Well it's been awhile hasn't it? The two or three weeks after my last post were plagued with a sickness that usually went away after about three-four days but then would return a few days later. Finally it went away a few weeks ago and I've actually gone about two weeks without a sore throat, fever, cough, and/or drainage. So yeah the last few weeks have been "thrilling" for me. But I'm still alive.
I would like to make this post about a high school that has been practically unbeatable for the last year. Maroa-Forsyth's basketball team began 2006 (yes 2006) playing second-fiddle to Warrensburg-Lathem, a team in the Okaw Valley conference that was gathering all the attention by everyone in the area for the most part (even though both teams had practically the same record). Well, the two teams met in early Feb and I was at that game. For the sake of my friends that go to both schools, I tried to be neutral. That didn't work so well. Anyway, the game had been highly awaited by everyone and it was a great game of high school basketball. Maroa ended up winning in the final seconds of a thrilling game. And after that, Maroa was just rolling along. They kept winning until they finally found themselves in Peoria as one of the eight teams left. The way it works is that IHSA (Illinois High School Association) plans four games on the first day. The next day, the four winners from the previous day will play twice and are guarenteed hardware of some kind to bring home. So Maroa won on the first day but lost their first game on Saturday. So they played for 3rd place and they won.
Some months later, the football season began. Maroa was loaded with talent for the football team this year and they didn't disappoint. They destroyed every team they played and didn't even have a game where they didn't win by at least 20 points (their "closest" game of the year was 34-12). At the state championship game (at the U of I's Memorial Stadium) quarterback Luke Hockaday and wide receiver Robert Kreps put on a show that will not be forgotten anytime soon.
For many of the football players, as soon as the football season ended it was time for basketball games the following week. Some of the players that decided to do double-duty were Robert Kreps (who was touted to be ever better at basketball), Andrew Mills, and Dustin Moore (two huge linemen from the football team). So as the season started Kreps was clearly their best player but really they played as a team. The other two seniors that led the way were Ben Cochran and CJ McClellan. They quickly became the #1 ranked team in the state and hadn't lost a game going into February. That changed in mid-Feb though when they played rival Monticello (another Okaw team) and lost their first game of the year. They played again the following night (a Friday) and won big. Now, because of a snowstorm earlier in the month, the always-heated game between the Trojans of Maroa and the Cardinals of Warrensburg was rescheduled. As it worked out, it was rescheduled for a Saturday..... and yes you can guess which one. To set the game up Warrensburg had lost basically all their better players last year and nobody expected them to be any good. However....... they were surprisingly good and if they won this game then they were the Okaw Valley Conference champions of 2007. And they were playing at home against Maroa this year. It promised to be a good game. Once again I went to the game only this time in full support of Maroa. Over the last few games Kreps (or Robo as everyone calls him) had been scoring over 30 points a game. To counter this teams began to double and even triple team him in effort to make Cochran or McClellan have to shoot more (both were averaging about the same.... 13 points a game to Kreps 25ish). This strategy is what Warrensburg employed for the first half of the game and to great success as Maroa was held to 20 points while Warrensburg was on fire and had 34. Warrensburg's fans were rocking and having a great time (both sides were packed... being that the two schools are about roughly fifteen or so miles apart) while us Trojan fans were discussing what the heck was wrong with their high scoring offense and punishing defense. Well, you might say that most high school teams being down by 14 at the half might've given up hope for winning. But Maroa didn't. They battled and pried their way back into the game through great defense and finally making a few shots. As the game wound down to the final seconds Maroa took the lead 52-50. In one last effort Warrensburg got a three off but it didn't fall and Maroa pulled off a great comeback.
Regionals began the following Thursday and I was there to see Maroa take on Heyworth. It was no contest Maroa ran them off the floor. The game was practically over at the end of the first quarter. Unfortunately for me, I got sick the next day so I didn't see them win again that night (I did listen to the game though). The next week, sectionals began and I was still stuck at home sick. I did get to listen to the games on the radio however, and heard them win another game on the following Wednesday. By this time Kreps was having a lot of trouble getting points being double and triple teamed every time he touched the ball. In the final sectional game, they were playing a very good team that had them down at half. The Trojans exploded out of the third quarter though, sparked by Ben Cochran's play. As the game wound down it was a close battle and Andrew Mills was fouled and was sent to the line. Mills is a good friend of mine and I knew he'd make them.. even with all the pressure on him. Calmly, he put both free throws and that basically sealed the win for the Trojans. Robo only scored 13 points, but it didn't matter as Ben led all scores with 26 points.
