Cards should continue MTC domination
Top challengers Odin, Cisne, North Clay return talent; South Central rebuilds with new coach

MIDLAND TRAIL CONFERENCE

Projected Order Of Finish 1. Woodlawn 2. Odin 3. Cisne 4. North Clay 5. South Central 6. Wayne City 7. Clay City 8. Grayville 9. Webber Township 10. Sandoval 11. West Richland

BY JACK BULLOCK One year after a major alteration in the Midland Trail Conference setup – yet another team has left for a better situation. Waltonville has vacated the MTC to challenge an Independent schedule for the first time in the school's history. Although the Spartans will still play a handful of their former Mid-South Conference foes – including long-time rival Woodlawn – this move will cut down on travel and also strengthen an already traditionally tough schedule. Dieterich – sighting the same travel expenses and reasons – left last season and is now a member of the National Trail Conference. To say the least this league's future looks shaky. However with all of the moves being made within this league recently – the best move was made on the hardwood last winter. The play of the Woodlawn Cardinals turned out to be the best in the conference and this schools’ history. One of the new teams in the MTC after the merger – Woodlawn came oh so close to a state championship in 2008-09 Coach Shane Witzel's team finished 30-2 - a season that was finalized by a 63-53 loss to Macon Meridian in the Class 1A title game last March. They will start the regular season with one of their top players injured. More on this serious blow on down the page. There was another pleasant story last season in the league with Odin emerging with a 20-win season – the program's first in 27-years. Odin's Tyler Parrish was arguably the top player in the conference last season and he is back for what could become a very special season in 2009-10. South Central eliminated the Eagles in overtime in the semifinals of the Woodlawn Class 1A Regional but Odin could be a legit regional title threat. Speaking of the Cougars - in his final season at the helm of South Central head coach Gary Shirley said goodbye last February with a loss at Woodlawn in the regional title tilt. His career spanned 26-seasons and he finished 517-203 overall and an even more impressive 429-133 in his 20-seasons in Cougar-land. His teams won eight regional crowns and became the only school from the Midland Trail (prior to Woodlawn) to ever reach the state finals in boy's basketball when his South Central team got to the 1998 Charleston Class A Supersectional. Coach Shirley will be missed on the sidelines – that is certain. New coach Mathew Sturgeon inherits some talent and the South Central success story should add a new chapter with three returning starters. As for other challengers – Cisne has a pair of good players back from a team that won 19 contests last winter. Coach Kevin Bowen picked up some good wins last season – including a late regular season triumph over sectional finalist Red Hill. Russ Gerlach should have his Wayne City club looking much better than last season. The Indians finished 14-13 in 2008-09 and return the entire team from last winter. North Clay has its two top offensive guns back from a 13-13 club while Clay City looks to be in a rebuilding mode after sending away six seniors from a 17-13 regional finalist. Webber Township and head coach Sam Root look hungry for a turnaround in fortunes. WT won the MTC Tourney Consolation championship last January and has some kids returning that look promising. Sandoval has some letter winners back from a team that showed slight improvement. This program produced just a single win in two previous seasons. The Hawks finished 4-19 in 2008-09. West Richland has a new coach in place and he is rewarded with five returning letter winners from a 1-24 squad. As for the top spot in this conference – it will be Woodlawn again with the return of several important players from a team that exceeded all expectations a year ago. 1. WOODLAWN Head coach Shane Witzel's Cardinals were as good as anyone in the Deep South last season when you look at the whole body of work. Finishing 30-2 overall and in winning tournament titles at Marissa, Sesser-Valier and the MTC – it was hard to find fault. Triumphs over Class 3A Breese Mater Dei and Class 2A Hamilton County were big feathers in the cap. Only a mid-season hiccup against Sesser-Valier at home kept the Cards from an unbeaten regular season. They took eventual champion Macon Meridian down to the wire before losing in the championship game. A solid senior group including ABV Class 1A “Player of the Year” Bronson Verhines has left WHS leaving some holes to fill. Jase Green, Kyle Boldt, Jordan Wehrheim, Luke Simmons and Jesse Hart were also part of those tremendous accomplishments. Those six players were vital cogs in a program that went 52-14 in two seasons. But three very good players return from that team with two starters and a top reserve. Senior Casey Hammond is the top scorer back for Woodlawn and this 5-foot-10 senior lefty hit several big shots and made several huge plays last