Cahokia Conference - Mississippi Division

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Columbia leads strong group of Cahokia chargers
Eagles rate slight edge over Wesclin, Central, Carlyle; Red Bud, Freeburg aren't far off the pace

CAHOKIA CONFERENCE MISSISSIPPI DIVISION
Projected Order of Finish
1. COLUMBIA
2. TRENTON-WESCLIN
3. BREESE CENTRAL
4. CARLYLE
5. RED BUD
6. FREEBURG

BY JACK BULLOCK
With a switch from a single conference to two separate divisions with expansion a season ago the Cahokia Conference made a bold move that paid off.
Taking the largest six schools and placing them in the largest division (Mississippi) while adding a pair of small Independent schools to the small division (Kaskaskia) - this league is in better shape in travel, competitiveness and scheduling.
The Breese Central Cougars were picked down the list by ABV in 2006-07.
However Stan Eagleson was his usual brilliant self in winning yet another conference crown to go with yet l and another sectional daily double.
Some key injuries and foul trouble in the Supersectional last season allowed Brown County to get past the Cougars to deny this school its fourth trip to the boy's basketball state finals in Peoria.
Central won 22 games with five of them coming against Clinton County rival Trenton-Wesclin.
The Warriors were in each of the five contests but failed to get a win.
Coach Brent Brede hopes to turn the tables this season with several key players returning from a strong team including a talented transfer coming in.
This might be the year of the Eagles in the Cahokia. It certainly has been in two other boy's sports.
Columbia won the state Class A baseball title back in June and their football team is 12-1 headed for the 3A state championship game as this article is being written.
Coach Mark Sandstrom has produced a gradual climb as leader of this program and ABV sees these Birds as a potential Peoria club in 2007-08.
Carlyle took a bit of a step back last season as the Indians - with a brutal schedule - barely keep their collective heads above the .500 watermark. But 6-4 was good enough for second place in the Mississippi Division. Coach Andy Palmer has some talent to work with for this winter - but that can be said virtually every season in Clinton County.
Coach Dave Gillingham at Red Bud has done a good job since taking that position last season. His top player - Brandon Kunkel - is one of the top backcourt players in the ABV area as well as the state.
Freeburg - the largest school in the conference and the only 3A team in the league - has a new coach and some talent set to play difficult schedule.
"Anything can happen in our league as proven last year," said Coach Sandstrom of Columbia. "I would fully expect our kids to compete for the title this year. Wesclin should be very good but Red Bud, Carlyle, Breese Central and Freeburg will all be right there."
As for projections ABV agrees with Sandstrom that it will be a dogfight in the Cahokia Mississippi.
But the choice here is Columbia in the Mississippi in a close battle over the Clinton County boys. Top to bottom the Mississippi might be the toughest in the South.
1. COLUMBIA
When head coach Mark Sandstrom arrived three seasons ago he was determined to make a mark in this conference and in southern Illinois. This season he has his best chance.
With experienced returning players at every position and size in the frontcourt comparable to that of a college team - the Eagles certainly have 20-wins and a trip to Peoria on their agenda for 2007-08.
A Cahokia Conference title along the way would also look sweet in the record books.
Did ABV mention that they have an exceptional backcourt?
Coach Sandstrom has three guards that can score with 6-foot-2 senior Trent Blank leading the way. This kid averaged a club-best 16 points per night as a junior.
Running mate Brian Winters is also a 6-foot-2 senior guard who added 11p.p.g.
Throw in another guard with experience - 5-foot-10 senior Erik Roediger who tossed home five points a game - and you have an outstanding guard trio.
In the frontcourt the size is there and the potentional of additional offensive help.
At 6-foot-8 John Topliffe is the tallest player in the Cahokia Conference and maybe tallest in the whole Metro-East area.
With most of the offense centered on the Eagles guard play - Topliffe settled on 6.8 points and 6.1 rebounds a game as a junior.
He may become more of a scoring factor in 2007-08.
Topliffe will have some size next to him this season with 6-foot-6 junior Brad Buettner (3.2 p.p.g., 4.8 r.p.g.) in a potential big frontcourt should Coach Sandstrom choose to go large.
All five of those kids were 2006-07 starters and that amount of minutes played by this group makes them one of the teams to deal with when the trip to Peoria is planned out.
Coach Sandstrom mentioned four other kids he expects to see action.
