Lady Pioneers with Back to Back Regional Wins

The Lady Pioneers played a couple of 8th Region games before they head into the Northern Exposure Tournament play beginning this weekend. The Lady Neers beat Walton on the road last night by a final of 50-46 last night as the difference in the game came down to foul shots the last two minutes.

The team comes home tonight to host the usually tough Oldham County. Oldham just wasn’t as tough as they have been the last few years and the Pioneers win by a final of 86-76. Sounds like a close game; it wasn’t as SK was up by 30 in the second half before Coach Stowers performed mass substitutions. Perhaps the story of the game was fouls. SK had 3 girls foul out as there was a total of 50+ fouls called in the game. I didn’t think the game was ever going to end. Bottom-line, the girls move out to 6-0 on the season.

The girls play in the Northern Exposure Tournament beginning Saturday. They play on the 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd at 5:30, 5:30, 3:45, and TBA. Games are played at Notre Dame and Boone County. I will post the locations once I have them.

Not sure if you have been to the Joe this year but it is neat to see the Dance Team return to the court at half-time. In the old days, they were called what? Yep, SK-ettes.

Familiar Name and Number...


Pace goes up and gets tagged.


Couple shots of the Dance Team, welcome back!

New SK Sports Pics Available

New picture galleries are now available. Any order received before Friday, December 18th will be delivered in time for Christmas. Here are the links:

SK Boys B-Ball versus Colerain
http://www.figsphotos.com/g/sk_vs_colerain

SK Boys B-Ball versus Grant County
http://www.figsphotos.com/g/sk_vs_grant_count

SK Boys B-Ball versus Dixie
http://www.figsphotos.com/g/sk_versus_dixie

SK Girls B-Ball versus GRC
http://www.figsphotos.com/g/sk_vs_clark_co_grc

SK Football vs. St. X
http://www.figsphotos.com/g/sk_vs_st_x

SK Football vs. Scott
http://www.figsphotos.com/g/sk_vs_scott

Cardinals Take Down Pioneers

The Pioneers took on the Cardinals from Colerain this afternoon in the Bluegrass Buckeye challenge at the Bank of Kentucky Center on NKU’s campus. SK jumped out to an early lead and it looked like the Pioneers were going to have a good afternoon. However, after SK ran out to an early 5 point lead, the Cardinals went with a full-court press. SK didn’t handle it very well and the Cardinals capitalized on the Pioneers’ inability to get the ball across the mid-court line. Colerain led at the end of the first by a score of 22-12. The Pioneer struggles continued in the second quarter as the turnovers mounted. SK posts 14 turnovers for the half.

While the Pioneers struggled on offense against the press, perhaps their biggest nemesis was their rebounding. Colerain had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half. SK posted 11 rebounds total. Colerain leads at half by a score of 36-20. The turnovers and rebounds lead to 36 shots for the Cards while the Pioneers only managed to put up 14 for the half.

SK did make a little run in the third but their inability to rebound ended up being the difference in the game. Unofficially, Colerain outrebounds SK 42-21.

Colerain stretched the lead in the third 56-32 and a final of 68-47. A tough day for the Neers.

Interesting thing about the game; it was played in the arena that holds 9,000 plus but it seemed like nobody was there. The crowd was definitely smaller than most games at the Joe and you feel so far away from the action that you rarely hear any cheering. Oh well, I am sure it is still a neat experience for the players.


Casey Sorrell led SK with 11 Points. He goes in for two here in the first half.


Zach Bishop takes the ball to the hole in the first. He would be called for an offensive foul on the play in the next picture below.




Seth didn't have to look to hard for a seat at BOKC.


A couple of future Pioneers played at half-time in one of the games today.

Another 32nd W for Lady Neers

Congratulations to the Lady Pioneers after pulling off a nice win at Walton-Verona and stretching their 32nd District win streak to a whopping 34 games. The Pioneers trailed most of the game until the last few minutes of the game when they were able to stretch to a 6 point lead at the final buzzer. It was a very fast paced game with SK utilizing a press against the Bearcats down the stretch to force turnovers helping the Pioneers tighten the gap.

