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[NOV. 20, 2001]  The Lincoln Railers defeated Danville 55-47 in their game Monday evening.

Score by quarters

Lincoln 15 26 37 55

Danville 6 22 36 47

Individual stats

Farmer 4-2-11

Romnick 1-0-2

Schonauer 4-0-9

Schrader 4-2-12

Welch 2-0-4

Werner 3-0-7

Young 5-0-10

[NOV. 20, 2001]  You knew it was just a matter of time. He was like a time bomb in one of those "Mission Impossible" shows. I mean, how excited did you expect him to get in a couple of exhibition laughers? But then, he didn’t come out all that strong last Friday versus Gonzaga. However, Monday night Frank Williams began to prove once again why Dickie V put him on the latest cover of the ESPN magazine. Williams exploded for 16 second-half points by making 7-of-9 free throws and going a sizzling 5-for-8 from the field as he finished the night with 20 points. His performance somewhat overshadowed the real debut of Luther Head, who dunked his way into the hearts of Illini fans everywhere with a 14-point performance.

More kudos must go to the bench than that. Nick Smith continued his improvement by giving Illinois nine points and three blocked shots. Damir Krupalija bounced back from a lackluster showing against the Bulldogs by hounding the EIU Panthers for 12 points as he didn’t miss a shot in four tries.

Once again defense and rebounding were the points of emphasis. Cory Bradford totally bottled up the nation’s leading scorer from a year ago, Henry Domercant. Bradford harassed him into a woeful 3-of-14 shooting night that really pointed to the Panthers’ downfall. Illinois’ presence in the passing lanes, denying almost any penetrating pass of any kind, meant that all Eastern could get were jumpers with Illini hands in their faces. Illinois improved a little on the boards from their last outing by seizing a commanding 45-31 edge in the rebounding battle. These factors contributed to Illini not going down to an upset-minded team like so many of their ranked brethren.

[Jeff Mayfield]

[NOV. 19, 2001]  Lincoln College won the Lady Lynx Classic this past weekend at Lincoln College by defeating McHenry, 90-72, and Moraine Valley, 85-55.   The Lynx are now 5-0 for the season and will play at home Tuesday against Black Hawk at 5:30 p.m.

Coach Carol Wilson used numerous players in the two games, with nearly everyone contributing.  Ten players scored for the Lady Lynx in the game against McHenry, while 14 cracked the scoring column against Moraine Valley.

Jessie Dullard led the Lynx against McHenry with 22 points. Double-figure support came from Victoria Scott, 13; Kim Calhoun, 12; Zabrina Harper, 12; and Sarah McLaughlin, 10. Angie Bossingham was the lone double-figure scorer against Moraine Valley with 16 points.

Dullard and Bossingham were selected to the all-tournament team by the coaches.

Lincoln College (90) — Ariel Lamb 1-0-0-2; Victoria Scott 6-0-1-13; Sarah McLaughlin 3-1-2-10; Angie Bossingham 3-2-2-9; Ronni Beebe 1-3-4-5; Kim Calhoun 5-2-4-12; Kim Massenburg 0-1-2-1; Ashley Sims 1-2-2-4; Jessie Dullard 10-2-3-22; Zabrina Harper 6-0-2-12. Totals 36-13-22-90.  Three-point goals: Bossingham, Scott, McLaughlin 3.

McHenry (72) — Abramavicius 1-3-4-6; Beyer 3-3-4-10; Brook 7-1-4-16; Jaehnke 4-6-12-14; Jay 3-3-4-10; Legnadli 4-0-0-8; Shockey 2-2-2-6.  Totals 24-18-30-72.  Three-point goals: Shockey 2, Abramavicius, Beyer, Brook, Jay.

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Lincoln College (85) — Lamb 1-3-5-5; Bausley 0-1-2-1; Story 1-1-2-3; Scott 2-1-2-5; McLaughlin 3-1-2-7; Hinrichsen 1-1-2-4; Bossingham 6-0-0-16; Beebe 3-2-4-8; Dobey 1-1-2-3; Calhoun 2-3-4-7; Massenburg 3-1-4-7; Sims 2-3-4-7; Rossio 2-0-0-4; Dullard 1-6-8-8; Melker 0-0-0-0.  Totals 28-24-41-85.  Three-point goals: Bossingham 4, Hinrichsen.

Moraine Valley (55) — Connelly 0-3-4-3; Leonard 4-6-10-14; Beranek 0-1-2-1; Kimmey 4-3-4-11; Archer 7-0-0-16; Crum 4-1-4; Maglaris 0-1-2-1.  Totals 19-15-26-55.  Three-point goals: Archer 2.

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[NOV. 19, 2001]  NORMAL — Forward Shedrick Ford tossed in 18 points and hauled in eight rebounds as Illinois State edged Weber State 74-70 in the season opener Friday at Redbird Arena.

Down by as many as six in the first half, the Redbirds (1-0) clawed their way back to within one with nine minutes left, after a layup by Ford and a Shawn Jeppson trey. The ’Birds took their first lead of the game at the four-minute mark on another Jeppson 3-pointer as Illinois State took a 35-31 lead into the half.

In the second half, Baboucarr Bojang drove the lane and was fouled as his shot dropped through. Bojang’s free throw extended the Redbird lead to four. After Weber State battled to within one, Jeppson found Bojang for a thunderous dunk. On the WSU’s possession, Bojang came up with a steal and found an open Randy Rice for the layup and a five-point lead with 7:40 remaining.

Wildcat Brad Barton made things interesting, nailing a 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds in regulation, bringing Weber State within three, but Vince Greene hit a free throw with less than one second left to seal the Redbird victory.

