Erica Shepherd mixes golf and studies at Duke Just like many college freshmen, Center Grove High School graduate Erica Shepherd is a bit homesick after a few months at Duke University. She misses her home and family, home cooked meals, sleeping in her own bed at home, familiar friends, and the routine that she had for many years while attending classes at Center Grove schools. Her daily routine as a teenager always has been different than most girls and is that way today.see more
State championship adds to boys’ volleyball growth Thanks to a state championship in 2018, boys’ volleyball is growing at Roncalli High School and throughout the Southside. Roncalli coach John Kesterson is noticing an upswing in interest of the sport at RHS, particularly because the Rebels are the defending state champions.see more
Center Grove rolls; Beech Grove and Greenwood Christian reach Elite 8 Center Grove became the lone Southside boys’ basketball team to reach the IHSAA semifinals after Beech Grove and Greenwood Christian reached the Elite 8 Saturday. The Trojans, led by two-time Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week Trayce Jackson-Davis, dominated Jasper, 65-40 in the Seymour regional opener and later thumped Bloomington South, 64-41. see more
Schiffli named IHSAA’s Mental Attitude Award winner In what might be the highest honor any high school swimmer could receive, Franklin Central senior Rachel Schiffli couldn’t believe she was named the IHSAA’s Mental Attitude Award Winner. see more
Softball champ at Roncalli and FSU Kendra Lynch has the distinction of playing on a state championship softball team at Roncalli in 2011 and serving as a coach of the 2018 NCAA championship team at Florida State University. Lynch, Miss Indiana Softball in 2013, is a volunteer assistant coach for the Seminoles, who made an amazing run to a national championship earlier this month in Oklahoma City. see more
Franklin Central installing synthetic turf Franklin Central will become the seventh high school on the Southside to have synthetic turf when the new season begins. The turf replaces the grass field at Ray Skillman Stadium, built in 2004, and gives the Flashes a new look in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference after leaving Conference Indiana. All football fields in the HCC have synthetic turf, and Jeffersonville is the lone 6A field that remains grass. see more
Perry’s Sadie Hill state discus champ Led by state champion discus thrower Sadie Hill, Perry Meridian’s girls track team finished fifth at the state finals June 1 at the Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex at Indiana University Bloomington. Hill’s throw of 143 feet, 5 inches – a personal best – was nearly 6 feet farther than her nearest competitor. see more
Title hopes end for Center Grove, area schools Center Grove’s drive to advance in the state playoffs in girls tennis and softball ended over the weekend. The tennis team was outed by No. 2 Cathedral 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the state finals at Carmel. Center Grove junior Jillian Garrett defeated Cole Spau 6-4, 6-1 for the Trojans’ lone win. see more
Baseball regional results Unranked Cathedral, the defending state champion, upset No. 4 Roncalli 6-3 in the first game of the Decatur Central regional June 1. Down 6-0 in the seventh, the Rebels rallied with three runs, but the RBIs from Dylan Williams, Brian Keeney and Nick Schnell – Gatorade’s Indiana Player of the Year – were not enough. Roncalli had seven hits with Dominic Brown and Harrison Koppenhofer each slapping two. see more
Flashes end sectional drought; Rebels win 14th title In an improbable matchup for a baseball sectional championship Monday night, Franklin Central entered the Whiteland sectional with a five-game losing skid against Greenwood, which had only won six regular-season games. Franklin Central prevailed for coach John Rockey with his first sectional championship in his final season at the helm with a 10-5 win over the Woodmen. see more
Rebels win county baseball title Roncalli senior infielder Dylan Williams made two outstanding defensive plays in the final inning to preserve a 5-3 win over Perry Meridian in the Marion County championship baseball game Monday at Victory Field. Williams almost single-handedly stopped the Falcons’ threat by backpedaling for a difficult catch of Alex Hooten’s drive just beyond second and later went to his knees to stop a drive by Adam Taylor. see more
