Alli Brumleve, a senior at Teutopolis High School, recently committed to play softball at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield. Front row (left to right) are Scott (father), Alli and Tina (mother) Brumleve. Back row are current THS softball coach Crystal Tipton and former THS softball coach Rich Niebrugge.

The Teutopolis Wooden Shoes made a valiant second-half effort, but came up just short of a remarkable comeback Friday night.

The Shoes scored just one point in the first quarter, trailed by 17 at halftime, but staged a terrific rally in the fourth period. They went on a 19-8 scoring surge, but fell by a single point, 48-47, at Woodlawn.

Luke Ungrund’s free throw was the only point T-Town scored in the first eight minutes. Woodlawn built a 12-1 lead and expanded that to 24-7 at intermission.

“We got out-played in the first half,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “They were the more aggressive and tougher team to start the game.”

But the second half was a different story.

Mitch Hardiek connected from three-point range and scored eight points and Jordan Hardiek knocked down another three and tallied five points, helping the Shoes outscore the Cardinals 21-16 to close to within 40-28 heading into the final period.

Jordan Hardiek and Evan Wermert scored five points each and Evan Addis added another three, as T-Town went on a 19-8 scoring surge that got them to within a single point.

Read more ...

The Teutopolis eighth grade boys continued the school's tradition of winning at a high-level by capturing third place in the IESA Class 8-3A State Tournament. The Wooden Shoes defeated Monticello 41-31 Thursday night at Tolono Unity Junior High. TJHS led 12-6 after the opening quarter, 18-15 at halftime and then used a 10-4 scoring run in the third period to open a 28-19 advantage. The Shoes were led by Joey Niebrugge, who scored 15 points. A Welcome Home celebration was held Sunday at the junior high school. TJHS finished the season with a 25-4 record. Photo courtesy of Repking Media.

By Steve Raymond

ET Sports Report

With one minute to play in the third period, Paris had whittled a one-time 12-point deficit down to just four.

Was this going to be déjà vu all over again?

Twice this season, the Teutopolis Lady Shoes had a chance to beat Paris. But in both games, they didn’t play strong down the stretch and the Lady Tigers posted a pair of wins – 44-35 in overtime in the championship game of the Charleston Holiday Tournament; and 55-44 at Paris just a couple days later.

So when Sarah Isaf drilled back-to-back 3-pointers bringing the Lady Tigers to within 27-23, there was a sense of doubt and concern in the T-Town cheering section.

But Thursday night resulted in a different ending.

The Lady Shoes were strong and tenacious in the final nine minutes. They took care of the ball and made clutch shots and pressure-packed free throws at one end and showed off a smothering defense at the other.

When the final horn sounded, Paris was no longer undefeated and the Lady Shoes were celebrating.

T-Town came in as the underdog, but left as champions after it posted a 43-29 victory to capture the Paris Sectional title – the school’s fifth straight sectional championship.

“We talked about how all the pressure was on them,” senior Olivia Niemerg said. “They were undefeated and playing on their home floor. We had nothing to lose. We just played our hearts out.”

Read more ...