Indiana University Head Football Coach Tom Allen addresses media at Big Ten Media Days
Indiana Football Coach Tom Allen spoke to reporters at the Big Ten 2023 Media Days on Thursday morning. He kicked off the second day of the event at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis along with coaches from Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue and Wisconsin. Allen addressed Indiana’s Week 1 game against Ohio State, handing off the play calling duties to Matt Guerrieri and some of the personnel changes on offense.
In his opening statement Allen wanted to honor Vi Taliferro who passed away in June and was a trailblazer along with her husband George. “I’d like to begin by honoring the memory of Vi Taliaferro. Last month we lost a very special member of our Bloomington community. In 2001 the Big Ten created the George and Vi Taliaferro Fellowship in honor of this amazing couple. Thomas Allen wore number 44 when he played for his dad at IU but after finished his career Coach Allen wanted to honor the first African American football player at IU by selecting a player to wear his number 44 jersey in tribute and honor to the man who passed away in 2018.
“One of the players we brought here today his name is Aaron Casey, a linebacker. He wears No. 44 in honor of George Taliaferro. We decided to come up with a new tradition of selecting a player each year that will wear that number that best represents the work ethic, dedication, integrity and perseverance that George Taliaferro displayed Allen said. “And Aaron Casey is a perfect representation of this honor. Aaron’s a graduate with a degree in financial management. All-Big Ten linebacker. One of the best returning players in that position in our conference and has become one of our best players and one of our best leaders. So excited to have him here today. Noah Pierre and Jaylin Lucas along Casey where the player representees and gave interviews and appeared on the Big Ten Network talking about the upcoming season.
Indiana will open the season on September 2, hosting the Ohio State University and Coach Allen knows the task that is ahead for his young football program. “You know what, I’ve been blessed here. I’ve been head coach for seven years. Five of those seven years we’ve opened with a Big Ten opponent. Very familiar with this process. My first season was the Ohio State Buckeyes back in 2017. So, challenging, yes, but I would say it forces you to grow up real fast. “So, the urgency that the offseason is impacted by this reality of who you play September 2nd to open the season, I think it helps you. It helps you grow. It helps you have that attention to detail at a high level. “Everybody’s excited about the start of the season, but I think when it’s that kind of opponent it all gets raised to another level. Our team knows that. We understand that. There’s an urgency that our staff has because of it, and fall camp is affected by that in a very positive way.
Allen has had a lot of movement in the offseason as the Hoosiers hit the transfer portal very hard and want to improve from a 4-8 season last year. “I’m extremely excited for the upcoming season. Our word for 2023 is “toughness.” We define that as a mental and physical strength to persevere. “We had eight games last season that were decided in the fourth quarter. So, for the past seven months we’ve been building our toughness and developing this football team to be able to finish in those opportunities. “We have a strong nucleus returning, and we had great success in the portal. We’ve been very focused on identifying young men across this country that were the best football players that fit our culture, that wanted to be at Indiana.
Indiana’s duo of Lilly King and Josh Matheny Push on to 200-Meter Breaststroke Finals Lilly King and Josh Matheny will swim in the 200-meter breaststroke finals on Friday night after performing in prelim and semifinal heats on Thursday at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka Japan. Thursday morning, King took fourth in the women’s semifinal in 2:22.68. Matheny was sixth in the men’s semifinal, going 2:09.04. Anna Peplowski picked up Indiana’s fifth medal of the meet after swimming the preliminary of the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay, helping Team USA earn the top qualifying spot. Team USA went on to finish second in the final Thursday night. The United States has won 3 gold medals, 12 Sliver and 12 Bronze medals for a total of 27 total which puts them in 5th place in the medal standings. The meet ends on Sunday as China have 19 Gold Medals followed by Australia with 11 followed by Japan and Germany with 4 golds apiece.
Southern Indiana Bobcats travel back to Cincinnati Saturday Night to face the Dukes The Southern Indiana Bobcats will travel to Cincinnati Ohio for the second straight Saturday this time facing the Cincinnati Dukes at 7pm at Walnut Hills HS. The Bobcats are 3-5 on the season and lost to the Northern Kentucky Wolfpack 22-12 in a game played at the Ryan Sports Complex. The Wolfpack led 16-0 at halftime after connecting on two touchdown passes and tackling Bobcat’s running back Sean Simmons in the end zone for a safety. After a scoreless third quarter which included two Cantrell Harris Interceptions and a forced fumble by DJ Clayton with the recovery by TJ Knighton. The Bobcats got on the board with a 2-yard touchdown run by Tavaras Rochell that made it 16-6 with 3:48 left in the game.
The Wolfpack scored on a long play 41 seconds later to make it 22-6. The Bobcats marched down the field as Rochell scored his second touchdown of the game to make it 22-12 with 1:56 left. After recovering the onside kick, the Bobcats had one last chance but were unable to score. The Wolfpack improved to 5-2 on the season. The Bobcats sit in fourth place in the Western Conference as the Lexington Bengals are 2-5 and the Kentucky Spartans are 1-6 as the regular season will come to a close on August 5, when the Bobcats host the Columbus Gladiators at Edgewood HS. The top teams make the playoffs, and the Bobcats have a win over the Kentucky Spartans earlier in the season.
