Danika Rutledge and Alexia Rogers combined for 26 points Tuesday to lead Morristown’s girls basketball team to its first win of the season.

Rutledge had 14 points and nine rebounds while Rogers finished with 12 points and three assists to get the visiting Yellow Jackets a 54-28 victory.

The win improved Morristown to 1-7. Hagerstown remains winless at 0-5.

Morristown raced out to a 15-5 lead after one quarter and maintained an 11-point lead at halftime, 28-17. That lead grew to 20 points, 43-23, after three quarters.

Also for Morristown, Jayla Keithley had seven points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Katie Theobald and Olivia Rude each had six points.

The Yellow Jackets host Franklin County (5-2) Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

In other prep events Tuesday:

Boys basketball

Oldenburg Academy 64, Morristown 46

At Morristown, Henry Wanstrath scored 15 points in the second quarter to help the Twisters pull away from Morristown and secure its first win of the season.

Connor Miles had a game-high 18 points. Wanstrath finished with 17 and Jacob Cornelius added 16 to get the Twisters to 1-1.

The Yellow Jackets (0-2) trailed 41-16 at halftime but outscored Oldenburg Academy 17-6 in the third quarter to make it interesting. Brayden Keithley hit a pair of three-pointers and scored eight of his team-high 13 points in the comeback effort that fell short. He also had three rebounds and three assists.

Owen Rinzel and Kellen Crim each scored 11 points.

Morristown hosts Hauser (1-0) Friday.

Girls basketball

Columbus North 51, Shelbyville 46

At Columbus North, the host Bull Dogs got out to a 17-11 lead after one quarter and made that advantage hold up to improve to 5-2 this season.

Freshman Avery Johnson led Columbus North with 20 points and three rebounds. Miley McClellan finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Hadassah Hurt had 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Ava Wilson topped Shelbyville (5-3) with 22 points. That pushed her career scoring total to 895 points. The senior is on pace to become the seventh member of Shelbyville girls basketball’s 1,000 point scoring club before the end of the 2023 portion of the schedule.

Ellie Keller and Hannah Baker each scored six points Tuesday.

Shelbyville’s junior varsity improved to 8-0 with a 37-23 win at Columbus North.

The Golden Bears travel Saturday to Batesville (5-3).

Waldron 63, Greenwood Christian 57

At Waldron, the host Mohawks scored 44 second-half points to defeat Greenwood Christian and even their record at 4-4.

Freshman Grace Fischer led Waldron with 21 points. Alyssa Benson and Alivia Fischer each had 11.

Freshman Annaleece Jackson hit seven 3s to finish with a game-high 27 points. The Cougars are 0-5 this season.

Waldron is at Class 2A, No. 14 Triton Central (4-2) Friday.

Henryville 47, Southwestern 26

At Southwestern, the visiting Hornets hit six second-half 3s to improve to 6-0 this season and keep the Spartans winless.

Emma Isgrigg led Southwestern (0-7) with 12 points. She made 8-of-12 free-throw attempts.

The Spartans host Purdue Poly Englewood (1-3) Friday.

Boys swimming

Franklin 138, Shelbyville 33

At Franklin, Will Rife had the Golden Bears’ top finish – third in the 50-yard freestyle in 24.36 seconds.

Brody Jeanette also scored a third-place finish in the 100 butterfly (1:04.77) and 100 breaststroke (1:23.79).

Girls swimming

Franklin 130, Shelbyville 35

At Franklin, Miriam Garringer produced Shelbyville’s only event win, defeating the field in the 100 backstroke in 1:10.74.

Also for Shelbyville, Riley Everette placed runner-up in the 200 individual medley (2:28.58) and the 100 breaststroke (1:17.60).

The Golden Bears host Columbus East Thursday.

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Horseshoe Indianapolis is committed to racehorse aftercare on an annual basis and one organization that is vital to Indiana racing is Second Stride, Inc.

Located in Crestwood, Ky., the facility has placed many horses from the racetrack in Shelbyville, Ind. Horseshoe Indianapolis has donated $2,000 toward their ongoing program for retired racehorses.

“We are very committed to racehorse aftercare programs, especially those who have a direct impact on our racing program at Horseshoe Indianapolis,” said Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing. “We hope this donation assists Second Stride in their mission to ensure our beloved racehorses are transitioned into homes following their racing careers.”

Second Stride, a Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance accredited program since 2014, is unique in they take in other types of racehorses, including broodmares and colts who have never been in training. They have given more than 1,500 racehorses a second home through adoption from their curriculum.

More than 137 retired Thoroughbreds have been placed in 2023 alone. The former racehorses are now enjoying life off the track thanks to the commitment of those working at Second Stride.

In addition to Horseshoe Indianapolis’ donation, Loosen Up Stable made a donation of $500 on behalf of Unreachable Star, one of Indiana’s most successful racehorses. Now retired, Unreachable Star ended his career with $784,595, which at the time made him the richest Indiana bred ever. He won 17 races, many of which were stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Owners in Loosen Up Stable, Loren Hebel-Osborne, Dave Osborne, and Chuck Bebber are very committed to racehorse aftercare and make a donation in honor of Unreachable Star each year in coordination with the $250,000 Unreachable Star Handicap held on Indiana Champions Day.

For more information or to donate to Second Stride, visit their website at www.secondstride.org.

The 22^nd season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing begins with a special April 8 racing program at noon for the Total Solar Eclipse Day in the area. Racing extends through Nov. 14.

For more information on live racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis.

Waldron graduate Bella Larrison scored 14 points on Nov. 21 to lead Anderson to an 84-77 come-from-behind victory against St. Mary’s College, who raced out to a 13-0 lead to start the contest.

Larrison was in the starting lineup and finished with four rebounds, one assist and two steals to improve the Ravens to 3-2 this season.

Here is a look at other Shelby County graduates competing at the collegiate level.

Maya Chandler

The Triton Central graduate scored eight points Saturday in SMU’s 80-67 loss to Harvard Saturday in the San Diego Classic in San Diego, California.

On Friday, Toledo defeated SMU in the classic opener, 74-73. Chandler finished with two points and one steal.

SMU is 3-3 this season.

Rylie Stephens

The Triton Central graduate had four points and one rebound Saturday in Samford’s 51-33 loss at Southern Mississippi in the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

On Friday, Samford opened the classic with a 71-59 loss to North Texas. Stephens had two rebounds and one assist.

Samford is 4-2 this season.

Drake Moore

The Morristown graduate led Oakland City with 26 points, six rebounds and one assist Saturday in a 90-86 loss to Reinhardt University (Georgia) in The Show, a premier NAIA basketball showcase played at Meadowview Resort in Kingsport, Tennessee.

On Sunday, Webber International University (Florida) defeated Oakland City, 74-56. Moore finished with eight points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Tenleigh Phelps and Lizzie Graham

Phelps had 10 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and one steal on Nov. 21 in IU South Bend’s 75-62 win over IU Northwest.

All five starters for the Titans (7-0) scored in double figures.

Graham, also a Triton Central graduate, scored three points off the bench for IU South Bend.

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It’s certainly not that Kyle Crim hasn’t played basketball in bigger arenas and in front of more boisterous crowds.

Crim was coming off the bench as a Morristown freshman when the Yellow Jackets routed Southwood for the 2018 1A state championship at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Even the week before that would qualify as thousands watched at Seymour as Morristown got by Barr-Reeve to win the semistate.

Fast-forward to 2023.  Crim and his Hanover College teammates opened the season on November 1 with an exhibition at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The 6’1” Hanover junior scored six points to go along with a couple of rebounds and assists on a special night that brought back some happy memories.

Crim with the mention of first-year Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsbury who engineered the game with his alma mater.  Shrewsbury, a Cathedral product, played collegiately at Hanover College where he was a three-year starter and tri-captain, while leading the league in free throw percentage and assists during the 1998–99 season.

Crim’s high school career grew into a starring role.  In 2020-21, Crim (17.8 ppg) combined with fellow senior classmate Drake Moore (18.5 ppg) for a backcourt that averaged over 36 points per game for a Morristown team that sported a 20-5 record but fell in double-overtime to rival Southwestern in the sectional championship game.

Moore is averaging over 13 points per game in his second season after transferring to Oakland City from York University.

At Hanover, Crim’s role hasn’t called for him to score as much as he did in his high school days. He says that adjustment wasn’t difficult. That was made even more true when he suffered an injury that took him off the court for a significant period of time.

Crim’s stat line this season actually mirrors his freshman season at Morristown.  Through six games he is averaging 3.7 points, two rebounds and two assists while playing about 15 minutes per game coming off the bench. Also, much like that historic Morristown season, it’s becoming obvious that Crim’s playing time will continue to grow.

For now, his thought process calls for getting the ball into the hands of Hanover scorers and knocking down the shots when they become available.

Crim gives credit to teammates, from his past to current day, for helping to shape him over the years.

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FAIRLAND -- Shelbyville has a different defensive presence with the addition of Mar Nicholson to the starting unit.

The six-foot, five-inch sophomore transfer from Franklin Central kept Triton Central’s Eli Sego away from the rim Saturday night, scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds on his own, and helped the Golden Bears to their first 2-0 start to a season since 2020 – also the last time Shelbyville defeated the Tigers.

Caden Claxton finished with 14 points for Shelbyville. Damon Badgley also reached double digits with 11 points and Nicholson sank a pair of free throws with 9.5 seconds on the scoreboard clock to secure a 49-44 victory.

“Triton Central is a very good team and I knew they would come out and give us everything they have and we would have to play really well to beat them,” said Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett. “It definitely feels good to get these two games under our belt over the Thanksgiving break and looking forward to the rest of our schedule.”

Shelbyville built a 14-9 lead after one quarter with Badgley (photo), Claxton and Luke Brinkman each hitting a 3-pointer.

Strong play off the bench from sophomores Brody Runnebohm and Cole Schene in the second quarter helped the lead grow to 28-18 at halftime.

“On the defensive end, we stress to our guys that if we’re going to win ballgames this year we have to get stops,” said Hartnett. “Know that on offense we have enough guys that can make plays and hit big shots, but defensively, we have to get stops like we ended up getting at the end of the game tonight.

“Cole Schene did an excellent job of bumping cutters and getting out on shooters and then recovering in the post and going straight up. … Brody will be a guy we will hang our hat on moving forward in years to come. He came in and hit a big 3 in the second quarter to get us jumpstarted.”

The knockout punch did not come in the third quarter as Triton Central started its comeback with Sego and fellow sophomore Max Crouse combining for 10 points.

The Golden Bears made it known ending a three-game losing streak to a county rival was a major goal this season. The Tigers were not going to just let it happen, though.

“I’m proud of our kids. They played hard. Shelbyville played hard. They just played smarter than we did,” said Triton Central head coach Mark James, who was honored before the start of the varsity game (photo) for getting career win No. 600 Wednesday at Morristown. “We didn’t play smart at the right time and turned it over a little too much. I think we will learn and grow from that.”

Shelbyville led 34-31 after three quarters and saw the game tied at 40-all after Silas Blair (main photo, rising for shot over Shelbyville's Cole Schene) scored in the low post with 3:12 to go. The Golden Bears went on a 9-4 run to close out the game – and the win.

Claxton hit a 3-pointer over a Schene screen. Taggy Goul added a pair of free throws at the other end to cut the lead to 43-42 but Claxton scored in the lane, Brinkman hit a free throw and Claxton did the same for a 47-42 advantage.

Meanwhile, Sego (photo), who finished with a game-high 18 points, was battling lower leg cramps over the final five minutes of the game.

Blair scored the final two points of his 10-point night but Nicholson sank two final free throws that set the final score.

Crouse finished with nine points in the loss for Triton Central (1-1), who hosts Waldron (0-1) Thursday.

Claxton also had five rebounds and four assists for Shelbyville (2-0), who travels to Connersville (1-1) for a Dec. 2 game at the Spartan Bowl.

Shelbyville improved to 2-0 with a 38-35 win in the junior varsity game. Gavin Reed scored a game-high 23 points for Shelbyville, who trailed 17-10 after the first quarter.

Brayden Hoover scored nine points for Triton Central.

Steve Bush photos

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A 7-0 run midway through the fourth quarter put Shelbyville in a great position to upset Pendleton Heights Saturday afternoon. Finishing off the Arabians proved too much for the youthful Golden Bears.

Hannah Baker’s baseline drive and score with three minutes, five seconds left put Shelbyville up 44-38, but those were the final points of the game for the host Golden Bears.

Kaycie Warfel, the Hoosier Heritage Conference’s leading scorer at 27.5 points per game, hit a pair of free throws with 2:19 to go.

Olivia Jones hit a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left and a Shelbyville turnover led to Warfel racing to the basket and scoring to give the Arabians a 45-44 lead that would hold till the final buzzer.

