Sports Reporters- Memorable Stories- Part II

High school sports in western Illinois has some great stories. Communities have loved their sports teams and supported them. A big part of HS sports over the years has been the tremendous coverage of local media. Sadly, many local papers no longer exist so some great stories today go untold.  

I asked some of my favorite sports reporters to share one of the many great games they covered. They have shared some really wonderful stories. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.

I got such a good response from reporters, I have divided it into two parts. Thanks for sharing!

Dan Eilts- Ottawa

I’ve seen thousands and thousands of athletic events from five-year old soccer to pro football, but no game will ever equal the spine tingling drama of the five overtime boys basketball game between Ottawa High and Geneseo High in the first round of the Class AA Rock Island Sectional in 1983. 

Ottawa eventually won the epic classic 84-79 and went on to edge Moline 42-41 to win the sectional title. 

Ottawa lost to Peoria Central  in the Peoria SuperSectional snapping the Pirates’ 21-game winning streak. Ottawa finished the season 27-3.

I was Sports Editor of the Ottawa Daily Times and here are some highlights from my game story and column from that once-in-a-lifetime classic. 

Jack Cassidy, the father of Ottawa guard Mike Cassidy, was on a business trip to West Virginia and had Ottawa fans back home put the radio next to the phone receiver so he could listen to the broadcast. Jack said the tension got so bad that at one point he went into the corner and prayed. 

Ottawa used only five players until star center Dave Moran fouled out in the fifth overtime. Matt Krieger replaced Moran and said afterwards “ I had major butterflies “.

Right before the end of regulation, my wife Sheila told our one-year old son Drew that the game was almost over. Little did either know what was in store. Drew took advantage of the overtime sessions to take a nap. Oh what Jack Cassidy would have given to trade places with Drew.

Ottawa Coach Gary Vancil said “You could watch pro or college games forever and never see the competitiveness displayed on the floor tonight.”

Neither Vancil nor Geneseo Coach Mike Kiss or most of the players knew how many overtimes there was. 

Ottawa secured the victory by sinking 12 of 12 free throws in the fifth overtime including 6 of 6 by Mike Cassidy who said “We knew we couldn’t lose just because Dave (Moran) fouled out. We worked that much harder “.

Moran led all scorers with 35 points.

Said Ottawa High student Melissa Angell “Have you ever tried screaming the whole game and then five overtimes? It was tough but we won.”

And what Ottawa High cheerleader Anne Riordan said still rings true today for everyone who witnessed that classic game. “It was exhausting, but it will be forever embedded in my mind.”

Jeff Wendland- Rock Island

During my 37 years of sports writing, there have been hundreds of tremendous stories, and some who were days of depression. This one I will never forget comes from the month of March, 2005, and the NCAA postseason for the University of Illinois Illini.

I covered Illinois basketball games during the regular season and I had to ask managing editor Russ Scott at The Argus-Dispatch to go to the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA postseason. That’s where it started badly. Mr. Scott called me into his office and told me we did not have enough money and I couldn’t go to Chicago. I didn’t quit, I went to the president Jerry Taylor’s office. We talked for an hour and it appeared it wasn’t going to happen. Then, Mr. Taylor called me that evening and he told me I could go if I went to the cheapest (but decent) hotels for the Big Ten Tournament, the first and second rounds in Indianapolis and Sweet 16 and Elite Eight to Rosemont, IL. Mr. Taylor then said if the Illini get to the Final Four I can go to the big-time hotel in St. Louis with the entire media.

The Illini rolled through the Big Ten Tournament. They went to the NCAA winning to the day that will never be forgotten. In the Allstate Arena in Rosemont the 16,957 was filled with orange and blue for about 16,000 and 957 with Arizona. The Illini got behind early and stayed behind, leading 15 points in the second half with 3:30 left. There were plenty of fans who thought it was over. One for sure did not quit. As I talked to the Illinois writers this scribe said, “I just think the Illini are winning.” Luther Heads started it with a 3-pointer, Dee Brown and Head hit shots and another Head’s triple and the Illini cut them to 5 points with just over a minute remaining. The Allstate Arena was literally bouncing and the noise was thundering as we watched Bill Murray cheering the crowd. Deron Williams hit a 3 to tie it but Arizona took the lead again. Brown hit a 3 and sent us to OT. Leading by a point for Illinois Williams hit a 3 and Head scored a two and had the Illini up 90-84. Arizona hit a 3 and a two to cut it to 90-89 with 50 seconds left. The Wildcats had a chance to take with a shot but it was missed and the Illini took them into the Final Four.

The noise, the smiles, the thrill could be enough but I still had to go into the work. After a few interviews I came into the media room and it was crazy. The people back in Moline told me they would get 30 minutes to write a story. I decided to see if I could get the game story in about 20 minutes and do a little more. The sports editor (Marc Nesseler) told me that it was great to get that story and give him time to read it. I told Marc that I will have more. In eight or nine minutes I wrote a story with a play-by-play starting for the final 3:30 minutes at the end of the regulation and OT and Mr. Nesseler said something like “Not many could ever do that.”

With all of that I still had another weekend as we came to the NCAA Final Four. The Illini came to St. Louis were at the Edward Jones Dome and they beat Louisville 72-57. At 37-1, everyone thought the Illini fans thought they were going to finally get that National Champion. Instead, Illinois got stuck with fouls and lost 75-70. The sadness came at the end but it will always be remembered in my life.

