Coal City Courant

Coalers pick up first conference win, defeat Herscher in comeback

Published by admin on Tue, 04/11/2017 - 5:06pm

    The Coal City varsity baseball team picked up a big conference win Friday with comeback win over visiting Herscher, 4-3.
    Herscher grabbed a one-run lead in the third inning, and built a 3-0 advantage in the sixth.
    Coal City (7-4 overall, 1-0 conference) had managed just one hit heading into the sixth frame, but that all changed.
    Facing a three-run deficit and one out, the Coalers recorded hits from Blake Harseim, Jake Brnca (double), Austin Friddle, Payton Hutchings and Zack Nolan.

Coalers kick off outdoors against Comets, Wildcats

Published by admin on Tue, 04/11/2017 - 5:02pm

    Coal City’s varsity boys and girls track teams hosted a triangular meet last Tuesday, as they competed against I-8 rivals Reed-Custer and Wilmington.
    On the boys side, the Comets won the meet, finishing with 76.5 team points, as Coal City claimed second (66), and Wilmington took third (28.5).
    The Lady Coalers wound up in third place, earning 29 team points. Wilmington (63) claimed first, and Reed-Custer earned second with 55 points.
    Cal Smolik had a good outing for the Coalers, as he placed in four events, claiming first in three of them.

Varsity Club learns about adversity from guest speaker

Published by admin on Tue, 04/04/2017 - 5:33pm

    The Coal City Varsity Club was recently treated to an annual presentation, where the group has a former or current professional athlete come in and speak with the students.
    This year, the club had the pleasure of meeting Blake Geoffrion, a former professional hockey player, who also became the first fourth-generation player in the league’s history, after his father (Dan), grandfather (Bernie) and great-grandfather (Howie Morenz) all played.

Coalers drop tough one to Plainfield

Published by admin on Tue, 04/04/2017 - 5:22pm

    The Coal City varsity baseball team put up a strong fight against Plainfield East on Saturday, but wound up losing the 11-inning marathon, 1-0.
    The game was a strong display of what the Coalers (5-3) are capable of, as they held Plainfield, who won the 4A Regional last year, to only one run. The opposition has only one loss so far, losing to Providence Catholic (3 time state champs) by one run.

Jeremy Unger ready for first year

Published by admin on Tue, 04/04/2017 - 5:20pm

    Coal City tennis fans may have seen a familiar face on the sidelines during the season opener on Tuesday, as Jeremy Unger enters his first year as head coach
    Unger, who has been a lifelong resident of Coal City, took over for Matt Leman this year, He served as the assistant coach last year.
    “I have always been around here,” Unger said. “I grew up in Coal City, went to Coal City schools and teach at Coal City.”

Coalers get their wins despite tough schedule

Published by admin on Thu, 03/30/2017 - 11:04am

    The Coal City varsity baseball team picked up their fourth win of the season on Monday, defeating Prairie Central, 5-3.
    The Coalers (4-2 overall) grabbed a two-run lead in the second inning, but Prairie Central tied it up 2-2 in the top of the third.
    Coal City wound up retaking the lead for the final time in the bottom of the same frame, scoring two runs. They would add an insurance run in the fifth, and Prairie Central would add one in the sixth.

Lady Coalers start season with win over Reed-Custer

Published by admin on Thu, 03/30/2017 - 11:00am

    Following Coal City picking up a season-opening win over Reed-Custer last Tuesday, the Lady Coaler varsity girls soccer team wound up suffering a loss to Morris.
    Coal City gave up a goal in the opening and closing minutes of the first half, as they went into half-time down 2-0.
    Morris recorded a goal in the opening minutes of the second, moving to a 3-0 advantage.
    The Lady Coalers played with determination to get back in the game in the second half, and would eventually record their first goal of the game.

Coaler tennis hopes for new talent in wake of losing 11 seniors

Published by admin on Thu, 03/30/2017 - 10:31am

    Coal City’s boys tennis team faces the challenge of having 11 seniors depart the program from last year, including three of their best: Nick Holmes, Trent Sula and Mike McGinn.
    All three left their mark on the Coal City program, with Holmes being the first boys tennis player in 29 years to advance to the state tournament in singles competition.
    Sula and McGinn also went to state two years in a row as the No. 1 doubles team for Coal City.
    The departure of those three players has left a gap in the lineup as the first match looms.

Lady Coalers searching for a win

Published by admin on Thu, 03/30/2017 - 10:25am

    Coal City’s varsity softball team dropped its third game in a row since the season opener.
    The Lady Coalers wound up losing to Bishop McNamara, 12-6, as they were unable to produce any offense until late in the game. It also didn’t help that Coal City had five errors on defense.
    The Fighting’ Irish took the initial lead in the first inning, and never looked back, as they jumped out, 3-0.
    They added four more runs in the third and three more in the sixth before Coal City responded.

Coalers will use their speed to run the bases

Published by admin on Fri, 03/17/2017 - 12:06pm

Coal City will have to get its mojo back with the departure of their No. 1 pitcher and several infield players. And there's no one better to do it than long-time coach Jerry McDowell. 

"We have very good team speed, but are very inexperienced in some positions," said McDowell. "We are looking at 20 wins, and hopefully finish near the top in conference."

McDowell will enter his 23rd year at the helm, amassing a high school coaching record of 502-210.