Ballin4God

This week’s episode features new Woodlawn Cardinals boys basketball head coach Brian Gamber. Gamber previously coached at Woodlawn from 2016-20, where he posted a 96-34 record and won three regional titles. He later spent time as the head men’s basketball coach at Rend Lake College and has served the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the Mount Vernon Rams boys basketball team.Our second interview features Goreville senior Garrett Church, one of the top baseball players in Southern Illinois. Church recently committed to Rend Lake College, where he plans to continue both his academic and athletic career as a pitcher and position player.Church also made a major impact on the basketball court during his time at Goreville. He set the school’s single-season 3-point record with 74 as a junior and followed it up with 86 this past season. However, teammate Zech Green finished with 103 made 3-pointers. Together, the Blackcats knocked down 337 threes this season, which ranks 13th in IHSA history. Goreville also finished as the 1A state runner-up this past season.Timestamps:0:00:00 - Intro0:11:44 - Brian Gamber1:02:33 - Garrett Church1:57:05 - Outro

What a fun show it was for our twenty-first episode of the Ballin4God Talk Show.We had three juniors from the Harrisburg Bulldogs baseball teams: Aidan Hankins, Ian Crabb, and Rylan Palmer. They talked about how their season is going so far, what the key to success is, and what it is like to be a part of the Bulldog family. Palmer also won our Ballin4God Player Of The Week a couple of weeks ago.Then our segment was with the newly named head coach of the Mt. Vernon Rams boys basketball team, Luke Cooper. Cooper is a 2019 graduate from Mt. Vernon, and he talked about how cool it is to be the head coach at such a young age. Cooper had coached the last six years at Woodlawn, and four of those years he was the head coach for the Cardinals. We also got to talk about some of his favorite gyms to coach and some of the toughest places to play on the road.SPONSORS:ALL STARS-N-STITCHESREND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODSFOLLOW US: Instagram: @B4G_SILTwitter: @ConwellRussellFacebook: Ballin4GodTikTok: B4G_SILTimestamps:0:00:00 - Intro0:03:32 - Harrisburg Baseball1:12:40 - Luke Cooper2:02:47 - Outro

Filmed episode 19 of the Ballin4God Talk Show, brought to you by Rend Lake Cabins In The Woods. We had the head coach of the Carterville Lions softball team, Will Capie, and his son, Drake Capie, who played football and is a current member of the Lions baseball team. Both teams are on fire as the softball is 20-0, and the baseball is 15-3.SPONSORS:ALL STARS-N-STITCHESREND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODSFOLLOW US: Instagram: @B4G_SILTwitter: @ConwellRussellFacebook: Ballin4GodTikTok: B4G_SILTimestamps:0:00:00 - Intro0:17:15 - Will & Drake Capie1:28:03 - Outro

Preview of the 47th Annual Lions Club All-Star Game at Rend Lake College, featuring many of the top area senior basketball players for boys and girls in Southern Illinois. We also had Brian Murley and JR Russell of Blackcats Network, as well as Dave Severin and Shane Hawkins, together discussing what this all-star game really means, its significance, and sharing some old stories, while also looking back on the season.Timestamps:0:00:00 - Intro0:13:50 - Group #10:36:52 - Dave & Shane 0:54:40 - Group #31:01:07 - Group #41:08:04 - Group - #51:09:57 - Group #61:12:15 - Group #71:18:42 - Outro

