As I work here at the Leader office late on a Saturday night, my ears are still ringing from sitting next to the Hillsboro pep band during the championship game of the Hawks’ 62nd annual Gene Steighorst Tournament.
Under the direction of Vincent Rapini, the band belted out the school fight song, played some modern pop and rock numbers and began the game with a stirring rendition of the national anthem. The music during the timeouts in the Hillsboro vs. Park Hills Central final added to the festive atmosphere in a packed gym.
The Hawks took control with a 14-0 run in the second half, stoking the frenzied crowd as it fed off every Gaven Pinkley slam dunk or 3-point basket by Michael Brewer and Ben Lampkins. Hillsboro’s hardwood maestros orchestrated a 76-64 victory for their second straight Steighorst title and a 5-0 start to the season.
The game concluded my two-day plunge into the heart of the high school basketball season, covering five full games plus parts of three others, spanning three tournaments. I made stops in all three hospitality rooms, of course, nibbling on fried chicken, chili, pasta and salad. I stayed away from the omnipresent sweets as the doctor has ordered me to knock them off.
What I learned in those two days is that the Herculaneum girls might be the surprise team of the season, while the Hillsboro boys are every bit as good as people thought they’d be. Both won their own tournament championships last week.
Herky girls head coach Riley Blair brought two crock pots full of chili and pasta, which he had cooked himself, into the hospitality room Friday. Blair’s Blackcats then served up a flawless first half against Grandview in the final of the 20th annual Doe Run Black and Red Classic and beat the Eagles 39-36.
Grandview senior Macy Ketcherside was named the tournament’s most valuable player after scoring 13 points against Herky, but Blair said senior Emily Fischer did a great job defending against Ketcherside in the paint. After the win, Blair gushed with superlatives about his players, who have carved out a 7-0 start.
“Emily Fischer did a phenomenal job on Macy,” Blair said. “She was the player of the game for us defensively. I challenged her in practice to do that.”
Outside the Grandview locker room, I congratulated Eagles assistant coach Kirstin Sparks on her new position with the team. This time last year, Sparks was running the Eagles offense up and down the floor as the point guard.
Grandview head coach Ronda Hubbard is very blunt about her team’s performances. I enjoy such candor after a tough loss. In Hubbard’s first season as coach last year, she led the Eagles to a school-record 22 wins. The rematch against the Blackcats on Jan. 4 should be a barn-burner.
“We didn’t play with a sense of urgency tonight,” Hubbard said. “Along the way, the adjustments I was asking them to make, they weren’t making. It’s early in the season and maybe we’re not as game-ready as we thought we were against a team like Herky.”
By the time I got to Jefferson College on Saturday afternoon for the girls portion of the Jefferson County Activities Association Shootout, Crystal City had already won its second game within 24 hours (after an 0-4 start), beating Windsor 38-29, while St. Pius X (2-4) squeaked past Bishop DuBourg 49-45.
I was there to cover Festus vs. Jefferson and witnessed the best individual defensive performance I’ve seen so far this season.
Festus sophomore Abby Rickermann looked like she had three hands, swatting and snatching to create one turnover after another. The Tigers had started the season 0-6, with head coach Ron Rhodes lamenting that his young team will experience growing pains.
Rickermann led all scorers with 22 points and Rhodes was a bit in awe of her performance as well.
“That’s the best defensive pressure we’ve created all year,” he said. “We have to do that because we have no experience, so we have to get steals and layups.”
From there it was a short drive to Hillsboro High for the Steighorst final. The Rebels’ early strategy was to crash the paint and get the Hawks’ star senior, Gaven Pinkley, into foul trouble, and Pinkley did pick up his third foul with 3:16 left in the third quarter. But head coach Dan Johnson left him on the floor because the Hawks were trailing by four points at the time. Pinkley rewarded him by not being whistled again.
“Teams try to get me into foul trouble, so I go straight up and trust the guards to keep (the opposing players) in front of them,” Pinkley said.
He scored 25 points in a semifinal win against Festus on Friday night, displaying a full arsenal that included a finger roll slicing through the paint, a couple of mid-range jump shots and three slam dunks. Then he made the Rebels yell on Saturday with a game-high 29 points.
I’m still not sure why the best basketball player in the county (with apologies to Grandview senior Koby Klaus) hasn’t signed with a major college to play at the next level, but Pinkley’s play so far has to be exciting coaches near and far.