| Another Confusing Cody Column |
Can State Streak Be
Broken?
Broken?
Since Seneca's triumph in 2006, no area team has won a
game on the Carver Arena Floor ...
game on the Carver Arena Floor ...
Sure, Chicagoland is considered “northern Illinois,” but Chicagoland considers
itself a separate entity from the rest of the state. The rest of the state considers
this, too.
Generally, northern Illinois is anything north of Interstate 80. Anything outside of
Chicagoland is west of Illinois 47. In regards to this website's coverage area, there
have been times that we've dipped below the I-80 line: Aledo, Galva, Putnam
County, and Woodland to name a few.
We're not here to argue about boundaries, however.
Boys Basketball, for years, had been this area's top sport as far as accolades are
concerned. Prior to 2007, Northern Illinois teams made it to the Class A title game
in seven of the past 10 years. The three other years were Bureau Valley's three-
peat third place teams. In fact, in each year from 1991 to 2006, at least one area
team made it to State AND won their opening game to guarantee a trophy.
After Seneca defeated IVC for the 2006 Class A title, no area team has won a
game on the Caver Arena floor at the Boys Basketball State Tournament.
Meanwhile, five area football teams were represented at Champaign this year, nine
Class 1A state wrestling champions were crowned in Assembly Hall, and the Class
1A Dual Team State title was decided between a pair of area teams in Newman
and Stillman Valley.
If you think football and wrestling are climbing toward the top spot in the area, even
area Girls Bowling teams have received more state accolades than boys
basketball since 2006.
Is there something wrong with boys basketball in northern Illinois?
Economy can be the factor in differing north from south. The north's economy is
stronger, and leads to more people moving within the area. Economy in the south
is not that strong. Families are more likely to stay in the same town for decades. It
creates a long-time bond between teammates that begin on the grade school
playground. They may know each other moreso than the northern teams know one
another.
Woodlawn, who will be at the Class 1A tournament for the second time in three
years, shared experiences two years ago of a bond that takes place at the
school's outdoor basketball hoop.
Three area teams made it to Peoria in 2007. Putnam County and West Carroll
made it to the Class A tournament, where the Panthers and Carlton Fay lost to
Chicago North Lawndale and West Carroll and Rob Naples and Chris Anderson
lost to eventual state champion Maroa-Forsyth. The third team was Boylan, who
after laying a scoring goose egg in the first quarter fell to Jong Lee and
Lincolnshire Stevenson in the first round.
Things looked even more grim the following year, as Eastland, Sterling and West
Carroll were horribly outscored in the first quarter of their supersectional losses
(respectively to St. Anne, Washington and Peoria Manual). No area team made it
to the State Tournament for the first time since 1980. 2008 was the first year of
four-class basketball – an idea to get more teams represented in Peoria. This at
our area's expense.
Two teams made it to state in 2009 – Annawan and Winnebago – but they lost
both of their state tournament games: Annawan lost to Macon Meridian and
Woodlawn in Class 1A, while Winnebago lost to South Holland Seaton Academy
and Metropolis Massac County in Class 2A. They didn't win on the state
tournament floor, but still came out with fourth place trophies.
Eastland had a similar go-around last year, losing to Caitlin Salt Fork and Madison
in the Class 1A tournament.
Northern Illinois is 0-9 at Peoria Civic Center since Seneca won in 2006.
Another blow was added last year, as there were no Class 3A or 4A sectional
champions from the area – the first time no area large school won a sectional
since the number of sectional championships throughout Illinois increased from
eight to 16 way back in 1934.
As of today, there are five boys basketball teams remaining. Newark and Rockford
Christian will try to stop the area's nine-game losing streak.
Newark, who ended a two-game streak at NIU's Convocation Center on Tuesday,
will face Deer-Creek Mackinaw on Friday at 2:30 p.m. Dee-Mack had a come-from-
behind win against Chrisman (who upset top-rated Salt Fork in the regional final)
on Tuesday at the Illinois State University Supersectional. Newark has been up
near the top of the Class 1A state rankings all year after a good summer run.
