Andy Amey: Weather leads to a weird football weekend

Aug. 27—This coming Friday, you might need a sweater or a light jacket if you're planning to attend a Wabash Valley high school football game.

Just sayin'.

Indiana weather — and I suppose Illinois weather too, for that matter, but I live in Indiana and I don't get to hear the grumbling from that side of the state line — is notoriously unpredictable, but it still managed to outdo itself in the last few days.

Was the heat wave unprecedented, as far as high school sports was concerned? I've never seen anything like it, but I've only been paying attention to things like that for about 70 years.

And remember, fall seasons didn't used to start until September.

(On a mostly unrelated note, do we really have girls basketball in October this year?)

Friday night football became late Friday night football, or Saturday football, or even Monday football.

Sullivan and South Vermillion are still battling and will finish their game at 6 p.m. Monday. The Wildcats lead 28-14 with less than four minutes to play, but the Golden Arrows are on the 5-yard line so it isn't over.

Like my celluloid fraternity brother John Blutarsky once said, "Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?"

A few weeks from now, when Terre Haute South celebrates its football Senior Night, I'm sure the majority of the memorable moments for each player will involve something that happened during the Braves' recent weekend, details of which are related elsewhere on this page. Coach Tim Herrin was philosophical about it before the game Saturday — maybe less so after it — saying "We told [the players] we had to get extra miles" because the Braves don't leave Terre Haute again until the last week of the regular season. Hopefully the kids had their chargers with them.

The general weirdness of the weekend didn't help at all with gathering scores, so here are some you may have missed.

—Northview 43, Greencastle 21 — The Knights played a great first half in their season opener and they scored the last 26 points Friday after trailing 21-17 at halftime.

How good can they be if they play both halves? I'm fairly sure Mark Raetz is wondering himself.

—Linton 35, Decatur St. Teresa 20 — The signature win of the weekend came from a familiar spot as the Miners knocked off the top Class 2A team in Illinois.

I hope you've seen the video of Paul Oliver loping down the sideline, accompanied by his cousin, offensive lineman Hank Gennicks. Not in a hurry, just running over whoever got in their way. Linton averaged more than nine yards per carry.

—North Daviess 35, North Central 0 — This game was closer than the score indicates, which doesn't make coach Joe Kutch feel any better. The Thunderbirds had too many fumbles, one that stopped a promising, game-opening drive and others that allowed the Cougars to go from 7-0 to 21-0 in the last minute of the first half.

—Carroll (Flora) 62, Riverton Parke 0 — This set of Cougars is stamping itself as a state contender, unfortunately for the Panthers.

—Dugger Union 34, Traders Point Christian 26 — Mikey Pearison had all five touchdowns for the winning Bulldogs.

—Paris 21, North Vermillion 14 — Ethan Curl rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns, including the fourth-quarter game-winner, for the Tigers. Cody Tryon rushed for 71 yards and passed for 110 for the Falcons.

—Effingham 31, Robinson 7 — Jud Pinkston caught a 78-yard pass from Reese Johnson for the Maroons.

—Scores, but no details— Trenton Wesclin 32, Marshall 6; Martinsville 22, Milford 14; Casey 26, Red Hill 0; Lawrenceville 68, OPH 19.

I I I

—A non-football note — More news about great coaches from the past, and a little more cheerful this time.

Jim and Jeannetta Hargis celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary a little over a week ago. Jim coached track — and maybe cross country? — and was the right-hand man on the basketball bench next to Bob Burton for boys basketball at West Vigo.

You probably think that there was never a track meet inside the Jim Mann Green Dome — or simply the West Vigo gym, since Jim Mann was still a pup in those days — but Jim Hargis found a way to do it. I don't remember who won the meet, but I remember folding ramps in each corner around the top of the gym to provide a banked track — those shop classes come in handy — and high jumping and even pole vaulting (the name Russ Conley comes to mind) on the gym floor.

Andy Amey can be reached after 4 p.m. at 812-231-4277 or 812-231-4276; by email at andy.amey@tribstar.com; or by mail at P.O. Box 149, Terre Haute, IN, 47808. Follow TribStarAndy on Twitter.