Preseason Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Tarise Bryson went down with an injury to his right wrist at the 17:46 mark on a hard foul as he was driving to the basket. Bryson left the game for X-rays with eight points, three assists and three steals.

[to top of second column in this article]

Bojang and Jeppson filled in during the second half in the absence of Bryson. Bojang recorded his first double-double in his first game as a Redbird, scoring 14 points, 12 in the second half, and pulling down 10 boards. Jeppson tallied 10 of his 14 in the second period and dished out five assists.

For the game, ISU shot 85 percent from the free-throw line (24-of-28) while holding Weber State to 63 percent (12-of-19) from the charity stripe. The tenacious Redbird defense forced 24 Wildcat turnovers, which were converted into 29 points for the ’Birds.

Weber State’s Jermaine Boyette poured in 14 first-half points and erupted for 17 second-half points to lead the Wildcats. John Hamilton added 10 for WSU, which falls to 0-1.

The Redbirds return to action Nov. 23, taking on the UC-Irvine Anteaters at the University Hoops Classic at Moon Township, Pa.

[Erica Fricke,
ISU assistant director of media relations]

[NOV. 19, 2001]  I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to open the season with the Gonzaga Bulldogs, but it sure wasn’t I. I’ve been out on the road so much this year that my phone call from Mr. Guenther or from coach Self must’ve come while I was away. This is the same Bulldog team that has reached the Sweet Sixteen in each of the last three NCAA tournaments. Media outlets across the country refer to them as Cinderella, but Cinderella only went to the dance once! From my vantage point, all I can say about these guys is… they’re pretty good! And I didn’t want to play them. I would have been much happier with a game against Prairie View or my former team out at LCC.

Of course if I wrote this story simply as a college basketball fan, I would feel much differently. I would love this kind of contest, putting two of the best 16 teams on the floor at the same time this early in the season. You have to love that. However you saw it, the Illini grinded out a gritty performance and rode Brian Cook’s second-half breakout to a thrilling 76-58 victory that was much more difficult than it sounds.

Illinois shot only 39 percent from the field in the first half and were clobbered on the boards but still managed a 36-29 advantage, mostly because of the free-throw differential. To prove that I am not a homer, I’m not so sure that Gonzaga fouled all that much or if they were the victims of some interesting calls. The flow of the game was disrupted several times, and I think the Bulldogs are a very dangerous team when they dictate the pace and tempo. Last night they were able to do neither.

Much of that credit must go to coach Self’s defensive game plan. Illinois had tremendous pressure on the ball, which limited the play of All-World player Dan Dickau, who STILL somehow managed to get 19 points. Illinois’ defense was so good that Dickau finished with six turnovers — very uncharacteristic, I’m sure.

In addition to the great D, Brian Cook’s emergence in the second half helped the Illini pull away from the pesky ’Dogs. After a very slow start, Cook found the range and really got into the flow of the offense. He finished the night 5-of-13 from the field, 7-for-7 from the line, and he had two assists and three steals while committing no turnovers. He led the team with 18 points and stayed away from foul trouble in 34 minutes of action.

Cory Bradford had a great opening night by firing in 17 points, and Robert Archibald had a very solid 16-point performance. Sean Harrington had five points — very uncharacteristic, I’m sure — but he had some nifty passes and contributed four assists. Frank Williams chipped in 13 for the Illini cause but never really seemed to get untracked. As just a single observer somewhere out on the prairie, I’m not too concerned about that.

Much has been made about Cook and others regarding the fact that they need to be more consistent. Well, dah! Don’t we all need to be more consistent? I’m just hoping that this team displays the unselfish play that they demonstrated last night, all season long.

[to top of second column in this article]

As a former coach, I’d say that my best teams were when we had four, five or six players and the scouting reports would say stop Williams, and Cook and Bradford will kill you; stop Cook and Bradford, and Archibald will rise up and bite you. What I would have given for a player like Cook?!

Since the depth of this year’s squad will be a question mark for a while, it is even more important that the first six make the extra pass and play the stifling team defense that they showed last night. Cook, Archibald and Krupalija were double-teaming in the post ferociously. The Illini guards put so much pressure on the ball that they were forcing the Gonzaga guards to places on the floor that they did not want to go. When you can shut down a great team like that with suffocating defense, you give yourself a better chance to be competitive every night.

Bench contributions were also a factor for Illinois last night. I’m getting on the Nick Smith bandwagon early. I think he has improved immensely! He came out on the court and immediately electrified the crowd with a blocked shot. Then he got a rebound and then a bucket. He fired up the crowd and brought some energy to the floor. If he can give six to 10 solid minutes a night and help us add another interior player to the post rotation, he will make us so much better. Luther Head and Brett Melton also did well in limited action. Damir Krupalija never really seemed to get going, but his presence, especially on the defensive end, was a factor. And Blandon Ferguson snagged three caroms in three minutes of action. Our bench may very well determine how far the Illini will go this season.

Gonzaga out-rebounded the Illini 40-30 for the game, but that was offset by two key statistics. First, Illinois forced the Bulldogs into 20 turnovers while committing only eight themselves. That’s like mid-season form. And Illinois made 30 free throws to eight for Gonzaga. While I’m delighted that the Illini made almost 80 percent from the line, I’m not all that proud of the disparity. I am proud of our overall performance.

I would give us a strong B and could be persuaded to go B-plus if someone gives me a cupcake.

Suddenly, I’m starting to feel a lot better about scheduling this game.

