News

TRIP TO LUCAS OIL STADIUM HANGS IN THE BALANCE
Ten semi-state championship games will be played this weekend with winners advancing to their respective state championship game in the 37th Annual IHSAA Football State Tournament presented by the Indianapolis Colts.

 

Seven of the games will be played on Friday night while three others will be played Saturday.

Six undefeated teams are among the 20 still alive and three defending state champions remain in the hunt.

In Class 4A, top-ranked and defending state champion Evansville Reitz (13-0) will travel to North Central High School to face sixth-ranked Indianapolis Cathedral (10-3) for the third time in four seasons. It’s also a rematch of last year’s 31-10 Reitz victory played in Evansville. The Panthers, winners of 28 straight games, also won the 2007 semi-state meeting, 35-34, in Indianapolis.

Class A No. 1 Lafayette Central Catholic (13-0) will host its first semi-state championship game on Friday when it faces No. 5 Churubusco (12-1). Like Reitz, Central Catholic is also riding a 28-game winning streak following last year’s undefeated campaign. Churubusco will attempt to unseat the Knights and win its first semi-state championship in 27 years. The other 1A game features unranked Guerin Catholic (8-5), which won its first sectional title this year, at defending semi-state winner Fountain Central (12-1).

Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (12-1), the top-ranked team in Class 2A, will host No. 2 Rensselaer Central (13-0) for the second straight year in this round. The Knights won last year’s encounter 52-21 and went on to capture their eighth state championship the following week.

Other unbeaten teams in action this week include No. 2 Valparaiso (13-0) traveling to No. 9 Fishers (12-1) in Class 5A; No. 2 Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (12-0) heads to No. 9 Hammond Morton (12-1) and; No. 4 North Putnam (13-0) hosts No. 3 Evansville Mater Dei (12-1).

The 5A south semi-state pits No. 6 Lawrence Central (12-1) and unranked Bloomington North (7-6) for the second time this year in Bloomington. Lawrence Central won a 51-20 Conference Indiana game on Oct. 15. A victory on Friday would mean the first state championship game appearance for either team. Bloomington North is the 10th six-loss team since the all-in tournament format began in 1985 to advance to the semi-state round. Only NorthWood, which went on to win the 2005 3A state title, has advanced to the state championship game.

Like 5A, Class 3A features an all-new semi-state field from a year ago with No. 4 Leo (12-1) on the road at unranked South Bend St. Joseph’s (8-5) and No. 3 Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (9-4) at No. 10 Indian Creek (12-1).

Visit www.ihsaa.org this weekend as scores from each game become available as well as information for next weekend’s five state championship games at Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

Semi-States
Date: Friday, November 19, 2010.
Times: 7 pm local time or as determined by host school.
Admission: $7 per person.

Class 5A
Valparaiso (13-0) at Fishers (12-1). Fri, 8 pm ET / 7 pm CT
Lawrence Central (12-1) at Bloomington North (7-6). Fri, 7 pm ET
Class 4A
Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (12-0) at Hammond Morton (12-1). Sat, 6 pm ET / 5 pm CT.
Evansville Reitz (13-0) at Indianapolis Cathedral (10-3). Sat, 3 pm ET / 2 pm CT, at North Central HS.
Class 3A
Leo (12-1) at South Bend St. Joseph’s (8-5). Fri, 7:30 pm ET
Indianapolis Bishop Chatard (9-4) at Indian Creek (12-1). Fri, 7 pm ET.
Class 2A
Rensselaer Central (13-0) at Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (12-1). Sat, 7 pm ET / 6 pm CT.
Evansville Mater Dei (12-1) at North Putnam (13-0). Fri, 8 pm ET / 7 pm CT
Class A
Churubusco (12-1) at Lafayette Central Catholic (13-0). Fri, 7:30 pm ET
Guerin Catholic (8-5) at Fountain Central (12-1). Fri, 7 pm ET

State Finals
Lucas Oil Stadium, 500 S. Capitol Avenue, Indianapolis.
Dates: Friday, Nov. 26; Saturday, Nov. 27, 2010.
Tickets: $15.00 per day; All seats are general admission. Single day tickets may be purchased at participating schools the week of the state finals. Contact schools for ticket distribution hours. Tickets also will be available game day at the Lucas Oil Stadium Ticket Office located on the southeast side of the venue at street level nearest Capitol Avenue.
Driving Directions & Parking: www.lucasoilstadium.com
Gates Open: Lucas Oil Stadium will open its gates to fans beginning one hour prior to kickoff of the first game each day. On Friday, gates will open at 2:30 pm ET and on Saturday at 11 am ET.
Television | Webcast | Radio | Order Photos

Friday
Class A State Championship Game | 3:30 pm ET
Class 2A State Championship Game | 7 pm ET

Saturday
Class 3A State Championship Game | 12 pm ET
Class 4A State Championship Game | 3:30 pm ET
Class 5A State Championship Game | 7:05 pm ET

 

Notables

State Tournament Win Streaks
10: Evansville Reitz (4A), Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (2A), Lafayette Central Catholic (A).