Ava Wilson quickly attacked the lane at the other end but lost control of the ball, shuffled it to Lilly Marshall but she could not get a shot off in time.

For the second year in a row, Warfel scored the game winner in the game’s final seconds.

“We had it at the end there but it was key turnovers and a little bit of lack of experience in that pressure situation,” said Shelbyville head coach Becca Hoefler. “This season, we’ve been on the back side of it where we’ve had to come back from it. We were in control, I think it was a four-point lead toward the end and it was some key turnovers – and you can’t do that against Pendleton Heights.”

Warfel, a junior who secured her 1,000^th career point earlier this season, was kept in check with 16 points, four rebounds and five steals. Jones hit a trio of 3s on the way to 15 points. And six-foot, three-inch freshman center Adah Hupfer was held to four points but grabbed 10 rebounds  (seven on the offensive end) and had two blocked shots.

Ava Wilson led Shelbyville with 16 points – all in the first half when she led the Golden Bears (5-2, 0-1 HHC) to a 26-21 lead.

All five Pendleton Heights starters scored in the third quarter which helped the Arabians (6-1, 3-0 HHC) get the game tied at 34-all going into the fourth quarter.

Skylar Baldwin hit a short jumper to get Pendleton Heights its first lead of the second half but Shelbyville responded with a Ellie Keller 3-pointer.

Warfel slashed her way to the rim and scored to put the Arabians up again, 38-37.

Baker took an Ella Johnson pass and stuck a 3-pointer that started Shelbyville’s 7-0 run. Baker then rewarded Johnson with a quick slip pass on the next possession and the senior sank a 10 footer for a 42-38 lead.

Another stop on the defensive end led to Baker finding room along the baseline to convert again and take a 44-38 lead with 3:05 left.

Baker (photo, at Franklin County), a sophomore, finished with 10 points. Keller and Johnson each had six points while Johnson pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.

“It’s just game experience and it’s learning,” said Hoefler of the outcome. “I told the girls I am not disappointed, more or less just frustrated with the situation. We will learn from this.

“It happened in our seventh game and on our 22^nd game when we are in the sectional, we will know we won’t handle it this way. It was a really teachable game there of what not to do and how to relax against the pressure of the situation.”

Shelbyville’s junior varsity squad improved to 7-0 under the direction of head coach Ben Sprinkle with a 49-25 victory. Sophia Asher led Shelbyville with 14 points.

The Golden Bears get their first look at a potential sectional opponent Tuesday when they travel to Columbus North (4-2), who have won four straight after losing their first two games of the season to Franklin (7-2) and Mooresville (6-2).

Steve Bush photo

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Michael Roberson scored a career-high 38 points to lead Knightstown to a 59-53 victory Saturday at Waldron.

The first half ended in a 25-all tie but the Panthers earned nine free throw attempts in the third quarter, converting eight, to outscore the Mohawks, 20-15, and take a 5-point lead into the final quarter.

Waldron was able to tie the game once again in the fourth quarter but Roberson was a problem. The senior made seven free throws in the final eight minutes and scored nine points to secure the road win and spoil new Waldron head coach David Corder’s debut.

Lucas Shaw led the Mohawks with a career-high 24 points. Keith Settles finished with eight points and Jacob Lindsey had seven points.

Knightstown won the junior varsity game, 36-34. Charlie Fischer led the Mohawks with nine points. Clayton Randolph added eight points.

Knightstown (2-0) travels to Union County (0-1) Friday.

Waldron is at Triton Central (1-1) Thursday.

In other prep events Saturday:

Girls basketball

Trinity Lutheran 61, Southwestern 32

At Southwestern, three different Cougars scored in double figures to capture the road win.

Liza Froedge had a game-high 16 points. Madison Keith finished with 14 and Laura Roeder had 10 points.

After a slow start and a 3-point first quarter, the Spartans put together three consecutive solid quarters scoring 10, 9 and 10 points but could not overcome Trinity Lutheran (2-2).

Claire Utley led Southwestern (0-6) with  nine points. Emma Isgrigg had eight points and Riley Engel, Ellie Gosser and Emma Estes each scored five points.

Trinity Lutheran won the JV game, 14-7. Utley had five points to lead Southwestern.

The Spartans host Henryville (5-0) Tuesday.

Wrestling

Southport Gobbler Tournament

Shelbyville had eight wrestlers produce top-three performances Saturday at the Gobbler Tournament hosted by Southport.

Six boys – Carson Nance, Kamden Turner, Tripp Garner, Brady Bryant, Jacob Harker and Reuben Martins-Thomas – and two girls – Pacey Virden and Ella Holmes – finished in the top three in their respective brackets.

The Golden Bears travel to Lawrence Central Tuesday for its first dual meet of the season.

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Shelbyville showed off a deep and athletic roster in a season-opening 51-19 win Wednesday over Rushville at William L. Garrett Gymnasium.

Eleven different Golden Bears saw meaningful minutes in the first half and limited the undersized Lions to just 11 first-half field goal attempts.

Caden Claxton (photo) scored 12 of his game-high 24 points in the first two quarters as Shelbyville built a 25-9 lead.

“Caden had a good game and shot it really well (10 of 15 from the field),” said Shelbyville head coach John Hartnett. “We knew coming into this season he would be our returning leading scorer and he knows what he has to do in each game. He works at it so it’s no surprise he shot it like that tonight.”

Up 27-12 early in the third quarter, Damon Badgley hit back-to-back three-pointers and Claxton added another 3 to quickly push the lead to 36-12 and the Golden Bears were never challenged.

Rushville, under new head coach Kerry Brown who returned to the program from Connersville in the offseason, never made consecutive baskets at Garrett Gymnasium and finished shooting just 27% from the field and 10% from the arc.

Eight different Golden Bears scored and the team shot 59% in the victory.

“I knew at the start of the year we would have a lot of firepower coming out with some really good shooters and ball handlers,” said Hartnett. “I thought one of our biggest strengths tonight was pushing the ball in transition. That is something we are stressing this year – pushing the ball with the pass and beating everybody up the floor and see if we can get quick shots and get easy shots before we get set up in our offense.”

Mar Nicholson (photo), the Franklin Central transfer, scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in his Shelbyville debut.

Shelbyville will face a tougher opponent Saturday, traveling to Triton Central (1-0). The Golden Bears have lost three straight to the Tigers.

“We are looking forward to it. I know our guys have a chip on their shoulders from the last couple years. They’ve been close games,” said Hartnett. “Triton Central is a good team. Eli Sego and (Max) Crouse and (Silas) Blair can play. It will not be easy going into their house.”

Shelbyville won the junior varsity game, 51-26.

Kenny Owens led Shelbyville with 13 points. Nick Fischer finished with 10 points.

Liam Gurley topped Rushville with eight points.

In a freshman game in the auxiliary gym at Shelbyville, the Golden Bears defeated North Decatur, 60-10.

Steve Bush photos.

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Triton Central kept the offensive pressure on and pulled away for a season-opening 62-22 victory Wednesday at Morristown.

The win was the first for Hall of Fame head coach Mark James (photo) at Triton Central and career win No. 600 in his 42^nd year of coaching.

Sophomores Max Crouse and Eli Sego combined for 43 points to lead the Tigers. Crouse hit three 3-pointers and made 5 of 7 free throws to finish with a game-high 22 points. Sego made five 3s and finished with 21 points.

Silas Blair and Sam Collier each had six points.

Triton Central led 18-11 after one quarter and extended the lead to 40-14 at halftime.

Colin Kieninger led the Yellow Jackets with seven points.

Morristown hosts Oldenburg Academy (0-1) on Tuesday. Triton Central hosts Shelbyville (1-0) Saturday in Fairland.

In the girls varsity game Wednesday:

Triton Central 41, Morristown 25

Brooklyn Bailey scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Class 2A, No. 14 Tigers to their third-straight victory and fourth win of the season.

Triton Central’s starting five scored all 41 points Wednesday at the Hive. Maryrose Felling scored nine points and Quinn King had eight points.

The Tigers (4-2) led 19-17 at halftime then limited the Yellow Jackets to eight second-half points to secure the win.

Katie Theobald led Morristown (0-7) with nine points. Danika Rutledge finished with six points.

The Yellow Jackets are at Hagerstown (0-4) Tuesday. Triton Central hosts Waldron (3-4) on Dec. 1.

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Running was always an outlet for Shelbyville senior Hannah Wright – a way to get away and focus on herself. Now running is a way to set up her future.

The Golden Bears’ top distance runner, Wright has committed to run collegiately at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College near Terre Haute, Indiana. She will compete for the Pomeroys in cross country and track and field.

Wright, the daughter of Brad Wright and Melissa Winslow, will major in Nursing.

St. Mary-of-the-Woods cross country coach Aaron Crawn started following Wright’s success this fall and made her a focal point of his 2024 recruiting class.

“I settled on St. Mary’s because of the teammates, the coaches and the nursing program,” said Wright, who was Shelbyville’s lone regional qualifier this past season after producing an 18^th-place finish at the Shelbyville Sectional where she clocked a personal-best time of 20 minutes, 52 seconds on her home course at Blue River Memorial Park.

One week later at the regional, also hosted by Shelbyville, Wright finished 86^th in a field of 239 runners to close out her cross country career.

Wright transferred to Shelbyville from Beech Grove as a sophomore and quietly worked her way to the top of the roster.

“We are so grateful Hannah found her home here,” said Shelbyville cross country coach Whitney Campbell Tuesday at Wright’s signing ceremony in the Golden Bear Room at the high school. “It has been so much fun to see her progress through the years, especially in cross country where she has dropped a minute every single year she has been here. She broke through and broke that 21-minute barrier this year which has been a lot of fun.

“I know she will continue to work hard in track and make some new (personal records).”

Shelbyville track and field coach Nick Blakey spoke of not enjoying athletes that complain about workouts. That has never been an issue with Wright, who runs distance events for the track program in the spring.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a negative word out of your mouth with regards to workouts, practices or competitions. That has always made me a big fan of yours,” said Blakey. “I know that will serve you really well at the next level because things will get a little bit more challenging, but you will continue to improve as well. It will get a little bit harder but you will get a lot better too at the same time.”

Wright set a goal of reaching the cross country state finals her senior year to get an opportunity to compete one more time on the Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute. The Golden Bears ran there in September at the Nike XC Twilight Meet. Wright finished 31^st in her divisional race.

While she did not hit that state finals goal, her commitment leads her to many more opportunities competing at the state finals course near her next school.

“I love that course,” said Wright with a smile.

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A five-point run by Ben Kahler helped Southwestern cut Edinburgh’s lead to 17-12 early in the second quarter but that was as close as the Spartans would get in a season-opening loss Tuesday.

Over the next two minutes, Evan Londeree and Austin Brockman sank four three-pointers and the Lancers’ lead never dropped below 10 points on the way to a 58-36 victory.

Londeree hit four 3s in the win and finished with a game-high 16 points. Brockman finished with 15 and Connor Ramey filled the stat sheet with 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Edinburgh hit 10 3s, including seven in the first half, which spread Southwestern’s defensive effort out to the arc and opened the lane up for an aggressive driver like Ramey.

“We were trying a little bit of everything. Defense with a young team is something that is going to take a little while to come,” said second-year Southwestern head coach Chris Ingels. “Guarding the basketball and getting your rotations down defensively is going to take awhile and we knew we would have to play some zone and switch some things up.

“We’re not going to be able to guard Connor Ramey one-on-one all night long so we knew we were going to have to switch some things up. And Londeree seemed like he hit every shot he took and Brockman hit a couple.”

Carter Snepp led Southwestern with 14 points and six rebounds. Kahler added 12 points and five rebounds.

The Spartans fell behind 17-7 after one quarter in part to seven turnovers. Five more miscues in the second quarter helped the Lancers build a 31-17 advantage at the break.

Southwestern’s 12 first-half turnovers limited the offense to just 12 field goal attempts.

“We were having trouble getting open but we were doing a lot of dribbling and a lot of standing and watching the dribbling as well instead of going and screening for somebody and getting open,” said Ingels. “As we changed up what we’re doing offensively and trying to get some motion principles going and getting guys reading screens and cutting hard, it’s going to take a little bit of time. We have to be stronger getting open and stronger with the basketball.”

Michael Clements finished with eight points but was the only other significant offensive threat after Snepp and Kahler.

“I thought Michael Clements was our player of the game. He played really well,” said Ingels. “He cuts so hard and his drives are effective because he goes so hard.”

Ramey and Jackson Hartwell combined to score 14 points in the third quarter when the Lancers opened the lead to 50-25.

Edinburgh won the junior varsity game, 46-45. Avynn Whitaker hit a free throw with 5.4 seconds left on the clock to seal the win.