Senior T.J. Menard is a 6-foot-6 forward/center (1.5 p.p.g.) who got into some games as a junior. Add the name Joel Greatting - a 6-foot junior guard - to the list (1.6 p.p.g.) along with 6-foot-1 senior guard Tyler Truttmann and 6-foot-2 senior forward Phil Stoecker (1.9 p.p.g.).
Truttmann is the quarterback on the Eagles football team that is still playing.
In this conference and in 2A those reserves will be important.
A key transfer comes back to Columbia.
Tory Arzola is a 6-foot junior point guard that was part of a 25-1 grade school team at Columbia. He will add to an already deep Eagles' backcourt.
Coach Sandstrom is looking at 6-foot-3 sophomore Tanner Hall to step up after a strong summer.
"Last year's schedule was rigorous for a reason - we wanted to prepare for the end of last season as well as this year," added Coach Sandstrom - whose team went 12-17 overall and lost a regional title game to Lovejoy last February at home.
"Unlike the past two seasons we are playing mature individuals. The freshmen and sophomores we were playing the past two seasons are now juniors and seniors so that should help. The most important aspect of this team is that they love the game of basketball and they are friends on and off the court."
OUTLOOK - The Eagles play in a tough league and with the non-conference schedule in place this crew will need to be prepared for the battle. The backcourt is strong and the frontcourt - according to Coach Sandstrom - has shown summer improvement. ABV projects 20-wins and a narrow win in this division. At 2A the trip to Peoria - however the map is laid out - will be grueling.
2. TRENTON-WESCLIN
The Warriors enter the 2007-08 with one of the top players in the Metro-East back for his senior season. Even with the loss of some good senior players to graduation Coach Brent Brede has a group back that that should challenge for the Cahokia Conference Mississippi Division title.
Gone from the program are Justin Dunning - a playmaking backcourt standout - and 6-foot-7 Obie Farmer who was one of the most improved players in the South in 2006-07.
Last season - minus the five losses (two in league play) to those pesky Cougars – Wesclin would have won the Mississippi Division.
Look for the Warriors (18-13, 5-5 in the Cahokia) to be even better this winter behind three returning starters who are very experienced players.
At 17.2 points and 7.2 rebounds a game - 6-foot-6 senior Sean Rakers is in place for an even better senior season.
Rakers has a football player body with basketball touch.
With a good season - will reach 1,000 points.
Rakers was also an ABV First Team selection for the Jacksonville Supersectional Area from 2006-07 season.
These Warriors won some hardware when they grabbed the Vandalia Holiday Tournament championship last December. So the Warriors know how to win.
Two other returning starters split time on the Wesclin floor as juniors.
Nate Fuhler is a 5-foot-8 senior guard who chipped home 9.5 points a game for Coach Brede last winter.
Five-foot-eleven senior Jake Sopiers added 6.5 points and 3.7 rebounds a night.
Both played enough minutes last season to now be considered veteran leaders.
A key transfer into the program should step in and help immediately.
Casey Ainslie is a 6-foot-2 athletic guard from Benton who has arrived in Trenton after falling out of grace in the Rangers' system.
When healthy last winter - Ainslie average near 20 points a night.
If this one comes in focused - with his troubles behind him - he should help make the Warriors a serious contender for a trip to Peoria.
Other seniors who spent last season on the Wesclin roster are 5-foot-8 guard Luke Pakosta, 6-foot-1 Tyler Shaw, 5-foot-8 Paul Ritzheimer, 5-foot-8 Nick Mastromatteo, and 6-foot Charlie Blair.
Shaw and Blair are the most experienced.
The junior class has some players looking for playing time.
Ryan Becherer, Zach Haselhorst and Jacob Brandmeyer are all three in the 5-foot-11 range.
"We have a host of seniors whose experience we hope to draw from this season," said Coach Brede who has a 109-76 record in seven seasons coaching his alma mater. "The Cahokia Conference will be brutal again with all the teams being very good."
OUTLOOK - The Warriors have Rakers and Ainslie with quality guard play. The only problem ABV sees is a lack of overall size. Past Rakers and Ainslie there isn't much height - which will be a hardship when the Warriors hook up with the taller teams on their demanding schedule. Rakers is another one of the big men in the South with All-State aspirations and Ainslie will be one of the top athletes in the Cahokia. Look for Wesclin to be right near the top at the end of the Mississippi Division race.
