Schwings and Misses

Long-anticipated state championship is finally

a reality for Miners

The name Linton-Stockton has become synonymous with

success on the gridiron.
In the long-and-storied history of Linton
Miner football, the
school claims 14 sectional championships
Terry
and 10 regional titles
Schwinghammer
(1984-present). And in
the last decade or so,
the Miner football team
has consistently been ranked among
the top teams in Class A, earning Linton-Stockton statewide recognition
among those who follow high school
football.
Still, questions remained.
Would the Miners ever take the next
step? Would they ever get over the
semistate hurdle? Would they ever win
The Big One?
Those questions have been answered.
After coming up short eight times in
the semistate round, Linton-Stockton
finally broke the jinx last November,
punching its ticket to Lucas Oil Stadium for the programs first-ever state
finals appearance.
And on the return trip this year, the
Miners defeated the Pioneer Panthers
34-20, bringing home that elusive
state championship to Linton.
Weve been striving for this for 40
years, former Linton-Stockton football
coach and current Athletic Director
Charlie Karazsia said.
Weve wanted this. Weve gotten
close a couple times. We finally made
the state finals last year. We got beat
by a better team.
But we knew we had a better team
coming up this year.
Current head coach Brian Oliver
said by way of understatement winning the state championship means a
great deal to the community. So many
people wearing red came to see the
Miners win that it seemed most of the
town was sitting in Lucas Oil Stadium.
The school, the community have
been dying to have a state champi-

onship, Oliver said. We were able to

come out and be the first team to do
this.
Not every school/community is fortunate enough to win a state championship - even in the era of class
sports.
And there have been some top-flight
programs that never have - or even
made it to the state finals for that matter.
Since the current class system was
instituted there have been 20 Class A
state champions.
Pioneer was the first in 1997.
Lafayette Central Catholic has won
six, including four straight from 200912, last years title and in 1999.
Sheridan owns four titles, three in a
row from 2005-07, and 1998.
Cardinal Ritter has won twice, in
2003 and 2008.
That leaves eight state championships for schools not named Lafayette
Central Catholic, Sheridan or Ritter.
Adams Central, Southern Wells
and Southwood won the three titles
between LCC in 99 and Ritter in 03.
Seeger preceded Sheridans run of
three.
Then it was Ritter and LCC times
four before Tri-Central and North Vermillion slipped in while LCC was in 2A
(Tournament Success Factor).
And this year, your Linton Miners.
You have to be lucky, Karazsia
pointed out.
I told Brian a couple things. One,
hes only been a head coach four years
and hes already been to the state finals twice. There are guys who have
coached for decades and never made it
to the state finals.
And he knows how important it is
to be in the state finals. But hes not
going to realize how neat this is until
30 or 40 years from now and looks
back on his career. It really means
a lot. Its hard to get there and hes
made it twice.
The 2004 team kicked off the recent
run of sustained success - 10 sectional
titles in those 13 years, including six
straight and nine of the last 10. Only

By Shad Cox

Miner football players celebrate after capturing the semi-state championship, putting
the pieces in place to bring home their first ever state championship.
losses to Perry Central in 2005, 2006
and 2010 interrupted Lintons string of
sectional titles.
Seven semistate appearances - five of
the last six, plus 2004 and 2008.
And the last two semistate championships.
But before they finally got over the
semistate hump last year, the Miners

had to endure a number of heartbreaking losses in the tournaments

penultimate round.
A blocked extra point led to a 21-20
loss to Ritter in 04.
In 2008 it was Ritter again. The
Raiders scored 22 points in the fourth
See Schwinghammer, Page 6

Remembering a State Title Page 3

Schwinghammer
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

quarter to overcome a 12-point deficit. A

late touchdown with a minute to go lifted
Ritter over Linton, 30-26.
Then came successive losses to Scecina. The 17-0 blanking at Key Stadium in
Indianapolis in 2011. And the infamous
Fourth and Inches 17-14 overtime loss
in 2012.
And with each semistate setback, the
criticism - and the derision - came from
all corners of the state on forums such
as the Gridiron Digest.
They dont play anyone. Their schedule doesnt prepare them for the rigors of
the postseason. They arent prepared
for big games. Where was that juggernaut offense against Scecina?
And this nugget - Get Better or Go
Home.
Miner Pride was stung.
But guess what? The Miners got better.
The coaching staff and administration recognized the need to upgrade the
schedule to better prepare for the extended postseason.
And Karazsia began taking steps in
that direction.
Linton-Stockton dropped out of the
Southwest Seven Conference, opting to
become independent in football.
They dropped Dugger Union and Wood
Memorial from the schedule.
Linton-Stockton added traditional
Class A power Sheridan to the schedule
in 2013 and 2014.
In 2015 they picked up Speedway and
2014 Class A state champion North Vermillion.
This year, defending 2A champ Monrovia was added.
Next year, Linton-Stockton will open
the season with Southridge.
And three straight semistate appearances laid the foundation for back-toback state finals trips the past two seasons.
And when Linton finally got over the
semistate hump with a resounding 56-27
win over North Vermillion last November
they exorcised all the demons from the
previous eight trips that came up short.
And collectively, they did it for all those
teams who came before them.
This is long overdue for this town, for
this community and for all the alumni,
coach Brian Oliver said.
Former player Derek McKee, who
played on the 1998 semistate team,

