Auburn 57, Hononegah 43: Xavier Pittman was a returning starting guard from last year’s 20-8 Auburn team, but he was relegated to the role of sixth man after being ineligible for the first semester.
He didn’t let that keep him from being the X factor in Auburn’s 57-43 win Friday night over NIC-10 champion Hononegah in the finals of the Class 4A Guilford Regional. The win gave the school — a basketball power in the 1960s and 1970s — its first regional title since the 1978-79 season.
Hononegah 61, Boylan 51, OT: Hononegah is becoming the king of close games.
Notching their third overtime victory this season, the Indians topped Boylan 61-51 Tuesday in the Guilford Regional semifinal.
“We have been saying overtime is ‘our house,’” said senior guard Matt Carroll. “We don’t lose in overtime. Our toughness comes out and we come to play.”
Carroll had eight of his 13 points in overtime when the Indians outscored Boylan 16-6.
Hononegah 67, East 36: The Indians’ Mario Donaldson tallied 16 points and David Brown scored 13 to lift Hononegah to a dominating win over East.
East’s D’Wan Horton scored 16, but no other E-Rab had more than seven.
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Freeport guard Wes Gastel could tell as soon as the whistle blew what went wrong.
He hesitated before going up for a shot. And it cost the Pretzels one last chance to tie the game with less than two minutes to go as Hononegah won, 61-54.
“There was a long outlet pass and I got the pass and saw the defender jump,” Gastel said. “So I took my time a little and travelled.
“I should have just taken it up.”
Huntley 40, Hononegah 34: Huntley cheered so loudly the Red Raiders could be heard in the adjacent locker room. The Red Raiders had just snapped out of a 5-for-29 shooting slump with three consecutive 3-pointers in the final minute of the half to open up a 16-point lead.
“We heard them cheering already,” Hononegah junior Erin Ryczek (nine points) said. “That’s what drove us. We kept telling ourselves it’s not over. We weren’t satisfied how we played the first half and we were going to fix it.”
Hononegah 68, Belvidere 44: Hononegah clinched the outright NIC-10 conference championship with a 68-44 home win against Belvidere Friday.
Sophomore Andrew Tapley hit six 3-pointers and finished with 21 points for the Indians (23-3, 13-1 NIC-10), who are now three games ahead of second-place Jefferson (20-5, 10-4) and Auburn (16-8, 10-4).
This is the first conference title for the Indians since they shared with Jefferson in 2003-2004. Their last outright title was 1989-90.
Hononegah 76, Woodstock 62: Hononegah won its semifinal at the Class 4A Woodstock Regional to advance to the championship game. The Indians will play Huntley on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Hononegah 69, Guilford 60: Lindsay Carroll scored 24 points, hitting all 10 of her free throws, to lead Hononegah. Lauren Paulson’s 22 points led Guilford.
Hononegah 78, Guilford 67: David Brown had 18 points and Dustin Meier 14 for Hononegah. LeAndre Harmon scored 20 points, Thomas Hawkins 11 and Spencer Young 10 for Guilford.
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Hononegah 60, Belvidere North 55: Mario Donaldson scored 21 points and Matt Carroll added 14 for the Indians. Kyle Dovenmuehle scored 21 points and Jack Adams had 15 for North.
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Freeport 53, Hononegah 33: Freeport pulled ahead in the first quarter and held on for a 53-33 win against Hononegah Monday.
The Pretzels led 15-5 heading into the second quarter, and despite going 6 for 20 in free throws, remained unbeaten in the NIC-10.
Kelsey Hoefer and Katie Norman scored 15 and 12 points for Freeport (22-3, 13-0 NIC-10).
Lindsay Carroll led Hononegah in scoring with nine points.
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Hononegah 60, Belvidere North 44: A 17-point effort by Erin Ryczek powered the Indians to victory.
Andie Behling paced North with 10 points.
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Harlem never saw it coming.
In fact, most of the people in the gym never saw it coming.
With five seconds left in regulation and the conference championship on the line, Hononegah did not design a play for all-stater David Brown.
The honors instead went to sophomore Andrew Tapley, who swished his first and only basket of the night with one second remaining to send the game to overtime. Hononegah went on to beat Harlem 61-54.
After it was over, a swarm of Hononegah students rushed to Tapley to slap his back and ruffle his hair.
Hononegah 67, Harlem 55: Hononegah had five players score in double figures led by Lindsay Carroll, who had 14 points. The Indians led 49-30 at halftime and kept the pace in the second half.
Kortney Busekros led Harlem with 14 points and Morgan Kolkmeyer added 11.
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Hononegah junior Mario Donaldson didn’t have to look far to find a role model as a young player.
His own father — Mario Donaldson Sr. — played professional basketball for the Rockford Lightning when Mario was growing up.
“I know he’s helped me out a lot,” Donaldson Jr. said. “He’s always giving me tips, and he’s always been there for me. I’m really proud of him, and I’ve always tried to follow his lead.”
But Friday it was the son who made the father proud, as Donaldson scored 16 points to help lead Hononegah to a 57-48 victory against Jefferson.
