Beecher Coach Tyler Shireman has the team pointed in the right direction, with back-to-back 20-win seasons and the first AP top-10 ranking in program history. –Photo by Jeff Vorva
Beecher Seeking Second Regional Title in School History
By Jeff Vorva
Since Christmas, life around the Beecher boys basketball team has been anything but normal.
When the freezing weather helped cause a pipe to burst and flooded the high school’s main gym, the floor was ruined and unusable, and the Bobcats had to adapt with practices and home games off campus.
That set off a rollercoaster chain of events in the coming weeks – some good, some bad.
For a few weeks, the homeless Bobcats kept winning and on January 18 were rewarded for their efforts as they were ranked seventh in the state in Class 2A by the Associated Press. It was the first time they were ever ranked in the Top 10.
Yep – there they were on the list with the big boys, such as Princeton, DePaul College Prep, and Rockford Christian.
But those good feelings were wiped away the next day, January 19, as the Bobcats were upset by the Bearcats. Milford came into the Beecher Junior High School gym and beat the hosts, 72-64, to snap Beecher’s 17-game winning streak.
After the game, senior center Rio Llamas tried to put that stunning loss into perspective.
“We got a wake-up call,” he said. “I was confident we were going to beat this team, but it was a wake-up call, and we need to go back in the gym and know what we have to do.”
Roughly 24 hours later, the team took a trip to Kankakee and made things right again with a 70-31 victory over Grace Christian, to give the Bobcats the River Valley Conference title and their 20th win of the season. It’s just the seventh time in program history the Bobcats hit the 20-win mark, and Beecher started playing basketball in 1949.
It’s also the second year in a row the team won 20 games in back-to-back seasons, and that hasn’t happened since 1968-69 and 1969-70.
For the rest of the regular season, the Bobcats will play non-conference games to prepare for the Herscher Sectional, which starts on February 18.
The Bobcats are in Sub-Sectional B, with familiar area foes such as Manteno, Momence, and Peotone.
The Bobcats hope for a high seed when seeding takes place February 9.
Meanwhile, the gym floor is being replaced and won’t be ready by the end of the season, so the team will continue to adapt.
“It’s unfortunate we can’t use our main gym right now, but at least we have another gym close that we can practice in,” Llamas said of the junior high digs. “I never imagined I would be back here playing, but we’re here, and we’re focusing on our goals.”
Coach Tyler Shireman, who has built a winning culture with the program, admires the team’s attitude through all of this.
“Our guys have done a really nice job in dealing with all of these changes,” he said. “Our practices haven’t been the same since our gym has gone down, and that has cut into our routine a little bit.
“But I don’t think of it as an excuse or a crutch. Our guys don’t look at it as ‘oh, oh, why aren’t things the same way like before Christmas?’ I think they more so have taken it as another challenge to show just how tough they are. It’s a competitive group who loves challenges.”
Minutes before the loss to Milford, the Bobcats hosted a senior night celebration, and Llamas, Jacob Graniczny, Kevin Girard and Ethan Turney were honored.
A powerful junior class should ensure another big season next year, as Trevor Stout, Josh Harden, Ethan Rydberg, Jack Hayhurst, Nathan Diachenko, Zackary Johnson, and leading scorer Adyn McGinley all have contributed. Sophomore Orlin Nesbitt also has been getting valuable varsity minutes.
The Bobcats opened the season beating Manteno and Peotone in the Coal City/Manteno Thanksgiving tournament before falling to Immaculate Conception, 78-70, on November 25.
After that, they went on a roll of 17 straight victories, in which only one opponent – Erie Prophetstown – was able to come within 10 points of them.
Last year, they put together a 26-win season before being taken down by Herscher, 44-34, in the regional final.
This year, they are seeking the second regional title in school history.
