Preps Plus

Spadafora leads Blue team

Carroll’s Dominic Spadafora had a good day at the plate for the Blue Team all-stars in the 2008 Indiana Mr. Baseball Classic on Monday at North Central in Indianapolis.

The Blue swept the Red 10-2 and 9-7.

Spadafora had a home run in the first game and two hits and two RBI in the second game. He pitched an inning in the first game and gave up both runs.

He was 3 for 4 in the two games.

Norwell’s Rhett Goodmiller had a double in Game 1, as did Northrop’s Tyler Spillner in Game 2.

Also playing from this area was South Adam’s Daniel Bollenbacher and Norwell’s Ryne Otis.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Schipper state's best?

Evidently you don’t need a state title to earn the title of the state’s best.

Bishop Dwenger’s Kevin Schipper won the Gatorade Indiana Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year, even though Schipper finished second at the state meet (for the third straight year).

Now I understand the award goes to a senior, and that’s why it wouldn’t go to Northrop’s then-junior Corey Shank, who beat Schipper at the state finals the last two years.

And I know it is more than just performance on the track.

In the release, it stated “the award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the track.”

But in that same release, it incorrectly reported the Notre Dame-bound Schipper as winning the state pole vault title at 16 feet, 6 inches. The only problem was that Shank also went 16-6 and defended his state title on fewer misses at that height.

Schipper might have won the award a week earlier at the Wayne Regional when he went 17-0 for a regional record. It equaled Shank’s state record he set a year earlier.

But Schipper isn’t with Shank in the record books since a state title has to be done at the state meet.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Huntington makes another hire

Word is Huntington North will officially name ex-Vikings player Kelly Morrison as its new girls basketball coach Monday at a school board meeting.

Morrison would replace Don Burton.

Morrison has been coaching at North Decatur in Greensburg. She played on the 1995 state champion Huntington North girls basketball team.

The Vikings filled their boys basketball coaching position recently with the hiring of former DeKalb coach Joe Bradburn.

It will just leave the hiring of a new athletic director and principal in a busy offseason for the school board.

Word is that they are close to offering the AD position to someone outside of northeast Indiana.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

One for coach and geography

First of all don’t get me started on why Bishop Luers was playing Elwood in the state baseball finals.

Geographically it makes no sense.

It is supposed to be the winners of the north vs. the winners in the south.

But the Knights, who beat the Panthers 14-8 in the Class 2A state title game Saturday, had already played Tipton in the semistate semifinals last week in South Bend.

Tipton is a conference rival of Elwood and are in bordering counties.

What sense does that make that both schools are in the north, but one feeds into the southern semistate?

One of the teams in the Class A state finals, Cowan, is actually further south than Elwood.

Whatever.

But on to the positive.

The Knights’ win was good for the whole school and their quest for three state titles in the same school year, but it was nice to see for Luers coach Gary Rogers.

A nicer man you will not meet. Rogers has been at Luers for 22 years, but only had a career record 50 games over .500 at 352-301.

It didn’t matter, though.

He is well-respected throughout the SAC and northeast Indiana. He plays host to and organizes the SAC coaches’ meeting every year.

But his baseball program was often overshadowed by the seven state football titles, five girls basketball state championships and Deshaun Thomas-led boys basketball state title.

But Saturday at Victory Field, the day was his and that of his baseball team.

“I am so happy for Gary, and the other coaches who had been here for so many years and have gotten so close,” Bishop Luers athletic director/football coach Matt Lindsay said.

Amen.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Indiana-Kentucky notes

Officially, the box score has Lindsay Enterline going scoreless in a 76-59 all-star loss by Indiana to Kentucky on Friday.

But Enterline will know she got a layup with 3:25 left in the first half. However, the official book gave the basket to Maconaquah’s Deja Mattox.

All-Star officials admitted there was a discrepancy with the basket (don’t know why), but because the official book had her scoreless, the box score also had her with zero points on 0 for 4 shooting.

Enterline did lead Indiana with four assists and added four rebounds.

At least I think she did.

Zolman’s trek back to Indy

No offense to the Indiana All-Stars, but coach Kem Zolman would like to get out of Louisville, Ky. on Sunday as soon as possible.

Shortly after the Indiana-Kentucky game, which tips off at 2 p.m., Zolman is hoping to make it back up to Indianapolis.

The reason? To see his daughter, Shanna, play against the Indiana Fever in an WNBA game.

Shanna Zolman has been a member of the San Antonio Silver Stars for three years, and they are playing the Fever at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Conseco, interestingly enough, is the site of Indiana’s 76-59 loss to Kentucky in the first game of the annual summer series.