Softball game has special meaning The Coaches vs. Cancer softball game between host Lutheran and Beech Grove had a special meaning for both teams. In pregame ceremonies May 8, Lutheran honored Lisa Campbell, whose cancer is in remission, and Beech Grove posthumously honored Kevin “Papa K” Kestner, who succumbed to esophageal cancer a few months ago. The teams gathered for a group photo before the game. see more
Fab Five key to IUPUI softball The Southside’s Fab Five represents the future success of softball at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The players – Delainey Turner, Maddie Keeley and Mandy Dallas from Center Grove High School’s 2015 4A state championship team, Megan Overton from Greenwood and Delaney Thompson from Franklin Central – are among a combined 10 freshmen/sophomores with the Jaguars, who have only two seniors and four juniors. see more
Southsiders play in North-South games The geography may have been a little askew, but four standout basketball players representing Southside high schools played in Saturday’s 30th annual North/South Indiana All-Star Classic in Martinsville. Center Grove’s Cassie Hardin scored eight points, and Beech Grove’s Cameron Cardenas added four and grabbed a rebound that helped the North defeat the South 100-99. see more
Pieces fall into place for runner Perry Meridian graduate Kieran Casey is in a class all by herself as three-sport athlete in Division I while doing clinicals to earn her degree in nursing. It has been a busy four years since high school, but Casey has a national championship in cross-country and plenty of other great experiences to show for it. see more
Bonding with sons through baseballFather/coach Andy Bass and son T.J. Bass face an exciting but bittersweet spring as they get through their last high school baseball season together at Greenwood. T.J. is a fourth-year varsity player for the Woodmen, and he will continue his career at Taylor University in the fall. His younger brother, Sam, is a sophomore and plays in the infield for the Woodmen.see more
Trio eager for start of baseball season Two Roncalli seniors destined to play collegiate baseball and a junior who set a national hitting record are eager for the new high school season to begin. Senior Nick Schnell (University of Louisville recruit) and classmate Colten Panaranto (Michigan State) and national home run record holder Tommy Hansen talked last week about the upcoming season. see more
Trojans already eyeing next year Center Grove 6-9 junior standout Trayce Jackson-Davis vowed that the Trojans will return to the 4A Seymour regional next year after being knocked out of the playoffs Saturday night by No. 3 New Albany. “I wish we could have won it for our seniors,” Jackson-Davis said. “As for next year, I have no doubt in my mind that we will be back.” see more
Trojans advance to regionals “Play tough.” After edging 4A sectional host Greenwood Friday night, Center Grove senior Joey Klaasen used those words to explain what the Trojans had to do the next night in the championship game. And that’s exactly how they played against Franklin; they kept the Grizzly Cubs trapped all game. see more
Life after basketball for RHS star The Big Ten women’s basketball tournament runs through Sunday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. But this is the first year since 2013 that former standout Bridget Perry will not be playing in the tourney. The Roncalli alumna graduated from Purdue last year and has a career in software. “In college you put so many hours into it and I was ready to move on and do something with my academic degree,” see more
Roncalli rocks to first league title Roncalli rocked “The Woodshed,” the nickname for its gymnasium, Friday night. In a raucous tourneylike setting, Rebels fans – especially the student body – turned the banner-filled gym into a jump center that rivaled the Duke Cameron Crazies see more
Trojans crank up defense Center Grove’s No. 15 girls basketball team needed to turn its game around Friday night against Franklin in the second half of the semifinal of the 4A Franklin Central Sectional. First-year Trojans coach Kevin Stuckmeyer already had thought about what he would go over with the team, but when he entered the locker room he realized that senior leadership had taken over before he could say a word.see more
