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.

By STEVE PORTER
Now it’s Scott Harper’s opportunity to make his mark as the director of athletics at Alton High. Harper, formerly the Redbirds head baseball coach, resigned that position earlier in the week to become the school’s new AD.
AHS officials wanted the new director of athletics to be free from coaching so that he could concentrate on evaluating coaches, working closely with them and providing student-athletes with as much support as possible.
It can be a 24/7 job, as former director of athletics Mike Brey knows. Brey earned a promotion to assistant principal when Michael Bellm and Barb Gillian both were promoted. Gillian takes over for Phil Trapani as the school’s principal and Bellm steps into Gillian’s shoes as an assistant principal.
Harper comes into the position with solid credentials, having worked both inside and outside the school system. He toiled in the Alton Recreation Department, sharpening his organization skills.
As director of athletics, Harper inherits a program attempting to better itself in the rugged Southwestern Conference. It’s no task for the faint of heart since the eight-school SWC is as competitive as any conference in the state.
He’s looking for across the board improvement because there’s always room to improve. I’ve been told it’s the biggest room in the world.
Here’s hoping Harper can work the room with the best of them and make the Redbirds a power player in the conference. He deserves a chance to show what he can do in following in the footsteps of AD’s such as Elliott Pearson, Stan McAfoos, Ron Smith, Bob Shannon and Brey, among others.
Community support will play an integral part in it, too. So if you are willing to lend Harp a helping hand, I’m sure he will gladly grasp it.

His experience as a coach is limited to last season’s work under Rick Reinhart at Marquette Catholic, but it was enough to convince those doing the hiring of the Explorers’ next head coach that Tim Nelson was their guy.
And at age 32, Nelson took the job without hesitation.
“I’m definitely up for the challenge,” he said. “And I think the transition is going to be smooth. I know the kids. We’re going to run the same defense that we ran at all levels last season.”
While the Explorers defense will retain the same schemes, the offense Reinhart ran will be scrapped for a look familiar to the growing list of coaches coming out of Calhoun County.
“I’m a system guy,” said Nelson, who played on Calhoun’s first state championship team in 1992.
That translates into a Ric Johns guy and the triple option. “I hate to give that away,” Nelson said, with a laugh. “But most of my playbook is from Ric Johns and Scott Hamilton. But it’s what I know best.”
Johns was head coach at Calhoun when the Warriors won Class 1A state championships in 1992 and 1993. Hamilton was an assistant at Calhoun before putting together his own head coaching legacy at Tolono Unity.
They are the godfathers of the Calhoun football mafia that four schools have tapped into for head coaches in 2008. Aaron Elmore (Beardstown), Nate Lorton (Sullivan) and J.D. Lorton (Granite City) also took new jobs. And all started their love affair with football as Warriors at Calhoun.
“In Calhoun, that gave us our identity,” Nelson said. “That’s what we were know for. And we wanted that identity and we wanted pride in our community. And Marquette’s tradition speaks for itself. … I just hope to bring that same kind of excitement, that same kind of atmosphere. It’s team, that’s what I’m about.”
– by GREG SHASHACK

When Alton baseball won a Class AA regional championship in 2001, it ended a 17-year run without a postseason title.
Since then, the Redbirds have claimed four regionals in the seven seasons. They have a good shot at No. 5 Friday at Collinsville when they take on the host Kahoks in the Collinsville Class 4A Regional championship game.
Alton got there by beating its favorite school to beat, the Edwardsville Tigers 6-3 in Wednesday’s semifinals. The game took 2 hours, 50 minutes to complete, thanks largely to Edwardsville pitchers throwing to first base more than 30 times in the game.
Edwardsville finishes 25-11, which marks the most losses in a season for the Tigers since going 24-12 in 1986. But the Tigers appear poised to bounce back with seven of their nine starters, plus their starting pitcher, returning for the 2009 season.
Alton (21-9) is a team led by seniors Vinny Steele, Jason McAtee, Brent Phelps and Trevor Matifes hitting in the Nos. 2-5 slots in the order behind junior leadoff hitter Ryan Mathews, a catalyst despite an average below .300.
Randall Pichee got the win against Edwardsville, which hit enough line drives to win, but was unable to get the clutch hit when needed against the Redbirds senior right-hander.
And while Wednesday’s win will be diminished in memory if the Redbirds can’t follow up with a win over the Kahoks, they could savor the feat for what was left of the night.
“They’re the rival, the natural rival, the conference rival,” Alton coach Scott Harper said of the Tigers. “It’s their tradition, their program that you try to build yourself toward. It’s a good win for us.
“We’re trying to gain the respect of the league after finishing in the lower half. We came out and we played the game. We showed we can play and put it together and get a nice win.”
Now, the Redbirds draw a Collinsville team seeded No. 1 in the regional. But the Kahoks have already dealt their ace, junior Erik Shannahan, against Granite. And with the best pitcher in the regional not available for the Kahoks, I like Alton’s chances of getting to Bloomington for next week’s sectional.

