Woodlawn rides early surge to regional title
<span>Steeleville coach Bryce Bainter called it a "snowball effect," and that's exactly what Steeleville's loss to Woodlawn on Friday felt like.</span>
<span>Brett Harris and Austin Ballard each scored 20 points, and Woodlawn took control early in a 69-27 win over the Warriors in the Class 1A Crab Orchard Regional championship.</span>
<span>Woodlawn (26-3), ranked eighth in the state by The Associated Press coming into the contest, scored the game's first nine points and built a 26-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.</span>
<span>"I thought we had to keep them out of the lane and off the boards," said Steeleville coach Bryce Bainter. "We didn't do a good job of that, but at the same time, they shot very well.</span>
<span>"When I saw them starting to shoot the ball very well, it was going to be tough."</span>
<span>The Cardinals, which had lost to Sesser-Valier in the regional finals each of the previous two years, poured on the pressure in the second quarter, taking a 39-10 advantage into the locker room at halftime. </span>
<span>"It would probably take a very special night to beat a team like that," Bainter said. "It just wasn't our night, but I'm proud of these kids, I'm proud of the success they've had this year, but more importantly, proud of the type of kids they are."</span>
<span>In comparison, Steeleville had only one player - senior Nic Hagel - who had played in a regional championship game. The Warriors were making their first appearance in a regional final since 2013.</span>
<span>"On paper, we probably weren't favored in this game, but I tried to get the kids to just relax and play loose and fearless," Bainter said. "Shots weren't falling for us and they were falling for them and it was just a snowball effect."</span>
<span>Unfortunately for Steeleville, the second half went much like the first, with Woodlawn taking a 54-15 lead into the fourth quarter.</span>
<span>"I'm just super excited for the guys we've got here now," said Woodlawn coach Shane Witzel. "Because we came up short the last couple of years and we felt we had done a lot of good things to put us in position and didn't quite get out of the regional.</span>
<span>"These guys have worked very hard and done what we had asked them to do and they've had a great season."</span>
<span>Ross Owens, one of four seniors on the Cardinals, also chipped in 11 points for Woodlawn, which advanced to face defending Class 1A state runner-up Meridian on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the semifinals of the Gallatin County Sectional.</span>
<span>"He's a great kid, first and foremost," Witzel said of Owens. "He's not really a kid anymore, he's grown into a man. He does so many things that people that really understand the game realize how important he is to our particular team."</span>
<span>R.J. Smith and Nic Hagel combined for 15 points to lead Steeleville, which graduates five seniors (Hagel, Parker Lutz, Bryar Pim, Lucas Axtell and Trey Lazenby) from a 22-9 team that won the Kaskaskia Division of the Cahokia Conference for the first time.</span>
<span>The season was a complete 180 from the Warriors' 8-21 campaign in 2014-15.</span>
<span>"I knew if we put in the work, we could do something special this season," Bainter said. "We achieved a lot. Twenty-two wins, undefeated in conference, came home with some hardware from some tournaments and a lot of that is our seniors.</span>
<span>"They showed great leadership and I can't say enough about them."</span>
<span>Advancing to the sectional 3-point contest was Hagel and Sutton. Hagel, who has made a verbal commitment to Lincoln Land Community College for basketball, made 12 of 15 treys, while Sutton drained 10 of 15.</span>
<span>"I'm going to miss them," Bainter said of his seniors. "I hope the next class (of seniors) is just as classy as they are."</span>