Reading view

H.S. SPORTS: Tamaqua alum Erika Davis named to District 11 Hall of Fame

The PIAA Distrct 11 Hall of Fame class of 2026 was announced on Tuesday, and among the newest selections into the hall of fame is Tamaqua Area High School multi-sport athlete Erika (Barron) Davis.

Davis, who now serves as the coach of the Tamaqua girls’ basketball team, participated in cross country, basketball, track and field, and volleyball during her time at Tamaqua. She finished her career with a school record 2,317 points and was a two-time All-State selection in the process.

She’d go on to have a standout collegiate career at Susquehanna University, where she totaled nearly 900 points in 102 career games played while also recording 364 assists and 159 steals.

Davis, this past school year, completed her 11th season as Tamaqua’s girls’ basketball coach.

Also being inducted into this year’s hall of fame is former Northern Lehigh’s Bob Chandler (cross country), Catasauqua’s Amanda Gerhard (soccer), Keith Groller (media – The Morning Call), Stroudsburg’s Jake Jakobsen (wrestling), Stroudsburg’s Ken Lacey (men’s basketball), East Stroudsburg’s Stacy Perryman (basketball), and Parkland’s Andre Williams (football).

Coaches being inducted are long-time former Southern Lehigh softball coach Brian Neefe, former Emmaus swimming coach Mike Seip, former Easton football coach Steve Shiffert, and former Salisbury baseball coach Frank Yelinko.

There are also two media selections for this year’s Hall of Fame. With the Morning Call’s Keith Groller and Severice Electric Network’s Mike Zambelli both earning the honor.

Hawaii’s Timmy Chang adapts to evolving college landscape

As the college football world turns, University of Hawaii head coach Timmy Chang remains grounded in his goals.

“I think college football has changed,” said Chang, who enters his fifth season as the Rainbow Warriors’ leader. “You have to be flexible to build a roster and compete. We’re doing that. We’re a different type of program. We’re in a different location. And that poses different factors and opportunities and challenges that we have to be able to adapt.”

Fifty-four months after inheriting a disheartened program that was in emotional turmoil, Chang is navigating an evolving landscape. The transfer portal has eased the way for players to change schools without interruption. Student-athletes may now profit from use of their name, image and likeness. The House vs. NCAA settlement requires profit sharing up to $20.5 million annually per school. (UH has budgeted $5 million for NILs and profit sharing this coming academic year, with $2.5 million earmarked for football.)

The Rainbow Warriors have been impacted living in a material whirl.

“Jackson Harris is an example,” Chang said of the wideout who received a lucrative NIL deal after transferring to LSU following the 2025 regular season. “I think he loved our program, but he left for the money.”

But the portal is accessible in both directions, and the Warriors were able to find tall and fast transfers to reload the receiver positions.

“We just focus on our program, focus on our staff, focus on getting better,” Chang said. “Those are the things we can control. We focus on building and developing young student-athletes.”

In accepting the UH job in January 2022, Chang emphasized assembling a staff that shared his vision, connecting the program with academic and administrative leaders, and taking great care of his players.

“If we want someone to come into our program, it means something,” Chang said. “You’re taking in somebody’s son. You’re taking in someone who wants to trust you. That’s the biggest thing.”

For Chang, that meant providing educational and nutritional opportunities.

“Five years ago, we fought for feeding our kids and taking care of them,” said Chang, noting such programs as the Braddahhood Grindz and Sodexo provide training tables. “We’re fed year ’round besides the days we’re truly off, like spring break or winter break. We kept them fed.”

With expanded guidelines, every team member, including walk-ons, partakes in the training table.

“Once you’re on our team, you’re part of it,” Chang said.

He also has provided some leeway for youthful mistakes.

“I made it vocal, my biggest problem is we’re very quick to move to the next thing and move off people,” Chang said. “We want to build a program where we can give people second chances to try to do things right. We want to grow and develop and build that trust with them.”

During Chang’s tenure, the pied piper has been quarterback Micah Alejado, who was born and reared on Oahu and became a standout quarterback for national powerhouse Bishop Gorman High of Las Vegas.

“Micah brings a lot to the table for our program, for our state,” Chang said of the third-year Warrior. “He’s able to attract other players, as well. When you talk about receivers wanting to come and play, they want to play with Micah. A guy who left, like Jackson, still wanted to play with Micah. It’s the style of how we recruit. We recruit people. Your talent is your talent. We recruit based on who you are as a person.”