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Beecher Community Library News
Call the library at 708-946-9090 for programs that require registration. Happy Holidays! The library will be closed Saturday, December 29, and Monday, January 1. The library’s Penfield Street parking lot entrance is closed until spring, but the Maxwell Street entrance is still open. Turn north on Maxwell from Indiana Avenue to get to the library.……
Beecher Police Blotter: December 14 – 16
Disclaimer: Charges against each defendant are merely accusations, with all defendants presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. December 14, Venessa Gradowski, 38, of the 1700 block of Prentiss Drive, Downers Grove, was arrested after officers were called to 1121 Dixie Highway for a retail theft call. She was charged with retail……
Beecher 200-U Bringing the Chickens to Roost
By Jeff Vorva The passing of the Beecher 200-U tax levy had a barnyard feel to it with chickens coming to roost. District Superintendent Jack Gaham threw out a lot of facts, figures, and percentages during a Truth In Taxation hearing at the December 11 board meeting. Some residents were confused about the increases, thinking……
Barber Bids Farewell as Beecher Ups the Levy
By Jeff Vorva As he attended his 852nd Beecher village board meeting, retiring village manager Robert Barber got emotional. So, he tried a different tactic when he spoke to the board. “I’ll read statistics, because statistics don’t make people cry,” he said. Well, that didn’t work out too well. A few times during the reading……
Santa Letters from Ms. Baxter’s First Graders
As promised, here are more of those delightful letters from the children at Beecher Elementary School. Ms. Baxter’s first graders had some great ideas to help out the jolly big man in the bright red suit. After reading the letters, if Santa is really hungry during his journey on Christmas Eve, he won’t be disappointed……
Beecher Community Library News
Call the library at 708-946-9090 for programs that require registration. Happy Holidays! The library will be closed on Saturday, December 23, Monday, December 25, Saturday, December 29, and Monday, January 1. The library’s Penfield Street parking lot entrance will be closed until spring, but the Maxwell Street entrance is open. Turn north on Maxwell from……
Santa Letters from Mrs. Markland’s First Graders
Mrs. Markland’s children also took the time to inform Santa of their wishes for this Christmas season and also informed the jolly man just what their behavior was like during the past year. To everyone’s relief – they were all GOOD! It certainly looks like Santa’s sleigh is going to be very heavy when it……
Beecher Police Blotter: November 28 – December 6
Disclaimer: Charges against each defendant are merely accusations, with all defendants presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. November 28, Logan Young, 24, of the 1500 block of County Road 7080, West Plains, Missouri, was stopped at Dixie Highway and Chestnut Lane for having an expired registration and found to have a……
Will County Animal Control Offering Free Microchipping in December
The Will County Animal Control Department is offering free microchipping services to dogs and cats owned by county residents throughout December as part of their “Home for the Holidays” Program. “We’re hoping to incentivize pet owners to microchip their pets,” said Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant. “Having pets microchipped, with updated tags, helps ensure they……
Santa Letters from Mrs. Stolarek’s BES First Graders
Recently, the first graders at Beecher Elementary took on a very special project and a most important one, too – the annual writing of letters to that jolly man at the North Pole. After reading some of the correspondence, we think you will agree it was a most important task. This week, The Vedette is……
VEDETTE SPORTS REPORT
By Jeff Vorva Old gym? New gym? It doesn’t seem to matter. The results are still the same. Beecher’s boys basketball team played in its old gym for a throwback game December 8 and came away with a lopsided 81-36 River Valley Conference win over Donovan. The Bobcats wore jerseys from 2012-13, and fans were……
Beecher Community Library News
Call the library at 708-946-9090 for programs that require registration. The library’s Penfield Street parking lot entrance will be closed until spring, but the Maxwell Street entrance still is open. Turn north on Maxwell from Indiana Avenue to get to the library. The library will be closed on Saturday, December 23, for the Christmas holiday.……
Beecher Thinking About That Levy
By Jeff Vorva The Village of Beecher Board Members agreed to take a little more time before deciding what they will do about the 2024 tax levy. Finance and Administration Committee Chairman Todd Kraus said at the November 27 meeting they could make a decision that night or table it, but it needs to be……
Extensive Rural Fire Kills 4 Horses
At approximately 3:37 p.m. on Sunday, November 26, the Beecher Fire Protection District, along with automatic aid, responded to a structural fire at 1624 E. Eagle Lake Road. Due to reports of animals still inside the building, the alarm was escalated to the full still alarm level prior to arrival. The first suppression company arrived……
New State-of-the-Art Election Equipment Demonstration Planned
Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry is inviting the public to a demonstration of new state-of-the-art election equipment that will be used to cast and count ballots in next year’s Primary and Presidential Elections. County Clerk Staley Ferry and her team will conduct demonstrations of the new ballot counters, ADA-compliant ballot-marking devices, and poll books……