[Jeff Mayfield]

[NOV. 19, 2001]  SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Despite two touchdowns apiece from Quincy Washington and Vito Golson, Illinois State could not contain Southwest Missouri State as the Bears posted 611 yards of total offense, handing the Redbirds their ninth loss of the season, 48-31, in the season finale Saturday at Plaster Sports Complex.

SMS scratched the scoring column first on a 62-yard pass from Austin Moherman to Mark Marcos at the 6:16 mark in the first quarter. The Bears then closed out the first quarter when running back Demetrius Smith scampered into the end zone for a one-yard scoring run.

The Redbirds struck back at the 12:55 mark in the second quarter with an 82-yard drive capped by a 37-yard Dusty Burk pass to Golson for a touchdown.

Another one-yard run by Smith with two minutes left in the half gave SMS a 21-7 advantage, but the ’Birds found the end zone once more before halftime as Washington ran the ball in from the one-yard line with 24 seconds left on the clock.

In the third, the Bears collected an early field goal that was answered by the Redbirds with a Steve Carroll field goal from 47 yards out with 9:14 left in the quarter. Washington scored his second touchdown of the day on another one-yard carry at the 5:45 mark to tie the game. The Bears responded with a 92-yard drive that ended with a three-yard run by Eddie Linscomb to put SMS up by seven.

[to top of second column in this article]

The first three drives of the fourth resulted in touchdowns as Moherman found Marcos open once again and SMS extended the lead to 14 early in the fourth. On the next drive, the ’Birds cut the lead to seven as Burk hit Golson with a 21-yard strike at the 11:11 mark. Twenty seconds later, Eddie Linscomb ran back the kickoff for a 65-yard score, putting the Bears ahead 45-31. SMS added another field goal with 7:06 remaining.

Burk finished the day with 240 yards on 13-of-22 passing, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Golson hauled in five catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns while Washington rumbled for 82 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The Redbirds conclude the 2001 campaign 2-9 and 2-5 in the Gateway while

SMS finishes the season at 6-5 and 3-4.

[Heather Henning, ISU athletics media relations]

[NOV. 19, 2001]  The cardiac Illini have struck again, this time in Columbus, Ohio, where the Illinois Fighting Illini left a stunned crowd of over 100,000 paying customers and a disbelieving Ohio State football team scattered on the field in a 34-22 thriller. For the fourth time in as many games, Illini QB Kurt Kittner brought the team back from a deficit.

Illinois (9-1, 6-1) has now won six games in a row since the season-opening debacle at Michigan. Illinois can clinch at least a tie for the Big Ten conference championship with a win over Northwestern at home on Thanksgiving Day. The Illini are now ranked in the top 10 in the nation at No. 10!

The LDN was invited to Ohio State Saturday, but a previous commitment to LCC basketball and some yard work stood in the way!

For more info on the game, go to www.fightingillini.com.

[Jeff Mayfield]

[NOV. 19, 2001]  The Lincoln College men dominated the Illinois Wesleyan University swimming meet Saturday to easily outdistance a field of eight teams. The Lynx of coach Dan Hemenway had a team total of 187 points. Second place went to Carthage College with 97 points.   Lincoln College was the lone two-year school in the event.

The Lady Lynx finished third in the nine-team field with a total of 74.5 points, behind Illinois Wesleyan with 125.5 and North Central with 110.

Ramiro Palmar and Joe Krysak were selected co-MVP award winners for the Lynx swimmers.   Lincoln College won every event and placed second in seven of the 12 events.

Placing for Lincoln College men were:

Three-meter diving — 1. Sean Calhoun, 246.5; 2. Tim Philosophos, 230.75.

One-meter diving — 1. Philosophos, 256.95; 2. Calhoun, 232.95; 3. Bryce Olsen, 144.60; 4. Brett Chase, 131.20; 5. Adam Johnisee, 131.20.

200-yard medley relay — 1. Lincoln College (Joe Krysak, Zach Welch, Brandon Davidson, Carl Kopecky), 1:42.56; 3. Lincoln College (Jason Hierman, Doug Garofalo, Ronald Kestner, Doug Zimmer), 1:46.44

200 free — 1. Krysak, 1:47.15; 2. Kestner, 1:51.64.

200 IM — 1.Palmar, 1:59.85; 3. Hierman, 2:08.92.

50 free — 1. Kopecky, :22.64; 2. Scott Sampson, :23.29.

100 fly — 1. Palmar, :53.89; 2. Welch, :56.79; 5. Brandon Davidson, 1:00.35.

100 free — 1. Kopecky, :48.73.

500 free — 1. Krysak, 4:50.07; 2. Sampson, 4:59.82.

100 back — 1. Hierman, :57.05; 3. Ryan Poss, :58.73.

100 breast — 1. Palmar, :59.09; 4. Welch, 1:04.48; 5. Kestner, 1:05.05.

200 free relay — 1. Lincoln College (Palmar, Sampson, Krysak, Kopecky), 1:30.54; 4. Lincoln College (Brooks, Hierman, Welch, Kestner), 1:34.40.

[to top of second column in this article]

Top finishers for the Lady Lynx were:

200 free — 4. Rachel Willenborg, 2:05.02; 6. Angela Couch, 2:06.26.

200 IM — 2. Leslie Seago, 2:22.78.

50 free — 4. Erin Nelson, :26.47; 5. Couch, :26.75.

100 fly — 3. Willenborg, 1:03.99; 4. Seago, 1:04.04.

100 free — 6. Nelson, :59.13.

500 free — 4. Seago, 5:37.75; 5. Couch, 5:45.55.

100 back — 2. Willenborg, 1:04.51.