Whitaker hit four 3s and finished with a game-high 26 points.

Landon Drake topped Southwestern with 13 points. Mitchell Clements added 11 points.

Edinburgh is at Indian Creek (0-1) Saturday. Southwestern returns to the hardwood Dec. 2 at Triton Central.

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Shelbyville High School’s swimming and diving team opened the season with a pair of losses Tuesday at Whiteland.

The Warriors won the boys meet, 96-61.

Will Rife won the 100-yard butterfly and the 100 backstroke. Andrew Duffy added a third event win for the Golden Bears, taking first place in the 100 breaststroke.

Whiteland secured the win over Shelbyville in the girls meet, 114-61.

Riley Everette captured the Golden Bears’ only event wins in the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke.

Shelbyville returns to the pool on Tuesday at Franklin.

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Olivia Faust continues to work her way back into the Marian women’s basketball rotation, scoring eight points and collecting two rebounds and one assist Saturday in a 62-45 win over Grace College.

The Triton Central graduate started the first six games of her freshman season in 2022 before suffering a season-ending knee injury. She was averaging 10.8 points in those six games.

On Saturday, she played 13 minutes and helped No. 6 Marian improve to 6-1 this season and 1-0 in the Crossroads League standings.

Three nights earlier, Faust had three points and one rebound in just six minutes of Marian’s 110-69 win at Olivet Nazarene University.

Here is a look at other Shelby County graduates competing at the collegiate level:

Julia Sanders

The Triton Central graduate had one kill, two assists and 11 digs Saturday to help Indiana University Kokomo to a 25-17, 26-28, 25-15, 26-24 NAIA Tournament Opening Round victory over Morningside.

The win improved IU Kokomo to 33-3 this season and advanced the program to the NAIA National Championship Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa. The Cougars are one of 24 teams split into eight pools with competition to determine a national champion starting on Nov. 30.

IU Kokomo, ranked No. 15 nationally, is in a pool with No. 23 Oklahoma Wesleyan and No. 2 Indiana Wesleyan.

The Cougars will face Oklahoma Wesleyan at 11 a.m. on Nov. 30 and Indiana Wesleyan at 11 a.m. on Dec. 1.

Brooklyn Schiffli

The Triton Central graduate had one assist, one service ace and two digs Friday in Jacksonville State’s 25-12, 25-15, 25-17 loss to No. 1 seed Western Kentucky in the Conference USA Tournament in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Jacksonville State closed the season with a 5-22 record.

Taylor Heath

The Triton Central graduate finished with seven points, two rebounds, three assists and one steal Monday in Hanover’s 89-86 loss to Centre College.

On Saturday, Heath had four points, three rebounds, six assists and two steals to help Hanover secure a 75-59 win at Earlham College.

The Panthers are 2-2 this season.

Kyle Crim

The Morristown graduate collected seven points, four rebounds and three assists Saturday for Hanover in a 77-62 loss at Washington University in the championship game of the Lopata Tournament in St. Louis.

On Friday, Hanover secured an 81-66 semifinal round win over the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Crim finished with four points, three rebounds, one assist and two steals.

Hanover is 3-2.

Kenneth Gipson

The Triton Central graduate was one of 16 Rose-Hulman football players selected All-Conference by the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC).

Gipson was a First Team selection after helping Rose-Hulman average 42 points per game this season. The offensive line surrendered just seven sacks all season.

Hayden Kermode

The Triton Central graduate was named Second Team All-Conference by the HCAC after leading Franklin College’s football team with 61 tackles and having 7.5 tackles for loss, two quarterback sacks and a fumble recovery.

Cameron Baker

The Shelbyville graduate finished seventh in the one-meter diving competition and seventh in the three-meter event for Franklin College at the Gail Moll Pebworth Invitational hosted by Wabash College.

Over 11 dives, Baker amassed 360.10 points in the one-meter competition and 369.45 in the three-meter competition.

Maiah Helfer-Vazquez

The Shelbyville graduate placed ninth in the one-meter diving event for Franklin College at the Pebworth Invitational.

Franklin College captured the team title, defeating nine other teams.

Maya Chandler

The Triton Central graduate had one assist in limited playing time Saturday in SMU’s 84-69 loss to No. 5 Colorado.

The loss was the first of the season for SMU (3-1).

Rylie Stephens

The Triton Central graduate had seven points and one rebound Saturday for Samford in a 69-47 win over Alabama State.

Samford, now 4-0, is off to its best start since the 2008-09 season.

Drake Moore

The Morristown graduate finished with four points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal Saturday in Oakland City’s 79-70 overtime win over Welch College.

With the win, Oakland City improved to 2-3.

Tenleigh Phelps and Lizzie Graham

Phelps, a Triton Central graduate, scored 13 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had two assists Wednesday in IU South Bend’s 88-65 win over Bethel College.

Graham, also a Triton Central graduate, had one rebound and one steal.

The Titans are 6-0 this season.

Bella Larrison

The Waldron graduate had six points, two rebounds, one assist and two steals Saturday in Anderson’s 98-45 win over Kalamazoo that evened the Ravens’ record at 2-2 this season.

On Wednesday, Larrison scored a team-high 14 points and had four rebounds in an 82-62 loss at No. 10 Ohio Northern.

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Hauser outscored Southwestern 18-2 in the second quarter Monday to roll to a 39-24 Mid-Hoosier Conference victory.

The game was tied 6-all after the opening eight minutes before the Jets created separation with four made three-pointers in the second quarter.

Braelyn Williams hit a pair of 3s and scored 10 of her 11 points in the period. Erykah Everroad splashed one of her four made 3s in the game that helped her score a team-high 15 points.

And Bella Kilps hit a pair of 3s on the way to 10 points.

Hauser (2-4, 1-1 MHC) led 24-8 at halftime and 34-14 after three quarters.

Riley Engel led Southwestern (0-5, 0-3 MHC) with seven points. Bailey Taylor scored five points.

The Spartans played without Tanna Tatlock, who suffered an ankle injury in Friday’s loss at Shelbyville.

Hauser won the junior varsity game, 19-9. Emma Estes led Southwestern with three points.

The Spartans return to action Saturday afternoon when they host Trinity Lutheran (1-1). Hauser hosts Rising Sun (2-4) Saturday afternoon.

In another girls basketball game Monday:

Monrovia 76, Waldron 64

At Waldron, the visiting Bulldogs outscored the Mohawks 22-14 in the final quarter to end Waldron’s three-game win streak.

Ruby Murrell led Monrovia with 26 points. Allie Tallent finished with 21 points.

Monrovia improved to 4-3 while Waldron dropped to 3-4.

The Mohawks host Greenwood Christian (2-4) on Nov. 28.

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A pair of Shelbyville Golden Bears were named All-Conference by the Hoosier Heritage Conference.

Senior Jacob Harker was selected as an All-HHC offensive lineman while senior Axel Conover (main photo) was honored as an All-HHC defensive back.

A total of 32 players representing eight schools were named All-Conference.

Harker (photo below), Shelbyville’s center, was joined on the offensive line selections by New Palestine’s Ian Moore, Delta’s Jay Crawford and Greenfield-Central’s Brayden Flener and Reese Hill.

The All-HHC selections at wide receiver are Mt. Vernon’s Tre Jones, New Palestine’s Kyler Kropp, Pendleton Heights’ Caden Sims, Delta’s D’Amare Hood and Greenfield-Central’s Kirk Knecht.

The All-Conference quarterbacks are Yorktown’s Mason Moulton and Greenfield-Central’s Dallas Freeman.

At the running back position, New Palestine’s Grayson Thomas, Mt. Vernon’s Joliba Brogan and Yorktown’s Ayden Ewing were honored.

Pendleton Heights’ Dominic Apo was selected as the all-conference kicker.

On the defensive side of the ball, the All-HHC defensive linemen are Delta’s Braxton Russell, Greenfield-Central’s Payton Foley, New Castle’s Brenndon Thompson and New Palestine’s Abe Walling.

At the linebacker position, Greenfield-Central’s Jake Hinton, Pendleton Heights’ Nick Trout, Yorktown’s Jayce Key, Delta’s Landon Brooks and New Palestine’s Garrett Ranes were selected All-HHC.

Conover, who led the Golden Bears with 64 tackles and three interceptions, was joined by Mt. Vernon’s D.J. Johnson, New Castle’s Tylin Thrine, New Palestine’s Mason Hiatt and Pendleton Heights’ Nolan Souders and Clint Miller as defensive backs bestowed the All-HHC designation.

The all-conference punter is New Palestine’s Jake Wells.

New Palestine’s Kyle Ralph was named HHC Coach of the Year after leading the Dragons to the conference championship with a 7-0 record. New Palestine finished its season at 11-3.

Greenfield-Central was HHC runner-up at 9-2 (6-1 HHC). Pendleton Heights (7-3, 5-2) finished third ahead of Mt. Vernon (7-5, 4-3), Delta (8-5, 3-4), Yorktown (5-6, 2-5), Shelbyville (3-7, 1-6) and New Castle (1-9, 0-7).

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Genaro Garcia earned his first Leading Trainer title in 2017. This year, he topped the standings again, winning his fifth title in the past seven years at the conclusion of the 2023 racing season at Horseshoe Indianapolis in Shelbyville.

Garcia’s horses won 73 races during the 123-day meet with purse earnings of more than $1.7 million. The tally marks a new record for most money earned in one season by a trainer in Horseshoe Indianapolis history.

“I want to thank everyone who made this possible,” said Garcia. “Our whole team in the barn and all the riders had a hand in this. I thank all of them for their hard work.”

Of the five titles, the win tally in 2023 is the highest for Garcia. He completes the 2023 season with 495 career wins and has now taken over the top spot on the list of all-time leading trainers. He was the only trainer to score a four-win day and added one triple and 11 doubles to his stat line.

He had many horses standout during the meet, but his two-year-olds really shined, including Molly’s Town, who was four for four on the year, including two stakes wins.

“I’m always surprised with our two-year-olds,” said Garcia. “That’s what excites me every year. They give you hope each year and it’s real exciting to see them. And you are always looking for the next two-year-old. That’s exciting. We start with our babies in September and work with them for 60 days, then we give them a break and start back with them.”

Garcia, who calls Central Indiana home, will keep some horses at Horseshoe Indianapolis for winter training and racing at Turfway, but he plans to spread out and race at other tracks, including Oaklawn and Fair Grounds. His younger horses get a break until next year’s meet, which begins April 8.

Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager, and Chris Polzin, Director of Racing, made the trophy presentation to Garcia in the winner’s circle during the final program.

“This is the type of day you never forget,” added Garcia. “This is a day that is special when you win one of these (titles).”

Leading Quarter Horse Trainer

It’s hard to talk about Indiana Quarter Horse racing without including the name Tony Cunningham (photo, center). The Michigan native made a commitment to support racing in Indiana during the first year of pari-mutuel action for Quarter Horses in 1997.

The 2023 season saw him win his first Leading Quarter Horse Trainer title at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Although he is the state’s all-time leading Quarter Horse owner, Cunningham had never secured a leading trainer title. He has finished second nine times since 2008 and is ranked second on the list of all-time leading Quarter Horse trainers with 339 wins and more than $7.5 million in earnings.

He holds several Quarter Horse owner records for most wins by an owner in one season, and has garnered three titles in that category, showing the depth of his success over the past 27 years.

“This title means so much and I can’t do any of this without our team,” said Cunningham. “It’s definitely a team effort and this is the best year we have ever had for Quarter Horses. This team has been a blessing.”

One of the main components of the Cunningham team is assistant Salvadore Villalobos, who oversees operations during the meet at Horseshoe Indianapolis while Tony and his wife, Lisa, keep the horses at their farm in Michigan going.

“Salvadore works hard,” added Cunningham. “We try to keep the horses that don’t ship well at the track and then rotate the others in and out. He’s a big part of that, and he oversees it very well. We took him to Detroit to complete all the steps and he is now a U.S. Citizen. He’s been with us for 13 years now, and we rely on him a lot in the barn.”

In all, the Cunningham barn has 13 employees between two locations. Although they have always had a few Thoroughbreds, this season saw them soar to new heights in that category as well, scoring several stakes wins during the season with the Thoroughbreds in their operation.

Cunningham was joined by several members of his team, including Villalobos, for the Leading Quarter Horse Trainer award prior to the last Quarter Horse race of the season. It was only fitting their horse, Credible, ridden by Martinez, was the final winner of the meet, boosting Cunningham to 36 wins and more than $1.2 million for the season.

