The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Winter Sports Preview Wednesday, November 22, 2017 E- 3 Pictured above is the 2017-18 Pike Central High School boys' junior varsity basketball team. They are, first row, left to right: Man- ager Keevon Owens, Manager Emily Dorsey, Austin Holder, Eli Coleman, Troy Rickard, Connor O'Neal, Draven Huff, Jacob Barber, Manager Alonzo Barnes and Manager Hannah Beane. Second row: Varsity Assistant Coach Jacob Western, Junior Varsity Coach Josh Roach, Hayden Kabrick, Christian Benson, Noah Whann, Ethan Scott, Mario Fields, Colin Craig, Andrew Krieg, Judah Leath- co, Varsity Head Coach Hunter Elliott and Varsity Assistant Coach Steve Barrett. Ed Cahill photo Pictured above is the 2017-18 Pike Central High School boys' freshmen basketball team. They are, first row, left to right: Man- ager Keevon Owens, Manager Emily Dorsey, Jaden Guth, Hunter Traylor, Aden Brown, Sean Hanselman, Manager Alonzo Barnes and Manager Hannah Beane. Second row: Varsity Assistant Coach Josh Roach, Freshmen Coach Jacob Western, Stephen Krieg, An- drew Claridge, Colt Armstrong, Ethan Gorby, Connor Young, Varsity Head Coach Hunter Elliott and Varsity Assistant Coach Steve Barrett. Ed Cahill photo Continued from page 3 THREE GOOD LUCK Chargers! Locally Owned and Operated Dr. Clint Shoultz 715 S. 9th Street, Petersburg • (812) 354-9400 Mon. 8am-7pm, Tues. 8am-noon, Wed. 10am-7pm, Thurs-Fri. 8am-5pm call for an appointment or come in and check out our selection. Have a great Season! Wyatt Seed Company, Inc. WHOLESALE DEALERS IN RETAILERS FOR P.O. BOX 218, HWY. 57 SOUTH, PETERSBURG, IN 47567 Phone: 812-354-8542 or 1-800-581-5826 • Dealers in Sports Trail Dog Food • Purina Feeds • Bird Feed and Feeders • Full line of Lawn Grasses and Field Seeds • Variety of Bagged Fertilizers sively, he's a freak," Hunt- er Elliott said. "Athletical- ly, side-to-side, he can keep anybody in front of him. And he's another one that's just a winner. He doesn't care who scores. He just wants to win." Kabrick, a 5 -foot-10 guard, "might be one of the smart- est basketball players we have," Hunter Elliott said. "He's a very intelligent basketball player," he said. "(He) works really hard, is a really, really good passer, and can shoot it a little bit." Hunter Elliott described Leathco, a 5 -foot-11 guard/ forward, as "one of our hype guys." "He's always yelling, get- ting everybody going," Hunt- er Elliott explained. "Offen- sively, he's a good shooter, and can do a little bit of ev- erything. He can kind of be that utility player that can do a little bit of anything." Andrew Krieg, a 6 -foot forward/center, will see ac- tion in the post area, Hunter Elliott said. "He's a big body, very ath- letic, and is a really good re- bounder," Hunter Elliott said. "That's kind of the thing we're going to have to call on him for this year – being able to get in there, guard some of the bigs, and be able to rebound." Fields, meanwhile, is a 6 -foot forward who will also see action on the junior var- sity level this season. "Mario does so many good things instinctively that make him so valuable," Hunter Elliott said. "He's one that we're going to have to rely on to come in, re- bound, and be a big guy un- derneath." Benson, Fields, Holder, Kabrick, Krieg and Leath- co will be joined on the ju- nior varsity – which will be coached this season by Josh Roach, Jason Roach's cous- in – by juniors Eli Coleman, Draven Huff and Troy Rick- ard and sophomores Co- lin Craig, Connor O'Neal, Ethan Scott and Noah Whann. The C-team – which will be coached this season by Jacob Western – will be com- prised of Craig, sophomore Jacob Barber and fresh- men Colt Armstrong, Aden Brown, Andrew Claridge, Ethan Gorby, Jaden Guth, Sean Hanselman, Hunter Traylor and Connor Young. Hunter Elliott said that it was interesting that more than half of the 30 players who are dressing varsity, ju- nior varsity or on the C-team also played soccer this past fall. In 2016, the Chargers' soccer team won its first-ev- er sectional title while go- ing 15 -1-2. This past fall, the Pike Central kickers won their first-ever PAC ti- tle while going 15 -3-1. "I think that winning men- tality has kind of carried on to