However, during that summer run was a 20-plus point loss to Dee-Mack.
Rockford Christian, who won their first regional in program history just last year, will
face Chicago Hales Franciscan at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Christian is unbeaten at 31-
0, but Hales has played much stronger competition than the Royal Lions had over
the course of the season. Hales crushed Sectional surprise Aurora Christian at the
Joliet Central Supersectional. While controversial, Hales was the dominant small
school program of the past decade.
Winchester West Central and Woodlawn are the other remaining Class 1A teams,
while Murphysboro and Pittsfield are the other remaining Class 2A teams. If
Christian and Murphysboro win their games on Friday, the Class 2A title showdown
will be the first time two unbeaten teams played for a title since Lawrenceville beat
Flanagan in Class A in 1983 (punctuating the 68-game win streak in Ron Felling's
final game at the school).
West Central can also shoot for a unique bit of history as well. A title win will mark
the first time since Teutopolis in 1986 that both the boys and girls basketball teams
from the same school won state titles.
Class expansion creates such trivia questions. While it's helped the area out in
other sports, boys basketball seems to be taking its time.
Perhaps a cannibalization theory is in place? There have been tighter playoff
games in the northern part of the state than there have been in the southern part
of the state. By the time our area's representatives make it to state, they may be
too worn out to compete against teams that have easily dispatched opponents.
Such a case may not be one in Class 1A. But a team that beat the team that beat
the top team in the class doesn't really come in as a slouch. That being said, No. 2-
ranked Newark will have its hands full against No. 9 Dee-Mack. The Norsemen
have faced just one top-ten team this year, beating then-No. 10 Nokomis at the
Riverton Shootout.
Even if Christian loses in Friday's 2A game, coach Shane Bautch stated after the
win over IVC in Tuesday's supersectional that he'll be fine with his team win or lose.
When the weekend is over, the streak will be broken – somehow, someway. Both
area state teams have a religious following that they say will help guide them in
their seasons. Christian, obviously. Newark, according to coach Rick Tollefson,
has several christian players on the team. Newark fans were holding up signs
during Tuesday's supersectional of a bible verse from Philippians 4:13: “I can do
all things through Him who gives me strength.”
As far as the one-year large school streak of not having a sectional title, Auburn,
East and Rock Island are all playing for Sectional titles on Friday night. Auburn will
take on Huntley for the Class 4A Algonquin Jacobs Sectional title. East will take on
Aurora Central Catholic for the Class 3A Wodstock North Sectional title. Rock
Island will take on host Peoria High for a 3A sectional title. Moline's season ended
tonight at the hands of Normal 60-40 at Wharton Fieldhouse.
If Auburn and East win sectional titles, it will mark the first time in history that two
Rockford public schools won sectional titles in the same season – ironically in the
year that high school sports in the Rockford public schools are in limbo. If both win
at supersectionals, it will mark the first time since 1955 that two NIC-10 schools
competed at the State Tournament: Back when the conference was named the Big
8, foes Rockford West and Elgin competed against each other in the title game,
that West and coach Alex Saudargas won.
Three Rockford high schools – public and private – have never made it to the
State Finals in the same year.
Block Party
Unlike 2008, no team outside of the NISB coverage area came into this year's NIU
Supersectional and walked over our area's best.
This year, all four teams that participated in Tuesday's events were all from the
NISB coverage area: Newark, Forreston, Rockford Christian and IVC. No matter
what happened on Tuesday, northern Illinois will be represented at the Boys
Basketball State Tournament for the third year in a row.
Newark blew out to a 24-7 first-quarter lead and held on for a 60-47 win over
Forreston in the Class 1A supersectional game. Afterward, Rockford Christian
needed overtime to fend off IVC 53-51 on a buzzer-beating shot by Christian's
Brayden Teuscher.
Here are a few other scraps of tidbits observed from NIU ...
+ In the second year of the four-class system, 2009, there were four area teams
that advanced to the supersectional in the small school level: Annawan, Newark,
Winnebago and Princeton. All four teams played under the same Convocation
Center roof as Tuesday's contests.