Hononegah 69, Jefferson 58: Sophomore guard Lindsay Carroll made four of Hononegah’s eight 3-pointers and scored 17 points to lift the Indians to a 69-58 win over Jefferson in NIC-10 girls basketball.
Elizabeth Jordan and Erin Ryczek made two 3-pointers apiece for Hononegah (11-12, 8-2), which remained in third place in the NIC-10. Nicole Smith (14 points), a 6-foot-3 freshman, and 6-foot senior Lindsay Lengjak (12) also gave Hononegah a strong inside presence.
Jalesa Watkins scored 18 points and Te’Airia Mathis 17 for Jefferson (7-10, 3-6).
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Boylan 72, Hononegah 59: Boylan’s Maria Ludeke went 10 of 12 from the free-throw line to finish with 22 points. Brea Edwards had 17 points, while Devin Mack added 11 for Boylan.
Erin Ryczek led Hononegah with 19 points.
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Hononegah 58, Boylan 52: For more than 28 minutes it looked as if Boylan was going to turn the NIC-10 boys basketball race into a five-team scrum.
Instead, Hononegah ratcheted up its full-court press and half-court trap and managed to escape with a 58-52 win at Boylan and maintain its one-game lead.
ROCKFORD -- David Brown sat on the bench scowling in pain in the final minutes of the fourth quarter at Auburn Saturday.
The Hononegah senior had a bruised hip, four fouls, only four points and a sprained ankle that still wasn’t 100 percent.
And yet, when Hononegah coach Mike Miller turned to him for help, Brown never hesitated.
“I looked at him and said ‘How about if I put you back in and you win this for us?’” Miller said. “And he did it. He won it for us.”
Zion-Benton 76, Hononegah 63: Hononegah coach Mike Miller wanted some of the state’s best talent in his Martin Luther King Classic.
He just would have preferred to have his talent come out on top.
Ohio State recruit Lenzelle Smith scored 29 points to lead Zion-Benton to a 76-63 win over the Indians Monday at Hononegah’s King Classic. The loss cost Hononegah first place in the tournament. Neuqua Valley won with a 4-0 record, while Zion-Benton and Hononegah both finished 3-1.
Hononegah 57, Hoffman Estates 53: Hononegah outscored Hoffman Estates 17-6 in the fourth quarter. David Brown had four 3-pointers and finished with 27 points to lead Hononegah. Hoffman Estates sank 12 3-pointers in the game, including seven from Luke Mead (25 points).
ROCKTON — David Brown returned from injury early to lead Hononegah to a 2-0 start in its fifth annual Martin Luther King Classic Saturday.
Brown scored a combined 39 points in Hononegah’s wins against Normal West and Sterling just one week after going down with a high ankle sprain.
Hononegah initially feared he broke his ankle. When the Indians found out it was a sprain, he was expected to miss two weeks.
He returned in seven days.
ROCKTON — Hononegah’s 3-point bombers have been turned inside out. The Indians’ first eight baskets in Friday’s 65-52 NIC-10 girls basketball victory over Belvidere came on layups.
“It’s shocked people a little bit,” 6-foot senior center Lindsay Lengjak (16 points) said. “Hononegah is known for 3s and people are surprised when we get in the paint. My word is saucing it up.”
Saucing it up?
“The girls laugh at me,” Lengjak said, “but I say saucing it up all the time. Getting in the middle is different, so saucing it up. Keeping it spicy.”
Hononegah 51, Belvidere 30: Chase Robinson and Dustin Meier each scored 12 points as Hononegah did just enough to earn a win over Belvidere.
Eleven players scored for Hononegah, while the Buc got 12 from Andrew Eck and had just five players reach the scoring column.
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Byron 32, Winnebago 29: BYRON — Meghan Fitts scored eight of her team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Tigers. Emily Lehne added 12 points for Byron. Emily Myers scored 13 to lead Winnebago.
Marengo 48, North Boone 33: POPLAR GROVE — Marengo outscored North Boone 13-2 in the first quarter and led 27-10 at halftime. Caitlyn Adams and Kelsey Edwards led North Boone with nine and eight points, respectively.
Jefferson basketball coach Todd Brannan stood on the sidelines Friday after his J-Hawks knocked off Hononegah 64-48, and enjoyed the moment.
“We haven’t had this kind of excitement in this gym in a long time,” the first-year coach said, watching the Jefferson fans and players celebrate at midcourt.
In the middle of the crowd was junior guard Mershon Wilkes, who scored nine of his 16 points in the first quarter when Jefferson (6-0, 1-0) took a 16-7 advantage.
It was a lead the J-Hawks never relinquished.
By the time David Brown finishes his senior year, the Hononegah standout should be the team’s all-time leading scorer and second among all-time leading rebounders.
He’ll break records, earn all-state honors and possibly become a back-to-back conference MVP winner.
“He has a chance to achieve a lot of individual things, but the only thing he cares about is the success of the team,” Hononegah coach Mike Miller said.
“He’s been really great, and when you have a superstar who is more concerned about the team than himself, you have a chance.”
