Granite City revamping its image in SWC
June 24th, 2008, 3:27 pm · Post a Comment · posted by sporter
Tuesday, June 24
By STEVE PORTER
There are some noteworthy sports changes in the eight-team Southwestern Conference, heading into the 2008-09 school year.
But none loom larger in athletics than the two at Granite City High. The Warriors have a new football coach in J.D. Lorton and a new boys basketball coach in Steve Roustio.
First, Lorton.
The one-time Calhoun High standout, who played for Ric Johns when the Warriors were the darlings of Class 1A football — state champions in 1992-93 — most recently was at Riverton. So the step up to the SWC will be a big one for him.
Yet Lorton should prove qualified to make the advancement. He’s inheriting a program that former coach Matt Martin revitalized last season.
The Warriors went 6-4, qualified for the playoffs for the first time since they went 8-2 in 1991 and won four of five games through the heart of the season. Five of their six wins were by seven points or fewer.
Thus, Lorton intends to extend the winning trend. Martin, meanwhile, returned to Edwardsville, where he will serve as an assistant to new coach Mark Bliss. Martin was an assistant for Tim Dougherty the first time he coached at EHS.
Next, it’s Roustio and he has a big chore in front of him. The Warriors have sunk to the bottom of SWC basketball and need a booster shot to re-energize themselves.
They could get it from Roustio, whose dad, Mel, coached at Edwardsville and Jacksonville. Steve, a Collinsville assistant for Bob Bone, went to Highland, then posted two successful seasons at Petersburg PORTA, near Springfield.
Nevertheless, the SWC is a different cat and Roustio’s going to new some patience in developing a competitive program — and then a winning one. The good news is that it can be done.
Just look at Alton. After several years of uneven performances, the Redbirds have compiled a 124-34 record the past five years.
And that’s the best half-decade run in school history.
Now, nobody is expecting that from Granite City, but a smidgen of improvement is possible. Time will tell whether the Warriors can find the light leading out of the SWC cellar.