He was the only trainer to top $1 million this year at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Leading Owner

It was another successful year for the partnership of Roger Spiess and Randy Klopp. The duo teamed up for their third straight leading owner title to close out the 2023 racing season at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Running under the name Spiess Stable LLC and Randy Klopp, the ownership duo scored 33 wins from 168 starts with purse money of more than $834,000. It was their second highest tally for purses as they set a new record for most purse money scored by a Thoroughbred owner last year of $986,241.

 “This is absolutely great (winning another owner title),” said Klopp. “We couldn’t do this without great help in the barn and without Roger buying us nice horses at the sales.”

Both Spiess and Klopp also thanked assistant trainer Amara Kranz for her hard work as well.

“Randy and his crew did a great job again,” added Spiess. “Our partnership goes well beyond 20 years and the entire barn works hard. A special thanks goes out to everyone in the barn and all the jockeys. It was another great year.”

Leading Quarter Horse Owner

The final Quarter Horse race of the season was contested on Nov. 16 and two ladies could not be separated atop the Leading Quarter Horse Owner standings. Jessi Vazquez and Pattie Marshall each completed the meet with eight wins to share the title.

Vazquez (photo, fifth from right) established new records in the trainer standings last season for the Quarter Horse ranks. Her success carried over to the owner standings this season as she earned eight wins as a owner with $123,000 in purse earnings.

“We had a rough start to the meet, so I guess it’s been the worst best year ever,” said Vazquez. “The year turned around for us. As they say, when God shuts one door another one opens. We have great owners and we want to thank all of them for helping us have a great year as a team.”

Vazquez and her husband, Giovani Vazquez-Gomez, work side by side everyday in the barn. They met in Marengo, Ill. when Giovani served as the jockey for Jessi’s father’s horses. They have been together for 10 years and have four children, Zuria, Giovani Jr., Miranda, and seven-month-old Ismael. Jessi noted he was born the day before the 2023 racing season started in April, and she watched her first race of the year from her hospital bed.

“I’m so honored to win this award,” said Jessi. “Our racing stable is a family operation. Everyone is related to us. A lot of the people are Gio’s cousins. And we have to send a special thanks to Hugo Macias. He works horses in the mornings and although he doesn’t get to ride as much as we wish he could, he works so hard. He’s a big part of our team.”

Along with Vazquez, Pattie Marshall (photo, center with blue coat) earned honors as the co-Leading Quarter Horse Owner of the Meet. Marshall is the owner of the year’s top Quarter Horse, Red Headed Beach, who won six races. Although she isn’t at the track a lot due to her commitment to barrel racing, she has been a long-time owner and supporter of Indiana racing. She and her husband, Brad, have several horses involved in racing and are also in the breeding industry as well. Marshall completed the season with eight wins and more than $400,000 in purse earnings for a stellar year on the track.

Pattie and her husband, Brad, were in attendance for Red Headed Beach’s win in the Miss Roxie Little Futurity during Indiana Champions Day. Although she has had several top 10 finishes in the past five years in the Quarter Horse Owner standings, this marks the first title for her at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

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GIANT fm will air the Indiana High School Athletic Association state championship Class A and Class 3A football games Friday beginning at 11 a.m.

The Class A game kicks off two days of state championship games at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis. The first title game is a rematch of the 2022 Class A state championship game.

Class A, No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran (12-0) is seeking a third-straight state title but will have to defeat No. 2 Adams Central (14-0) for the second straight year.

Adams Central’s last loss came to Lutheran, 30-13, in the 2022 state championship game. Lutheran enters the contest with a 42-game win streak.

Adams Central’s only football state championship came in 2000.

The Class 3A state championship game also features the defending state champion and No. 1 ranked team in the class.

Top-ranked Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (14-0) will face Heritage Hills (13-1) in the 3A state championship game scheduled to start at 3 p.m.

Chatard has won three of the last four 3A state championships, including the 2019 title over Heritage Hills, 34-3.

Heritage Hills’ only state title in football also came in 2000. The program’s only loss this season came to Gibson Southern on Sept. 22, 31-28. That loss was avenged Friday in a semistate win by Heritage Hills, 23-20.

Chatard has won 16 state football championships.

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It was not without drama all the way to the finish as Joe Ramos scored his second consecutive Leading Jockey title by one win, coming down to the final race of the meet. Ramos completed the season with 109 wins over Fernando De La Cruz with 108.

 Ramos, a native of Puerto Rico, started the season off slow but kicked into gear about a month in and began climbing the charts. By August, he had taken over the top spot and led all jockeys by several wins until the final month of the meet.

De La Cruz closed in the final three weeks and at one time tied Ramos, but Ramos retook the lead and held onto the title.

“First of all, I thank the Lord because he keeps me healthy and gives me the opportunity to do this again,” said Ramos, who has made his home in Shelbyville. “There are a lot of people that work hard for me. I worked hard for this, and I dreamed of this, but it wouldn’t be possible without all the people around me. My agent, Bones (Kerry Wirth), deserves the credit. He is the one that gets my business going and when we struggle, he takes me out of that and gets me back going.”

Ramos topped his tally of 106 wins from 2022. He completes the 2023 season with $3,233,548. A win percentage of 18% boosted him to the top along with a 48% top-three showing. He was also the tracks leading Apprentice Jockey in 2019.

“I feel very blessed to work around some great people,” added Ramos. “I thank Randy (Klopp) and Roger (Spiess) for the opportunity to ride for them and also, a thank you to all the people that work on the backside, such as the grooms and hotwalkers. They don’t get a lot of recognition, but they work very hard and are responsible for the horses doing so well.”

 Ramos was joined by many family and friends for his Leading Jockey presentation. Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager, made the presentation along with Chris Polzin, Director of Racing following the final race of 2023 at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Leading Quarter Horse Jockey

Giovani Vazquez-Gomez began the 2023 season on top of the standings for all Quarter Horse jockeys and he ended the season on top to score his first career title at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Vazquez-Gomez earned 29 wins and more than $546,000 in purses to win the title over Rolando Pina with 25 wins.

A native of Mexico, Vazquez-Gomez has been among the top 10 jockeys at Horseshoe Indianapolis for the past eight seasons with several third-place finishes. He is ranked third on the list of all-time leading Quarter Horse jockeys with 137 wins and more than $3 million in earnings.

“Gio (Vazquez-Gomez) was the one who made the decision to try out Indiana eight years ago,” said his wife, Jessi Vazquez, who interpreted for him during the presentation. “He works so hard. He does it all, top to bottom. Sometimes he shoes horses before he comes in to ride. I’m so proud of him and he’s so deserving of this award. He says he is so happy to win this. It’s a great accomplishment for him.”

Giovani and Jessi Vazquez met near her hometown of Elgin, Illinois. He was the jockey for her father’s horses. They have been a team for the past 10 years with Jessi breaking several of her own records this season as the top female Quarter Horse trainer in Indiana. She completes the 2023 season with 33 wins to finish second in the Leading Quarter Horse Trainer standings.

Vazquez-Gomez was presented with a custom belt buckle for his win as Leading Quarter Horse Jockey. He was joined by Jessi along with their four children, Zuria, Giovani Jr., Miranda, and Ismael along with many of their family members for the winner’s circle presentation.

Leading Apprentice Jockey

Hannah Leahey and McKenna Anderson have been in sync all season. Both jockeys came into Indiana in the spring as apprentice jockeys. Both lost their apprenticeship the same week in late August, and both scored 16 wins during that time frame to earn the title in the 10^th annual Juan Saez Leading Apprentice award.

“It’s really cool and nice to get rewarded from all the hard work that we both put in throughout the year,” said Anderson. “We have worked with some really hard-working people here and we thank them for giving us this opportunity to ride.”

Leahey added, “It’s such an achievement. McKenna and I have been riding together from the beginning. It’s a great feeling to share this award with her. We thank all the barns that helped us get here.”

Leahey, a native of Bloomington, Ill., was introduced to Thoroughbred racing when she took on a job to help pay for her event (show) horses. She eventually pursued a career full time as a jockey, and began her career in March 2022 at Turf Paradise, winning her third start aboard Freiburg.

An injury sidelined her for a while and delayed her career as a jockey, but she returned this season at Oaklawn in Arkansas, which led her straight to Horseshoe Indianapolis. Leahey continued to win races after losing her apprenticeship and now has 21 wins to rank among the top 15 jockeys in her first season of competition in Indiana.

A native of Washington State, Anderson headed straight to the track after graduation and began working as a groom. She worked her way up through the ranks and received her jockey license in 2021 at her home track Emerald Downs, winning her first race aboard Tippytap on Sand. Her career then took her to Turf Paradise in Arizona before a move to the Midwest.

Anderson is spending her second year at Horseshoe Indianapolis. After limited starts last season, she came back this year and her career took off. She is currently tied for 11^th in the standings with 23 wins.

The tie between Leahey and Anderson is the second in the 10-year history of the award. Joe Ramos and Kendal Sterritt also tied for the title in 2019. Leahey and Anderson become the sixth and seventh female jockeys to win the award.

The Juan Saez Leading Apprentice Jockey award is named in honor of the 18-year-old Panamanian jockey, Juan Saez, who was tragically lost in a racing incident in 2014 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. He was posthumously awarded the Leading Apprentice title that season, and the award was officially named after him.

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As the 2023 season comes to a close, Horseshoe Indianapolis honors the top performers of the 123-day meet.

Itzforever, from the Tony Granitz Stable, was crowned 2023 Leading Thoroughbred Horse of the Year in Shelbyville with five wins and a total of $244,150 in earnings.

 A three-year-old daughter of Forever d’Oro, Itzforever (photo, right) has been with the Granitz Stable from the beginning. She was a $60,000 purchase from the Fasig Tipton October Yearling Sale in 2021 by David Walters, who has been an owner with Tony Granitz for more than 20 years.

Now a resident of Nashville, Tenn., Walters had the best season of his career with Itzforever.

“This filly (Itzforever) was a second foal from a mare Tom Dorris used to race and she made quite a bit of money, so I liked her breeding,” said Granitz. “We knew there was a $10,000 reserve on her, but we had to go all the way to $60,000 to get her. This is the best horse David has ever owned and she gave him his two biggest stakes wins of his career.”

Itzforever won the $100,000 ITOBA Stallion Fillies and returned on Indiana Champions Day for a win in the $200,000 Lady Fog Horn, a race that means a lot to Granitz.

“We were so thrilled to win the Lady Fog Horn with her since we used to train Lady Fog Horn,” added Granitz. “That is a special win for us and one of the highlights of the meet.”

Itzforever and members of the Granitz Stable were presented with a blanket for the honor as Leading Thoroughbred Horse of the Year. Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager made the presentation along with Rachel McLaughlin, Racing Broadcast Production Manager at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

“This filly has really come around this year,” added Granitz. “She didn’t show a lot as a two-year-old, but she came back strong this year. The first time Marcelino (Pedroza Jr.) rode her, he said she was waiting on horses and needed blinkers. As soon as we did that, she won four straight. She ended the year with five straight races on the dirt. Our team, including exercise rider Caleb (Longworth), groom Jaime (Conche), and Juan (Gongora), my assistant, have worked hard with her all year.”

Quarter Horse of the Year

It’s been quite a year for Red Headed Beach. The near perfect two-year-old filly completed the season with six wins in seven starts, setting all kinds of records along the way to be named 2023 Leading Quarter Horse of the Year at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

A daughter of Escondido Beach, the state’s top stallion for numerous years, Red Headed Beach began her career with a third-place finish. That’s the last time she saw the heels of her opponents. She reeled off six straight wins, including titles in three Futurities, a first in the history of Quarter Horse racing in Indiana.

“She’s a great horse and a super horse to be around,” said trainer Tim Eggleston. “She got her name when she was little but she’s not like that at all anymore. She’s a super gate horse and doesn’t make mistakes. That’s all you can ask.”

Red Headed Beach (photo) completed her freshman campaign with a total of $365,779, which set a new record for most purse money earned in one season by a Quarter Horse or a Thoroughbred. Her six wins also puts her in pretty impressive company as she joins Beach Cartel and Beach Treat for most wins in one season. She also joins Pistolpacking Pepsi, Beach Treat, and Valiantinecandyrocks for most stakes win in one season at three.

“For a two-year-old to break records like she did, that’s phenomenal,” added Eggleston. “We’ve had a great team effort behind her. My wife, Keli, has worked with her since she was a baby, so she has a special place in our barn.”

Owned by Pattie Marshall of Michigan, Red Headed Beach is currently taking a break from racing. She is in Texas where she is undergoing embryo transplant procedures with the hopes of having a foal from her sooner than later from a reset mare.

“She will stay in Texas until probably January,” noted Eggleston. “Then she will head back home, and she’ll be back next year.”

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Shelbyville overcame third-quarter struggles to score 20 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Franklin County Saturday night, 40-36.

The Golden Bears, now 5-1, did not make a field goal during a 2-point third quarter that saw them fall behind at Franklin County, 27-20.

