2014 Fall Sports Preview

Fall Sports Preview

Page 2 - FALL SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Friday, August 29, 2014

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Friday, August 29, 2014 – TheIntelligencer.com – FALL SPORTS – Page 3

Edwardsville football focusing on 2014

By SCOTT MARION smarion@edwpub.net The Edwardsville football team had a great season in 2013, but that's not going to help the Tigers win games in 2014.

That's the message head coach Matt Martin is preaching to his players after EHS posted a 12-1 record and reached the Class 7A state semifinals for the first time since 2005. That came on the heels of a 10-2 mark in 2012, when Edwardsville advanced to the quarterfinals.

"As coaches, we like to keep the past in the past, and it's about the future," said Martin, in his fourth full season. "I was excited for last year's seniors — many of them started for three years and they finished their career on a positive note.

"They raised the bar for our program. It would be nice to build on that and hopefully we can send these seniors out on a positive note."

The IHSA allows coaches 25 contact days with their players during the summer, so teams were preparing for the season well before the official start of practice on Aug. 11.

At quick glance 2013 Record: 12-1 Conference record: 7-0 (first) Postseason: Advanced to Class 7A semis, lost to Mount Carmel Offensive starters returning: 5 Defensive starters returning: 4 Head coach: Matt Martin 2013 Intelligencer MVPs: Dan Marinko and Zac Rujawitz "Anytime you have a chance to practice, it's an opportunity to get better," said Martin, who was the interim coach in 2010, after former head coach Mark Bliss resigned one game into the season. "As a player, I didn't really care for practice too much. I couldn't wait for game days.

"As a coach, I love practices and I'm not too fond of game days. It's funny how it's gone full circle."

EHS has plenty of varsity veterans to build around, starting with 6-foot-8, 286pound senior tackle Nick Kaltmayer on the offensive line.

"He's physically and mentally mature and he has tremendous upside," Martin said. "I think he's a kid that's going to have an opportunity to play in college, and he'll continue to get better every year."

Senior Jeff Clubb (6-0, 240) is a thirdyear starter on the defensive line.

"He's kind of the anchor on the D-line," Martin said. "He's going to play some offensive line for us this year. He wants to accept the role of being a two-way guy and he's probably one of our most valuable players."

Sophomore A.J. Epenesa (6-5, 230) returns on the defensive line. He already has scholarship offers from Florida State, Iowa, Michigan State, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Utah, Vanderbilt, Washington State and Wisconsin.

Scott Marion/Intelligencer

The Edwardsville football team has 25 seniors this season. In the front row from left are: Mick Peddicord, Dakota Reckman, Jack Van Patten, Trentan Daley, Monty Sharpe, Fontez Davis, Kyler Davis, Ashton Hickman, Austin Kent and Kyle Kasten. In the middle row from left are: head coach Matt Martin, Sam Griffin, Danny Marinko, Luke Posey, Zac Rujawitz, Jeff Clubb, Jacob Rice, Austin Whisnant and Isaiah Michl. In the back from left are: Curt Mueller, Sam Wynn, Jacob Modrusic, Nick Kaltmayer, Tommy Maxwell, Neil Guetterman and Dylan Baker.

"For A.J., it's about challenging yourself to get better every day," Martin said. "He's a special talent."

Martin is excited about the potential of junior Desmond Chapple (6-4, 225) on the defensive line. Another potential starter is senior Dakota Reckman (5-7, 165).

Newcomers on the offensive line include seniors Sam Wynn (6-0, 225), Jacob Rice (5-11, 219) and Jack Van Patten (5-11, 210) at guard.

Senior Austin Whisnant (6-2, 205) is competing for a spot at tackle.

"They're typical solid program kids that built themselves in the weight room, and they're coachable and they work hard," Martin said.

"On the D-line, we're looking at (junior) Ihsaan Haqq (6-2, 333) at noseguard."

Senior Curt Mueller (6-4, 225), a returning starting inside linebacker, will also see time at tight end. Senior Zac Rujawitz (6-1, 225), a returning starter at inside linebacker, could also play on the offensive line.

In the secondary, the only player with significant varsity playing time is senior Kyler Davis (5-10, 156) at free safety. Potential starters include junior Chrys Colley (6-1, 170) at cornerback and senior Fontez Davis (6-0, 160) at cornerback. Davis is a returning starter at wide receiver.

Sophomore Justin White (5-8, 180) is competing for a spot at cornerback.

Candidates at safety include juniors Grant Bradley (5-9, 150) and Jourdyn Jones (5-9, 147) at safety.

Senior Luke Posey (6-2, 175) steps into the

starting lineup at outside linebacker. Also in the mix at are senior Ashton Hickman (6-0, 188), junior Riley Jones (6-3, 210) and sophomore Cyress Ahart (5-10, 170).

At inside linebacker, senior Sam Griffin (6-0, 160) should get plenty of playing time.

"He's a solid guy and he would start for a lot of teams," Martin said.

"The kids that are returning, you hope they would be better than last year. If not, we've done something or they've done something wrong.

"There's potential in this group and we have some talent. It's just about playing hard and doing your assignment on every play. On defense, if a guy makes a mistake, it costs you six points."

Rujawitz easily led the team in tackles last season with 61 solo and 105 overall.

Clubb had 57 tackles and was second with five sacks.

Offensively, Martin is counting on another big year from senior quarterback Dan Marinko (6-2, 182). Marinko stepped into the lineup last season and earned All-State honors after throwing for 2,940 yards, running for another 793 yards with 46 touchdowns.

"Some of his success last year was due to the players around him," Martin said. "I know that he has done everything we've asked that he can do to be a better player.

He's worked hard in the weight room to get bigger, faster and stronger."

Marinko has a pair of returning receivers in Davis (39 catches, 635 yards, two touchdowns) and senior Isaiah Michl (38

catches, 725 yards, seven touchdowns). "(Senior) Monty Sharpe has been doing a good job filling in as the fourth receiver," Martin said. "(Senior) Tommy Maxwell played some receiver for us last year and he looks good.

"Every one of those guys has as much or more talent than Darius Crochrell (who caught 66 passes for 921 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior). But Darius just came up big and he would catch 10 or 12 balls in big games. He was that go-to guy, and I guess in time, we'll find out who that go-to guy is this year."

In the offensive backfield, Martin is looking at a "running back by committee" scenario with Hickman and juniors Kendall Davis (14 carries, 57 yards, one touchdown) and Jackson Morrisey.

"I don't think we always want to rotate guys, but nobody has really stood out yet," Martin said. "Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses."

Senior Trentan Daley returns at kicker after booting 39 extra points and five field goals last season. Riley Jones is the punter.

"I've seen good things and I think this team has tremendous potential," Martin said. "To me, it's about work ethic and maturity.

"Last year we won a game against East St. Louis at the last second. We won on the last drive against Lincoln-Way East.

You've got to have some talent to do that, but you also have to have kids that understand attention to detail in order to make those big plays."

See "FOOTBALL" on Page 3

Page 4 - FALL SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Friday, August 29, 2014

EHS soccer aiming for a repeat at state

By MATTHEW KAMP mkamp.edwi@gmail.com

The bullseye on Edwardsville’s back keeps getting larger and larger.

After winning the boys’ soccer program’s second state championship and ninth Southwestern Conference championship a season ago, Edwardsville head coach Mark Heiderscheid and the Tigers know they will be a targeted team this fall.

“With the success that we’ve had with the program, we are the team that is certainly circled a lot,” said Heiderscheid, whose team beat Wheeling 2-1 in the state finals. “No question, when you win a state title, it will be a feather in your cap if you can play well against that team. At the same time, it’s not the same team that won a state title.”

Edwardsville lost seven of last year’s 11 starters from a 21-3-2 team, including AllState forward Brent Heinlein (17 goals), All-Sectional defender Josh Kowalis (five goals), midfielder Hayden Hessler (two goals, five assists), defender Bailey Winfield and keeper Brenden Heaton to graduation. Also gone are juniors Tom Giacobbe (five goals, six assists) and Austin Toby, who have elected to play academy soccer.

At quick glance 2013 Record: 21-3-2 Conference record: 6-0 (first) Postseason: Won Class 3A title Starters returning: 4 Head coach: Mark Heiderscheid 2013 Intelligencer MVPs: Josh Kowalis and Brent Heinlein Roster turnover isn’t new for Heiderscheid, who is 227-71-30 with two state titles since he took over the program in 2000. He is 53-13 in the postseason.

“It’s just the nature of high school athletics that your seniors play a major role in the success of your team for that given year. Then the next year, they’re gone,” Heiderscheid said. “I think the key ones that were seniors that we needed to play well did.

“It’s always a challenge for any high school program to come back the following year without those seniors that impacted the program for that given year.”

Don’t feel sorry for the Tigers, though, as they return four core starters from last season’s team that will try to become

Matthew Kamp/Intelligencer

Pictured above are senior members of the Edwardsville boys' soccer team. In the front row from left are: Joe Brammeier, Landon Paul, Andrew Effler and Andrew Mullican. In the back row from left are: Nick Dehr, Suleman Bazai, Liam Burke, Kyle Swanson and Drew Flaugher. Not pictured are Trentan Daley and Zach Morrisey. the first large-school team since Orland Park Sandburg to win back-to-back state championships. The Eagles, who beat EHS for the first of the two titles, won in 2002 and 2003.

Midfielders Landon Paul and Andrew Mullican, forward Suleman Bazai and defender Liam Burke are the returning starting seniors.

“Those four were major players in the state finals. When you return that from a state championship team, that’s an important thing and a lot of that is going up the middle of the field,” Heiderscheid said.

Paul (13 goals, eight assists) scored seven goals in the postseason last year, including the team’s first in the state championship win over Wheeling. He is the leading returning goal scorer.

“Landon, last year, is a major reason why we won the state title. He was the one that was knocking in all the goals from the onset,” Heiderscheid said. “He

Football Continued from Page 2 Edwardsville starts the season with a pair of non-conference games, 6 p.m. on Saturday at home against West Side (Ind.) and 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 6 at Loyola Academy.

"West Side had one of the best passing games in the state of Indiana last year and they had two Division I wide

is just a complete winner and has been a great player for us since he was a freshman.”

Joining Paul in the middle of the field will be Mullican (three goals) for a third straight year.

“Mullican, in the state tournament, was absolutely stellar. He is technical, keeps it well and can score goals,” Heiderscheid said.

Helping replace Kowalis and Winfield on the back line will be Burke, who will move into the middle from his former wing back position. Burke had the team’s first goal in a 3-1 victory over Naperville Central in the state semis and proved to be a weapon with long throws.

“Burke really came on in the state tournament. With his throw-ins, set pieces and his defending, he really came up large,” Heiderscheid said.

The fourth returning starter is Bazai (eight goals, five assists) up top. The speedster had two goals in the state

receivers, with one returning this year," Martin said. "They traditionally have a winning program year in and year out.

"Loyola got second in (Class) 8A last year and they're from the Chicago Catholic League, which is always tough.

Their kids are always physical and they beat (perennial power) Mount Carmel in the regular season."

The Tigers open Southwestern Conference action at 1 p.m. on Sept. 13 at East St. Louis.

"We've got a challenging schedule in the first two weeks, but so do they," Martin said of the Flyers, who play at Cincinnati St. Xavier and host Lombard Montini. "It's a

semis.

“He had some moments where he was banged up in the tournament, but he had a really good junior year. Right now, he has made such an enormous leap in play,” Heiderscheid said.

Edwardsville will also return a couple key reserves.

Senior midfielder Andrew Effler (one goal, one assist) will see more time this year. Last year, he battled with Paul, Mullican, Hessler, Connor Wright and Michael Romann in the middle.

“Effler has also made a big jump. We had so many midfield players last year, it was tough to move him. It was a logjam of players,” Heiderscheid said. "Effler looks really, really improved from last year, and he was a good player then.”

