Miners and Miner fans, enjoy the ride!
They've finally done it!
After five heartbreaking semistate losses in the 10 years from 2004 to 2013, the Linton-Stockton Miners have finally gotten over the dreaded semistate hump.
With Friday's 56-27 victory over defending Class A state champion North Vermillion the Miners punched their IHSAA State Finals ticket to Lucas Oil Stadium.
I will admit - after Jacob Earl's highlight reel one-handed grab for a 75-yard gain led to one score and Earl's burst up the middle pulled the Falcons within 28-20 - visions of semistates past danced through my head.
I thought, "Oh no, here we go again. It's Cardinal Ritter all over again."
Not these Miners. They're a confident bunch. And they weren't going to be denied achieving their season-long goal.
Is this the best Miner team ever? I refuse to speculate. It's difficult to make a direct comparison to a team from five or 10 years ago with a different roster makeup.
I will draw this comparison though - this year's Linton-Stockton football team is noticeably improved from last year's version.
And with 15 starters returning from that team, it's not surprising this team is the one that broke through after those before them came oh-so-close so many times.
Speaking of last year, the 31-8 regional loss to North Vermillion was the driving force behind the team's renewed dedication in the weight room.
The loss to the Falcons revealed a need to get stronger as well as faster.
"We felt like after the North Vermillion loss they were bigger, stronger and faster than us," line coach Andrew Bredeweg said earlier this season.
Better, stronger, faster. Just like the Six Million Dollar man (I'm dating myself here.)
This Miner team has won with heart and dedication - not just in the weight room, but dedication to each other.
And they've earned their ticket to the State Finals.
I can't express how much this means to the team, the school and the community. But I'm sure everyone associated with the program feels immense pride - and a sense of relief.
Players and fans, enjoy every moment of this week.
I know the players aren't satisfied with just winning the first semistate in the long and storied history of the program. They aren't going to Lucas Oil Stadium just to make a State Finals appearance.
As Dylan Morris said, "Now we've just got to try to achieve that ultimate goal of going to state and winning it."
But savor every moment this week. And don't take it for granted. These things don't last forever.
We may never be here again.
In a small school like Linton there might be a class or two come through that simply doesn't have the athletes teams of the past may have had. So the occasional downturn is almost inevitable in a small school like ours.
And if Linton-Stockton moves up to Class 2A due to enrollment or the IHSAA's Tournament Success Factor, the task - and the competition - will only get tougher.
But history is on the Miners' side. You'd have to go back to 1996 to find a Linton-Stockton team with a losing record. The 1996 team posted a 3-6 mark. In 1994 they finished 3-7. That's only two losing records in the last 22 seasons.
It wasn't always this way.
Defensive coordinator Mark Gennicks and I are old enough to remember when Miner football wasn't always as we've known it recently.
In eight straight losing seasons from 1967 to 1973 the Miners compiled an overall record of 9-57-4, including back-to-back winless seasons under Fred Livezey in 1969 and Don "Mole" Clark in 1970.
The 1969 team scored six points all season. The offense did not score. The lone touchdown came when lineman Tony Richards fell on a fumble in the end zone during a blowout loss to North Knox.
Gennicks' older brother Frank "Frog" Gennicks played on Clark's last team in 1973.
Don Clark was widely viewed as a great hire. He was a Linton guy, a star lineman on Linton's undefeated 1951 team. Number 53.
The other day Gennicks and I were discussing the differences between then and now.
Three things stand out - the coaching staff, the weight room and the youth program.
In Clark's defense, none of those elements were present during his tenure.
Clark didn't have a real assistant coach until his final season. Before then the assistant coaches were basically volunteer assistants. They were schoolteachers, some of whom didn't even play high school football.
There was no weight room. Many high schools didn't have weight rooms in those days.
When Randy Lynch came on board in 1974 he brought Indiana State teammate Dan Galbraith with him. Galbraith brought Charlie Karazsia on board two years later.
The Miners went undefeated in 1976, Galbraith's first season as head coach.
And the groundwork for sustained success was laid. Karazsia led the Miners to their first semistate appearance in 1986.
Let's hope the recent run of success we've enjoyed can continue in the future.
But for now, enjoy the moment.
Terry Schwinghammer is a sports writer for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at (812) 847-4487, ext. 27. He can also be reached via email at tschwing32@yahoo.com.
Posting a comment requires free registration:
- If you already have an account, follow this link to login
- Otherwise, follow this link to register