Sez MEE: It's postseason time and the memories come flooding back
It's here. The postseason has arrived and there is a lot of excitement that should be brewing in these parts. Never has Pontiac and Prairie Central both been ranked among the top 10 at the end of boys basketball season.
Never.
The Hawks are ranked No. 1, which is the first time the program has attained such acclaim in the final Associated Press total since 1990. Prairie Central takes a 28-2 record into its own regional semifinal against Clifton (Central).
The Hawks were 24-0 at the time of the final poll in 1990. They went on to finish second in Class A, falling in double overtime to Trenton (Wesclin). One of the players on that PC team was Darin Bazzell, who is now the head coach at his alma mater.
The Indians are ranked eighth. The PTHS program hasn't finished the regular season ranked in any position since 1975 when it was ranked 12th in Class AA.
One may remember that PTHS team as the one that captured the Pontiac Holiday Tournament title. It had a 22-3 record then. It has a 23-6 mark heading into Wednesday's Class 2A Momence Regional semifinal against Manteno.
I'm sure many people can remember those days when the postseason brought a renewed excitement about their team, especially if that team had promise.
Taking a trip through time, I remember my four years in high school and how Monmouth did.
The Monmouth Zippers won four regional titles and played in four sectional championship games in those years. We had some great players and wonderful people on those teams.
In my freshman year, MHS cruised before meeting up with Brimfield in the sectional final at Abingdon. The Zippers lost a close one after a desperation shot fell short at the horn. Brimfield's star player that year was Eddie Mathews, who pitched in the Major League and became the pitching coach at Bartonville (Limestone), that same Limestone that rallied in the last inning to edge Pontiac in the sectional final at Morton in 2016.
My sophomore year was one of great hopes. Monmouth finished the regular season with a 22-3 record and ranked ninth in Class A. The Zips were led by a 6-4 all-state guard-forward who went on to play at Navy at Annapolis. When he was done playing, he graduated and served with honors in the Navy.
Monmouth lost to Peoria (Bergan) in the final at Bushnell-Prairie City. The gym at BPC is one that resembles the gym setup at Clifton. Bergan was also ranked at the end of the season and ended up placing second at state.
This was the first of three straight teams to finish second in state while coming out of the sectional Monmouth was in.
The second team to take second was Dunlap, who came really close to not getting out of the sectional. This time, the Zippers had to deal with a couple of issues while fighting to the sectional final.
During the regular season, this Monmouth team started four juniors and a senior. However, the senior came down with an illness that kept him out for two weeks. I believe he would have been back in the lineup had MHS made the supersectional.
Anyway, the Zips used an all-junior starting five to get through the regional with ease. The sectional semifinal was a tough battle with Orion, who, I believe, tied Monmouth for the Olympic Conference title that season.
MHS got past the Chargers but it was costly. The Zips lost another starter and had to go deeper into the bench against Dunlap. Still, with the game tied, Monmouth had a shot to win it at the horn at the end of regulation. The shot caromed off the rim and the two teams went to overtime, and then to a second OT before the Eagles prevailed.
That fourth year was quite the exciting run. This time it was Monmouth coming out of the regional and sectional and supersectional to make it to Champaign.
The Zippers shot through the regular season with a 23-2 record. The losses were a one point triple-overtime decision to state-ranked Kewanee and then a one-point loss to Canton right before Christmas. Monmouth also defeated Quincy (Notre Dame) in double overtime in January. The teams were ranked second and third at the time.
Monmouth cruised through the regional and then had to defeat a Rockridge team that was as good as any in Class A in the sectional semifinals. MHS won for the third time over the Rockets.
Then came the hurdle the Zippers had not been able to clear since 1974 — winning the sectional championship. Monmouth did it with ease in defeating a Biggsville (Union) squad that was something of a surprise to make it that far. That Union team also featured a person named Todd Hamilton. Golfing fans will know him as The Open champion in 2004.
MHS then overcame a slow start to overwhelm Chadwick in the supersectional at Rock Island. Interestingly, I met a Chadwick student of the time after moving to Pontiac. The gentleman was a teacher at Flanagan and later at Fieldcrest.
Monmouth then cruised past Stonington in the state quarterfinals before winning a slugfest against Havana in the semifinals. Another interesting note, a sister of two of the Havana players later succeeded the late Louis Lyons as Pontiac Township Commissioner.
The magic run ended in the championship game where Lawrenceville topped the Zippers 67-53. For the Indians, it was the middle of their state-record run of 68 consecutive victories. Lawrenceville defeated Flanagan for the state championship in 1983.
Which brings me to this thought, taking that same journey through the way-back machine, I'm sure there is a lot to recall from the likes of Pontiac, PC, Flanagan and others.
I wonder what memories will come out of this year's postseason for the likes of Pontiac, Prairie Central and anyone else who might get hot and go on a run. It should be fun to keep track of as I hope for, and anticipate, a Herscher Sectional championship game between the Hawks and the Indians.
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Sez MEE: It's postseason time and the memories come flooding back
