Osgood Journal Sports
March 31, 2009

Gary Franklin, Sports Writer Eagle sophomore starter Trevor Arnett drains the three bomb despite tight defense by Triton Trojan Cody Carpenter.

Gary Franklin, Sports Writer Under the scrutinizing eye of the referee, JCD Eagle senior Gerald Hardesty holds his ground to defend the basket against the offensive move of a Trojan's rush.

Gary Franklin, Sports Writer Trojan Ben Montalbano (12) finds a solid road block in Eagle senior Blake Sutton (14), as he attempts to drive to the basket.

Gary Franklin, Sports Writer Two-thousad strong, the Eagles arrive in Indy to support the home team. From floor to rafters, fans roosted.

Mighty Eagles end Trojan repeat hopes

Gary Franklin, Sports Writer

The IHSAA (Indiana High School Athletic Association) crowned the Jac-Cen-Del Eagles as the '09 Boys Basketball State Champions of Class 1A on Saturday, March 28, after they derailed last year's champion Triton Trojans, 66-55.
State Championship Game
The lack of a score over the first four and a half minutes of the game found the Eagles erupting in excitement as senior Tim Arnett rang the bell for a field goal and the 2-0 lead off the assist of senior teammate Blake Sutton. At 2:35, the Trojans found an answer with a FG by Zac Moriarty to tie the game at two.
A mere 16 seconds later, senior Eagle and later to be named '09 Tressler Award Winner, Gerald Hardesty, nailed his first FG in the paint to regain the lead at 4-2. Trojan Ben Montalbalno's answer came in the form of the first three pointer scored by either team, giving Triton their first lead of the game at 5-4.
The Eagles recaptured the lead with senior Hardesty's second FG in the paint off teammate Shane Adams' assist, where the first quarter scoring ended with a 6-5 Eagle lead.
Quarter Two
Second quarter action found the mighty Eagles flushing the orange at a pace of 19-8 over the Trojan championship repeat hopefuls, sealing the game's fate.
Even with two quarters left to be played the mighty Eagle machine had taken flight and was a dominating force that could not be stopped!
Colton Keel scored the first basket in the second period and captured the last lead for the Trojans in the day's event. Eagle sophomore Trevor Arnett drove the lane for a lay-up to give JCD the 8-7 lead. Nearly one minute later, senior Eagle Blake Sutton added his first points of the game into history with a medium range jumper. Eagle Trevor Arnett rattled the rim with the first 3 pointer of the game for JCD, edging forward to a six point 13-7 lead.
Joel Meister answered for the Trojans with a lay-up, only to have Eagle senior Tim Arnett drill the net with a jump shot. Eagle Sutton grabbed the defensive rebound, scurried up court and nailed his first 3 pointer of the game, edging the Eagle lead to double at 18-9 Trojans.
Nearly two minutes passed before Sutton rose to ring the bell with another 3 pointer for the Eagles. A Sutton foul followed, sending Trojan Montalbano to the charity stripe where he converted both shots. As time dwindled away for first half action, Trojan Meister added a layup to the Triton score, quickly followed by Eagle Shane Adams' first FG basket via a jump shot.
With only 22 seconds remaining in the first half, Eagle Sutton broke away for a lay-up to end scoring in the second quarter, providing JCD with a 25-13 lead.
The Eagles had indeed Landed!
Quarter Three
Wasting no time to get into the offensive set in the third quarter, Eagle senior Matt Gehl struck for his first points of the game with an in your face lay-up off the assist of teammate Tim Arnett. Eagle Sutton quickly set Gehl up for another shot, catching nothing but the inner loops of the net. Boom, 7:06 in the third period and JCD was holding a commanding 16 point 29-13 lead. Life was good for the Eagles and their fans, but Coach Bradshaw knew better than to celebrate too quickly.
Griffyn Carpenter of the Trojans delivered the long range three pointer, followed by a foul assessed to Eagle Tim Arnett, sending Trojan Meister to the line. Meister scored the pair, leaving a score of 29-18. The Eagles added to their score sheet with a Hardesty layup. The Triton answer came off a FG by Austin Davis.