Defensively, the Pioneers played tough holding the Bearcats to under the magic 36 number. Senior Kristen Pace had 8 rebounds and put pressure on Walton’s bigger front court which was a concern going into the game. Although Wainscott was tightly guarded she was the leading scorer with 17 points.

You could see the girls really wanted this win. They played with heart and that's what pulled them over the top.

The boys will head over to NKU on Sunday afternoon to take on the Colerain Cardinals in the Bluegrass-Buckeye Charity Holiday Classic. High school basketball teams will be raising money for several good causes when they play in the eighth annual event at the Bank of Kentucky Center at NKU.

Proceeds from the seven-game, two-day event will go to the Ruth Lyons Christmas Fund, Neediest Kids of All and Holiday Wishes. Last year, more than $18,000 was donated to five charities. Head over to NKU tomorrow night and support the Pioneers and a good cause.

Pioneers with Convincing 32nd District Win

The Pioneers hosted the Grant County Braves in a triple header tonight. The Freshman team jumped out to an early lead but couldn’t hold on and suffered a loss. The JV team won fairly easily. In the night-cap, the varsity team cruised to a final score win by a final of 81-56 in front of a good sized Friday night crowd. There was also a good sized student pep section that had a lot of fun leading cheers etc.

The boys will play on Sunday at NKU versus Colerain.

Future Dancing with the Stars Contestant.


Nick Gray up for two.


Energized Student Section


The many faces of Coach Steiner.

GRRRRRR!!!

Hey Pic, make some more noise!

Don't make me come over there.

Do the Hustle..

Ohh...My...Gosh

Are You Serious????

Good Job Young Fella

Arrggh, I hate ties

It is Bas-keet-ball Time in the Commonwealth!!!!!

The Pioneer Basketball teams tipped it up to start the season. There is something always exciting about the start of another basketball season in Kentucky as every team starts the season with a dream of reaching the Sweet 16. The boys and girls team open the season with high expectations that they can go deep into tournament play and win their respective 8th Region Championships.

The boys team jumps out to 2-0 record after beating Oldham County on Tuesday by a score of 69-52 and cross county rival Dixie Heights by a final of 78-70 on Friday. Casey Sorrell led the Pioneers both nights as he pumps in 30 and 20 respectively. Both the JV and Varsity games at Dixie had an almost playoff atmosphere to the. The JV team trailed for much of the game but took the lead with some strong outside shooting and foot stomping from Coach Davis as the Young-o-Neers pulled out the victory. In the varsity game, SK started off strong leading and led after the first quarter 23-9. Dixie gained some ground after a couple of Pioneer turnovers and 3 balls. The Colonels continued to scratch back and after three quarters trailed by three 52-49. The Colonels cut it to one and had a chance to take the lead but a Zeke Pike hook shot rimmed out. SK never trailed in the game and made their foul shots down the stretch finishing 12-14 in the final quarter.

This will be another Steiner team without a lot of “bigs” but I must say I was impressed with the effort and aggressiveness after watching the game against Dixie. Every player who dressed for the varsity game saw the floor. Outscrap and outshoot worked out well for the win. The Pioneers almost looked fresh down the stretch and looked very confident with some nice leadership out on the floor. A nice start to the season.

The Lady Pioneers opened up the season with a district win against Grant County last night by a score of 58-34 and a tough fought game against Clark County by a final of 53-48. While there may be some questions about the SK ability to go deep in the 8th region again, some of those questions may have been answered with this win today as the Clark County team is the preseason favorite to win the 10th Region. The Lady Neers may be searching for offensive punch to replace points from last year’s seniors but no doubt the defense will still be in play for Coach Stowers’ team. Good luck for the three-peat ladies!

Not sure who was more excited here, Coach Davis or the lady in the stands. I hope Coach has some fresh soles on those shoes for the season after last night.


Trademark...


Sorrell for two.


Chambers with an and one.


Pace getting hacked.


Ali finishes for two.

More Pics from Friday

Would have liked to have seen Pic out there. Dave Lapham sure liked what 50 could do.


