SHS Sports: Timelines From The Sidelines Tradition Everlasting

Overview 1980-1989

The 1980s witnessed the emergence of basketball (boys) and volleyball (girls) as the marquee sports programs at Staunton High School. The basketball program overcame two decades of struggles to capture six South Central Conference titles during the era, not to mention multiple Macoupin County and Regional crowns. In fact, at one point the program experienced four straight 20-win seasons. The volleyball program was even more impressive, capturing numerous conference, county and postseason titles, capped off with a trip to the State Tournament in 1980. The decade also witnessed the first individual state championship in school history, as Becky Coyne captured gold in the 100 meter hurdles in both 1985 and 1988. Unfortunately, cross country ceased to exist as a sport at SHS, and since that time, has never had enough members to field a full team. On the other hand, a few females began to participate in golf during the decade, though SHS did not officially field a team until 2005.

The South Central Conference underwent two changes during the 1980s. First, Litchfield and North Greene entered the SCC in 1980-81. Mt. Olive, a charter member of the SCC, left the league that same year, and thus the SCC became an eight-team conference. In 1985-86, Triad, a school district made up of Marine, St. Jacob, and Troy, came aboard. However, that same season Nokomis, North Greene, and Virden opted out of the league, leaving the SCC with just six teams.

Class of 1983

Baseball

The 1983 baseball team was coached by Barry Deist and led by seniors Shawn Bates; Randy Williams; and Doug Yarnik. Williams went on to play one season at Lewis and Clark Community College, setting a school record for home runs his freshman year.

Basketball (Boys)

Coming off an outstanding season that saw the program graduate most of its production, coach Mike Stivers had to rebuild for the 1982-83 season. Despite the heavy losses, seniors Jim Coyne; Morris Treadway; and Doug Yarnik led the team to a respectable 9-15 overall record, including 6-8 in the South Central Conference. After the season, Coyne was named Team MVP and First Team All-Conference. Don Johnson took home the Free Throw Award (76 percent), while Deron Stein was named Defensive MVP.

Basketball (Girls)

Larry Kuba’s 1982-83 basketball team finished the year 12-10 overall and 8-6 in the South Central Conference. After dropping the first three games of the season, SHS roared back with nine wins in its next ten games. Junior Sharon Bodi, a First Team All-Conference selection, paced the unit by averaging 15 points and nine rebounds per game. Fellow junior Mary Hering averaged ten points per game and won the team’s Free Throw Award (83 percent). She was also named First Team All-County and was an Honorable Mention All-Conference selection. Senior Lynn Yakos averaged eight points and a team-leading ten rebounds per game for the Lady Bulldogs. After the season, Bodi; Yakos; and senior Kim Pickerill shared Team MVP honors. Additional seniors on the team were Tammy Dooley and Debbie Jones.

Football

Coach Barry Deist’s 1982 football team finished the season 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the South Central Conference, which was won by Carlinville for the first of five straight titles. Staunton’s campaign began in fine fashion, with the Bulldogs shutting out Hillsboro by a score of 12-0. Unfortunately, a three-game losing streak ensued, as SHS dropped games to Greenville (30-7), Carlinville (30-6), and North Greene (8-2). The Dogs jumped back on the winning track in convincing fashion with a Week five pounding of Virden (40-0), and they followed up that win with a 27-6 defeat of Nokomis. After losing to Gillespie (13-0) in Week seven, Staunton wrapped up the season with consecutive victories over Litchfield (41-29) and Southwestern (26-15).

Seniors on the team included Shawn Bates; Russ Best; Joe Bloemker; Damian Dobrinich; Jim Hemp; Mike Holeschek; Jeff Kilduff; Fitz Musick; John Rabida; Brian Scrianko; Rick Wall; Randy Williams; and Doug Yarnik. After the season, Scrianko and Williams were named First Team All-Conference. Dobrinich and Rabida were Second Team All-SCC selections, as were juniors Larry Caldieraro and Tom Scherff. Finally, Best and Musick were awarded Honorable Mention Status.