Annawan advanced to the Boys Basketball State Tournament for the first time in
school history with a 61-52 win over Newark behind 28 points from Alex Coppejans.
Winnebago advanced to State for the third time in six years with a 69-41 win over
Princeton behind Michael Mann's 14 points.
Both Annawan and Winnebago didn't fare too well at State, going a combined 0-4.
From 2005 to 2007, and again in 2009 and 2011 northern Illinois will be
represented at the State Tournament by two small school teams. The occurrence
is a common one.
+ Both Newark and Rockford Christian, as well as Forreston, participate in the
Plano Christmas Classic in the last week of December. To date, this year's Plano
field was composed of six regional champions and three sectional champions.
Genoa-Kingston and Princeton won regionals, as did Morris.
No other area Christmas tournament has more than two regional winners, that
being DeKalb's Chuck Dayton Tournament with Aurora Christian and Rockford
East.
No other area Thanksgiving Tournament has more than four regional winners, that
being the Boylan Thanksgiving Tournament with Auburn, East, Chicago Harper
and Chicago Hope.
The large school tournament of the State Farm Classic had six regional winners in
this year's field – with Rock Island being one of them along with Grayslake Central,
Glenbard East, North Chicago, Champaign Central and Normal.
Plano's Tournament will expand to 24 teams next year.
+ NIU's Convocation Center is a far cry from Newark's high school gym. For
starters, Newark's gym only has a few rows of bleachers. The Convocation Center
is a ring filled with thousands of fans – in an environment more electric than even a
Huskie home game, according to our own Steve Nemeth.
Perhaps the unnaturalness played a part in back-to-back supersectional losses for
the Norsemen. After losing to Annawan in 2009 and Eastland in 2010, a Newark
loss this year would have given the faithful fits ... as in the Convocation Center
being in the same category as black cats crossing one's path, or running under
ladders, or billy goats.
Ask Rock Falls how that feeling is. The Rockets are the last area team to win three
straight sectional championships and lose three straight supersectional games ...
all of which were at the Convocation Center. The Rockets went 29-3 before losing
to Winnebago in 2004, 27-6 before losing again to the Indians in 2005, and 30-3
before losing to Schaumburg in 2006 – the Rockets' first year in Class AA since
1996.
+ Fact is, class expansion has made it possible for certain schools to compete for
a state tournament berth. Since the first year of four-class basketball, a Little 10
basketball team – boys or girls – has made it to the State Tournament in each year.
Newark's win on Tuesday comes after the Hinckley-Big Rock girls won back-to-
back titles in 2009 and 2010, and before that the Norsemen girls program took
second in 2008.
This year's Newark team is the first boys basketball team from the Little 10 since H-
BR in 1986. That team was coached by Gary Lane and went 26-4. In the
supersectional game at Evans Fieldhouse at NIU, Jim Edmondson set a
supersectional and Little 10 record with 55 points against Winnebago.
Newark is the forth Little 10 boys basketball team to make it to the Boys Basketball
State Tournament. The first team was Waterman's 1929-30 squad (enrollment 85),
which went 28-3 and was coached by Ernie Eveland, before turning Paris into a
state power in the 1940s. The second was Somonauk's 1944-45 squad
(enrollment 88) that went 31-7 and was coached by Bill Randles.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and writes columns
about Illinois high school sports. He can be reached at
Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
itself a separate entity from the rest of the state. The rest of the state considers
this, too.
Generally, northern Illinois is anything north of Interstate 80. Anything outside of
Chicagoland is west of Illinois 47. In regards to this website's coverage area, there
have been times that we've dipped below the I-80 line: Aledo, Galva, Putnam
County, and Woodland to name a few.
We're not here to argue about boundaries, however.
Boys Basketball, for years, had been this area's top sport as far as accolades are
concerned. Prior to 2007, Northern Illinois teams made it to the Class A title game
in seven of the past 10 years. The three other years were Bureau Valley's three-
peat third place teams. In fact, in each year from 1991 to 2006, at least one area
team made it to State AND won their opening game to guarantee a trophy.
