Coal City Courant

Coalers celebrate hot start with first place finish

Published by admin on Tue, 11/28/2017 - 5:10pm

    The Coal City varsity boys basketball team is riding high after starting their season in show-stopping fashion.
    The Coalers breezed through the competition during the Turkey Tournament at Coal City, winning all four of their games to claim a first place trophy.
    After three wins through pool play, Coal City was set up for the championship game, and they did not disappoint, defeating Manteno, 59-47.

Lady Coalers struggle in first I-8 loss

Published by admin on Tue, 11/28/2017 - 5:06pm

    The Coal City varsity girls basketball team couldn’t keep pace with  Plano Monday night, as they suffered a 61-39 loss in conference action.
    The Lady Coalers (2-5 overall, 0-1 conference) matched the Reapers through the first quarter, as both teams recorded 10 points.
    Unfortunately, the second frame would set the pace for the remainder of the game, as Plano amassed 25 points to Coal City’s eight, holding a 35-18 lead at half-time.

Coalers off with a good start

Published by admin on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 6:13pm

    Coal City’s varsity boys basketball team showed exactly what any head coach looks for during the start of the season on Monday night: Composure.
    The Coalers were able to battle with Serena throughout their first game of the Coaler Turkey Tournament, and mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter to win 54-49.
    “It was a good first game for our team,” said head coach Keith Kiper. “We played hard against a very solid Serena team, who took the lead on us with two minutes left. We were able to pull out the victory in the end.”

Coalers looking for repeat success on the mats

Published by admin on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 6:11pm

    The big question heading into this year’s wrestling season will be how big of a chip will be on Coal City’s shoulder.
    The Coalers had an absolutely outstanding season this past year, but missed heading to dual team state for the third year in a row due to a smaller Regional, which didn’t do Coal City any favors.
    Last winter the Coalers took first place in the I-8 Conference Tournament, ABE Rumble and Princeton Invitational, secured an undefeated conference title over Wilmington, were ranked No. 1 overall, and sent 11 individual wrestlers to state.

Lady Coalers pick up first win during Ladycat Classic

Published by admin on Tue, 11/21/2017 - 6:09pm

    After bouncing back with a win over Tinley Park, the Coal City varsity girls basketball team suffered a loss to St. Laurence during their final pool play game of the Beecher Ladycat Fall Classic.
    Coal City jumped to a 9-2 lead, and held a 15-10 lead by halftime. But the Lady Coalers stumbled through the third quarter, letting up 17 points while scoring just seven, handing the lead back to St. Laurence, 27-22.
    Coal City attempted to close the gap in the fourth, but just couldn’t outpace their opponent enough to make up for the third quarter.

Coalers will return skilled players at key positions

Published by admin on Tue, 11/14/2017 - 6:33pm

The Coal City varsity boys basketball team had its share of senior departures last March. The question is how that will figure into the Coalers’ game plan when they open 2017-18 season Monday with their own Turkey Tournament.
    The Coalers have a pool  of talented players filling out their roster after an 8-20 (4-7 conference) campaign a year ago. That record doesn’t reflect what kind of season they actually had last year.

Lady Coalers set sights on new season, look for repeat success

Published by admin on Tue, 11/07/2017 - 5:36pm

    The Lady Coalers varsity basketball team will be the first Winter sport to begin competitive play, and there will be some questions moving forward for the current roster.
    The varsity side will be under the direction of veteran coach Brad Schmitt, who enters his 15th year at the helm. He will have assistance from freshman coach Joel Micetich (15th year) and JV coach Rodney Monbrum (fourth year).
    Last year, while the Lady Coalers finished 12-17 overall, they still had their successes.

Turnovers haunt Coalers in first round of the playoffs

Published by admin on Tue, 10/31/2017 - 6:15pm

    The Coal City varsity football team was hit by a tempest Saturday during the opening round of the IHSA Class 4A playoffs.
    The Coalers (6-4) made the two-and-a-half hour drive south,  to take on Taylorville, where they wound up falling 42-7.
    The true tale of the game was the Tornadoes’ quarterback, who had a role in all six of the team’s touchdowns, as he threw for five, and rushed for one.

Playoff Roundup

Published by admin on Tue, 10/31/2017 - 6:14pm

    The first week of the IHSA football playoffs had some interesting upsets, undefeated teams moving on, and plenty of close games.
    Round one has shown us that it is tough being in the seventh seed, as nine of the 16 seventh seed teams from 1A to 8A were upset by the 10th seed. In fact, over the first week, there were 26 upsets in total, leaving plenty of confidence for those lower seeds.
    Let’s take a look at each division, and see how they stacked up through round one.
Class 1A

Coalers will travel for round one

Published by admin on Tue, 10/24/2017 - 6:31pm

    With a loss to Wilmington Friday, the Coaler football team were officially seeded 11th in the northern tier of the Class 4A playoffs, meaning they will hit the road for the first round.
    The Coalers (6-3 overall) will be making a 2 1/2-hour drive to Taylorville on Saturday for a 3 p.m. game against the sixth-seeded Tornadoes.
    The drive there will not be fun, but Coal City coach Dan Hutchings isn’t worried about the travel and is determined to bring a win back home.