By Dave Krider
MaxPreps.com
The Hoosier State gave Indianapolis' RCA Dome a fitting sendoff over the weekend.
Carmel defeated previously unbeaten Indianapolis Pike, 16-7, to win Indiana's Class 5A state football championship before a finals record crowd of 38,478. It marked the last high school game to be played at the RCA Dome, which will be demolished and replaced next year by the new Lucas Oil Stadium.
In a battle of unbeatens, Sheridan overcame an early injury to star running back Ty Perkins to win its third consecutive (and Indiana-record ninth overall) Class A state title with a 34-28 victory over Rockville. The victory was No. 338 for Sheridan coach Bud Wright - the state's winningest active coach - in 43 years at the helm.Lowell's standout sophomore running back, Brandon Grubbe, who ran for almost 1,700 yards and 21 touchdowns, broke two bones in his left arm in the first quarter of the Class 4A title game and the Red Devils bowed to unbeaten Evansville Reitz, 33-14.
More Football Notes
* Corey Robinson's national-record for single-season touchdown passes now stands at 86. The senior quarterback completed 33-of-47 for 347 yards and five touchdowns last week as Paducah Lone Oak raced past Shepherdsville North Bullitt, 55-33, in Kentucky's Class 4A state quarterfinals. He has completed an incredible 77 percent of his passes this fall for 5,125 yards and could play two more games.
* Ansonia senior running back Alex Thomas continues to smash records in Connecticut. He broke two more records last week with 261 yards and four touchdowns during a 42-0 rout of Naugatuck on a slippery, muddy field. His latest state records are for rushing yards in one season (3,080) and a career (7,763). In addition, he has tied the state record with 42 rushing touchdowns in one season.
* Undefeated Jeannette crushed Beaver Falls, 61-12, to win the Western Pennsylvania Class AA championship and could become the highest-scoring team in state history if it continues to advance in the playoffs. The championship game record is 64 points by Bridgeville in 1949. The Jayhawks are 21 points short of breaking the state record for most points in a season, which is 755 by Catawissa Southern Columbia in 2006.
* The Western Pennsylvania Class AAAA playoffs produced a true classic as Pittsburgh Central Catholic nipped, Monroeville Gateway, 35-34, in overtime. Gateway - trailing 28-13 with 1:02 left in the fourth quarter - staged an incredible rally to force overtime, but then lost due to a missed extra point kick. Several Gateway players collapsed on the field after the heartbreaking loss. Central Catholic coach Terry Totten was so full of emotion that he talked briefly to his players on the field, then went straight to his car and left without talking to the media.
* Baltimore Dunbar junior Tavon Austin (5-9, 170) has broken the Maryland career record with 89 touchdowns and the Poets (12-0) still are contending for their second consecutive Class A state championship.East Grand Rapids outlasted Orchard Lake St. Mary's, 46-39, in five overtimes to win Michigan's Division 3 state championship. Jake Ormes had 16 tackles and two sacks for the Pioneers, who notched their eighth title. Neither team made a turnover.
* Tampa Plant junior quarterback Aaron Murray set a Florida state record with 51 touchdown passes this season and his team is still alive in the Class 4A playoffs. The previous record was 48 by another Plant star, Robert Marve, who broke a record held by current University of Florida star Tim Tebow.
* Smith Center yielded its second and third touchdowns this fall, but still crushed Pittsburg St. Mary's-Colgan, 40-14, to win its fourth consecutive Kansas Class 2-1A state title. The Redmen, who have won their last 54 games, outscored their opponents this year by a whopping 844-20 margin.
* Kentucky power Louisville Trinity has produced such outstanding quarterbacks as Nick Petrino, Jeff and Brian Brohm, but a new gunslinger has arrived on the scene in the person of Will Stein. The 5-11, 170-pound senior just broke the school record with his 48th touchdown pass this fall.Talk about a workhorse - Florence Boone County's Cory Farris carried 55 times (298 yards and four touchdowns) during a 45-35 Kentucky playoff victory over Shelbyville Shelby County.
