been in.”
The Bluestreaks have approximately 25
players out, the fewest of any team in the league. On the positive
side, eight of those players are seniors and six are juniors.
Hilderbrandt notes that the Martinsville line averages about 6-2 and
between 210 and 220 pounds, which is bigger than usual.
“We don’t have the horses to outrun
people,” Hilderbrandt said. “We’ll have to rely on our defense to keep
us in games, and we hope to get some of the breaks we did two years ago
(when the team advanced to the second round of the Class 1A
tournament.)”
Five to watch: Adam Chambers (senior,
6-0, 165, fullback/cornerback), Dylan Cribelar (senior, 6-2, 180,
running back/defensive back), Josh Turner (senior, 6-0, 250, offensive
lineman/linebacker), Matt Higginbotham (junior, 6-2, 175,
quarterback/defensive back), Phillip Higginbotham (junior, 5-11, 160,
running back/linebacker).
It will be a successful season if:
“We have to minimize the turnovers and mistakes,” Hilderbrandt said.
“And we have to be able to throw the ball this year, which we haven’t
been able to do lately. Finally, our defense needs to be aggressive as
the ones I remember several years ago.”
Noteworthy: According to
Hilderbrandt, Bunker Hill is the only football-playing school in
Illinois with an enrollment of fewer than Martinsville’s 127 students
... Hilderbrandt is the only head coach in the league who is not on
staff at his school. His Martinsville teams have had records of 0-9,
7-4 and 2-7 for a three-year total of 9-20 ... The Bluestreaks have
qualified for the IHSA playoffs 11 times, with the first berth coming
in 1978.
OBLONG
The Panthers’ numbers are up,
although most of the 37 out for the squad are freshmen or sophomores.
Still, fifth-year coach Jeff
Ohlemeyer hopes that if his team can’t put an end to a losing streak
that has grown to 23 games over three seasons, it will at least be more
competitive this season. A year ago, the Panthers were outscored,
314-12, while finishing 0-9.
“We’re loaded pretty heavily with
freshmen and sophomores. But getting the numbers up is half the
battle,” said Ohlemeyer. “And most of our sophomores were starters last
season (as freshmen), so that makes them more like juniors. In that
respect, our youth will be deceiving.”
Ohlemeyer notes that the Panthers
were 2-2 on the junior varsity level a year ago, before a shortage of
players forced the rest of the season to be canceled.
“The mentality of this group of kids,
and their desire to be competitive and turn things around, seems to be
a step above where it was in the past,” he said. “Not that those kids
didn’t want to win. But these kids have been successful at the lower
levels, and I think that’s going to be a big key.”
Five to watch: Shane Pica (junior,
5-11, fullback/middle linebacker), Landon Littlejohn (junior, 6-0, 165
quarterback/defensive back), Daniel Dallmier (senior, 6-0, 270,
offensive line/defensive line), Jeremy Ackman (senior, 5-10, 145, wide
receiver/defensive back), Kevin Walls (senior, 5-11, 160, tight
end/linebacker).
It will be a successful season if:
“We have to be more competitive,” said Ohlemeyer.
Noteworthy: Littlejohn, the Panthers’
quarterback, saw his season end early a year ago, when he sustained a
broken leg in a 32-0 loss to Red Hill in the third game of the season.
According to Ohlemeyer, he’s fully recovered ... Ohlemeyer has a career
reocrd of 4-32 in his four seasons at the helm ... Oblong’s last
victory was Sept. 27, 2002, when it beat Martinsville, 28-14 ... The
Panthers have never qualified for the IHSA playoffs. Their last winning
season was in 1994, when they finished 5-4 under coach Rick Knust.
PALESTINE
Second-year coach Scott Zane and his
team face the unique challenge of being without a home field.
Palestine’s new grade school stands
where the Pioneers’ field used to be, and Zane is hopeful that a new
field - adjacent to the new grade school - will be available for use
next year. In the meantime, the team will practice at the Palestine
rodeo grounds and play its home games at Robinson High School.
“It’s kind of a welcome challenge,”
Zane said. “Robinson’s been so gracious to let us use its field. The
kids are looking at it as a positive. They’ll get to play on Robinson’s
field, which is top-notch.”
Palestine is known for having big,
physical teams. However, Zane says, that won’t be the case this season.
“We might not be quite the physical,
bruising, strong team that we have been,” he said. “But I think we’ll
make up for it with athleticism. The first few practices have been
good, and we feel good about being able to put the pieces together when
the season begins.”
Five to watch: Jude Holscher (senior,
5-10, 168, back/cornerback); Matt Tedford, (senior, 6-3, 236,
center/defensive end); Ryan Roberts (sophomore, 6-0, 162,
back/cornerback); David Milam (junior, 5-11, 165, back/linebacker),
Blaine Murphy (senior, 5-9, 155, guard/linebacker).
It will be a successful season if: “A
successful season for us will be if the players put in the hard work
that’s necessary. Then they can look back and have fond memories and
feel like they accomplished something by being out there. I hope there
are more wins than losses, but I just want the kids to enjoy the
football experience. After this season, some of them will never have
another chance to play.”
Noteworthy: At the end of the first
week of practice, there were 29 players out for the team. According to
Zane, that’s the most since 2000 ... Zane is in his second year as head
coach, after spending a number of years as an assistant. The Pioneers
finished 3-6 last season ... Having to play home games at Robinson has
played havoc with the Pioneers’ schedule. They have Saturday home games
scheduled for Aug. 27 against Red Hill, Sept. 3 against Martinsville,
Oct. 1 against Casey and Oct. 15 against Cumberland. Their only Friday
home game is Oct. 7, against Flora ... Palestine is after the third
playoff berth in the history of its program. The Pioneers qualified in
1999 and 2003... Palestine has a cooperative agreement with Hutsonville
for all spots.
RED HILL
The Salukis are loaded at the skill
positions, but will probably go only as far as its offensive line will
take them.
“I really think we’ll be solid,
defensively,” veteran Red Hill coach Bill Evans said. “Our offense is
going to play catchup for a while. That’s OK, as long our defense will
keep us in ballgames. You know the old cliche: Defense wins
championships.”
The Salukis will again work from the
run-and-shoot, with some wishbone thrown in, offensively. Defensively,
they will stay mainly in a 5-2 alignment. However, some new wrinkles
have been added on both sides of the ball, according to Evans.
Overall depth is a team strength.
“I feel comfortable with our first or
second string out there,” Evans said. “I’m not saying the second 11 is
as good as the first 11, but they can easily spell people. I just
wouldn’t want to have to spell all 11 at once.”
It will be a successful season if:
“The goal has always been to make the playoffs,” Evans said. “You have
to win five games to qualify, and I think that’s going to be tough in
this league. But once again, it’s what we’re shooting for.”
Five to watch: Joey Carmichael
(senior, 5-10, 180, running back-defensive lineman/linebacker/defensive
back), Ryan James (senior, 6-3, 190, running back-defensive back), Marc
Rucker (senior, 5-8, 180, quarterback-running back/linebacker), Lenny
Diggs (junior, 5-10, 180, running back/linebacker), James Johnston
(junior, 6-0, 195, running back/linebacker).
Noteworthy: As of Saturday, there
were 43 players out for the team, up from 41 at the start of official
practice ... A new press box is under construction at the Red Hill
field, with volunteers doing the labor. Officials say the new box will
be ready for the Salukis’ first home game, against Casey on Sept. 2 ...
The Salukis finished 4-5 last season and missed the playoffs for the
first time since 2001. Red Hill has qualified for the playoffs seven
times in the past, with the first trip coming in 1988.