200 free relay — 3. Lincoln College (Seago, Nelson, Willenborg, Couch), 1:47.31.

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[NOV. 17, 2001]  In front of a gathering of family and friends, Lincoln High School senior Andy Knopp inked a deal to play baseball at Western Illinois University after his local playing days come to an end in the spring.

Knopp was noticeably happy about all of the support and acknowledged it throughout the 30-minute press conference that started Thursday at 4 p.m. in the main offices at the school.

Coach Pat Hake also seemed quite pleased with the proceedings and pointed to it as yet another sign of the continuing emergence of Lincoln baseball.

Once again the LDN brings you the REAL inside story, as we spoke with Andy’s future coach, Stan Hyman, via telephone Friday morning. This is what coach Hyman had to say:

"We are excited to add Andy Knopp to our roster. He brings us lots of versatility. He can play both the infield and the outfield, and he can also pitch. That made him very attractive to us because we can use him in varying roles. In terms of depth, he’s the kind of player that gives us the necessary depth to accomplish our goals. Andy was one of 12 signees that we’ve inked during this early signing period, and he is a part of a tremendous recruiting class. That is important to us, as we played the 50th toughest schedule in the country last season.

"Another big change over here at WIU is that we are bringing the program up to a national level. We recently tore up our infield and rebuilt it. Now it looks like a major league infield. Improvements like that and adding a stellar recruiting class can do nothing but help us.

[to top of second column in this article]

"The biggest thing about recruiting Andy was that he is a quality young man. We know that he will give us a solid effort in the classroom and out on the field. We pride ourselves on looking for solid kids from solid families and schools, and we think we have found that with Andy. He brings the kind of quality that we are looking for in our program."

The LDN hopes to do a full feature on Knopp in the future, but we have these notes now:

—WIU is a Division I program with a schedule approximating 56 games. Included on their schedule are dates with such notables as Nebraska (sixth in the nation last season), Iowa, Missouri, Kansas State, Illinois, Illinois State, Bradley and Southern Illinois. They also hope to play a game next season in the Minnesota Twins’ "Twinkie Dome," the Metrodome, and they also have scheduled a tournament in Hawaii.

—Knopp figures to be penciled in the lineup somewhere as a middle infielder, probably at second base, which is a position that he is quite comfortable with. Insiders say that he will probably be called on to do some pitching as well. Again, according to insiders, Knopp is the first Lincoln Railer in 10 years to sign with a D-I baseball program directly out of high school!

CONGRATULATIONS, Andy!

[Jeff Mayfield]

[NOV. 17, 2001]  Gregg Alexander had eight points and started ISU's first game as a true freshman, as the Redbirds held on for a 74-70 win over Weber State in their home opener yesterday.  Congratulations to Gregg and to the Redbirds.  For more info, click here for Todd Kober's story on the game.

[NOV. 17, 2001]  Occasionally this season LDN will bring you some post-game comments by the game’s principal players and coaches and from our staff. We’ll start with last night’s chance encounter with coach Bill Self.  LDN photographer Tom Seggelke and I literally ran into him as we were leaving the Assembly Hall.

Thinking, I’m sure, that Tom and I were with ESPN or Fox Sports News, he immediately asked us who we were.  We told him and he talked to us anyway! 

He seemed to be very happy with his team’s performance and told us that he was most pleased with their defensive effort.

I wanted to plant a seed with him to possibly open the door for future exclusive LDN interviews, so I pointed out to him that we have a mutual friend, former Oral Roberts star center Jay Henderson.  Jay is a veteran of the LCC (Mayfield era) basketball camps.  Self seemed to think that that was pretty neat.

I asked him if he felt better now that this game was behind us and he said, "Definitely."

I then offered him congratulations and wished him good luck on the season and he said, “Thanks.”  Tom was very moved by his response.

Quotes

Coach Mark Few:

"I put us in this situation (by scheduling this game).  You have to play A-minus basketball at best to win in this environment, and we didn’t.  We didn’t take care of the ball or execute well enough to exploit some things.  They took us out of option A and B, and so we dribbled around trying to make something happen rather than trusting your teammates.

"Illinois is a very good basketball team.  They are a great defensive team.  They spread you out and high-low you.  There were times in their offensive where all five players touched the ball.  Those are signs of a championship team.  Their unselfishness impressed me.  But I’m the one who scheduled this game.

"It was a great college basketball crowd.

"I would only grade us out at a C or a C-minus.  Our offense was not vintage Gonzaga basketball tonight.  Illinois should be credited for that.  They do what we call help on help.  Last season we were eliminated by Michigan State, and they killed us on the boards.  It was our goal to improve on that area and I think we have.  But, I would’ve swapped that tonight for better offensive execution."

[to top of second column in this article]

Gonzaga’s Dan Dickau:

"We can’t get any big- name teams to come up and play us in Spokane, Wash. I love to play on the road in great arenas like this one.  I/we had too many silly turnovers to put us in a position to win."

The LDN asked him how far he thought he could take his team.

“I want to take them as far as I can," he said. "I  I have a lot of confidence in myself and in my team to get us there.”

There was so much pride in the hall with all of the orange shirts. It reminded me of the great support we get back home in our kennel!

Brian Cook:

"In the second half I needed to post up closer to the basket.  I got some layups and got to the free- throw line, and that helped me get going."

The LDN asked if Cook called for the ball when he’s in the flow or if they run plays especially for him.

“No, coach wants us to pass the ball on the perimeter, and he wants us big guys to really move without the ball," Cook said. " He wants us to get in the seams and not to force it.  We have confidence in each other, and we trust our offense.”