After all of the regional championships have now wrapped up, we now set our eyes on the IHSA Sectionals. We have many remaining teams left. Trico hosts the 1A sectional, where Goreville, Hardin County, Waltonville, and Sparta will face off. In Nashville, a lot of familiar foes with Benton, Breese Central, Carterville, and the host Nashville. Then in 3A, the Centralia Orphans are at the Waterloo sectional, where they will play the Triad Knights in the sectional semifinal, a rematch of last year's 3A Sectional Championship. On today's show, we had three segments with three different regional champions. The Sparta Bulldogs won their first regional championship in 35 years, and head coach Jordan Beckley and junior guard Dariontez Monroe were on the show. Then the second segment was with the Nashville Hornets after winning the Pinckneyville 2A Regional. We had father and son head coaches of the Hornets, Stote Reeder, and his son, Max Reeder, a guard for Nashville. Then, to round out the show, we had Gage Peterson and father, Chuck Peterson, after Waltonville won its third straight regional title.Full schedule for the sectionals below. Who do you think will make the deepest run?1A Trico SectionalTuesday: Waltonville vs Hardin CountyWednesday: Goreville vs SpartaFriday: Winner of G1 vs G21A Macon Meridian SectionalTuesday: Tuscola vs AltamontWednesday: Lawrenceville vs CaseyFriday: Winner of G1 vs G22A Nashville SectionalTuesday: Benton vs NashvilleWednesday: Breese Central vs CartervilleFriday: Winner of G1 vs G23A Waterloo SectionalTuesday: Centralia vs TriadWednesday: East St. Louis vs JacksonvilleFriday: Winner of G1 vs G2Timestamps:0:00:00 - Intro0:12:51 - Sparta Bulldogs1:14:37 - Stote Reeder & Max Reeder2:11:34 - Chuck Peterson & Gage Peterson2:57:07 - Outro

On this week's episode of the Ballin4God Talk Show, we had three different segments. Lee Bennett of Centralia, Nick, Tommy, Bobby King of Goreville, JR Russell, and Brian Murley of Blackcats Network.Our first segment was with Blackcats Network, Brian Murley, and JR Russell, the voice of everything Goreville Blackcats. They talked about their start, and what is going on in Blackcats country currently.Our Second segment was with Nick King, Tommy King, and the father of Bobby King. Nick is a junior, Tommy is a senior, and Bobby is a Goreville graduate. We talked about their current season, where they're at, SI Select, and Bobby about his photography.Our final segment was with Lee Bennett, the head coach of the Centralia Orphans boys basketball team. Bennett has over 700 career wins, and 451 wins at Centralia as of Thursday, February 19th, 2026. With Bennett, we talked about American History, basketball, where he began his career, and his newfound love for racing.Very fun episode, and we hope to catch you guys again for next week's episode.Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro04:09 - BlackCats Network45:44 - King Brothers + Dad1:27:35 - Lee Bennett2:36:12 - Outro

We are back after a one week hyaistus. Due to the winter weather, we took a week off, but this week we were at Joe's Pizza and Pasta in Benton, Illinois, our sponsor for Ballin4God Player Of The Week. Speaking of Player Of The Week, we featured two of our winners on this episode with juniors Witten Devor from Waltonville and Zach Snow from Carterville.Alongside Devor was his head coach of the Waltonville Spartans, Anthony Lowery. Then alongside Snow was his teammate on the Carterville Lions fellow junior Maddox Gulley.Thompsonville's head basketball coach was also featured on this week's episode, and he shared a powerful testimony of how he found his way back into church. He also talked about being in involved in Thompsonville basketball and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes program at Thompsonville.Joe's Pizza and Pasta Player Of The WeekHoliday Tournament Week: Maddox Ritzel, NashvilleJanuary 2-10: Witten Devor, WaltonvilleJanuary 12-17: Zach Snow, CartervilleJanuary 19-24: Gage Peterson, WaltonvilleJanuary 26-31: Jaxson Hancock, Centralia

We filmed Episode 10 of the Ballin4God Talk Show. In this episode we had Nathaniel Marlow on and honestly we talked about God pretty much the whole time he was on. He shared his story, his faith, and how his relationship with God has helped him through basketball and just life in general. We also talked about him breaking the Webber scoring record and what that meant to him and his family. Later in the show we had the McKay brothers on Blake and Luke McKay and we talked hoops, growing up around the game and the bond that was built. This was a really special episode and one we are super thankful for. Make sure you check it out.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro09:39 - Nathaniel Marlow1:49:10 - Blake & Luke McKay 3:14:08 - Outro

In Episode 8 of the B4G Talk Show, Grady Furlow joins the show to break down Southern Illinois high school boys basketball, with a heavy focus on holiday tournament action across the region. We recap key matchups, highlight standout performances, and discuss what these tournaments reveal about teams heading into the heart of the season. As always, the conversation also centers on faith and how God continues to play a role in sports, leadership, and everyday life.Below are the boys basketball holiday tournament champions discussed in this episode:Holiday Tournament Champions:Appleknocker Holiday Tournament at CobdenCobden defeated Cairo 53–50Kyler White was named tournament MVP82nd Centralia Holiday Tournament:Chicago Marist defeated Centralia 50–42Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic:Decatur MacArthur defeated Mt. Vernon 61–32Duster Thomas Hoops Classic at Pinckneyville:Woodlawn defeated Sparta 48–46Kyle Cooper was named tournament MVP61st Eldorado Holiday Tournament:Carterville beat Anna-Jonesboro 59-2844th Sesser Valier Holiday Tournament:Goreville defeated Waltonville 40–3964th Mater Dei Christmas Tournament:Nashville defeated Orchard Farm 49–46