Overall Win Streaks
28: Evansville Reitz, Lafayette Central Catholic.
13: North Putnam, Rensselaer Central, Valparaiso.
12: Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fountain Central.
11: Fishers, Hammond Morton, Indian Creek, Leo.

Defending Semi-State Champions Still Alive (4 of 10)
5A: None.
4A: Evansville Reitz.
3A: None.
2A: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers.
A: Fountain Central, Lafayette Central Catholic.

Most Consecutive Semi-State Championships
4 by Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, 1999-2002; 4 by Roncalli, 2002-05; 4 by Warren Central, 2003-06; 4 by Sheridan, 2005-08; 4 by Carmel, 2006-09.

Seeking First Semi-State Championship
5A: Bloomington North, Fishers, Lawrence Central.
4A: Hammond Morton.
3A: Indian Creek, Leo.
2A: North Putnam, Rensselaer Central.
A: Guerin Catholic.

Drought-Breakers? (Five or more years since last semi-state championship)
27: Churubusco (1983).
9: Evansville Mater Dei, Valparaiso (2001).

Top 10 All-Time Semi-State Championships
12: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers.
11: Roncalli.
10: Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, Sheridan.
9: Ben Davis, Hobart, Penn.
8: Indianapolis Cathedral.
7: Carmel, Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter, Warren Central.

 

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FOOTBALL COACHES INTERVIEW SESSION AT LUCAS OIL STADIUM MONDAY
Members of the news media are invited to interview the 10 state finalist football coaches during a gathering at Lucas Oil Stadium next Monday, Nov. 22. A school personnel meeting will begin at 10 am ET / 9 am CT and will be closed to the news media. Coaches will be available for interviews for about an hour beginning at approximately 10:30 am ET / 9:30 am CT.

Upon your arrival at Lucas Oil Stadium, please park in the South Lot through Gate 6 which is off Capitol Avenue. Once parked, please enter the Northeast Administrative Entrance.  Signage will be placed to lead you to the meeting room which is on field level. Lucas Oil Stadium map | Downtown Indianapolis map

A special state finals information packet containing updated statistics, rosters and other team information as submitted by the schools will be distributed at the interview session. For outlets that cannot attend, the information packet will be e-mailed later that day to all that receive regular IHSAA media updates and posted at ihsaa.org. If you would like to pick up your state finals credentials at the coaches interview session, please indicate that in your request. Instructions are listed below.

 

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FOOTBALL MEDIA CREDENTIAL REQUESTS NOW BEING ACCEPTED
For media outlets intending to cover the football state finals on Nov. 26-27, please apply for credentials (with name of individual applying) through IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille at jwille@ihsaa.org. Requests MUST originate from a recognized business account; e-mails from personal accounts (ie: yahoo.com, aol.com, gmail.com, etc.) will not be accepted. The deadline for requests is 4 pm ET / 3 pm CT on Wednesday, Nov. 25. Credentials will not be granted after that time. Please note that the football state finals require a specific credential. Any passes issued previously will not allow admission to this event. Advance requests will be available for pickup at the state finals coaches meeting at Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday, Nov. 22 (please indicate your intentions to do so). All other approved requests will be available at media will-call located inside the northwest entrance to Lucas Oil Stadium nearest the corner of Missouri and South streets on game day. Credentials will not be mailed.

 

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ANDERSON’S MIKE PADFIELD NAMED OUTSTANDING FOOTBALL OFFICIAL
Mike Padfield of Anderson is the recipient of the 2010 Interscholastic Athletic Official Association Award for excellence in the sport of football.  Padfield will be honored in a special ceremony at the state finals.

Each year, the Indiana High School Athletic Association, in cooperation with the National Federation of Interscholastic Officials Association, recognizes and honors an outstanding official in each of 11 sports during the school year.

