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This is the second installment in a series highlighting the basketball teams participating in The Bank of Missouri Heartland Hoopfest 2008.
The 5th Annual Bank of Missouri Heartland Hoopfest is steeped with the best and brightest basketball teams in the region. On Saturday, December 20, the gymnasium of the Perry Park Center in Perryville, Missouri will be transformed into an athletic sounding board for teams looking to defend their titles and for others to make their stance in this popular high school basketball invitational. Last year St. Vincent High School stood their ground to Oak Ridge and defeated them in the close contest. Also, the addition of a high school basketball girls' team will take place for the first time in The Bank of Missouri Heartland Hoopfest history with McCluer South-Berkeley taking on Millington Central out of Tennessee.
Saxony Lutheran High School coach Sam Sides, and Mark Riley, of Chester, Illinois are both first year coaches.
Sides is a 1973 graduate of Jackson High School and a 1978 graduate of Southeast Missouri State where he received his Bachelor of Science in Education. Previous to arriving at Saxony, he coached at Leopold, Meadow Heights and Jackson High Schools.
Saxony, 2007 Mississippi Valley Conference Champions, suffered a 81-66 loss to Bell City in last year's contest. The team went undefeated in their conference last year with the help of Brett Steffens, all conference 2007, and continues to reign on the court with six returning lettermen.
"Since this is my first year at Saxony," exclaims Sides, "our style of play will depend on the players. We are still in the process of laying out our game plan."
Riley teaches Illinois History, Current Events, Sociology, and Economics at Chester High School. He is a 1998 graduate of O'Fallon Township High School and a 2002 graduate of Eastern Illinois University. His coaching career includes Indian Creek High School in Shabbona, Illinois.
The Chester Yellow Jackets beat out East Prairie with a 70-62 win in last years The Bank of Missouri Heartland Hoopfest. The Yellow Jackets belong to the Southern Illinois River-to-River league and have a record of 10-18 for the 2007/08 season.
Riley explains, "We have an aggressive defense with a fast break style offense. That type of team play plus the return of four letterman is going to win us games this season."
This game between the Saxony Lutheran High School and the Chester Yellow Jackets will take place at the Perry Park Center at 11:05 a.m. It will be followed by the game between Perryville High School and Cape Central at 12:40 p.m. Information on this game will be coming your way next week.
For more information on The Bank of Missouri Heartland Hoopfest, a complete game schedule, or how to be a sponsor, log on to www.heartlandhoopfest.com.
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