3. BREESE CENTRAL
After 22-seasons coaching boy's basketball at Breese Central - head coach Stan Eagleson has gathered up quite a list of accomplishments to put on his resume.
Picked by ABV to finish down the list in the Mississippi - the Cougars responded with a 22-11 mark in 2006-07 and that included league, regional and sectional titles.
It isn't usual for the Cougars to be in the hunt for success in the athletic realm.
Both girls and boys programs at BC have been very good over the years.
Coach Eagleson is one of a handful of coaches that have made three-consecutive trips to the "Elite Eight" in the State of Illinois.
His Supersectional loss to Brown County, 44-38, last March in Jacksonville made it four trips to the "Sweet 16" for this program since 2003.
Three important seniors left the building from that recent team and must be replaced in many ways.
Six-foot-six senior Greg Schulte represented 14 points and 7.3 rebounds from last season. Alex Reilmann (14.1 p.p.g.) and John Book (five p.p.g.) were backcourt cogs.
All three have left a void in the Central offense.
Stepping up to the plate for Coach Stan Eagleson should be another good group similar to in previous years.
Galen Gaffner is a 5-foot-10 senior guard who is a three-year starter.
He averaged 7.8 points a game last season for the Cougars in their run to the Supersectional.
Gaffner averaged 3.3 rebounds while dishing out almost three assists a game.
Six-foot-two senior Brad Fischer is another veteran guard for Breese Central. With 4.9 p.p.g. and 4.8 r.p.g. Fischer will get more 'touches' this season with all the scoring missing from a season ago.
Jake Keck is a 5-foot-9 junior guard that who - like Fischer - has started games the past two seasons.
Keck added 4.5 p.p.g. as a sophomore.
Pat Strieker - a 6-foot senior who had his junior season cut short with a broken hand last winter – is expected to be one of the starters for Coach Eagleson.
Another potential Cougar – 6-foot senior guard Tommy Bach – played in 30 varsity games last season with a couple of points per contest average but will likely miss the entire season with a torn ACL suffered in football.
Other than the top three there is very little varsity familiarity.
Six-foot-three senior Shane Kuhl got in several contests as a junior but not for extended periods. He is going to have to continue his good rebounding improvement now that the games will be varsity.
Colin Voss is a top reserve from the backcourt that will once again help spell Gaffner and Keck.
Voss played in 20-games for the Cougars as a junior.
A couple of juniors – 6-foot-1 guard Cody Imming and 5-foot-9 guard Pat Thole – have gotten Coach Eagleson’s attention and are posed to see a lot of meaningful minutes.
Garrett Gaffner – a 6-foot-3 sophomore – is the younger brother of Galen and is a center/forward type that will get stronger with age.
You can put David Wiegmann in that same category of needing to bulk up.
The rest of the roster will feature prep rookies. But in this county and school system – count them as being very familiar with winning athletics from the grade school level on.
Looking at past Breese Central teams and comparing them to the 2007-08 Cougars – it is clear there is a difference in the size of the current squad.
“For the first time in years we will be playing without a big, strong center,” said Coach Eagleson who has had some tall timber playing for the Cougars in this great recent run. “We will have to rely on our athleticism and outside shooting. We do have three experienced starters returning and a group of good athletes to fill the remaining two spots.”
OUTLOOK – ABV has learned the lesson. Don’t drop this program very far down the Cahokia charts. Coach Eagleson will have a small, more athletic group that will need to be good on the defensive end, especially rebounding. This conference is loaded - top to bottom – but this coach is a superb motivator. Expect the Cougars to be in the title chase although a tough non-conference schedule will make getting to 20-wins tougher than usual.
4. CARLYLE
Coach Andy Palmer has produced victories at Carlyle since he stepped foot on this campus three years ago.
From a winning background and with experience – Palmer brought his fast-paced, pressure defensive style to the Cahokia Conference with immediate results. His teams recently have been a bit too large to play the Palmer style. That looks like it will change in 2007-08.
As with the other two schools in this county that reside in this league – the Indians have the athletes in place to challenge for honors at every turn. But the team is a smaller physically.
Out of all the clubs in this circle of friends – Carlyle probably lost the most talent to graduation.
Gone are some successful kids from a 16-15 team that dropped a 46-41 decision to rival Wesclin at last season’s Carlyle Class A Regional title tilt.