Ellie Keller hit half of her four three-pointers over the final eight minutes and the Golden Bears outscored the Wildcats 20-9 in the final quarter.

Keller finished with a team-high 13 points. Ava Wilson had 11. Ella Johnson added seven points.

Nicole Mears topped Franklin County (4-2) with 23 points. Ruby Singer had eight points.

Shelbyville won the junior varsity game, 34-21, to improve to 6-0 this season.

The Golden Bears will open their Hoosier Heritage Conference schedule Saturday against Pendleton Heights (5-1, 2-0 HHC). The Arabians added wins over Greenfield-Central (55-26) and Pike (64-40) Friday and Saturday, respectively, and saw junior guard Kaycie Warfel eclipse 1,000 career points in the conference win over Greenfield-Central.

In other prep events Saturday:

Girls basketball

Triton Central 67, Indianapolis Lutheran 26

At Triton Central, the Class 2A, No. 14 Tigers raced out to a 23-7 lead after one quarter and cruised to their third Indiana Crossroads Conference victory of the season.

Maryrose Felling scored a game-high 17 points for Triton Central (3-2, 3-0 ICC). Brooklyn Bailey backed her effort with 16 points and Hailey Harris finished with 10.

Triton Central led 43-14 at halftime.

Caitlyn Brooks and Grace King each scored seven points to lead the Saints (1-2, 0-1 ICC).

Triton Central dominated the JV contest, 70-9. Layla Compton led the Tigers with 20 points. Sophia Burbrink had 13 and Farah Coen scored 10.

Triton Central is at Morristown (0-6) Wednesday for the traditional Thanksgiving Eve girls/boys varsity-only doubleheader.

Waldron 61, Rising Sun 56

At Rising Sun, the visiting Mohawks scored 20 fourth-quarter points to seal a come-from-behind road victory to improve to 3-3 this season.

Grace Fischer led Waldron, winners of three straight, with 24 points. Emerson Lindsey finished with 13 points and Alyssa Benson and Audrey Hogg each scored eight.

Waldron led 29-25 at halftime but trailed 44-41 at the end of three quarters.

Rising Sun dropped to 2-4 with the loss.

Waldron won the junior varsity game, 30-27. Evelyn Campbell and Jackie Corlett each had eight points to lead the Mohawks (3-3).

Waldron hosts Monrovia (3-3) Monday.

On Friday at Waldron, the Mohawks improved to 2-0 against Mid-Hoosier Conference opponents with a 57-41 win over Hauser.

After a nearly even first quarter, Waldron outscored the Jets, 19-5, in the second quarter to take a lead it would never relinquish.

Benson led Waldron with 14 points. Fischer had 12 and Corlett finished with eight.

Norah Berkenstock and Erykah Everroad each had 11 points for Hauser (1-4, 0-1 MHC).

Hauser won the JV game, 37-30. Malia Murphy led the Mohawks with 14 points.

Boys wrestling

Cloverdale Invitational

Shelbyville won all five dual matches to claim the championship trophy for the second year in a row.

The Golden Bears defeated KIPP Academy (63-0), Sheridan (74-12), Covington (72-6), Cloverdale (56-24) and South Putnam (52-24).

Individual bracket winners for Shelbyville were Tripp Garner (113 pounds), Jaylen Eads (138), Kamden Turner (144), Brady Bryant (150), Julian Eads (157), Andrew Burton (165), Reuben Martins-Thomas (175) and Jacob Harker (285).

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Shelbyville struggled to get its offense in gear against a stingy Southwestern squad Friday at Garrett Gymnasium.

Midway through the second quarter, the Golden Bears had just 15 points against the winless Spartans, who were having their own offensive issues.

Shelbyville scored nine straight points over the final half of the second quarter and held Southwestern scoreless in the first half on the way to a 58-15 victory.

Ava Wilson scored a game-high 18 points to lead Shelbyville (4-1). Ellie Keller hit five second-half three-pointers and finished with 15 points. Hannah Baker added eight points and Ellie Simpson had seven.

“Our season (schedule) is set up that way now to make sure we get into an easy flow moving forward because we start our conference (schedule) next week and our conference is one of the toughest,” said Shelbyville head coach Becca Hoefler of the second-straight season with at least four wins in the first five games. “It’s really just getting our feet wet and making sure everyone knows their role and what they have to do to make us successful.”

Shelbyville’s four wins have come against Mid-Hoosier Conference schools and resulted in wins by an average margin of 38 points. The lone loss came at Class 3A, No. 10 Greensburg and the Golden Bears were down three points with three minutes to go before falling 71-60.

The biggest offseason adjustment was replacing Shelbyville career scoring leader Kylee Edwards, who created a formidable 1-2 scoring punch with Wilson last season when the program finished 15-9 – the most wins for the program since 2007.

Wilson is averaging 20.8 points per game this season and is 154 points away from becoming the seventh Golden Bear to score 1,000 career points.

“She is going to get face-guarded a lot but what I like about Ava is she is one of the smartest basketball players I know,” said Hoefler. “She does a really good job of dealing with it. Greensburg was face-guarding her and she dropped 26 points.

“I am not really concerned with that because she knows how to play. And she is very selfless and she can share the ball and she knows how to set screens when she is being face-guarded.”

Wilson had eight points in the first quarter Friday against Southwestern and helped the Shelbyville defense force 12 first-quarter turnovers. The Golden Bears led 12-0 after the opening eight minutes and extended the lead to 23-0 at halftime.

Southwestern missed 12 first-half shot attempts, all seven free throws and committed 20 turnovers.

“The first half was kind of the epitome of our season so far,” said Southwestern head coach Jason West. “I think we played great defense. I looked up and I think there were three minutes, 50 seconds to go in the second quarter and we had given up 14 points but hadn’t scored anything.”

Southwestern’s first points did not go up on the scoreboard until the 4:25 mark of the third quarter when Tanna Tatlock hit a shot from in the lane. She landed awkwardly, though, and was helped off the court and did not return. The junior suffered an ankle injury but West believes she will be ready to play next week.

Southwestern ended up scoring eight points in the third quarter but 12 more turnovers did not help to keep the Golden Bears in check.

Baker and Simpson each scored four points in the quarter and Keller, who was scoreless and in foul trouble the first half, sank three 3s in the quarter to get Shelbyville a 42-8 lead.

Haley Casey scored all five of her team-high point total in the fourth quarter for Southwestern (0-4), who hosts Hauser (1-4) Monday.

The Spartans only took 19 shot attempts at Garrett Gymnasium and committed 39 turnovers.

“I thought Shelbyville did a good job of really being strong and getting into us tonight and forcing us to shy away from really being strong with the basketball,” said West. “We are trying to get our girls in the weight room during the day and having a class for that and (Shelbyville) has been doing that for four years now.”

While Ella Johnson did not score for Shelbyville, the senior had seven rebounds to add to her team-leading total. She set the single-game record for rebounds (21) in the season-opening win over Waldron.

“That is the best part about Ella Johnson – she knows her role,” said Hoefler.

Simpson, a senior like Wilson and Johnson, also had four steals against the Spartans.

“Ellie Simpson had a huge summer and did really well,” said Hoefler. “She is really coming into her role. She just has to hit a couple more shots and we will really be rolling with her.”

New to the varsity rotation this season is Baker, a sophomore. She had four rebounds, two steals and two assists Friday.

“For her, it’s just learning the speed of the varsity game,” said Hoefler. “Learning when she should take it to the basket, learning when she should move off screens, she is a big role player for us this year.”

Shelbyville won the junior varsity game, 54-16. Sophia Asher and Lyla Wilson led Shelbyville with 13 points apiece. Taylor Abell, Alivia Lee and Savannah Collins each had seven.

Emma Estes and Emma Isgrigg each scored five points for Southwestern.

The easiest part of Shelbyville’s schedule is complete. The last three games on the November schedule are against opponents with a combined 11-4 record.

The Golden Bears are on the road tonight at Franklin County (4-1).

“They are tough. It’s going to be a really tough game,” said Hoefler. “They are physical. They are big. I think they are going to play man-to-man on us which will help us. I think they will try to face-guard Ava and we will try and run-and-gun it because they are a little bit slower than us.”

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Class 2A, No. 14 Triton Central held a three-point lead after three quarters Wednesday then hit 13-of-17 free throws over the final eight minutes to seal a 57-41 victory over Monrovia.

Maryrose Felling scored a game-high 22 points. The sophomore hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter to keep the Tigers in the lead then made 4 of 5 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Hailey Harris finished with 13 points, hitting 11 of 14 free throws in the game. Quinn King had nine and Brooklyn Bailey finished with eight.

Triton Central improved to 2-2 this season and 2-0 against Indiana Crossroads Conference foes.

Ruby Morrell led Monrovia with 14 points. Trinity Inglert and Mary Cox each scored nine.

The Bulldogs dropped to 2-3 (0-1 ICC).

Triton Central won the junior varsity game, 54-37. Freshman Ahna Ashman led the Tigers with 11 points.

Triton Central continues its early ICC schedule with a home game Saturday against Indianapolis Lutheran (1-1, 0-1 ICC).

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Julia Sanders finished with seven digs to help Indiana University Kokomo defeat Indiana University East Saturday to capture the volleyball program’s sixth-straight River States Conference championship.

The Cougars defeated IU East, 15-25, 25-20, 25-11, 25-14 to win their 27^th-consecutive match this season and improve to 32-3.

IU Kokomo opened the conference tournament Thursday with a 25-11, 25-16, 25-16 win over IU Southeast. Sanders, a Triton Central graduate, had three assists and seven digs in the win.

On Friday, Sanders (photo, front row, second from right) collected two kills, four assists and 10 digs in a 25-15, 25-13, 25-19 win over the University of Rio Grande (Ohio).

The Cougars now advance into the NAIA Tournament and host Morningside University (17-16) Saturday in the Opening Round of the tournament.

Here is a look at other collegiate athletes competing at the collegiate level.

Kyle Crim

The Morristown graduate had seven points, one rebound and two assists Sunday in Hanover College’s 96-69 win over Wilmington College in the Lauren Hill Tipoff Classic at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati.

The win improved the Panthers to 2-1.

Hanover lost to Trine University Friday, 85-63, in the tipoff classic opener. Crim had two points, two rebounds and one assist.

Hanover opened the men’s basketball season Thursday with a 94-60 win over Spalding University. Crim finished with two points, two rebounds and five assists.

Bella Larrison

The Waldron graduate had six points, seven rebounds, one assist and one steal Saturday for Anderson University in a 101-62 loss at Webster in the championship game of the Webster Tip-Off Classic in St. Louis.

The Ravens opened the event Friday with a 66-60 win over Milwaukee School of Engineering. Larrison had nine points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block.

Maya Chandler

The Triton Central graduate had 16 points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal Saturday in SMU’s 96-47 win over Alabama State.

The Mustangs improved to 2-0 Tuesday with a 69-54 win over Nicholls. Chandler had one rebound and one assist in nine minutes of playing time.

Rylie Stephens

The Triton Central graduate was credited with one steal Saturday in Samford’s 65-62 win over Central Arkansas.

On Tuesday, Samford improved to 3-0 with a 65-61 win at Troy. Stephens had three rebounds in the win.

Olivia Faust

The Triton Central graduate scored two points Friday for No. 6 Marian in an 82-43 win over St. Xavier (Illinois) in the Catholic Classic in Joliet, Ill. The points were the first for Faust since suffering a season-ending knee injury in the 2022-23 season.

On Saturday, Marian defeated the University of St. Francis (Ill.), 95-55. Faust had three points and one steal.

The Knights are 4-1 this season.

Drake Moore

The Morristown graduate scored 18 points and had one rebound, one assist and one steal Friday in Oakland City’s 80-70 loss to Central Baptist College in the Dunn Hospitality Classic hosted by Oakland City.

On Saturday, Moore finished with 17 points, one rebound and three assists in a 73-69 loss to the University of Northwestern Ohio.

Oakland City is 1-3 this season.

Tenleigh Phelps and Lizzie Graham

Phelps, a Triton Central graduate, scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds Saturday to help No. 25 Indiana University South Bend to a 98-50 win at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Graham, also a Triton Central graduate, scored a career-high 11 points and had two rebounds and one steal as the Titans improved to 5-0.

Kenneth Gipson

The Triton Central graduate played his final game for Rose-Hulman Saturday in a 68-20 loss to Mount St. Joseph in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship game.

Gipson, a member of Rose-Hulman’s starting offensive line, and the Engineers finished the season 7-3.

Dylan Wasson

The Triton Central graduate had three tackles in Olivet Nazarene’s 47-7 win over St. Ambrose in the season finale.