Max Kieffer, meanwhile, will move from the bench and into the starting lineup as a junior. He will play alongside Burke in one of the center back positions.

See "SOCCER" on Page 8

heck of a conference opener, but it's the fourth year in a row we've done it."

The remainder of the conference schedule includes: vs.

Alton on Sept. 19, at Collinsville on Sept. 26, vs. Belleville West on Oct. 3, vs. O'Fallon on Oct. 10, at Granite City on Oct. 17 and at Belleville East on Oct. 24.

"If we're the best team in the conference, that puts us in a good position to make a run at the state title," Martin said.

"We could start 0-2 or we could start 2-0, but I don't think we'll change. It's still about the process and it's still about getting better."

Friday, August 29, 2014 – TheIntelligencer.com – FALL SPORTS – Page 5

E'ville volleyball set for youth movement

By MATTHEW KAMP mkamp.edwi@gmail.com

With 23 wins, a shared Southwestern Conference championship and regional title, the Edwardsville Tigers put together another strong season in 2013.

The Tigers, though, had that season come to an end with a three-game loss to O'Fallon in the Class 4A Normal West Sectional semis at Granite City High School. It was the first time since 2009 that EHS hadn't won a sectional championship and eclipsed the 30-win mark.

In terms of numbers, it may have been a down year for the Tigers, but head coach Jami Parker said the team is ready for the new year.

"We are pleased with last season," Parker said. "I think the girls would have liked to have gone farther in the playoffs, of course, as did the coaching staff.

"It was a great group of seniors to work with last year, and we are excited to be back out here this year."

At quick glance 2013 Record: 23-15 Conference record: 6-1 (t-first) Postseason: Lost in sectional semifinals to O'Fallon Starters returning: 2 Head coach: Jami Parker 2013 Intelligencer MVPs:

Lynsey Wright and Katie Shashack Edwardsville's success last season is what many schools dream to obtain with a 20-win season, conference title and postseason success. The Tigers, though, have raised their expectation level year after year. They've won at least 30 games in five of the last seven seasons and have won seven straight conference titles.

Parker, who is 278-103-1 in 11 seasons at EHS, believes it is her job, along with the coaching staff, to help her players reach those lofty expectations.

"I know the girls have high expectations for what they would like to celebrate," she said. "As a coaching staff, we are working are hardest here to make sure they get to what they want to get to. We will go after those goals again."

To reach this year's goals, Edwardsville must overcome the loss of last year's senior class, which includes four that are playing in college — Lynsey Wright (Missouri State), Katie Shashack (SIUE), Camrey Saye (Ashland University) and Lauren Corby (Arkansas-Pine Bluff).

The Tigers do have plenty of talent returning, including a four-member senior that is headlined by middle hitter Korrine Croft and outside hitter Autumn Harris.

"We have another great group of seniors again, and a really good supporting cast of freshmen, sophomores and juniors," Parker said.

Lauren Cook and Amayha Dycus are the other two seniors on the roster.

Dycus, the starting junior varsity setter as a sophomore, recently moved back into area, after she left for Hawaii two years ago.

"It's good to have Amayha back. We missed her," Parker said.

Someone that won't be missed by opposing SWC coaches next season will

Matthew Kamp/Intelligencer

Pictured above are senior members of the Edwardsville girls' volleyball team. From left to right are: Korrine Croft, Lauren Cook, Autumn Harris and Amayha Dycus. be Croft, who is committed to SEMO. At 6-foot-1, she is an intimidated presence at the net with her blocking and hitting.

Last year, Croft was named to the AllSouthwestern Conference second team after accumulating over 125 kills and 74 assisted blocks. It is the third most assisted blocks in single-season history at EHS. "She is definitely one of the leaders this year, not only physically with her play but also emotionally," Parker said. "She is a phenomenal blocker, and she can also put a ball away for us. We are definitely looking at that from her."

Croft will help Edwardsville move on from Saye, a four-year varsity contributor, Wright and Corby from the front line.

It won't be easy, though.

Wright was all over the place last year, finishing with 240 kills, 65 blocks, 219 service points and a program-record 109 aces. Saye had 247 kills and 163 digs last year and has the fifth-most kills in program history.

Joining Croft on the front line will be a pair of experienced 5-8 outside hitters, Harris and junior Sydney Wright, the younger sister of Lynsey.

"They look to probably be the outside hitters," Parker said of Harris and Sydney Wright. "They will do a great job putting balls down and giving us a little bit of pop from the outside."

Setting up the hitters could be a question mark in terms of who, as Parker has at least three options — sophomore Nicki Meyer (400-plus assists last season), Dycus and junior Lexi Sikora, who moved back into the district from Colorado.

Defensively, EHS must replace two

members of its back line, including Shashack. The SIUE freshman had 471 digs last year, the third most in single-season program history. She also had 122 service points, 27 aces and a 93.2 serve percentage.

Clare Wasmuth, a defensive specialist, also graduated.

Stepping into Shashack's role at libero will likely be junior Rachel Anderson. She played significant minutes last season at defensive specialist.

Filling in the defense with Anderson will be a handful of players, including underclassmen.

"Allison Blume had some varsity court time towards the end of the year. We are going to have some fresher faces, younger kids that you will see on the varsity court on the defensive end," Parker said.

"Although we lost Katie — she's one of the top defensive record holders at the school — we are bringing up a pretty strong, defensive core behind her."

Parker and the Tigers will welcome a rather large freshman class, as 15 made it through the cut and could make an impact inside the program.

"It's just a phenomenal class," Parker said. "The nice thing about the freshmen is that not only are they a talented and hard-working class, they fit right in with these upperclassmen. They've kept the gym loose and are a very well-welcomed addition."

Last season, the Edwardsville Liberty Middle School eighth-grade team went 26-1 and took third place in the IESA state tournament.

The younger Tigers that do make the

varsity team will have to adjust to a difficult schedule, which opens Sept. 2 at home against Waterloo.

As usual, Edwardsville hosts the Tiger Classic on Sept. 6-7. Then, EHS travels to St. Joseph's Academy on Sept. 10.

Before that tough stretch is over, the Tigers will be the 15th seed in the 24-team Crossroads Classic in Effingham. The tournament is Sept. 12-13 at Effingham High School.

"I like the grueling schedule," Parker said. "It is tough, and it will definitely give a younger team a big challenge at the beginning of the season. You learn through experience, and you can't really learn the experiences until you've played the tough matches.

"We will start quick with them. We have our tournament, the Effingham tournament, St. Joe's right there in the first week basically."

And, of course, there will be difficulty of getting through the conference. Edwardsville shared the title with Belleville West last year.

The Maroons, who defeated EHS on Senior Night at Lucco-Jackson Gymnasium to end Edwardsville's 27-match winning streak inside the conference, will be towards the top of the league again.

"It looks to be a real good conference, again, this year. Just from the summer play, it's going to be tough," Parker said.

"We are going to have to work to compete in the conference."

The Tigers will travel to Belleville West for the regular-season match on Oct. 21. It is the final conference game of the season for Edwardsville.

Page 6 - FALL SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Friday, August 29, 2014

EHS girls' golf will have a youthful look

By MATTHEW KAMP mkamp.edwi@gmail.com The rebuilding season the Edwardsville girls' golf team was supposed to go through last year never happened.

Instead, the Tigers made a surprising run to the state tournament and All-State senior Emilee Flaugher capped her career with a fifth-place finish.

It was a season that started with many question marks, as the Tigers replaced five seniors from the 2012 team that took seventh at the state tournament. Four sophomores, who hadn't played much golf before tryouts, made up a majority of the lineup with Flaugher and senior Ashlea Hearn.

The Tigers, though, had no thoughts of rebuilding with the 12th-place finish at state. It was the third straight appearance for Edwardsville at the state tournament.

At quick glance 2013 Record: 16-5 Conference record: 6-1 (second) Postseason: 12th at State Starters returning: 5 Head coach: Tresa LaBoube 2013 Intelligencer MVP: Emilee Flaugher

“The girls really over-exceeded. They definitely played way beyond as beginning golfers. They outdid themselves, and it was awesome,” EHS head coach Tresa LaBoube said. “I don’t think they’ll realize — they’ll look back on it later — just how well they did at the point they were of being a beginning golfer and being a sophomore and so young at the game.”

Now, those sophomores are juniors, and EHS will enter the 2014 season with higher expectations than it did a year ago.

Leading this year's group will be a quartet of juniors — Sam Doak, Megan Quick, Kiley Reeder and Eryn Coppersmith.

Unlike last season, when the four girls were still learning the game and figuring out their swings, they now have a chance to learn the cerebral side of golf.

“With the experience of the four juniors — sophomores last year — that they got at the state tournament and through the postseason — and they’ve played a lot in the summer with Gateway Junior PGA events — there at a point where we can tweak it just a little bit further. We can get a little more in-depth and fine tune their game with course management,” LaBoube said.

The maturity showed in Edwardsville's team win at the Madison County Tournament on Aug. 19 in Wood River.

Despite playing without Flaugher and Hearn, the Tigers were 23 shots better than they were a year ago when they finished second in the large-school division and fourth overall.

Quick had the biggest decrease in score, cutting down 15 strokes to an 88. It was the third-best large-school score of the day behind sophomore teammate Kayla Weinacht and Collinsville's Sidney Bost.

Reeder, who fired a season-opening 90, cut 10 strokes off her score, and Doak

Matthew Kamp/Intelligencer

Members of the Edwardsville girls' golf varsity team from left are: Paige Hamel, Kayla Weinacht, head coach Tresa LaBoube, Sam Doak, Megan Quick, Jessica Binkley, Eryn Coppersmith, Kiley Reeder and Addy Zeller. was nine strokes better. She finished with a 92 at Belk.

It was a successful opening tournament for the Tigers, especially for the juniors playing without Flaugher and Hearn for the first time. LaBoube is hoping that comfortable mentality can continue for them.

“I don’t want them to put pressure on themselves thinking that we lost Emilee, our No. 1, and Ashlea, and that they have to now step it up,” LaBoube said. “We do have to step it up, but I don’t want to get to the point to where they get frustrated and put too much pressure on themselves. I just want them to play freely, get out there and play their game.”

Weinacht's tournament was also impressive. After spending a majority of last season at the junior varsity level, she tied for large-school medalist with an 84.

She finished third overall.

The MadCo wasn't the first 18-hole tournament for the sophomore with the Tigers. She carded a 92 in last year's Gary Bair Invite at Oak Brook Golf Club. It was good for second on the White Team and the best freshman score of the tournament.

Also battling for time in the starting lineup is a strong freshman class according to LaBoube.

Addy Zeller made her debut at Belk Park, and she was fifth on the team with a 94. Paige Hamel is another Tiger that will make her varsity debut this season.

“I am very impressed with the freshmen I’ve seen. We had six come out,”

LaBoube said. “Two of them, Addison Zeller and Paige Hamel, shot in the 40s.

Addy, even, had a 38 on the second day of tryouts. I know they played golf and that they were in the intramural golf program. They played golf during the summer, and it showed. I’m very excited to see the freshmen come out.”

Junior Jessica Binkley will also compete for a spot with the varsity team. She played with Weinacht last season on the JV team.

With eight capable players and six roster spots for dual matches and most tournaments, two will be sitting out.

LaBoube said it could be any of the eight sitting one day, and that a lineup spot must be earned.

“As I said in tryouts that last day, ‘You earn your spot. It doesn’t matter if you are varsity or junior varsity.’ I’m really excited to see how it goes this year. No spot is solid. You have to earn it to keep it, and that encourages everybody to work hard,” LaBoube said.

This will be LaBoube's final season with the Tigers. She will retire at the end of the season.

After LaBoube took over as head coach in 2005, Edwardsville has advanced to the state tournament six times. In her second season, EHS finished third.

LaBoube, who was an assistant coach under the late Gary Bair for several seasons, said she is going to miss guiding the Tigers. Though she may not be the head coach next year, she will still be

around Oak Brook Golf Club checking in on them.