The Cincinnati Dukes is 6-0 on the season with home wins over the Lexington Bengals, Northern Kentucky Wolfpack, Indy Bison Red and forfeit win over the Columbus Bredren Knights. The Dukes beat the Dayton Seminoles and the Kentucky Spartans on the road. The Dukes have scored 116 points and have given up just 36 points. The Dukes game with the Kentuckiana Calvary July 8, in Jeffersonville was called at halftime due to weather and will not be rescheduled.
Indiana Fever drop second straight game to the Los Angeles Sparks After trailing by only six points at halftime, the Indiana Fever (6-18) were defeated by the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday afternoon, 81-68. Los Angeles extended its lead coming out of the locker room to as many as 16 points in the second half on the way to its second consecutive win. Fever guard Erica Wheeler led Indiana in scoring, rebounds and assists against Los Angeles as she netted 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Seven of her eight rebounds and six of her seven assists were earned in the first half alone. All-Star center Aliyah Boston finished the matchup with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the court. Her 12 points moved her into fourth place in the all-time franchise ranks for most points in a rookie season with 346 points through her first 24 career games. She now trails Kelsey Mitchell who is ranked third with 432 points.
Off the bench, Kristy Wallace contributed 13 points and shot 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Rookie guard and IU Graduate Grace Berger came off the bench and recorded 11 points, her second-highest offensive output of the season, on 5-of-7 shooting from the court. Berger totaled nine of her points in the second half while also dishing out three assists. Berger played 20 minutes going 5-7 from the field, 1-2 from three-point range along with 3 assists and a rebound.
Fever guards Wheeler and Mitchell led Indiana’s scoring attack to open the game, as Wheeler netted six points to go along with four assists and Mitchell added five points on a perfect 2-of-2 shooting clip. Los Angeles was held to 36.4 percent (4-of-11) through the first five minutes of play yet increased its offensive pace as it ended the quarter on a 15-6 scoring run. After a quarter of five lead changes, a last-second layup from Sparks guard Jordin Canada put Los Angeles up by four points to conclude the first quarter, 22-18. After securing the lead with two minutes remaining in the first frame, the Sparks maintained its lead throughout the remainder of the half though did not lead by more than seven points at any time. Boston, who totaled ten points in the half, led Indiana’s scoring attack with six points on 3-of-3 shooting from the floor in the second frame alone. Though shooting an efficient 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from the floor in the second frame, Indiana went into the locker room trailing, 45-39.
Los Angeles held the lead for the entirety of the second half led by Nneka Ogwumike’s game-high 25 points. Ogwumike also recorded a game-high nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Canada followed Ogwumike as she shot 9-of-15 from the floor in her contribution of 21 points, while also dishing out a team-high seven assists. In addition, Layshia Clarendon added nine points and Jasmine Thomas recorded a season-high eight points. The Fever return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday at 4pm to take on the Seattle Storm. Sunday’s game will be broadcast on the official Indiana Fever Facebook page and Prime Video.
Zionsville Little League Softball team eliminated from the LLSBWS Central Regional Tournament The Zionsville Little League Softball Team lost to Austintown Ohio Little League 4-1 Thursday in the Little League Softball Central Regional Tournament held at the Little League Central headquarters in Whitestown Indiana which less than 10 miles away from Zionsville. The double elimination tournament saw Zionsville win 3-0 over Keystone Little League from Omaha Nebraska on Monday and the Brookfield Illinois National Little League 12-4 on Tuesday.
Zionsville dropped an 8-1 game to the Johnston Iowa Little League team on Wednesday which set them up for this game Thursday being a must win game to advance the championship game and a chance to go to the Little League Softball World Series in Greenville North Carolina next month. This Tournament features the State Champions of nine states ages 10-12 years old. All Star Teams from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin are represented, and they had to win their district and state tournaments just to get to this tournament. Iowa and Ohio will meet today in the Championship Game at 3pm and the game will be televised on ESPN.
Indy Eleven Men’s Soccer team wins at Pittsburgh Indy Eleven earned a solid three points on the road, taking down USL Championship Eastern-Conference leader Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 3-1 on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh. With the win, Indy improves to 6-7-7 on the season, while Pittsburgh falls to 10-4-8. The loss was the first at home for the Riverhounds in 2023 (7-1-3). Next up, the Boys in Blue head to rival Louisville City FC for a Saturday night match-up. Kick is slated for 8pm Saturday and will air locally on MYINDY-TV and ESPN+.
In a first half that was largely dominated by the Eleven in the possession column at 62%-38%, the Boys in Blue’s leading goal scorer Aodhan Quinn scored his first from beyond the spot in 2023 to give him seven this season. The midfielder collected a clearance by the Pittsburgh keeper nearly at half, played it down with his chest, and converted a volley from just past the center circle. Indy doubled its lead in the 35th minute with a tally that goal scorer Sebastian Guenzatti started himself from half. By way of passes from Younes Boudadi and Solomon Asante, Cam Lindley found himself with the ball on the right flank and played it into Pittsburgh’s 18. Guenzatti came out on the other end just inside the attacking six and placed it into the lower right corner.
The Eleven tacked on a second insurance goal compliments of Harrison Robledo’s first of the season. Adrian Diz Pe delivered a spot-on ball to Douglas Martinez, who both entered at half, and Martinez took a touch before delivering the helper into the box for Robledo. Pittsburgh was able to get one back off a Tola Showunmi goal in the 89th minute. Indy out-possessed Pittsburgh 56%-44% in the match and had the 4-2 edge in shots on target. Tim Trilk registered one save in his first start of 2023.
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