2012 was host to quite a year for PortageLife Sports! From football to basketball to running to fundraisers and everything in between, it was a busy year for sports in Portage and Northwest Indiana.
We picked 10 of our top stories from the Sports Section on PortageLife that we felt best represented the year we had telling positive stories in this arena. Take a look below and let us know your favorite of the bunch in the comments!
A Weekend in Cooperstown- Ron Santo Hall of Fame Induction
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Ron Santo was posthumously enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the induction ceremony taking place on July 22. Although the induction was long overdue and should have come during his lifetime, it was a great weekend of memories and celebration for Santo’s family, friends and fans. I was pleased to be able to make the trip and witness the induction first hand; here are my thoughts on the weekend.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum Every baseball fan should make the trip to Cooperstown to see the museum at least once. This was my first chance to step inside the National Baseball Hall of Fame and it is truly amazing. More than any other sport, baseball is about history, records, numbers, stories and statistics. All the stories of baseball’s past, from recent years back to the birth of the sport, are told inside the walls of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
A Portage Life in the Spotlight, Kelly Bermes
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This week’s A Portage Life in the Spotlight is Kelly Bermes, who was recently named the new Athletic Director at Portage High School.
“I am a Portage kid, I graduated from Portage and have lived here all of my life. Then I went away to college and came back and my first teaching job was here in Portage. I got married, and moved away but then I came back because I wanted to raise my family in Portage,” Bermes said. “I have three children and they were all Portage graduates. My family is all from Portage, my father owned a business when I was growing up here in Portage and my sisters and I, we have all stayed here. Portage is very important.”
First Half of PHS Softball Season Features Several Big Wins
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The Portage softball team has transitioned to a new head coach as Lisa Hayes took over the head varsity job for this season. On Tuesday night the Tribe dismantled Valparaiso 12-2 in six innings by implementing the ten run rule to complete a two game sweep of the season series between the two teams.
The Indian offense broke the game wide open by scoring seven times in the fourth inning. Three Portage batters homered in a sudden power surge. “It was awesome,” head coach Lisa Hayes said. “You never really expect three girls to hit home runs and all three of them were huge.”
Arnell Helps Kick Off State Park Little League Opening Day Parade
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More than 350 children, dressed in their still-spotless baseball caps and team tee shirts, paraded down Woodlawn Avenue in Porter to kick-off the 60th season of the State Park Little League. The kids and their coaches, sponsors, and families braved the chilly weather to gather on State Park’s Upper Field for the club’s Opening Day ceremonies.
Player Agent Audra Peterson said that throughout its 60-year history, State Park Little League has been dedicated to the Duneland community, and the evening’s ceremonies reflected that dedication. Rob Henderson, General Manager of Arnell Chevy-Kia, presented the club with a $500 donation. He said Arnell supports the club because, “We’d just like to reach out to our own community that supported us through the years as a family-owned business, and we like to reach out to the community any time, any way that we can.”
McCormack Returns to Alma Mater as PHS Varsity Football Coach
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A new, but familiar face will be at the helm when the Portage varsity football team takes the field next August. Wally McCormack has been named the new varsity head coach, replacing Jeromy Flowers, who resigned to take a job as an assistant at Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Illinois. McCormack has deep Portage roots, having lived in the city his whole life, played football for the Indians, graduated from PHS and started his coaching career at Fegely Middle School.
“I started coaching here, and I kind of always thought in the back of my mind that someday it would be cool to end up back here,” McCormack said.
Portage Baseball Team Wraps Up Strong Season
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The Portage High School varsity baseball team put together a strong season, reaching as high as fifth in the Indiana High School Coaches Association state rankings. The Indians saw their season come to an end on Monday with a loss to Valparaiso in the sectional championship, but the Indians exceeded expectations with their performance in the regular season and through the first two rounds of the sectional.
“I would say it was a successful season just on the fact that with a lot of the players that we lost from last year’s team, a lot of people weren’t expecting much from us and I think we kind of surprised some people,” head coach Tim Pirowski said.
Former PHS Indian Alum Helps Coaches with Portage Tribe Baseball Tryouts
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I want to thank Anthony Cheky (Michigan State) and Tim Pirowski and his staff. We had the Portage Tribe tryouts yesterday for 9u thru 13u. Tony showed up at 10:30am and stayed until 6:30pm. He helped with all the tryouts and helped several kids with their swing or other baseball tips.
Very selfless to have spent your summer playing baseball away from your hometown and you are home for just a few days before you gotta head to school and you make that kind of a commitment to Portage kids and Portage baseball. Thank you so much. I know my kids will remember it forever becuase they talked about it all night. Great lesson for the kids.
Portage Defeats Michigan City in Homecoming Football Game
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A full week of Homecoming festivities culminated on Friday night at the Warpath as the Portage varsity football team defeated Michigan City 24-21. The Indians held off an upstart Wolves team to improve to 2-5 overall, 1-4 in the Duneland Athletic Conference.
At halftime, Bella Camacho was crowned 2012 Homecoming Queen, topping fellow nominees Courtney Groene, Bri Gibson, Mackenzie Barcelli and Nicole Thomas. Rashaan Coleman, who helped Portage to victory with two touchdown runs, was awarded Mr. Football, as voted on by the football team. The senior class swept Spirit Week, while the juniors took home the Spirit Stick.
PHS Honors Student-Athletes at Annual Fall Banquet
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In order for the Portage High School Athletic Department to run smoothly, a large number of individuals put in countless hours of hard work. Many of those people were recognized at Thursday night’s Fall Sports Awards Banquet in the PHS East Auditorium. At the conclusion of each season in which athletics are played at PHS, the athletes, coaches and parents from all of the varsity, junior varsity and freshmen teams come together to celebrate the teams’ accomplishments and achievements.
PHS Athletic Director Kelly Bermes announced the winner of the coveted Team Grade Point Average Award. The girls cross country team received the plaque by virtue of its academic excellence, narrowly edging out the boys tennis squad.
Harlem Wizards Return to PHS for Evening of Entertainment
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“Tricks, hoopz and alley oops” were on display at Portage High School on Saturday night as the Harlem Wizards took on the Portage P.E.A.K. team in a fundraiser game to benefit the PHS Football Program. The Wizards, who have been combining comedy, tricks and basketball for 50 years, travel the world entertaining fans of all ages.
Hundreds of Portage residents packed into the PHS gym for the chance to see prominent members of their community take on the Wizards and to support the Indians. All proceeds from the game benefit the Portage Football Booster Club.