– GREG SHASHACK

Friday, May 23
By STEVE PORTER
When the spring of 2009 rolls around, the state track meets will look different. And they may never be the same.
The IHSA is taking the two-class system and expanding it to three in both boys and girls. So a two-day track meet will become a three-day one on two weekends in May.
Think 1A, 2A and 3A.
Class 1A competitors will serve as the guniea pigs next year. They’ll compete in the preliminaries on Thursday, then take the day off Friday and return for Saturday’s finals. Class 2A and 3A comeptitors will do the normal Friday-Saturday routine.
The IHSA says it’ll all rotate. Thus 2A competitors will get the Thursday/Saturday shift in 2010 and 3A will follow the next year.
What’s left unsaid is what the Thursday competitors will do on Friday. They could remain in Charleston and wait for Saturday, but that’s another day of expenses.
Or they could return home and then come back again. Yet then there’s more gas costs, wear and tear, logistical problems, etc.
It’s also unclear what happens to Thursday’s competitors who fail to quality for the finals. If some of their teammates qualify and the team decides to stay over, the nonqualifiers are hanging around town for two days — with little to do.
There could be some trouble in River City, if that’s not monitored.
I don’t have a solution for the new problems except one:
The answer is to keep two classes.
The chances of that happening are slim and none, and slim just left town.
I hope slim doesn’t have to return for Saturday’s finals.

May 2, 2008
By STEVE PORTER
If you are 110 years ago, you’re something special. And if you are that age and not in a rocking chair or nursing home, you are as spry as possible.
Keep active and stay healthy, which brings us to the Greene County track meet. It has been around longer than the Macoupin County Basketball Tournament, the longest running one in state history.
In short, Greene County track is older than old.
The long-standing meet celebrated its 110th birthday Thursday on Dick Hamann Track in Carrollton and that was noteworthy. The meet has been a county staple even before the turn of the 20th century. Thus, it’s something to cherish. You can thnk Hamann for keeping it alive and well.
At one time, the meet featured several schools, but now it’s down to three of them: Carrollton, Greenfield and North Greene.
It’s no surprise that two of those schools have the name Greene/Greene in them. It goes with the territory.
Since there are only a trio of teams (boys and girls) competing in it these days, meet officials have made it a night one. That makes it more intriguing.
Who knows? It may last for another 110 years.
If so, more power to it. If not, I’d say it has been a pretty good run. For my resume, I’ll take 110 years in a heartbeat.