Two days later on a Sunday evening, Robert Kreps had an emergency appendectomy and for some all hopes of Maroa winning the state championship (or even getting there for that matter) seemed to be dashed. Even if they won the Super-Sectional game on Tuesday the odds of Robo playing were against him. So anyway, the Super-Sectional was at ISU's Redbird Arena and I was there to cheer them on. I don't know about how everyone else felt, but I knew everything depended on whether Ben Cochran could carry them through the game. He needed to have a good game and get Maroa off and running. Kreps showed up at the game but he didn't look like he felt too great, haven't just gotten out of the hospital the night before. Fortunately for Maroa, Cochran got on a roll halfway through the first quarter. He single-handedly took over the ball game in the first half and most of the second. However as the fourth quarter started the Trojans began to lose the big lead they had built. To make matters worse Ben received his 4th foul halfway through the quarter. The last thing they needed was to have him foul out. I remember starting to get nervous watching Maroa's lead shrink and Cochran's foul trouble. After a dangerous attempt at a steal that could've been his 5th foul he was taken out when Maroa was on defense and put back in on offense (when possible). Eventually the game came to a close with the final of Maroa winning 48-43. Cochran scored 26 points over half his team's total. Now the future didn't seem quite so dim as perhaps Kreps would be able to play for the games at Peoria on Friday (and Saturday if they won).
Amazingly Kreps was going to try to play for the Friday game. Reportedly on Tuesday before the game Robo walked about FOUR miles. So you can see he was doing everything possible in effort to play. He was in the starting line-up and played a good portion of the game and scored some points. Once again though, Ben Cochran held the spotlight as he led the Trojans to victory.
Saturday was going to be a long day. They played T-Town, which is farther south and east than Maroa. On Friday T-Town had pulled off an amazing upset over Nashville, who had replaced Maroa as the #1 team in the state after the Monticello loss. T-Town was much bigger than Maroa but the Trojans were quicker. It promised to be a great game and it was. The real action didn't take place until halfway through the 3rd quarter when the Wooden Shoes (T-Town's nickname) were up by 13. Amazingly enough, like in the Warrensburg game, Maroa's defense got them going and they erased that lead. At the end of the 4th quarter it was tied so they went to a 4 minute overtime. At the end of the overtime the score was once again tied so they went to a second. Thanks to a couple of plays that Kreps made and also great defense, Maroa took the lead and held it. Robo had played the entire game amazingly enough.... he still had one more to go though.
Their last game was against Chicago North Lawndale. Maroa needed to get off to a fast start and they did. Kreps and Cochran hit some jumpers early on and Maroa led at halftime by 11. But North Lawndale wasn't going to go away easy. They battled their way back and even took the lead, only to lose it as Cochran nailed a three pointer to give it back to the Trojans. As the 4th quarter waned both teams were battling hard but because North Lawndale apparently never practiced free throws as much as three pointers Maroa pulled out the win thanks to some gutsy defensive play by the Trojans and two free throws from Robo in the last minute of the game. Kreps led all scores with 27 points and once again he played the whole game. It was an incredible performance by a team that almost everyone had written off because of Krep's appendix being taken out. I wish I had gone to more games but I got to see a few fortunately.
For anybody that is interested......
here is a website with all kinds of great pictures for Maroa-Forsyth. There are also pictures from the football season, guys soccer, volleyball season, and I'm sure they'll have baseball and girls soccer up as well soon. I'm not as familier with the baseball team as I was with the football and basketball teams but I do know that Maroa's baseball team is looking really good too this year. I'm not suggesting anything..... yet.... but last I heard they were ranked #8 in the state. But it's still way early in the year so who knows. Only time will tell.
