Roundball fans are roaring to go
It was a great crowd on hand Friday night in the Lindle Castle Gymnasium – aka The Castle – for the traditional kickoff event to a new basketball season.
Meet the Bulldogs once again brought fans, players and coaches together in a loose, non-game like setting for a chance to get to know one another.
Introductions of players, cheerleaders and band members even gave the youngest players in Clinton County a chance to get in on the action, with middle school teams again being included, down to the 5th grade.
The two varsity level intra-squad scrimmages gave the players a chance to have a little fun, evident from the loose style of play and even a little showboating going on, as well as giving the fans on hand for the event an early look at what they can expect on the floor from these teams during the 2023-24 roundball season that lies just ahead.
Of course the night closed with the induction of our two newest members of the Basketball Wall of Fame, Lee DeForest and Breonia Thurman.
Both inductees were gracious in accepting the honor of being the newest Wall members, and both gave excellent presentations to the crowd, pointing out to the teams watching from the sidelines just how important the lessons and memories they are developing now will be to them as adults.
It’s always good to see the crowd of former players and fans hanging around after the program ends, swapping memories and recalling moments from their playing days, as well as assessing the performance of the teams they’ve just been introduced to.
Now it’s time for some real action – the season is just a week away.

Schedules are printed,
Big Blue Preview is in production
We had a slight delay in getting this year’s basketball schedules ready, but they are now printed and ready for fans to have.
As has been the case for the past several years, the schedules are included with the Clinton County News going out this week.
If you need additional schedules, stop by our office and pick up more copies.
Big Blue Preview special section is completed and will be included in next weeks Clinton County News.

Something new for Bulldogs – sign the wall
Head Bulldog Coach Nick Irwin has used a portion of the recently replaced playing floor from The Castle to incorporate a neat feature in the Bulldogs’ locker room.
On the wall, near Irwin’s office, is a large piece of the floor with designs by Jack Amonett of Jackson Signs, and Irwin is sending the invitation out to all former Bulldog basketball players to stop by and sign the wall, along with the dates that you played.
It’s a great idea that will show players now and for years to come the depth of tradition that comes with wearing the blue and white for CCHS.
Congrats all around
Several Bulldogs, Lady Bulldogs and cheerleaders were up for kudos in the past few days.
First, our gridiron Bulldogs had seven players singled out for their performances this past season by being named to the All-District team this year.  Named to the first team were Kade Beaty, Steele Burchett, and Mason McDaniel, while Jared Brown, Jaxson Mason, Allen Pierce, and Jase Sohm were named to the All-District second team.
Burchett finished 10th in the KHSAA season stats in receiving, with 50 receptions for 1,118 yards, 14 touchdowns, averaging 102 yards per game (11 games) and 1.3 touchdowns per game.
In addition, Jaxon Mason finished the season ranked 15th in the state passing category, completing 90 passes on 168 attempts for a completion percentage of 53.6 percent for 1,527 yards, 18 touchdowns with just 12 interceptions.
Mason McDaniel finished 47th in the KHSAA year-end stats in the defensive forced fumbles category, with three forced fumbles and one recovery.
For our CCHS VolleyDawgs, senior Landree Moons finished 21st in the KHSAA stats in kills 427.
Aubrie Messer finished the years in the KHSAA stats list as a Top 10 achiever, with an eighth spot finish in blocks with 149 total.  Senior Landree Moons finished in the 15th spot in the state blocks category with 122.
Kellie Brown ended the season in the 22nd spot in the KHSAA digs category with 526, for an average of 5.72 per set.
Finally, in competition over the weekend, the CCHS Varsity Cheerleaders picked up a prestigious Region Runner-up title in the KHSAA Competitive Cheer Small Game Day category.
The runner-up placement advances the squad to the state level competition.
Congrats to all.