NORMAL – When it comes to high school baseball locally, it looks like 1-out-of-3 Normal-based high schools have the record needed to even begin thinking about post-season play as the season begins to wind down. The team whose fans probably are already wanting the post-season to begin is Normal Community High School, giving them the best record among Twin Cities schools.

Normal Community High School: At 13-5, including a 6-1 Big 12 Conference count, Normal Community High School Head Coach Ryan Short’s squad was riding on a five-game winning streak bracing for a visit from conference foe Peoria Tuesday. In the week leading up to that contest, Short’s team won five straight including three shutouts, two of which were over conference foes Peoria Richwoods and Normal West. Tuesday, the 13-5 Ironmen prepared for a contest against a struggling Peoria High team which has only won one game in eight tries so far this season. The coming week will have Short’s charges face a conference opponent every other game, starting Peoria’s visit being followed April 26 with non-conference opponent East Moline United visiting town for a 4:30p.m. contest. Tuesday, May 2, Normal West will travel to Peoria Notre Dame for a 4:30p.m. game, and then return home Wednesday, May 3 to host visiting New Lenox-based Lincoln-Way Central for a 5p.m. first pitch.

Normal Community West High School: While NCHS continues to discard opponents with little difficulty, crosstown rival Normal Community West High School’s baseball team finds itself struggling. The Wildcats are 5-11 including a 2-4 Big 12 Conference record. That league record includes back-to-back Big 12 losses to NCHS including a 3-0 shutout win at Normal West April 20.

The coming week could start on a positive note Thursday, April 27 as Normal West will play Big 12 foe Peoria Richwoods which can only claim one victory so far this season. The Wildcats’ schedule after that includes a doubleheader at Dunlap Saturday at 10a.m., hosting a doubleheader against Peoria Tuesday starting at 4:30p.m., and hosting a non-conference contest against University High Friday, again starting at 4:30p.m.

University High School: University High’s baseball team, under Head Coach Steve Paxson got off to a fast start jumping out to a quick set of wins, being victorious in their first 5-of-7 contests. But in the last week the Pioneers have split two games against Springfield High School, lost to Joliet Catholic on the road and shut out Central State Eight opponent Jacksonville, 8-0, when the Crimsons came here Monday. The Pioneers prepared to take their 12-10 record, including a 7-4 Central State Eight Conference record into battle April 25 when they visited Bloomington Central Catholic Tuesday.

After facing BCC, Paxson’s troops have spent this past week on the road at Jacksonville, Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin, Normal West, at a neutral sited tourney in New Lenox, and a home game against McHenry. After that, the Pioneers began the week hosting non-conference Pleasant Plains, and taking on Decatur MacArthur in a home-and-away Central State Eight Conference setup.

Cornerstone Christian Academy/Calvary Christian Academy: It has been a rough ride for Cornerstone Christian Academy/Calvary Christian Academy so far for Head Coach Steve Smith and his troops who are looking for their first victory after surviving five losses without a win, including a 13-6 East Central Illinois Conference loss to Arthur-Okaw Christian High School Monday. But Smith’s troops will be on the road for most of next week pushing forward looking for their first victory.

This next week, the Knights will spend this week on the road in search of that first victory starting with a home game against Ridgeview High School Saturday at 10a.m. From there, the Knights will be on the road, starting Monday with a non-conference game against Kankakee Trinity Academy. Wednesday, the Knights visit Lexington for a 4:30p.m. game, and follow that contest with non-conference tilt at Delavan Saturday with a 10a.m. first pitch. The Knights return home Monday, May 8 to take on Arthur-Okaw Christian School starting at 4:30p.m.

Bloomington High School: From the look at their previous game schedule, it appears Head Coach Josh Miller’s Bloomington High School Purple Raiders aren’t having any problems outpacing opponents thus far this season – especially when they start the season with a 12-1 win over non-conference foe Rantoul and outpace league foe Peoria 13-3, as they did earlier this month. Tuesday and Thursday, Champaign Centennial was the opponent, followed by back-to-back conference games against Danville, currently in 9th place in Big 12 standings including being currently winless against conference opponents.

