NORMAL – The young basketball season is already seeing how well the boys has been doing early on with all three teams demonstrating they are hungry to have winning seasons.
Normal Community High School, under Head Coach Dave Witzig, has opened with a 4-0 mark; Normal Community West High, under Head Coach Ed Haferman, has seen his squad split evenly their first four games for a 2-2 mark. Normal University High School, under Head Coach Andrew McDowell, has a 3-1 record now that the first week is under their belt.
Normal Community High School Boys: NCHS’ 4-0 mark has been a tune-up of sorts against non-conference teams in preparation for facing their Big 12 opponents. The Ironmen started the season outpacing Bloomington High School Nov. 20 with a 68-43 win to open the annual Intercity Tournament. They followed that with a 19-point win over University High two days later. On Nov. 24, the Ironmen then outpaced Bloomington Central Catholic, 56-31, and followed that up three days later by escaping past Normal West with a 57-54 victory.
The tune-up completed, the season begins in earnest for Witzig’s troops with two away games, first at Urbana Dec. 1 and at Peoria Manual Dec. 8. The Ironmen won’t experience a home crowd feel until Bloomington High School visits on Dec. 15 for a 7:30p.m. contest.
NCHS Girls Undefeated: Going into his second season, NCHS girls’ basketball Head Coach Dave Feeney has his team red hot already with a 4-0 record and already ripping local opponents including doubling up the score against Unit 5 rival Normal West, 79-35, and a 49-19 pounding over Bloomington High. NCHS will continue facing Big 12 foes in earnest starting Dec. 1 at a road trip in Urbana. From there, the Lady Iron will take on the Rams at Peoria Manual Dec. 8. Their next home game is a week later, Dec. 15 against Bloomington.
Normal Community West High School Boys: After just four games so far this season, Head Coach Ed Hafermann’s Normal Community West High School Wildcats have found themselves going back and forth against opponents as the season begins in that they win one game and lose the next. The 2-2 Wildcats notched wins against Bloomington Central Catholic by 11 points, and Bloomington High by 31 points. But between those, the Wildcats couldn’t find ways to beat either Normal University High, who they lost to by 6, 50-44, or NCHS, who beat them by three, 57-54.
As the conference season begins getting underway, Hafermann’s troops will start out with an easy schedule of one game per week to start December. That schedule begins with traveling to Peoria Richwoods Thursday night for a 7:30p.m. conference game. On Tuesday, Dec. 5, the Wildcats will host St. Joseph-Ogden at 7p.m. for a non-conference game, and follow that up Friday, Dec. 8 traveling to Champaign Centennial for a Big 12 Conference contest.
Normal West Girls Look To Reverse Current 1-5 Course: While NCHS girls are surging, Normal West’s girls’ basketball team is struggling, having only won one of six games so far, a 49-36 win over Intercity rival U-High on Nov. 17. The worst of the six losses came Nov. 21 at the hands of Unit 5 nemesis NCHS which doubled the score and went beyond, beating the Wildcats, 79-35. But if the early games were worrisome for Head Coach Darrelynn Dunn, the future for Normal West as the season gets rolling won’t be any easier with away games at Pontiac, Peoria, and Bloomington upcoming. Pontiac, Peoria, and Rochester are the next three opponents ahead for the Lady Ironmen
University High School Boys: Head Coach Andrew McDowell’s University High Pioneers find themselves off to a positive start at 3-1 as the season begins, having lost their Intercity Tournament opener to NCHS on Nov. 22, 62-43, but then recovering enough to win the next three Intercity Tourney contests. That meant beating Normal West, Central Catholic, and BHS in three games in a four night period. U-High racked up wins beating the Wildcats, 50-44; beating BCC 58-42; and outpacing BHS, 62-37.
Before diving into their Central State Eight season schedule, the Pioneers will face CS8 foe Glenwood on the road Dec. 2 and host non-conference foe Pleasant Plains Dec. 5 to get the season rolling. On Dec. 8, CS8 foe Rochester visits followed four days later on Dec. 12 by non-conference opponent Prairie Central.
University High School Girls: Head Coach Laura Sellers’ players’ year has not started positively, going winless in their first five contests. After a game at CS8 rival Sacred Heart Griffin Dec. 1, Sellers’ troops will hit the road, visiting conference rival Chatham Glenwood before hosting non-conference opponent Mattoon. After that, the Pioneers visit two non-conference opponents, at Pekin on Dec. 4 at 7p.m. and at Prairie Central Dec. 7 at 7p.m.
Cornerstone Christian Academy Boys: The season is young for all teams at this juncture, but Head Coach John Schippert’s troops have already started the season with an 0-3 disadvantage, having lost to Stanford Olympia, El Paso Gridley, and Roanoke Benson. The last two contests ended with the Cyclones losing to EPG and Roanoke Benson by 20 points or more.
Cornerstone Christian Academy Girls: While Cornerstone’s boys seek a first victory, the girls’ basketball team, under Head Coach Jared Brothers, wants to get ahead of its current 3-4 mark. Their recent win was to Peoria Christian Tuesday night, 46-31. That score indicates some improvement because combined, Brothers’ team only scored a total of 13, 22, and 17 points in their first three games.