Brian Reusch- Savanna

In 2020, many felt that the Championship Game in Class 1-A Girls Basketball would not be played at Redbird, but at a sold-out Pecatonica High School as conference rivals Eastland & Amboy met in the Sectional Championship Game.  

 

It was the 3rd match-up of the year between the two schools, as Amboy won both regular season encounters.  It was somewhat personal for me, as two of the five Eastland starters were also members of our radio staff.  I told both Erin Henze & Meredith Janssen about Villanova & Georgetown prior to their 3rd encounter with the Clippers.

 

The game more than lived up to its hype, as the lead changed hands a dozen times.  Amboy took the lead with about 8 seconds left, after Eastland had tied the score with 23 seconds left.  Eastland trailed by two and had to go the length of the floor.  The play called for 2nd Team All-Stater Lydia Coatney to take the inbound pass, come up the floor, and drive to the rim, hoping to get a lay-up or get fouled.  

 

Instead Coatney, launched a long, straight on 3 pointer that gave the Cougars the lead.  Amboy had one last shot, but came up the short.  Eastland went on to defeat Lewistown in the Class 1A Title game.  

 

Some times when I’m bored, I listen to the final seconds of that game. I can still feel the energy of that finish!

Brad Bennewitz- Galesburg

In terms of actually covering a game, 98% of my truly special experiences would be from following Silver Streaks boys basketball, and so many of those standout moments seem to hearken back to the 1997-98 season. I hate to be that obvious with my choice but ... as the years have gone by, the more games I cover, the more they tend to blur and blend together.

The first confrontation with Moline during that special season is a standout memory, largely because at Wharton Field House, our broadcast position is traditionally on the floor behind the scorer's table, and the Streaks pass by our position to get to the locker room.

The Maroons were terrific that year and had their eyes on a run to the Elite Eight, having beaten Galesburg three times the previous year, including in the Sectional championship, but falling short in the SuperSectional. They were undefeated when GHS made the trip to Wharton Field House, and the Streaks had lost only once (at the nationally prestigious Coca-Cola KMOX Shootout in St. Louis). Consequently, the old barn was packed literally to the rafters, and it was loud. The sound for us was cushioned somewhat from being seated under the upper balcony.

Emotions ran high on the floor and between the benches. The Streaks won the game 75-59, a 16-point margin that is masks how passionately-fought and tense the game was, but I distinctly remember the Streaks were perfect from the free throw line in the game -- 17 for 17, if my memory is that good -- which helped push the lead to its final margin in the end.

As I indicated, tempers flared on the sideline as well as on the court, and those emotions spread to the rest of the arena. As Galesburg exited the floor following the postgame handshake line, fans above our broadcast position were obviously calling down with negative comments to our team as it left the floor. I remember Head Coach Mike Miller angrily pointing up at someone, yelling, "Tell your coach to stop yelling at MY guys!"

It was the start of a brutal stretch that would truly test the deep talent of the team, which headed to the exclusive Proviso West Shootout immediately after the game in Moline, and thumped Glenbrook North 88-57, led by a school-record 55 points from Joey Range in that game, the second time he scored 55 in a game. Two days later, GHS returned to Chicago to play in another high-profile event, the "Hoops in the Loop Shootout" (losing in heartbreaking fashion on a 28-foot pull-up jumper at the buzzer by future Duke and NBA player Corey Maggette), and then finishing the 8-day gauntlet with a trip to Quincy the following Friday night, a 5-point win over the Blue Devils.

I hope that helps. I really would have loved to have written about being at the KU-Kentucky game in Allen Field House when we ran Rick Pitino's team out of the building 150-95, but I was just a full-throated, crazy college kid that day and was not covering the game.

Matt Wheaton- Galesburg

Any sports reporter who has been around a while will say the seasons and teams blend together and it’s hard to pinpoint one that stands out – unless of course a team won a state title then that’s a different story. 

 

I’ve been out of the full-time sports reporting/writing game for a few years now (and shameless plug, but I do maintain a sports blog from time-to-time: mwheaton.wordpress.com. But, I’m not as active as Coach Massey is in that realm).

 

There is something that stands out from my 11 years working full-time in the newspaper business. Coach Massey asked for a memorable game, but in this case it’s a state track meet and it took place at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. 

 

Back in 2015, Josh Eiker, who was a Galesburg High School junior, dominated the Class 2A boys field in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash, and he did so after an almost 2.5 hour lighting delay. Eiker crossed the finish line in 10.57 seconds in the 100 and 21.20 seconds in the 200. The Silver Streaks finished in a three-way tie for second place. 

 

The following spring, Galesburg competed in Class 3A at EIU, and Eiker wasn’t affected by the switch. The 2016 GHS grad claimed the 100 title in 10.48 seconds and finished in first in the 200 in 21.66 seconds. To my knowledge, no other Illinois high school sprinter has won back-to-back state titles in the sametrack events in two different classes. 

 

Eiker still holds the Illinois High School Association’s Class 2A records in the 100 (10.53 set in the state prelims) and the 200(set in the finals). He continued his running career at the University of Illinois, but the injury bug bit him more than once while representing the Fighting Illini. 

 

Few may recall Eiker served as a wideout for the Streaks’ football team at one point in time. It’s hard to pick just one, but the most memorable game that I’d like to mention is Galesburg’s 28-27 double overtime win over Quincy in Western Big 6 football action at the old Van Dyke Field on Oct. 12, 2012. 

 

Eiker, of course, wasn’t a part of the program at the time, but the victory made the Streaks eligible for the IHSA playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons.