The Press-Dispatch
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B-1 Wednesday, September 10, 2014 The Press-Dispatch Pike Central High School senior Cayla Mahoney (11) tries to block a hit by Forest Park senior Jordan Voges (10) during game action on Tuesday, Sept. 2. Ed Cahill photo See VOLLEYBALL page B-2 LADy CHARGERS HOLD OFF FOREST PARk FOR FOUR-SET PAC WIN PCMS Chargers fall to North knox, 28-6 See MEET page B-3 Pike Central Middle School eighth grader Kyle Walter finished sixth in a three-team cross coun- try meet held Thursday, Sept. 4, at Prides Creek Park. Ed Cahill photo By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Sophomore middle blocker Jolene White- head and sophomore outside hitter Peyton Ruppel both had a team-high 15 earned points as the Pike Central High School volleyball team held off visiting Forest Park for a 25 -18, 21-25, 25 -21, 25 -22 victory on Tuesday, Sept. 2. Whitehead had 14 kills in 30 attempts and one block while Ruppel had 13 kills in 45 at- tempts, one block and one ace serve as the La- dy Chargers improved to 3-5 overall and 1-0 in the Pocket Athletic Conference. Senior setter Chloe Keepes, who had 10 earned points on two kills and a team-high eight ace serves, paced Pike Central with 19 points on serve. Senior Bailey Davis, mean- while, added 16 points on serve, including two on ace serves. "They fought hard tonight," Lady Chargers' head coach Tonya Walton said. "Every timeout, I asked, 'How much do you want this? ' And they were focused. They wanted it. You could just see it in their eyes." In the first set of the best-of-five match, For- est Park (3-6 overall, 2-1 in the PAC) surged to an early 5 -1 lead before back-to-back kills by Whitehead sparked a 7-1 scoring run that gave Pike Central an 8 -6 advantage. The Lady Rangers subsequently answered with a 5 -1 scoring spurt – highlighted by two ace serves by junior libero Madi Giesler and one by senior outside hitter Lydia Lange – to reclaim the lead at 11-9. After three straight unforced errors by For- est Park gave the Lady Chargers a 12-11 lead, the score would remain close before a kill by Ruppel snapped a 16 -16 tie, sparking an 8 -1 scoring run – with Davis serving five points – that boosted Pike Central to a first-set win. Having lost five of seven second sets since the start of the season, Walton said she tried to get her team to focus between the first and second sets. "They were so unfocused again and I said, 'Hey guys, what do you usually do this game? '" Walton recalled. "And they go, 'We usually don't play well.' I said, 'Exactly! What do you need to do right now? Focus! '" By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Bryan Marret scored the lone touchdown for the Pike Central Middle School eighth grade football team in a 28 -6 loss to visiting North Knox on Thursday, Sept. 4. Marret, who gained 101 yards on seven carries, scored on a 68 -yard run with 47.9 seconds left in the third quarter. Marret also led the Chargers on defense with six tackles, one quarterback sack and one fumble recovery. "Bryan Marret ran the ball hard and played tough defense," said Pike Central head coach Jason Smith. Smith added that Evan Simmons "played great" on both sides of the ball. "We've asked Evan to play some different positions due to injuries and he has excelled on both offense and defense," Smith said. Smith described the game against North Knox as a "very physical, hard-hitting foot- ball game." "We played with courage and determina- tion; our boys want to compete," Smith said. "We're going to win some games, but what is more exciting right now is how much our boys are learning and the support and pos- itive attitude we are getting from the par- ents and community." In the seventh grade game, Connor O'Neal rushed for 34 yards on five carries as the Chargers dropped a 14-0 loss to the Warriors. Trevor Anders and Mario Fields led Pike Central defensively with four tackles each. Anders also had a quarterback sack. "Mario Fields played very well on both sides of the ball," Smith said. "Dakota Tay- lor did an excellent job blocking. He played well." The Chargers will host Gibson South- ern on Thursday, Sept. 11, with the seventh grade game kicking off at 6:30 p.m. Pike Central Middle School eighth grader Judah Leathco (8) grabs a North Knox player from behind as Rusty Ward (right) closes in during game action on Thursday, Sept. 4. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central Middle School eighth graders Elijah Coleman (33) and Bryan Marret (46) team up to make a tackle during game action against visiting North Knox on Thursday, Sept. 4. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central Middle School eighth grader Bryan Marret (46) tries to run behind the blocking of Rusty Ward (32) dur- ing game action against visiting North Knox on Thursday, Sept. 4. Ed Cahill photo Lady Chargers beat South Spencer, tie Boonville By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Goals by sophomore Mad- ison Scott and freshman Taylor Deffendoll lifted the Pike Central High School girls' soccer team to a 2-1 win over host South Spen- cer on Tuesday, Sept. 2. Scott and Taylor were also credited with one assist each while junior goalie Presley Bryant recorded 30 saves as the Lady Chargers improved to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the Pocket Athletic Conference. "This was a really good game for us after coming off a three-day weekend," Pike Central head coach Alisha Knight said. "The girls con- trolled the ball well. As a re- sult, they had more shot op- portunities." "They started to tire in the second half, and South Spencer got a few more shot opportunities, one of which Presley slipped in some mud and lost control of the ball and it fell back into the goal," Knight added. "The girls overall played extreme- ly well and I'm extremely proud of them." On Thursday, Sept. 4, Scott scored a pair of goals – off assists from freshman Autumn Pancake and soph- omore Sydney Brooks – as the Lady Chargers battled visiting Boonville to a 2-2 tie. "Boonville has always been a really tough team," Knight said. "I'm real- ly proud of these girls for fighting through this game. It was an extremely aggres- sive game and we held our own." "We did a good job of con- trolling the ball and follow- ing shots," Knight added. "It really paid off. Defensive- ly, my girls work extreme- ly hard. I have an extreme- ly quick defensive line and they give me their all. I am proud of all of these girls as they continue to improve ev- ery day." Bryant recorded 31 saves in goal for Pike Central, which will travel to Prince- ton on Thursday, Sept. 11, and to Sullivan on Saturday, Sept. 13. PCHS girls' golf team posts back- to-back PAC wins By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net The Pike Central High School girls' golf team scored back-to-back wins against Pocket Athletic Conference foes North Posey and Heritage Hills last week. On Tuesday, Sept. 2, sophomore Madi- son Query shot a 57 to win medalist hon- ors by one stroke over North Posey's Sar- ah Watzlavik as the Lady Chargers post- ed a 241-250 win at the Cambridge Golf Course in Evansville. Senior Lindsey Nixon shot a 58 while sophomore Taylor Evans and fresh- men Mackenzie DeWeese and Madison Kroeger all had scores of 63. "Our score was not the best, but it was nice to get the win," Pike Central head coach Jarrod Gideon said. "We did so with- out (freshman) Natalie Burkhart, who was playing in a volleyball match." "Cambridge was very windy and the most difficult course the girls play all year," Gideon added. "So it was good to get a win at their place." The next day, Query fired a team-low 46 while Burkhart shot a 47 to lead the Lady Chargers to a 202-238 win against Heritage Hills at the Christmas Lake Golf Course in Santa Claus. Freshman Madison Kroeger had a ca- reer-best score of 51 while DeWeese and Evans both shot a 58. Nixon had a nine- hole round of 60. "I think that was probably our best round of the year," Gideon said. "Christ- mas Lake is a tough challenge and we played well." "We are looking forward to playing more conference teams in the week to come," said Gideon, whose team improved to 2-1 against PAC teams. The Lady Chargers, who hosted Princ- eton and South Knox on Tuesday, Sept. 9, will visit PAC foe South Spencer on Wednesday, Sept. 10, before playing in the PAC Tournament at the Oakland City Golf Course on Saturday, Sept. 13. South knox dominates three-way middle school cross country meet By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Sixth graders Lauren Young and Jenna Meyer placed fourth and fifth, respective- ly, to lead the Pike Central Middle School girls' cross country team to a second-place finish in a three-team meet Thursday, Sept. 4, at Prides Creek Park. Young completed the 2.1-mile course with a time of 12 minutes, 43 seconds, while Meyer had a time of 12:50. Eighth grader Lillie Pancake was 10th with a time of 13:56, seventh grader Lexie Miller was 23rd with a time of 16:18, fifth grader Morgan Anderson was 25th with a time of 16:27, fifth grader Kayla Cannon was 29th with a time of 17:40, fifth grad- er Laney Johnson was 32nd with a time of 17:56, fifth grader Carissa Moudy was 35th with a time of 19:31, fifth grader Mor- gan Sallee was 36th with a time of 20 :45, fifth grader Quinlan Teague was 37th with a time of 21:29, fifth grader Amber Feldpausch was 38th with a time of 22:15, fifth grader Brynn Hillyard was 39th with a time of 22:26, fifth grader Hailey Park- er was 40th with a time of 22:33, eighth grader Madison Peer was 41st with a time of 22:57, and fifth grader Ashton Catt was 42nd with a time of 23:00. South Knox's Mykayla Couchenauer was the top overall finisher in the girls' division with a winning time of 11:57. South Knox, which had seven runners place in the top 10, placed first as a team with 19 points, followed by Pike Central (51 points) and Washington (66). In the boys' division, South Knox had 10