season for the Cardinals in that championship quest. Hammond can shoot the 3-ball and get to the basket on the drive. His big plays down the stretch put Woodlawn in the Supersectional after a 77-69 win over Red Hill in the sectional title game. Hammond has been a varsity performer since his freshman season and is one of the leaders that will be counted on heavily if this club is going to continue to thrive. Every good team needs a true point guard; a field general; a team leader and someone to turn to when the going gets tough. Dawson Verhines is that player for Coach Witzel. This 6-foot-3 junior has been running the show since his freshman season and his presence on the floor has been one of the reasons for the Cards recent run of good fortune. ABV believes that if Verhines hadn’t fouled out early in the fourth quarter of the state title game last March that Woodlawn would have been Class 1A champs. Hammond (11.9 p.p.g.) and Verhines (9.4 p.p.g.) should both see a spike in those numbers this season. A repeat of last season for Hammond (382 points) will put him over 1,000 for his career. Both of these athletes have toughened up their respective acts playing football this past fall and should be primed for the hardwood battles they will face this winter. A look at Woodlawn’s stat sheet revealed the biggest reason for the Cards’ rampage last season. Coach Witzel’s club cut down on its mistakes offensively from the previous season. In a word they took better care of the basketball. Verhines, himself, had nearly a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio and that is a good sign of things to come in his next two prep seasons. This junior guard averaged nearly four assists a night and he will again have some good teammates to set up in 2009-10. Editor's Note: Verhines is injured and will miss 6-to-8 weeks with a torn Meniscus and a fractured tibia in his right leg which is believed to have happened playing against Nashville in the football playoffs. Six-foot-seven junior Josh Wiggs had some monster games off the pine last season. He came in and scored 17-points in a 61-51 win over Altamont in the sectional semifinals. He averaged 6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds. Increasing those numbers this season is a given with more playing time. He was very good on the offensive glass as he had exactly half of his 112 total boards on the offensive end of the floor. While that trio has a wealth of varsity experience – Woodlawn’s other kids will have to step into the spotlight this season. Six-foot-one seniors Kirk Dunbar and Christian McNeil along with 5-foot-11 senior John Cavender combined for very few varsity minutes and points. Two of those three will likely be part of the opening night lineup at the Okawville Post-Thanksgiving Tournament. One transfer – 6-foot-1 senior Bryan Johnson from Webber Township – could end up helping out as well. Johnson was the top scorer for the Trojans last season – averaging 11.3 points a game. The jump from JV to Varsity is a Grand Canyon of a leap that will need to happen in a successful way. “We have three players returning with significant experience at the varsity level and we will build around those three players,” said Coach Witzel – who is 255-116 in 13 seasons as the head coach at Woodlawn. “But a big part of our success will depend upon the development of our other two starters and our bench.” OUTLOOK – The Cardinals bench last season was the key to the overall success last winter. Night after night Woodlawn wore down its opposition with a nine-man rotation. The Cards lost very little when they used the bench. On paper this team doesn’t appear to be as deep. The top three are as solid of a nucleus as there exists in the Class 1A South. But help will be needed to put this team in position to rake in more hardware. As for the Cardinals schedule it is much tougher than last season. Road contests at Breese Mater Dei, Hamilton County and Lebanon look dangerous and rivals Sesser-Valier and Waltonville bring back more experience overall. Still there is something about this group that looks like it can step up to this challenge. Don’t look for this team to have nearly as pretty a won-loss record as last season but they will be a strong team at the end. Even without Verhines this is still a good club. If this bench can step up like last season then a long run to Peoria is possible. It won’t be a big ABV surprise to see the Cardinals back in Peoria and Woodlawn should run the table in the Midland Trail for the second year-in-a-row. 2. ODIN The fans at this school hardly knew what to do with having a successful basketball team for a change in the last two years. In fact the Eagles program went 19 consecutive seasons without a winning record up until 2007-08 when they finished 15-12. A 20-6 overall mark last season was the first 20-win campaign since 1980-81. The reason behind this upsurge is a good senior crew led by Tyler Parrish - an ABV 1A First Team All-South choice. Listed at 6-foot tall but playing much bigger – Parrish led the Eagles with a whopping 24.2 points a contest as a junior