Stray arrows

I admit my skepticism toward our crowd was certainly unfounded.  They came out in force last night, and their support was thundering.  It may have been the best early- season crowd that this reporter has ever seen, and I’ve been a follower since 1975!

Many Lincolnites were on hand to help the crowd do its thing.

Next up for the Illini

Monday night the Illini are at home versus Eastern Illinois in actually the first round of the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament, which will resume in Vegas on Thanksgiving weekend.

[Jeff Mayfield]

[NOV. 17, 2001]  The Lincoln Christian College Preachers defeated the St. Louis Christian College Soldiers last night 80-64.

The Preachers managed to gain an early lead and hold it for most of the game.  Tension was high, however, as the teams were rarely more than 20 points apart.  A two-team scramble for an escaped ball did manage to lighten the mood by causing a six- or seven-man heap on the floor.

The Preachers’ star players were Matt Clark, with 25 points and two assists, and Joel Searby, with 20 points and six assists.  Joel Searby is a newcomer to the team, having just transferred from Elmhurst College.

Team standings:

10  Matt Clark  7-2-25

11  Jake Raymer  2-0-4

12  John Holderby  1-0-3

14  Aaron Johnson 0-0-0

21  Anthony Cerniglia  1-0-2

23  Zack Below  0-0-0

24  Ben Brodfuehrer  2-0-4

25  Jim Turney  1-1-3

31  Mike O’Conner  0-0-0

33  Antoni Okusami  4-0-8

40  Josh  Grooms  5-0-10

43  Joel Searby  7-1-20

44  Mike Lerot  0-0-1

First half       17-2-44

Second half  13-2-36

Game total    30-4-80

“The good news was we got to play everybody.  The bad news was the starters tried to do too much.” — Coach Randy Kirk

[NOV. 17, 2001]  NORMAL — Olympia native Tricia Gaither is the newest member of the Illinois State softball family. Gaither signed a national letter of intent with the Redbirds on Wednesday.

After helping Olympia High School to the Class A state tournament in each of the last two seasons, Gaither will come to the Redbirds with no real defensive home. This provides for very little concern to Illinois State head coach Melinda Fischer because of abundance of offensive skills.

"Defensively I have no clue where I will play her," Fischer said. "But I think the real asset she has is the ability to lead off and put the ball in play. She can slap, bunt, hit with power and has great speed to go along with that."

Gaither set the Olympia batting record as a sophomore with a .457 average. She then followed that up by outdoing herself in her junior season by hitting at a .466 clip, with 35 stolen bases and a .509 on-base percentage, leading to an all-state selection by the Illinois Coaches Association.

Fischer feels that good coaching in both the summer and high school seasons has led to Gaither's fundamentally sound game.

"Tricia is a very fundamentally sound ballplayer also, which proves that she is a product of good coaching in both high school (Olympia) and during summer ball (Oly Fire)," Fischer said.

[Nate Bargar, ISU athletic media relations]

[NOV. 16, 2001]  NORMAL — Illinois State football players Andy King and Adam Waugh have been named to the 2001 Verizon All-District V Academic Football Team. They are now eligible for consideration on the academic all-America ballot.

This is the ninth consecutive year that the Redbird program has had representation on the all-district team, and it is the fourth-straight year that more than one Illinois State player has been honored. The District V team is chosen annually from I-A and I-AA football players from the four-state region of Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

King, a senior offensive tackle from Lincoln, is on the Verizon team for a second time. He has started all 10 games for the Gateway Football Conference’s No. 2-ranked team in passing offense. King has started in 40-straight games and is a volunteer with the Redbird Ambassadors community service group. He carries a 3.49 grade-point average in telecommunications management.

Waugh, a senior outside linebacker from Libertyville, carries a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in political science. He is a three-time selection to the all-district team and was awarded the 2001 National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Scholarship. A 2000 Verizon Academic All-American, Waugh was named a 2001-02 Bone Scholar, the highest undergraduate academic honor at Illinois State. He was also recognized as the 2000 and 2001 Illinois State Male Student-Athlete of the Year. He has started all 10 games for the Redbirds and has been credited with 76 tackles.

To be considered for the Verizon team, a student-athlete must be a starter or an important reserve who carries a minimum grade point average of 3.20. The voting is done by sports information directors within each district.

The Verizon Academic All-America Team will be announced Dec. 10.

[to top of second column in this article]

2001 Verizon Academic All-District V Football Team

QB: Wayne Ewing, Butler, 3.65, biology

RB: Matt Collins, Butler, 3.36, secondary education

RB: Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois, 3.26, marketing

WR: P.J. Fleck, Northern Illinois, 3.20, elementary education

WR: John Standeford, Purdue, 3.50, elementary education

TE: Jon Eckert, Ball State, 3.99, accounting

OL: Travis Barclay, Ball State, 3.98, physics

OL: John Crowther, Notre Dame, 3.68, finance

OL: Andy King, Illinois State, 3.49, telecommunications management

OL: Austin King, Northwestern, 3.29, secondary teaching

OL: Gene Mruczkowski, Purdue, 3.71, movement-sport sciences

K: Travis Dorsch, Purdue, 3.81, psychology

DT: Kyle Budinscak, Notre Dame, 3.27, business

DE: Jason Frank, Northern Illinois, 3.22, liberal arts and sciences

DT: Dan Kwapinski, Minnesota, 3.55, biology

DE: Kemp Rasmussen, Indiana, 3.20, kinesiology-teacher prep.