Olivet Nazarene finished the season at 6-4.

Hayden Kermode

The Triton Central graduate had a team-high seven tackles Saturday for Franklin College in a 36-17 loss at Hanover.

Franklin closed out its season with a 4-6 record.

Lucas Kleeman

The Triton Central graduate was credited with seven tackles Saturday in Anderson’s 37-7 loss at Manchester.

The Ravens finished the season 0-10.

Michael Fox

The Shelbyville graduate helped Manchester to a ninth-place finish Saturday in the NCAA DIII Great Lakes Region cross country race in Norton, Ohio.

The finish was the best for Manchester since 2013.

Fox completed the course in 27 minutes, 19 seconds.

Brooklyn Schiffli

The Triton Central graduate had one kill and four digs Friday for Jacksonville State in a 25-15, 25-21, 25-20 loss at Louisiana Tech in the regular-season finale for the Gamecocks (5-21).

Schiffli finished with one assist, one service ace and 13 digs Thursday in a 25-15, 26-24, 25-19 loss to Louisiana Tech in the start of the final Conference USA series of the season.

Jacksonville State secured the No. 8 seed in the CUSA postseason tournament and will face Western Kentucky Friday in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Maggie Schweitzer

Hanover volleyball lost its HCAC tournament opener to Rose-Hulman on Nov. 8, 25-22, 12-25, 31-29, 25-17.

Schweitzer, a Triton Central graduate, had 21 assists and four digs for the Panthers (20-8).

Cameron Baker

The Shelbyville graduate scored a pair of third-place finishes for Franklin College Friday in a 191-106 dual meet loss at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.

Baker placed third in each of the one-meter diving competitions.

On Saturday, Baker won both the one-meter and three-meter diving events in a 169-115 win at Transylvania in Lexington, Ky.

Baker scored 232.90 points in the one-meter competition and 227.10 in the three-meter event.

Maiah Helfer-Vazquez

The Shelbyville graduate finished sixth in the one-meter diving competition and seventh in the three-meter event Saturday for Franklin College in a 221-78 win at Transylvania.

Helfer-Vazquez scored 139.4 points in the one-meter competition and 149.95 in the 3-meter event.

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After a strong start, Shelbyville’s defense couldn’t contain Class 3A, No. 10 Greensburg Tuesday, who outscored the Golden Bears in the final three quarters to produce a 71-60 victory.

In Greensburg, the Pirates sank 10 three-pointers and their starting five accounted for 67 of the team’s season-high 71 points.

Leah West finished with a team-high 20 points for Greensburg (3-1). Mylie Wilkison had 19 and Aly Powers added 18.

Ava Wilson continued the strong start to her senior season with a game-high 26 points for Shelbyville (3-1) in its first loss of the season. She is averaging 21.5 points per game through four games.

Ellie Keller and Hannah Baker each had 10 points and Ellie Simpson finished with eight points.

The Golden Bears return to action Friday at Garrett Gymnasium against Southwestern (0-3) then travel Saturday to Franklin County (3-1).

The Pirates’ only loss this season came at Franklin, 58-53, on Friday. Greensburg hosts Class 4A, No. 14 Jennings County (3-1) Saturday.

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A 23-point second quarter propelled Shelbyville’s girls basketball team to a third-straight win of the season over a Mid-Hoosier Conference opponent.

The Golden Bears built a 34-12 lead at halftime and cruised to a 66-31 win Saturday at Morristown.

Ava Wilson scored a game-high 23 points to lead Shelbyville. Ellie Simpson had 10 points and Ellie Keller and Ella Johnson each had eight.

Nevaeh Cox scored 12 of her team-high 16 points in the third quarter.

Morristown is 0-5.

On Friday, 11 different Golden Bears scored in a 69-13 win over Edinburgh.

Wilson finished with 20 points in just three quarters of playing time.

Hannah Baker scored 14 points and Keller had 10.

Edinburgh dropped to 0-4 with the loss.

In other girls basketball games.

Oldenburg Academy 53, Southwestern 27

At Oldenburg Academy Saturday, Kate Weber scored 16 points and Maddie Ryan added 10 to get the Twisters the win in their first game of the season.

Riley Engle scored 13 points to top the Spartans (0-3). Tatlock, Haley Casey and Bailey Taylor each scored four points.

Waldron 64, Southwestern 32

At Southwestern Friday, Alyssa Benson had 15 points and Emerson Lindsay finished with 14 to lead Waldron (1-3, 0-1 MHC) over the Spartans.

The Mohawks built a 41-20 lead by halftime to secure their first win of the season.

Tanna Tatlock led Southwestern with 12 points.

South Decatur 55, Morristown 41

On Thursday at Morristown, Makayla Somers scored a game-high 19 points and Kiley Best had 18 to improve South Decatur to 4-0 (2-0 MHC).

Cox led Morristown with 13 points. Charli Marcum finished with 12 points. Danika Rutledge had eight points and six rebounds.

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Class 2A, No. 15 Triton Central used a 24-point fourth quarter Thursday to collect the program’s first Indiana Crossroads Conference win of the season at Cascade, 69-50.

The first win of the season for the Tigers also was head coach Bryan Graham’s 300^th career win – all at Triton Central. In 16 seasons in Fairland, Graham is 300-67.

Maryrose Felling scored a game-high 30 points and Brooklyn Bailey and Hailey Harris each scored in double figures.

Felling hit six three-pointers, five in the first half. Bailey finished with 14 points and Harris hit a trio of 3s in a 10-point performance.

Triton Central led 14-7 after one quarter and 34-20 at halftime.

Chloe Smith topped Cascade (1-2, 1-1 ICC) with 12 points. Creedance Chittenden and Macey Pugh each scored 11 points.

Eastern Hancock 50, Triton Central 41

On Saturday at Triton Central, the Class 2A, No. 4 Royals outscored the Tigers 18-6 in the third quarter to seal the victory.

Ruby White scored 10 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter and McKenzie Koch finished with a team-high 20 points to improve the Royals to 3-0 this season.

Felling scored 16 of her game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter but the Tigers (1-2) were unable to mount a comeback.

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FAIRLAND – Class 2A, No. 9 North Posey ran roughshod on 2A No. 2 Triton Central Friday and captured its first regional title since 2005 with a 28-13 victory at Bud Mendenhall Field.

The Vikings, now 12-1, wasted little time getting to work after a three-hour bus ride north to central Indiana. Senior Kolton Gardner broke loose for a 51-yard touchdown run on North Posey’s first possession and senior quarterback Liam Stone finished off the next two drives with short scoring runs.

“They are a very physical team. A very strong team,” said Triton Central head coach Tim Able. “We are more of a speed team and a skill team and they were just better than us tonight.”

Triton Central finished the season 11-2 and played in its fifth-straight regional championship game. And while the Vikings found the end zone on its first three possessions, Triton Central’s first two drives ended with failed fourth-down conversion attempts.

“We just didn’t execute,” said Able. “We just didn’t hit things that we normally do. And as we knew going into the game, they held on to the ball so long that we didn’t get it much.”

Triton Central cut North Posey’s lead to 14-7 with a 9-play scoring drive that culminated with a Ray Crawford 2-yard touchdown. But the Vikings answered with a 13-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Stone’s second of three touchdown runs in the game.

North Posey rushed the ball 54 times for 305 yards and four touchdowns. Stone only put the ball in the air five times with one completion for 24 yards. On the ground, he had a game-high 24 carries for 113 yards.

“Their quarterback is hard to tackle,” said Able. “He is wiry strong. He is not very big but it took some good hits and good wraps to get him down. They have enough mixture in their offense that we weren’t able to physically control them.”

Gardner finished the game with 105 rushing yards on 16 carries while junior Jed Galvin, who scored all five touchdowns in North Posey’s sectional championship game win over Paoli, had 87 yards on 14 carries.

Crawford (photo) led Triton Central with 87 yards rushing in his final game as a Tiger.

Jace Stuckey closed out his record-breaking career with 149 yards passing and one touchdown – a late 38-yarder to Sam Kemper.

While the loss was emotional enough, the Tigers watched junior Ben Wilkins (photo) carried off the field on a backboard after suffering a second-half injury on North Posey’s final kickoff of the game. His facemask and helmet were carefully removed and his neck was stabilized as a precaution.

“He is alright. He is moving. He will be alright,” confirmed Able after the game.

Triton Central also lost sophomore receiver/defensive back Zeke Robertson early in the contest with an ankle injury and defensive back/kicker Levi Dewey was injured midway through the second quarter. Neither returned to the game.

Triton Central’s senior class closed out their careers with a program-record 39 victories and four sectional titles. A large part of that class includes skill position players like Stuckey, Crawford, Dewey, Brayden Wilkins, Mason Compton and Sam Kemper.

“It’s a class that had a lot of talent at the skill levels,” said Able. “Those are really good athletes. We’ve had something similar like that but it takes a team. (North Posey’s) line of scrimmage was bigger and better on both sides. We are young on the line of scrimmage and we are going to be back and we are going to get stronger.”

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Class 2A, No. 2 Triton Central and 2A No. 9 North Posey have won a combined 36 games in the previous two seasons. The same opponent – Evansville Mater Dei, the 2021 state runner-up and 2022 state champion – proved too much to overcome for each in the postseason.

The Wildcats’ success has kept North Posey unheralded around the state. That all can change Friday when the Vikings travel three hours north to Fairland for a regional championship game against Triton Central.

This will be the first meeting between the two programs thanks to North Posey’s 35-34 sectional semifinal overtime win over Evansville Mater Dei. The Vikings followed that with a 35-14 win over Paoli to capture the program’s first sectional title since 2005.

“They are very good. It’s a strong team with good size, but not huge size,” said Triton Central head coach Tim Able. “They are quick but we might have the edge on them in speed. They might have the edge in strength.”

The North Posey offense, averaging 39.9 ppg this season, is built around senior quarterback Liam Stone, who has thrown for 933 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for 828 yards and 17 TDs.

“He is at his best running,” said Able. “We are going to have to gang tackle to get him down. He has no fear. He runs everything. He stirs the drink. When he is going, they are going.”

Stone is not a solo act, though. The Vikings have rushed for 3,238 yards this season with 56 touchdowns.

Jed Galvin, a junior, has rushed for 1,134 yards and 22 TDs. He scored all five touchdowns (4 rushing, 1 receiving) in the sectional championship game win over Paoli.

“He is really good,” said Able. “They will run Wildcat (where he lines up at quarterback) with him in short-yardage situations. They are a lot like we were back in the day with the Kermode brothers.”

Senior Kolton Gardner completes North Posey’s rushing triumvirate with 819 yards on the ground and 12 TDs.

Stone is completing 61% of his pass attempts and thrown just two interceptions. His top target is senior receiver Jackson Graff (23 receptions, 436 yards, 5 TDs). Galvin has 16 catches for 387 yards.

Triton Central’s last three sectional championship teams have lost to Evansville Mater Dei. The Tigers and Wildcats have met in the regional round the last four seasons with TC celebrating the program’s only regional title in 2019.

With a Divison I quarterback recruit in Jace Stuckey, expectations have been high all season for Triton Central, who has just one loss to Class A, No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran back in week three of the regular season. The Tigers’ 9-game win streak has come by an average winning margin of 28 points. Able believes his team has only played five games this season where his starters were on the field in the fourth quarter. And the starters were hardly needed in sectional victories at Clarksville (41-6) and Eastern (49-0).

In fact at Eastern (Pekin) last Friday, Stuckey was out of the game before halftime and Ray Crawford (a 4,000-yard career rusher) and Brayden Wilkins (over 1,300 yards of offense this season) were not even in uniform while dealing with nagging injuries. Able expects both to be near 100% Friday to face North Posey, also with only one loss this season to Class 3A, No. 5 Heritage Hills in week five, 10-0.

Averaging 39.1 ppg this season, Triton Central will need all its key components to get by the team that eliminated Evansville Mater Dei.

“They are very strong and very physical,” said Able of a North Posey defense allowing just 10.2 ppg this season. “If you go spread, they go three defensive linemen and two linebackers. Their front five have the ability to stop teams. Evansville Mater Dei got some throwing (yards) on them. We will need a nice good mix of run and pass.”

That means freshman running back Henry Kemper (photo), sophomore receiver Zeke Robertson and seniors Anthony Dunville and Sam Kemper must be productive in the intense atmosphere that will come with a regional championship game.

Triton Central already knows it will be without senior receiver Mason Compton (24 receptions, 518 yards, 6 TDs), who had emergency neck surgery Friday and is done for the season.

“He’s doing good. He is being smart about coming back slow,” said Able. “He will be fine. It sounds like everything went exactly right.”