Mr. Football in our book. Hope that wheel gets healed soon.


Chad was nails.


Another one of the sequence of Kaiser getting crazy airborn.


Good stuff. Celebrating after fumble recovery.


Sure handed Wink. I have a feeling we got a glimpse of next year's offense in the second half.




Nice job by the boys on the line.

TEAM, SCHOOL, COMMUNITY

Simon Kenton suffered a heartbreaking loss in the 6A playoffs tonight at the hands of the St. Xavier Tigers by a final score of 48-34. Surprising to everyone outside of Independence, the game wasn’t decided until the last two minutes of the game. It was an effort by the Pioneers that was just simply gutsy.

Last year, the Pioneers actually celebrated their loss in the state finals against Trinity at Papa John Stadium. Yes, I said celebrated. They posed for pictures with some of the Trinity kids, joked around with each other and were just happy to be there. That wasn’t the case tonight as the Pioneers faced one of the private school super powers. The Pioneer boys were crushed to sobbing tears because they honestly believed they could win this game. Few people gave the Kenton County public school kids any chance whatsoever in this match-up based on the outcome of last year’s game against Trinity. But this SK team was better than last year’s and the St. Xavier team was not as good as Trinity last year. SK was right there but just couldn’t get the last button fastened on the Underdog cape. As the Pioneers were driving for the tying score, I started thinking about the movie Hoosiers; OK wrong sport but the upset would have been as legendary as nobody embarks on the Trinity or X domination territory, especially from a public school from Northern Kentucky.

St. Xavier jumped out to a 34-7 lead and it was looking like last year all over again. But I can tell you standing on the sideline that Coach Marksberry and his boys were not quitting. They were picking each other up, getting on each other and doing everything they could to encourage each other to get back in the game.

Chat circulated the internet boards that the SK kids would fatigue and tire because so many of them played both sides of the ball while the X kids only played either offense or defense. However, there is no doubt in my mind that the SK kids were better conditioned because as the game wore on, they continued to outplay the mighty Tiggers.

Miles Simpson went down in the third quarter with an ankle sprain after a nice run in front of the X sideline. The best player in the Commonwealth would not return to action. Not the way Miles, his family, the team, school or community wanted to see his SK career end. Miles’ best runs have always been after he punished the opposition’s defense enough that they wore down in the second half. Too bad that he didn’t get to show the Louisville contingent what he can do late in a game. I know a whole lot of folks in blue would have liked to have seen the ball in number 30’s hands on that last drive.

With Miles not available, Chad Lawrence went to the air big time. Big catch after big catch to several different receivers and pulled the Pioneers close. Lawrence would take 80+ snaps in the game; Wow!

Defense started hitting like they can once they got mad enough. X got two scores in the second half. One score was after an absolutely horrific pass interference call gave X a first and goal from the two and one on a fluke play at the end of the game when SK crowded the box trying to force X to punt.

A congratulations is really is hard to offer up after such a tough defeat. I know I feel bad for the kids, coaches and parents but I will say though that clearly SK played with more heart, intensity and CLASS than X did. Too bad the scoreboard didn’t show that but that’s why it is a game.

I just read what Jamie Stark posted below and he pretty much nailed it. We decided he would write some stats stuff like he has done the last couple of weeks but right now, it doesn’t seem all that important. To this group of seniors; you have been an awesome group for this community to support over the years. You have set a high standard for SK football that we all hope can continue. The 1,000’s of fans packed into the visitors stands thank you. Good job men.

More pics later...

Kaiser goes for a flight trying to block a punt. The boys gave it all they had.


Nobody thought the scoreboard would look like this. A momentary celebration after the onsides kick was recovered.


Coach addressing his troops following the game.


The two smallest on the sidelines but biggest supporters watch after the clock runs out.

