The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, September 29, 2021 B-1 SPORTS Submit sports items: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: sports@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg See CONFIDENCE on page 7 See SOCCER on page 5 See XC on page 3 See FIGHT on page 8 Pike Central boys' soccer defeats the Jeeps By Matthew Haycraft On Monday, September 20, the Pike Central boys' soccer team played Northeast Du- bois, winning by a score of 4- 3. The Jeeps are ranked 16th and are a quality team with a lot of offensive firepower. Head Coach Jacob Western said, "It was another game with a sectional type atmo- sphere." In the first five minutes of the game, the Jeeps scored two goals. The Chargers flood- ed the opposing team's side of the field with attacks, and fi- nally broke through with se- nior Devin Carlisle putting away the Chargers' first goal of the game, off of an assist from sophomore Jonas Mar- tinez. "I was so impressed with the guys' ability to stay lev- el-headed and not let it (the first two goals by Dubois) get to them," commented Coach Western. At the end of the first half, junior Kendric Sorgius scored off a cross from junior Isaac Burdette, taking the Chargers into halftime with the score tied 2-2. The second half of the game continued as the first, very fast-paced with, both teams having chances to score. Charger junior Joey Ridao scored the first goal for Pike Central with a penalty kick, af- ter Sorgius was taken down in the box by the Jeeps' keeper. Once again though, Northeast Dubois battled back and tied the score 3-3. The team could have eas- ily folded, but Pike Central has a lot of players that have quite a bit of experience, so the Chargers stayed togeth- er and found that fourth goal, according to Coach Western. Joey Ridao made the winning goal for the game, smashing the net with eight minutes to go. Coach Western stated, "We still need to clean a few things up defensively and look to take more chances from outside the box on offense, but I be- lieve we are trending upward at the right time and will be a team no one wants to see come sectional time." CHARGERS DEFEATED BY TITANS On Thursday, Septem- ber 23, the Chargers played at home against the Gibson Southern Titans, ranked sev- enth, and lost by a score of 2-0. Having a few great chances, but missing them, the Char- gers fought through the first half and kept the score 0 -0. "Gibson had more posses- sions than us, but we did a great job keeping our shape and staying disciplined," stat- ed Coach Western. In the second half, the Ti- tans scored early off of a cor- ner and then controlled a lot of the second half. Pike Central had a couple of good chances at the goal, but could not sink them for the score tie. With five minutes left on the clock, the Titans scored on a pen- alty kick, securing their win against the Chargers. During the game, junior goalie Peyton Howald had 12 saves in goal. "I'm proud of the fight in the guys. It was a true sectional at- mosphere and it should give us confidence that we can play with anyone come tour- nament time," commented Coach Western. A fter the boys' varsity game, the Chargers junior var- sity took the field and played a really good half of soccer, ty- ing the Titans 0 -0. "The JV really has im- proved since the beginning of Jonas Martinez, Charger sophomore, battles to keep possession of the ball during the Pike Central boys' soccer game against Gibson Southern on Thursday, September 23. Confidence and communication leading to wins for volleyball By Matthew Haycraft On Tuesday, September 21, the Pike Central varsity volleyball team played Vincennes Rivet, defeating them 27-25, 25 -23, 25 -20. Rivet is a solid team with great hit- ting and serving. However, the Lady Chargers' serving, hitting and pass- ing were the best so far this season. The team talked and communicat- ed on the floor, which helped their game, according to Head Coach Stephanie Shedd. During the sets, sophomore Kar- ley Kavanaugh and senior Erika Vinnedge had key serves to help the Lady Chargers clench the win. "We just played tougher and scrap- pier. I am so proud of how hard we fought to win. We came back from a 14-9 deficient in the first set to win 27-25 and didn't look back from there," said Coach Shedd. The Lady Chargers' varsity went on to play South Spencer on Thurs- day, September 23, claiming another win by scores of 25 -19, 25 -11, 25 -13. In this game, Kavanaugh had 28 assists, two aces, three kills and three digs, while Vinnedge had two aces, 12 kills, two blocks and one dig. Charger senior Jaize Mills had two aces, seven kills five digs and one block, and sophomore Haylie Fulcher had five digs, two aces and Weisman breaking XC records By Matthew Haycraft Pike Central freshman Xavery Weisman broke two records last Saturday at the Pike Central Invi- tational. During the PC Invitational at Prides Creek on Saturday, Septem- ber 25, Weisman set a new freshman cross country course record with a time of 19:20. She beat the old fresh- man record of 19:58, set by Sarah Yager, by 38 seconds, putting her in first place in the event. Weisman also broke the overall course record of 19:51, set by now senior Quinlan Teague. She broke Teague's record by 31 seconds. Cross country Head Coach Randy Graham said, "We are very proud of Xavery. She has put in a lot of hard work over the summer and it is pay- ing off. Three straight invitation- al wins and a new Lady Charger course record is evidence of that work." "I know the record was something she wanted to try and get. Now the focus shifts to the upcoming con- ference meet and state tournament, and taking those one race at a time. We believe some of her best racing is still in front of her." Lady