After Seneca defeated IVC for the 2006 Class A title, no area team has won a
game on the Caver Arena floor at the Boys Basketball State Tournament.
Meanwhile, five area football teams were represented at Champaign this year, nine
Class 1A state wrestling champions were crowned in Assembly Hall, and the Class
1A Dual Team State title was decided between a pair of area teams in Newman
and Stillman Valley.
If you think football and wrestling are climbing toward the top spot in the area, even
area Girls Bowling teams have received more state accolades than boys
basketball since 2006.
Is there something wrong with boys basketball in northern Illinois?
Economy can be the factor in differing north from south. The north's economy is
stronger, and leads to more people moving within the area. Economy in the south
is not that strong. Families are more likely to stay in the same town for decades. It
creates a long-time bond between teammates that begin on the grade school
playground. They may know each other moreso than the northern teams know one
another.
Woodlawn, who will be at the Class 1A tournament for the second time in three
years, shared experiences two years ago of a bond that takes place at the
school's outdoor basketball hoop.
Three area teams made it to Peoria in 2007. Putnam County and West Carroll
made it to the Class A tournament, where the Panthers and Carlton Fay lost to
Chicago North Lawndale and West Carroll and Rob Naples and Chris Anderson
lost to eventual state champion Maroa-Forsyth. The third team was Boylan, who
after laying a scoring goose egg in the first quarter fell to Jong Lee and
Lincolnshire Stevenson in the first round.
Things looked even more grim the following year, as Eastland, Sterling and West
Carroll were horribly outscored in the first quarter of their supersectional losses
(respectively to St. Anne, Washington and Peoria Manual). No area team made it
to the State Tournament for the first time since 1980. 2008 was the first year of
four-class basketball – an idea to get more teams represented in Peoria. This at
our area's expense.
Two teams made it to state in 2009 – Annawan and Winnebago – but they lost
both of their state tournament games: Annawan lost to Macon Meridian and
Woodlawn in Class 1A, while Winnebago lost to South Holland Seaton Academy
and Metropolis Massac County in Class 2A. They didn't win on the state
tournament floor, but still came out with fourth place trophies.
Eastland had a similar go-around last year, losing to Caitlin Salt Fork and Madison
in the Class 1A tournament.
Northern Illinois is 0-9 at Peoria Civic Center since Seneca won in 2006.
Another blow was added last year, as there were no Class 3A or 4A sectional
champions from the area – the first time no area large school won a sectional
since the number of sectional championships throughout Illinois increased from
eight to 16 way back in 1934.
As of today, there are five boys basketball teams remaining. Newark and Rockford
Christian will try to stop the area's nine-game losing streak.
Newark, who ended a two-game streak at NIU's Convocation Center on Tuesday,
will face Deer-Creek Mackinaw on Friday at 2:30 p.m. Dee-Mack had a come-from-
behind win against Chrisman (who upset top-rated Salt Fork in the regional final)
on Tuesday at the Illinois State University Supersectional. Newark has been up
near the top of the Class 1A state rankings all year after a good summer run.
However, during that summer run was a 20-plus point loss to Dee-Mack.
Rockford Christian, who won their first regional in program history just last year, will
face Chicago Hales Franciscan at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Christian is unbeaten at 31-
0, but Hales has played much stronger competition than the Royal Lions had over
the course of the season. Hales crushed Sectional surprise Aurora Christian at the
Joliet Central Supersectional. While controversial, Hales was the dominant small
school program of the past decade.
Winchester West Central and Woodlawn are the other remaining Class 1A teams,
while Murphysboro and Pittsfield are the other remaining Class 2A teams. If
Christian and Murphysboro win their games on Friday, the Class 2A title showdown
will be the first time two unbeaten teams played for a title since Lawrenceville beat
Flanagan in Class A in 1983 (punctuating the 68-game win streak in Ron Felling's
final game at the school).
West Central can also shoot for a unique bit of history as well. A title win will mark
the first time since Teutopolis in 1986 that both the boys and girls basketball teams
from the same school won state titles.