Chang also said that standard holds for his coaches and staff. Chang has reached agreement on a contract extension, although the paper work has not been signed. As part of conversations, Chang strongly proposed rewarding his staff. Last month, the assistant coaches received new contracts — some received two-year deals.

“The most important thing is continuing to build,” Chang said. “When you look at the building part of it, it’s taking care of your coaches. The coaches are an extension of me. I want to make sure we’re taking care of them. And always taking care of the players, whether it’s revenue sharing or NILs or feeding them. That’s the biggest thing.”

The Warriors became a football-only member of the Mountain West in 2012. This month, 15 UH sports joined, making the school essentially a full member. (UH’s men’s volleyball, beach volleyball and water polo teams remain in the Big West because the Mountain West does not sponsor those sports.)

With UH as full member, school president Wendy Hensel has been appointed to the Mountain West’s Board of Directors and the league’s executive committee. Athletic director Matt Elliott will have a greater voice in decisions involving UH. And UH will receive a full share of the league’s national television revenue.

On the football field, the Warriors have a chance to fill the leadership void created by Boise State’s and Fresno State’s departure to the Pac-12.

Chang will continue to call plays for the ever-evolving run-and-shoot offense.

“I think the run-and-shoot is a wrinkle in itself,” Chang said. “It’s an offense about quarterbacks and receivers being on the same page. You start with an offense like that, it becomes challenging (for defenses) to stop.”

Chang also said defensive coordinator Dennis Thurman will continue to reload a scheme in attack mode.

“Dennis has a great understanding of how he wants to attack and what he wants to do,” Chang said. “Complicated or simple, he wants to make his defense attack. This year more than others. You lose (play-making safety) Peter Manuma and you have guys to replace him. There have been guys waiting in the wings ready to step up.”

Prep baseball: Bulldog season comes to a close

OTTUMWA — Jace Mitchell knew he would be inheriting the role as the ace of the pitching staff for the Ottumwa High School baseball team when the season began.

In his final game on the mound for the Bulldogs, Mitchell pitched like an ace allowing two runs on four hits while striking out 10 batters. It was a performance worthy of a postseason win.

Against many other pitchers, it would have been good enough to earn Mitchell a postseason win. Adam Bowman, however, ended up on top in a classic substate duel on Saturday at John Hart Stadium.

Bowman, one of the top 10 pitching prospects in the state, showcased his skills for 6 2/3 innings allowing just two infield singles to the Bulldogs and three total baserunners while striking out 13 batters. The Little Hawk senior came within one pitch of a complete-game effort, ultimately handing the ball over to Kane Willey, who struck out Quinn Larsen swinging with the final pitch clinching Iowa City High's 2-0 win over Ottumwa in the Class 4A, Substate 8 quarterfinals.

"When you play in the playoffs, it's always a grind game, especially in this type of match-up," Ottumwa High School head baseball coach Joey Mitchell said. "They had a pitcher on the mound that's been really good all season. He was really good again.

"When it comes to games like this, it comes down to a couple of timely hits. They got them. We didn't."

Jace Mitchell took over as Ottumwa's top pitcher midway through the season from one of the other state's top pitching prospects. Tucker Long wrapped up his final season of high school baseball pitching 20 innings in four starts, striking out 42 batters reaching 250 career strikeouts before moving on the begin his college baseball career at the University of Mississippi.

Mitchell finished an incredible senior season for the Bulldogs both on the mound and at the plate, recording a 1.47 ERA in 43 innings over eight starts while striking out 59 batters. Mitchell also finished leading Ottumwa at the plate with eight home runs, 39 RBIs and a .758 slugging percentage giving the Bulldog senior plenty of confidence heading to Central College to begin his own collegiate baseball career.

"It definitely gives me a lot of confidence that I can go in there and show everyone what I can do," Jace Mitchell said. "Definitely, when it comes to hitting, I kind of struggled early on and found it midway through the season. I just rode with it. I've pitched against a lot of good teams this year and done pretty well against most of them."

Mitchell met an early challenge on Saturday as Iowa City High (22-18) loaded the bases with one out in the opening inning, striking out the last two hitters to keep the Little Hawks off the board. Bowman responded by striking out the side in the opening inning on the way to retiring seven of Ottumwa's first nine hitters on strikeouts.

