Randolph Southern Rebels | Archive | February, 2010

SHARPSVILLE – The celebration was three years in the making. Turkey Run finally claimed the regional championship that had been so elusive the past two seasons. 

Perhaps a little role reversal helped the Class A fourth-ranked Warriors. The past two seasons, Turkey Run has met Lafayette Central Catholic in the first round of the 1A regional. The Warriors won both contests, only to lose each time to Southern Wells in the title tilt. 

This time, Central Catholic handled Southern Wells in the opening round, and the matchup with the Knights came in the Feb. 20 championship contest. The result was a 46-32 Turkey Run victory and the school’s first regional title for either the boys or girls.

The nightcap at Tri-Central was far closer than the score indicates, and the victorious Knights may well be questioning themselves with “what ifs” for some time to come. The Knights contributed greatly to their own demise by missing a total of 14 shots within five feet of the bucket. 

Much of that futility can be chalked up to the Warrior defense. It is one thing to get the ball in scoring position and quite another to get good shots. Nearly every Central Catholic attempt in the paint was challenged by the tight Turkey Run resistance.

The most crucial point in the game may well have seemed innocent at the time. Turkey Run used a 5-0 run late in the first quarter to extend an 8-7 lead to 13-7. Central Catholic closed within 15-10 at the end of the first stanza, but the Knights would never get closer than three the remainder of the night.

The Knights’ frustration was most apparent in the second quarter. Turkey Run’s most potent offensive weapon, junior Chelsea Francis, picked up her second foul with six minutes left in the period. Warriors coach Sam Karr did his best to substitute her in on offense and out on defense the remainder of the half. 

Despite opportunities, Central Catholic was unable to take advantage of her absences or tag her with a third foul. Turkey Run, which had drilled No. 13 Randolph Southern by a 47-28 count to make the championship game, reached intermission with the same five-point lead it held at the first stop.

The contest remained close throughout the third quarter, and it appeared the ultimate frustration might belong to Turkey Run. The Warriors squandered four opportunities late in the quarter to extend the margin to double digits. 

As the clock wound down, Lafayette had possession of the ball and was due to receive it again to start the fourth period. The Warriors’ defense again came to the rescue. They caused a jump ball in the waning moments of the quarter to change the possession arrow, then shut down the Knights on their last chance of the stanza.

Turkey Run finally broke through by scoring the first four points of the fourth quarter and extending the advantage to 12 points. From that point until the end of the game, it often appeared half the Turkey Run student body was clogging the lane at the Central Catholic end of the floor. 

Unable to go inside where their offense was the most potent, the Knights dented the scoreboard for only two points until the final minute of the game.

Afterward, coach Karr told Hoosier Authority he credited the victory to his team’s defensive effort and a more tough-minded approach than they had brought to the regional the last two seasons. 

Francis ended the game with 22 points, which made her the only double-figure scorer on either team. Turkey Run will now face defending state champion No. 2 Fort Wayne Canterbury in Saturday’s Warsaw Semistate, with the winner battling either seventh-ranked Waldron (22-3) or unbeaten No. 1 Vincennes Rivet (25-0) for the state championship March 6 in Fort Wayne.

Game 1 – Lafayette Central Catholic 45, Southern Wells 38

Game 2 – #4 Turkey Run 47, #13 Randolph Southern 28

Championship – #4 Turkey Run 46, Lafayette Central Catholic 32

1A – #2 Fort Wayne Canterbury (23-2) vs. #4 Turkey Run (20-5). 4p

2A – Winamac (19-6) vs. #12 Fort Wayne Luers (17-7). To follow