Padfield has been a football official for 36 years.  During his career, he has worked every level of the state tournament, including 23 sectionals, seven regionals, four semi-states and three state finals.  He last officiated the state finals in 2007 at the RCA Dome.

Padfield was selected for this honor by a committee representing the officials associations.  In Indiana there are 26 associations made up of men and women who give up much of their personal time to assist in providing wholesome, worthwhile, and healthy activities for the student-athletes in our state.  Statewide, there are more than 8,000 officials licensed by the IHSAA in 11 sports. 

A member of the Central Athletic Officials Association, Padfield has served as both president and vice-president of the association as well as serving as the secretary for 12 years until he stepped down in 2005.  During his officiating career, he has been licensed in basketball, cross country, soccer, and track and field, working numerous state finals in those sports as well as serving as a rules interpreter and sports chairman for all four sports.

Padfield, a 1970 graduate of Mater Dei High School in Breese, Illinois, attended Kaskaskia College in Centralia, Illinois, and majored in journalism.  He has worked as an accounts manager for LMC Service Solutions in Anderson for 10 years.  He has twin sons, Cory and Toby, as well as five grandchildren.

 

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FORMER FLOYD CENTRAL AD LES WRIGHT TO BE INDUCTED INTO NIAAA HALL OF FAME
Note: The following information was included in an NFHS News Release issued Thursday, Nov. 18.

Nine high school athletic directors will be inducted into the second Hall of Fame class of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) December 19 in Orlando, Florida, during banquet festivities at the 41st annual National Athletic Directors Conference co-sponsored by the NIAAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). 

Les Wright served as the athletic director and director of student activities at Floyds Knobs (Indiana) Floyd Central Junior-Senior High School for 26 years before retiring in 1996. Wright was a state and national leader in athletic administration through his work with the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (IIAAA) and the NIAAA.

After eight years as a teacher and assistant coach, Wright assumed the athletic director duties at Floyd Central in 1970 and took a boys-only athletic program with eight sports and 18 teams in grades 7-12, to a full program of 10 boys sports and 10 girls sports with 66 teams in grades 7-12. The high school’s 40-acre outdoor athletic complex is named in Wright’s honor.

At the state level, Wright was appointed to the IIAAA Board of Directors in only his second year at Floyd Central. He served on the Board for 12 years and was president during the 1978-79 school year. The IIAAA honored Wright as District V Athletic Director of the Year twice, and he received the Charles E. Maas Distinguished Service Award for District V.

Wright, who earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Indiana University, worked as a track and cross country official for the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and is a 30-year member of both the IHSAA Officials Association and the NFHS Officials Association.

Nationally, Wright has devoted countless hours to the NIAAA and remains active today in his fifth term as the chairperson of the NIAAA Retired Athletic Directors Committee. He never missed a National Athletic Directors Conference during his 26 years at Floyd Central, and was a member of the National Conference Registration Committee for 22 years.

Wright served on the NFHS Athletic Directors Advisory Committee and assisted in organizing three National Athletic Directors Conferences. Wright has also served on the NIAAA Board of Directors and on its Endowment and Publications Committees. A lifetime NIAAA member, Wright was in the first class to earn Certified Athletic Administrator status in 1988.

Wright received an NFHS Citation in 1980, and he was the recipient of an NIAAA Distinguished Service Award in 1984 and the NIAAA Thomas E. Frederick Award of Excellence in 1998.

 

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CASTLE’S JOHN EVERS TO RECEIVE NFHS SERVICE AWARD
Note: The following information was included in an NFHS News Release issued Wednesday, Nov. 17.

Nine individuals who have made outstanding contributions to interscholastic athletics have been named recipients of the 2010 Distinguished Service Awards given by the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA).
These individuals will be honored December 19 in Orlando, Florida, during the banquet at the 41st annual National Athletic Directors Conference conducted jointly by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and the NIAAA.

The Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to individuals from within the NIAAA membership in recognition of their length of service, special accomplishments and contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. Nominations are submitted by state athletic director associations, screened by the NIAAA Awards Committee, and selected by the NIAAA Board of Directors.

John Evers, CMAA, has served as the director of athletics at Newburgh (Indiana) Castle High School since 1994. During his 34-year career as a teacher, coach and athletic director, he has earned great respect and admiration at the local, state and national levels.