“It feels different, because it’s like, ‘This is it.’ I am going to miss it terribly. This is something that has been a highlight of my life, and I know I love it. I already told the girls that I will be out here next year watching them,” LaBoube said.

A Southwestern Conference championship would be the appropriate retirement present for LaBoube, but it won't be easy for the Tigers.

After winning three straight and eight of the past 10, Edwardsville took second place last season behind Alton. The Redbirds are in prime position for a repeat, as they return the league's top golfer, senior Tori Hays, and an experienced group behind her.

“Alton is going to be, again, a very strong team. They were good last year, and now all their girls are going to be seniors. They are really going to be tough,” LaBoube said. “We are going to do our best. We came through the postseason last year, and we know what it takes. It takes hard work, dedication and we are going to do our best.”

The Redbirds didn't participate in the Madison County Tournament due to a scheduling conflict, so EHS didn't know how it would match up against the Redbirds then. The teams did meet in a triangular on Aug. 27, and the conference match is scheduled for Sept. 10 at Oak Brook Golf Club.

See "GIRLS' GOLF" on Page 7

Friday, August 29, 2014 – TheIntelligencer.com – FALL SPORTS – Page 7

Edwardsville boys' golf sets sights on state

By SCOTT MARION smarion@edwpub.net

After a rare early finish to its 2013 season, the Edwardsville boys' golf team is aiming for a return to the state tournament.

Last year, EHS didn't qualify for state as a team and also didn't send any individuals to state, which is a rarity for the program.

"We were young and we had only one senior, Tyler Worthey, who is now playing for Lindenwood University-Belleville," coach Dene Schickedanz said. "It was kind of unfortunate that we didn't have anybody make it to state. We want the team to make it, and if we can't do that, we want as many individuals as we can.

"As it turns out, we're young this year as well. We have a freshman, Ben Tyrell, that tied Justin Hemings for medalist during tryouts. Ben shows a tremendous amount of promise and we're really happy to have him."

At quick glance 2013 Record: 10-1 Conference record: 7-0 (first) Postseason: Unable to advance out of the sectional Head coach: Dene Schickedanz 2013 Intelligencer MVP: Tyler Worthey Hemings, a junior, had a memorable summer, placing second in the Quincy Little People's Tournament and winning the 14-15 age division in the St. Louis Inter-Club Junior Golf Association Championship at Old Warson Country Club. He started this season by shooting a 77 at the Alton Tee Off Classic Aug, 19 at Spencer T. Olin, helping EHS win the team title.

Another junior, Cale Abuehl, is also coming off a solid summer. He shot an 84 at the Tee-Off Classic. Tyrell shot 81 while sophomore Luke Babington shot 85. The top four scores counted toward the team total.

Ty Zeller, the lone senior in the top six, spent most of the summer playing baseball. But he still shot 77 at Spencer T. Olin to tie Hemings for third place among individuals.

A second freshman, Tanner White, rounds out of the top six. White made his season debut Aug. 21 at Gateway National Golf Links in the Madison County Invitational, which uses six players from each team.

"We don't have too many freshmen make the varsity," Shickedanz said. "Years ago, we had Chris Brant, who was our No. 1 player, and that's the only time I can

Matt Winte/Intelligencer

Members of the Edwardsville boys' golf varsity team are pictured above. In the front row from left are: Tanner White, Ben Tyrell, Drew Bradley, Luke Babington and Jack Berkbigler. In the back row from left are: Ty Zeller, Joe Waldrop, Justin Hemings, Cale Ambuehl and Chris Doyle. remember that happening."

Rounding out the varsity roster are seniors Drew Bradley, Chris Doyle and Jack Berkbigler and junior Joe Waldrop.

Bradley, who played in the regional last year at Quincy, shot 37 on the last day of tryouts.

"We ended up keeping 30 kids because we have a JV team and a frosh-soph team as well," Schickedanz said. "We're fortunate that the community gave us three coaches.

"We had a great season in 2008 and finished third at state. At the end-of-theyear meeting, Dr. (Ed) Hightower (the Edwardsville District 7 superintendent) asked us what we needed to take it even further and I said it would be great to have a third coach so we can keep more kids.

"That's been a huge part of our success because a lot of golf teams don't even have two coaches. Doug Wright, my JV coach, and Adam Tyler, my freshman coach, do a tremendous job."

Edwardsville had a busy first week of

Girls' Golf Continued from Page 6 The O'Fallon Panthers, Belleville East Lancers and Belleville West Maroons will also be in the hunt for a conference championship.

All of the conference teams will all be candidates for a state tournament bid when the postseason begins.

the season, playing Aug. 23 in the Quincy Invitational at Westview Golf Course.

The Tigers hit the road again for the Champaign Central Invitational, Aug. 29 at the University of Illinois Orange Golf Course, and the St. Viator Invitational, Aug. 30 at Old Orchard Country Club in Chicago.

The regular-season tournament schedule for EHS includes the Dick Gerber Invitational, Sept. 26 at Oak Brook Golf Course.

"At the start of the season, the kids get to pick their goals," Schickedanz said.

"They want to win the Madison County championship and they want to win the Southwestern Conference, which we've done 14 out of 15 years.

"We want to win the regional, which is always tough because we face off against Quincy, which is our arch-rival. We won it two years ago and they won it last year.

This year, the regional is at Clinton Hill and Belleville East is hosting it. That's a course

The Tigers, along with conference rivals Alton, Granite City and a handful of teams from Springfield and Bloomington, will be in the Springfield Regional at Lincoln Greens Golf Course. The rest of the conference will be at Hickory Ridge Golf Course in Carbondale in the Carbondale Regional.

The top three teams in each regional, along with two other regionals, will meet in the Champaign Centennial Sectional at the University of Illinois' Orange Golf Course in Savoy.

The state tournament is scheduled for Oct. 17-18 at

we know and like a lot."

Last year, Edwardsville was unbeaten in the dual portion of the SWC and won the conference tournament to claim the league title outright.

Getting out of the sectional, though, may be a bigger challenge for EHS. "We have to travel all the way to Crete to play at Balmoral Woods," Schickedanz said. "Homewood Flossmoor is hosting it and the IHSA did a slight realignment, so there will be some suburban Chicago teams, including Homewood Flossmoor, that we've never played before.

"We'll be familiar with the course because we'll travel up on a couple weekends to play it. The main goal is to get to state.

We've never won the big one here in Edwardsville, so we want to bring that trophy back to the community and back to Oak Brook."

The Class 3A state tournament is Oct. 17-18 at The Den at Fox Creek Golf Course in Bloomington.

Decatur's Hickory Point Golf Club.

While LaBoube still has one year left, EHS did have a change at the junior level. Libby Koonce, a 2000 graduate from Edwardsville High School and former player for Bair, will take over for long-time coach Cindy Ostrander.

LaBoube believes the junior varsity team is in very good hands this season.

“With that knowledge, it’s a big asset. She is going to do a fine job with the junior varsity players. She is hungry for this,” LaBoube said. “She is going to be a good asset for this program.”

Page 8 - FALL SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Friday, August 29, 2014

Edwardsville girls' tennis with high goals

By SCOTT MARION smarion@edwpub.net

With a familiar cast back for an encore performance, coach Dave Lipe is justifiably excited about the prospects for the Edwardsville girls' tennis team.

The 2013 squad finished 11th at the state tournament, after a ninth-place finish in 2012. Graduation losses included Holly Thompson and Hailey Michalik, who saw limited varsity action.

"We have everybody back from last year (among varsity regulars), but we have a lot of girls in different roles," Lipe said. "(Junior) Callaghan Adams is still at the top of our lineup for singles. Right now, (junior) Emily Lombardi is No. 2 and (senior) Maddie Lombardi is No. 3. (Senior) Megan LaRose is No. 4 and (senior) Mallory Abert is No. 5."

At quick glance 2013 Record: 29-5 Conference record: 7-0 (first) Postseason: 11th at State Head coach: Dave Lipe 2013 Intelligencer MVPs:

Mallory Abert and Megan LaRose Senior Morgan Colbert is sixth, followed by freshman Grace Desse and sophomore Mackenzie Cadagin. Sophomores Emma Lipe and Maria Mezo round out the top 10 and should see occasional varsity action.

Edwardsville's six state qualifiers combined to win 12 matches last year, led

by Abert and LaRose, who posted a 5-2 record and reached the seventh round of the consolation bracket.

Adams was 3-2 in singles, winning her first two matches in the main draw.

Colbert and Maddie Lombardi were 3-2 in doubles, reaching the fourth consolation round, while Emily Lombardi was 1-2 in singles.

"We return a fair number of girls that have a lot of experience," Lipe said. "We had a perfect sectional last year and played ourselves in the singles and dou-

Scott Marion/Intelligencer

Pictured above at the top 10 players for the Edwardsville girls' tennis team. In the front row from left are: Megan LaRose, Emily Lombardi, Mackenzie Cadigan, Emma Lipe and Maddie Lombardi. In the back row from left are: Mallory Abert, Maria Mezo, Grace Desse, Callaghan Adams and Morgan Colbert. bles finals. We won the (Southwestern) conference and got our 17th consecutive sectional championship.

"We've got a great freshman in Grace Desse. She may not be in our sectional lineup, but she'll get opportunities to play." Lipe is anxious to see what Adams can accomplish in her third year of high school tennis.

"Callaghan is one of the great athletes at EHS right now," Lipe said. "She's a twotime sectional champion in singles. She

Soccer Continued from Page 4 “Kieffer is just so much stronger and faster as a junior.

He’s every bit of big of a guy that Josh and Liam were,” Heiderscheid said.

With the 6-foot Kieffer and 6-1 Burke, Heiderscheid has a good foundation set for rebuilding his back line.

“That’s two really big, strong fast guys in the back,” Heiderscheid said.

Joining those two on defense remains to be seen. Like the midfield position last season, there is a logjam of players that will battle for minutes.

Last year’s junior varsity co-MVP Kyle Tucker — Effler was the other — Triad transfer Blake Broshaw, sophomore Matt Busse, freshman Zach Timmerman and student-exchange student Lucas Jonk, a sophomore from Holland, are all in the mix.

Heiderscheid has raved about Timmerman’s play and said it’s going to be tough to keep him out of the starting lineup.

provides a lot of leadership in terms of work ethic and focus during practice and during the offseason."

The Lombardi sisters will probably be one of the Tigers' top two doubles teams.

"Emily played singles last year (at the sectional and state), but she's looking to play doubles with Maddie this year," Lipe said. "They had a lot of success this summer.

The Tigers allowed only 18 goals last season, but lost three of their four starters and two reserves.

“You hate to lose that much out of the back end, but at the same time, we have a pretty good core that can get it done,” Heiderscheid said.

Playing time will also be up for grabs at the top of the field, where Heiderscheid said his lineup could “change game by game.” Heinlein had the forward position on lockdown last season.

Bazai, Paul and Mullican are all capable of playing forward, but Heiderscheid is hesitant about breaking up the two midfielders.

Sophomores Mohammad Hamad and Hamada Freese are expected to make large contributions this fall. Hamad is healthy after breaking his wrist in the season opener against Granite City.

“They have grown leaps and bounds from freshman to sophomore years,” Heiderscheid said.

One of them will likely land one of the starting spots on the wing, where Giacobbe was a season ago. The other could see time at forward.

Senior Kyle Swanson, junior Tristin Lieberman and junior Drew Flaugher will also look to break into the lineup.

Freshmen Alec Mills and Kyle Wright are also on the var-

"Megan (LaRose) and Mallory (Abert) are looking to play doubles again this year, and they're the defending sectional champions. They're All-State doubles players, so we're going to pack a good one-two punch."

The second singles position for the postseason could go to Colbert, Desse or Cadagin, with Colbert as the frontrunner at this point.

See "TENNIS" on Page 11

sity roster this season.

