The Press-Dispatch
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B-2 Sports Wednesday, October 11, 2017 The Press-Dispatch Call us at 812-354-8500 or email sports@pressdispatch.net GOT SPORTS NEWS? UPCOMING SPORTS SCHEDULE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12 Middle School Football: Pike Central at Tecum- seh, 6:30 p.m. High School Volleyball: Sectional Tournament at Sullivan – Washington vs. Vincennes Lincoln, 7 p.m. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13 High School Football: North Posey at Pike Cen- tral, 7:30 p.m. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14 High School Girls' and Boys' Cross Country: Pike Central in Regional Meet at Prides Creek Park, 11 a.m. High School Volleyball: Sectional Tournament at Sullivan – Pike Central vs. Princeton 11 a.m.; Wash- ington-Vincennes Lincoln winner vs. Sullivan 1 p.m.; Championship, 7 p.m. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17 Middle School Football: Pike Central at Tell City, 6:30 p.m. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 High School Football: Sectional – Pike Central at Gibson Southern, 7:30 p.m. YOUTH SOCCER LEAGUE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7 6U Division Indianapolis Power & Light 1, Dutchtown Homes 1 Holder Consulting 3, Infinite Indoor Sports Center 0 8U Division Tournament: MCF House Movers 2, Vanmore Agency 0 Tournament: Cradles and Crayons 1, Harting Studio 1 Tournament: Boyd Realty 3, Shoultz Eye Care 1 12U Division Tournament: Dunigan Dental 4, Jasper Pet Clinic 2 Tournament: Velpen Disposal 5, Pride Farms Trucking 4 By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net The Pike Central High School girls' soccer team saw its season come to an end with a 3-0 loss to Vin - cennes Lincoln in the open- ing round of the section- al tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 3, at Jasper. Lady Alices senior Kait- lynn McCoy scored two goals and assisted on anoth- er by junior Emma Besing as Vincennes Lincoln improved to 3-13. Senior goalkeeper Lind- sey Hendricks, meanwhile, recorded 20 saves during the shutout victory. "Vincennes had a strong goalie, but we definite- ly gave her a run for her money," Pike Central head coach James DeCrane said. "We had more possession of the ball offensively than they did, and a lot of shots on goal." "I'm a coach, but I'm also a teacher," DeCrane added. "I want the girls to play to the best of their ability and the best they can. Our team gave what they had on the field." Junior Bekah Luff notched 16 saves while making just her second start in goal for the Lady Chargers, which al- lowed junior Kelsey Barrett to play at the forward posi- tion opposite senior Taylor Deffendoll. Barrett had been playing goalkeeper after the team's original net minder – soph- omore Jenna Horrall – suf- fered a knee injury late in the regular season. "We felt having Bekah in goal was our best option so that we could have Kelsey up front to make sure we had the strongest offense we could," DeCrane said. "I could not be prouder of how hard she worked and played in goal." "I cannot stress enough how thankful I am to the players that stepped up and filled holes for us in differ- ent positions, even if it was a position they hadn't tried be- fore," DeCrane added. The Lady Chargers, who started the season 4-3-1, went 0 -6 -1 over their last sev- en matches – as injuries took their toll – to finish with a re- cord of 4-9 -2. "I am proud of our stu- dents and all the hard work they have put in," said De- Crane, who was assisted by Eric McCord this season. "They had two new coach- es this year that changed things up, with new forma- tions and drills, and they had the flexibility to work hard and adapt to the changes." "We had a lot of challeng- es and obstacles this year, yet the girls always rose to the occasion to fight hard and do the best they could," DeCrane added. "This is a young team, after losing a lot of seniors last year. There is a lot of talent in our younger classes, and there is amaz- ing potential for upcoming seasons. We will take what happened this season and learn and continue to grow." The loss marked the end of the high school careers for Pike Central's three se- niors – Taylor Deffendoll, Breana Cowan and Autumn Pancake – who are the first Lady Chargers to play two years on the middle school level and all four years on the high school level. "We will miss Autumn, Taylor and Bre," DeCrane said. "All three have a sol- id work ethic and have a strong sense of integrity and sportsmanship. Taylor is an amazing forward and ath- lete. We are losing a strong striker who consistently bar- raged the opposing keeper with shots on goal. Bre was the glue that held our mid- field together, helping guide the younger freshmen mid- fielders during the game. We will be losing a key mid- field leader on the field. Au- tumn brought a fierce com- petitiveness and speed to our defensive line, along with a sense of humor that I will miss on the field." "All three seniors have good hearts, and were good mentors to the younger play- ers," DeCrane said. "It's dou- bly sad to me, because I've also had the honor of teach- ing all three seniors in class as well, and they took their academics just as seriously as soccer." Lady Chargers soccer team falls in sectional opener, 3-0 Pike Central High School sophomore Morgan Houchins (18) reacts as Vincennes Lincoln fresh- man Ashlyn Hillenbrand (12) kicks the ball up the field during a sectional first-round match at Jasper on Tuesday, Oct. 3. The Lady Alices won, 3-0. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School sophomore Kelsey Bar- rett (5) prepares to kick the ball up the field during a sectional first-round match. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior Taylor Deffendoll (8) pushes the ball up the field as Vincennes Lincoln freshman Alaina Low- ery (left) pursues during a sectional first- round match at Jasper on Tuesday, Oct. 3. The Lady Alices won, 3-0. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior Breana Cowan (left) battles Vincennes Lincoln se- nior Aleigha Schingeck (15) for control of the ball during a sectional first-round match at Jasper on Tuesday, Oct. 3. The Lady Alices won, 3-0. Ed Ca- hill photo Pike Central High School soph- omore Morgan Houchins (18) chases after the ball during a sec- tional first-round match against Vin- cennes Lincoln at Jasper on Tuesday, Oct. 3. The Lady Alices won, 3-0. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School sophomore Chloe Roy (7) kicks the ball up the field as Vincennes Lin- coln senior Andrea Vieck (4) pursues during a sectional first-round match at Jasper on Tuesday, Oct. 3. The Lady Alices won, 3-0. Ed Cahill photo The Pike Central High School girls' golf team had its annual awards banquet on Thursday, Oct. 4. Pic- tured above with their awards are, from left to right: MacKenzie DeWeese (Senior Leadership Award); Jalah Barnes (Senior Leadership Award); Natalie Burkhart (Senior Leadership Award, Putting Award, Co-MVP Award, Mental Attitude Award and Academic Award); Natalie Bohnert (Driving Award and Co- MVP Award); Hadley Holder (Most Improved Award); and Morgan DeWeese (Senior Leadership Award). Submitted Photo PCMS boys' tennis team drops 3-2 loss to South Knox The Pike Central Middle School boys' tennis team dropped a 3-2 loss to visit- ing South Knox on Tuesday, Oct. 3. In singles matches, Alex Clark lost 8 -2, Parker Knust won 8 -1l, and J.J. Belmore won 8 -6. In doubles match- es, Nolan Bailey and Carter Blackwell lost 8 -1, and Al- ex Gray and Adon Lemond lost 8 -4. In second-round singles matches, Alex Clark won 6 -2, and Alex Gray lost 6 - 4. In second-round doubles matches, Jacob Carter and Dietrich Dunigan lost 6 -5, Adon Lemond and Nolan Bailey lost 6 -1, and Park- er Knust and J.J. Belmore won 6 -3. McKinney resigns after nearly two decades of coaching By Andy Heuring Press-Dispatch Sports sports@pressdispatch.net One of Pike Central's lon- gest serving coaches turned in his resignation last night. Jason McKinney, who had coached swimming at Pike Central for 19 years, decid- ed it was time for him to call it quits. "Every coach knows when it is time. They get that feel- ing," said McKinney. Three years ago, McKin- ney became an employee of the Pike County Sheriff's De- partment. Last year, he start- ed working the night shift and he said it was very dif- ficult to coach and be a dep- uty sheriff. "I worked night shifts. Trying to do the time it takes for swimming, plus be on top of my game when I'm out at night was very tough. I would go straight from swimming to work. I would be so tired. You can't be tired when you go out on the road in this line of work," said McKinney. He built the Pike Central swim program into the team to beat in the Pocket Athlet- ic Conference. The boys have won six straight PAC team championships. The girls ha- ven't won, but they have fin- ished second for the last four years. "I don't think we ever finished worse than third," said McKinney. "They (the girls' team) is slowly but surely getting the numbers to be able to win. I see them winning the conference any- time soon," said McKinney. He swam in high school and even did some diving. "I could do the dives, so if we needed the points to win a meet, I would dive. It wasn't pretty, but I could do it," said McKinney. He graduated in 1989. About 10 years after gradua- tion, he went to a swim meet. A fter watching the meet and being around it, he got the bug to get involved again. He became an assistant coach. "I knew the sport of swimming, but I kind of had to learn the coaching aspect as I went," said McKinney. He soon was named the boys' head coach and eventu- ally was named coach of both the boys' and girls' teams. McKinney said his proud- est accomplishment in swim- ming was having his son, Chainey, start swimming at a young age, go all the way through the program, win the conference and qualify for the state finals. "Seeing his accomplishment and see- ing him make it to the state three years in a row, that, as a father and coach, is pretty overwhelming," said McK- inney. He said another thing that made him proud is the con- duct of his teams and the re- spect the kids had towards other teams. "If there was a kid still in the pool swim- ming after our kids got do- ne, they would turn around and cheer that kid on." He said they have gotten sev- eral letters, including one from Olympic champion Lilly King, who swam at Pike Cen- tral in her high school career. He said she sent him a swim cap she wore in the Olympics and wrote a letter to him and the team. In it, she thanked them for their respect and the way they treated visiting teams. "I think that is pret- ty special to get something from her. We are just a little program here in southern In- diana," said McKinney. The toughest thing he said he had to deal with was a few kids' lack of parental support. McKinney said as hard as the kids had to work in the swim program, it was very tough for him to look out in the crowd and not see a kids' parents come to see them at the meets. "The key for me in coach- ing was always to let the kids be kids. Work hard, but let them have fun and be kids," said McKinney. He said it is easier for him to step away from the sport knowing Mike and Beth Bohnert are going to be taking over for him. "They know the program as well I do. Mike has been my assis- tant for 13 years." McKinney added he doesn't intend to be done with swimming. He is just taking a temporary break until it fits his life better. "I hope to be back in a few years."