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FRIDAYIN TOUCH EXECUTIVE SPORTS EDITOR KIRK WESSLER 686-3216 E-MAIL kwessler@pjstar.com SPORTS DESK686-3214

JournalStar

High schools

PREPSDAILY

Ofcial seating capacity of the

gym at Peoria High, the host venue

for the rst clash between the

Manual and Central boys basketball

teams this season.

By the numbers0 Times Brimeld has al-

lowed an opponent to score 50

or more this season. The Class

1A No. 4-ranked Indians (20-0)

allowed a season-high 45 against

Prophestown in the season opener.

4 Consecutive victories for

Notre Dame, which was 4-11 before

the win spree. The Irish host Dunlap

on Friday.

10 Total points decit in Wash-

ingtons four losses this season.

Washington lost by four to Plaineld

East, by three to Pekin, by two to

Morton and by one to Montgomery

(Ala.) Carver.

11 Years since the Manual-Cen-

tral games were annually played at

Robertson Memorial Field House. The

since demolished dual airplane han-

gars hosted the series for 14 seasons.

East Peoria record-setterCorey Crotzs 44 points for East

Peoria last Friday against Pekin

established a single-game school

record at EP, according to coach

Ron Kelch. He said according to

records passed down through the

program, the previous single-game

high was Mark Dicks 39 points in

a game against Canton in 1990.

Whos hotBlake Johnson, Peoria Heights:

During the Patriots ve-game win

streak, the senior is averaging 21.8

points a game. Hes had three

25-point games in victories over

Hartsburg-Emden, Lowpoint-Wash-

burn and Knoxville.

Jeff White, Manual: Senior G has

made 16 consecutive free throws

since two misses in a rst-round

game at the Pontiac tournament.

Hes averaging 17.3 points over the

same seven-game span.

Aldonis Foote, Central: Senior

G is averaging 16.3 points over

the last four games. Included was

23 points (career high) and nine

rebounds in a win at Richwoods.

IVC adds to HOFIllinois Valley Central will induct apair of state trophy-winning teams

into its Athletics Hall of Fame before

the varsity game against Princeton

on Friday night.

The rst of two teams scheduled

to be inducted is the 2005-06 boys

basketball team. Led by all-stater

Ryan Thornton, IVC went 27-6 and

lost to Seneca, 47-44 in the Class A

state title game.

The 2006 baseball team, which

won the Class A state champion-

ship, will be also be inducted.

he Mid-Illini Conference champs

nished 40-2, were nationally

ranked and featured future New

York Yankees draft pick and Illinois

Gatorade Baseball Player of the

Year, Zach McAllister.

Check this outPutnam County at Midland,

7:30 p.m.: The Panthers (15-4, 4-

1) are looking to remain unbeaten

in Tri-County Conference play.

Midland (11-7, 3-2) took two of

three from PC last season including

a 54-39 victory in the Class 1A

Granville Regional seminal.

Richwoods at Metamora,

7 p.m.: A Mid-State 6 and Mid-

Illini nonconference crossover.Richwoods beat Notre Dame by

19. Metamoras only loss in its last

seven was to ND by eight.

Star of the dayNoah Hanold, Richwoods, boys

swimming: The sophomore was

a four-event winner in helping the

Knights to a 114-71 dual victory

against host Pekin.

They said itI tried to go to a Manual-Cen-

tral game last year but I didnt

get there early enough. They said

the gym was already full and I

couldnt get in. I just went home. Limestone coach Eddie Mathews

2,906

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2012 PAGE D6

The only home gymEddie Mathewsever knew as a highschool player at

Brimeld was acrossthe street, in the gradeschool.

We shot around andstuff in the high schoolgym, but it was old and

small, Mathews said.The gym at the gradeschool was just biggerand better. Thats wherewe played.

The only true coach Ed-die Mathews ever had washis father, Don, who inBrimeldsgoldenyearsof boysbasketballhelped turnthat grade-school gyminto a high-school hotspot.