and will smash the school’s all-time scoring mark this season if he stays with good health. A repeat of last season will put him well over 2,000-points for his four-year varsity career. He stands at 1,740-points heading into 2009-10 after scoring 741 and 602 in the last two seasons. Odin wasn’t totally a one-man gang in 2008-09 as three other starters return with Ryan Cluck topping the list with 11.1 points per game. Cluck is the tallest returning player at 6-foot-3 and this senior will also need to continue to improve. C.J. Spitler – a 5-foot-9 senior – added six points a game for the Eagles as a junior. Six-foot-two junior Tyson Minor added 7.7 p.p.g. as a sophomore. That will be the core of the Odin offensive attack as this team should be able to score in bunches. Coach Mike Finckbone will look to Gary Keller – a 6-foot-2 senior – and 6-foot-1 junior Michael Finley to potentially start for Odin this season. The defensive end is where the improvement must come if the Eagles are going to be a legit regional contender. “We should be a very good basketball team this season if we can stay healthy,” said Coach Finckbone. “We will be very quick and all of my kids can shoot the ball. We had a great summer and worked hard on the defensive end of the floor.” OUTLOOK – The Eagles are a feel good story for Southern Illinois with a small enrollment and a school that hasn’t had a lot of athletic accomplishments in its history. Another 20-win season can happen because of some very winnable games on the slate – especially in the Egyptian Illini Conference where Odin is the prohibitive favorite. Parrish can do a lot on the basketball floor and should smash all of the career marks at OHS. Whether or not they have enough to challenge Woodlawn for the MTC title is a different story. 3. CISNE A pair of the top scoring threats in the Midland Trail Conference reside at Cisne this season and those two will be counted on for even more production in the 2009-10 season. Coach Kevin Bowen heads into his sixth season at the helm of the Lions coming off a 19-9 mark and a regional semifinal loss to Red Hill that ended a pretty good season that was highlighted by a Wayne City Holiday Tournament championship and a tie for first place in the Eastern Division of the MTC with a 4-1 mark. The two players back are Ronnie Hyder and Hayden Byars. Both of these players put up good numbers but they got quite a bit of help from upperclassmen last season. Those teammates are gone now and more scoring will be needed from this duo. At 6-foot-4 – Byars plays well around the basket but can step out and hit from the outside. Byars topped the club with 15.8 points a game for the Lions last season and grabbed a team-best 6.3 rebound per contest. Look for Hyder to also step up big again this season. Hyder - a 6-foot-1 senior - is backcourt stalwart who averaged 14.7 points and 3.5 rebounds for Cisne as a junior. Byars (25) and Hyder (20) combined for 45 points in a 57-47 title game win over Thompsonville last December as Cisne won its second consecutive Conrad Allen Wayne City Holiday Tournament. Hopefully for the Lions that was just a glimpse of things to come as this team will look for some additional hardware in 2009-10. These two will get some help from some other that return. Andy Thomason – a 6-foot-3 junior – averaged 5.8 points a game for Coach Bowen last winter while snagging 4.9 boards a night. Those are the most experienced of the Cisne returnees. From last year’s roster six players with varsity time return and should battle for the other two starting spots and reserve minutes. Six-foot-one junior Keelin Davis played in the most varsity contests last season for Coach Bowen and could end up starting. A trio of Aaron’s – Aaron Maloy, Aaron Billington and Aaron Rogers – should be in the conversation this winter. Maloy is a 5-foot-10 junior while Billington is a 5-foot-11 sophomore. Rogers is a 6-foot sophomore. None of the players averaged over one point a game scoring. Six-foot-four senior Tyler Warren could provide some size in the lineup while junior Matthew Byars - at 5-foot-10 – could also be in line for some minutes. “We have some spots to fill but with our two leading scorers returning I feel we can compete,” said Coach Bowen who enters his sixth season at Cisne with an 86-54 won-loss mark. OUTLOOK – This could end up as a very fine season for the Lions with Byars and Hyder back for a final go-round. Both are capable of exploding for big scoring nights as shown last season. The others should step up for Cisne and certainly this team will finish in the upper tier of this league. As for regular season tournaments look for the Lions to be one of the top contenders in all three events (Grayville Thanksgiving, Wayne City Holiday and MTC) and they could be a factor at whichever regional that they will be assigned to. As for the MTC regular season chase – the Lions (along with North Clay and Wayne City) should be right in the thick of things. 