Central Catholic High School: If there is a team struggling currently, it’s Bloomington Central Catholic High School under Head Coach Josh Miller. Currently, Miller’s crew is 7-7 as of Tuesday, including a 3-3 record in Illini Prairie Conference play. Winning 10-7 April 18 to non-conference rival Cornerstone Christian was quickly followed by a two-game losing streak to non-conference foes Peru St. Bede and Williamsville before the Saints registered a 10-0 shutout over conference foe Rantoul. Two of the Saints’ next opponents are local – After a non-conference game against Tremont, the Saints take on two conference foes, Monticello Apr. 27 and Paxton-Buckley-Loda Apr. 28 before visiting Tri-Valley Saturday for a 10a.m. game, hosting Pontiac Monday for a conference contest, and then visiting El Paso-Gridley Tuesday for a 4:30p.m. non-conference game.

CHAMPAIGN –Call it the ultimate goal for guys on a high school basketball team who made it to State, to play on Lou Henson Court at State Farm Center. That goal: To win and become State Champs, to be forever kept in record books.

But after Saturday’s Illinois High School Association Class 2A Championship Game at State Farm Arena here, Bloomington Central Catholic High School’s boys’ basketball team will be in record books, but just not in the order they planned after losing to Chicago DePaul College Prep, 65-41. BCC finishes the season with a

Chicago DePaul College Prep point guard Makai Kvamme and BCC junior center Colin Hayes set the pace for the contest by quickly exchanging scores soon after tipoff, tying the game at 2-all. But DePaul College Prep (23-12) quickly followed with a basket from junior guard Payton Kamin followed right behind by a free throw from senior guard Maurice Thomas, who had been fouled by a BCC player. Thomas’ successful free throw gave the Rams a 5-2 lead, and was followed by a layup from sophomore Jonas Johnson, pushing the Rams further ahead, 7-2, prompting Central Catholic Head Coach Jason Welch to call timeout with 5:36 left in the opening quarter.

Coming out of the timeout, a jump shot from senior guard Chase Fisher closed in on the Rams lead, allowing BCC (26-12) to be behind by three, 7-4. A jumper from Thomas followed pushing the Rams up, 9-4, but two straight unanswered BCC buckets from Fisher and junior guard Cole Certa shrank the Saints’ deficit to one, 9-8, with a minute left in the opening quarter. But a trey from Thomas with 45 seconds left in the opening quarter extended the Rams lead to four, 12-8, as the horn sounded.

The second quarter opened with DePaul College Prep (24-12) extending their lead with back-to-back buckets – one from junior guard P.J. Chambers and one from Thomas, doubling the Rams’ lead to 16-8 prompting BCC’s Welch to call timeout with 6:28 remaining until halftime. The Rams came out of the timeout adding a basket from McElroy pushing the Rams up, 18-8. A trey and a deuce from Certa put BCC within five, 18-13, and was quickly followed by another Johnson basket, putting BCC within seven, 20-13, prompting Welch to again call time with 2:46 until intermission.

Thomas hit a trey and Certa hit a trey as well for BCC, cutting the Rams lead to seven, 23-16, until Thomas repeated the gesture and was followed by a layup from junior guard P. J. Chambers with 6.6 seconds left in the half. At that point, BCC’s Welch called timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Saints junior forward Charlie Graham hit a trey at the buzzer reducing Chicago DePaul College Prep’s lead to nine, 28-19, for when the second half began.

But BCC struggled as the third quarter opened, as DePaul College Prep opened the quarter with a 7-0 run highlighted by a trey from sophomore point guard Makai Kvamme’s trey at the five minute mark. Eller would hit a deuce for Central Catholic with 3:21 left in the quarter but DePaul College Prep finished out the quarter by outscoring BCC 7-3, the Purple Raiders’ only offense being a trey from Certa with 1:18 left in the quarter. When the horn sounded ending the quarter, DePaul College Prep led 42-24.

A deuce from BCC senior guard Rye Pritz opened up the fourth quarter but was quickly followed by two fouls committed by BCC resulting in four free throws from Thomas giving DePaul College Prep a 20 point lead, 46-26 with 6:42 left in the third quarter.