Meanwhile, the goalkeeper position will be not be a question mark. Heiderscheid is confident in seniors Trentan Daley and Joe Brammeier and junior Trey Riley.

The three will try to replace Heaton, who put on a show at the state tournament. He made 12 saves in two games in Hoffman Estates.

The goals will remain the same this year for Edwardsville — win the conference title and advance deep into the postseason. The Tigers have had plenty of success with those goals so far, as the Tigers have won nine SWC titles, 11 regional titles and seven sectional titles and have advanced to seven state tournaments during Heiderscheid’s head coaching career.

O’Fallon, Collinsville and Belleville West will likely challenge EHS for the top spot in the conference. O’Fallon (Sept.

4) and Belleville West (Oct. 14) will both be road games, while Collinsville visits the sports complex on Sept. 16.

Marquee non-conference games will be at Alton Marquette (Sept. 8), home against Gibault (Sept. 10), at CBC (Oct. 7) and at De Smet (Oct. 10). The Tigers will also participate in the Alton and Morton tournaments.

Edwardsville opened the season at Granite City on Thursday.

Friday, August 29, 2014 – TheIntelligencer.com – FALL SPORTS – Page 9

E'ville girls' swimming ready for Year 1

By MATTHEW KAMP mkamp.edwi@gmail.com

There may be a new team in town, but the IHSA and Chicagoland schools already know how good Edwardsville girls' swimming has the potential to be this season.

The Tigers, for the first time ever, will compete as a team against a full schedule.

Thanks to the generosity of Sharon Fruit, President of the Charles and Sharon Fruit Foundation, Edwardsville has a new facility, the Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center, and a team to go with it.

Christian Rhoten, a 2009 graduate of Edwardsville High School and collegiate swimmer at Eastern Illinois University, is excited for the opportunity to lead the squad.

“I am incredibly excited to have this opportunity. It’s crazy how this all played out, and how fortunate I am that this facility has come in and that my coaching experience led me to opportunity like this today,” Rhoten said. “I am very excited to be the high school coach, as I am an alumni of EHS. My grandfather taught at EHS. My family is very much based in this high school. To be able to be part of this in a coaching fashion is really awesome.”

This year, however, will not be the first time EHS has competed in swimming.

At quick glance This will be the first year the Tigers will compete as a team against an IHSA schedule.

Head coach: Christian Rhoten Postseason: Advanced 11 entries to the state meet as individuals Edwardsville — in boys and girls — has been able to participate with individual entries in the sectional and then, if they qualify, the state meet.

Last year, EHS had 11 entries advance out of the Springfield Sectional and to state. Of those entries, four were individual sectional champions and three were relay champions. Had the Tigers been able to compete as a team, they would have walked away with the sectional championship with ease.

Of the state entries, the Tigers lost only Katie Kuhl to graduation and Miami of Ohio. They do return juniors Elizabeth McPherson, Caroline Caton, Kate May, Jane Russo and sophomores Victoria Brady and Bailey Grinter.

There will also be a dozen more swimmers to make an impact with the first-year team. Twenty-four girls reported to tryouts, and all 24 made the team.

“I think the girls, when they came in to that (introduction) meeting, they were excited but also anxious to see how all this was going to play out,” Rhoten said. “Once we had the meeting, we had tryouts and it went really, really well. I think the excitement is going to continue to build up until the end of the season, when we are going to do some awesome things at sectional and state.”

At the tryouts, there was only one senior, which bodes well for the short-term future

Matthew Kamp/Intelligencer

Members of the varsity and junior varsity Edwardsville girls' swimming team are pictured above. In no particular order, they are: Christina Vance, Caroline Caton, Kate May, Elizabeth McPherson, Jane Russo, Victoria Brady, Natalie Grant, Bailey Grinter, Tilda Lidman, Amanda Mutz, Callista Poiter, Madison Young, Cecelia Belt, Caitlin Medford, Avery Ogle, Sahar Rabiei, Hope Roderick, Hannah Sarikcioglu and Taylor Seilheimer. success of the team.

One of those girls will be May, who took third place at the state meet in the 100-yard butterfly. She finished in 55.28, trailing only Oak Park Fenwick's Mimi Schneider (53.86) and Addison Trail's Kelly McNamara (55.11). Schneider is now swimming for Texas, while McNamara is back for her senior year.

Rhoten said the experience of swimming on the second day of the state will be beneficial for May. “I went to state when I was a high school swimmer, and it’s one of the most overwhelming events I’ve been to because of the atmosphere. They really do job as keeping it as a super exciting, competitive meet,” Rhoten said. “I think that swimming on day two in finals, the first year you go is a hope and the second time becomes almost an expectation.

“I fully expect her to repeat performing and make it back for finals, along with quite a few other girls that I think will perform well at state.”

May also advanced to state in the 100yard backstroke and two of the three relays (200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle), but failed to make it out of the preliminaries on the first day.

McPherson is another junior that will look to build off her season last year. She advanced on two of the three relays (200 medley and 400-yard freestyle) and took second in the 100 backstroke and 200-yard

individual medley.

“I think that she is going to really come along and make big strides this year. I think she has a lot of potential that is waiting to be unlocked,” Rhoten said. “Even different events than she used to swimming, because I think she has a great breaststroke that can be transformed into a state-caliber swim.”

Other individual entries that advanced out of the sectional last year were Grinter (50-yard freestyle, second) and Caton (100yard freestyle, first).

Both of those swimmers also took part in the relay races. Caton was on the 200 medley and 400 freestyle, and Grinter took part in the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle.

Other relay participants were Russo (200 freestyle) and Brady (400 freestyle).

All four members of the 400 freestyle (Caton, Grinter, Brady and McPherson) are back for the Tigers. Edwardsville did lose Kuhl from the other two relays.

“Most of the girls have swam together for multiple, multiple years in the club setting. They know each other, and they are used to each other as teammates,” Rhoten said. “That’s huge when you are looking at high schools. Most of those teams are composed of people from different club teams, and they don’t always vibe that well as a team. We have girls that know each other, have been training together and know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We are going to be better because of that.”

The Tigers will compete in the Normal Community Invitational on Sept. 20, with meets against O'Fallon (Oct. 2, 14 and 25), Springfield (Oct. 18), Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (Oct. 23) and Routt Catholic (Oct. 28). All the meets, excluding Oct. 25, will be at the Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center.

The Southern Illinois High School Girls Championship will also be in Edwardsville on Nov. 8-9. The following week is the sectional, which will take place Nov. 15 at the Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center.

That hard work could result in the team's first-ever sectional championship that they can physically put into the trophy case. It would be a feeling that no EHS swimmer has been able to have — at least not in IHSA swimming.

Even Rhoten admitted that he used to dream about what it would be like to lift a sectional championship plaque over his head in celebration.

“I don’t even know that I can describe that feeling,” Rhoten said. “I know that I can describe what I dreamed about when I was in high school. I can’t even describe what they’d be feeling in that situation.

I’m sure they’d be incredibly excited, overwhelmingly excited, that they could do that and prove their hard work and commitment.”

The state meet is scheduled for Nov. 21-22 at Evanston High School and the EHS swimmers expect to be there — as a team.

Page 10 - FALL SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Friday, August 29, 2014

Edwardsville cross country ready to run

By EVAN MEYERS emeyers@edwpub.net

Head coach George Patrylak comes into this cross country season with high expectations of both his guys' and his girls' teams. After a successful season for both teams last year, he believes this year's squads should be able to improve form the success of last season.

"This is a year where we could quite possibly have one of the best guys and one of the best ladies team that we've had. More pressure than anything comes from the success they both had last year," Patrylak said.

"The boys finished 17th in state and there is no reason why we wouldn't improve upon that. On the girls' side it was the first time we had qualified for state in six years and thats a young team that is better than last year."

The girls' team finished 23rd in state last season, and will be returning all but one of its runners from the state-placing lineup last season.

At quick glance 2013 Conference finish: Second for boys and girls Postseason: Boys took 17th at state meet Girls took 23rd at state meet Head coach: George Patrylak Intelligencer MVPs: Allie Sweatt, girls' team Brydon Groves-Scott, boys' team It will now be up to sophomores Savannah Brannan, Bailey McGuire, Caitlyn Scheibal and Julianna Determan, senior Elizabeth Lynn and junior Rachel Schoenecker to fill the number one spot held by Allie Sweatt (SIU Carbondale) last season.

Lynn will be joined by Molly Baker as the only seniors on the team.

Despite having just a pair of seniors, Patrylak said this team has a strong bond with one another.

"Unfortunately we only have two seniors but those seniors are excellent leaders.

Even with the small senior class, one thing I can say I've noticed more than anything is how close the team is," Patrylak said. "And when I say that, it's not just in terms of friendship but in their willingness to push each other, work hard and hold each other accountable. When you see something like that it gets you excited to see what they are going to be able to do."

The girls' squad will have to look for good performances outside of its senior class if they want to succeed, but the

Evan Meyers/Intelligencer

Senior members of the Edwardsville boys' and girls' cross country teams are pictured above. In the front row from left are: Dalton Masterson, Zain Pyarali, Hunter Hessler, Connor Dunaway, Drew Nolen and Zach Gabel. In the back row from left: Molly Baker, John Bradenburt, Joel Magee, Jay Lickert, Sam Bertels, Jack Lever, Wes Schoenthal, Joe Shannon, Brydon Groves-Scott and Elizabeth Lynn. same doesn't have to be said for the boys' team. The girls may only be returning two seniors to the team, but the boys' team has plenty of senior experience, bringing back 14 runners for their senior year.

"We are going to right at or right around 40 runners. It's not quite were we want to be numbers wise but it's solid," Patrylak said. "Our varsity squad will be made up mostly of seniors, and while it is good to have the numbers, it's not always the numbers of seniors you have but the quality of those individuals."

With only seven spots open for varsity runners each race competition will be fierce for those spots.

Brydon Groves-Scott, who finished 23rd overall at the state meet, is back for his final season with Edwardsville. He took fourth place at the annual Mud Mountain race on the SIUE 5K course.

Also returning from last year's state competitors will be seniors Wes Schoenthal, Joe Shannon and Zain Pyarali. They will be

joined by junior Ethan Townzen.

Having strong senior leadership will be a big factor for the team this season. Patrylak said he expect the members of this team to all fill their roles well.

"There is definitely a handful of guys who step out as leaders. All of them are great individuals and they all serve a purpose on the team," Patrylak said. "Some of them are going to more of our role models and some of our guys may be in their fourth year of competing, they might not actually run varsity races but by coming in and working hard they show guys no matter where you are it is still about individual improvement throughout the year."

Even though the would have liked the numbers of senior runners to be more even between the two squads, Patrylak's believes some of it is just the difference between girls and boys development as runners that can benefit this team and their seniors standings.

"The guys and girls are always a lit-

tle bit different. Traditionally you have a few more fresh/soph ladies who are able to make varsity. On the guys' side, you might have an elite level freshman or sophomore who have a chance, but our varsity will be made up of mainly seniors," Patrylak said.

To take advantage of the talented roster, the team will be running in multiple events where they will see state level competition.

The schedule will have the team trying out a couple new events this year as well as having the team run at the state course at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

"Our first major invitational in Granite City is always good because we see O'Fallon, which is the other power house and they have had our number the last several years, so they are always a good measuring stick," Patrylak said. "After that we get to focus on that first trip up to Detweiller. It's important because it gives you an idea on times and what to expect at the end of the year."

12-win Missouri is being overlooked to start the year COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — It's a new year and the same old story at Missouri, coming off a 12-win season and once again lightly regarded. Time to show 'em all — again.

Getting picked to finish fourth in the Eastern Division should

serve as motivation for a program being marked down because of the long list of players who have departed.

"We're guys trying to prove ourselves," offensive tackle Mitch Morse said. "I personally like coming from behind, I enjoy it."

Nine players are in NFL camps, including first-round pick Kony Ealy, second-rounder Justin Britt and SEC co-defensive player of the year Michael Sam. Coach Gary Pinkel points out before that stinker of a 5-7 debut in the Southeastern Conference

that was sabotaged by key injuries, the Tigers had played in seven consecutive bowl games.

