Ironmen to face Bradley-Bourbonnais, Freeman in Regional Championship

Ironmen advance to the IHSA Regional Final, tip-off against Bradley-Bourbonnais at home

Eli Schneider, Dylan Wehmeyer and Jonah Kramer • Feb 25, 2022

After a 35 point victory over the Pekin Dragons, Community (31-1) faces three-seed and Southwest Suburban Conference Champion Bradley-Bourbonnais (23-7) in the Regional Championship at 7 p.m. tonight.

In search of his 10th Regional Championship, Head Coach Dave Witzig said that Bradley-Bourbonnais’ center Owen Freeman is a focal point for the Ironmen.

Freeman, a 6’10” University of Iowa commit, averages a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds per game. In a 56-46 victory over East Moline United in the Regional Semifinal, Freeman pulled down 20 rebounds.

While the Ironmen don’t have a player as tall as Freeman, they by no means have a lack of size.

As a team, the Ironmen rebound 40% of their own misses and pull down three quarters of their opponents’ misses.

Zach Cleveland, a 6’7″ forward who will likely battle Freeman in the post, is second all-time in school rebounds with over 750.

Cleveland is no stranger to the Regional Championship, as the Ironmen beat Yorkville 50-44 to advance to Sectionals his sophomore season.

Community and Bourbonnais share three common opponents in U-High (12-19), Mahomet-Seymour (15-14) , and Peoria High (15-10). The Ironmen defeated all three teams, while Bourbonnais’ sole loss of the set came at the hands of Peoria, losing 61-51.

The winner of tonight’s game advances to face either Moline (2) or Minooka (4) in the Sectional Semifinals. Moline and Minooka are in action tonight, tipping-off at 7 p.m. at Minooka.

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About the Contributors

Eli Schneider, Senior Staff Reporter

Eli Schneider is a senior at Normal Community High School and in his third year of working with the Inkspot as a Senior Staff Reporter. Eli plays varsity lacrosse for the B-N Lacrosse co-op and enjoys watching baseball, football, and hockey at both the collegiate and professional levels. Eli plans to attend the University of Mississippi in the fall of 2022 and major in Marketing Strategy and minor in Journalism An all-time dream of mine would be to work in marketing/P.R for an MLB or NHL team My favorite places to travel are Oxford, Mississippi, Dallas, Texas, and Denver, Colorado

Dylan Wehmeyer, Senior Staff Reporter

Dylan Wehmeyer is a senior at Normal Community High School and is involved with Best Buddies and FMP. This is his third year working with the Inkspot; he is a senior staff reporter. A book that moved me is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. A slogan I live by is “You never know what someone is going through. Be kind. Always.”

Jonah Kramer, Sports Editor

Jonah Kramer is a senior at Normal Community High School and participates in Best Buddies, FBLA and cross country. This is his second year working with the Inkspot, where he is a senior staff reporter. A random fact about me is that my front tooth has been broken five different times. My favorite film is Knives Out. What inspires me is Jesus Christ.