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.

Thursday, April 3, 2008
By STEVE PORTER
I’ve been told the spring high school sports season officially came bounding down the runaway on March 21, the first day that winter left us.
Somebody forgot to tell Mother Nature.
We’ve seen rain, sleet, hail and chilly temperatures off and on since then. It seems as if the weather changes dramatically every day, affecting sports such as baseball, softball, track and field, soccer and tennis.
You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
Local athletics directors are revising the schedules of their teams like Grandma rearranging dominos or junior juggling the pieces of a puzzle. Games get moved to other venues or mostly switched to different days.
It’s work, though not necessarily in progress.
Part of the problem is that teams are scheduling games way too early. One local school had its spring opener set for March 10, or 10 days before winter ended and five days before the end of the state finals for Class 3A-4A basketball.
The overlap is becoming more evident. It’s no wonder athletes playing mutiple sports are going the way of dinosaurs. There’s no time to take a deep breath and relax between seasons.
I know. Everybody wants to play as many games as possible. Yet how convenient is it to schedule a flock of games in mid-March, when many of them won’t get played until mid-April or later?
You can play some soccer matches or hold track meets in reasonably inclement weather, but softball and baseball are different animals. Tennis is sort of the X factor in all of this.
Frankly, nobody should be playing baseball or softball until the last week of March, if that soon. April 1 was once the date to start spring sports.
Things do change, but not always for the better. If one team gets to start early, then everybody seeks to do it. Pretty soon, the IHSA might OK spring games the first week of March.
And then they’ll be snowed out.

Tuesday, March 25
By STEVE PORTER

When Ruben Cotto moved to the Alton area from Miami this fall, he wasn’t sure how long he would remain here.
Now, it looks like he could become a longtime resident. That’s the magic of athletics at work.
Cotto, a 6-foot senior guard who starred at Alton High the past season, recently gave a verbal commitment to attend nearby Saint Louis University, a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
It seems like a snug fit.
SLU, 16-15 the past season, is rebuilding under new coach Rick Majerus, who has hit the recruiting trail hard. Cotto could be one of his prized prospects.
The Class 4A All-Stater (second team) averaged 22.3 points per game for the 24-7 Redbirds and was also tops on the team in steals and assists.
With the possibility of him surrounded by the likes of East St. Louis’ Tommie Liddell and Belleville’s Kevin Lisch at SLU, you’d guess that Cotto could become the perfect playmaker.
Even though he’s a talented scorer, his best attribute may be distributing the basketball. Think Deron Williams at Illinois.
Cotto reminds you a bit of Edwardsville High grad Dickie Brown, a standout at Pepperdine and good enough to get drafted by the Houston Rockets of the NBA. His smooth moves on the court evoke memories of the dynamic James Brown.
What’s gratfying about the Cotto-SLU engagement is that its doubtful it wouldn’t have happened had the stylish backliner remained in Florida. It’s more likely that the Puerto Rico native would have wound up playing for La Salle or perhaps Virginia Commonwealth.
Yet the move to Alton initiated a Midwest opportunity for him and now area fans should get an opportunity to see him play close to his new home.
That’s intriguing.
It has been said that when one door closes on you, another one opens. In Cotto’s case, there’s an entrance to Saint Louis University and the new 10,000-seat Chaifetz Arena awaiting him.

Wednesday, March 12
By Steve Porter

Just like that, the boys prep basketball is over for Southwestern Illinois teams. And none of them get to play in Peoria this season.
Lockport’s 50-47 win over O’Fallon on Tuesday night in the 4A Normal Super-Sectional eliminted the last area team. The Panthers were trying to duplicate or exceed their second-place finish during last year’s state finals, but they couldn’t make it to Carver Arena.
Southwestern Conference champion Edwardsvlle lost to O’Fallon in the Bloomington Sectional and 24-game winner Alton fell to Edwardsville in the Redbirds Regional.
The Redbirds enjoyed their fourth straight 20-win season, thanks mainly to the exploits of 6-foot senior guard Ruben Cotto.
The transfer from La Salle High in Miami averaged 22.3 points per game and established himself as one of the state’s top players.
What’s next for Cotto?
College basketball. Perhaps it will be with punchless Saint Louis University, which could quickly insert him into the starting lineup at point guard. We’ll see what develops.
Cotto proved to be a whirlwind on the local scene, scoring as many as 37 points (in the first game with Belleville East) and leading the Redbirds in assists (92) and steals (119). He was also third in rebounds (144).
It’s true that Cotto scored just nine points (on 4-for-11 shooting) in his final game, a 53-45 loss to Edwardsville in the regional final. The Tigers’ defense had something to do with that but Cotto was also playing with a slight concussion he sustained in a regional semifinal win two nights earlier.
Cotto didn’t think that much about the injury until the day after the Edwardsville loss. Bothered by dizzyness and headaches, Cotto knew something was amiss. Doctors told him he had post-concussion syndrome.
Presumably, the only headache he will be involved with next season is the one Cotto gives to opposing defenses. La Salle, Virginia Commonwealth, Iowa State and Southern Illinois University Carbondale are also on his radar screen, but SLU appears to be the front runner as this point.
Stay tuned.