Class expansion creates such trivia questions. While it's helped the area out in
other sports, boys basketball seems to be taking its time.
Perhaps a cannibalization theory is in place? There have been tighter playoff
games in the northern part of the state than there have been in the southern part
of the state. By the time our area's representatives make it to state, they may be
too worn out to compete against teams that have easily dispatched opponents.
Such a case may not be one in Class 1A. But a team that beat the team that beat
the top team in the class doesn't really come in as a slouch. That being said, No. 2-
ranked Newark will have its hands full against No. 9 Dee-Mack. The Norsemen
have faced just one top-ten team this year, beating then-No. 10 Nokomis at the
Riverton Shootout.
Even if Christian loses in Friday's 2A game, coach Shane Bautch stated after the
win over IVC in Tuesday's supersectional that he'll be fine with his team win or lose.
When the weekend is over, the streak will be broken – somehow, someway. Both
area state teams have a religious following that they say will help guide them in
their seasons. Christian, obviously. Newark, according to coach Rick Tollefson,
has several christian players on the team. Newark fans were holding up signs
during Tuesday's supersectional of a bible verse from Philippians 4:13: “I can do
all things through Him who gives me strength.”
As far as the one-year large school streak of not having a sectional title, Auburn,
East and Rock Island are all playing for Sectional titles on Friday night. Auburn will
take on Huntley for the Class 4A Algonquin Jacobs Sectional title. East will take on
Aurora Central Catholic for the Class 3A Wodstock North Sectional title. Rock
Island will take on host Peoria High for a 3A sectional title. Moline's season ended
tonight at the hands of Normal 60-40 at Wharton Fieldhouse.
If Auburn and East win sectional titles, it will mark the first time in history that two
Rockford public schools won sectional titles in the same season – ironically in the
year that high school sports in the Rockford public schools are in limbo. If both win
at supersectionals, it will mark the first time since 1955 that two NIC-10 schools
competed at the State Tournament: Back when the conference was named the Big
8, foes Rockford West and Elgin competed against each other in the title game,
that West and coach Alex Saudargas won.
Three Rockford high schools – public and private – have never made it to the
State Finals in the same year.
Block Party
Unlike 2008, no team outside of the NISB coverage area came into this year's NIU
Supersectional and walked over our area's best.
This year, all four teams that participated in Tuesday's events were all from the
NISB coverage area: Newark, Forreston, Rockford Christian and IVC. No matter
what happened on Tuesday, northern Illinois will be represented at the Boys
Basketball State Tournament for the third year in a row.
Newark blew out to a 24-7 first-quarter lead and held on for a 60-47 win over
Forreston in the Class 1A supersectional game. Afterward, Rockford Christian
needed overtime to fend off IVC 53-51 on a buzzer-beating shot by Christian's
Brayden Teuscher.
Here are a few other scraps of tidbits observed from NIU ...
+ In the second year of the four-class system, 2009, there were four area teams
that advanced to the supersectional in the small school level: Annawan, Newark,
Winnebago and Princeton. All four teams played under the same Convocation
Center roof as Tuesday's contests.
Annawan advanced to the Boys Basketball State Tournament for the first time in
school history with a 61-52 win over Newark behind 28 points from Alex Coppejans.
Winnebago advanced to State for the third time in six years with a 69-41 win over
Princeton behind Michael Mann's 14 points.
Both Annawan and Winnebago didn't fare too well at State, going a combined 0-4.
From 2005 to 2007, and again in 2009 and 2011 northern Illinois will be
represented at the State Tournament by two small school teams. The occurrence
is a common one.
+ Both Newark and Rockford Christian, as well as Forreston, participate in the
Plano Christmas Classic in the last week of December. To date, this year's Plano
field was composed of six regional champions and three sectional champions.
Genoa-Kingston and Princeton won regionals, as did Morris.
No other area Christmas tournament has more than two regional winners, that
being DeKalb's Chuck Dayton Tournament with Aurora Christian and Rockford
East.
No other area Thanksgiving Tournament has more than four regional winners, that
being the Boylan Thanksgiving Tournament with Auburn, East, Chicago Harper
and Chicago Hope.