MOUNT PROSPECT — In the year of the quarterback in the NIC-10, Hononegah remained old school. And old school seldom looked as good as it did Saturday night, when the Indians ran for 381 yards in a 42-31 Class 7A first-round win over Mount Prospect.
Hononegah (8-2) didn’t even attempt a pass in the second half in winning its first playoff game since 1996.
“My line made the game for us,” halfback Brian Bean (116 yards on 14 carries) said after his first career 100-yard game. “We just had to go to the hole and our line took care of those blocks all day.”
ROCKTON — If Harlem and Boylan were the big Broadway act Friday, the off-Broadway production at Hononegah turned out to be a pretty good show in its own right.
The Indians (7-2) held off Belvidere North 27-20 to claim third place outright in the NIC-10.
“This was just a good high school football game by two teams,” Blue Thunder coach Curt Tobin said.
Brett McWilliams had two touchdowns and 217 yards rushing in helping Hononegah to a 27-14 advantage early in the fourth quarter.
“Brett had an amazing game — what a workhorse,” Hononegah lineman Zach Johnson said.
ROCKFORD – Zach Lane, playing with a partially torn ACL in his knee, planted hard and tried to cut Friday. A Hononegah defender hit him hard and bent him over backward.
Lane ran to the sideline, yelling all the way: “I’m good. I’m good. I’m good.”
Yes, he was. And so, as a result, were the Titans. Lane, playing for the first time in four weeks, threw for 126 yards and two touchdowns to lead Boylan to a 28-13 win over Hononegah. Boylan (8-0) now plays at Harlem (also 8-0) for the NIC-10 title next week.
ROCKFORD — Ok, now the Indians can start thinking about Boylan.
Led by sophomore quarterback Chase Robinson and former QB Dustin Meier, Hononegah (6-1, 6-1 NIC-10) rolled over East (2-5, 2-5) on Friday night, 48-21, setting up a big NIC-10 matchup next week. The Indians insisted they did not talk about next Friday’s meeting with Boylan; that is, until the clock ran out on the E-Rabs in Swanson Stadium.
FREEPORT – Fasten your seatbelts: The NIC-10 has officially joined the 21st century.
As Ohio State keeps finding out in the BCS title game, modern offenses can score on any play. And with any player.
That’s now how it was done for 70 years in the NIC-10, even more staid than the Big Ten. But that’s how it’s done now.
“The conference used to be run, run, run,” Harlem assistant coach Rich Infusino said. “But the trends are changing.”
ROCKTON — The difference between a win and a loss can be as small as a fingertip’s reach.
That was the difference Friday in Hononegah’s 27-21 win over Freeport.
On the final play of the game, Freeport quarterback Kevin Flack threw a Hail Mary into the end zone.
The ball bounced off the hand of an Indian defender, off the hand of Freeport’s Wes Gastel, then was batted to the ground by a Hononegah defender to end the game.
ROCKFORD - Hononegah sophomore Chase Robinson didn’t learn he was going to start Friday night until he saw senior quarterback Dustin Meier at practice Thursday.
“I didn’t know Dustin was hurt until he walked out without pads on,” Robinson said of Meier, who injured the middle finger on his passing hand in the first quarter of last week’s loss to unbeaten Harlem. Meier said he’d be out for three or four weeks.
ROCKTON — Meet the PlayStation Huskies.
Whenever Hononegah would score Friday, Harlem would score even faster. Sometimes ridiculously fast. And the Huskies never seemed to stop, scoring touchdowns on seven consecutive drives in a 48-28 NIC-10 drubbing of previously unbeaten Hononegah.
“We made a big statement to the NIC-10: We’re coming for everyone,” said fullback Andy Kennington, who ran for 112 yards on 12 carries.
ROCKTON — Brett McWilliams ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries to lead Hononegah (3-0). The Indians ran for 280 yards on 45 carries and led 41-0 at the half. Collin Rohs, Brian Bean and Dan Hardyman each ran for one touchdown.
Mario Manns scored on an 85-yard run on his only carry for Jefferson (0-3) in the fourth quarter.
ROCKFORD — Hononegah’s second-quarter offensive avalanche buried Auburn 49-0 Friday night at Wyeth Stadium.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Indians racked up five touchdowns to take a 35-0 halftime lead.
Senior quarterback Dustin Meier picked apart Auburn’s defense in the second quarter, throwing touchdowns to Peter Ducato (33 yards), Brett McWilliams (31 yards) and Tyler Tucek (3 yards).
“Our coach found a hole in their defense in the first quarter,” Meier said, “and we exploited that in the second quarter for some big plays.”
ROCKTON - The game featured eight fumbles, 13 penalties and a combined 18 yards passing.
On a ragged opening night Friday, Hononegah coach Tim Sughroue was just glad to get out with a win, after the Indians took control late in a 41-14 win over Belvidere.
“I expected a few of those kinds of things in the first game, but that was way too many,” Sughroue said. “But Belvidere is a great program, and no matter how you win against them, it’s a good win.”
