Photos courtesy Ryan Zeigler
CARTERVILLE — A year ago, the Benton Rangers knocked off Breese Central 34-32 in a memorable sectional championship game at Rich Herrin Gymnasium on the way to the 2A State Championship game. While many of the combatants in that game graduated, the Rangers and Cougars found themselves meeting again in the sectional–this time in Carterville, this time in the semifinals, and this time Breese Central came out on top.
The Cougars advanced with a 41-30 win in another absolute defensive scrum.
Benton led 10-8 after one, but Central grabbed a 20-16 lead at the half. The Cougars extended that lead to eight after three (31-23), and ended up winning by 11.
Benton’s Docker Tedeschi and Central’s Kaden Rakers were the only two players to get much done offensively. Tedeschi led all scorers with 19 points, moving him past Bruce Baker into second place on Benton’s all-time scoring list behind JoJo Johnson. Tedeschi finished his outstanding career with 1714 points.
Rakers led the Cougars 17 points, helping Central (28-5) advance to the sectional championship game for the fourth straight season. The Cougars will face either Althoff or Vienna Friday night for the title at 7:00.
The Rangers’ season ends at 28-5.