A trey from Eller with 6:09 left in the contest reduced DePaul College Prep’s lead to 16 before Thomas’ next basket increased his team’s lead, 49-31, with 6:20 remaining. Certa managed two treys as part of an 8-0 run for BCC. That prompted Chicago DePaul College Prep Head Coach Tom Kleinschmidt to call time with 5:52 remaining. Coming out of the timeout, a trey from Certa was the only real firepower BCC managed while DePaul College Prep closed out the contest on free throws from Kramme, Kamin, and Thomas who went a combined 10-for-14 from the free throw line.

“It feels special to bring a trophy to our school, our school community and to those around our community,” Kleinschmidt said. Kleinschmidt added he wanted his players to make sure his players were mindful of not letting three BCC players – Certa, senior guard Chase Fisher, and Eller – out of their sight during the course of the game.

Thomas led Chicago DePaul College Prep’s scoring with 21 points. He was followed in double-figures by Chambers and McElroy who each pocketed 11, followed by Kamin who scored 10. Certa was BCC’s lone double-point scorer, with 18 points.

Welch began by telling reporters, “At the end of the day, our guys are hurting, and that means they cared. I’m really proud for our school,” he added, explaining that leading up to getting to the State Tournament game, “we had a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of passion around our hallways.”

Welch said his team “played great people all year long,” and he convinced his team getting through the season was equivalent to “studying for a test. We took the test in the post-season. Tip your hat to DePaul Prep. They were better than us and that happens sometimes. It wasn’t the outcome we wanted but at the end of the day, our program is in real good shape.”

About his players, Welch said, “They worked their tails off,” adding he said he knew his players “are hurting” from the loss they sustained.

“We really wanted this one,” Certa said during the postgame press conference. “It was, like, a goal.”

FAIRBURY – After what appeared to be a fairly matched first quarter between host Prairie Central and Bloomington Central Catholic at Lewis Field here, the Hawks found openings in the Saints’ defense allowing the Hawks to score 40 unanswered points in the second quarter making quick word of their visitors, earning a 56-13 Illini Prairie Conference victory, closing out their regular season with a perfect 9-0 mark.

Prairie Central (9-0) struck quickly taking just two plays to get to the end zone from BCC’s 5 yard line before senior quarterback Drew Haberkorn dashed through Saints defenders to score his team’s first touchdown followed by a 2-point rushing conversion from junior running back Tyler Curl, giving the Hawks a quick 8-0 lead as only 15 seconds came off the clock.

BCC (6-3) got on the scoreboard with 9 seconds left in the opening quarter courtesy of a 2 yard pass as junior quarterback Colin Hayes connected with senior wide receiver Ryan Hoeferle for a touchdown followed by a successful extra point from senior kicker Jaylen Bischoff, helping the Saints pull within one, 8-7, as the opening quarter came to an end.

And just as the Hawks were quick to score in the first quarter, they repeated the feat to open the second quarter with a 4-yard touchdown from junior running back Tyler Curl followed by another 2-point conversion run from Curl, putting the Hawks up, 16-7 with 11:06 until halftime. BCC would, after the ensuing kickoff and starting at their own 23, find themselves only able to move the ball 12 yards forcing them to punt, starting the Hawks at their own 5 yard line. One play later, senior running back Drew Fehr outpaced BCC defenders as he sprinted into the end zone with 8:47 left in the quarter following that up with a 2-point conversion run, putting Prairie Central up, 24-7.

BCC wound up punting to end their next set of downs, and Fehr would up dashing into the end zone again, this time from 5 yards out with 8:47 remaining in the first half, followed by his rushing into the end zone on a 2-point play, increasing the Hawks’ margin, 32-7, with 8:47 left in the half.

Fehr would up picking off a Hayes pass and helping start the Hawks’ next possession at BCC’s 17 yard line with 7:36 left in the second quarter. That possession ended in Haberkorn sneaking into the end zone from a yard out for his team’s next score followed by Fehr’s next successful 2-point conversion, extending Prairie Central’s lead to 40-7 with 5:07 left in the half.

BCC’s next possession started at their own 37 yard line but ended seven plays later with a turnover on downs for Prairie Central to start their turn at the Hawks’ 45 yard line. With 1:54 left in the half, Hawks junior running back Hudson Ault ended his team’s four play drive with a 12 yard touchdown run, followed by Curl dodging defenders for another 2-point addition, giving te Hawks a 48-7 lead.

Ault’s touchdown prompted game officials employed IHSA’s “Mercy Rule,” at the beginning of the second half – using a continuously running clock, stopping it only for timeouts taken by a team or because of an injury.

Junior running back Brian Zhao ‘s 54 yard rush in the fourth quarter, dashing past BCC defenders, capped off the Hawks’ win. Junior running back Preston Plenert added the 2-point conversion run, putting Prairie Central up, 56-7.

Saints senior wide receiver Jameson Kiley added to BCC’s point total with a 4 yard run as time ticked away, going into the end zone in the fourth quarter, but the Saints failed to add to those points, resulting in the eventual final score.

“We’ve been a 2nd quarter team all season,” Hawks head coach Andrew Quain admitted proudly afterward. He attributed how his team accomplished getting the win to “timely turnovers, great special teams, great kickoffs…We’ve put up a lot of points and the kids get things figured out, they’re a smart group and they figure out doing a lot of learning in the first quarter and then they use that to their advantage.”

“They capitalize on momentum better than any team I’ve seen, maybe, in my 20-some years of coaching,” BCC head coach Kevin Braucht said about the Hawks. “They are a good team. We knew they were a good team. We’re not taking anything away from them at all. They’re well coached, very disciplined. They don’t get caught up in all the emotion of a game – they play one play at a time.” Braucht noted the Hawks “didn’t even utilize” Haberkorn during the evening. He also credited the Hawks with having a “balanced defense.”

Braucht said his defenders needed to get to and stay on Hawks senior running back Drew Fehr “all night long but we couldn’t.” He added his team was aware of Fehr’s abilities having contended with him last year.”

Looking toward the playoffs, Braucht said although he told his players ending on this note isn’t how they wanted to end the season, “I’m proud of where our kids are at. We still have some things we’ve got to learn.” He specified helping the kids learn about how to react when the game goes in an opponent’s favor

In talking about where BCC could find themselves in round one, Braucht said he knows his team is the border between two separate IHSA Classes, explaining the Saints will either be “the smallest in Class 2A or the biggest in Class 1A. I don’t care who we play and I don’t care where we go.” He added a total school population of 100 students separates which Class BCC gets places in.

BLOOMINGTON – If area high school basketball fans were looking for a little post-Thanksgiving excitement during the annual Boys Intercity Basketball Tournament, they found it quickly if they attended Normal West High School’s showdown against Bloomington Central Catholic on Friday, Nov. 29 as the Wildcats clawed their way through triple overtime before dropping an 84-75 decision to the Saints before 750 enthusiastic fans.

West senior forwards Evan Hutson and Max Ziebarth opened the fourth quarter with a deuce each to help pull the Wildcats within two of BCC, 50-48, prompting Saints head coach Jason Welch to call time with 6:58 in the fourth quarter. Following the time out, the teams would see the score seesaw again, to a Wildcats 52-50 lead with 5:19 left, prompting West first season head coach Ed Hafermann to call time.

Coming out of that time out, a trey by Ellison put the Saints up, 53-52, but was countered by a deuce for West from Ziebarth, putting West up, 54-53, at the 4:25 mark. Back-to-back fouls committed by West junior forward Corey Walker’s foul put Davis on the line where he made two shots each time, giving BCC a 57-54 lead with 1:46 left. A deuce from West senior forward Cole Hernandez helped trim the lead to one, 57-56, prompting BCC to call time with nine seconds left.

But Davis was fouled shortly after coming out of the time out and made two free throws, putting the Saints up, 59-56, and prompting West to call time. The two sides would call another timeout each in the waning seconds before play would resume and McGinnis would find an opening and hit a trey to tie the game, 59-all, as the final buzzer sounded, forcing overtime.

A Seesaw 1st Overtime: BCC junior forward Sam Tallen opened the first overtime by fouling West’s Ziebarth who hit a pair of free throws, putting the Wildcats up, 61-59 with 3:47 left. But a trey from Davis just seconds later gave the Saints a one-point lead, 62-61. Hutson countered with a trey putting West ahead by two, 64-62. With three minutes left, Saints junior guard Andrew Hinderer’s trey put BCC up by one, 65-64, followed by two free throws by Hinderer being fouled and hitting two free throws with 3:40 left, giving the Saints a 67-64 lead. West called time with 26.2 seconds left and the Wildcats tried keeping their distance from the Saints waiting for the right shot with junior guard Colton Cassady the last man with the ball and hitting a three with 2.2 seconds left.

West was quick to call time and coming out of that timeout, BCC couldn’t maneuver to the basket forcing double OT.

BCC’s Ellison’s Trey Ends 2nd Overtime: West was quick to jump out to a 71-67 advantage to start double overtime thanks to a deuce from Ziebarth and a pair of free throws from Ziebarth, having been fouled by Tallen at the 1:08 mark in the second overtime. That prompted West to call time. Following the timeout, BCC’s Davis fouled Ziebarth, who sank both free throws, giving the Wildcats a 73-67 lead.

But a trey by Davis with 20.4 seconds cut West’s lead to three, 73-70. That was followed by West’s McGinnis going to the line having been fouled by Saints junior guard Casey Crowley. But McGinnis missing both free shots. BCC tied the game at 73-all on a buzzer-beating trey from junior guard Jayden Ellison, forcing triple OT.

Tallen, Davis, Ellison Baskets Push Saints In Front: The first two minutes and 10 seconds of the third overtime was a defensive effort for both teams with no scoring, but Tallen managed a deuce at that point, putting BCC up, 75-73. Cassady countered with a deuce for West with two minutes remaining to tie the game, 75-all. But that didn’t hold long courtesy of a Davis trey with 1:53 left, putting BCC up, 78-75. Tallen fouled West’s Ziebarth, but the 6 foot-4 sophomore couldn’t convert the two needed free throws. Another BCC trey from Ellison pushed the Saints’ lead to six, 81-75, with 1:05 left. BCC earned another point, going ahead 82-75, when Crowley hit 1-of-2 free throws after being fouled by McGinnis. BCC called time with 52.5 seconds remaining. Following the timeout, Davis added two more free throws, having been fouled by West’s McGinnis, resulting in the final score.

Scoring Leading Up To The Overtimes: A pair of threes from senior guard Cole Davis and junior guard J. T. Welch helped push Central Catholic (1-2 following this game) past Normal West, 14-11 to close out the first quarter. During that quarter, Wildcats fans saw their team jump to a fast 4-0 start with back-to-back deuces by junior forward Corey Walker and a trey from senior forward Evan Hutson.

Ziebarth’s basket at 3:49 in the second quarter helped Normal West (1-1 following this game) tie the game in the second quarter, 17-17, before Ellison’s bucket put BCC in front, 19-17. The game would be tied one more time, 19-all, and a Hutson deuce would put West up by one, 22-21 at the 3:21 mark, before a trey by Tallen would give the Saints a 24-22 lead that would be the start of a chase for West to keep pace with their opponents.

BCC would own a 34-26 lead at the half and 50-44 advantage highlighted by a pair of third quarter threes each for West from senior guard Alec McGinnis and for BCC from senior guard Cole Davis.

West’s Ziebarth, BCC’s Davis Were Lead Scorers: Davis and Ellison led all scorers in the contest as well as led BCC’s charge, with 31 points and 20, respectfully. Tallen was the only other Saints player to reach double-figures, with 13. Ziebarth led Normal West’s scoring with 21 points. He was followed in double-digits by 16 from Walker, Hutson’s 12, and McGinnis’ 11.

“West is skilled and they’re big,” stated BCC head coach Welch. “We never felt comfortable, and certainly, I don’t think West felt comfortable. The reality is it was two good basketball teams going at it in November and there really isn’t a winner or a loser because both teams got better.”

Welch credited his players with not letting West catching up to them deflate their momentum during the contest.

“That was a battle and we have talked about resiliency with our team this year,” explained Hafermann. “We were down 12 at one point in the third quarter and talked to the boys about not panicking. We talked about battling back.”