Class 2A has had the most changes in the top 10 ranking of the state coaches poll this season and the final eight teams remaining reflect how programs are catching up to traditional powerhouses like Evansville Mater Dei, Linton-Stockton and Andrean – all whom are out of the state tournament.

“I think it shows the parody of high school football,” said Able. “Everybody is training similarly. The playing field is getting leveled. This time of the year, there are not a lot of differences in the teams. It’s the intangibles … the toughness and the will.”

The winner of Friday’s regional championship game in Fairland will face either Southmont (7-5) or Eastern Hancock (8-4) in the semistate round. If Southmont wins, Triton Central would host the semistate; if Eastern Hancock wins, the Tigers would travel to Charlottesville to face an old Mid-Indiana Football Conference rival.

In the north, 2A No. 4 LaVille (11-1) is at No. 7 Lafayette Central Catholic (9-3) and No. 7 Bluffton (10-2) is at No. 5 Fort Wayne Luers (9-3).

Steve Bush photos

QUICK FACTS:

Class 2A, No. 9 North Posey at Class 2A, No. 2 Triton Central

Game time: 8 p.m. at Triton Central High School.

Broadcast: GIANT fm will air a pregame show with Johnny McCrory and Jeff Brown from Bud Mendenhall Field at Triton Central at 7 p.m. with the game to follow on 96.5 fm, 106.3 fm or the GIANT fm app.

Tickets: Tickets are $10. No Triton Central sports passes will be allowed. Online link to purchase tickets is https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=58089

TC student theme: “PJ party at the Bud”

2023 record: North Posey 11-1; Triton Central 11-1.

Head coaches: Waylon Schenk, 51-25 in seventh year at North Posey, 79-49 in 12^th year overall; Tim Able, 101-36 in 11^th year at Triton Central, 226-134 in 30th year overall.

Sagarin ratings: North Posey 70.83, No. 2 in Class 2A; Triton Central 73.14, No. 1 in Class 2A. Triton Central is a 4-point favorite.

Last meeting: This will be the first meeting between North Posey and Triton Central.

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Shelbyville had three players score in double digits to secure a season-opening 61-44 victory over Waldron Tuesday at William L. Garrett Gymnasium.

Shelbyville senior Ava Wilson scored a game-high 17 points. Sophomore Ellie Keller hit four 3-pointers on the way to 16 points and senior Ella Johnson had 10 points and a game-high 21 rebounds.

The Golden Bears led 21-16 at the end of the first quarter and 34-24 at halftime. Shelbyville never trailed in the second half, outscoring the Mohawks (0-3) 27-20 over the final two quarters.

Grace Fischer led Waldron with 14 points. Audrey Hogg had 10 points and Alyssa Benson finished with nine points.

On Friday, Shelbyville hosts Edinburgh (0-2) and Waldron travels to Southwestern (0-1).

In another girls basketball game Tuesday:

Tri 52, Morristown 40

At Morristown, the Class A, No. 11 Titans improved to 2-0 and kept the Yellow Jackets winless this season at 0-3.

Tenleigh Phelps scored a game-high 21 points Monday to lead IU South Bend to a 75-67 win over Siena Heights University.

With the win, the Titans improved to 4-0 this season.

On Wednesday, IU South Bend routed Aquinas College (Mich.), 91-56.

Phelps (main photo), a Triton Central graduate, had 16 points, two rebounds and three assists.

Lizzie Graham, also a Triton Central graduate, finished with three points and one rebound for the Titans.

IU South Bend traveled to Circleville, Ohio Saturday and defeated Grace Christian University, 109-74.

Phelps finished with 23 points, five rebounds and two assists.

Graham (photo), who logged a season-high 20 minutes, scored three points, grabbed a rebound and had one assist.

Here is a look at other Shelby County graduates competing at the collegiate level:

Maya Chandler

The Triton Central graduate made her SMU debut Monday in a 78-55 win over UC Riverside.

Chandler, who transferred from Loyola Chicago, played nine minutes and scored one point, grabbed two rebounds and had one assist and one block.

Rylie Stephens

The Triton Central graduate played nine minutes and scored one point and grabbed one rebound Monday in Samford’s 78-51 season-opening victory over Auburn-Montgomery.

Drake Moore

The Morristown graduate finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, one assist and one steal Saturday in Oakland City’s 72-66 loss to Northwestern College (Iowa).

In Oakland City’s season opener Friday, Moore had 10 points, three rebounds and two assists in an 82-76 win over Grace Christian University.

Kyle Crim

The Morristown graduate scored six points, had two assists and one rebound for Hanover Wednesday in a 96-62 exhibition game loss at Notre Dame.

Rachel Dewey

The Triton Central graduate’s collegiate soccer career came to an end Wednesday in Ruston, Louisiana, with a 1-0 loss at Louisiana Tech in the first round of the Conference USA championship tournament.

Dewey’s career started at Xavier and ended at Western Kentucky where the Hilltoppers finished 6-5-7 this season.

Drew Hassebroek and Al Hernandez

The Shelbyville graduates each contributed minutes to the IUPUC men’s soccer program’s River States Conference tournament loss Saturday at West Virginia Tech, 12-0.

Hassebroek played 31 minutes. Hernandez logged 68 minutes.

In the soccer program’s first season, IUPUC finished 8-9-1.

Eddie Carrizalez

The Shelbyville graduate played 72 minutes for IU East’s men’s soccer program Saturday in an 11-0 loss at Rio Grande in the River States Conference postseason tournament.

IU East finished the season with a 5-13-1 record.

Hadyn Ball

The Triton Central graduate was credited with one tackle Saturday for Wabash in a 52-13 win at Hiram College.

The win improved Wabash to 7-2 this season and 6-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings. Wabash will face DePauw (9-0, 7-0 NCAC) Saturday in the 129^th Monon Bell Classic. With a win, Wabash would clinch a share of the conference championship with DePauw.

Hayden Kermode

The Triton Central graduate had five tackles, including one tackle for loss, Saturday in Franklin College’s 36-0 win over Manchester.

Franklin improved to 4-5 this season and 4-2 against Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference foes.

Kenneth Gipson

The Triton Central graduate was part of Rose-Hulman’s offensive line that helped running back Grant Ripperda amass 226 yards rushing and five touchdowns Saturday in a 78-54 win at Defiance College.

The win kept Rose-Hulman (7-2) unbeaten in the HCAC standings (6-0) and sets up a showdown with Mount St. Joseph (8-1, 6-0) for the conference title.

Lucas Kleeman

The Triton Central graduate had three tackles Saturday for Anderson in a 69-0 loss at Hanover.

The Ravens are 0-9 this season.

Dylan Wasson

The Triton Central graduate had eight total tackles, including a quarterback sack, Saturday for Olivet Nazarene in a 38-21 loss at No. 15 St. Xavier in Chicago, Illinois.

Olivet Nazarene dropped to 5-4.

Cameron Baker

The Shelbyville graduate totaled the most points in both diving sessions Saturday in Franklin College’s triangular meet wins over Bluffton (224-12) and Manchester (208-80).

Baker won the five-dive session with 179.80 points. In the six-dive session, he scored 239.10 points.

Maiah Helfer-Vazquez

The Shelbyville graduate finished sixth (129.35) in the five-dive session for Franklin College on the one-meter board. She placed fifth (178.10) in the six-dive session.

Franklin’s women’s swim program defeated Bluffton (239-13) and Manchester (238-40) in a triangular meet.

Shelby Lasure

The Shelbyville graduate had three kills and five digs Saturday for Anderson volleyball in a 25-18, 18-25, 25-18, 25-21 loss at Hanover.

On Wednesday against Manchester, Lasure finished with eight kills, one assist and six digs in a 25-15, 25-21, 22-25, 25-23 loss.

Anderson finished the season at 12-14 (4-5 HCAC).

Julia Sanders

The Triton Central graduate had one assist and two digs Saturday in IU Kokomo’s 25-20, 30-28, 25-20 win at IU Southeast to clinch the No. 1 seed in the River States Conference championship tournament.

The win also secured a ninth consecutive berth in the NAIA Tournament.

On Friday, IU Kokomo swept Midway University, 25-17, 25-18, 25-20.

The No. 14-ranked Cougars are 29-3 this season and finished unbeaten (19-0) against conference opponents.

Maggie Schweitzer

The Triton Central graduate had 21 assists and seven digs for Hanover in its win Saturday over Anderson.

The win improved the Panthers to 19-7 (7-2 HCAC).

Brooklyn Schiffli

The Triton Central graduate had three assists and a team-best six digs Saturday in Jacksonville State’s 25-21, 25-18, 25-20 loss to Middle Tennessee.

On Friday, Middle Tennessee swept the Gamecocks, 25-23, 25-13, 25-19. Schiffli had one assist and one dig.

Jacksonville State is 5-19 this season.

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INDIANAPOLIS – Once Roncalli got in gear, the Royals raced away from Class 2A, No. 9 Triton Central Saturday in the season opener for both girls basketball programs.

Taylor Turk sank a free throw with five minutes, 22 seconds left in the first quarter to start the scoring and the Royals scored 19 points in a three-and-a-half minute stretch to take a 19-2 lead after one quarter.

Roncalli doubled up Triton Central in the second quarter, 18-9, and kept cruising to a 58-23 victory – the worst season-opening loss in TC head coach Bryan Graham’s 16-year career.

“We knew going into this it would be a tall task for such a young team,” said Graham, who is sitting on 299 career wins at Triton Central. “I also think it is better to start with something like this than win by 20 or 30 points. That makes it hard for the girls to pay attention and understand the film.

“We knew they would be a tough team and with our roster being as young as it is, we knew it would be a great learning experience.”

Triton Central started three seniors and highly-regarded sophomore Maryrose Felling Saturday but utilized a freshman point guard and brought three freshmen and a sophomore with no real varsity experience off the bench.

Meanwhile, Roncalli, an 18-win team last season, started three seniors and debuted a freshman who proved she was ready for varsity basketball.

Elliot Leffler, a five-foot, nine-inch freshman, hit five three-pointers off the bench and scored a game-high 27 points in her first game for Roncalli. She also had five rebounds and three steals.

Triton Central shot just 23% from the field and made just 1 of 14 3-point attempts.

“Anytime we get opportunities around the basket or on a fast break, we have to put it in,” said Graham. “We will design more stuff to try and get Maryrose and Brooklyn (Bailey) in two-man game stuff, inside and outside. We started doing it a little bit tonight on the run and it worked a couple of times.

“This will definitely be more of a defensive-minded (team) on one end and offense by committee on the other end.”

Felling topped the Tigers with 11 points. Freshman Sophia Burbrink came off the bench to score six points and Quinn King had five points and two rebounds in her debut as Triton Central’s new point guard.

“She is tiny and very savvy,” said Graham of King. “She is going to continue to get better and better. She is full of energy. She is not scared of anyone. She will continue growing as a leader.”

The 23 points was the lowest output for a Graham-led Tigers squad since a 63-22 loss to Indianapolis Cathedral on Jan. 22, 2016.

“We definitely are very young and inexperienced but I would also say we have great attitudes and work ethic,” said Graham. “Even when the score was lopsided, we were still out there playing hard.

Triton Central opens its Indiana Crossroads Conference schedule Thursday at Cascade (0-1). The Tigers’ home opener is two days later when 2A No. 2 Eastern Hancock (2-0) comes to Fairland.

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Waldron led at the end of each of the first two quarters Saturday against Class A, No. 9 Tri but could not finish off the Titans in the second half.

Tri outscored the Mohawks 26-16 in the third quarter to take a 55-48 lead and used a 23-point fourth quarter to seal the victory, 78-67.

Freshman Grace Fischer led Waldron (0-2) with 22 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Emerson Lindsey followed with 16 points and five rebounds.

Senior Alyssa Benson finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

Waldron opened its season Friday with a 62-41 loss to Class A, No. 19 Blue River Valley. The Vikings outscored the Mohawks, 17-8, in the second quarter and 18-4 in the final quarter to secure the win.

Maciah Driskill scored a game-high 25 points and had 10 rebounds to lead Blue River Valley. Charlee Gibson added 21 points, five assists and four steals and Ella Schmidt scored 11 and had five steals.

Fischer, in her first varsity game, scored 15 points and had four rebounds for Waldron. Lindsey and Benson each scored seven points.

In another girls basketball game Saturday:

South Decatur 45, Southwestern 14

At Southwestern, Makayla Somers led the Cougars with 12 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Kiley Best also scored in double figures for South Decatur with 10 points.

Tanna Tatlock led Southwestern in its season opener with six points. Riley Engel and Ellie Gosser each had three points.

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PEKIN – Triton Central football’s senior class tied two program records and set another Friday in its Class 2A, Sectional 39 championship game win at Eastern (Pekin), 49-0.