Though there are nine returning starters, seven others have starting experience and both specialists are back.

Quarterback Maty Mauk

is back after going 3-1 in the SEC when James Franklin was injured. He had 11 touchdown passes and just two interceptions.

Tailbacks Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy combined for 1,286 yards and 13 touchdowns last season.

Friday, August 29, 2014 – TheIntelligencer.com – FALL SPORTS – Page 11

EHS field hockey isn't a one-hit wonder

By MATTHEW KAMP mkamp.edwi@gmail.com

There is excitement surrounding the Edwardsville field hockey program this season, and rightfully so.

After going 17-5 last season and advancing to the quarterfinals of the season-ending Midwest Tournament, the Tigers are out to prove their St. Louis critics that they aren’t a one-hit wonder. Edwardsville, despite owning wins over 20-win Villa Duchesne, Visitation, Eureka and Ursuline Academy last season and returning several starters, is ranked 12th by the area coaches.

“We lost a great group of seniors who will very good players, many of them starters, but I think this group of girls has really connected this season. They should be very successful this season and help carry the wins over from last year,” said first-year head coach Julia Tyler who is taking over for Abby Comerford.

Tyler isn’t a new face to the Edwardsville field hockey program. She was the junior varsity coach last season.

Tyler inherits a 17-win team that must find a way to replace Abby Urbanek (15 goals, 19 assists) and Paige Pashea.

Urbanek is now a freshman at Indiana

At quick glance 2013 Record: 17-5 Postseason: Lost in Midwest Tournament quarterfinals Starters returning: 7 Head coach: Julia Tyler 2013 Intelligencer MVP: Abby Urbanek University, and Pashea is at Missouri State. Both were recruited to play field hockey.

Twelve seniors, including goalie Eliza Pauk, defender Noah Manibusen and forward Alexa Humphreys, will be a good starting point for Tyler. Alyson Bergman, Renee Smith, Olivia Kalmer, Lydia Davey and Kate Hummel also played significant minutes last year.

“We have an excellent group of seniors that have provided excellent leadership for are team at all levels,” Tyler said.

A pair of seniors, Pauk and Manibusen, will headline the defensive unit, which lost Abbey Rasche and Pashea.

Pauk, who plays for Gateway, was 16-3 with 15 shutouts last season. She had a season-high 17 saves in the win over Visitation.

“Two returning starters on the defense will definitely be a great element to our game,” Tyler said.

Maddie Rasche and Brooke Thomlinson will likely fill the vacant spots.

Matthew Kamp/Intelligencer

Pictured above are senior members of the Edwardsville field hockey team. In the front row from left are: Alexa Humphreys, Renee Smith, Lydia Davey, Madalyn Farrar, Noah Manibusan and Abigail Anderson. In the back row from left are: Eliza Pauk, Nikki Sund, Kate Hummal, Olivia Kalmer, Nicole Laub and Alyson Bergman.

Sitting in front of the defense will be a midfield that includes junior Ryley Miller (six goals, two assists). She, along with sophomore teammate Annie Mulford, participated in the Junior Olympics program over the summer.

“Ryley Miller is probably one of the best players in the area. She plays with Gateway and gets plenty of training in the offseason. She will lead us in the midfield,” Tyler said.

Miller will take over Urbanek’s role as the center midfielder. She will be trying to control the play and create scoring chances like her predecessor did the past four years.

Also returning to midfield roles will be Bergman (four goals, three assists), Hummel (two assists), Smith (two goals) and Kalmer (one goal, one assist).

Having experience in the midfield is a plus for the Tigers.

“We will be very solid through the middle. It will help the transition because

Tennis Continued from Page 8 "Morgan is a state qualifier in doubles, but she's a really good competitor," Lipe said of Colbert. "I think she'll be good as a singles player."

Lipe is still experimenting with combinations for the No. 3 doubles team for tournament and dual matches.

they already connect so well together,” Tyler said.

The youngest returning starter, Mulford, is also the team’s leading returning scorer.

After scoring 16 goals and adding nine assists, Mulford is back at forward as well.

“Annie Mulford has a great start already this season,” Tyler said. “She is definitely one of the best players in the area, and she will be on the leading scorers in the area.”

Mulford had a team-high four multigoal games last season, including a hat trick against Nerinx Hall on Oct. 12.

Humphreys also proved to have a knack for scoring last season. She finished with eight goals and five assists for 21 points — third on the team behind Urbanek (49) and Mulford (41).

Meanwhile, a new feature this year for EHS will be divisional play. After spending the past few seasons as an independent, the Tigers are in the public school division in St. Louis.

Their schedule this season features a

Edwardsville opens the season Aug. 26 at St. Joseph's Academy. The Tigers play a dual match Aug. 29 at Downers Grove South and are in the New Trier Invitational on Aug. 30.

EHS will host two tournaments, the Heather Bradshaw Invitational on Sept. 5-6 and the Southern Illinois Duals on Sept. 26-27.

Other highlights of the Tigers' schedule include the Loyola Academy Invitational on Sept. 20 and the Lockport Invitational on Oct. 3-4.

"St. Joe's will offer us a stiff challenge right off the bat,

heavy dose of public schools, including Brentwood, Kirkwood, Parkway South, Ladue and Marquette. The Tigers still have a handful of games against the private schools.

Tyler said the schedule will provide a challenge.

“There are quite a few public schools ranked above us already, so there will be good competition,” Tyler said. “We will still be playing some private school teams also.

“We just need to go out there and play our hardest. The goal is going to be improve our ranking to become one of the top teams in the area.”

Edwardsville opened the season in the Gateway Classic Tournament on Friday. It concludes Sunday.

The Tigers are on the road at John Burroughs on Wednesday. The first home game is scheduled for Sept. 9 against defending Midwest Tournament champion MICDS.

but early in the season, we're just focusing on being as good as we can be in our next match," Lipe said. "We want to create an attitude that's conducive to improving throughout the year.

"We're not really looking at finishing a specific place (in the state tournament) that would make it a successful season for us. We have a good mix of experience and youth.

"With a lot of sophomores, one freshman and three seniors in our top 10, we have the ability to compete this year, and we also have the ability to sustain our success."

Page 12 - FALL SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Friday, August 29, 2014

Friday, August 29, 2014 – TheIntelligencer.com – FALL SPORTS – Page 13

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Page 14 - FALL SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Friday, August 29, 2014

Edwardsville fall sports schedule EHS Football

Aug. 30 vs. West Side (Ind.), 6 p.m.

Sept. 6 at Loyola Academy, 1 p.m.

Sept. 12 at East St. Louis, 7 p.m.

Sept. 19 vs. Alton, 7 p.m.

Sept. 26 at Collinsville, 7 p.m.

Oct. 3 vs. Belleville West, 7 p.m.

Oct. 10 vs. O'Fallon, 7 p.m.

Oct. 17 at Granite City, 7 p.m.

Oct. 24 at Belleville East, 7 p.m.

EHS Boys' Soccer

Aug. 29 vs. Triad at Alton, 4:30 p.m.

Aug. 30 vs. Dunlap at Alton, 11:30 a.m.

Aug. 30 at Alton, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 2 vs. Belleville East, 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 4 at O'Fallon, 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 8 vs. Marquette, 6 p.m.

Sept. 10 vs. Gibault, 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 12 at Morton, 5 p.m.

Sept. 13 at Morton Tournament, TBD Sept. 16 vs. Collinsville, 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 20 at Urbana, 1 p.m.

Sept. 24 at Whitfield, 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 27 vs. Normal Community, 12:30 p.m.

Sept. 30 vs. Alton, 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 4 vs. Carbondale, 1 p.m.

Oct. 10 at De Smet, TBA Oct. 14 at Belleville West, 6:30 p.m.

EHS Boys' Golf

EHS Girls' Volleyball

Sept. 2 vs. Waterloo, 6 p.m.

Sept. 5 hosting Tiger Classic, 5 p.m.

Sept. 6 hosting Tiger Classic, 8 a.m.

Sept. 10 vs. St. Joseph's Academy, 4:30 p.m.

Sept. 12 at Crossroads Classic, 5 p.m.

Sept. 13 at Crossroads Classic, TBA Sept. 15 at Triad, 7 p.m.

Sept. 17 vs. Incarnate Word, 5 p.m.

Sept. 18 at Granite City, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 23 vs. Althoff, 6 p.m.

Sept. 25 vs. East St. Louis, 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 29 at Highland, 7 p.m.

Oct. 2 at Collinsville, 6 p.m.

Oct. 7 vs. O'Fallon, 6 p.m.

Oct. 9 at Belleville East, 5:30 p.m.

Oct. 10 at Mizuno Tournament, TBA Oct. 11 at Mizuno Tournament, TBA Oct. 14 at Visitation, 5 p.m.

Oct. 16 vs. Alton, 5:30 p.m.

Oct. 20 vs. Mater Dei, 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 21 at Belleville West, 5:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 at Lyons Tournament, 5 p.m.

Oct. 25 at Lyons Tournament, 9 a.m.

Aug. 29 at Champaign Central Invite, 1 p.m.

Aug. 30 at St. Viator Invitational, 11 a.m.

Sept. 3 vs. Granite City/Triad/Highland, 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 10 vs. Belleville East/Sparta, 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 12 at Mattoon Invitational, 1 p.m.

Sept. 12 at Providence Catholic, TBA Sept. 13 at Providence Catholic, 7:30 a.m.

Sept. 13 at Mattoon Invitational, 8 a.m.

Sept. 15 vs. Collinsville, 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 16 vs. Belleville West, 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 18 at Althoff, 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 20 at Pekin Dragon Invitational, 8:30 a.m.

Sept. 24 at O'Fallon, 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 26 hosting Dick Gerber Invitational, 1 p.m.

Sept. 30 at SWC Tournament (Belk Park), 9:30 a.m.

Oct. 4 at Quincy Notre Dame Tournament, 1 p.m.

EHS Girls' Golf

Aug. 27 vs. Alton/Triad/Highland, 3:30 p.m.

Aug. 28 at Belleville East, 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 3 at Roxana, 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 4 at Mascoutah/Sparta, 4 p.m.

Sept. 10 at Alton, 4 p.m.

Sept. 11 at Marquette/Carrolton, 4 p.m.

Sept. 13 at Alton Inviational (Woodlands), 1 p.m.

Sept. 15 at Highland/Salem/Waterloo, 4 p.m.

Sept. 16 at Althoff/Carbondale, 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 17 vs. Triad/SHG/Marquette, 4 p.m.

Sept. 22 at O'Fallon, 4 p.m.

Sept. 23 at Granite City, 4 p.m.

Sept. 24 at Belleville West, 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 30 at SWC Tournament, 9:30 a.m.

Oct. 2 hosting Gary Bair Invitational, 1 p.m.

EHS Girls' Swimming

Sept. 20 at Normal Community Invite, 8:30 a.m.

Oct. 2 vs. O'Fallon, 5:45 p.m.

Oct. 14 vs. O'Fallon, 5:45 p.m.

Oct. 18 vs. Springfield, 1 p.m.

Oct. 23 vs. Springfield SHG, 4 p.m.

Oct. 28 vs. Routt Catholic, 5:45 p.m.

EHS Girls' Tennis

Aug. 29 at Downer's Grove South, 4:30 p.m.

Aug. 30 at New Trier Invite, 8 a.m.

Sept. 5 hosting Heather Bradshaw Invite, 1 p.m.

Sept. 6 hosting Heather Bradshaw Invite, 8:30 a.m.

Sept. 9 at East St. Louis, 5 p.m.

Sept. 10 vs. Granite City, 4 p.m.

Sept. 12 at Rock Bridge Quad, 10 a.m.

Sept. 16 at Belleville West, 4 p.m.

Sept. 18 at Belleville East, 4 p.m.