Prior to becoming athletic director at Castle, Evers spent four years as the head football and assistant wrestling coach at Rockport (Indiana) South Spencer High School. From 1978 to 1990, he served as Castle’s assistant track and field, football and baseball coach, while teaching life sciences, biology, health and physical education. Evers also taught and coached seventh-grade football and eighth-grade track and field at Castle Junior High School.

Within the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (IIAAA), Evers has served on its board of directors, strategic planning committee and leadership training committee. He has also been the IIAAA president, first vice president, conference director, liaison to the NIAAA, past president and secretary. Other statewide accomplishments include his work with the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA). Evers annually conducts the association’s new athletic directors workshop, and he has directed more than 160 IHSAA and conference tournaments at Castle High School.

Nationally, Evers has been very active within the NIAAA, completing 22 Leadership Training Courses and attending 13 National Athletic Directors Conferences. He has also served as the Indiana delegate to the NIAAA Delegate Assembly seven times, and has been a presenter at four national conferences. A vice chair of the NIAAA Publications Committee, Evers has had 23 articles published in Interscholastic Athletic Administration (IAA) magazine. In 2005, he received the NIAAA State Award of Merit and the NFHS Citation.

In 2007, Evers was named the State Athletic Director of the Year, and he was chosen IIAAA District 6 Athletic Administrator of the Year from 2004 to 2006.

Twice a summa cum laude graduate, Evers received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Evansville (Indiana).

 

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McCUTCHEON’S TIM SLAUTER EARNS NFHS CITATION
Note: The following information was included in an NFHS News Release issued Wednesday, Nov. 17.

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) will award NFHS Citations to eight high school athletic directors December 18 in Orlando, Florida, during luncheon festivities at the 41st annual National Athletic Directors Conference sponsored jointly by the NFHS and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
NFHS Citations are presented annually to outstanding athletic directors in recognition of contributions to interscholastic athletics at the local, state and national levels. State associations nominate athletic directors for NFHS Citations, and the NFHS Board of Directors approves recipients.

Tim Slauter, CMAA, is the assistant principal and dean of students of Lafayette (Indiana) McCutcheon High School after serving 10 years as the school’s athletic director. He has spent his entire educational career in Indiana and has become a leader at the local and state levels.

During his time as athletic director at McCutcheon, Slauter created a student-athlete advisory board and a coach mentoring program. He also directed improvements to the athletic facilities and created a coaches handbook.

Slauter has been very active in the Indiana Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (IIAAA), most recently serving as its Publications chair and as a Leadership Training State Instructor. He also served a term as IIAAA president in 2005-06, and is former chair of both the IIAAA State Membership Committee and the IIAAA Sports Proposals Committee.
At the national level, Slauter served on the IIAAA Host Committee for the 2003 National Athletic Directors Conference in Indianapolis and has been the Indiana delegate to the NIAAA Delegate Assembly five times. He has taken 15 Leadership Training Courses and has taught four courses.

In 2007, Slauter earned the NIAAA State Award of Merit and was named the IIAAA State Athletic Director of the Year in 2007-08. In addition, he was named the Midwest District Athletic Director of the Year by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education in 2009, and was a finalist for the National Council of Secondary School Athletic Directors National Athletic Director of the Year Award.

Slauter earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Joseph’s (Indiana) College in 1975 and a master’s degree from Purdue (Indiana) University in 1980.

 

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STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
The following lists of statistical leaders are compiled by VarVee.com, the IHSAA’s official statistics gathering partner. The IHSAA encourages each of its member schools to participate by registering at www.varvee.com and updating statistics by each Monday through the end of the season. Weekly reports will be issued each Tuesday throughout the season.

Football: State Statistical Leaders | Weekly Report 
Volleyball: State Statistical Leaders | Weekly Report
Boys Soccer: State Statistical Leaders | Weekly Report
Girls Soccer: State Statistical Leaders | Weekly Report
Boys Tennis: State Statistical Leaders
Girls Golf: State Statistical Leaders

 

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NEWS & NOTES FROM AROUND THE STATE
Have an interesting note? A conference or school record, coaching milestone or something else of interest? Please e-mail IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille at jwille@ihsaa.org for consideration.

The January 6 girls basketball game between Shenandoah and visiting Tri will feature a coaching duel between father and daughter. Tri is coached by Jeff Miller and Shenandoah is coached by his daughter, Chelsea Killian. A third member of the family is also in the Indiana high school coaching ranks as Jeff's son and Chelsea's brother, C.J. Miller, is the varsity boys coach at Tri.