"I just had the ball moving really well," Bowman said. "I was able to throw all three of my off-speed pitches for strikes. When I can do that, it makes it pretty easy."

Iowa City High brought in the only two runs of the game thanks in large part the biggest swing of the game. Blaine Heick followed a lead-off single by Caden Pauli by driving a ball to center for an RBI double before stealing third base and scoring on a sacrifice fly by Crosby Newton, giving Bowman all the run-support necessary allowing only one ball to leave the infield in the contest retiring the potential tying run at the plate five times including four strikeouts of the potential tying run during the contest.

"When I take too much time in between pitches, that's usually when I get into trouble," Bowman said. "I try to keep my mojo working by going pitch to pitch. I just try to throw the ball and, hopefully, it goes where you want it."

Larsen reached twice in three trips to the plate against Bowman. Mitchell Jordan collected his team-leading 45th hit, beating out an infield single in the third inning for the Bulldogs.

"We were starting to see some things better once we started down the order for the third time," Joey Mitchell said. "We started putting some more balls in play, but it just started for us a little too late."

Iowa City High faced eighth-ranked Waukee Northwest (24-12) in the substate semifinals with the winner heading to third-ranked Indianola (31-4) on Wednesday for a state baseball tournament berth. Ottumwa ends the season with a record of 20-14 in Joey Mitchell's first year as the helm of the Bulldogs.

"Ottumwa baseball has always been a program that team's around the state recognize. We've always been able to put some really good teams together," Joey Mitchell said. "I just look forward to doing that each and every year."

Rochelle tennis tournament takes place from July 24-26; registration deadline is July 15

Local tennis

Rochelle tennis tournament still taking registrations: The seventh annual tournament at Rochelle High School is taking registrations through July 15. The tournament takes place from Friday, July 24, to Sunday, July 26.

Last year, there were 164 players from ages 11-84 who came from 58 cities.

The cost is $40 per adult and $20 for students, which includes unlimited divisions. Players also need to bring one can of new balls per division they are playing in. All proceeds go to the Rochelle HS tennis programs.

You can register and find more information at https://sites.google.com/view/rochelle-tennis-tourney. Registration fees can be paid at the tournament with cash, check or Venmo.

Questions? Contact Kristy Eckardt at (815) 677-1473 or kristyeckardt@hotmail.com, along with Lizzie Cartwright at (217) 979-9879 or lcartwright@rthsd212.org.

Gast claims HOF Scholarship from IFCA

INDIANAPOLIS—The Indiana Football Coaches Association presented a total of 14 scholarships prior to kickoff of Friday’s 60th Annual All-Star Classic, including a Hall of Fame prize to Alexandria quarterback Brady Gast.

Gast was a four-year varsity student-athlete in both football and basketball, while also competing for two years in golf and two years in baseball for Alexandria. His football achievements include being named a two-time All-Conference selection, an Academic All-State honoree, and a Region 5 All-Star Offense At-Large selection. Additionally, Gast earned honorable mention All-Conference honors in golf.

“It means a lot with all the work I’ve put in,” Gast said. “I’m thankful for everything that’s happened to me.”

Gast will continue his football and academic career at Franklin College

“I’m excited for that,” he said. “I’ll be studying sports administration and hopefully become an athletic director.”

Last year, Gast was 130-196 passing for 2,095 yards and 25 touchdowns while throwing just four interceptions. He rushed for 321 yards and six touchdowns and graduated 32nd in his class with a grade point average of 3.53.

During his four seasons, Gast completed 65.9% of his passes for a total of 6,840 yards with 78 touchdowns against just 25 interceptions while the Tigers posted a 28-14 record. He added over 600 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns over the course of his career while playing for his father, Pete, at Alexandria.

“He’s done a lot for me, the town of Alexandria was great to me and it’s been a great four years,” Gast said.

He added three career interceptions on the defensive side of the ball, including a pair during his junior season.

Prior to kickoff, Gast and the other scholarship winners rode around the field in Corvettes, supplied by the Murat Shriner’s Club.

“That car was cool,” he said. “My takeaway is to be thankful for everything and I’m thankful to God.”