Sept. 19 at Highland Park, 3 p.m.

Sept. 20 at Loyola Academy Invitational, 8:30 a.m.

Sept. 23 vs. Collinsville, 4 p.m.

Sept. 26 hosting Southern Illinois Duals, 1 p.m.

Sept. 27 hosting Southern Illinois Duals, 9 a.m.

Sept. 30 vs. O'Fallon, 4 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Lockport Invite, 3:30 p.m.

Oct. 4 at Lockport Invite, 8 a.m.

Oct. 10 at SWC Tournament (EHS), 1 p.m.

Oct. 11 at SWC Tournament (EHS), 10 a.m.

EHS Cross Country

Aug. 30 at Belleville West/O'Fallon, 8 a.m.

Sept. 6 at Granite City Invitational, 8:30 a.m.

Sept. 10 hosting Tiger Fall Classic, 4 p.m.

Sept. 13 at Peoria Woodruff Invite, 9 a.m.

Sept. 20 hosting Edwardsville Invite, 9 a.m.

Sept. 29 at Jerseyville Invitational, 4:30 p.m.

Oct. 4 at Lockport Invitational, 9 a.m. (Boys) Oct. 4 at Peoria High Invitational, 10:30 a.m. (Girls) Oct. 7 at Madison County Meet (Collinsville), 4 p.m.

Oct. 11 at Centralia Invitational, 9:30 a.m.

Oct. 17 at SWC Meet (Belleville West), 4 p.m.

Oct. 20 hosting Tiger Finale, 4 p.m.

EHS Field Hockey

Aug. 26 at Villa Duchesne, 4 p.m.

Aug. 29 vs. Harvard Westlake at Fenton, 3 p.m.

Aug. 30 vs. Oak Park at Fenton, 11 a.m.

Aug. 30 vs. Cor Jesu at Fenton, 6 p.m.

Sept. 3 at John Burroughs, 4 p.m.

Sept. 5 at Brentwood, 4:15 p.m.

Sept. 9 vs. MICDS, 4:15 p.m.

Sept. 11 vs. Lafayette, 4:15 p.m.

Sept. 15 vs. Kirkwood, 4:15 p.m.

Sept. 17 vs. Eureka, 4:15 p.m.

Sept. 24 at Parkway South, 4:15 p.m.

Sept. 29 at Ladue, 4:15 p.m.

Oct. 6 at Rockwood Summit, 4:15 p.m.

Oct. 13 vs. University City, 4:15 p.m.

Oct. 16 vs. Marquette, 4:15 p.m.

Oct. 20 at Whitfield, 4 p.m.

Oct. 21 vs. Oakville, 4:15 p.m.

* All schedules are subject to change. For up to date information, visit www.schedules.schedulestar.com and search Edwardsville High School, IL.

Friday, August 29, 2014 – TheIntelligencer.com – FALL SPORTS – Page 15

Metro-East Lutheran schedule MELHS Football

Aug. 29 vs. Bunker Hill, 7 p.m.

Sept. 4 vs. Barat Academy, 7 p.m.

Sept. 12 at Bunker Hill, 7 p.m.

Sept. 19 vs. Kincaid (South Fork), 7 p.m.

Sept. 26 at Nokomis, 7 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Wood River, 7 p.m.

Oct. 10 vs. Mount Olive, 7 p.m.

Oct. 17 vs. Marquette, 7 p.m.

Oct. 24 at Pawnee, 7 p.m.

MELHS Boys' Soccer

Sept. 2 vs. Christ Our Rock, 4:30 p.m.

Sept. 4 vs. Breese Central, 4 p.m.

Sept. 9 vs. Roxana, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 11 at Freeburg, 4:30 p.m.

Sept. 16 at Wood River, 4:30 p.m.

Sept. 23 at Wesclin, 4:30 p.m.

Sept. 25 vs. North Mac, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 27 vs. Teutopolis, 10 a.m.

Sept. 29 vs. Litchfield, 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 30 at Carlyle, 4:30 p.m.

Oct. 1 vs. Valmeyer, 5:30 p.m.

Oct. 4 at Marquette, 11 a.m.

Oct. 8 at Southwestern, 5 p.m.

Oct. 9 vs. Staunton, 5:30 p.m.

Aug. 30 at Greenville Invitational, TBA Sept. 2 at Jerseyville, 4:30 p.m.

Sept. 4 vs. Roxana, 4:30 p.m.

Sept. 9 at Wood River, 4:30 p.m.

Sept. 13 at Herrin Invitational, TBA Sept. 15 at Greenville, 4:30 p.m.

Sept. 18 vs. Civic Memorial, 4:30 p.m.

Sept. 23 at Mascoutah, 4:30 p.m.

Sept. 25 vs. Waterloo, 4:30 p.m.

Oct. 7 at Hillsboro, 4:30 p.m.

Oct. 9 vs. Wood River, 4:30 p.m.

Oct. 14 vs. Gibault, 4:30 p.m.

MELHS Boys' Golf

MELHS Girls' Volleyball

Aug. 29 at Springfield Tournament, TBA Aug. 30 at Springfield Tournament, TBA Sept. 3 at East St. Louis, 6 p.m.

Sept. 9 vs. Nokomis, 7 p.m.

Sept. 10 vs. Granite City, 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 at Mascoutah Tournament, TBA Sept. 17 vs. Gibault, 7 p.m.

Sept. 22 at Litchfield, 7 p.m.

Sept. 23 vs. Southwestern, 7 p.m.

Sept. 25 vs. Bunker Hill, 7 p.m.

Oct. 6 at Marquette, 7 p.m.

Oct. 7 vs. Collinsville, 7 p.m.

Oct. 9 at Civic Memorial, 7 p.m.

Oct. 14 vs. Greenville, 7 p.m.

Oct. 15 vs. Wood River, 7 p.m.

Oct. 17 at O'Fallon Invitational, TBA Oct. 18 at O'Fallon Invitational, TBA Oct. 21 at Mount Olive, 7 p.m.

Oct. 22 at Roxana, 7 p.m.

Oct. 24 at Quincy Notre Dame Tournament, TBA Oct. 25 at Quincy Notre Dame Tournament, TBA

Sept. 2 at Valmeyer/Gibault, 4 p.m.

Sept. 11 at Wood River/Civic Memorial, 3:30 p.m.

Sept. 15 vs. Marissa/Okawville, 4 p.m.

Sept. 17 at Staunton/Civic Memorial, 4 p.m.

Sept. 18 at Roxana/Highland/Mater Dei/EAWR, 3 p.m.

Sept. 23 vs. Christ Our Rock/Gibault, 4 p.m.

Sept. 24 vs. Valmeyer, 4 p.m.

Sept. 25 vs. Triad, 3:30 p.m.

Oct. 2 at Marissa/Red Bud, 4 p.m.

Oct. 4 hosting PSC Tournament, 9 a.m.

MELHS Cross Country

Aug. 30 hosting MELHS Invite, 10 a.m.

Sept. 3 at Columbia Relay, 4 p.m.

Sept. 6 at Granite City Invitational, 10 a.m.

Sept. 10 at Tiger Classic, 4 p.m.

Sept. 13 at Peoria Woodruff Invite, 9 a.m.

Sept. 20 at Cape Central Invitational, 9 a.m.

Sept. 27 at Freeburg Invitational, 10 a.m.

Oct. 2 at Chester Invitational, 4 p.m.

Oct. 7 at Madison County Meet, 4 p.m.

Oct. 11 at Wood River Invitational, 9:30 a.m.

Oct. 14 at Carlinville Invitational, 4:30 p.m.

Oct. 18 at Patriot Invite, 1 p.m.

* All schedules are subject to change. For up to date information, visit www.schedules.schedulestar.com and search Metro-East Lutheran High School, IL.

MELHS Girls' Tennis

Page 16 - FALL SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Friday, August 29, 2014

MELHS football starting a new chapter

By EVAN MEYERS emeyers@edwpub.net

For the Metro-East Lutheran football team to be successful this season, the coaching staff is going to have to be able to get everything it can from every player.

With just 20 men on the roster, head coach Matt Tschudy will be asking for all his players to play multiple roles on the team.

"It started at the end of May and beginning of June, when we started putting them through a pretty good workout program. With this group being so small, one my goal is that we'll be the best conditioned out of every one we face," Tschudy said. "We have to be. Even if we had 35 players I would still want to be the best

At quick glance 2013 Record: 1-8 Conference: Prairie State Head coach: Matt Tschudy Top players back: Drew Kohler and Colton Masters conditioned team. They aren't going to like it but we are going to be conditioned to play."

Tschudy will be returning to the team for his second stint as head coach, and will be looking to improve on a team that has only recorded one victory in the past three seasons. Since his last stint as head coach, he had spent the last four seasons as an assistant to the program.

“Its different this time around. I feel much more comfortable with the position this time around,” Tschudy said.

As Tschudy returns to head coaching duties, the team will see the return of six seniors.

One of those returning will be Colton Masters at quarterback. Masters was the original starting quarterback for the Knights last year, but was replaced by another returning senior Drew Kohler after suffering an injury in the middle of the season.

Now with Masters taking the snaps again, the coaching staff will try to take advantage of having senior leadership at quarterback.

"A big thing with him this season is going to be leadership. He is the leader of the offense," Tschudy said. "You know,

Evan Meyers/Intelligencer

Pictured above are senior members of the MELHS football team. In the top row from left are: Kurtis Nemsky, Caleb Wallace and Will Rankin. In the bottom row from left are: Colton Masters, Sean Micnheimer and Drew Kohler. we expect him to responded to situations on the field appropriately. If he throws an interception don't let it tear him up inside, if he throws a touchdown he needs to act appropriately. His emotions are going to run through the rest of the team for sure. He is a very positive and talented individual."

The return of Masters moves Kohler back to wide receiver for his senior season. Drew is the son of Andy Kohler, who was the head coach of the team for the previous three seasons. Kohler was limited to just eight catches last season, but much of that was due to his move to quarterback.

Tschudy said he expects Kohler to be an important aspect of the offense no matter what position he plays.

"He can make an impact on the field.

He knows the game very well on both

offense and defense and he has really good hands," Tschudy said.

Also looking to make a contribution in the passing game this season will be another part of the senior group, Will Rankin.

Rankin led the team last year with 32 catches and 8 touchdown receptions.

This includes an eight-catch, 154-yard performance against Marquette Catholic to finish last season.

With a returning senior at quarterback and two senior wide receivers, the Knights are looking to be efficient with their passing game.

"For me, one of the biggest things is we are looking for guys who can lead by example. You can be as vocal as you want but you also have to lead by example and I think these guys can do a great job at that," Tschudy said.

Metro-East may not have the numbers of some the programs they will face, but the team will have field experience. Also returning this season are three offensive lineman, seniors Kurtis Nemsky and Sean Micnheimer will be joined by junior Jacob Durham and all three have experience on the offensive line. Nemsky and Durham have played of the defensive line as well.

The Knights open their season against Bunker Hill this season, the opponent they were able to get their lone win against last season.

While last season left the team with room to improve, Tschudy thinks his team is taking steps in the right direction.

“We don't have the biggest squad, but we have 20 guys who are willing to work and that is a big step in the right direction,” Tschudy said.

Illinois looks to turn it around in Beckman's third year CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Wins have been scarce in Jon Davis' first three seasons at Illinois, just 13 in all. Seven of those came his freshman year.

But the tight end believes this could be the year the Illini turn the corner.

"Six or seven wins isn't a faroff goal," he said. "This team is good enough to be a bowl team."

It may have to be for coach

Tim Beckman. His boss, athletic director Mike Thomas, has said the team needs be better than last season.

Those Illini were 4-8 (1-7 Big Ten), a small step up from 2-12 in 2012.

"Now, it's not the numbers that we all want, but we did get better," Beckman said.

The third-year coach has at least one big weapon to work

with this fall in transfer quarterback Wes Lunt. And the Illini have a bunch of returning players who should be better, as well as an influx of junior college talent.