Confidence propels No. 8 Trojans Center Grove 6-9 standout Trayce Jackson-Davis and his teammates have confidence in one another. It showed Friday night in front of a year-ending crowd at Greenwood as Jackson-Davis dominated the early minutes and led the Trojans to a 66-51 win. see more
Passionate about basketball This is a tale of two high school boys coaches who are familiar to Southsiders. First-year Greenwood Christian Academy coach Jonny Marlin is a former Center Grove basketball standout who played for three different collegiate teams in the state. Former Indiana All-Star and Butler standout Zach Hahn has rejuvenated the boys basketball program at Center Grove since he arrived four years ago. see more
Flashes, Rebels fall in tourney semis Franklin Central and Roncalli reached the semifinals of the Marion County girls basketball tourney before falling to ranked opponents Saturday at Lawrence Central. The Flashes ran into North Central for the second time this season and lost 76-44; Roncalli fell to Lawrence North 50-39, never recovering from the Wildcats’ 18-5 first-quarter lead. see more
Former Tar Heel guides girls basketball Bill Torgerson is one of the most interesting new coaches to arrive on the Southside in several years. The former North Carolina resident is an author, a tenured university professor, an award-winning videographer, an outdoor enthusiast, a devoted family man and, oh, by the way, the new girls basketball coach at Greenwood High School. see more
Woodmen, Saints eye semistate titles Greenwood’s first football regional championship in 27 years certainly had its share of oddities Friday against Mississinewa on a frigid night at the Woodshed. No. 11 Woodmen needed 88 plays on offense and 26 first downs to keep the ball out of the Indians’ hands long enough to grind out a 34-27 win. see more
Hall of Fame coach stresses hard work Franklin Central’s girls basketball team is being assisted by one of this year’s inductees into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Assistant coach Nikki (Anderson) Cerbone, a 1987 Indiana All-Star, was inducted in April during an awards dinner on the Southside. see more
Trojans, Woodmen, Saints advance Greenwood senior Brandon Rosado sings a sweet song whether toting a pigskin or singing with the school’s award-winning Rhapsody choir. Rosado and senior linemen Zach Drew and Joey Craig have been singing under the direction of 16th-year music director Dan Borns since the eighth grade. see more
Tennis player eyeing next season Perry Meridian state finalist Sajin Smith will be more determined next season when he returns to the tennis court for the Falcons. In only his second year with the Falcons, Smith continued the family tennis heritage by competing in the state finals Oct. 20 at Park Tudor. see more
Rebels, Saints, Trojans sectional champs Center Grove and Lutheran garnered girls volleyball sectional championships Saturday. In an all-Southside Class 4A finale at Decatur Central, revenge-minded Roncalli dominated defending sectional champion Perry Meridian 25-18, 25-19, 25-12. The Rebels topped Pike 25-20, 25-15, 25-17 in semifinal action. see more
Football sectionals open Friday Center Grove, Franklin Central, Roncalli, Greenwood and Lutheran enjoy top-15 rankings as football sectionals begin at 7 p.m. Friday for most teams. “This is the real deal,” contends veteran Center Grove coach Eric Moore, whose Trojans reached the 6A state finals last year. see more
Teams, runners claim cross-country crowns Franklin Central won girls and boys cross-country regional championships Saturday at Rushville, and Center Grove’s girls team captured the Shelbyville Regional title. Roncalli’s Nicholas Perkins won the 5K race at Rushville and Southport’s Michael Crook won at Shelbyville in a one, two, three Perry Township finish. see more
Southport wins cross-country sectional titles Southside cross-country teams fared well in sectional action Saturday. Franklin Central captured the girls and boys team titles at the New Palestine Sectional, and Southport won the girls meet at Franklin. see more
Soccer team enjoying best season in school history Southport is witnessing the beginning of a tradition for its varsity girls soccer program as the Cardinals have won the most games in their history this year. Coach Mark Harris has seen the program slowly improve every year as an assistant. Now in his first year as head coach, Southport has a 6-7-2 record. see more
