Bad press is better than no press for college football post-season

Written by Joe Kleinsasser Thursday, 27 December 2007 04:40

The college bowl season may give Excedrin headaches to many pundits, but not for my agent I.M. Slick.

It’s not that Slick believes the Bowl Championship Series, aka BCS, is agreat method for determining a national champion in football, but hebelieves there’s nothing that contributes more to college footballstaying in the news than the BCS.

Joe: Another year of college football; another year of controversy.

Slick: Yeah. This is about as good as it gets. It’s in the news all the time.

Joe: I figured that you’d prefer a playoff system to determine a national champion.

Slick: Nope. The messier, the more political and confusing it is, the better it is for college football. Besides, never has there been this much parity. You used...

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Trojan boys win in final seconds

Written by Don Ratzlaff Thursday, 27 December 2007 04:32

HHSbbHalLooseBallPC215194.jpg Click here to buy photo Hillsboro’s Daniel Jost (left) knocks the basketball out of the grasp of Halstead’s Tyler Armendariz while Trojan teammate Andy Klassen guards from behind. Clay Shewey and David Loewen (background from left) watch for the result.


Near the end, it appeared to be a Christmas present both teams intended to give instead of receive. But in the end Hillsboro wrapped up a hard-fought 51-48 nail-biter Friday over a scrappy Halstead squad at Brown Gym­na­sium.

In a game that featured 18 lead changes, The Trojans grabbed what proved to be the final advantage when David Loewen made one of two free throws with 1:44 left for a 49-48 edge.

Daniel Jost grabbed Loewen’s miss for a...

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HHS girls win No. 2

Written by Don Ratzlaff Thursday, 27 December 2007 04:29

HHSgbHalRookerPC215161.jpg Click here to buy photo Tiffany Rooker (4) hustles to cut off Halstead’s Marissa Vermillion as the Dragon guard pushes the ball up court in second-half action.


A 19-3 surge on either side of halftime carried the Hillsboro girls to a 41-30 win over Halstead in a makeup game against Hal­stead Friday in Brown Gymna­sium.

The Trojans trailed for the last time at 13-12 following a 3-point basket by Halstead’s Marissa Vermillion with 4:44 left in the first half.

Hillsboro’s pivotal surge started modestly when Tiffany Rooker made one of two free throws 17 seconds later. But back-to-back baskets by Kassidi Luthi in the paint, plus a 5-foot jumper by Samantha Heinrichs, gave the Trojans a 7-0 run that...

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Heidebrecht leads MHS boys to victory vs. Black Bears

Written by Andrew Ottoson Thursday, 27 December 2007 04:24

Heidebrecht.jpg Marion’s Justin Heidebrecht glides in uncontested for two of his career-high 22 points against Sterling on Tuesday. Courtesy photo by Jim Versch

The Marion boys used a 24-12 outburst in the second quarter to flatten the Sterling Black Bears Tuesday night. The Warriors carried a nine-point lead into halftime and cruised to a 67-46 win.

Sterling led 9-6 after one quarter despite struggling against Marion’s press. The Warriors struggled to score off the turn­overs they forced, and tallied all 6 points at the foul line.

But as the combination of full-court pressure and half-court trapping wore down the Black Bears, the Warriors settled into their transition offense.

“The first quarter was about as bad as we...

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Victory eludes Warrior girls

Written by Andrew Ottoson Thursday, 27 December 2007 04:15

The Marion girls lost to Sterling on Tuesday, 53-47.

“This is a game we should have won,” coach Randy Savage said. “We played well enough to win for three quarters, but we gave it away at the end.”

The Warriors carried a 36-32 lead into the fourth quarter, extended it to a 9-point advantage, but “folded down the stretch,” according to Savage.

“We took bad shots, shots that were out of the flow of the offense and out of rhythm, and we made some bad passes after Sterling tied it up,” Savage said.

“The main thing is, we have to box out, and we have to avoid unforced turnovers,” he added. “I hope this loss is one we can learn a lot from.”

Lindsay Hett led the Warriors with 14 points and Julia Zeiner scored...

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