No area boys all-stars

For the first time in eight years, northeast Indiana didn’t have any boys basketball players on the Indiana All-Star roster.

The last time that happened was in 2000.

Since then, this part of the state has had 10 Indiana All-Stars.

Prior to 2000, it goes back to 1983 with no area represenation.

 
- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

 

Rhodes on the record

I got a chance to catch up with former Northrop and Warsaw boys basketball coach Al Rhodes on Wednesday at the Indiana All-Stars vs. Junior All-Stars at Marion.

Rhodes said the biggest reason for resigning after just one season with the Bruins was he just didn’t feel like he could make the time commitment anymore to coach through the spring and summer and winter.

“It is something that is even hard to admit to yourself," Rhodes said as he headed into Marion’s Bill Green Arena for the boys game.

Rhodes led Northrop to a 10-12 record last season, a big improvement from the previous years.

The future is uncertain for Rhodes. He still lives in Warsaw, where he coached for 20-plus years before coaching at Logansport and Northrop. He still has his basketball camps at Spiece Fieldhouse.

Another head coaching position could be in his future, but he said he wasn’t in a hurry.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Bellmont back in state finals

Another Bellmont girls sports team is going for a state championship.

The Braves' volleyball team turned the trick back in November to win the Class 3A state title.

Now it is the softball team's turn. The softball program, which had previous been at state in 2004 and '05, plays Friday in the 3A state semifinals against New Palestine.

It has been an interesting season for junior first baseman Janelle Rhoades, who had to sit out the volleyball season with a knee injury. She is back, playing softball and hitting .286 with 26 RBI and 26 runs scored.

Rhoades, who was a big part of the volleyball team as a sophomore, missed the team's four-game win over Brebeuf at Ball State for the state championship.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

'Busco baseball back at semistate

A return engagement for Churubusco to the Class 2A baseball semistate wasn't easy.

The Eagles were there a year ago, but things didn't get started too well in 2008. Starting shortstop and pitcher Bryan Brudi injured his shoulder early on and was moved off the mound and to second base. His replacement, Eric Tartagilia, also was hurt.

The third shortstop, Paul Liggett, was moved in from center field. Liggett played second base last season.

When Tartagilia eventually came back, he went out to center field.

Churubusco (20-11) started the season off with a couple of losses, then won 10 straight and the last third of the season, it was .500 baseball.

"It helped our team depth," Churubusco veteran coach Mark Grove said. "It made us stronger. Our three seniors (Brudi, Liggett, Brandon Hiatt) led us through the tough times."

Now the Eagles face No. 6 Boone Grove (26-3) in the second game Saturday at South Bend's Coveleski Stadium.

"We will have our hands full," Grove said. "They have held their own against with a good schedule and have one of the best records in the state."

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Rhodes resigns at Northrop

Probably sooner than expected, but the Al Rhodes experiment at Northrop is over.

After only one year.

The future Hall of Fame boys basketball coach announced his resignation in a statement Wednesday.

"I have decided to pursue other basketball opportunities that have presented themselves," Rhodes said in the written statement. "We have made great strides with the program and the future is very bright."

Rhodes was 10-12 last season. He is 454-192 in 27 years of coaching at Northrop, Warsaw and Logansport.

Rhodes was in an unfamilar situation from the start. He came from the single-community high schools of Warsaw and Logansport, and never fully grasped the sometimes chaotic open-enrollment of Fort Wayne Community Schools.

Players that you see coming up in middle schools won't always enroll at the high school you expect as a coach.

That's probably not the only reason Rhodes stepped down, but it goes to show how Northrop and Rhodes were never a good fit.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Bayer can win with different styles

Leo senior Andy Bayer either wins close races or by large margins, there is no in between.

Bayer sprinted his way to a win the 3,200 meters at Saturday's boys state track meet in Bloomington, winning by .12, over Lafayette Jeff's Tito Medrano.

“That’s how I have ran some of the bigger races this year,” Bayer said of his sprint over the final 200 meters that left him dehydrated at the end.

Bayer had dominated his way through most of the regular season and wasn't pushed through the postseason until the state meet, when Medrano and three other runners took turns competing with Bayer.

“It helps a lot to push the pace and not do it by yourself," Bayer said. "It helps a lot.”

Bayer's state title is the school's second of the year after Justin Woods won the 215-pound title at the state wrestling meet.

- By Greg Jones, The Journal Gazette

Andy Bayer, Leo