James Snider - a 6-foot-6 center - will be missed. So will teammates Seth Knolhoff, Travis Huels, Tyler Albers, Nathan Novsek and Dee Cannon.
All were seniors and contributors in their own way.
Coach Palmer won’t want for much this season as his Indians’ program has plenty of talent moving up the ranks.
Starting with the returning players – both Matt Palm and Travis Isaak have experience from the past.
Palm is a 6-foot-3 senior that was one of the first ones off the bench for Coach Palmer his sophomore season as part of the ‘Elite Eight’ team from 2005-06.
Last season he topped the scoring parade with 14.6 points a night. He was also the teams’ top board man with 7.2 rebounds each outing.
Palm is approaching the 1,000-point milestone this season and (if successful) he will join an impressive list of former prominent Carlyle Indians.
Five-foot-ten senior Isaak was third on the Tribe’s scoring list with 10.9 a game a year ago.
With those two back – Coach Palmer has something to build around for 2007-08.
Of the returning letterwinners coming back for this season – look for some guard help to come from Kurt Peppenhorst who is a 6-foot-2 senior guard.
Peppenhorst got in nearly all of the Indians’ games as a junior and he should play in them all this winter. The numbers (1.8 points, 1.7 rebounds) should advance to a higher level.
A frontcourt player mentioned is Eric McClaren – a 6-foot-4 senior forward who got in enough games as a junior to get his name mentioned here.
Palmer lists four other seniors as ready to compete for the remaining minutes.
Guard play is always important and Nick Langhauser is a 5-foot-10 senior guard who should see action.
Six-foot-two forward Ben Price and 6-foot forward Joe Linton had a cup of cappuccino in a varsity uniform in 2006-07.
Six-foot-seven senior Scott Shaw is a space eater that Palmer could work into the lineup despite his inexperience.
“We lost a lot of size to graduation,” said Coach Palmer who is 272-100 in 13 years as a head coach at Carlyle, Pope County and Century. “We hope to be quicker and play more up-tempo basketball this season.”
OUTLOOK – When a coach like this one talks about playing a quicker game – watch out. After having big, strong frontcourt players the past two seasons’ at Carlyle this coach may enjoy having some athletes that can pressure the ball and get up and down the floor faster. At his stops at Pope County and Century he generally had this sort of team and his record shows he knows what to do with swift talent. But in this conference these speedy ones will need to be able to keep the bigger ones off the boards on the defensive end. Every team in this division could win the title. If Palm and Isaak can lead this group to some unexpected wins – Carlyle should end up with a winning mark overall and in conference before setting themselves up for a good postseason spot.
5. RED BUD
This small school in Southwestern Illinois has come up with some very good guards in recent memory and you can add the name Brandon Kunkel to that list.
Kunkel was an Honorable Mention ABV Carbondale Supersectional Area pick in 2006-07 after leading the Cahokia conference in scoring with 21.4 points per game average.
Kunkel – a 5-foot-10 senior guard – torched a lot of good teams a season ago as the Musketeers finished 18-14 overall after a lost to Nashville, 62-39, in the title game at the Sparta Class A Regional.
Some players score a lot of points by jacking up enough shots to finally get a few to fall.
That can’t be said about Kunkel as he hit 41.6 percent of his shots from behind the 3-point arc and 77 percent of his free throws. His overall field goal percentage was just under 50 percent.
He led the entire Metro-East area in scoring.
More good news for Red Bud and head coach Dave Gillingham is that Kunkel has company coming back this season in what looks like it could be a very successful crusade toward an elusive regional title. The Musketeers last wore a regional crown in 1989.
Six-foot-two senior Bobby Hoffman (7.5 points, 5.4 rebound per game) was the quarterback on the Red Bud 10-2 Class 2A quarterfinalist in 2007.
Five-foot-ten senior guard Kale Hubert added 6.5 points and two assists a game as shooting guard.
Nick Laurent played in 25 varsity games last winter posting a 2.9 p.p.g. average.
The Musketeers have the backcourt to put up numbers and a quarterback’s mentality up front.
But you might ask who else will step to the front of the line for the other two starting spots?
Others in line as potential starters include Nick Hentis – a 6-foot senior who got in enough games last winter (20) to letter and average 1.4 points a game.