LB: Landon Johnson, Purdue, 3.51, general health sciences

LB: Ryan Lemberg, Valparaiso, 3.35, elementary education

LB: Adam Waugh, Illinois State, 4.00, political science

DB: Nick Bamber, Valparaiso, 3.81, sports management

DB: Joe Gonzalez, Indiana, 3.59, accounting

DB: Bill Stanton, Valparaiso, 3.58, political science

DB: Sean Wieber, Northwestern, 3.34, political science

Illinois State vs. Weber State game notes
[NOV. 15, 2001]  The Illinois State-Weber State game is Friday, Nov. 16, at 7:05 p.m. at Redbird Arena (10,200) in Normal.

About the game

This is the earliest regular-season start for the Redbirds since 1998, when Illinois State opened on Nov. 15 against Oakland. Illinois State and Weber State will be meeting on the hardwood for the first time in the history of the two schools.

The probable starters

(Position, number, name, height, weight, class-letters, hometown, ppg, rpg, apg)

Illinois State Redbirds (0-0)

F, 2, Gregg Alexander, 6-4, 190, Fr.-HS, Lincoln

F, 23, Baboucarr Bojang, 6-9, 205, Jr.-TR, Greenville, S.C.

F, 33, Shedrick Ford, 6-5, 220, Sr.-1L, Macon, Ga., 12.1, 5.8, 1.1

G, 12, Tarise Bryson, 6-1, 175, Sr.-3L, Decatur, 22.8, 3.9, 2.4

G, 15, Randy Rice, 6-0, 165, Sr.-1L, Springfield, 3.7, 2.6, 4.4

Weber State Wildcats (0-0)

F, 24, Chris Woods, 6-4, 200, Sr.-3L, East Chicago, Ind., 7.5, 4.5, 1.1

F, 35, Stephan Bachman, 6-10, 245, Jr.-2L, Dietlikon, Switzerland, 10.3, 3.9, 0.9

C, 50, Pat Danley, 6-8, 235, Jr.-1L, Gary, Ind., 6.3, 5.1, 0.3*

G, 3, Jermaine Boyette, 6-2, 185, Jr.-1L, Hammond, Ind., 19.1, 3.4, 4.2

G, 22, John Hamilton, 6-3, 185, So.-1L, Greenfield, Ind., 5.7, 1.9, 1.0

Note: Stats are from the 2000-01 season and (*) indicates blocks per game.

The coaches

Tom Richardson is 31-29 in his third season at Illinois State. He is assisted by Chad Altadonna, Anthony Beane and Doug Novsek. Weber State is coached by Joe Cravens, who owns a 33-24 record with the Wildcats and 88-76 overall. He is assisted by Kirk Earlywine, John Stroia and Andy Jensen.

Ticket information

Tickets for Illinois State home games can be purchased from the ticket office at Redbird Arena, (309) 438-8000.

Redbird radio network

Mark Johnson, play-by-play; Mike Matthews, color; Bruce Evans, sideline (home only); R.C. McBride, studio host. Affiliates: WJBC (AM 1230, Bloomington), flagship; WINU (AM 880, Highland); WZOE (AM 1490, Princeton); WFMB (AM 1450, Springfield).

Web ’Birds

All Illinois State broadcasts can be heard on the Internet at either events.yahoo.com or wjbc.com. The latter also carries Tom Richardson’s weekly call-in show, which alternates, depending on the schedule, but generally airs each Thursday from 6:07 to 7 p.m.

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The Illinois State athletics web page, at www.redbirds.org, includes direct links to www.events.yahoo.com and www.wjbc.com to access the WJBC/Redbird radio network broadcasts. In addition, for home games, live stats are available.

About Weber State

•  Weber State is located in Ogden, Utah, and enrolls 16,000 students. The

•  Wildcats are members of the Big Sky Conference.

•  Head coach Joe Cravens is in his third season at Weber State. He owns a 33-24 record after a head coaching stint at Idaho. He also was the interim head coach at Utah during the 1989-90 season.

•  In 2000-01, the Wildcats posted a 15-14 record and were 8-8 in league play, with a fifth-place finish.

•  Like the Redbirds, Weber State went 2-0 in the exhibition season with a 92-73 win over Westminster College and a 104-59 victory over Montana State-Northern.

•  Against Westminster College, Weber State shot 55.4 percent from the floor and had five players in double figures. Nic Sparrow led the way with 18 points, Chris Woods and Jermaine Boyette each chipped in 15, while Stevie Morrison and Marlon Carter each added 11.

•  Boyette poured in 17 points against Montana State-Northern to lead the Wildcats. Weber State shot 56.2 percent from the field and had six players in double digits. Morrison added 15 points, while Woods and Stephan Bachmann each tossed in 12. Carter and Pat Danley chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

•  Boyette earned first-team All-Big Sky honors last season and was a 2000-01 first-team All-District VII selection. He was the league’s second-leading scorer with 19.1 points per game and led the conference with 2.17 steals per contest.

The series

This is the first meeting between the two schools. Illinois State is undefeated against schools hailing from Utah. The ’Birds are 2-0 against Utah State, their only opponent from the Beehive State.

For openers

Under Tom Richardson, the Redbirds are 2-0 in season openers and 1-1 in home openers. In the last decade, Illinois State is 5-5 in season-opening contests and 6-4 in home openers.

Two for one

The game against Weber State has been tabbed as a "Kitchen Cooked 2-for-1 Night." Fans purchasing a $10 upper-bowl ticket will receive a second ticket free.

[Todd Kober, ISU director of media relations]

[For more ISU Redbird game notes, see http://www.redbirds.org/MB/default.taf.] 

