By Al Stilley Senior staff writer Lutheran seniors Bailly Barham and Emeka Jillani have been this route before. They have won four football sectional championships. In 2015 they fell in the regional. Last year’s loss to Linton-Stockton in the semistate stung and left the Saints motivated for a deeper playoff march. “All our seniors are determined to get to state, and this team is going to do everything in our power to get there,” said Jillani, a Ball State commit. “We came so close last year but couldn’t finish. We don’t want that to happen again.” The Saints will face Arlington for a regional championship Friday. The host Golden Knights (9-2) are skilled with speed and athleticism. Barham knows it is one step at a time. “We have been through a lot since then; hard work during the summertime and we want it to pay off,” Barham said. “We believe in the program, what coach (Dave) Pasch says, believe in ourselves and be very humble; being humble is the key.” The 1A No. 2 Saints are 10-2 and overpowered sectional foes Cambridge City Lincoln 54-16 and South Decatur 56-12 before defeating Hagerstown 19-12 Friday. Lutheran gained a 19-6 lead on Andre Jones’ second touchdown run. The Tigers scored on a 50-yard pass, but the Saints avoided a nail-biting finish with a fourth-down pass caught by a diving Barham. Sophomore running back Marcus McFadden scored the Saints’ second TD, and senior slotback Trevor Russell added to the offense. Jillani and 300-pound senior lineman Mike Eakle played most of the game on both sides of the ball. “Both teams had opportunities to make plays, but near the end we made more plays than they did,” Pasch said. “Our defense rose to the occasion, but there were times on offense that we made the big catch.” Jillani has matured from a pudgy 250-pound freshman to a rock- solid 289-pound lineman who will play in NCAA Division I next season. He is not looking that far ahead but does want to play two more games for the Saints after Friday. “My sophomore year was a drain physically because I went from not playing much as a freshman and then starting on both sides of the ball,” Jillani said. “When I thought of the big picture (state finals), that’s when I knew what I had to do.” Barham contends that playing linebacker on defense helps him as a slotback on offense. “That helps me know what the linebackers are thinking, so I know what route to run to get around them. On defense I read our linemen and if they drop, then I try to disrupt the receiver coming my way.” “We knew Hagerstown would be tough,” Barham said. “Our conference (Indiana Crossroads) – as tough as it is – has helped us. Playing teams in classes above us, even though we don’t like to lose, it makes us better so we can win after Week 9 (the start of the tournament).” A vice principal at Scecina, Pasch (75-45) is in his 10th season at Lutheran. This year’s 12 seniors are 38-15 over the past four years. |
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![]() By Nathan Pace Online editor In his first year as a coach for Genesis United Cross Country, Center Grove alumnus Ben Houston said his new program is providing an outlet for many Southside athletes. “Absolutely, we are filling a void for that, and I think you will see that evidence as we start growing in the next several years as the word gets out of our program,” he said. Genesis United is a Christian-based athletic program for home-schoolers who are still looking to compete in sports. The organization has established soccer, cross-country and track programs. Home-schooled students in previous years had to drive to Bloomington or Carmel to run cross-country. Now, after the end of its inaugural season, Houston is confident his team will grow quickly. “I want to see the organization continue to grow. I want it to remain an organization of character and faith and strong values that is open to all home-schooled athletes who are interested in bettering themselves.” During the day Houston works at the University of Indianapolis as a graduate studies and adult learning enrollment counselor. After work he and co-coach Crystal Neil run the boys and girls cross-country teams, which practice at Summerfield Park in southern Greenwood. “I feel blessed having a co-coach like Crystal,” Houston said. “We compliment each other very well.” Neil handles most of the logistics and administration of the teams, while Houston writes the teams’ training plans and oversees workouts. Macy Cline and Eliya Sica finished fourth and 15th, respectively, at the Ohio Valley High School Regional Championships in Columbus, Ind., Oct. 14; each earned All-Region honors. The boys were led by Donavon Avalos with a 16th-place finish, just missing All-Region. Earlier in the season he finished seventh at the Indiana Christian School Athletic Association state meet, sharing association All-State honors with teammate Ryan Rueff, who finished 20th. Houston is now preparing the team for the track season but is already scheduling and making goals for next year’s cross-country season. Houston plans to maintain the culture of quality and character Genesis United has come to stand for. “Certainly the dedication and character and those types of aspects that you also find in the Bible in the verses are also crucial to success in running. That type of dedication that you get from your faith ties in perfectly in running,” he said. “Perseverance especially.” |
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