“Both teams were playing with no fear,” Hafermann added. “They were just out there competing. What more can you ask of 16-, 17-year-old kids in front of a very large crowd in a really intense environment?” He noted McGinnis’ trey, which came as the buzzer sounded the end of regulation, was “a really tough three” and that the 5 foot-10 senior never came out of the contest.

“I know people will talk about Alec’s missing those two free throws toward the end of the second overtime, but I want that kid on my team every single time,” Hafermann said. “You love to win but you want to learn from your losses.

NORMAL – University High’s top seeded Volleyball team swept Central Catholic in two games of the Class 3A Regional the Saints hosted Tuesday, earning a shot at the event’s championship. The Pioneers advanced to Thursday’s championship match by beating 7th seed BCC with scores of 26-24 and 25-18. The Pioneers will take on Manteno Thursday night. Manteno swept Fairbury Prairie Central by scores of 30-28 and 25-14.

U-High Takes Game One, 26-24: In game one, the top seed Pioneers and 7th seed Saints matched each other point for point until U-High pulled away thanks to a pair of kills – one by Alyanna Crabtree and one by Jess McDowell – to pull in front, 18-14, prompting BCC head coach Teresa Ulrich to call a timeout. Following the timeout, a Pioneers driving the ball into the net followed by a kill by senior middle hitter Morgan Koch cut the Pioneers’ lead to two, 19-17.

Saints sophomore outside hitter Abby Cox delivered two serves which proved problematic for U-High, the first was shot into the net while the second fell short of it, allowing BCC to tie the game at 20-20, prompting Pioneers head coach Michael Bolhuis to call timeout. The game would tie two more times, at 22-all and 24-all before U-High would overcome serves by Saints senior outside hitter Mallory Bergbower to take the first contest.

Pioneers Overcome Saints’ Streaks In Game Two, 25-18: University High struggled through the first part of the second game, leading briefly, 2-1 before BCC tied the game at 2-all, and with Cox serving, went on a four-point unanswered streak, taking a 6-2 lead until a Pioneers kill cut that lead, 6-3. U-High crept into an 8-all tie before a kill by junior setter Isobel Schaefbauer helped give them a one-point lead, 9-8, which they stretched into a 10-8 lead forcing BCC head coach Teresa Ulrich to take a timeout.

From there, the score would be tied once more at 10-all, but with junior outside hitter Alayna Crabtree and junior defensive specialist Skyler Jenkins serving, the Pioneers were able to advance to an 18-11 advantage. A kill each from Saints junior defensive specialist Ellie Nelson and U-High’s Tongate pushed U-High into a 22-15 lead. Crabtree, with her team up, 24-18, delivered U-High’s last serve which BCC returned but failed to keep in bounds leading to the final score, giving the Pioneers a sweep and a shot at the Regional crown provided they won against Manteno.

The victory advances U-High’s record going into the Regional Championship at 27-7. BCC’s season ends with a 21-15 record. Crabtree registered 6 kills while McDowell had 5 for U-High. McDowell also served three aces. Their teammate, senior setter Macy Tongate had 12 assists and three blocks. Junior defensive specialist Logan Murray had 4 digs.

While BCC had no aces, Cox scored 10 service points. Bergbower had 9 kills, followed by 7 from senior middle hitter Morgan Koch. Junior setter Kate Moorman-Wolfe lent 22 assists and had one block. Bergbower also had a block. Senior middle blocker Lauren O’Donnell had 9 digs followed by junior defensive specialist Sydney Adams’ 8.

“We knew BCC would try sending the ball to senior middle hitter Morgan Koch when they could and we didn’t do a very good job of slowing her down at all,” U-High’s Bolhuis said. “It was neck-and-neck, and kind of a high tension match all the way through,” Bolhuis said, giving credit to the seniors on his team with using their experience to get their team through the match and overcoming moments when they trailed.

BCC’s Ulrich said she reminded her team “U-High’s going to walk in here without any doubt they will walk out of here with a victory and I told our girls we have to do the same thing. In order to stay in this game, we’re going to have to be aggressive and fast at the net and if that means our middle hitters need to block, then that’s it.”

Ulrich said her team executed that plan well in game one, but she admitted, “Unfortunately, in game two, our nerves got the better of us because as soon as U-High started to come back, we started to retreat.”