Thank you Pioneers

Well, I thought I would come home and post the scenarios and numbers from the game, but I'm not going to do that right now. For those who attended, you already know what went on during the ebb and flow of the game, so what I'm going to do is simply say thanks. Thanks for one heck of a season. Thanks for working hard every day at practice, even when you just didn't feel 100% after a long school day. Thanks for not resting after your magnificent '08 season. Thanks for speeding up the work week for us armchair QBs. Thanks for giving the community of Independence something to look forward to on those cool fall nights, Lord knows we needed a few of those after years of never thinking what you've done would ever be possible. Thanks to the 19 Seniors who've left a mark on this program that won't ever be forgotten (at least by me and I know I'm not alone). It seems like yesterday when I walked into Nippert Stadium to watch the NCC game and now the season is over. Keep your heads up, WE are so proud of what you've accomplished, if Webster ever puts a picture under the word TEAM, he couldn't go wrong with posting a picture of the 2009 Pioneers, THANK YOU.

Survive and advance

Last night, the Manual Crimsons came to town and they made the Pioneers earn the victory 39-29. Manual entered the game (5-6) on the season but one look at their schedule and you could see why they were below .500. The Crimsons brought a bevy of young, talent skilled players and a quick ball hawking defense that had many of us wondering if we would make it to round three.

For most of the first quarter Manual's defense stalled the SK offense while controlling field position. By the final minutes of the 1st quarter Manual had driven to the SK 2 yard line and it appeared they would put up the first score. Two penalties later they were facing a 3rd and goal from the 10, and that's when Zach Kaiser jumped a route and 90 yds later the Neers were on the board. Less than two minutes later, Manual's Marcus Helm scored on a 19 yd run to tie the game. The Louisville school once again scored with 5:59 in the 2nd quarter on a 20 yard pass completion, Woodmore to sophomore Quintez Sutton, Manual 14, SK 7. SK's offense finally showed signs of life with 4:41 remaining they recorded a first down, the chain gang had to be excited. Chad Lawrence entered the endzone with 3:03 remaining, while Zach Carrol converted the two point attempt, SK would take a 15-14 lead into the locker.

Manual started on offense in the 3rd quarter and SK forced a turnover when LB Bo Lockard picked off the Woodmore pass. SK must have felt guilty because they proceeded to give it back to the Crimsons a minute later on a fumble. Marcus Helms galloped his way to 16 yd TD to give Manual another lead. What happened next was something we don't see much, the opposition actually kicked off to Miles and he made a fantastic return and three minutes later he capped the drive off with his first TD of the night, a two yard run. Manual didn't waste any time scoring a minute and a half later on a 13 yd touchdown by sophomore Percy Minor. The 4th quarter started with Manual leading 29-22 but that didn't last long. Miles scored from seven with at the 11:17 mark to tie it up. After holding steady on defense SK took control of the ball and moved into Crimsons territory. One of the biggest plays of the game occurred with 6:30 remaining. SK facing a 3rd and six, ball on the 34 yd line, Lawrence completed a 28 yd pass to Krummen, a few plays later Miles had Td number three. Chris Repka was able to find the sweet spot on the ensuing kick off. The ball took a few nice hops and was muffed by the Manual return team, Manual would start from their own 10. On 4th down coach Nichols' squad decided to run a fake punt, SK's defense tipped the ball at the line of scrimmage, pass incomplete, SK ball deep in Crimsons territory. The Neers were unable to score six but Chris Repka was money on his first field goal of the season, a 27 yarder which just about sealed the victory. Chad Lawrence ended their hopes intercepting Woodmore with 30 seconds left, finally allowing me to relax. Overall a very exciting game, as fans we haven't had to sweat it out for quite some time but it was good to see a competitive game between two of the best in the bluegrass.

Next week SK will face another stiff test, when they travel to Poplar Level road to square off against AAAAAA's #1 team, The St. Xavier Tigers. The Neers will have to bring everything they have to come home with the victory, St.X defeated Ryle 66-16 in 2nd round action last night. I hope to see a caravan of fans invading Thomas More stadium next week, I can't wait.