Charger freshman Xavery Weisman took home first place at the Barr-Reeve cross country invitational on Tuesday. Submitted photo. Charger XC making major strides By Matthew Haycraft The Pike Central Charger cross country team participated in the Barr-Reeve Invitational on Tues- day, September 21, with the boys' placing ninth and the girls' unable to place due to not having enough runners. Even though the girls' team did not have enough runners to place as a team, that did not stop fresh- man Xavery Weisman from taking home first place in another invita- tional. She won with a run time of 19:58 in the girls' division. South Knox ended up winning first place with a top five average time of 21:28 and 39 points. Pike Central's other placers for the girls' division were: senior Quin- lan Teague placing 14th with a time of 22:14, sophomore Anna White- head placing 17th with a time of 22:42 and senior Morgan Anderson placing 61st with a time of 26:58. Other schools that placed in this division were: Jasper with 64 points, Barr-Revee with 67 points, North Daviess with 105 points, Eastern Green with 136 points, North Knox with 157 points, Bloomfield with 194 points, Northeast Dubois with 204 points and Mitchell with 208 points. In the boys' division, Pike Cen- tral Chargers placed ninth with a top five average time of 21:08 and 234 points. Jasper High School won with a top five average time of 17:22 and 26 points. The finishers for the Pike Central boys were: junior Peyton Chanley placing 24th with a time of 19:18, freshman Blaine Barnett placing 32nd with a time of 19:42, sopho- more Jeremy Delobel placing 51st with a time of 20 :51, sophomore Shane Woodhull placing 52nd with a time of 21:00, freshman Tyler De- Coursey placing 85th with a time of 24:50 and Carter Blackwell placing 92nd with a time of 27:33. The other participating schools in the Barr-Reeve Invitational boys' division were: South Knox with 56 points, Bloomfield with 91 points, Orleans with 147, Barr-Reeve with 164, Northeast Dubois with 183, Vincennes Lincoln with 199 points, Eastern Green with 208 points, Washington with 239 points, Mitch- ell with 239 points, Harrison with 256 points and Southridge with 322 points. Head Coach Randy Graham stat- ed, "( We had) very muddy and Lady Chargers' season ends at Regional By Andy Heuring The Pike Central Lady Chargers' golf season came to an end on Satur- day. The girls, as a team, shot a 438 on a cold, rainy day that made the Country Oaks Golf Course much tougher. The Lady Chargers had improved all season and surpassed coach Jar- rod Gideon's goals for them. Early in the season, Gideon had set a goal for the Chargers to break 200 in a nine- hole event. They did that on several occasions and then last week, they had their best performance of the year, turning in a score of 378 for 18 holes on the High Pointe Golf Course in Bicknell. It was good enough to place third in the sec- tional and qualify for the Washing- ton regional. Senior Sophia Carna- han shot her personal best with an 80, which was the second best score in the sectional. It was a different story and out- come on Saturday, as the girls teed off just after a rain, with tempera- tures in the 50s. Carnahan had the team's best score with a 101. She was followed by Sydney Loveless with a 106. Freshman Brailey Mills shot a 112 and Nevi Lemond had a 119 for the Chargers. "We were super proud of the season we had. We didn't play our best, but the course was set up re- ally long. It was a tough challenge for us and we just didn't hit the ball very well that day. All and all, it was a great experience for the team," said Gideon. CHARGERS LOSE HOMECOMING BUT NOT WITHOUT A FIGHT By Matthew Haycraft The Pike Central Chargers played a non-conference game against North Knox on Friday, September 24 and lost 20 -41. The North Knox Warriors are 4-1 overall and 2-0 in their conference, making them second in the South- west standings. The last time the Chargers defeated the Warriors was in August of 2012 by a score of 15 -0. However, the team is improving this season, espe- cially in mental fortitude and team/family spirit. Com- ing into this game, junior halfback and linebacker Bra- den Howald was tied for second in the state for most tackles per game, with a tally of 13, and last week broke the school record for most two-point conversion in a game (3). The Homecoming game day festivities started off with a bang, with a parade of floats and Homecoming contestants. Following the Homecoming parade and crowning ceremony was the "National Anthem" and the "Charger Fight Song," played by the Pike Central Charger Brigade, with the PC Cheerleaders singing the song. Then the Chargers took the field, running on with the American flag in hand. During the first quarter of the game, the Warriors pulled in two touchdowns and a PAT, with the Char- gers fighting the entire time. Leaving the score at the end of the first quarter 14-0, Warriors' lead. In the second quarter, freshman quarterback Mat- thew Meadows intercepted the ball on a pass and ran it for 17 yards. Even with the valiant effort, the Char- gers were left short at the end of the second quarter. The Warriors scored three touchdowns with one good endzone punt and a run-in, leaving the score 35 -0 at the end of the second quarter. The Chargers hit the field at the beginning of the third quarter and something was different. It appeared that their will and determination was kicked up a notch. At 9:01 left on the scoreboard, senior halfback and line- backer Wyatt Frasure scored the Chargers' first touch- Charger senior Wyatt Frasure runs the ball down field while doing his best to avoid the War- riors during the Pike Central Homecoming game against North Knox on Friday, September 24.