4. NORTH CLAY These Cardinals play .500 basketball last winter in finishing 13-13 overall when they bowed out of the Edwards County Class 1A Regional to Red Hill. Coach Brian Wattles enters his third year as a head coach at North Clay with a 25-27 record but with the group that he has returning he should spring past .500 this season. Graduation hit the Cards program with four seniors departing – John Logan Zink, Levi Bailey, Joshua Yates and Levi Webster. But one shouldn’t worry too much about these Redbirds as several good ones are back for another season. Colton Bailey – an ABV Special Mention pick last winter – returns for his senior season. He averaged 15.2 points a game last season with good shooting averages all around. He got to the foul line more than any Cardinal in 2008-09 and hit 71.8 percent at the stripe. The 5-foot-10 guard is a team leader for Coach Wattles. Two other returning players of note are Andrew Grahn – a 6-foot-3 junior – and 6-foot-4 Micah Schnautz. Grahn was second on the squad with a 9.3 p.p.g. scoring average a year ago while Schnautz added six points a night. Those three will be the center piece of what looks like an improved Cardinals’ club. Add 6-foot-2 Jonah Zink, 5-foot-10 Bryan Harrington, 6-foot Dalton Zimmerman and 6-foot-2 Perry Pearson to the list of potential starters for Coach Wattles for 2009-10. Harrington played in the most games for North Clay last winter (22) and should be part of the mix this season. The rest played in single-digit games a year ago and are untested as a whole in varsity situations. “We will have two returning starters (Bailey and Grahn) who have played a lot of minutes for us,” said Coach Wattles. “Schnautz also has been in a lot of games for us and will be a valuable starter. Zink will be expected to contribute at the varsity level this year. We will have to improve our defense and rebound better this year to compete on a nightly basis.” OUTLOOK – The Cardinals could be sitting on a breakthrough season in the MTC. They have experience coming back and some additional kids waiting in the wings for a varsity chance. They look to be deep enough overall to be in the mix for some honors this season. They should be able to compete with everyone on the schedule including the top two in this league. Victories against these teams will depend on keeping opponents off the offensive glass and defending a bit better overall. An above .500 mark and a third or fourth place finish here would result in a very successful season. 5. SOUTH CENTRAL Yes it is true that the Cougars lost a lot of talented kids from a season ago and its long-time mentor has said his goodbyes. But don’t look for a huge drop in quality at this school. Basketball programs don’t win games by accident. Many factors come into play and although a new coach is in place and some new kids are on the floor this school won’t back down from anyone on this list. Head coach Mathew Sturgeon comes in to take over for a guy who ruled this conference with an iron fist for the past 19 seasons at South Central. Winning conference titles was a given and eight regional titles are displayed in the trophy case. The most important thing missing this season – points. In fact a bunch of points (1,246 to be exact) are gone with 1,131 of them coming from two departed seniors; Isaac Grapperhaus and Tanner Bushue. Grapperhaus scored 19.6 points a game and hauled down 12 rebounds a contest. Bushue did most of his damage from the outside with 18.2 p.p.g. Seth Arnold added 3.8 p.p.g. and those three seniors were part of a 22-7 squad that won the Vandalia Holiday Tournament with a 5-0 run. Three returning starters will hope to continue the winning ways for South Central this season. Five-foot-eleven senior guard Tyler Gillett is back after chipping in 6.8 p.p.g. and adding 2.8 rebounds. He hit 25 percent of his 3-point shots as a junior so he has some long-range capability. Ross Stock – a 5-foot-11 junior – got to play in 28 varsity games a year ago and averaged a modest 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per outing. A third player that started some games last season for SC is Shane Donoho – a 6-foot-1 senior forward. Donoho added 2.2 p.p.g. and 1.3 r.p.g. to the stats in 2008-09. This trio will be the ones this new coach will lean on in his first season running the show. Coach Sturgeon listed two others that have enough experience to have garnered letters from last season. Derek Harmeier – a 6-foot junior – and 6-foot classmate Nathan Hill each got in a handful of games at the varsity level last season as sophomores. Neither made much of a dent in the numbers but that should change quickly with more minutes played. The same can be said for two additional players mentioned by Coach Sturgeon. Sam Mitchell – a 5-foot-11 senior – and 5-foot-7 junior Andrew Snow will get a chance to play. “Despite having graduated more than 75 percent of our scoring from last season we are excited about the athletes we have returning and the opportunities that lie ahead,” said Coach Sturgeon – a Freeburg native and recently an assistant coach under Jason Hanson for the past three seasons at Neoga. “We will have a great deal of competition for spots in the lineup within our program. While Cougar