I remem-ber a lot ofnights inthose yearswhen thatgym waspacked,EddieMathews said. We won alot of games in there.

Don Mathews died thispast October at the age of78. Among other thingshe was a former adminis-trator, coach and Englishteacher at Brimeld.

Eddie Mathews is inhis rst year as teacherand head coach at Lime-

stone, after coming therefrom Notre Dame.

My dad took a lot ofpride in Brimeld andthe basketball team, andthat gym was our home,Eddie Mathews said.For me, it is a little sadto think they dont playthere anymore.

The place was oftenabuzz in 1978-79, whenBrimeld went 29-2 onthe way to the Class Astate quarternals inChampaign. Eddie wasan all-state senior guardwho would go on to playat Bradley.

When I look back onthose years now, especial-ly with everything thatshappened, theres a lot ofemotion, he said.

Eddie Mathews saidgoodbye to his dad inthe fall. He said goodbyeto Brimelds longtimehome gym in the nalgame there last season.

It was going to be thelast game there, I had achance to go and Im gladI did, he said. I haventbeen in the new place yet,though, but I hear itsnice. One of these nights,Ill get out there and

check it out.

Lonnie Schwindenhammer

Memoriesof a formerIndians star

DON MATHEWS

EDDIE MATHEWS

Brimeld High School basketball teams have been

treated as grade schoolers.

In terms of basketball facilities, that is.For 44 years, the school of 230 has played its

boys and girls basketball games in the gymnasium at

Brimeld Grade School, seen below

at right.

Pregame pep talks were given in the fth-

grade hallway, locker rooms were shared with

junior high kids, and big games saw the 800-

capacity gymnasium swell at its seams.

But on Sept. 1, 2011, all of that changed as

the new high school opened. With the opening

of the new facilities, Brimeld moved into a

1,600-seat gym featuring full-size boys and girls

locker rooms and a state of the art scoreboard

and audio system, above. Its just so much bet-

ter now, theres really no comparison, Brimeld athletics director

and girls coachJim Blane said. Weve been joking in the lastmonth or so, how much basketball snobs were getting to be.

All jokes aside, the new Brimeld gym is seriously nice. Heres

a look into the past and present of Brimeld and its gyms.

WELCOMEHOMEBrimeld basketball in its rst season with new high school gymnasium

Grade school: A home-court advantagePrior to the game fans

were being turned awayat the door, as the gym wasull by the end of the rst

quarter of the prelim.So read this excerpt from

the Journal Star about theFeb. 15, 1998 about gameScott Carlson still considersone of his memorable. The

then-rookie Brimeldcoach led the Indians

into a matchup withunbeaten and Class ANo. 2 ranked Farm-ington in front of apacked grade schoolgym. Carlson, nowin his 15th season,recalls bleachers on

top of the stage lled withpeople, along with the doorentrances crammed full offans.

I know they turnedaway 100 people or more,Carlson said. You couldntget in the gym.

Brimeld held a one-point halftime lead, but theFarmers went 25-of-34 from

the free throw line to win,87-71. It was the most points

eventual third-place statenisher Farmington (33-1)allowed all season.

Carlson, who won morethan 70 percent of hisgames at the grade schoolgym (88-37), appreciated thegeneral atmosphere and vol-ume there. It was a cozy feelfor Brimeld and its fans,but a hostile environmentfor visiting teams.

You had the band withtheir legs hanging over thestage and just two feet fromthe players warming up,he said. That loudnesshelped. The crowd kind ofalways got us going morethan taking the other teamout but really getting usexcited.

Jim Blane points toatmosphere and familiarityof knowing where peoplewere sitting. He remembersbeating eventual Class 2Astate champ Warsaw WestHancock, 52-43, on Dec. 21,2007 as a point of pride. Wealways shot well there,

Blane said. It was a nicehome-court advantage.

