Basketball

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes saw their season come to an end Monday night with their loss to Nashville in the Carbondale Class 2A Super Sectional.

The Shoes had a great season, finishing with a 26-8 record and capturing a regional and sectional title along the way.

As with any season-ending defeat, it means saying goodbye to the senior members of the team. That was especially true for Coach Chet Reeder and this group of seven seniors – Mitch Althoff, Max Niebrugge, Dylan Pruemer, Joey Ruholl, Kayden Althoff, Derek Konkel and Cade Buehnerkemper.

When Coach Reeder first came to Teutopolis High School, these kids were just freshmen, meaning they are the first group to go through their entire high school career with Reeder as their head coach. It’s no secret this has been a special group for the fourth-year coach.

Following the game – at about 10:40 p.m. – Coach Reeder posted this letter to his seniors.

“Kayden, Mitch, Cade, Derek, Max, Dylan & Joey:

It’s impossible for me to say enough words about how much you guys mean to me. From the day I met you, you were all in. You dedicated time and energy to this program all year round. You were the ultimate teammates on and off the court. You jumped at every chance to set a great example for our younger guys. And you were outstanding role models. You are all Everyday Guys!!

You made me a better coach and I loved coming to the gym everyday to work along side of you. I hope you have learned as much from me as I have from you!!!

I will never forget your grit and toughness. I will never forget how you believed in yourselves above anything else. I will never forget the great role models you were for my daughters. I will never forget how you continued to build our program and how you left it in a better place than when you started.

It will be impossible for me to repay you, but I will try my best every day. I’m proud to have you call me Coach and I’m extremely proud of the young men you are.

Love you 7.”

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

For a team that wasn’t supposed to accomplish much, the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes have certainly been over-achievers.

How many teams have won more than 25 games?

How many teams have experienced an 11-game winning streak?

How many teams are playing in the super sectional and are just one win away from a state tournament appearance?

The answer is very few.

Low expectations?

Maybe the bar was set a bit too low for this group. Maybe their heart, determination and togetherness were under-estimated.

Maybe – just maybe – more of us should have listened when Coach Chet Reeder said at the beginning of the season this group had the chance to be “special.”

Now here they are.

26-7 and haven’t lost a game since January 28.

Seem to be getting better and better.

And if they can overcome the next hurdle Monday night, this group of Shoes will be making a journey to Champaign for the Class 2 State Tournament.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

The expectation level for this year’s team was not high.

Even after starting the season strong and piling up quite a few wins, those expectations didn’t change all that much.

But when the sectional championship games are played around the state Friday night, there will be 16 teams left standing – and one of those is the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes.

The Shoes earned a berth in that sectional final the same way they’ve racked up a large majority of their wins this season – playing tough defense.

That defensive effort was on full display again Tuesday night, as T-Town allowed only five fourth-quarter points and closed the game on a 6-0 run to seal a 41-33 victory over Alton Marquette in the first semifinal of the Flora Class 2A Sectional.

It was their 10^th straight win.

“It was the type of game we expected,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “We thought they would try to slow us down and make us guard. But nothing bothers this group. They never get too high or too low. They just keep working.”

Entering the pivotal final period, the score was knotted at 28-28. Brendan Niebrugge hit a pair of free throws and Max Niebrugge drilled a three-pointer to give Teutopolis its first lead since early in the game – a lead the Shoes never relinquished.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes have been consistent at both ends of the floor virtually the entire season.

Game after game, their defensive effort has been stellar, limiting numerous opponents to less than 40 points.

And the offense? Let’s just say it’s been consistently inconsistent. It’s been the part of the game many thought would prevent this team from making a deep run in the postseason.

That inconsistency was nowhere to be found Friday night.

The Shoes, especially in the second half, put on an offensive clinic. There was movement, pinpoint passing and even the extra pass to an open teammate. They blistered the nets, shooting an eye-popping 76 percent in the final 16 minutes.

But that defense was on display as well. And that combination of red-hot shooting and suffocating defense was much more than Mt. Carmel could handle.

Yes, T-Town put it all together in the final two quarters, expanding a slim four-point advantage at halftime to a dominating 27-point blowout late in the game.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Shoes had posted an impressive and emphatic 56-35 win over the Golden Aces in the championship game of the Flora 2A Sectional before a packed house at Conley Gymnasium.

“I’m just so proud of these kids,” THS coach Chet Reeder said moments after the game. “They just keep proving people wrong. They play the way they know they can be successful and do a great job. They are just staying in the moment and enjoying every second of it.”

The next step will be the Carbondale Super Sectional. The Shoes, who extended their winning streak to 11 and are now 26-7 on the season, will face a 24-4 Nashville team at 7:30 p.m. Monday. The game will be played at the Banterra Center on the campus of Southern Illinois University.

“Our goal is to get to state,” said Max Niebrugge, a senior team leader that turned in an outstanding performance Friday night. “We know we’ve got to take things one game at a time, but we believe we can do it.”

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

It was the highly anticipated “rubber match” between a pair of teams that had split two earlier meetings.

It was a clash between two talented, evenly-matched squads.

A close, hard-fought, exciting game was expected, and it did not disappoint.

It was a worthy championship contest.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes put together a near-flawless fourth quarter, executed a long pass play for a key basket and got three crucial blocked shots that prevented potential layups in the final two minutes.

That combination, plus a determined “refuse to lose” mentality, carried the Wooden Shoes to their ninth straight win and 12^th straight regional title.

When the final buzzer sounded, T-Town had a 48-45 victory Friday night over Newton and the championship plaque for winning the Class 2A Arthur Regional.

“There was a point during the season where I questioned if I was doing the right things with this group,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “But I never questioned these kids. Nobody expected much out of this group, but they kept working hard and kept proving people wrong. I am so proud of them.”