Let the holiday festivities begin! Winter Wassail this Saturday in St. Joseph

St. Joseph - St. Joseph Church of Christ will host their second Winter Wassail on Saturday. Sherman Street in St. Joseph is transformed into a Christmas wonderland where visitors and guests can enjoy fresh wassail - a drink made from hot mulled cider and spices, caroling, storytelling in more.

Wassiling is an ancient English Yuletide drinking ritual and tradition from Great Britain. It has its roots in a pagan custom where merrymakers would visit orchards to sing to the trees and spirits to ensure a bountiful yield during the next harvest. Revelers would visit local orchards and fruit trees to sing and make a hullabaloo (loud noises often by banging pots and pans). After their celebration, they would be rewarded with some form of warm, spiced alcoholic beverage from a communal wassail bowl or cup by the property owner.

Saturday's wassail will also include a holiday lighting display, a Christmas tree competition, Santa, and of course, plenty of wassail.

Admission to the outdoor event is limited to one hour for each guest and advance reservations are required. There will be no indoor activities so organizers recommend dressing appropriately.

For more information, contact the SJCOC via email at https://sjcocil.ticketleap.com/sjcoc-winter-wassail/contact/ or by phone at (217) 469-2207.

Prep Sports Notebook: Pence scores 29 for SJO, Kimball drops 25 in Rockets' opener

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Kimball doesn't miss a beat, scoring 25

Tolono -- After just two practices, Unity quarterback Blake Kimball hit his stride making the transition from the gridiron to the hardcourt on Tuesday. The senior led the Rockets to a 61-53 win over visiting Bismarck-Henning with 25 points after last Friday's state title football game against Byron.

Kimball is in perfect form starting his first foray back to the gym converting five treys and shooting 6-for-7 from the free throw line.

Unity also got double-digit scoring from another state football finalist. Linebacker Austin Langendorf, now at forward on hardwood, finished with 15 points. After missing the second of two attempts from the free throw line in the first quarter, he piled on 14 more in the last three quarters in the contest.

Starter Henry Thomas rounded out the Rockets' top three scorers with 10 points.

Unity hits the road Saturday to take on Teutopolis and plays another away contest on Monday at Arcola. Varsity games times are scheduled for 2:30pm and 7pm, respectively.

Box Score

Unity --
Kimball 19-6-25, Cowan 2-0-2, Thomas 10-0-10, Price 3-0-6, Langendorf 13-2-15, Maxwell 0-6-6.

Bismarck-Henning --
Meidel 24-5-29, Ingram 3-0-3, Rice 6-0-6, Tidwell 2-1-3, Sacket 9-0-9, Dodd 0-1-1, Hill 2-0-2.

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Four Spartans notch double-figures

St. Joseph -- Ty Pence scored a game-high 29 points in the St. Joseph-Ogden varsity basketball team home debut Tuesday night at the Toyota of Danville Classic. The junior scored 17 of his total output in the first quarter for the Spartans.

Evan Ingram, Brock Trimble and Logan Smith also finished with 10 or more points in SJO's 78-55 win over Cissna Park on their home court.

Using just two quarters, Ingram contributed 14 points. Trimble, a sophomore, drained three shots outside the arc in the first half and added a field goal in the third quarter for 11 points. Smith, who is also a sophomore, added 10 points to the cause.

"It feels great," said Ingram on getting the W in front of a home crowd. "Our offense is really explosive. Good things are ahead."

The 2-0 Spartans are back in action tonight at 8pm to face Oakwood in Day 2 of pool play.

Box Score

St. Joseph-Ogden --
Brazelton 2-0-2, Carter 6-0-6, Taylor 2-2-4, Smith 9-1-10, Landrus 0-2-2, Trimble 11-0-11, Pence 27-2-29, Ingram 13-1-14.

Cissna Park --
Huse 3-0-3, Savoree 8-2-10, Neukomm 5-2-7, Verkler 15-3-18,Spitz 14-1-15, Bohlmann 2-0-2.

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Unity girls rebound

Cissna Park -- After taking one on the chin on Monday evening, the Unity girls basketball team quickly rebounded back to their winning ways beating Cissna Park 44-22 on the road. The Rockets' defensive effort limited the Lady Timberwolves to just seven first-half points.

Forward Taylor Henry led all scorers with 17 points. The senior also tallied five rebounds and three steals in the non-conference victory.

Junior Lauren Miller also had five boards. In addition to her nine points, she was credited with four assists and a pair of steals.

Meanwhile, Erika Steinman finished with eight points behind 4-for-4 free throw shooting.

The Rockets continue their three-game road campaign with their next stop at Villa Grove tomorrow night. Varsity tipoff is scheduled for 7:30pm.

Box Score

Unity --
Ray 2-1-3, Miller 8-1-9, Steinman 4-4-8, Stringer 4-0-4, Reed 2-1-3, Henry 12-5-17.

Cissna Park --
A. Seggebruck 2-1-3, Knake 6-0-6, Morrical 4-4-8, Maul 0-1-1, Karas 4-0-4.

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Other area sports scores

Oakwood defeated Schlarman 50-41 at the Toyota of Danville Classic.

Arcola-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond won big over LaSalette in their first appearance at the annual St. Joseph-Ogden early season tournament, 63-34.

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