GFC lineman of the week fit for King
[NOV. 14, 2001]  NORMAL — At the weekly press conference, Illinois State’s Andy King made reference to taking credit for Willie Watts’ 200-yard rushing effort Saturday against Indiana State. On Tuesday, the Gateway Football Conference backed up King’s claim by naming him the offensive lineman of the week.

It was only fitting that the 6-foot-4, 310-pound Lincoln High School product was the driving force paving the way to Watts’ big rushing game on Senior Day at Hancock Stadium.

King helped ignite the Redbird second-half rushing attack en route to a 31-17 win over Indiana State. He graded out at 82 percent, while posting 12 knockdowns without a missed assignment or a sack. The Redbirds posted 200 rushing yards and 311 total yards in the second half, while out-scoring the Sycamores 28-7 in the final two periods.

King and the Redbirds will close out the 2001 season at Southwest Missouri State on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

[Todd Kober, ISU director of media relations]

[To read another article on Andy King, click here.]

Lincoln Christian College vs. Missouri Baptist
[NOV. 14, 2001]  The Preachers fell to the Baptists 79-68 in Tuesday’s game at St. Louis. Up at halftime by two, 40-38, the Preachers lost their edge during the second half of the low-scoring game.

High scorers were Clark, 16, and Searby, 17. Clark also had five rebounds, six assists and two turnovers, while Searby had five rebounds, three assists and five turnovers. Okusami made three rebounds, two assists, seven turnovers.

LCC stats: Clark 7-2-16, Holderby 5-0-10, Below 4-0-10, Turney 1-0-2, Okusami 3-0-7, Grooms 3-0-6, Searby 7-2-17.

[LDN]

ISU will initiate shuttle service for basketball fans
[NOV. 14, 2001]  NORMAL — Before the Illinois State men’s basketball team takes the floor against Weber State on Friday night for the first regular-season game at Redbird Arena, the Illinois State Athletics Department will begin offering a free shuttle bus service for Redbird fans.

The bus service, which will be implemented for all Redbird home games, will shuttle fans between the motorcycle instruction range, located on Gregory Street, west of the Illinois State golf course, and the south entrance of Redbird Arena. At the completion of the game, the shuttle bus will pick up fans at the south entrance on College Avenue.

In addition to the free shuttle service, there are also $3 parking lots at the soccer and baseball complex on Adelaide Street and by University High School. There will signs indicating the locations of the $3 parking lots and the shuttle bus parking lot.

Illinois State fans will also notice a change in traffic patterns at the completion of the game. All patrons in parking lot G-53, at the west corner of Main Street and College Avenue, will exit right onto College, while the patrons in the Turner lot, F-62, will be able to only turn left onto College.

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[Click here for  larger map]

Any westbound traffic west of Main Street on College Avenue will be diverted south onto Old Dry Grove to Kingsley Street. It is recommended that traffic waiting at the east corner of Main Street and College Avenue turn either north or south onto Main Street, as opposed to continuing west through the intersection. All traffic at Old Dry Grove and Dry Grove will be required to travel south onto Kingsley Street.

These traffic patterns will be in effect immediately following each home game and will remain in effect until game traffic subsides.

A map laying out the new parking policies and procedures is available on the department website at www.redbirds.org. Tipoff for Friday’s game against Weber State is slated for 7:05 p.m.

[Todd Kober, ISU director of media relations]

[NOV. 14, 2001]  NORMAL — A block of tickets for the Illinois State-Illinois men’s basketball game in Champaign on Dec. 18 will be available to Illinois State students starting on Wednesday at 8 a.m. at the Redbird Arena ticket office.

Ticket prices for the event are $16 and will be available for purchase until noon on Nov. 21.

Students will be allowed to purchase only one ticket and must show a valid Illinois State ID. All tickets are reserved seating, so groups should buy their tickets together.

For more information, please call the Illinois State ticket office at (309) 438-8000.

[Todd Kober, ISU director of media relations]

No. 24 Notre Dame next for Redbirds
[NOV. 14, 2001]  NORMAL — "Getting competitive" is Illinois State volleyball coach Sharon Dingman’s theme for her team’s trip to play No. 24 Notre Dame at 6 p.m. (Central time) Wednesday at the Joyce Athletic and Convocation Center.

Dingman respects Notre Dame, which breezed through the Big East regular season 12-0 and stands as the No. 1 seed in this weekend’s Big East tournament.

"Notre Dame has a lot of size and a lot of skill," said Dingman, whose Redbirds are 14-11 overall, 10-6 in the Missouri Valley. "Plus, they have played very well at home."

That last point may have been understated; the Irish, 18-5 overall, are 11-0 at home and have won 33 of 35 games at the Joyce ACC this season. Setter Kristen Kinder has plenty of scoring weapons around her. Notre Dame has five players who average between 2.25 and 3.45 kills per game and four players averaging more than one block per game.

Dingman, whose Redbirds are coming off a 3-0 loss at Southwest Missouri State, want some momentum to take into the final conference weekend and into the post-Thanksgiving State Farm-Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Nov. 23-24 at Redbird Arena.

"We played a fairly noncompetitive match at SMS from most positions," said Dingman, whose Redbirds are sitting as the No. 5 seed in the Valley tournament. "We need to re-establish that we can play with a competitive spirit in every match. I think we want to do that. We had a very competitive practice on Monday."

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Illinois State may have its leading hitter, junior Megan O’Connell, back for the Notre Dame match, although Dingman said O’Connell would not start. The Redbird head coach figures to stay with her lineup, which moved Becky Weber from setter to O’Connell’s left-side post and installed freshman Kelly Rikli at setter in the past two matches.

