BY AARON PATTERSON
NORMAL — Sitting at Peoria’s Carver Arena watching Macon Meridian win the 2009 Class 1A state basketball championship left Salt Fork coach Aaron Hird thinking that maybe he could soon be the one on the sideline coaching his team in the state finals.
And watching the game with Westville veteran coach Jeff Millis gave him even more encouragement.
“As we were talking, he said, ‘Salt Fork belongs here. They can play in this group,’ ” Hird recalled on Monday, as his team was preparing for the program’s first super-sectional appearance. “We felt like we did. We felt like we were good enough to play there if we were able to get there.”
His feelings have been confirmed.
After seemingly cruising through the Westville Sectional, the Storm looked right at home on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena, defeating the Peoria Heights Patriots 59-38 in Tuesday’s Illinois State University Super-Sectional.
The win makes Salt Fork the first Vermilion County high school basketball team to make it to the state finals since the Danville Vikings finished third in 1993.
“It just feels awesome getting this far, especially in my senior year getting to the state tournament. It’s just an awesome feeling,” Salt Fork guard Josh Chandler said. “We always knew it was a realistic goal in the beginning. Coach talked to us last year and said to put in the time in the offseason and it would pay off during the postseason. A lot of the guys got in the weight room and got stronger. We just can’t be satisfied. We’ve just got to keep looking forward.”
Chandler once again played a key role in the win, tasked with shutting down yet another standout guard. This time, it was Peoria Heights’ Jeff Todd (nine points) who was held 10 points under his season average.
“He was quick,” Chandler said. “I just had to contain him and try not to fall for (his move). He has a pretty good move and is a pretty good ball handler.”
Chandler finished the game with 11 points and three steals, one of which came on the Patriots’ first possession of the fourth quarter. He immediately turned it into points with a fastbreak layup that gave the Storm a 19-point lead. Salt Fork led by as many as 21 in the game, but no lead felt too safe for Hird.
Much of Hird’s uneasiness came from knowing that Peoria Heights had come from behind in each of its postseason wins this season.
“In the third (quarter) I think maybe it came out of me onto them, but I’m watching the clock just wanting it to run,” he said. “I sometimes forget that you’ve got to keep attacking. We were just trying to hold that ball and let the clock run.
“They are a team that can score in a hurry. We were aware of that. We didn’t feel like a lead was safe there, and every precious second that clicked off that clock was important for us.”
Storm junior Joel Learnard (game-high 29 points, 12 rebounds) made certain his team didn’t fall into the same trap of losing its late-game lead by making five of his six shot attempts in the second half and nine free throws to help seal the win.
“They’re a very quick team,” said Storm guard Joe Pratt, who finished the game with three rebounds and five assists. “We knew that coming into the game. We knew they couldn’t handle our size down low, and that’s what we went to. We just pounded it inside to Joel, (David) Keenan, Jake (Manning), and (Ryan) Anderson, and they made it work for us tonight.”
Just as they have done throughout the postseason, the Storm (31-1) began the game by taking a commanding lead and held a 16-5 advantage by the end of the first quarter.
It only took one minute, 22 seconds of game time for Patriots coach Mike Persich to call a timeout in order to calm his team which coughed up the ball on its first three possessions.
Anderson (9 points, 9 rebounds, four assists) converted on Peoria Heights’ first turnover with a three-pointer, and Nathan Fathauer (five rebounds, two steals) scored his only points of the game on a trey of his own just before the first period buzzer sounded. His was also following a turnover.
“They took it to us, and we had problems getting on track,” Patriots coach Mike Persich said. “As far as I’m concerned, the younger coach outcoached me, too. It goes from the coaching all the way down. You’ve got to give them credit.”
But the Storm aren’t willing to take too much credit. Though they have reached their initial goal set at the beginning of the season, a much higher one remains. They will get their opportunity to fulfill that when they play in Friday’s 12:15 p.m. state semifinal against Lanark Eastland at Carver Arena in Peoria.
“It feels great. It feels amazing,” Pratt said. “We’ve had this goal all year, but we don’t want to be done. We’re here and we don’t want to settle.”