Golf (Boys)

The 1982 golf team finished the season 6-5 in match play. SHS was led by seniors Mike Cipriano; Jim Coyne; Scott Graves; and Morris Treadway, but the Dogs featured Team MVP Kevin Schulmeister, a junior. Schulmeister had a strong regular season for coach Larry Kuba’s crew, and he later advanced to Sectional play.

Track (Boys)

The 1983 Staunton track team was coached by Dave Martin and featured seniors Mike Cipriano; Jim Coyne; Damian Dobrinich; Fitz Musick; Rick Wall; and Doug Yarnik. Tom Scherff, a junior, was voted Team MVP.

Track (Girls)

Donna Ruehrup’s 1983 track team finished Second at the Macoupin County Meet and Fourth at both the South Central Conference and Sectional track meets. Three Lady Bulldogs advanced to State, including senior Lynn Yakos (high jump), sophomore Lee Karl (shot put), and freshman Darla Sievers (400 meters). Both Yakos and Karl were Sectional champions in their respective events, while Sievers set a school record on her way to a Second place finish at the meet. Seniors on the squad included Deanne Coalson; Dori Harman; Jamie Seketa; Debbie Tuey; and Yakos. After the season, Yakos was named Team MVP for the second consecutive year.

Volleyball

Though the 1982 volleyball team was unable to duplicate its overall success from previous seasons, Donna Ruehrup’s club was still able to capture a Regional title, thus giving the program six straight years with a postseason championship. The Lady Bulldogs finished the season with a record of 19-10. Interestingly enough, half of the squad’s losses came to Virden, as SHS dropped all five matchups with VHS.

The Lady Bulldogs were relatively young in 1982, with juniors Sharon Bodi, Carol Hughes, and Kim Mueller filling major roles on the team. Bodi was the team’s Offensive MVP, and she also took home All-County and All-Conference First Team honors. Hughes was named Defensive MVP, while Mueller took home Second Team All-SCC honors. Senior Lynn Yakos was an All-Conference Honorable Mention selection. Additional seniors on the team were Connie Greeling and Debbie Jones.

Class of 1984

Baseball

The 1984 baseball team captured its third South Central Conference championship in five years, as the Dogs finished 12-2 in the SCC and 15-6 overall. Seniors Roger Banovz; Mike Bekeske; Larry Caldieraro; Randy Harbison; and Kevin Schulmeister were instrumental in the team’s success. In fact, Banovz and Caldieraro were named to the All-Conference First Team, while Bekeske and Harbison were Honorable Mention Selections. Juniors Rich Garde (Honorable Mention) and Dave Jones (First Team) were also named to the All-SCC squad. Caldieraro later returned to his alma mater to lead the baseball team. During his tenure, one of his teams made a trip to State, while another set a school record for victories in a season.

Basketball (Boys)

The 1983-84 basketball team finished the season 20-6 overall, marking the first time in nearly three decades that the program had produced a 20-game winner. The season sparked the best four-year run in SHS basketball history, as the Dogs also hit the 20-win mark in each of the next three years. Furthermore, Mike Stivers’ squad captured the South Central Conference championship with a 13-1 mark in the league, with the lone loss coming to Litchfield. The SCC title was also the first of four straight for the program.

The season began in fine fashion for SHS, as the Bulldogs took home the championship of the Metro East Lutheran Turkey Tipoff with wins over Livingston (63-46), Chicago Lutheran East (97-47), and Edwardsville Metro East Lutheran (58-58) behind the play of tournament MVP Tom Scherff. However, Bunker Hill served as the team’s nemesis during the year, as the Minutemen accounted for half of Staunton’s losses that season. Not only did Bunker Hill defeat SHS in the regular season, but the Minutemen also defeated the Bulldogs in the title games of both the Macoupin County and Regional tournaments.

Tom Scherff and John Karl were the lone seniors on the squad, and thus many underclassmen had a significant effect on the season. For instance, junior Deron Stein received All-Conference and All-County recognition, and he also took home Team MVP and the Free Throw Award (82 percent). Defensive MVP Jeff Paitz was also a junior, and he also garnered All-Conference (First Team) and All-County (Second Team) honors. Scherff and junior Kevin Goebel were each named All-SCC Honorable Mention.