"Kelly has done a great job, for someone who has not played much, then was asked to run our offense," said Dingman. "We still need Becky as involved as possible; we made her a primary passer (at the SMS match) because she wants to be involved in every play and we need her to be involved in every play."

The Redbird offense hit .358 in a 3-0 win at Wichita State, Rikli’s first career start. Even though the Redbirds didn’t hit well at SMS, setting didn’t appear to be the major cause.

"We want to show we’re competitive against the likes of Notre Dame," said Dingman. "Win or lose, we want to compete. That will help us get ready for this (final Valley) weekend and next weekend as well."

To finish the season, the Redbirds play back-to-back dates with Indiana State at 7 p.m. Saturday in Redbird Arena and at 4 p.m. (Central time) Sunday in Terre Haute. The Saturday match will be the regular-season home finale for Weber, Abby Lewis, Brandi Petelle and Megan Stephenson, the four Redbird senior players.

[Todd Kober, ISU director of media relations]

Note: The "web-zine" www.rollshot.com features a story posted Monday about Redbird volleyball and Redbird fans.

By Jeff Mayfield

[NOV. 15, 2001]  This week, I don’t even know where to start... so, I’ll just start at the beginning. As I’ve said before, this is one of my favorite times of the year. Why? Because there are more sports offerings than you can shake a stick at. And that’s a pretty big stick. Baseball, golf and volleyball have just wrapped up, and now we have football, basketball, wrestling, hockey and a host of other sports.

Railer hoops

For you local hoops fans, it’s time to see this season’s editions of both the Lady Railers and the Railer basketball squads. I know that the boys will host their annual Green and White scrimmage tonight at 6:30. You get to see everyone in the program, and I think the only admission price is a can of pop.

Many wonder about the significance of holding an intra-squad game for the public. There are so many benefits that it would be hard to list them all. Of course you don’t want any injuries, but it is just good to get everyone some time and let them get used to the environment. Because the next time they take the floor, it counts!

I ALWAYS looked forward to that annual scrimmage. It was done in my hometown very similar to the way it’s done here. Sometimes the stands are packed-out here and sometimes they’re not. I STILL have not learned the secret. I do know how much it meant to me when my neighbors, area business people, folks from my congregation and assorted others would show up to support me and my teammates. I knew some of them were clueless about the game, but they came anyway.

I even know that there are several folks who ignore sports or who despise them. That is OK with me. They are certainly entitled to that opinion. However, in my limited experience in life, I personally have found very few things that can mobilize a community, help give it an identity, foster a sense of unity and pride than a group of people rallying around one of its local sports teams.

As I travel the state of Illinois and proudly tell people that I am from Lincoln, there is almost always an immediate reaction; and it has something to do with our basketball program. Whether they know basketball or not, they know that we have some of the hardest-working kids in the sport. They also know that successful, winning basketball is synonymous with Lincoln.

I always tell them the same thing. Not only are they hardworking, but they are just great kids! When I notice that that puts a smile on the face of these people from all over the state, it makes me even prouder that I’m from Lincoln. Some say we put too much emphasis on the sport, and they are probably right. But there are a lot of worse things that we could be known for!

Here’s looking to see you and 3,000-plus other fans at good ol’ Roy S. to support our Railer teams again this year. I do think our crowds have gotten a little soft the last two seasons. When our teams are performing at their highest levels, they need YOU to give them energy and to really provide a home-court advantage. I’m not too sure that that has happened of late. Let’s make this year the year that our sportsmanship, support and class has no rival in the state of Illinois! GO, RAILERS!

(Side note: Congratulations to Railer coach Darrin Worth and his wife, Tiffany, on the birth of their daughter.)

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Da Bears

"...those aren’t pillows! How ’bout those Bears?!"

Hey, how ’bout those Bears? Yah, cheeseheads, I know you came away with the victory Sunday, but I have to tell you, it was not all that impressive. The Pack is indeed good, but area growlers will tell you Chicago is gaining on you.

I don’t know much about this Norris division that you all follow, but I do know that the Bears are vastly improved. The addition of Anthony Thomas at running back has made a big difference to this ballclub. Settling the Cade McNown situation was also huge, although I’m still not convinced he was as much of the problem as we’ve been led to believe. The receivers, while not speedy, have run precise routes and have, for the most part, displayed good hands. And special teams, for once, have been pretty special, as the recovery of the onsides kick against Cleveland should point out.

I’m especially happy for head coach Dick Jauron. He has been lampooned and lambasted and just held up as a sacrificial lamb for this organization the last two years. I listened to his call-in show two of the last three weeks, and I am amazed how rude the fans are to him. He’s winning games, and they STILL have ideas on how his coaching could be better.

The LDN would like to give those fans just a little advice this week: GET OVER IT!!! Dick has simply done a fabulous job turning this team around this season. Especially if you’ve taken the time to carefully examine the roster that he has been dealt. He has maximized it! Skeptics will tell you that the Bears have played one of the softest schedules in the league. While there may be a smattering of truth to that, the LDN would tell them you can play only the people that the league office puts on your schedule. So, GET OVER IT!

I didn’t even think the Bears looked all that bad on opening day versus the Ravens. They still had a chance to win in the fourth quarter. And I know that Packer fans don’t want to hear this, but if the Bears would’ve maybe played just a little smarter just before halftime, they probably would’ve been in a position to win on Sunday.

I’m not the biggest Bears fan on the planet. I follow them because many of you, my local friends, do. I wish them great success because they have to be one of the NFL’s biggest underdogs!!!

[Jeff Mayfield]

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