The large school tournament of the State Farm Classic had six regional winners in
this year's field – with Rock Island being one of them along with Grayslake Central,
Glenbard East, North Chicago, Champaign Central and Normal.
Plano's Tournament will expand to 24 teams next year.
+ NIU's Convocation Center is a far cry from Newark's high school gym. For
starters, Newark's gym only has a few rows of bleachers. The Convocation Center
is a ring filled with thousands of fans – in an environment more electric than even a
Huskie home game, according to our own Steve Nemeth.
Perhaps the unnaturalness played a part in back-to-back supersectional losses for
the Norsemen. After losing to Annawan in 2009 and Eastland in 2010, a Newark
loss this year would have given the faithful fits ... as in the Convocation Center
being in the same category as black cats crossing one's path, or running under
ladders, or billy goats.
Ask Rock Falls how that feeling is. The Rockets are the last area team to win three
straight sectional championships and lose three straight supersectional games ...
all of which were at the Convocation Center. The Rockets went 29-3 before losing
to Winnebago in 2004, 27-6 before losing again to the Indians in 2005, and 30-3
before losing to Schaumburg in 2006 – the Rockets' first year in Class AA since
1996.
+ Fact is, class expansion has made it possible for certain schools to compete for
a state tournament berth. Since the first year of four-class basketball, a Little 10
basketball team – boys or girls – has made it to the State Tournament in each year.
Newark's win on Tuesday comes after the Hinckley-Big Rock girls won back-to-
back titles in 2009 and 2010, and before that the Norsemen girls program took
second in 2008.
This year's Newark team is the first boys basketball team from the Little 10 since H-
BR in 1986. That team was coached by Gary Lane and went 26-4. In the
supersectional game at Evans Fieldhouse at NIU, Jim Edmondson set a
supersectional and Little 10 record with 55 points against Winnebago.
Newark is the forth Little 10 boys basketball team to make it to the Boys Basketball
State Tournament. The first team was Waterman's 1929-30 squad (enrollment 85),
which went 28-3 and was coached by Ernie Eveland, before turning Paris into a
state power in the 1940s. The second was Somonauk's 1944-45 squad
(enrollment 88) that went 31-7 and was coached by Bill Randles.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and writes columns
about Illinois high school sports. He can be reached at
Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
| Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com |
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| Those Who Know Northern Illinois High School Sports Know about NISB! |
In 29 of the past 30 years,
an area boys basketball
team has made it to the
State Tournament Finals.
Small schools have been
represented in 28 of the
30 years (save 1992 and
2008).
From 1991 to 2006, at
least one area team
made it to State AND won
their opening game to
guarantee a trophy.
Since 2006, no area state
qualifier has won a game
at State.
Bold = Class AA schools
1981 - Putnam County (E8)
1981 - Moline (E8)
1982 - Kaneland (E8)
1983 - Aquin (E8)
1984 - H-BR (E8)
1984 - Lena-Winslow (4th)
1984 - Rock Island (E8)
1985 - Harvard (4th)
1985 - Boylan (E8)
1985 - Ottawa (E8)
1986 - Kewanee (E8)
1986 - Ohio (2nd)
1986 - Boylan (E8)
1987 - Pearl City (E8)
1987 - Marquette (E8)
1987 - Boylan (E8)
1988 - Lena-Winslow (E8)
1988 - Rock Island (4th)
1989 - Mendota (E8)
1989 - Alleman (2nd)
1989 - Rock Island (4th)
1990 - Marengo (E8)
1991 - Lutheran (E8)
1991 - Orangeville (E8)
1991 - Seneca (2nd)
1991 - Rock Island (E8)
1992 - Boylan (4th)
1993 - Dakota (E8)
1993 - Mendota (E8)
1993 - Guilford (2nd)
1994 - Kewanee (E8)
1994 - Lutheran (4th)
1994 - Boylan (4th)
1995 - Lutheran (E8)
1995 - Alleman (2nd)
1995 - Rock Island (3rd)
1996 - Mendota (E8)
1996 - Alleman (3rd)
1996 - Rock Island (E8)
1997 - Hall (2nd)
1997 - Boylan (4th)
1998 - Hall (2nd)
1999 - Plano (4th)
1999 - Rock Falls (1st)
1999 - Rock Island (E8)
2000 - Rock Falls (E8)
2000 - Bureau Valley (3rd)
2000 - Rock Island (E8)
2001 - Bureau Valley (3rd)
2001 - Moline (E8)
2002 - Bureau Valley (3rd)
2002 - Moline (E8)
2003 - Mt. Carroll (2nd)
2004 - Winnebago (2nd)
2004 - Moline (E8)
2005 - Winnebago (2nd)
2005 - Seneca (3rd)
2005 - Jefferson (4th)
2006 - Seneca (1st)
2006 - IVC (2nd)
2007 - Putnam County (E8)
2007 - West Carroll (E8)
2007 - Boylan (E8)
2008 - NONE*
2009 - Annawan (4th)
2009 - Winnebago (4th)
2010 - Eastland (4th)
2011 - Newark (??)