Other scholarship winners include Cade Kitchel from West Lafayette, Owen Dorrel from Culver Academy, Emmianna Dowell of Madison, Angola’s Alex Thomas, Madi Lance from Leo, Sawyer Tippmann of Snider, Mackenzie Kania from Chesterton, Jordan Palmer from Whiteland, Sam Pavey of Rushville, Seeger’s Paul Ragan and Henry Tokar from Yorktown.

Both Dorrel and Kania were presented multiple scholarship awards.

UCF’s Jamichael Stillwell part of lawsuit fighting NCAA for eligibility

UCF senior forward Jamichael Stillwell is among 16 college athletes suing the NCAA, seeking an injunction granting them another year of eligibility.

The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of Cobb County, Georgia, is the latest in a series of lawsuits in response to the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility regulation or “5 for 5” rule.

The measure allows athletes to use up to five seasons of eligibility within a five-year window. The clock would begin either immediately after an athlete enrolls at an institution or at the beginning of the academic year following their 19th birthday. Athletes who completed their fourth season during the 2025-26 academic year would not receive an additional year of eligibility.

Related Articles

Florida attorney Darren Heitner, who is representing the athletes in the case, has been involved in several lawsuits against the NCAA seeking immediate eligibility for athletes. He served as an attorney for Clemson receiver Tristan Smith, who received a temporary injunction against the NCAA from a South Carolina judge in June.

He’s also the attorney for former Kansas defensive end Dean Miller, who is currently seeking an extra year of eligibility, which he hopes to use to play at UCF.

According to the lawsuit, Stillwell’s time at Miami-Dade College and Butler County Community College shouldn’t count against his competition limit and he should be eligible to play during the 2026-27 season.

The lawsuit also states that if he’s granted an additional year of eligibility, Stillwell would return to UCF, which it claims has a roster spot available for him.

If Stillwell receives an injunction and returns to the Knights, it would be a massive boost for a team coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2018-19 season.

The 6-foot-8, 245-pound Georgia native averaged 11.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in his only season at UCF. He recorded nine double-doubles last season, including a 10-point, 13-rebound performance against UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Stillwell previously played two seasons at the junior college level before signing with Milwaukee as a junior in 2024-25. He averaged a double-double with 13 points and 10.7 rebounds per game for the Panthers.

He transferred to UCF prior to the 2025-26 season, along with former Milwaukee teammate Themus Fulks.

The Knights’ roster underwent another massive rebuild this offseason. Seniors Riley Kugel, George Beale Jr., Devan Cambridge and Fulks all exhausted their eligibility. Center Jeremy Foumena, guards Kris Parker, Chris Johnson and Poopha Warakulnukroh, and forward Jordan Burks all left via the transfer portal.

Stillwell also entered the portal, but with the caveat that if he could get an additional year of eligibility, he would return to the Knights.

His return would solidify a roster that features returnees John Bol, Carmelo Pacheco and Elijah Hulsewe, along with transfers Cayden Vasko, Arturo Dean, Mister Dean, Dior Johnson, Lewis Walker, Jason Asemota, Dylan Mann, Isaiah Malone, Ladarius Givan, Churchill Abass, Jahda Swann and Tanner Jones.

Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com

UH quarterback Alejado ready to rise and shine for Warriors

This offseason, University of Hawaii quarterback Micah Alejado is routinely clocked at 4:45.

With a lights-outs bedtime of 8:30 p.m., Alejado awakens at 4 in the morning, showers, and then arrives at UH at 4:45. Maybe earlier, never later.

“I try to be the first one there,” Alehado, 21, said of the 6 a.m. start to conditioning drills. “Start warming up my body and get ready for the workout. I’m getting older. The body takes a little bit longer to get warmed up now.”

Entering his third year — and second as QB1 — with the Rainbow Warriors, Alejado has embraced his leadership role.

“I want to set the example,” said Alejado, whose summer schedule is built around the Warriors’ training.

He attended Saturday’s UFC 329 fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where his parents own a home. He is scheduled to travel to Honolulu today, participate in Monday’s morning workout at UH, and then return to Las Vegas that afternoon ahead of this week’s Mountain West Media Days. Alejado, running back Cam Barfield, linebacker Jamih Otis, and nickelback Elijah Palmer will represent the Warriors during Wednesday’s session. All are alumni of Bishop Gorman High School, a national football powerhouse in Las Vegas.