Eagle Trevor Arnett advanced the Jac-Cen-Del effort with a short range jumper at the five and a half minute mark. A Hardesty defensive rebound led to a a Gehl lay-up off a Sutton assist, putting the Eagles up by 15 at 35-20.
With JCD threatening to stretch the lead even further, a Trevor Arnett turnover resulted in a Trojan basket by Carpenter. Within seconds, Eagle Gehl scored for JCD to erase the points lost.
A media time out at the 3:53 mark led to basket trading by Trojan Colton Keel and Eagle Hardesty with a tip in. Eagle Gehl followed suit adding a pair of FG's and a FT to advance JCD's lead to 20 at 44-24.
With just over a minute remaining in period three, Trojan Carpenter erupted for a trey, but scoring was halted for both teams for the remainder until the last second where Eagle Gehl connected for another FG to end the scoring, JCD 46-27.
State Championship Finale
Triton's Keel scored early in the fourth quarter, only to have Eagle Gehl deliver a jump shot for two. Trojan Keel added a pair of FT's followed by a 3 pointer by Meister off the Montalbano assist. Gehl again produced the Eagle answer with a running jumper, leaving the score at 50-34.
Trojan Meister sank three FT shots leading to another Eagle Gehl FG. Gehl added a FT to complete the old fashioned three point combo. An Eagle Hardesty called foul sent Trojan Carpenter to the charity stripe where he made good on the pair.
Inching their way back into the contest, the Trojans were not ready to wave the white flag just yet. Trojan Keel scored a lay-up followed by Carpenter's drilling of a trey from downtown to close the differential to nine points at 53-44 with three and a half minutes remaining in the game.
Sent to the line after being fouled, Eagle Sutton capped a pair of FT's. Fouled again, Sutton added two more via the charity stripe. Sent to the line for the third consecutive time, Sutton drilled two more FT's which reinstated the JCD lead to a 15 point margin at 59-44.
With just under two minutes remaining in the Class 1A State Championship battle, Trojan Carpenter rose to drain a three pointer. Eagle Gehl was sent to the line where he connected on one of two attempts in each of three trips to the line. With the Trojan's yet unwilling to cry uncle, Carpenter added another three pointer to his team's tally. Fouling Eagle Gehl, Gehl mastered both shots to send JCD's lead to 63-53 at 1:14.
Eagle Sutton was fouled by the Trojans as soon as the ball was inbounded, following which he nailed the pair. Eagle Sutton drilled two more FT shots for the final scoring of the game and a score of 66-55 after which Coach Bradshaw emptied his bench to allow his seniors to be recognized.
Eagle Derek Lunsford collected the last rebound off the Trojan's backboard and teammate Brandon Wilhoit controlled the ball until time expired.
Eagle-mania erupted as all realized they indeed were the
2009 STATE CHAMPION JAC-CEN-DEL EAGLES!
Score by Quarter
Jac-Cen-Del 6-5 Triton
Jac-Cen-Del 25-13 Triton
Jac-Cen-Del 46-27 Triton
Jac-Cen-Del 66-55 Triton
State Champion
Jac-Cen-Del Eagles 66
Sr. Matt Gehl 26
Sr. Blake Sutton 19
Sr. Gerald Hardesty 8
So. Trevor Arnett 7
Sr. Tim Arnett 4
Jr. Shane Adams 2
Non-scoring Eagle team members: Spencer Purdy, Ethan Harmeyer, Derek Lunsford, Daniel Harlemert, Brandon Wilhoit, Dalton Garnett, Joe Abplanalp, and Clay Comer.
Managers Ethan Hess and Jim Dobbs. Varsity Coach David Bradshaw, Reserve Coach Steve Narwold, Freshman Coach Roy Thomas, Jr. High Coaches: David Espinda and Travis Rohrig. Athletic Trainer Michelle Sebastian, JCD Athletic Director Mark Meyer, JCDHS Principal Johnny Budd and Jac-Cen-Del Superintendent Bill Narwold.
Triton Trojans 55
Griffyn Carpenter 14
Joel Meister 12
Colton Keel 12
Cody Carpenter 8
Ben Montalbano 5
Austin Davis 2
Zac Moriarty 2
Non-scoring Trojans: Curtis Norman, Dustin Kreft, Camron Garey, Taran Holderman and Jordan Everett.