SK 49 Butler 7

I couldn't wait to get off of work tonight but I had one problem, I had no idea if the game was starting at 7pm. The Enquirer had no time listed, KHSAA had the game listed at 7pm, another website said 730pm so I show up at 655pm and had to run from Kenton Elementary just to see the opening kickoff. SK took the opening kickoff and had to settle on punting back to the Bears. The SK defense held their opponent and proceeded to drive down the field and had a first down on the Bears' four yard line. Three running plays later and SK faced a 4th and one from the one yard line. At that point I whispered to my buddy, it's going to be a pass (honestly I was just being sarcastic), next thing you know Lawrence is rolling out to the left and he spots a wide open D.J. Rabe for a TD. That was a gutsy call but this team has guts. On Butler's next drive they were very efficient and scored on a TD pass to tie the game. The fans may have been tight after witnessing that drive but the Neers weren't phased. Just like almost every other game this season, SK then went on to score 42 unanswered points. Miles ran 25 times for 217 yds and four scores. Lawrence had another solid game passing for two scores and keeping the defense honest while making some clutch runs. The defense was all over the field, playing aggressively and showing the fans from Louisville that this team is more than #30. Next week the Neers face the best 5-6 team in the state in DuPont Manual. I hope to see every familiar face from Independence inside the gates of Chlorine B Menifee Stadium, SK's biggest home game ever, show your Pioneer Pride, we are no longer the prey, we are the predator. GO SK.

Final Regular Season Football Game

SK took to the field for the first time in several years for a game with cross county rival Scott. The Eagles were celebrating their senior night and came out all kinds of fired up. The SK coaching staff must have felt like they were watching a bad horror flick as the Pioneers struggled to get on track on offense and defense. The high powered offense struggled with penalties and a lack of production while the defense allowed Scott to move the ball. The score at the end of the first quarter was tied at zip. The entire team huddled at the end of the first quarter and got a good talking to. They woke up in the second quarter and started scoring and moving the ball. Miles was not ripping off his 70 plus yard runs we have seen in recent weeks but he was picking up nice gains and more importantly, wearing out and punishing the Scott defense. While Scott did not score during the game, they did move the ball at times out of their single wing offense

SK did go on to a 50-0 final score, it definitely was not their best effort of the season.

The Pioneers will host Louisville Butler next Friday night in a playoff game at Meneffee Stadium. Congrats on a great regular season. The real season is about to begin.

Zach Kaiser tries to bring down Sowder from Scott.


The Scott defender tries to strip the ball from Miles; Nope


Ryan Winkler with a nice run carrying much of the Scott defense.

District Champs

Tonight history was made, SK won their first district title in school history after defeating the Campbell County Camels 49-14. I'm sure coach Marsberry's team has plenty of goals for 2009 and I know that winning the district is one of them. The Neers opened the game with a dominating drive, culminating with an Austin Baldwin TD run but failed to convert on their two point attempt. The Camels and their pass first, pass 2nd, pass 3rd offense then proceeded to match SK and then converted their PAT to take a 7-6 lead. It didn't matter, SK then went on to score the next 43 points. On a field that resembled the everglades, Chad Lawrence, Miles Simpson, Nick Brown and the other SK offensive players dominated the run game. If you want to hear an impressive stat I have one, Simon Kenton’s first five possessions accounted for 35 points and 354 yards in just 29 plays and 10 minutes, 17 seconds. One thing is certain two people have work to do, the bus driver and the person who does the laundry, those white uniforms need one more good cleaning since we have a road game against Scott next week. I have to say I was touched to see #50 Derek Piccirillo at the game, I heard him have a conversation with Nick Repka, he said Nick didn't tell him not to be there but he also didn't expect him to make the game. Pic then said the Dr told him to rest but there was no way he wasn't going to support his boys. Many of the players had the five-oh written on their faces for their fallen teammate showing their unification. I didn't get to see the team don their district championship t-shirts but I'm sure the celebration was sweet. One more game to complete the regular season, next friday in Taylor Mill, no doubt the SK train will be ready to cap a one loss regular season, then on to the 2nd season. Congratulations boys, I've been around the program all my life and though I hoped I would see this day, I also thought it may not ever happen after seasons of mediocrity and some much lower than that. I am so proud of this team yet I know none of you. Keep the desire, still plenty of goals to meet, nine games down, six to go.