While many high school graduates don’t see each other until their class’ 10th reunion, UH appears to have established a Bishop Gorman alumni association. There are 16 former Gaels on the Warriors’ 2026 active roster. Associate head coach Chris Brown and quarterbacks coach Chad Kapanui also coached at Bishop Gorman.

“Gorman played a huge part in all our lives,” Alejado said. “It’s a scared place. It definitely set us on the right path of life. Looking back on it — our lifestyles, our practice schedules, everything that happened with school and football and off the field — it was preparation for life after high school and going to college. It made the transition so much easier.”

Alejado, in actuality, has been training since his hanabata days in Ewa Beach. His father was a quarterback at Pearl City High. Paul Alejado made his left-handed son also practice throwing with his right hand, just in case. Micah Alejado can accurately throw right-handed passes up to 30 yards.

Galu Tagovailoa, father of Atlanta Falcons’ QB Tua Tagovailoa, was Alejado’s youth-league head coach.

Alejado moved to Las Vegas ahead of his freshman year at Saint Louis School. Jon Amano, a former Hawaii resident who coaches in Las Vegas, taught Alejado the intricacies of the run-and-shoot offense that UH uses. Bishop Gorman’s West Coast offense has run-and-shoot elements.

“At Gorman, we were training already in January and getting ready for the season in August,” Alejado recalled. “Early-morning workouts in the summer. … One-hundred degrees is 100 degrees. It’s not comfortable at all. But it makes you in shape and mentally tough.”

Alejado also has learned to adapt as he ascended the football ladder. At 5 feet 10, Alejado relies on a quick release to escape a defense of 11 angry men. His ability to throw to receivers as they break on their routes comes from post-practice sessions and tireless video studies.

“If you really want to be a mastermind and understand the game to the fullest, you have to take the proper steps to prepare and take a deep dive into the book of football,” Alejado said. “That’s the way I’ve been since I was young. I was in love with the game and the P’s and Q’s and insides and outsides of it.”

Alejado often will watch a play from an NFL telecast, then fire off a text to head coach Timmy Chang, who calls the offensive plays.

“Can we get a variation of what they’re doing into our offense?” Alejado would text.

Last season, Alejado showed grit after being injured in the season-opening victory over Stanford. He was believed to have suffered a high-ankle sprain. He declined to undergo advanced testing.

“I didn’t want to know what was wrong,” he said. “I wasn’t going to look at anything until the end of the season or if I couldn’t walk anymore.”

He played the following week, aggravating the injury in the second half. He missed the next two games and, after a bye week, returned against Fresno State and started the remainder of the season.

He did not participate in movement drills ahead of the Hawaii Bowl.

“I was just trying to get the ankle ready for one last game,” he said. “It was pretty surreal how I made it through the season.”

After the victory over California in the Hawaii Bowl, during which he completed 69.6% of his throws for 274 yards and three touchdowns, it was revealed he had endured fractures to his tibia and fibula in his right ankle. The injury did not require surgery.

“I don’t think if it were my left (ankle), I would have played, definitely not,”said Alejado, referencing his push-off foot.

Alejado did not participate in contact drills the past spring training. He was cleared for sprinting in June.

“I think those five, six months helped me a lot,” Alejado said. “It’s been a long road to recovery, one that really tested me. Looking at it now, I’m 100%.”

In this era of easy transfers and lucrative name-image-likeness deals, Alejado opted to stay put.

“Coach Chang has been my No. 1 supporter ever since he gave me a scholarship,” Alejado said. “That means a lot to have a coach who believes in you and trusts you. You’ll find a lot of guys today in college football struggling to find that. People underestimate how grateful I am for having this head coach and culture around me, having my brothers around me. We care about football. I love the culture here. I love the people. I want to win some football games here.”

Alejado regularly treats the offense to lunch. Ahead of training camp, he plans to pick up the tab for a team dinner. This coming Sunday, he is the name sponsor to a youth camp (ages 6-16) at Saint Louis School.

He said he grew up attending football camps and clinics. It was where he met and played catch with Tua Tagovailoa and Marcus Mariota.

“It was fun to meet them and talk football,” Alejado said. “It was big to see how they were as people. I want to do the same.”

Wallace: 'There's a buzz in the community' about Springfield basketball

Jul. 12—Thirty-two years ago, coach Larry Ham let senior Chris Wallace, the star quarterback for the South High School football team, call the plays on defense for the basketball team.

