An Unpredictable Season Continues for Girls Basketball

By Taylor Parish

The Roadrunners played Southeast Warren at home on Friday, December 2, 2011. The Roadrunners started off slow offensively, but picked up the pace in the second half. It was a close game, but Interstate never let off. The Roadrunners took the win 49 – 37.
The Central Decatur Cardinals made their way to Truro on Tuesday, December 6, 2011. It was a rough game for the Roadrunners. The Cardinals were a tough team to beat, they came ready to play. The Roadrunners look forward to a rematch at the end of January. The Cardinals came out on top 33 – 74.

The Roadrunners had a better game Friday the 9th against Wayne. “We showed strength, being able to come back from a fifteen point deficit and that is hard to do in the fourth quarter. We didn’t give up,” said senior, Olivia Sulentic. The Roadrunners won 56 – 51 over the Falcons, bringing their record to 4 -2.

The Roadrunners play this week, Tuesday at Pleasantville and Friday at home against Mount Ayr.

Varsity Boys Now 3-2

By Staci Morris
The Roadrunners easily took control over their first opponent of the week, the Central Decatur Cardinals from tip-off. In the fast paced game, Central Decatur found themselves turning the ball over against the Roadrunners quick defense. However, the Cardinals kept it close, leaving for half time with a score of 28 to 20, Roadrunners ahead. With a few steals, open three’s, and free throws, the Roadrunners surged ahead, ending the third quarter 41 to 28. Even with a strong comeback from Central Decatur, the boys took the win with a final score of 57 to 48, ending the night with a 3-1 record.

Unfortunately, the Wayne Falcons would ruin the Roadrunners Friday night and add another loss to their record. I-35, seemingly the underdogs in this match up, didn’t allow the Falcons to get ahead during the first quarter. After getting fouled on a last second 3 pointer, Senior Brody Brownlee sunk three free throws to tie it up 13 to 13. With a tall Wayne defense, the Roadrunners eventually trailed 24 to 30 at half. Throughout the second half, the boys kept trying to play keep-up with the Falcons, but found themselves still trailing 43 to 50 with 4:19 left in the 4th quarter. Even with a valiant effort by Brownlee’s drives and outside shots, and his fellow teammates steals and scoring, they Roadrunners just couldn’t handle the Wayne Falcons and end the game 43 to 61.

Junior High
The seventh grade boys took a win against Mt. Ayr, 30 to 13 on December 6th. Scoring was pretty equal throughout the team with Brock Bush leading with 12 points and 5 rebounds. The eighth grade games proved victorious was well with a score of 48 to 36. Jaylan White led the team with 24 points and 5 rebounds with Travis Schultz and Trevor Hubbard both adding 5 rebounds as well. Both teams improved to 5-0 on the season.

Boys' Varsity Improves to 2-1

By Staci Morris

The high school boys’ basketball team finished 2-1 on the week. Their only loss to Chariton, they beat Earlham on Thursday and continued for another big win the next day against Southeast Warren.

The boys took control over the Earlham Cardinals early and ended the first quarter 11 to 8. The Roadrunner’s kept the lead throughout the second quarter as well, and left for halftime ahead 26 to 21. With 5:25 left in the fourth quarter, Earlham was forced to take a time out after a run left the Roadrunners ahead 41 to 34. After some forced turnovers from Earlham, they sealed their outcome and the Roadrunners took the win with a final score of 53 – 37.

The next night at home here at Interstate 35, the Roadrunners faced the Warhawks of Southeast Warren High School.

The first few minutes from tip off showed that it was certainly going to be an intense game and that proved with a score of 18 to 15 at the end of the first quarter, with a Roadrunner lead.

A back and forth game led to a halftime score of 29 to 23.However, the Roadrunners would not allow Southeast Warren any kind of lead throughout the game.

With freshman Zach Goering leading the team in points, the Roadrunner’s led by ten with 6:38 left in the fourth quarter. With some fouls by I-35, Southeast Warren was led to the free throw line. Even so, the Roadrunners didn’t allow a comeback and took the win 63 to 55.

Rocky Start for High School Boys' Basketball

The Interstate 35 varsity boys’ basketball team encountered their first opponent for the 2011-2012 season. This last Tuesday night here at Interstate 35 the boys faced the Chariton Chargers. With one returning starter, the remaining seniors stepped up to fill the spots. Starting for the night were seniors Brody Brownlee, Luke Simmerman, David Kennedy, Kurt Adams, and Josh Klipping.

It started off rocky for the first game of the year. The boys’ defense just couldn’t keep up with the speed and strength of Chariton. The Roadrunners trailed from tip-off. The score was 35 to 21 at the start of the second half and the boys looked to get an offensive edge with a drive from Brody Brownlee and sneak assist to freshman, Zach Goering. However, the Chargers wouldn’t allow a comeback and with three minutes left the Roadrunner’s were down 42 to 33. Brownlee came back with a huge three at the end of the 3rd quarter with Chariton answering with a buzzer beating jump shot to make the game 53 to 42 at the start of the 4th.

The fourth quarter looked the same with the boys making shots, but Chariton answering right away each time. The Roadrunner’s just couldn’t get ahead and eventually would accept the loss with a final score of 76 to 53.

A Good Start to the Girls High School Basketball Season

By: Taylor Parish

It’s been a good start to the season for the Interstate 35 girl’s high school basketball team. They are beginning the season with a 2-1 record. They won their first game against Melcher-Dallas on November 21, 45-41. It was an intense game. It looked like the Roadrunners were taking control, but the Saints made a comeback in the second half. Interstate kept it together and played strong to come out on top.

On Tuesday November 22, the Roadrunners traveled to Earlham. It was a tough start with one starter receiving three fouls in the first quarter and eventually she fouled out along with another starter fouling out late in the game. The Cardinals never stopped and the Roadrunners could not catch up. They eventually lost 50 – 73.

The Chariton Chargers made their way to Interstate 35 on Tuesday November 29, for the Roadrunners first game at home. The Roadrunners took a commanding 14-3 lead in the first quarter. The Chargers never gave up and fought back within single digits of the Roadrunners. Interstate took the lead and never gave it back, winning 54 – 49.