J. Stark Contributor

Tough Loss for Lady Neers in Regional Final

The 9th Region Girl’s soccer final took place tonight as SK hosted St. Henry in a rematch of last year’s final. St. Henry entered the game 19-1 and was a favorite against the home field Pioneers. The Cru had beaten SK in the first game of the season by a score of 3-0. Someone forgot to tell SK they were the u-dog as the Pioneers popped St. Henry in the nose and jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first five minutes of the match on the strength of two Ali Ponzer goals. Ponzer blew by the defense on a breakaway for her first goal. Her second goal game on a ball from the left side that the Crusader keeper apparently thought was going to be a cross. The Pioneers played tough throughout the half but unfortunately St. Henry would even the score before half-time.

The Pioneers came out in the second half and continued their strong play. However, the passing game of St. Henry wore the Pioneers down. At about the 20 minute mark, it was apparent that the Lady Neers were beginning to see their tanks emptied. St. Henry pressured and SK didn’t have the same presence to push up the field that they had early in the game. St. Henry would score two goals for the final margin of 4-2.

Congratulations to the Lady Pioneers. They played a great game and had a fantastic season. Their post season run put them in the regional for the third year in a row and definitely cemented their place as one of the top teams in Northern Kentucky.

Lady Pioneers Win in Regional Soccer Semi

The Lady Pioneers were hosts tonight for 9th Region tournament action. The Pioneers took to the field in the night cap in action versus the Boone County Rebels. SK comes out on top 4-1 in a game that went overtime. Although the Pioneers won by 3 goals, the game was obviously much closer than that final score.

Both teams were able to get on the board with single goals on the first half. SK actually controlled the ball for most of the half but Boone took momentum to half time after getting the tying goal before half-time off of a direct free kick just outside the box.

The game took on a defensive tone in the second half and overtime as the keepers, Ashley Repka for SK and Diana Perez for Boone, made awesome save after awesome save. SK would finally break the tie when Chelsea Landrum sent a ball in from the left side of the box. The Boone keeper came up with the ball but not before the momentum took her across the goal line after being pressured by Jessie Cooper. After the referees consulted with each other, the signal was for a goal. The Pioneers got an insurance goal after Aly Ponzer sent a direct kick in from just outside the penalty area. Ponzer scored right after a Boone player was sent off for an apparent intentional hand ball that denied an obvious goal. In my opinion, a tough call in a regional semifinal game. SK got the final goal off of a corner kick after a ball that ricocheted off several Pioneers found its way over the goal line. The game ended with a flurry of yellow cards and a SK player also being sent off. Again, a tough call in a regional semifinal game.

During the course of the game, SK used many more substitutions than Boone. Was it a difference in the game? Hard to say, but when a team has just played its guts out for 80 minutes and has to go another 20 minutes, I like the chances of the team that has subbed more.

I congratulate Boone on a strong effort and wish SK good luck in the regional final. In the end, both teams left everything they had on the field and it truly was one of those contests where you hate to see either team lose. I only wish there could have been as much sportsmanship left in the stands. Too bad because the game deserved better.

The Lady Neers will take on St. Henry on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the Regional Final that is a repeat of last year’s final. This will mark SK’s third straight appearance in the regional final. Good Luck Girls!

Finally, here are the official rules where there are plays that result in a player being sent off.

A player is sent off and shown the red card if he commits any of the following seven offences:
1. is guilty of serious foul play
2. is guilty of violent conduct
3. spits at an opponent or any other person
4. denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a goalkeeper within his own penalty area)
5. denies an obvious goal scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player's goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick
6. uses offensive or insulting or abusive language and/or gestures
7. receives a second caution in the same match.

Friday Night Feats Voting!

Miles Simpson had a video nominated for the State Farm Friday Night Feats. Click on this link and vote on the stars. Click the first star from the right to make it a 5 star rating. Vote and SK could win some nice coinage if the video gets enough votes. Forward this to your friends and fam.
http://www.youtube.com/fridaynightfeats#p/c/232EC871CF8E5598/43/YMY408hPpCA