Hoosier State Press Association - The Indiana Publisher - Better Newspaper Contest
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/96748
Division 2 Best Sports Event Coverage/Category 11 First place One giant leap Brian Smith, The Corydon Democrat Comments: Nice in-depth coverage of an exciting game, not just play-by-play breakdown. Transitioned well with players��� quotes and stories. Second place High school XC teams make swift showing Lew Freedman, Brown County Democrat (Nashville) Comments: Good lead, unique angle on the meet and good quotes. Good to include the story within the meet story. Welldone. Third place Patriots turn torrid, oust Pioneers Steve Page, The Mooresville/Decatur Times Comments: Well-written and in-depth stats. Not just a playby-play commentary but flowed well with quotes from both teams. Best Sports News or Feature Coverage/ Category 12 First place ���A very special win��� Chad Fleetwood, The Salem Leader Comments: None given. Second place Boston Marathon more than just a race for Strobel Trista Lutgring, Perry County News (Tell City) Comments: None given. Third place Softball comes full circle for Ragains family Chad Fleetwood, The Salem Democrat Comments: None given. Best Sports Commentary/Category 13 First place Steve Page, The Mooresville/Decatur Times Comments: None given. Second place Larry Goffinet, Perry County News (Tell City) Comments: None given. Third place Jim Buchberger, Dearborn County Register (Lawrenceburg) Comments: None given. Best Editorial Cartoonist/Category 14 See Page 67 for all divisions. One giant leap Brian Smith The Corydon Democrat ���The greatest feeling ever was when the ref put his hands up,��� Corydon Central senior defensive back Tyler Fessel said. Fessel, like his teammates and coaches, stormed the rightcorner north end zone of Enlow Field after senior running back Lucas Windell���s game-winning run was signaled by the referee in overtime. Windell took a toss out of the wish-bone formation to his right, and, after fullback Nick Schroeder and twin brother Jeremiah Windell cleared the final Evansville Memorial defenders with blocks, the dive was on. Leaping a step inside the 5, the ball crossed the goal line, igniting celebration in the overflowed Corydon Central stands and the field. ���It was ... awesome,��� Lucas ���The biggest thing is we don���t ever quit or give up,��� Corydon Central coach Darin Ward said. ���We just keep coming and playing. It���s something to say about all those kids, they are a team that never thinks they are out of a game. As soon as it looks like we���re done or we���re out, we keep going. We put ourselves in position to get to overtime and got a stop, then, boom, go win a game.��� Getting to overtime was another test passed by the Panthers��� offense. Inside five minutes to play, Memorial took advantage of a fumbled kickoff return to score a touchdown with 2:10 left. On fourthand-16, Memorial quarterback Dane Hurley found Zach McCall open over the middle for a 23-yard score. The extra point put Memorial up, 41-33. In Corydon Central���s twominute offense, Jeremiah Windell began the 66-yard drive with a 38-yard run. Two incompletions, a short pass to Lucas Windell and two offside penalties forced the Panthers into a fourth-and-15 with 46 seconds left. On the next play, quarterback Chase Burton threw a pass over the middle to Dylan Jensen, who picked up the first down after taking a hard hit in the process. ���It was the exact same play as the Charlestown game with Jensen running down the middle of the field,��� Burton said. ���He makes the catch, gets smoked and hangs on to the ball. That put us in position to win the game. If it wasn���t for Jensen hanging on, we might For complete story, see www.hspafoundation.org. Click on ���Contests.��� ���A very special win��� Chad Fleetwood The Salem Leader Tyler Duncan, Brandon Pask and Trey Albertson had a lot more than football on their minds heading into Friday night���s season opener against West Washington. The three EHS seniors each faced personal circumstances that were far more important than the first game of their final season on the Musketeers��� football team. Albertson���s sister, Haley, had been the team���s manager throughout summer conditioning as she prepared to begin her freshman year of high school. She was released from the hospital on Saturday, Aug. 13, after a one-month stay due to injuries she suffered in an ATV accident. On her way home, she wanted to stop by the football field to make sure her big brother, and the rest of the team, had stayed on track while she was away. ���Before she even went home, she stopped by our locker room while we were watching film,��� Head Coach John Dablow explained. ���She wanted to get on those boys and make sure they hadn���t been slacking while she was in the hospital. She���s been sporting a mohawk lately, so a lot of the guys on the team got mohawks last Thursday in support of her.��� For Trey, who starts at full back and defensive back for the Musketeers, concern for his sister could have easily distracted him from being ready to take the field Friday night, especially considering Haley was on hand to assist with the coin toss prior to the start of the game. However, Dablow said news of Haley���s accident, along with the situation Pask was dealing with, seemed to help bring the team closer during summer conditioning sessions. Pask���s mother, Natalie, has cancer, which she had battled into remission over the past several months. However, she learned that the disease had resurfaced and was forced to return to the hospital around the same time as Haley���s accident. A tailgate benefit was planned prior to Friday night���s game, on her birthday, to help the family cope with growing medical expenses. ���I think that brought us together, with Haley���s situation happening right around the same time Brandon���s mom went back into the hospital,��� Dablow said. ���They were in hospitals that were right across For complete story, see www.hspafoundation.org. Click on ���Contests.��� Wheldon���s death is sadly ironic Steve Page The Mooresville/Decatur Times Dan Wheldon was working to make the world of Indy Car racing a safer place. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner had been testing the new chassis that will debut in 2012, when the series changes to a new, and apparently safer, mode of transportation. The new cars have a back half in which the rear wheels are mostly enclosed. That should prevent cars from getting airborne when the car in back runs into the back of the car in front. Sunday���s tragedy at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the last race run under the current car configuration, underscored the need for change. No fewer than three cars went airborne in the 15-car Page 26 said of the winning run. melee in the race promoted as the Izod Indy Car World Championship, damaging drivers, cars and the track itself. It was so violent that crashing cars left gouges in the pavement. At first glance, it appeared some unseen force was angrily throwing race cars at the retaining wall and the catch fence above it. Wheldon���s car, unfortunately, barrel rolled, striking the catch fence roll-cage first. Wheldon never had a chance. Other drivers have survived, albeit barely, similar horrific accidents. Kenny Brack comes to mind, as does Davey Hamilton. Their cars were shredded by the catch fence, designed to catch things that go over the wall, keeping them away from the spectators. This was Indy Car���s big one, and unfortunately, it proved deadly, as well as costly. With Danica Patrick jumping to NASCAR next season, the Indy Racing League needed a new shining face to catch the fans��� attention. The 33-year-old Wheldon certainly had that. The native of England first realized his dream of competing in the Indianapolis 500, then won the race ��� twice. The latest was this year, when, after breaking his ties to Decatur Township-based Panther Racing, he competed in The 500 as a one-off competitor. At Las Vegas, with the help of former driver and current car owner Sam Schmidt, Wheldon For complete story, see www.hspafoundation.org. Click on ���Contests.���