The last time Lunt played at Illinois' Memorial Stadium, he was the quarterback for Rochester (Ill.) High School and threw for 590 yards and four touchdowns in winning a state

title. He started as a freshman at Oklahoma State before losing the job to injury, then sat out last season under NCAA transfer rules.

Now 6-5 and 225 pounds, he is the kind of pure passer who could put serious bite into coordinator Bill Cubit's offense.

Illinois scored 29.7 points a game in 2013, sixth in the Big Ten, and was second in passing

yards with 287.7 a game.

If Illinois lacks experience in any one spot, receiver is it. The most productive returning wide receiver, Martize Barr, caught 26 balls for 246 yards. But Illinois added junior college receiving talent in Tyrin Stone-Davis and Geronimo Allison. And two true freshmen, Mike Dudek and Malik Turner, have won early praise.

Friday, August 29, 2014 – TheIntelligencer.com – FALL SPORTS – Page 17

Metro volleyball hit hard by graduation

By EVAN MEYERS emeyers@edwpub.net

One of the biggest challenges facing the Metro-East Lutheran volleyball team this year will come before the team takes the court for its first game.

The challenge will be replacing the seven seniors, as well as two transferring students, who played a big role on the team in its previous season.

Though it may be hard to replace the leadership lost with that group, head coach Jon Giordano thinks the experience this group has will be able to make up for the loss.

At quick glance 2013 Record: 22-14 Conference: Prairie State Postseason: Lost in the sectional Head coach: Jon Giordano Seniors lost: Seven "It is certainly an interesting transition, but at the same time we've got a lot of returning experience," Giordano said.

"Especially down the stretch last year, we had a lot of people that contributed here and there. So, we've still got a surprisingly nice solid core of returners we can build on. At the very least they have the experience of working with those seniors from last year and have good examples of how to work hard and stay focused and things like that. " Although the team did take a big hit in senior leadership this season with the losses of Mackenzie Gocal, Mckenna Judge, Anna Kellar, Jessica Green, Olivia Daube, Shelby Steinmeyer and Courtney Williams, that is not to say they are without this season.

This year's team will have two seniors in Abby McMahon and Morgan Schneider.

Giordano will look to both of these girls as well as returning underclassmen to take on not only bigger roles in the offense but to be leaders off the court as well.

"We've got about half a dozen who played at some point quality varsity time last year. We've got Abby McMahon and Abby Yurchuck, this will be their third year on varsity. So that alone gives us some nice experience it terms of players that have been there and been through regional championships and some of the tougher tournaments we play in. So I'm really look-

Evan Meyers/Intelligencer

Abby McMahon, left, and Morgan Schneider are the two seniors for the MELHS girls' volleyball team. ing to them to be able to really set a tone for a lot of the younger kids."

Giordano does not plan on taking it easy on his team just because they lost experience.

In fact, he is keeping much of the schedule the same and is looking forward to seeing how his young team will step up to the challenge.

The Knights will play Southwestern Conference schools Alton, East St. Louis, Granite City and Collinsville, as well as participate in tournaments at Mascoutah, Springfield, O'Fallon and Quincy Notre Dame.

"Our schedule is almost exactly the same, mostly the tournaments. It will just be nice to, again, have those opportunities for challenges set before them, especially early on.

It will be nice to see how quickly they can grow up a little bit," Giordano said."

Having players getting their first shot at varsity level play provides the coaching staff with the chance to try new things and see how to best use the roster.

Even though this may present a challenge, especially early in the season, Giordano looks forward to seeing where his incoming varsity players will thrive.

"Every year there's always a transition and new people step forward, grow and mature. The joy of being a coach, as well as a teacher, is to see new people grow in their roles and especially to see these young women grow in their roles as athletes. Right now there is a lot of flexibility in positions and that keeps us as coaches on our toes in terms of having different options," Giordano said. "Even though it can be very challenging there is some excitement in watching them take on new roles and responsibilities."

Along with this however, is the bumps and bruises that will come along with such a major roster shift.

This is something Giordano and his staff is anticipating but he said he thinks they can get through most of that process before the season begins.

"There will obviously be a little trouble with transitions even in practice just working on the finer details of the offense," Giordano said. "When you have so many new people it can be a little bit for them to absorb but I have been really encouraged by how even our new people are getting it pretty well."

Last year, the team was able to advance to the Class 2A sectional semifinal game before losing to Carlinville. The Knights finished the season 22-14, which was the second most wins in the program's history.

St. Louis won't have it easy in the tough NFC West SEATTLE (AP) — Forget about the NFC Worst. Last year proved the NFC West is the deepest division in the NFL. Whether it was San Francisco and Seattle, the league's best rivalry, meeting in the NFC championship game, or the Seahawks posting the most lopsided Super Bowl victory in two decades by routing Denver, the profile of the NFC West is drastically different from a few years

ago.

NFC West depth goes beyond just the Seahawks. The four teams combined to go 42-22 a year ago, the best of any division, and could be that good again.

There are concerns for each team entering 2014. St. Louis will be without Sam Bradford.

Arizona must replace linebackers Daryl Washington and Karlos Dansby, and defensive

tackle Darnell Dockett. San Francisco will play at least half the season without All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman.

And Seattle must deal with the attention and scrutiny that comes with being the defending champ.

"They're good, they're the defending champs. They're in our division, there's a lot of motivation there," San Francisco's Justin Smith said.

MAN OF THE HOUR: The defense Jeff Fisher has built in St. Louis is impressive.

The Rams added Kenny Britt, and the addition of rookie Greg Robinson should solidify the left side of the offensive line.

St. Louis has a dominant front four on defense with Chris Long, Robert Quinn, Michael Brockers and the addition of rookie Aaron Donald. But the secondary must improve.

BIG WAVE: Arizona was one of the hottest teams at the end of last season after finally clicking under coach Bruce Arians, winning seven of its final nine.

The Cardinals also hold the distinction of being the only team to win in Seattle since 2011 after knocking off the Seahawks in Week 16.

Predicted order of finish: Seahawks; 49ers; Rams; Cardinals.

Page 18 - FALL SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Friday, August 29, 2014

Metro-East tennis will rely on seniors

By EVAN MEYERS emeyers@edwpub.net

One thing the Metro-East Lutheran girls' tennis head coach Matt Gehrke wants to do this season is continue the progression of his players, and program.

With six seniors returning and only one player completely new to the program, Gehrke thinks this team has a great chance to improve from last season.

"All of my seniors have been here at least a year, and we have two who have been on the team since they were freshman and two who joined when they were sophomores," Gehrke said. "It is nice to have that leadership from the seniors.

They know what to do and they know my instructions so it's almost like we can pick up from where we left off."

Last season, the team had Alex Carney pick up a win in the Alton Sectional.

This year Carney will be returning for her senior season, along with five other seniors who will all be competing for the team's number one spot.

"We are looking to see Alex Carney, and Annie Keirn and Heather Moore-Malec all compete for the top three spots and be ready to go for the team this year," Gehrke said. “They are going to have some competition from Cierra Fields, Kasey Harvey and Lydia Walter trying to get into those top three spots as well.”

Having a larger and more experienced roster than usual means there will be plenty of competition for the top spots on the team, but Gehkre expects there to be good competition from all the players on his roster.

“Kathryn Gasser has made a lot of improvement and will be looking to be one of our top six,” Gehrke said. “Hannah Wudtke and Sam Stinson are the same way so they are going to be right there fighting for those spots.”

Gehrke knows what kind of play he can expect from his players in singles. In doubles, it may be a different story as the head coach admits that he doesn't know exactly how is players will be paired over the season.

“Doubles will still kind of be up in the air. We've got some teams that are back who have played together," Gehrke said.

"At times, Cierra Fields and Heather Moore-Malec played doubles together

Evan Meyers/Intelligencer

Pictured above are senior members of the MELHS girls' tennis team. In the bottom row from left are: Kathryn Gasser, Samantha Stinson and Lydia Walther. In the top row from left are: Kasey Harvey, Alex Carney and Hannah Wudtke. and had a pretty decent season. Annie Keirn is back, and she actually led the team in doubles wins with different partners she had last year."

Gehrke said he tries to emphasize constant improvement with his players and wants them to get better as the season progresses. With the amount of returning players he has this year, Gehrke has seen most of players for at least a year and has seen the improvements they have been able to make. He hopes that improvement can translate into more success for the program.

"I think they can improve on the win total from last season and go out there and get us a couple more wins. We have

a really interesting mix because three of our four underclassmen are going to be playing varsity and they played varsity last year," Gehrke said. "They play at a nice level, which is very fortunate to have here at Metro. Sometimes we get a bunch of players who haven't played much, and this year we have some kids who have played a lot and taken lessons, so hopefully that will translate to more success and more wins."

This year the Knights will be looking to add to their sectional win total. However, before sectionals the team will have plenty of challenges throughout the season. The team will have five home matches, against Roxana, Civic Memorial, Waterloo, East

Alton-Wood River and Gibault. How the team plays in these home matches will give the coach a good idea on how his team has progressed through the season, especially with the East Alton-Wood River and Gibault matches coming just before the sectional.

“Our schedule is, for the most part, the same as it was last year, but our schedule has slowly grown. I always want to grow it, get those maximum dates and get some more tournaments in and slowly but surely we're doing that,” Gehrke said. “It's always a work in progress, but I'm really happy with our schedule this year and I look forward to seeing how that makes us into better tennis players too.”

From the Sports Editor First and foremost, I want to thank Intelligencer sports reporters Scott Marion and Evan Meyers for their work on stories, photos and everything else associated with this publication. In addition, I'd like to thank Jennifer Dyer for her work and the rest of the advertising layout staff and the advertising sales staff for another fantastic effort. Also, a thanks goes out to Intelligencer reporter Matt Winte for his work with the video profiles on several athletes from each fall sport and the cover.

A special thanks, as always, goes to Managing Editor Bill Tucker for his constant and appreciated words of advice.

Finally, I'd like to extend big thank yous to the coaches and players who are always willing to give their time to make this publication a success, and the City of Edwardsville for letting us use the Ninian Edwards statue for the cover.

Matt Kamp

Go Knights!

Friday, August 29, 2014 – TheIntelligencer.com – FALL SPORTS – Page 19

Metro soccer won't let number's game hurt

By MATTHEW KAMP mkamp.edwi@gmail.com

With seven seniors gone from last season's 12-8 team, the Metro-East Lutheran Knights had to do some scrambling to field a team.

Luckily for the Knights, the returning players are quite the recruiters, as they were able to bring out enough classmates to get the roster up to 14 for second-year head coach Noah Enke.

With seven new faces, including six freshmen and a couple of them new to the game, Enke will be mixing and matching his lineup throughout the season.

"I don't think this season we can really expect anything, especially since we had to really find kids, only having seven return," Enke said. "The guys did another great job recruiting fellow classmates to come out. We have 14. We have a few that have never played before, so it's going to be different. It's going to be a rebuilding year.

"We have one senior, Jacob Roggow.

He's a great player. He's going to be missed next year, but he's going to be a good coach for the underclassmen. He's a good kid, and I don't think (being the only senior) is going to hurt his play.

At quick glance 2013 Record: 12-8 Conference: Independent Postseason: Lost in the regional semis to Marquette Head coach: Noah Enke Seniors lost: Seven Top players back: Jacob Roggow and Joe Babcock "We recruited six freshmen this year and one transfer from New York. We are ready to go. We are just trying to get everybody on the same page right now."

Enke, a 2004 graduate from Metro-East Lutheran, didn't go through the number's game like his Knights are this season.

"In terms of numbers, we never really had to worry about having a team. We kind of sometimes had to worry about having a JV team, but never a varsity team," Enke said. "All the sports at Metro this fall are struggling a little. We aren't really sure why, but we are doing the best with what we have.

"I think the guys, for what we have, are going to do pretty well this year."