Large as life: Five little, err, big IndiansNick Unes and his four senior

teammates keep a watchful eye

on the new court. He hatched the

idea of putting the life-sized cut-

outs of each player on the northwall behind the far basket.

I discussed it with our seniors,

the 6-foot-3 guard said of the

Fathead-like posters, and they

liked the idea.

After getting nal approval from

his coach, Scott Carlson and

athletics directorJim Blane, Unes

went to work. According to Unes,

all the seniors paid for their own

cutout made through the graphic

services company Technicraft. But

nding the right place to hang the

posters was key.

Well, most important youre

going to have to put them

somewhere where somebody isnot going to walk by and draw a

mustache on them, Blane said of

what he told Unes.

The school then decided to

display behind the north hoop

cutouts of, above from left, Ryan

Cluskey, Ryan Wilbur, BradenStreitmatter, Unes and Danny

Dwyer.

Unes turned to his summer

baseball coach and photographer

Frank Bradley, who took the

posed pictures and sent them off

to Technicraft.

Coordinating the sizes of

the posters and making sure

everything was printed correctly

was Unes mom, Marissa. Once

the cutouts came in, Unes utilized

the help of his parents, Bob and

Marissa, and siblings,Adam and

Helen, to hang them. It took

three weeks to get the posters,

Unes said, and a solid threehours to hang them up. We did it

because its about having fun.

Old gym: You couldnt play ball in thereAccording to Brimeld golf coach and boys basket-

ball assistant Kevin Kreiter, Brimeld moved from theold high school to the grade school in time for the 1966-67 season. That season, the Indians were 4-3 in theirnew home.

After youve played in that (grade school) gym andthen came back, (the old gym) just had a special feel-ing to it every time you walked in, the Brimeld golfcoach and boys basketball assistant said.

Thankfully, the move was made. And as it turns out,the critics of the old high school gym could have lled

the new one.The high school gym was horrible, said Princeville

athletics director Dan Sullivan, who was the Brimeldboys coach from 1987 to 1994. The high schoolgym, it was not t to play in. It was a like thosegyms in Hoosiers with the permanent bleach-ers and restraining lines all over. You couldntplay ball in there.

Brimeld athletics director Jim Blane laughswhen talking about the old high school gym. Hesays that both teams boys and girls eachspent time practicing on the non-regulation sizecourt.

It was awful, Blane said. There were noside baskets, obviously. (The court) was probably70-feet long. It was pretty pathetic to practice in.

New gym: Brrr ... its hot in hereThe new gym isnt without its imperfec-

tions.

Just ask the boys team, who one day

can play shirts and skins and the next

day be forced to play in long sleeves.

One day, were practicing and its 80

degrees, coach Scott Carlson said, and we

played a game, its 60 degrees. Were still working

through some kinks.

Regardless of the climate, the boys team has had

no trouble winning in the new gym. The Indians are

10-0 at home, average 61.7 points and hold the

early record for points scored with an 80-39 win

over Beardstown on Dec. 16.

But those headaches come with having the brand new heating/

cooling system. The energy-sav-

ing, high-tech device has its

control located on the roof.Its not one of those things

where you can walk over to the

wall and set it to 70 degrees,

Brimeld girls basketball coach

and athletics directorJim Blane

said, and turn it up and down whenever you please.

According to Blane, theres special software on a laptop which

controls the heating and cooling , which cycles throughout the day

uctuating from hot to cold. I t has occupy and unoccupied

modes, as well as the ability to set it based on trafc and gym

usage.

Blane says it was 85 degrees Saturday at the beginning of the

Inter-County Tournament, but just 55 degrees Wednesday when PE

was taking place.

Were going to eventually get it to where its comfortable, but

its hard to gure it out right now, Blane said. Its a matter of us

learning the technology. Im sure it does exactly what we tell it to,but we just havent gured out how we want it to be set yet.

SCOTT CARLSON

WORDS BY

ADAM DUVALL

PHOTOS BY

FRED ZWICKY

JOURNAL STAR