basketball will have a different look in some respects – fans can be certain that we will bring the same level of intensity and desire as teams of the past.” OUTLOOK – It is obvious that Grapperhaus and Bushue will be missed dearly. But this program has reloaded before and will do it again this fall. The groundwork was laid out by the outstanding job that Coach Shirley managed in the past 20 + seasons. Although Coach Sturgeon will put his own mark on the program – the transition should be a smooth one. The kids that return will have to step up in a hurry. As for non-conference opponents – South Central will play some tough ones right off the bat and the top teams on this list won’t take it easy on the Cougars. Twenty wins might be a stretch but they should have a say in what happens in both of their tournaments and in the post-season. 6. WAYNE CITY The Indians have everyone back from a club that played some teams tough last season and ended up with a tough loss to Patoka in the first round of the Woodlawn Class 1A Regional. Coach Russ Gerlach has all the Indians back from last seasons’ 14-13 finish and should have no excuses if they can stay healthy. Two of the Wayne City players averaged double-digits in scoring and that is a good place to start. Zach Merritt – a 6-foot-1 junior – led the team with 11.2 p.p.g. He was also the top marksman on the team in shooting averages connecting on 55.6 percent of his 2-point shots. Cody Thomason – a 6-foot senior – averaged 10.4 p.p.g. as a junior guard last season for Coach Gerlach. He hit on over half of his field goal attempts last winter but struggled at the foul line. He will probably get to the foul line even more this season and if he can straighten things out from the stripe in 2009-10 – Thomason could add several more points a game to that total. Another player who nearly averaged double-digits is Tyler Porter – a 6-foot senior – who added 9.6 points a night. Senior’s Trevor Shreve and Joseph Evans also return and should be in the starting mix. Shreve is a 6-foot guard while Evans checks in at 6-foot additionally. Both were in the seven points per outing range – putting the total to four of the Wayne City scoring threats. Jayce Smith – a 5-foot-8 senior – played in all 27 of the WC games last winter and chipped in a couple of points a night. Those five have the most varsity experience returning for the Tribe. Chandler Courtright – a 6-foot-2 senior – added 4.3 p.p.g. in his 22 appearances last season and should be in the running for more minutes. Mark Feather – a 5-foot-10 junior – will also see action. Those six seniors and two juniors make up a very good core of players. “Once again we will be a very balanced team. We could have several different players lead us in scoring,” said Coach Gerlach – an Edwards County native with a 22-23 mark in two seasons at Wayne City. “We had zero seniors on the team last year but we will have six this year.” OUTLOOK – They have experience back and some kids that can score. But like most smallish teams they will be forced to rebound and defend teams bigger than them all season long. The key to getting back to .500 or even higher is the defensive end of the floor. Wayne City should be able to produce offensive numbers. However its rebounding and overall defense against giving up easy points will determine how sparkling the record will end up. Along with Cisne, South Central and North Clay – this Tribe will be in the pack right behind Woodlawn and Odin in the MTC standings. 7. CLAY CITY The Wolves – more than any team in this conference – lost the most from its 2008-09 season. Finishing 17-13 and again in a regional title game – Coach Adam Ellis "bid adieu" to six seniors from a team that shared the Eastern Division crown with Cisne at 4-1 in the one year two-division experiment. Ellis lost Cody Lewis – and ABV Speical Mention pick – and the teams’ top gun at 14.7 points a game. Joining him in a cap and gown last spring were Blake Fehrenbacher (11.6 p.p.g.), Brandon Duvall (11.5 p.p.g.), Dami Eastin (9.6 p.p.g.) Skylar Frank (7.4 p.p.g.) and Mason Duff (3.6 p.p.g.). Those six represented the top six number men on the stat sheet. Like the John Lennon song – Coach Ellis is “Starting Over” with a different group of kids with little in the way of experience. Of the ones back with some time spent on a varsity floor – look for Coach Ellis to turn to two seniors, two juniors and a sophomore to get the ball rolling this November. Alex Bayler is a 5-foot-10 senior guard who got in 26 of the 30 varsity contests in 2008-09 but didn’t make much of a scoring mark. Another senior guard – 5-foot-10 David Herdes – also got in a few games as a junior. Those two will be thrust into the starting lineup most likely. Add juniors Trevor Wolfe – a 5-foot-11 guard and Jordan Noll – a 5-foot-9 backcourt player to the Clay City lineup. The sophomore mentioned is William Klingler – a 6-foot forward. Coach Ellis also listed some other potential Wolves who weren’t in any varsity games a year ago. Seniors Ian Kessler and Adrian Stidham are 6-foot-1 forwards along with 5-foot-7 junior Jordan Wyatt will get a shot at PT. Clay City also has a group of freshman coming in that could push the ones mentioned for playing time in what looks like a wide-open preseason tryout. “It’s not a secret that we lost nearly all of our scoring from last year. Our top returning player only averaged approx. 