both," Hunter Elliott said. "They've had a phenomenal soccer season. I think that carries over to here, and vice versa – our success has carried over to theirs." Hunter Elliott said that three straight winning sea- sons has created a shift in the mind set of the Chargers whenever they step onto the court, whether it's at home or away. "They expect to win," Hunter Elliott said. "Since we've been here, we've beat- en the No. 1 team in the state (Rock Creek Academy in the Graber Post Buildings Classic hosted by North Daviess in the 2014-15 sea- son). We've won two section- als, back-to-back, in one of the toughest 3A sectionals in the state." "Any team we play, we're not going to be scared of them," he added. "I mean, they're not going to back down from anybody. They expect to win every game they play." Hunter Elliott noted that one thing that has eluded the Chargers over the past three seasons has been a PAC title. Pike Central – which hasn't won a confer- ence title since the 1997-98 season – went 7-1 and fin- ished second behind Forest Park during the 2015 -16 sea- son. Last year, the Chargers went 4-4 in conference play and placed sixth. "It's very tough, and it might be the toughest it's ever been this year," Hunt- er Elliott said. "The PAC's very strong, and the kids know that we haven't got- ten it, that's for sure. They had it in eighth grade and they would definitely like to lay claim to that again, if they can. Of course, winning sectionals, we're not going to trade that for anything. But if we can win both, that would be icing on the cake." This year's sectional will be played at Southridge. However, Jasper – which moved up to Class 4A – is being replaced by Sullivan, joining Pike Central, Princ- eton, Southridge and Wash- ington. "With ( Jasper) leav- ing, it's still, by no means, easy," Hunter Elliott said. "Washington's very, very good. Vincennes has ev- erybody coming back for the most part. Southridge has a young freshman com- ing in and they have a lot of kids coming back. I don't know a whole lot about Sul- livan. That's a team we've never played. We don't play them this year, so that's a team we're just going to have to kind of watch. And then Princeton is one that is going to be, arguably, the biggest team in the ar- ea. They're going to have a whole lot of size, and ev- erybody coming back. So it's definitely going to be a tough task." However, Hunter Elliott added, his players do like the idea of winning a third consecutive sectional tro- phy. "We would love to be able to three-peat," Hunt- er Elliott said. "We want to win conference, we want to win sectional, but I think we just have to come in every day and just get better each day. We kind of have a say- ing – 'we're going with grit and grind this year.' We're just going to really outwork teams is kind of going to be what we're going to do. I think if we can come in ev- ery day and outwork every- body and go into the games and do the same thing, then we'll be just fine." Hunter Elliott said that this year's seniors want to wrap up their high school careers the same way that the Chargers' seniors did the last two years – with a sectional title. "This class kind of has a chip on its shoulder like, hey, we were a big part of that, and we can do it as well," Hunter Elliott said. "If we can do that again, and take it a step further, I mean, that's going to be their goal. They're not go- ing to sell themselves short. I think we all think we can do some good things and we're going to try to do that." A fter opening the season at Northeast Dubois, Pike Central will play at Prince- ton on Saturday, Dec. 3. "I'm very excited," Hunt- er Elliott admitted. "I think the first couple of days of practice have been real- ly good. A lot of intensi- ty. Kids are getting after it. Kids are excited. You know, we're just ready to go. We're ready to get it rolling here." 804 E. IllInoIs st, PEtErsburg Located accross from Amber Manor Care Center Hours Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday: 11am-9pm Friday & Saturday: 11am-10pm Great Pizza Famous BBQ Party and banquEt room now avaIlablE DiNE iN • CaRRY OUT • CaTERiNG 812-354-2277 JUNIOR VARSITY BASKETBALL BOYS' FRESH MEN BASKETBALL BOYS'