‘Unity’ victorious at football game The final score of Manual’s senior night football game Friday against Martinsville was Unity 1, Prejudice 0. The real scoreboard at the north end of the field didn’t really matter as both teams gathered for a simple post-game message from their coaches: We really aren’t that different from each other. see more
What a night for Cougars volleyball When Greenwood Christian Academy met visiting Greenwood for a volleyball match Sept. 27, the event was far more than just a girls high school athletic event. The historic first-round match for GCA in the Johnson County tourney stood out as another step to validate the private school’s success of its teams in just a short time. see more
Lutheran falls to No. 2 Scecina Lutheran football coach Dave Pasch could not fault his team’s effort Friday night against Indiana Crossroads Conference rival Scecina. Pasch could look back and see plays that the Saints weren’t able to make the way they wanted against the visiting and victorious 2A No. 2 Crusaders. see more
Flashes off to best start in a decade Franklin Central’s football team is off to its best start in 10 years after defeating Perry Meridian Friday in a Conference Indiana rivalry. The Flashes won their fourth game in five starts with a lightning-fast passing attack in the first half and a defense that bent but didn’t break in the second half. FC prevailed 24-10 at Ray Skillman Family Field at Falcon Stadium. see more
Beech Grove’s homecoming spoiled Beech Grove’s football homecoming was foiled Friday by 2A No. 3 Scecina, while five Southside teams continued rolling along.
The 3A Hornets battled Scecina’s stunning air attack until the Crusaders took charge in the final eight minutes of an Indiana Crossroads Conference matchup, winning 41-21.see more
Soccer player scores 100th goal All Greenwood senior Kayla Rance wanted to do was score 25 goals during her high school career so she could surpass brother Maxxwel Rance on the soccer field.
Rance, who has committed to play for Walsh College, passed her brother by scoring 27 points as a freshman. see more
Roncalli long jumper leaps to state title Roncalli senior Paige Saylor closed her high school athletic career by winning the state championship in long jump with a leap of 19 feet, 1 inch Saturday at Indiana University’s Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex in Bloomington.
Rallying around coach with cancer For University of Indianapolis softball coach Melissa Frost, her puppy is a lifesaver. “I have a puppy that just jumped up on me and literally hit me in the chest, and at that point I felt something that wasn’t quite right,” Frost said. “Thank goodness for my puppy.” see more
Marsh takes football reins at Roncalli New Roncalli football coach Scott Marsh understands the reality of succeeding legendary 27-year Rebels coach Bruce Scifres. Scifres stepped down after guiding the Rebels to the school’s ninth state championship last year. He leaves with a 248-88 record, seven state crowns plus seven semistate, 10 regional and 12 sectional titles.see more
County softball, baseball tourneys open After opening with eight straight loses, Franklin Central finally won its first game Friday against visiting Beech Grove, 11-1, in five innings. The Flashes took advantage of timely hitting and eight walks, including a bases-loaded walk as senior Chris Ford strolled in from third with the mandatory game-ending 10-run margin. see more
Falcons down Cards in pitchers’ duel Perry Meridian’s Jesse Wainscott and Southport’s A.J. Short locked together April 17 in a duel that added another chapter to the baseball Battle of Perry Township. The Falcons prevailed 1-0 in a true pitchers’ duel as Bryce Garrity drove the ball over the glove of Southport second baseman Dustin Church and sent home Luke Arkins in the fifth. see more
Perry, Center Grove pitchers hurl no-hitters Perry Meridian’s Bryce Garrity and Center Grove’s Brian Gaffney threw no-hitters last week as each team’s bats came alive. Garrity tossed his gem April 12 at Franklin as the Falcons won their fourth game by pounding 13 hits and scoring 10 runs. The senior struck out one batter and did not give up a walk.see more
Roncalli slugger rips three grand slams Roncalli sophomore outfielder Tommy Hansen is dreaming big after setting a national record Friday by hitting three grand slams in three consecutive at-bats. His slams in the first, second and fourth innings came against Metamora Township (Ill.) High School in the second game of a doubleheader in Louisville, Ky. see more