The Tigers secured their fifth-straight sectional championship, meaning the Class of 2024 is 4-for-4 in winning sectional title games while the win was the 39^th in the career for the seniors – setting a new program record.

Triton Central improved to 11-1 which matches the program record for wins in a season.

“This week, our goal was to get the game over with at halftime and stay healthy and I think we accomplished both of those things,” said Triton Central head coach Tim Able, who captured his sixth sectional title with the Tigers and 10^th in his 30-year coaching career.

Eastern arrived at its first sectional championship game a shell of the team that tied a program record with five wins this season. Injuries left the team with just 20 players to dress Friday and face the high-powered Tigers, who rested two key offensive components and played without a third.

Without his top two receivers this season and a 4,000-yard career rusher, Triton Central quarterback Jace Stuckey went to work right away getting the offense in gear. The senior finished off the first two series of the game with 1-yard dives into the end zone for a quick 14-0 lead.

The record-setting passer connected with Anthony Dunville (photo, above), Zeke Robertson and Sam Kemper in those first two drives instead of seniors Brayden Wilkins, Ray Crawford and Mason Compton, who all sat out Friday’s win.

Stuckey connected deep downfield to Robertson (photo, above) for a 44-yard touchdown strike just before the end of the first quarter and Henry Kemper and Braden Brown (photo, below) provided three second-quarter rushing touchdowns to put the game out of reach.

Levi Dewey also added a 64-yard punt return for a touchdown and was a perfect 7-for-7 on extra-point kicks.

“It was a unique week because Mason practiced Wednesday,” said Stuckey. “He was the most likely to be back and he was gone. We were definitely playing for him.

“Offensively, we are so diverse and I think we showed that. We have a 7-man receiver and a 7-man lineman rotation, they all play so well and the chemistry is there with all of us.”

Compton (photo, above), who caught the game-winning touchdown in Triton Central’s semifinal win over Brownstown Central one week earlier, required neck surgery late this week and his playing career is over.

“It was really tough mentally because Mason Compton, I grew up with him. He is one of my greatest friends,” said Dewey. “He is close with every single person on the team. He couldn’t be a greater person and it is an unfortunate situation that is horribly scary. I’ve played football with him since seventh grade. I’ve know he’s played since elementary school and for him to have played his last game gave me the mentality that I have to play for him. I have to get this state championship for him.”

Crawford, who has nursed an ankle injury all season, and Wilkins, who was dinged up late in the Brownstown Central game, were not needed against an overmatched Musketeers squad that finished its season at 5-7.

With the win, Triton Central (11-1), ranked No. 2 in the final state coaches poll, will host No. 9 North Posey (11-1), in the regional championship game next week. The Vikings defeated Paoli, 35-14, Friday to earn the program’s fifth sectional title and first since 2005 when they lost to Jimtown in the state championship game.

“Man, we’re hungry and it’s all of us,” said Stuckey. “It’s clear and it’s all classes. The senior class wants it but that is passed down. I feel the energy. My freshman year we had a really good team but it’s a different feeling this year. I feel something different and I think we’ve got the energy to keep rolling.”

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Class 2A, No. 2 Eastern Hancock opened the girls basketball season Thursday with a 66-32 victory at Morristown.

The Royals led 14-4 after one quarter and extended the lead to 30-15 at halftime.

A 24-point third quarter ended any doubt about the outcome and the host Yellow Jackets (0-2) scored just three points in the fourth quarter.

Danika Rutledge topped Morristown with 13 points and eight rebounds. Nevaeh Cox finished with 12 points and five rebounds.

Morristown returns to action Monday hosting Class A, No. 9 Tri. The Titans’ season opener is Saturday at Waldron.

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Tim Able had a flashback moment Friday after his team played a scoreless first half against Brownstown Central.

“I had that same feeling back in 2000,” explained Able. “We played Goshen the year before (in 1999 and lost 34-7 in the regional championship). Now, we were tied 7-7 (at halftime in 2000).”

Able was recalling his 2000 state championship squad at East Noble. One year after falling to Goshen, the Knights secured a 21-14 victory then followed that with a 25-7 semistate win over Plymouth and a 28-7 state championship game win over Plainfield.

Friday’s scoreless first half against Brownstown Central in the sectional semifinal game at Bud Mendenhall Field could prove to be an ominous sign.

The Braves, ranked No. 3 in the Class 2A state coaches poll, took the lead three times in the second half but each time the No. 2 Tigers responded.

“Who would flinch first?” continued Able of his flashback. “Brownstown Central came out and scored and we didn’t flinch. That was a good sign. The kids kept fighting and fighting and responding. That was a good team that beat us up. They are pretty good.”

Triton Central answered Brownstown Central touchdowns with touchdowns of their own in the second half. The Braves regained the lead once again with a field goal with two minutes, 46 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

“We had plenty of time left and all of our timeouts,” said Able. “I didn’t want to score too quickly. That’s why we were running inside and outside.”

A penalty with just over 60 seconds left on the clock put Triton Central in a perilous third-and-long situation. That’s when Able harkened back to a halftime conversation.

“At the half we talked about the double move play to get Mason (Compton) open,” said Able. “Jace (Stuckey) put it on the money. Mason brought it in.”

Compton faked out his defender with a setup move then streaked to the end zone and hauled in a perfect pass from Stuckey to give Triton Central a 21-17 lead with 1:06 left.

Brayden Wilkins (No. 2) scored two second-half touchdowns for Triton Central Friday against Brownstown Central.

After a Levi Dewey kickoff pinned Brownstown Central inside its own 15-yard line, the Braves were forced to throw the ball.

“They had to pass which is exactly what we wanted,” said Able.

Sam Kemper stepped in front of a Micah Sheffer pass and returned it to the end zone for a game-sealing 28-17 victory to propel the Tigers into a sectional championship game for the 11^th-straight season – all under the direction of Able.

“We played the four quarters that we had not yet put together,” he said. “It was not perfect but we played like we’re capable of. You have to do it each and every week. Enjoy the win Saturday morning then let it go and get on to the next team.”

The next team is unheralded Eastern (Pekin) – a team Triton Central defeated 58-0 in its sectional opener two seasons ago. The Musketeers were winless that 2021 season – and the year before.

In the prior four seasons to 2023, Eastern won a total of two games under head coach Luke Dean.

“You could tell they were young but they had some kids,” said Able of the 2021 meeting. “They don’t play the competition we play. The kids have two more years in their program now. The coach has done a fine job with the program.”

The Musketeers are 5-6 with the most wins in a single season for the program since back-to-back 5-win seasons in 2011 and 2010. They steamrolled Switzerland County Friday, 44-0, behind the 176-yard, 2-rushing touchdown performance of junior running back Brayden Jones.

“They are as big a team as we have played,” said Able. “They have a really good running back. The quarterback is an athlete. We’ve got to create big plays. This will not be an easy one.”

Jones, six-foot, one inches and 224 pounds, has rushed for 1,336 yards this season and a team-leading 15 touchdowns.

“He is a physical downhill runner,” said Able. “He creates contact. We’ve got to hit him hard and early.”

Quarterback Cody Banet (6-1, 160), another junior, has completed just under 50% of his pass attempts for 1,032 yards and seven TDs.

“He is good. That’s what makes them good,” said Able. “They can run and pass.”

Offensively, senior Nathan McBride has rushed for 531 yards and eight TDs while senior Kaden Temple has a team-leading 39 receptions for 537 yards and four TDs. Junior Garrett Drury has 21 catches for 247 yards.

Defensively, Triton Central must account for Caleb King, a 6-5, 240-pound senior, who has 56 tackles – including 17 tackles for loss and nine quarterback sacks.

Eastern’s resurgent year could lead to greater things in 2024, and that makes them a dangerous underdog Friday.

“We don’t worry about their perspective,” said Able. “We need to take care of our business. That starts in practice, studying film, knowing what they will do.”

Triton Central’s advantage is experience. The senior class has been part of three straight sectional championship seasons and they have tied the program record for career wins with 38 – set by the class of 2022.

“They don’t want to be the one to break the streak,” said Able of the program’s run of four consecutive sectional titles. “They know what it takes … every week they’ve got to bring it again … building to Friday.”

With the win over Brownstown Central Friday, Able (photo) secured win No. 100 at Triton Central. He is 100-36 in his 11 seasons in Fairland and 225-134 in 30 years of being a head coach.

“It’s a longevity thing. It means you have hung around long enough,” said Able. “It takes the support of the administration, the community and the kids working and the parents helping. There is so much to running a football program for one person to take credit for.”

Steve Bush photos

QUICK FACTS:

Class 2A, No. 2 Triton Central at Eastern (Pekin)

Game time: 7 p.m. at Eastern (Pekin) High School, 1100 N. Eastern School Road in Pekin, Ind.

Broadcast: GIANT fm will air a pregame show with Johnny McCrory and Jeff Brown from Eastern High School at 6 p.m. with the game to follow on 96.5 fm, 106.3 fm or the GIANT fm app.

Tickets: Tickets are $7.

TC student theme: Whiteout.

2023 record: Triton Central 10-1, Eastern (Pekin) 5-6.

Head coaches: Tim Able, 100-36 in 11^th year at Triton Central, 225-134 in 30th year overall; Luke Dean, 18-73 in ninth year at Eastern, 39-113 in 15^th year overall.

Sagarin ratings: Triton Central 72.73, No. 1 in Class 2A; Eastern (Pekin) 28.43, No. 42 in Class 2A. Triton Central is a 42-point favorite.

Last meeting: Triton Central defeated Eastern (Pekin), 58-0, in the sectional quarterfinal round of the 2021 season. Shelby County Post game recap available at: https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/600687

Class 2A, Sectional 40: Paoli (10-1 record, 52.38 Sagarin rating, No. 16 in Class 2A) at Class 2A No. 9 North Posey (10-1, 71.07 Sagarin rating, No. 2 in Class 2A). North Posey is a 21-point favorite. If TC and North Posey win sectional titles, Triton Central will host North Posey in the regional championship game on Nov. 10; If TC and Paoli win sectional titles, Paoli would host the Tigers for the regional championship.

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GIANT fm has announced its basketball broadcast schedule for the upcoming high school season. A total of 38 games are currently scheduled with the potential to add more regular season games as the season progresses.

All games can be heard locally around Shelby County on 96.5 fm, 106.3 fm, 1520 am or on the GIANT fm app.

The first broadcast will be Nov. 21 when Edinburgh travels to Southwestern for the boys basketball season opener.

Three more boys basketball broadcasts will follow in November with Rushville at Shelbyville on Nov. 22, Shelbyville at Triton Central on Nov. 25, and Waldron at Triton Central on Nov. 30.

The December schedule will include a girls/boys varsity doubleheader on Dec. 8 between New Castle and Shelbyville at William L. Garrett Gymnasium in Shelbyville.

Here is the December schedule:

• Dec. 1: Hauser at Morristown (B)
• Dec. 2: Shelbyville at Connersville (B)
• Dec. 8: New Castle at Shelbyville (G/B)
• Dec. 9: Shelbyville at Whiteland (B)
• Dec. 12: Greenwood at Shelbyville (B)
• Dec. 15: Shelbyville at Mt. Vernon (B)
• Dec. 16: Shelbyville at Yorktown (B)
• Dec. 22: Shelbyville at Franklin County (B)
• Dec. 27: Franklin at Shelbyville (B)
• Dec. 29: Martinsville at Shelbyville (B)

The January broadcast schedule kicks off with the Shelby County Tournament at Southwestern High School. The girls semifinal games will air on Jan. 4 followed by the boys semifinal games on Jan. 5. The two championship games are Jan. 6.

The remainder of the January schedule:

• Jan. 9: Shelbyville at Columbus East (B)
• Jan. 12: Morristown at Rushville (B)
• Jan. 13: Shelbyville at Mt. Vernon (G)
• Jan. 13: Pendleton Heights at Shelbyville (B)
• Jan. 17: Triton Central at Roncalli (B)
• Jan. 19: Waldron at Hauser (B)
• Jan. 20: Greenfield-Central at Shelbyville (B)
• Jan. 25: Indian Creek at Shelbyville (B)
• Jan. 26: Shelbyville at Speedway (B)
• Jan. 27: Triton Central at Eastern Hancock (B)

Seven games are on tap for February. They are:

• Feb. 8: Morristown at Southwestern (B)
• Feb. 9: Shelbyville at New Palestine (B)
• Feb. 13: Triton Central at Monrovia (B)
• Feb. 16: Shelbyville at Delta (B)
• Feb. 17: Shelbyville at East Central (B)
• Feb. 20: Seymour at Shelbyville (B)
• Feb. 22:   Batesville at Shelbyville (B)

GIANT fm also will broadcast several girls and boys basketball sectional games. Those will be determined after the IHSAA announces the sectional pairings.

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