Metro-East had the numbers last year, and the results showed. The Knights went 12-8 and outscored its opponents 50-28.

Enke believes the Knights' 12-8 record could have been even better.

"We had a pretty amazing year. If we could have won a few more games, we would have had one of the better records in Metro school history," Enke said. "We had such a miraculous season last year, as the team was on the same page from day one. We didn't have a single injury.

Anything that I could have asked from the guys, they did.

"This year, we are bringing in almost half a new team. It's getting that half of the team on the same page. It's definitely going to be a more mental game than physical."

The shortage of players this year wasn't

Matthew Kamp/Intelligencer

Pictured above are returning letter ºwinners for the Metro-East Lutheran boys' soccer team. From left are: Joe Babcock, Nathan Partelow, Jacob Roggow, Reed Harmon, Richard Jones and Michael Papka. John Hubbard is not pictured. helped by a larger than usual senior class for the Knights. Seven players graduated and a number of other players didn't return.

Derek Benning, statistically, is the biggest loss from last season. He scored a team-high 17 goals and had seven assists.

Kedric Norwood, who had nine goals as a freshman, didn't return this year.

With Benning and Norwood gone, the Knights will look Roggow to carry the load. Last year, he had seven goals and a team-high 13 assists.

Not only will Roggow be counted on for offense, but also for fundamental play in the midfield. With the current setup, he will have a chance to control the middle of the field by himself.

"Jacob is our attacking mid," Enke said.

"That's going to be a very good spot for him, especially since he's try to go off and play in college. (Attacking mid) is where I think he will be a major help in college.

"We are pretty much giving him the whole midfield. He's our key midfielder.

He's a playmaker for us. He's one that you want to try to get the ball. He's one of our big leaders out there."

If the opposing offense is controlling too much of the middle, Roggow does have the option to call for reinforcements from two holding midfielders that will play directly in front of the back line.

"We are going to try and let Roggow run the midfield as he deems neccessary. If he needs more, he is welcome to call someone in to help him," Enke said. "Otherwise, we are trying to leave the midfield wide open for Roggow to do what he can do in that position."

While Roggow will be counted on at midfield, another familiar face will be in charge of the back line. Joe Babcock, who played significant minutes since his freshman year, is back for his junior year.

Last year, Babcock had three goals and three assists. He also played shutdown defense.

"Joe's done nothing but excel as a sweeper for us. Especially putting him back there, he just grew into that spot. I have to put him back there again," Enke said.

"He's done nothing but improve this year, and I expect him to secure that position down even more."

Having Roggow and Babcock at two key positions on the field is beneficial for Enke and Metro-East Lutheran.

"Them being my two captains and my leaders this, they can kind of split the authority," Enke said. "Jacob can watch the midfield and the offensive attack and keep everybody in line up there. Joe is in charge of keeping the defense in check."

As for the rest of the field, Metro will have three forwards at the top of its attack.

Junior Richard Jones (two goals) and sophomore Michael Papka (one goal) will likely have starting roles for two of the positions.

The third forward will likely be one of the newcomers. Which one them plays is a matter of cohesion and energy.

Roggow will take care of the midfield for Metro behind the three forwards.

On the back line, junior Nathan Partelow (one assist) will join Babcock in the other center back role.

Freshman Daniel Shimkus will likely play on the left side, and Enke is still look-

ing for a right-side defender.

Junior John Hubbard and a newcomer will take the two holding spots in front of the back line.

Reed Harmon, a junior, will try to nail down the goalie role that was vacated with the graduation of Brendan McDaniel.

Harmon will be filling big shoes, as Harmon posted four shutouts and made 86 saves while being under consistent pressure.

With the hard work Harmon has put into the position over the summer, Enke believes he can make an impact in his new role.

"The kid is a natural athlete," Enke said of Harmon. "About two months ago, he came up to me and said he wanted to try goalie. So, I said, 'OK, we're training.'

From day one he's done nothing but excel at it.

"For only two months of work, he's shown very, very good skill at the position."

Harmon wasn't the only working on perfecting his skills and conditioning over the summer, as Enke took full advantage of the contact days he had with his team.

A summer program helped prepare the team for the first official practices on Aug. 13, and scrimmages work up the team's overall conditioning.

"We did about two months of preseason, where we were practicing two to three times per week. I also had alumni around the area, so Fridays we would have scrimmage days," Enke said.

Metro opened the season Monday at Gillespie and then played at RaymondLincolnwood Wednesday.

Page 20 - FALL SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Friday, August 29, 2014

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Page 22 - FALL SPORTS - TheIntelligencer.com - Friday, August 29, 2014

MELHS has high hopes for cross country

By SCOTT MARION smarion@edwpub.net

A few big names from 2013 are missing, but coach Dave Redden still has high hopes for the boys' and girls' cross country teams at Metro-East Lutheran.

One of last year's leaders on the girls' squad, Shalyn Edwards, transferred to Roxana. "She's a good cross country runner and a good track athlete, as well as a good kid overall," Redden said. "But time marches on and we'll survive. We'll go with what we have and see what we can do."

Another standout from last season, Karly Schley, is back for her junior year.

Schley was slowed by shin splints during cross country and missed the entire track season last spring. "She did OK in cross country, but she never was 100 percent," Redden said. "When healthy, she's among the top kids in the area. She's still coming back from her injury, so we'll be cautious with her."

Senior Gretchen Engelbrecht is among the other varsity veterans.

"She's been with us for four years and she's our captain," Redden said. "The kids are kind of rallying around her. She worked really hard this summer and she's hoping for a lot of PRs (personal records)."

Senior Emilee Marcuzzo, who also plays basketball, is competing in cross country for the first time.

"She's a really good basketball player and an outside shooter," Redden said. "It just happened that her legs usually gave way in the third or fourth quarter because she was tired. She feels that cross country will be good for her so she can have her legs for a full 32 minutes of basketball. In the meantime, she's probably going to be one of our top five runners."

Sophomore Kaitlyn Hull is also pushing for one of the top spots. "She came out a little later last year, and like her older brother (Andrew), she kept on improving as the season progressed," Redden said.

"She's getting her strength and got a good base in over the summer. I look for good things from her and she should be a topfive runner as well."

The fifth spot should be a battle among seniors Amanda Schack and Annie Redden and freshman Brynne Wallace. "It's just a matter of who wants it the most and who puts the most time in," Redden said.

"It's a seven-person team anyway, but if you don't have a solid fifth runner, you're not going to do very well. We need one of them to step up."

Rounding out the girls' roster are junior Jaria Hardaway, sophomore Gabrielle Long and freshmen Liz Schroader and Grace Weber. "Overall, I see very good things from this team," Redden said. "We'd like to do well in the regional and be a top10 team in the sectional. We're also hoping for (Madison) county and (Prairie State) conference championships."

The Metro boys' team, meanwhile, lost four-time state qualifier Jace Dumont to graduation. The top returning runner is senior Jacob Roggow, who also plays soccer.

"He's about the top soccer player on

Scott Marion/Intelligencer

Pictured above are returning letter winners from the MELHS girls' cross country team. From left are: Karly Schley, Gretchen Engelbrecht, Annie Redden, Gabrielle Long and Kaitlyn Hull. Pictured below are returning letter winners from the MELHS boys' cross country team. Andrew Hull, Adam Behrhorst, Thomas Schroader, Christian Engelbrecht and Ian Key. Jacob Roggow is not pictured.

the team too, so we'll get him part-time," Redden said. "He was our No. 4 runner last year, but he'll be our No. 1 this year."

Junior Andrew Hull and sophomore Thomas Schroader wil push Roggow for the top spot. Sophomores Jacob Jump, Christian Engelbrecht and Adam Behrhorst, along with freshman Darion Brooks, should make a push for the fourth and fifth positions.

"Jacob's sister Jessica (now at SIUCarbondale) was a great athlete for us and his brother Josh is our No. 4 all-time runner, so he has a name to live up to," Redden said of Jump. "I think he's going to make a name for himself. "It's a real

young group, but I had that five or six years ago and we ended up going to state two years in a row. It's going to be a learning year, but I think we could surprise some people early."

Other members of the boys' squad are junior Reed Harmon and sophomores Ian Key and Noah Coddington.

Metro started the season Aug. 25 in the New Athens Invitational. The Knights will host the MELHS Invitational Aug. 30 at SIUE. "Our invitational is supposed to have 54 high school teams plus some junior high teams, so there will be a lot of people out there," Redden said. "Last year we had

some issues with the weather — the heat index was something like 105 or 106 and a lot of people went away in ambulances. "It wasn't a good day for us, so we're hoping the weather cooperates this time."

New additions to the schedule include the Freeburg Invitational on Sept. 27 and the Cape Central Invitational on Sept. 20 in Cape Girardeau, Mo. "The regional will be at Freeburg (on Oct. 25), so that will give us a chance to run there," Redden said. "The meet at Cape Girardeau gives us a chance to get away and run someplace other than the immediate area. We'll run against 40 or 50 schools from four different states."

Friday, August 29, 2014 – TheIntelligencer.com – FALL SPORTS – Page 23

Metro-East boys' golf hunting for birdies

By SCOTT MARION smarion@edwpub.net

For the most part, Metro-East Lutheran boys' golf coach Tim Lorenz was pleased with the 2013 season. But if there is one thing he'd like to change for this year, it would be to have the Knights playing their best when it counts the most.

"Last year was a good season for us — we developed a little more stability as a group and continued to grow as a program," Lorenz said. "Having some guys in their second or third year, it was a good continuation of our build. We did well throughout the course of the season, but we didn't finish the way we wanted to at the regional. We all had a bad day at the wrong time." For a small school, Metro usually has a good turnout for golf. "We had some guys come and go, but we ended up with 16 or 17," said Lorenz, in his fourth season at MELHS. "This year we're looking at around 14, but that's still a solid number."

Junior Jordan Brown enters the season as the Knights' No. 1 golfer.

"He's a solid kid with a good head on his shoulders," Lorenz

For the Intelligencer

Pictured are senior members of the MELHS boys' golf team. From left are: Sam Whitmore, Brad Boivin, Connor Wallace, Austin Schillinger and Michael Fritzsche. said. "He likes to think his way through things and figure out what he's doing with his game. " Austin Schillinger is a senior and the only kid I've had all four years. He knows the game and understands what he's trying to do."

Sam Whitmore, who didn't play as a freshman, is back for his senior year. Senior Connor Wallace wasn't eligible to partic-

ipate in matches last year after transferring from Rochelle.

"Connor has golf in his veins — if he's not playing basketball, that's what he's doing," Lorenz said. "It doesn't take too much conversation with him to realize that he eats, sleeps and breathes golf. If he could play 24/7 during the summer, I think he would."

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Junior Chase Langendorf is another likely varsity golfer.

"Michael really developed throughout last season and became a varity-caliber kid," Lorenz said. "Chase developed into our sixth guy last year when Michael challenged, so they could be fighting for that spot again.

"This is Brad's third year with me and he's just a solid kid. We

try to keep him playing within his game and scoring the best he can."

Rounding out the roster are junior Josh Gass and sophomores Ethan Clammer, Braden Woolsey, Jacob Jump, Owen Gusewelle, Mike Coulson and Lucas Scheibal.

"The nice thing for me is I've got seven guys returning who can play varsity." Lorenz said. "We've only got six (varsity) spots, so it's going to be tough. "Scheibal, Woolsey and Coulson are guys that put in time during the summer to improve their game. I hope they can contribute for us this year."

MELHS played in the Madison County Tournament Aug. 21 at Gateway National Golf Links in Madison.

"The whole season is about preparing for the Oct. 7 regional at Oak Brook," Lorenz said. "It's our home course, which is nice. We generally practice on the east nine and occasionally we get onto the west or the north.

"We want to continue to improve on last year and not go backwards, which we did a few times last season. Getting through the regional is the No. 1 goal, but if we walk off the course proud of how we played whether it moves us to the next round or not, I can be happy with that."

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