"I'm offense on the football field," Wallace said, "but when it comes to basketball, I think it starts and stops with who's playing defense and who's getting after 50-50 balls and who's winning the rebound war."

That was Wallace's thinking in the 1993-94 season, and it remains his philosophy as he prepares for his first season as the head coach of the Springfield boys basketball team.

"(Defense) dictates a lot of what we do offensively," Wallace said, "and that's getting out and trying to score off the break. If we can't, we'll get into what we do, but that's the precedent we're trying to set right now with our student-athletes."

Springfield announced the hiring of Wallace on June 1. Wallace replaces Matt Yinger, who stepped down in April. Yinger was 28-48 over three seasons.

Wallace will remain the offensive coordinator of Springfield's football team. He said the basketball team will practice in the evening after the football team when the seasons overlap.

The basketball team, which includes many football players, will play its first game in mid-December. That has often been the schedule for Springfield, whose football team has made a habit of deep playoff runs.

"If I have to do double duty, that means we're doing what we're supposed to do on the football field," Wallace said.

Springfield has suffered seven straight losing seasons in basketball. Springfield football was in a similar place when Maurice Douglass took over the program in 2014, having won a combined total of four games in the three previous seasons. Douglass turned the program into a winner in his third season and a state power in his sixth. Springfield then reached the state championship game three seasons in a row.

Wallace has similar goals.

"Those are the same set of kids that did what they did on the football field," Wallace said, "so the expectation doesn't change. Once you set a standard, that's what the goal is, and I think our kids will say that without a doubt. That's where we see ourselves."

For Wallace, the path to that level of success begins with building a culture with the basketball program.

"The one thing that I talked to my assistant coaches about is we all agree right now there's no culture for basketball, and that's where it has to start," he said. "We created a culture with football. We created a sense of belonging. That's something that people value. We hold each other accountable, from the trainers all the way to the kids. That's what we're going to try to do with basketball as well. I think it can happen, but it takes the kids saying, 'Hey, this is what we're going to do. This is how we're going to do things. This is what our standard is going to be as players. As student-athletes, we're going to hold each other to this standard.' If you get that player-led atmosphere, we can start to build. Right now, our talk is we want to play late into March."

Wallace has plenty of experience with the program. He has worked as a varsity assistant basketball coach, a freshman head coach and a junior varsity coach.

Wallace takes over the program as his son, Christopher, enters his senior year. Christopher played quarterback for the football team but was limited to three games in basketball as a junior because of an injury.

Wallace has known many of the basketball players since they were in elementary school. He got to know them through his work as a community mentor supervisor for the school district.

"It's been exciting to see them grow in multiple sports," he said.

Wallace has already started working with them on the court. The Wildcats played at the Midwest Live event in Sandusky, Ohio, in June. They're also holding open gyms at the high school. He has seen good numbers and is excited about the young players.

"We've got a good young class of incoming freshmen and sophomores that are committed to the game," Wallace said, "and are showing up and working hard. We're young on the varsity level as well. We've got three or four sophomores that are going to be contributing, and we've got a couple juniors, and then we've got some seniors at the guard spots as well."

If Wallace achieves his goals, he'll add another chapter to Springfield's rich basketball history. Springfield won state championships in 1925 and 1950. North reached the state semifinals in 1995 and 1997. Ham guided South to seven conference championships and five district titles in 14 seasons.

Wallace knows about the past success of Springfield and North and South high schools, before they combined, as well as anyone.

Wallace is the rare athlete who not only played for South's Larry Ham but also for North's Eddie Ford. Wallace started his high school career at North and finished at South. His Springfield basketball experience goes back even further than that.

"I used to lay the jerseys out when I was a kid for Doug Ratstatter and Don Henderson and company," Wallace said. "I used to be in those locker rooms because my brother went to North. My older cousin, Steve Victoria, went to North. I went to North my first couple years, but even when I was a kid, my sisters cheered for South. I knew the Pepper Begos, the Scott Thomases, the Karlton Claybornes, the Jason Gees."

Some of those former Springfield basketball standouts called to congratulate Wallace on getting the job. They told him, "I know you're going to bring back that attitude and that toughness that we brought on the court in both gyms out on the north side and the south side."

"There's a buzz in the community," Wallace said, "and I'm excited about that."

❌