2011 - Rkfd. Christian (??)
2011 - East/Rock Island ??
2011 - Auburn ??
* 1st year of four-class
system in Illinois
an area boys basketball
team has made it to the
State Tournament Finals.
Small schools have been
represented in 28 of the
30 years (save 1992 and
2008).
From 1991 to 2006, at
least one area team
made it to State AND won
their opening game to
guarantee a trophy.
Since 2006, no area state
qualifier has won a game
at State.
Bold = Class AA schools
1981 - Putnam County (E8)
1981 - Moline (E8)
1982 - Kaneland (E8)
1983 - Aquin (E8)
1984 - H-BR (E8)
1984 - Lena-Winslow (4th)
1984 - Rock Island (E8)
1985 - Harvard (4th)
1985 - Boylan (E8)
1985 - Ottawa (E8)
1986 - Kewanee (E8)
1986 - Ohio (2nd)
1986 - Boylan (E8)
1987 - Pearl City (E8)
1987 - Marquette (E8)
1987 - Boylan (E8)
1988 - Lena-Winslow (E8)
1988 - Rock Island (4th)
1989 - Mendota (E8)
1989 - Alleman (2nd)
1989 - Rock Island (4th)
1990 - Marengo (E8)
1991 - Lutheran (E8)
1991 - Orangeville (E8)
1991 - Seneca (2nd)
1991 - Rock Island (E8)
1992 - Boylan (4th)
1993 - Dakota (E8)
1993 - Mendota (E8)
1993 - Guilford (2nd)
1994 - Kewanee (E8)
1994 - Lutheran (4th)
1994 - Boylan (4th)
1995 - Lutheran (E8)
1995 - Alleman (2nd)
1995 - Rock Island (3rd)
1996 - Mendota (E8)
1996 - Alleman (3rd)
1996 - Rock Island (E8)
1997 - Hall (2nd)
1997 - Boylan (4th)
1998 - Hall (2nd)
1999 - Plano (4th)
1999 - Rock Falls (1st)
1999 - Rock Island (E8)
2000 - Rock Falls (E8)
2000 - Bureau Valley (3rd)
2000 - Rock Island (E8)
2001 - Bureau Valley (3rd)
2001 - Moline (E8)
2002 - Bureau Valley (3rd)
2002 - Moline (E8)
2003 - Mt. Carroll (2nd)
2004 - Winnebago (2nd)
2004 - Moline (E8)
2005 - Winnebago (2nd)
2005 - Seneca (3rd)
2005 - Jefferson (4th)
2006 - Seneca (1st)
2006 - IVC (2nd)
2007 - Putnam County (E8)
2007 - West Carroll (E8)
2007 - Boylan (E8)
2008 - NONE*
2009 - Annawan (4th)
2009 - Winnebago (4th)
2010 - Eastland (4th)
2011 - Newark (??)
2011 - Rkfd. Christian (??)
2011 - East/Rock Island ??
2011 - Auburn ??
* 1st year of four-class
system in Illinois