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Prep Confidential

Sabers on the brink

Posted by: Marcus Jackson

Saturday, October 13, 2007 2:54 AM

In its short existence, The High School of St. Thomas More has never won a state championship in any sport. But that could all change on Saturday as the Sabers boys' golf team enters the final round just 2 strokes off the lead.

A big reason the Sabers are where they are is because of the play of senior Jeff Nogle. Nogle, the team's only senior, stepped up big for the Sabers, shooting a 75 which ties his best round ever.

Junior Ryan Murphy's 73 led the team, which hopes to clean up its overall game in an effort to bring a first-place trophy to Champaign.

And if the girls' team can somehow overcome a 12-shot deficit on Saturday, it too could bring home a championship, which would make this weekend one to remember for the school on North Mattis Avenue.

- Katie Jean's even-par opening round is tied for the lead and the Sabers trail only Effingham St. Anthony, a golf powerhouse, for the overall lead.

- St. Thomas More's golfers aren't the only ones making noise. Centennial's Joe Smith fired a 1-under par 70 and is 2 shots back in the Class 2A tournament entering Saturday's final round. After finishing seventh as a freshman, third as a sophomore and fifth as a junior, Smith is in position to claim his first state title.

- And how about Arcola's Mark Klinger. All he did was shoot a 78 on Friday, then drove to Arcola and threw for 161 yards, ran for 81 more and scored three touchdowns as the Purple Riders handled Villa Grove, winning their third game in eight days. Klinger will be back in Bloomington on Saturday to play his final round. Just a remarkable effort from him. Not only is he competing in two sports simultaneously, but he's doing them well.

- Sticking with football, is there a bigger surprise than Centennial being 4-4? Most expected Mikel LeShoure and the Chargers to finish the regular season with at least six wins, but now they're going into the final week of the season against rival Champaign Central with each team needing a win just to qualify for the playoffs. That should be a good one.

- It's getting close to the time to start thinking about Area Player-of-the-Year candidates and two of the favorites had huge nights Friday. Westville's Caleb Pratt ran for 292 yards and seven touchdown - yes seven - in the Tigers' 51-29 win against Hoopeston Area. Mahomet-Seymour's Andrew Brewer followed up last week's 418-yard performance with another doozey. This time it was for 338 yards and four touchdowns.

- That's all from me tonight. I know all you Illini fans out there are getting up early to catch Saturday's early kickoff from Iowa City. While you're watching, be sure to check out sports editor Jim Rossow's blog live from Kinnick Stadium. He should get it rolling at about 10 a.m. And if you want to hear more about high school football, be sure to tune into to WDWS 1400 AM on Tuesday at about 6:30 p.m. as Eric Loy and I will talk shop about the happenings in the area. Gotta get some sleep, goodnight.

MJ