If this coach wants a bigger lineup he can turn to three seniors that are over 6-foot-3.
Brother’s Alex and Ben Grohman are in that 6-3 to 6-4 range.
Alex (1.3 p.p.g.) got in a lot of games last season while Ben was a JV player.
Both of their individual roles should change in meaning as the 2007-08 season begins.
The other one is 6-foot-3 forward Andy Baker who grabbed a handful of ‘mop up’ minutes last season.
A pair of juniors who seem primed to advance up the roster are Tim Conway and Chance Albertson.
Conway is a 5-foot-11 guard while Albertson is a 6-foot-1 forward.
Each will earn minutes if they get them from Coach Gillingham – who is a Carrollton native with tons of successful coaching stints as an assistant and head coach.
OUTLOOK – Losing to Nashville last season should bring no shame but - like last season - the non-conference and league schedule shows no ‘can of corn’ entries. Kunkel – like some of his predecessors in Red Bud backcourt history – is for real. If he gets more offensive help this season - especially from the frontcourt – these Musketeers could nail the 20-win mark along with adding some trophies to the collection. They don’t have the overall experience as some of the others on this list but sometimes that is a good thing. Youngsters sometimes believe they can’t be beaten if they don’t know any better. Coach Gillingham will have this group ready. Red Bud’s opposition had better be ready, too.
6. FREEBURG
The Midgets head into the Cahokia Conference – Mississippi Division season with a new coach on board.
Donovan McMillian steps in from Sparta to take over for Norm Toenjes who stepped down after seven years running the Freeburg team.
McMillian is a unique story having come from North Dakota to Illinois a year ago to take his first head-coaching job.
He commands a program that went 18-11 last season that included a 4-6 Mississippi Division record.
The Midgets will have four seniors missing from last season’s squad that lost to Collinsville, 64-49, at the Collinsville Class AA Regional quarterfinals.
Michael Adamson, Andrew Moddrell, Kyle Polson, and Tom Smith took with them nearly 36 points a game from the Freeburg offense.
But the good news for this new coach is his returning unit has some indispensable experience for 2007-08.
Second leading scorer David Ruckman – a 6-foot-7 senior – is back for the Midgets.
He averaged 15.5 points a game (second to Adamson) along with a Mississippi Division best eight rebounds a night.
He might be the most dominant big man in the Cahokia Conference.
Zac Reis is next on the McMillian list for starters.
The 6-foot-3 senior chipped home 4.3 points a game while yanking down an average of 2.8 rebounds in 28 contests as a junior.
Dan Otten is a 6-foot-2 senior who likes to ‘clean the glass’ as he averaged 3.3 rebounds to go with 2.8 points.
Backcourt help should come from 5-foot-11 senior Mike Reitzell who has played in a lot of games previously.
Coach M will dial up some unproven players to fill the final starting position.
Beginning with the seniors – 5-foot-11 guard Jon Sehr (1.2 p.p.g.) will be on that competition list with 6-foot-4 forward Mike Wobbe (1.8 p.p.g.) and 5-foot-11 guard Cody Baird.
Junior Jake Sciuto and sophomore Connor Halloran got a mention from Coach McMillian.
“Our biggest strength might be the fact that we have a lot of leadership in our program this season with seven seniors returning,” said Coach McMillian whose one-year varsity record is 17-11. “Our toughest hurdle will be replacing the scoring of Michael Adamson and Kyle Polson from last years team. My goal with this team will be to play well early on and continually get better as the season progresses.”
OUTLOOK – Although the Midgets are figuratively ‘bastard sized’ in school enrollment don’t look for this group to lie down for the bigger schools in February during the Class 3A tournament. As for the conference this club will be right in the thick of things. ABV lists them 6th in the Division but they should be listed as 1E. On paper they are every bit as good as the rest of this division. The seniors (like all other teams) must step up to the challenge. Ruckman could end up with some college attention by seasons’ end. The guards – however – are untried and will get a stern test early in the season. Coach McMillian – from the ABV standpoint – is a quality coach and person and the other coaches in this league will like him. If the guards catch up to what Ruckman is doing – Freeburg will court the 20-win mark but that may be - like one's first girlfriend - ellusive to catch. Unlike the past few years of Class AA ball – Class 3A will keep the Midgets away from the Southwestern Conference in the postseason. This could put them in position for potential movement in the state tournament.