said it best last November - Its about

the guys who played on this field before
me who planted the seeds. And then we
helped cultivate the soil. Its just a total
effort from start to finish of everyone who
has ever put on the Miners uniform.
And this year, the Miners won it all.
This team jelled, Karazsia said. We
knew we had something special with this
team.
I guess the prevailing theory about the
Linton Miners never being quite good
enough to win a state championship has
been put to pasture once and for all.
It wasnt always this way.
In eight straight losing seasons from
1967 to 1973 the Miners compiled an
overall record of 9-57-4, including backto-back winless seasons under Fred
Livezey in 1969 and Don Clark in 1970.
The 1969 team scored six points all
season. The offense did not score. The
lone touchdown came when lineman
Tony Richards fell on a fumble in the
end zone during a blowout loss to North
Knox.
Still, Linton remained a football town.
Fans still came out to the games and
held out hope. Although admittedly, Linton crowds didnt travel as well in those
days as they do now. Understandably so.
But a resurgence in Miner football was
soon to get under way.
In 1973 (Clarks last season) a promising freshman class came up and big
things were expected.
Randy Lynch, a former Linton star who
was a standout player at Indiana State
- was hired in 1974 to replace Clark.
Lynch brought Indiana State teammate
Dan Galbraith with him. Galbraith
brought Charlie Karazsia on board two
years later.
And that heralded group of freshmen?
The Miners went undefeated in 1976,
Galbraiths first season as head coach.
And its been mostly winning ever
since. Linton has had just seven losing
seasons in the last 42 years.
Its been a continuation, Karazsia explained.
We had Randy Lynch in 1975 and we
go 7-3. With Dan Galbraith we went 9-0
in 1976.
Galbraith and I and Rick Wellington
and Steve Weber may have laid the foundation for it but coach Oliver and his
staff have built upon it. Its just phenomenal.
Sure, there have been the inevitable
down cycles. During a five-year stretch
from 1990-94 the Miners posted a record

of 18-29, with four losing seasons.

But Linton hasnt had a losing season
since 1996 (3-6). And the Miners were
back in the semistate the next two years.
And through it all - from the lean years
of the early 1970s to the heartbreaking
semistate losses, the community pride
and support have been unwavering.
The community, they love football,
Karazsia said.
Forty or so years ago we didnt win a
lot of ball games. But Lintons been playing football for over a 100 years and we
have over 600 wins (614). So theres a lot
of wins that have occurred over the last
century.
No place was the community pride
better illustrated than this years state
finals.
Take a look at the crowd we had at
Lucas Oil. Unbelievable the number of
people there, Karazsia mentioned.
They love the team and they love our
boys. Our boys are heroes. They really
are. Especially to our young kids.
Ironically, after Lintons 2012 semistate
loss, the Miner basketball team outlasted
Speedway, 76-75 in overtime to win the
2A semistate, punching its ticket to the
state finals.
All the talk in Bankers Life Fieldhouse
centered on, Who would have ever
thought our basketball team would make
it to the state finals before our football
team did?
But as a former Miner who was part of
the basketball program in the mid-1970s
during Lintons run of three straight sectional championship, I take pride when
any of our teams succeed, in any sport.
And as one whos had a taste of postseason success, Ive been thrilled to witness Joey Harts Miners recent string of
four consecutive sectional titles - unprecedented in school history.
But as much as I want to see Linton
have a winning basketball program, lets
face it. Lintons a football school - and a
football town - first and foremost.
And finally, the Miner football team
has hoisted the long-awaited state championship trophy.
What are people saying now? Heres a
sampling of commentary from folks, locally and around the state.
Dan Phillips - a former player and
The Voice of Miner Football - said, Oh
man. Only now am I starting to breathe
normally. I dont even know what to say.
Much respect for Pioneer ... to be a part
of Miner football history, being in the
broadcast booth these last 17 years - Im

Remembering a State Title Page 6

speechless. The community rally later,

and then the real celebration at the gig
later ... man oh man... Ill never ever forget it.
Longtime fan and local historian Rex
Tuttle said, The Miners were certainly
on a mission and wouldnt be denied. I
cant think of any single event that lifted
this old towns spirits as much as bringing home that trophy. I know some from
other schools and bigger cities dont understand what we feel, but Linton doesnt
have much but its pride. And much of
that pride is wrapped up in the high
school football team. This years team
was the 115th LHS football team and Ive
seen more than 65% of them. This team
is the undisputed best and they proved it
on the field.
A former player said, As a Miner football alumni it was an incredible day and
it still doesnt seem real that the Miners
are state champs! Congrats to all of the
players, coaches, and fans. Nobody deserves to be state champions more than
that coaching staff and the true Miner
fans!
This came from an Indianapolis Lutheran supporter: I said a couple of
weeks ago that I wanted to see the team
that could beat Lutheran and at semistate I did. I followed that up with the
comment that I now wanted to see the
team that could beat Linton. That day
will never come.
He added, Linton is a fantastic football team. I was very impressed with
their toughness but more so with their
sportsmanship. That community has
something they can really be proud of
and now they also have a state championship. The best 1A team in the state of
Indiana won the 1A state championship
of that I have no doubt!
And this, from West Washington: Congratulations Miners. This championship
was won over many years through the
effort of hundreds of individuals. Former
players, current players, coaches, parents and community have all dedicated
much to your program. That is how
championships are earned and it is what
makes them so sweet. I am very happy
for all of Miner Nation.
And as Charlie Karazsia is so fond of
saying, Its a great day to be a Miner.
Terry Schwinghammer is a sports writer
for the Greene County Daily World. He
can be reached by email at tschwing032@
gmail.com.