5 minutes a game at the varsity level last year. We have very little experience, little size, and little depth,” said Coach Ellis who sports a 57-54 varsity mark entering his fifth season running the program. “I would expect most people to think we are going to struggle a lot this year. However, we do have some quickness, and some guys who are willing to do the “dirty work”. If we can improve in some key areas (ball handling, shooting, etc.) I think we can compete with several teams. As a team we must stay positive, stay healthy, and must outwork the other team on a nightly basis. I think the kids understand the resurrection of this program over the past few years, and I know they want to continue the success we have had. I expect them to work harder than ever to ensure that we are competitive.” OUTLOOK – Working hard is a start and having some kids that will buy into the game plan is a huge plus. But anytime a school this small loses such a good group of kids there will be a fall off. How much of a drop will depend largely on how fast the varsity rookies can learn the ropes. Coach Ellis has done a pretty good job of building this program back to respectability with back-to-back regional championship game appearances. This will undoubtedly be his toughest coaching challenge since his arrival at the school. 8. WEBBER TOWNSHIP With a pair of starters back wearing Blue and Gold for head coach Sam Root the Trojans will look to better a 4-22 overall mark from last season and a 0-5 last place finish in the West Division. This coach will turn to Ethan Gowler and Phillip Bodendieck who are back from the club that lost to Odin in the first round at the Woodlawn 1A Regional. Both are 5-foot-9 juniors who played a lot of minutes last season. Gowler is the top returning scorer for Webber Township after averaging 5.5 points a game as a sophomore. Bodendieck added just under two points a game. The rest of the starters will come from unproven kids that Coach Root will have to get ready in a quick way. Six-foot senior Kyle Langa was mentioned as a potential starter as well as Phillip O’Dell. Both played in a handful of contests last winter for Webber Township but extended minutes will come this year. Three others made the list from Coach Root this season that will get a varsity chance. Isaac Lowery – a 6-foot-1 sophomore – 5-foot-10 sophomore Eric Alvis and 5-foot-11 freshman Koaltin Dye. A transfer from a larger school could step in and provide some additional minutes. Travis Stamp – a 5-foot-8 sophomore guard – moved in from Anna-Jonesboro and could see some PT early in the season. The Trojans lost eight seniors from last season and those uniforms will have to be filled with new kids so Coach Root will have some work to do to find suitable replacements. “With only one full-time starter returning this will be my most inexperienced team in my three years here,” said Coach Root. “This will also be my most athletic team. We must play fundamentally sound, shoot well from the perimeter and defend well as a group to make up for a significant lack of size. Our kids are dedicated to getting better, had a strong summer and are eager to improve this program.” OUTLOOK – It sounds as if Coach Root has some kids to work with that want to get better. That is a big part of the battle in getting players to want to improve. The lack of size will definitely work against them but some hard work will perhaps get the Trojans an extra win or two this season. They have enough talent to stay out of the basement of the MTC in 2009-10. 9. GRAYVILLE Coach Will Knight has looked at Grayville basketball life from both sides now. He has had winning teams - including a regional title team two years ago while also experiencing a not-so-pretty campaign with an inexperience team in 2008-09. Last winter the Bison played hard but were overmatched by much of their schedule that resulted in a 4-22 campaign. They gave Clay City a go at the Edwards County Class 1A Regional last February and they hope to build on that late term surge to help get the 2009-10 season started on the right foot. Coach Knight has a single starter back from last season a 6-foot-3 senior Hunter Bisch. Bisch averaged 7.5 p.p.g. and 6.8 r.p.g. Those are pretty good numbers (second on the team in scoring) for a kid playing on a team that won just four contests. Look for a pair of juniors to step in after getting in on the action as sophomores last winter. Six-foot Hunter Short and 6-foot-2 Chase Powell got their respective feet wet last season, as did sophomore Christian Neeley. Those three combined for just 78 points last season so increasing those stats is essential. Coach Knight mentioned five new faces to enter the Bison varsity situation in 2009-10. One senior – Josh Hamilton – along with junior Curtis Persinger and three