Local Sports Headlines: April 18, 2022

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Race Thompson will return to IUMBB for 2022-23 season
Forward Race Thompson announced on his social media pages that he will use his final year of eligibility and play for the Indiana University men’s basketball team in 2022-23. He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick last season after averaging 11.1 points and finishing 10th in the league in rebounding at 7.5 per game. He had participated in Senior Night activities at the end of this season but was clear he had not made a decision yet if he would use the extra year of eligibility granted to all NCAA athletes due to the pandemic in 2020-21.  A two-time team captain and native of Plymouth, Minnesota, Thompson committed to Indiana in July of 2017, picking the Hoosiers over Iowa State and Minnesota. He skipped his final season at Robbinsdale High School and enrolled at Indiana while redshirting and recovering from injury in 2017-18. As a freshman, a concussion limited him to just nine games in 2018-19.
 
He played 29 games in 2019-20 and emerged late in the season earning more playing time. He averaged 3.7 points and 3.9 rebounds. He has been a fixture in the starting lineup for the last 62 games over two seasons, averaging 10.2 points and 6.9 rebounds since the 2020-21 season.  In his third year, he averaged 9.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and shot 51.5% from the floor. This past year, he helped lead the Hoosiers to the NCAA Tournament and shot a career-high 53.6% from the floor and shot 44.4% from 3-point range in the final 17 games of the season. For his career, he has scored 746 points, has 80 blocked shots, and 88 steals. He has shot 51.7% from the field, averaged 7.5 points, and 5.6 rebounds.

Indiana Football lands transfer Parker Hanna from West Texas A&M
Indiana Football added on to their offensive line landing veteran offensive lineman Parker Hanna out of the portal. Hanna spent four seasons at West Texas A&M, playing 30 games through those four years. He stands at 6’5″, and hails from Stratford, TX. Hanna has one season of eligibility remaining. The offensive line has been a position that coaches Tom Allen and Darren Hiller have been pressured to address during the offseason. Hanna becomes the first offensive lineman the Hoosiers landed out of the portal, after reinforcing the D-line, linebackers, running backs, and receivers. Ahead of the 2021 season, Hanna was named to Dave Campbell’s preseason All-Texas Small College Team, and after the 2019 season Hanna was selected to the Lone Star Conference All-second team.

Indianapolis Colts sign Cornerback Stephon Gilmore
The Indianapolis Colts are giving cornerback Stephon Gilmore a two-year, $23 million contract that includes $14 million guaranteed.  Gilmore becomes the second veteran addition to the Colts’ secondary after Indianapolis signed safety Rodney Mcleod. Cornerback was a position of need for the Colts after they traded starter Rock Ya-Sin to the Las Vegas Raiders for pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue and did not re-sign starter Xavier Rhodes.

The Colts have reshaped their defense after the departure of coordinator Matt Eberflus, who is now the head coach in Chicago and hired Gus Bradley as his replacement. Indianapolis’ defense now features the five-time Pro Bowler Gilmore, Ngakoue and DeForest Buckner on the line, linebacker Darius Leonard, and one of the league’s best slot corners in Kenny Moore. All five of those players have been selected to at least one Pro Bowl in their careers.

Gilmore played the 2021 season with the Carolina Panthers, who traded a 2023 third-round pick to the New England Patriots in October to get him. The Panthers added the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year in hopes that he could replace first-round pick Jaycee Horn, who suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 3 at the Houston Texans.  Gilmore, 31, was on the physically unable to perform list when he arrived in Carolina, still recovering from offseason surgery on a torn quad and not eligible to return until Week 6. He was activated in Week 8 and played the final eight games, starting three. He had an interception in his Carolina debut at Atlanta to preserve a 19-13 victory then followed that with another in his home debut against New England. After the season, he was added to the Pro Bowl as an alternate. Gilmore, who grew up in Rock Hill, South Carolina and was the 10th overall pick in the 2012 draft by the Buffalo Bills, Gilmore has 27 interceptions and 116 passes defended in 10 seasons.

Indy Fuel close-out season with home win over Cincinnati
In the season finale, the Fuel hosted the Cincinnati Cyclones at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. After two periods, the two teams would go into the locker room tied at one goal apiece. Indy would explode in the third period with back-to-back goals from Spencer Watson and Chris Van Os-Shaw and eventually earn the 4-2 win in the season finale thanks to an empty-net goal from Seamus Malone. The Fuel finish 11th place in the Western Conference and 6th in the Central Division. Outshooting the Cyclones 7-4 through the first 10 minutes of the game, the Fuel would be unable to beat Cyclone’s goaltender Mark Sinclair. The Fuel would kill off two penalties midway through the period, holding Cincinnati scoreless. Indy would have a power play late in the period and pouncing on a rebound, Bryan Lemos jammed the puck under Sinclair, giving the Fuel a 1-0 lead heading into the locker room. 

Starting the second period off on a physical note, Dominic Dockery and Brandon Yeamans would drop the gloves 4:45 into the period. Taking advantage of a Fuel penalty, Pat McLeod would tie the game at one goal each when he tapped home a loose puck in front of Mitch Gillam. Earning an early power play to start the third period, Cincinnati’s Patrick Polino streaked down the sideboards and wristed a shot over the shoulder of Gillam, giving the Cyclones a 2-1 lead. Scoring on their own power play, Spencer Watson jumped on a puck that bounced off of a Cyclones player and one-timed it over the shoulder of Sinclair. Giving the Fuel a 3-2 lead with just under five minutes remaining Chris Van Os-Shaw buried a rebound that bounced off of Sinclair. Seamus Malone would put the empty netter from his own end and give the Fuel the eventual 4-2 win in the season finale.  The Fuel ended the regular season on a four-game winning streak and finish with a record of 34-33 record along with to overtime losses and three shootout losses for 73 points. The Fuel are missing the playoffs this season and will be back for their 8th season at Indiana Farmers Coliseum for 2022-23 season. 

Indianapolis Indians Coverage    

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Indians drop final three at St. Paul

The Indianapolis Indians lost the final three games over the weekend to the St. Paul Saints at CHS Field in St Paul Minnesota, The Indians fell 6-3 on Friday evening. Lost a high scoring game Saturday afternoon 16-13 and 5-1 on Sunday Afternoon. The Indians are 6-5 on the season while the Saints are 8-3. Indianapolis hosts a six-game series with The Columbus Clippers starting tomorrow night at Victory Field.

For more local news . . .
Check out our archived episodes of What’s Happenin’ and Talkin’ Sports with Nick Jenkinson here