* Still bidding for a national championship, Cincinnati St. Xavier nipped Dublin Coffman, 10-7, in a battle of unbeatens during Ohio's Division I state semifinals. Senior safety Fred Craig - who sprained his ankle badly two days earlier - staged a remarkable recovery and made a game-saving tackle. Versatile Danny Milligan broke the Ohio record with his 37th career field goal and he also scored the winner's lone touchdown.
* Minnesota's Class AAAAA state championship game was a classic as Eden Prairie defeated St. Paul Cretin-Derham Hall, 50-21, in a matchup of undefeated powerhouses. Three generations of Grants had plenty of reason to celebrate. Quarterback Ryan Grant threw two touchdown passes for his father-coach, Mike Grant. Looking on proudly was grandpa Bud Grant, the former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. Ryan Grant will play defensive back next year for the University of Minnesota. The champs held standout receiver Michael Floyd to three catches for 85 yards.
* Another of the nation's premier receivers, Julio Jones, was shut down as defending champion Prattville defeated Foley, 38-14, in Alabama's Class 6A state quarterfinals. Constantly double-teamed, Jones was held to five catches for 26 yards as Prattville won its 28th consecutive game.In Tennessee, Nashville Montgomery Bell Academy defeated Brentwood Academy, 12-0, to win the Division II-AA state championship. Sophomore kicker Andrew Fletcher accounted for all the points with a championship-game record four field goals (34, 23, 20 and 19 yards).
* Mastic Beach William Floyd routed Farmingdale, 42-0, to set Long Island records with 33 consecutive victories and three straight Class I championships.Washington, D.C., football fans are mourning the loss of legendary coach Maurice "Maus" Collins, who died at age 76. Collins, who coached at Archbishop Carroll and Gonzaga, compiled a 322-74-9 record before retiring in 2000.
Cross Country Notes
* Three of the four Foot Locker regionals were held last weekend with the Western one scheduled for this week. One name that stood out was Kathy Kroeger, a junior from Independence (Thompson Station, Tenn.). Kroeger, who is the defending girls national champion, has been coming back slowly from an injury, but appears to be peaking after winning the South Regional race in 16:56 at McAlpine Park in Charlotte, N.C. She nipped another junior, Kayla Hale of Holy Trinity (Melbourne, Fla.), by less than one foot in a finish so close that they both were given the same time. The boys race was won by Carroll (Southlake, Texas) senior Colby Lowe in 14:45.
* Donn Cabral of Glastonbury, Conn, set a Foot Locker Northeast Regional course record of 15:09.6 while capturing the boys title at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. The course record of 15:14 had stood since 1982. The girls championship was claimed by Shippensburg, Pa., senior Neely Spence, who was clocked in 17:37.4.
* Despite strong winds and a 28-degree temperature, Kilbourne (Worthington, Ohio) senior Claire Durkin set a course record of 17:01 while winning the Midwest Regional girls title at UW-Parkside in Kenosha, Wis. The record of 17:08 had been established in 1990. The boys crown went to LaPorte, Ind., senior Mike Fout, who was timed in 14:56. Fout's only loss this year was to Chris Derrick of Neuqua Valley (Naperville, Ill.), who finished second in 15:04.
Basketball Notes
* North Carolina recruit Ed Davis blocked 12 shots as Benedictine (Richmond, Va.) edged Chicago power Hales Franciscan, 55-53, at the Tournament of Champions in Peoria, Ill. The 6-9 senior also had 17 points - including the game-winning dunk - and eight rebounds. Benedictine lost the championship game, 55-52, to Central (Champaign, Ill.) despite 26 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks by Davis.
* Centennial (Circle Pines, Minn.) edged St. Paul Central, 60-56, to snap a 34-game winning streak and win the Hamline Girls Basketball Tournament. MVP Megan Nipe, a 6-0 junior, drilled 9-of-10 shots in the second half and finished with a game-high 32 points.Jessie Carlin recorded his 600th coaching victory as Salmen (Slidell, La.) defeated New Orleans Karr, 50-36.
* Louisiana's winningest coach, Joel Hawkins, is scheduled to undergo open-heart surgery this week and will be sidelined for the rest of the season. The 69-year-old coach has a 1,071-263 record with 12 state titles at Baton Rouge Southern Lab. Assistant Aaron Hammond will guide the team on an interim basis.