sophomores; Dan Gray, Dylan DiMaggio and James Snyder should all get a look-see in the two weeks leading up to the season opening Grayville Thanksgiving Tournament. "We won four varsity games last season, and almost every team we played was younger than us. This year’s team has an uphill climb ahead of them, and for the first time in four years we are going to be the younger team on many nights,” said Coach Knight – who is 48-43 as a head coach at Grayville. “This should allow several underclassman opportunities to learn and grow as players, which will hopefully pay off in the years ahead. I'm sure this year’s team will experience some more growing pains, but we are going to do our best to work hard and get better with every game. We have five starting spots and a whole varsity bench to fill. The first two weeks of practice will help determine who wants one of those spots." OUTLOOK – With the new faces coming in and the lack of experience it will be difficult to place this team any higher than this spot in the MTC preseason outlook. But this coach will get the group playing hard and they will show some Bison pride. Bisch looks to be the cornerstone of this franchise and if he gets some help from the others you might be able to see a few extra wins this season by the end of the run. 9. SANDOVAL The Hawks have a pair of seniors and whole bunch of underclassmen that are wanting to turn around a 5-21 finish from last season – a marked improvement over the two previous seasons that produced just a single victory. Head coach Herb Williams inherited a tough situation last season but that didn’t stop this coach or program from showing improvement. To take a another step forward – Sandoval will need to improve in all facets of the game heading into the regular season which starts with a trip to the Mulberry Grove Thanksgiving Tournament. According to Coach Williams his two seniors are Jake Neu - a 5-foot-7 senior guard that played quite a bit as a junior last winter. Another senior is a transfer from Odin – 6-foot-1 Cody Tate – who played in a few games for the Eagles in 2008-09. Tate should help immediately. Six-foot-three junior Chris Hopkins started several games last season as did Dillion Marcketti – a 5-foot-8 sophomore – as well as 5-foot-8 sophomore Trevor Gore and 5-foot-10 sophomore Christian Crawford. Those four players – along with Tate – have the most varsity experience. Coach Williams also has some others to work into the contests. From the junior class he listed 6-foot-3 Josh Boatright, 6-foot Jai Stevenson, 6-foot-1 Wade Evans and 6-foot Jeff Hammer. Another sophomore – 6-foot Dylan Justin – was also on the list. “This years edition of the Sandoval basketball will depend on the Junior and Sophomore classes,” said Coach Williams – a former Centralia standout and a veteran of over 30 years in coaching. “This team must still learn to compete and how to win games. Last season they lost four games by eight points or less. Add these to the five wins and this group could have had a 13-win season. Someone must step up and become a leader. The inside play will improve with Chris Hopkins, Boatright and Tate however the outside shooting will be a question. Gore and Neu must provide stable point guard play while Marcketti, Crawford, Justin, Hammer, and Evans must provide the depth to make this team competitive.” OUTLOOK – Sandoval has some kids that are willing to play hard for this coach and that is a start in the right direction. Closing the gap between playing well but still losing to the point where they can win close games doesn’t seem to be too far away. If they can show some improvement early in the season that success could carry over into a tough slate of MTC games. 10. WEST RICHLAND These Wildcats had a tough 2008-09 and a coaching change will hopefully turn things around for a club that limped home 1-24 last season. The good news for new head coach Jason Wagner is that five returning letter-winners from that team that lost to North Clay in the first round of the Edwards County Class 1A Regional. Tanner Milburn is the only double-figure scorer back for the Wildcats as this 6-foot-2 senior pumped home 14 points a game while hauling down six boards. Milburn is a good one to start the rebuilding around for WR. Two other players contributed offensively last season are back. Jordan Manuel – a 5-foot-10 senior guard – added eight points a contest to the totals from last season and was a good defender according to Coach Wagner. Add Nick Ammerman to the list of returning players with experience as this 6-foot-3 junior chipped in a few points a night as a sophomore. Coach Wagner can fill out the lineup card with Larry Michaels – a 6-foot senior and 6-foot-1 senior Kyle Royse. Both earned letters from last season. OUTLOOK – Rising up from the cellar will but tough to do but none of the bottom five in this league look to be world-beaters so a jump in wins and confidence at West Richland isn’t out of the realm of thinking. Coach Wagner can hopefully instill some stability into a program that has gone through several coaching changes in the recent past.