We filmed Episode 6 of the Ballin4God Talk Show, sponsored by Rend Lake Cabins In The Woods. In this episode we had three guests on.SIU Head Football Coach Nick Hill from DuQuoin came on and shared his journey. Hill was an all-state basketball and football player in high school. Played basketball at Western Kentucky for a year, then came back and played football for the Salukis. He chased the pro route and tried out for the NFL. Now he’s been the head coach at SIU the last 10 seasons. Our second guest was Rend Lake Warriors basketball coach Tim Wills. Wills is a Benton grad and played for Coach Rich Herrin. He hooped at Rend Lake and SIU-Edwardsville. He talks about how college ball changed his life and shaped who he is today. Our final guest was Gage Peterson, senior at Waltonville. Gage talks about his time as a Spartan, some rivalries, and teammates from over the years. We apologize for the camera issues in this episode. We believe we found the problem and will have it fully fixed for the next episode, The Christmas Special. Please stay tuned and listen to Coach Wills and Gage Peterson. Both were amazing guests and super understanding. The rest of this episode is audio-only, so make sure to still listen.You can find the full episode on YouTube or Spotify.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro04:02 - Nick Hill47:38 - Tim Wills1:31:57 - Gage Peterson1:58:29 - Outro

We had three really good guests on our fourth episode of the podcast.First up was Darren Kinnard, who’s had a bunch of different stops in the sports media world. He started at WSIL, where he spent 26 years and served as Sports Director for 13 of those. After that, he went to Withers Broadcasting for four years running Section618.com, and now he’s at River Radio running RiverRadioSportsCentral.com, which covers high school and college sports.Our second guest was Brad Wilson, who has pretty much done everything. Most people around here know him from something — his playing days at Benton, coaching, refereeing, and about a dozen other roles he’s taken on in the community.Our final guest was Cale Maurer, a Mount Vernon basketball and baseball player. He’s in his senior year, and he talked about the expectations on him and just trying to take it all in.All three guests also talked about their relationship with God in one way or another, which was awesome to hear.You can check us out here every Thursday at 4 PM on YouTube or Spotify.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro07:42 - Darren Kinnard1:19:10 - Brad Wilson2:14:53 - Cale Maurer2:46:25 - Outro

We are back with Episode 2 of the Ballin4God Talk Show and this one has a lot of Benton representation in it.We announced who won last week’s trivia question and we shared the new one which is How many South Seven Conference Championships did Rich Herrin win while he was the head coach of Benton? You can win by being the first person to comment on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube.Our first guest was Shane Garner who is well known around the area. He is the athletic director for the Benton Rangers at Benton Consolidated High School. Before coming to Benton he grew up in Sesser and graduated from Sesser Valier High School. He talked about his time at Rend Lake College and the impact a couple of coaches had on him while he was at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.Our second guest was the Voice of the Benton Rangers Danny Czerwenski. Danny shared all of his stops as a radio broadcaster and he talked about his time as a grade school teacher at Woodlawn. He has been the radio broadcaster for Benton for the last nine years and has spent a total of sixteen years connected to Benton.Our final guest was my favorite teacher Matt Wynn. Most people know him as Coach Wynn or Mr Wynn and many know him as Matt. He recently retired as a teacher from Benton after thirty three years in education including twenty three years at BCHS. He coached the Rangers basketball team for seven years and he graduated from BCHS in 1987. He went on to play for Southern Illinois under Rich Herrin at SIU. He later wrote a book about Rich Herrin titled Rich Herrin A Head Coach Ahead of His Time where he interviewed many of Coach Herrins players from 1960 to 1985 during his years at Benton.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro05:54 - Shane Garner29:15 - Danny Czerwinski1:00:41 - Matt Wynn2:16:29 - Outro