Raiders suffer regional heartbreak

Rich Fowler

A thunderous start to the game by No. 2 ranked South Ripley and a nine-point lead combined to bode awfully well for the green and white but defending regional champion Forest Park extinguished all momentum the Raiders had, mounting a second half comeback to stun the Raiders 56-53 in the Class 2A Regional Championship on Saturday at Seymour.

Forest Park (19-6) will play in the Class 2A South Semi-State this Saturday as part of a field that also features No. 3 Parke Heritage (24-4), No. 11 Linton (21-6) and unranked University (18-9).

South Ripley led 32-23 at halftime but a disastrous start to the third quarter allowed for the Rangers to make a big run right off the bat to tie the game and that run only continued. As shots continued to fall and the Raiders still out of sorts, Forest Park finished out the frame having completed a 23-6 run and led 46-38 going into the final eight minutes. The haymaker certainly put the Versailles boys on the mat but they would beat the 10-count and find themselves back in contention.

It took a bit but South Ripley finally broke through in the fourth quarter, trimming the deficit down to two possessions and ultimately being within a bucket of a tie. A Chancie Volz three-ball late in the period got the Raiders as close as they would get before the buzzer sounded and an ensuing possession saw Forest Park hit free throws to bring the game up to 56-53 with only seconds remaining.

The Raiders got two three-point looks in those final seconds, both of which came from the corners. Eli Gilpin’s open look from the left and Cole Henry’s desperation heave from the right after an offensive rebound both clanged off the back of the iron and Forest Park tossed out a long defensive rebound to run out what remained on the clock, escaping South Ripley’s bid to stop it with a foul.

It took three full quarters for the Raiders to match their point total that existed after a sensational start at Seymour. A widespread scoring frenzy gave South Ripley 23 points in the first quarter as they raced out to a 23-14 lead. The two teams scored just nine points apiece in the second frame, allowing for the nine-point Raider lead to stay intact. Forest Park ended up outscoring the Raider offense 33-21 in the second half.

Two players reached double figures for South Ripley, led by Henry’s 13 points, eight of which came in the first quarter. Gilpin, a freshman, was a big spark plug off the bench and drilled three 3-pointers en route to 12 points. Chancie Volz and Blaine Ward, both seniors, wrapped up with nine points and eight points respectively, followed by Bryson Sipples’ six points and Drew Volz’s five points.

Reece Wolf paced Forest Park with 15 points and two other teammates joined him in double figures. Jared Burger added 14 points and Kamdon Partenheimer sat at 12 points. Brock Schuler followed with eight points.

South Ripley ends the season with a historic 23-2 overall record, putting them second in program history with regards to wins in a single season. Several program records, both as a team and individually now feature this crew and will be highlighted in a feature edition of the newspaper once those accolades become official. The Raiders were champions of the Ohio River Valley Conference, the Ripley County Tournament and Class 2A Sectional 45. Henry, Ward and Chancie Volz all exit the program as seniors, having etched their place in program history as well. South Ripley is set to return the rest of its roster next season as head coach Seve Beach should once again have a group of Raiders ready to contend for success.

CLASS 2A REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP at Seymour
FOREST PARK 56, CLASS 2A NO. 2 SOUTH RIPLEY 53
SR – 23. 9. 6. 15. – 53
FP – 14. 9. 23. 10. – 56
SOUTH RIPLEY (23-2) – Cole Henry 13, Eli Gilpin 12, Chancie Volz 9, Blaine Ward 8, Bryson Sipples 6, Drew Volz 5.
FOREST PARK (19-6) – Reece Wolf 15, Jared Burger 14, Kamdon Partenheimer 12, Brock Schuler 8, Jaden Bettag 5, Owen Boeglin 2, Grant Fleck 0.
3-Point Goals – SR 7 (Gilpin 3, C.Volz 2, Ward 1, Sipples 1), FP 6 (Burger 2, Schuler 2, Bettag 1, Wolf 1). Total Fouls – SR 19, FP 17. Free Throws – SR 10-17, FP 16-25. Fouled Out – SR: C.Volz; FP: Fleck.