Friday, April 25
By STEVE PORTER

That merry-go-round, sometimes known as the coaching carousel, is spinning quickly throughout the River Bend lately. Perhaps that’s because it’s April and those daily showers tend to sprout new flowers (a.k.a. coaches) in the prep ranks.
Anyway, Marquette Catholic is searching for two new head coaches. Rick Reinhart departed in football to take a job at Tuscola, his hometown. Tuscola has finished first or second in the Class 1A state finals the past two seasons, so perhaps he’s eyeing a chance for an IHSA title.
Merv Cruthis also retired as girls basketball coach and Cruthis, 72, certainly put in his time coaching — more than 50 years.
It’ll be interesting to see if Marquette can fill those two positions with inside people or the Explorers need to go outside to do it. The new football coach will be the fourth one the past five years.
Jersey has a new girls basketball coach in Terri Taake, who is well acquainted with the Panthers. She takes over for Bryan Brown.
Another individual with Jerseyville ties — J.D. Lorton — has accepted the head football coach job at Granite City of the Southwestern Conference.
Lorton last worked at Riverton of the Prairie State Conference, thus he’s taking a big step up. However, Granite City finished 6-4 in football last season under Matt Martin (who returned to Edwardsville as an assistant), meaning Lorton isn’t inheriting a bare cupboard.
Lorton starred as a player at Calhoun under Ric Johns, now at Belleville West, so he will get to tangle with his former coach this fall.
Lorton’s brother, Nate, already is the new head grid coach at Sullivan, near Decatur.
More coaching changes are on the way — you can bet on it. Alton High’s also hunting for a new director of athletics since Mike Brey is being promoted to assistant principal.
It’ll be intriguing to see what avenue the Redbirds take in filling that slot. The new person will be in charge of an entire department, not just one sport.
In other words, it might be the most high profile job of them all. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
By STEVE PORTER
Chad Easterday’s first job as the new head football coach at Carlinville High is much like previous coaches armed for the task:
Keep the football rolling in the right direction.
The Cavaliers’ success in football is well-documented, including 22 playoff berths since 1974 and a pair of second-place state finishes. They were IHSA runners-up in both 1978 and 1993 under Andy Easton.
Don Borgini guided them to a 58-25 record the past eight seasons and seven playoff berths, but in late February, Borgini opted to return to Gillespie, his hometown.
You can’t fault somebody for wanting to go home again. Not all of us can do that.
Nevertheless, Borgini faces a massive rebuilding job there, though he has been successful wherever he has coached. And since Gillespie is bound for the restructured Prairie State Conference in 2009, there’s reason to belive the Miners will turn on the light.
Easterday, meanwhile, wants to keep the lights burning brightly at Carlinville and make sure its tradition glows in the dark.
“Carlinville has great tradition and I’m looking forward to being a part of that,” he said Tuesday.
Easterday, 34, knows a thing or two about the school’s sports history. He has coached in the Carlinville system the past 10 years and most recently was their head basketball coach.
That’s a duty he is yielding to take charge of football, which is going to require all of his attention. Carlinville basketball, 10-16 last year, will be assigned to someone else.
More alterations are on the way. Carlinville’s a member of the six-school South Central Conference West and things are about to change in the two-division league. Come 2009, there will be one division of 10 schools meaning that the Cavaliers will also have to battle with Greenville, Hillsboro, Litchfield, Vandalia and Pana for a conference championship.
It’s a new day dawning and Easterday is ready for the challenge. If he keeps the ball moving toward the goal line, he will meet it.

For the last month of the prep basketball season, Missouri-St. Louis coach Chris Pilz was a regular at games and practices for the Edwardsville Tigers.
Pilz is shopping for a point guard and he made Tigers senior Brandon Hogg a priority. But with the signing date looming Wednesday, April 16, for prospects that did not sign during the early signing period Nov. 14-21, UMSL has heavy competition for Hogg’s signature.
Division II national power Southern Indiana is also after Hogg and the Screaming Eagles made a positive impression when Hogg visited campus in Evansville, Mo. UMSL remains a possibility, but and Pilz’s diligence may be factor. But competing with USI will be tough for UMSL.
Hogg, a first-team All-SWC pick, averaged 14.0 points per game for a 26-3 Tigers team that won the Southwestern Conference championship wiht a 12-2 league record.
EHS head coach Mike Waldo said there is also interest in Hogg by some Division I programs, including Eastern Kentucky of the Ohio Valley Conference.
The SWC has two players signed or committed to play D-I next year. Edwardsville’s Anthony Campbell has signed with Austin Peay and Alton’s Ruben Cotto has committed to Saint Louis.
O’Fallon standouts Kenny Leverette (SWIC) and Jared Woolfolk (Wabash Valley) are taking the JUCO route.

– Greg Shashack

Tuesday, April 8
By STEVE PORTER

If you followed area boys basketball the past season, you understood how rough it was to navigate through the choppy Southwestern Conference waters.
Edwardsville, O’Fallon and Alton — the top three teams — posted a composite 79-14 record and 12 of those defeats were to conference teams.
Now it’s spring and SWC guys track seems equally formidable. And when you throw in two-time defending state champ Cahokia of the nearby South Seven, you may see the Comanches and Flyers slugging it out for another IHSA title. East St. Louis was state runner-up in 2006-07.
In last Saturday’s Belleville West Invitational, which didn’t include Cahokia, the top FIVE teams came from the SWC.
East St. Louis won it with 130 points. Belleville East (90 points), Belleville West (86 points), O’Fallon (80.5 points) and Granite City (73 points) made solid showings.
In other words, you could have a pretty good team in SWC track and still finish fifth or sixth.
Edwardsville, Alton and Collinsville have some work to do. It’s a challenging task.
“The conference just keeps getting stronger,” East St. Louis coach Roscoe Whitfield said.
In Class A boys, defending sectional champ Carlinville is putting together another quality team. As for Class AA girls, East St. Louis is making plans to win its first state championship.
All figured, come mid-May and we’ll see some individual champions and perhaps another team champ or two.
Hang at the curve and stay in the fast lane. We’ll keep track of what’s going on around the bend.