* Coney Island basketball fans will greatly miss Robert Williams, who died at age 64. Affectionately known as "Mr. Lou," Williams worked in a nursing home, but his passion was coaching young boys at a playground court near O'Dwyer Gardens. Over the years he worked with the likes of Brooklyn Lincoln stars Sebastian Telfair, Stephon Marbury and current 6-6 junior standout Lance Stephenson, whose every move, by the way, is being filmed by Cornerstone Productions.
* The University of Arkansas has signed 6-1 senior guard Rotnei Clarke, who averaged a prolific 37.6 points a game last year at Claremore, Okla.Connecticut landed Kemba Walker, an oustanding 6-1 point guard from New York City's Rice High.Georgetown has received a commitment from Hollis Thompson, a highly-rated 6-8 junior from Loyola (Los Angeles, Calif.). An added bonus is Thompson's 4.2 GPA.
Gymnastics Notes
* The USA women dominated the Junior Pan American Championships the past week in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Besides winning the team competition with 177.501 points (Canada was second with 168.634), the Americans swept the first three places in all-around. Mattie Larson, a sophomore at Baldwin Park Charter (Los Angeles, Calif.) was first with 59.217 points; Jordyn Wieber, who attends DeWitt, Mich., Junior High, was second with 59.167; and Chelsea Davis, a freshman at AO Academy (Austin, Texas) was third with 58.267.
In other events, Wieber won uneven bars with 15.000, while Larson was second with 14.950. Wieber also won balance beam with 15,100, while Davis took second with 14.825. In floor exercise, Larson was first with 14.925, with Wieber taking third (14.300). Olivia Courtney, a sophomore at Boone (Orlando, Fla.) also was a member of the winning USA team.
* The University of Utah has signed Stephanie McAllister, a senior from Perry Meridian (Indianapolis, Ind.). McAllister, who also considered UCLA, was an age-group all-around champion in the 2005 Junior Olympics and this year she won uneven bars. Utah has been second in the NCAA tournament the past two years and leads the nation annually with an average attendance around 10,000.
Golf Notes
* Vicky Hurst, recently named Rolex Junior Player of the Year, defeated No. 2-ranked Kimberly Kim of Pahoa, Hawaii, 3 and 2, to win the Polo Golf Junior Classic in Reunion, Fla. The Melbourne, Fla., standout, who was playing in the final AJGA event of her career, outlasted Stephanie Kono of Honolulu, Hawaii,1 up, in a 28-hole semifinal thriller that officials believe is the longest AJGA event in history. It was postponed Thursday evening after 22 holes due to darkness and the final five holes were played Friday morning. Hurst is the first girl to win three majors in a row since Morgan Pressel won four straight in 2004-05
* The boys champion was Bjorn Akesson of Malmo, Sweden. He defeated Sean Dale of Jacksonville, Fla., 3 and 2, in the finals. Akesson will play golf next year at Arizona State University.
* MacKinzie Kline of Encinitas, Calif, has received the Jerry Cole Sportsmanship Award from the American Junior Golf Association. The 15-year-old high school sophomore, who was born with a congenital heart defect, was named the National Children's Heart Foundation spokesperson at age 10 and has raised over $1 million since then.
Potpourri
* Cincinnati Ursuline Academy should get over the hump this winter after finishing second in Ohio's Division I state swimming tournament for the past five years. Ursuline has five seniors who have made commitments to Division I colleges: Sarah Tanner (defending 200 IM champion), North Carolina; Sarah Radke, Penn State; Stephanie Conklin, Cincinnati; Amanda Rom, Bowling Green; and Katelyn Ishee, Indiana.
* Two of the nation's top 119-pound wrestlers tangled in the finals of the Oklahoma Open. Willie Gunter of Midwest City edged Perry's Ladd Rupp, 4-3, to capture Most Outstanding High School Wrestler honors. Both have won a pair of Oklahoma state championships, but Gunter now holds a 2-0 record against Rupp.
* Syracuse has signed softball star Kelly Saco of Palmetto (Miami, Fla.). Last year she batted .453 with eight home runs and also had an 11-1 pitching record. She was named the Miami Herald's Hitter of the Year.