Don O’Brien- Quincy
I covered a lot of things during my more than two decades as a sports writer - World Series, the Masters, U.S. Open, NFL playoff games. But nothing beats the 1998 Class AA boys basketball state tournament, held in Peoria.
The state tournament was still new to Peoria back in 1998, the town having swiped it from Champaign a few years prior. After what was arguably the best Western Big Six Conference boys basketball season ever, two teams - Galesburg and Quincy - made it to the Elite Eight and Carver Arena in Peoria. (And the only reason Moline wasn’t the third WB6 team there is because Galesburg bounced the Maroons in the sectional final.)
As a Galesburg alum (Class of 1989), I knew that Quincy was our enemy. The story of Bumpy Nixon and the rivalry between Galesburg’s John Thiel and Quincy’s Sherrill Hanks had been passed down to me. So, to have both schools at state was great. That they both won on the first day and made it to the final day of the season was even better.
To listen to some of the old timers, you’d think there was no love lost between the two railroad towns. But for one night, they came together to root each other on. Hopes of an All-WB6 final were dashed earlier that March Saturday when Whitney Young knocked off Quincy. The Streaks, however, held up their end of the bargain by beating Maine West in other semifinal.
So, Galesburg folks wound up rooting for Quincy in the third-place game, which they won over Maine West. Quincy fans returned the favor in the state championship game, helping give Galesburg a huge crowd advantage over Whitney Young. Unfortunately, the Streaks fell just short of joining the 1913 team as state champions and settled for second.
I’ll never forget sitting courtside, writing about Quincy’s win while trying not to get too swept up in watching Galesburg play for the title. Seeing the Quincy and Galesburg fans rally together was one of the coolest things I’ve seen.
Of course, a few years later, the IHSA expanded the state tournament to four classes.Of course, there’s a chance that Galesburg and Quincy could make it back to state, the Streaks in Class 3A and the Blue Devils in Class 4A. But it wouldn’t be the same as that weekend in Peoria
(Massey- You still won’t catch me drinking the water in Quincy!!)
Marc Nesseler- Rock Island
I was blessed to be on press row courtside, beneath the basket, in Peoria on March 11, 2016, for the 2A state semifinal between Rockridge and Hales Franciscan when Carson Frakes drained a nearly three-quarters-court shot as time expired for a 45-43 win. It truly was my most memorable game, and finish, with all of the thrills in the setting of a state tournament, in my 47 years of newspapering.
The written story that challenged deadline was what print journalism is all about. It's a mental rush like none other. However, the best part of the state package came a day later. Amid the air of the championship, Frakes' shot was still the talk of the arena. Thinking out of the box, I stumbled on the story gem - in talking to Carson's parents, I learned that his mom, Lori, never saw the shot from her arena seat! She had covered her eyes with an "I can't bear to look" mentality. She missed it. All of it. She was in on the celebration, but had to watch replays to uncover maybe the most exciting finish in IHSA basketball tournament history. It's THAT scoop that made this story exponentially more memorable than any other in my career.
Jane Miller-Sands- Peoria
I had more than my share of “most memorable” events in my career. Covering the Indianapolis 500 for the first time and covering the first Formula One race at Indianapolis were both dreams come true for me.
But I’m narrowing this assignment to high school girls basketball and I’m choosing the 2007 Galesburg Sectional championship game.
First of all, the sectional was loaded - any of the four teams could have made it to the state tournament and done well. But the title game was between Galesburg, an established power, and Morton, a team which wanted the kind of success the Streaks had. The moment that made it so memorable was Taylor Young’s shot at the buzzer for Galesburg which sent the game into overtime.
I have been to a lot of games in what is now Thiel Gym. A lot of games. I have never heard it as loud or felt the bleachers shake like they did after that shot.
Unfortunately for Galesburg, Tracy Pontius scored seven points in overtime and led the Potters to victory.
After the game, Morton coach Bob Becker told me, “People should remember this game for a long, long time.”
I know I have.
(Massey- There are a million Richwoods, Mary Kay Hungate, Nora Lewis stories that I would much rather have read about!!)
Ty Reynolds- Sterling
In 25 years of covering local sports at Sauk Valley Media in Dixon, I’ve seen my fair share of phenomenal games and fantastic finishes. The two that most stand out to me came on the volleyball court, with postseason hurdles cleared by two local teams.
I came into the Sauk Valley area in the spring of 2000, and was very much a volleyball novice. Luckily, there were two programs at the time who were very good, and I quickly learned from watching Jenny Koch’s Dixon team and Sheila Pillars’ Rock Falls squad how much fun volleyball can be when it’s played well.
The first memory I want to share is a matchup between those two teams in the 2005 Class AA Freeport Regional final. Usually when these two play, it’s a must-see match, and this was the best of them all. This time, Dixon was looking for its first regional title since 1991, and had Creighton-bound senior Sarah Schulze leading the way – so if they were going to get Coach Koch a regional title, this was their best chance.
The match was super high-intensity for three full sets. Each set went back and forth; Dixon would go on runs and Rock Falls would match them. All three sets were decided by 25-23 scores – the first and third in Dixon’s favor, and the second one for Rock Falls. The atmosphere was electric and everything you’d want in a postseason volleyball match.
Along those same lines, atmosphere was everything in the 2018 Class 3A Sterling Supersectional. The host Golden Warriors had been a regional juggernaut for several years, and had broken through for a couple of sectional titles, but with four future Division I players on the roster – Nebraska’s Lexi Rodriguez, Virginia’s Brooklyn Borum, Loyola’s Bree Borum and Youngstown State’s Josi Borum – now was the time they were ready to take the next step and earn a trip to Redbird Arena.
After rolling through straight-set wins in all four regional and sectional matches, Sterling hosted Morton in that supersectional on their home floor. In 25 years of covering games at Musgrove Fieldhouse, I have never seen it more packed to the gills – it was beyond standing-room-only. From the time Sterling stepped onto the court to the final point, the crowd was in full throat and the roars were echoing. The Golden Warriors routed the Potters 25-12, 25-7, and when the final kill hit the court, it felt like the roof might blow off the arena.
The Golden Warriors went on to win the 3A state championship that year and the next, and were denied a chance at a three-peat when COVID-19 hit and canceled the tournament in the 2020-21 school year.
Mike Trueblood- Galesburg
No comments:
Post a Comment