HARNER: One day. Five performances to remember in Fayette County

What a day.

With records set, championships won and rivals defeated last Thursday was easily the most memorable day so far in the fall season.

Brownstown/St. Elmo senior Jacob Behrends shocked everyone with his program record 22-strikeout performance in a 3-0 win against Patoka in the championship game of the Egyptian-Illini Conference Tournament.

At the same time, Vandalia’s volleyball team was earning the biggest win of the season by defeating rival Pana, 25-16, 25-23.

And prior to both of those games, South Central’s baseball team knocked off Neoga, 8-5, to win its second straight regular-season National Trail Conference title, and after back-to-back winless seasons, the Vandalia soccer team earned its second win this fall by beating Altamont, 2-1.

Not to be ignored was Tristan Wesselman’s 13 strikeouts, as he led Ramsey to a 4-1 win against Beecher City/Cowden-Herrick in the third-place game of the EIC Tournament that afternoon.

It was the beauty of high school sports wrapped up nicely into one day for Fayette County.

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Behrends was simply dominating against Patoka, throwing the best stuff of his career to put an exclamation mark on an already strong fall season.

He hasn’t posted the stats that you’d expect from an ace pitcher, with just a 3-3 record, but his losses came to St. Anthony, South Central and Windsor/Stew-Stras, arguably the three best teams the Bombers will face this fall.

Behrends clearly didn’t let those defeats affect his confidence, as he cruised through Patoka’s hard-hitting lineup with precise control, allowing just two hits and striking out the final 11 batters of the game at Vandalia Mutual Field.

That won’t be the last game Behrends pitches this season, as he will be relied on during the National Trail Conference Tournament.

The Bombers will likely have a middle seed in the tournament, so it’s not out of the question for them to make a run into a place game, and Behrends’ arm will undoubtedly be a big reason if that is to happen.

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Just a walk’s distance away from Behrends’ showcase, the Lady Vandals had their finest showing of the season in the Vandalia Community High School gym with the nonconference win against Pana.

The teams have had quite the rivalry over the past several years, and though both schools lost their best players from last season to graduation, they still proved to play an exciting match.

And – as is typical – both schools showcased fanatic student sections that played off of each other to give the game a playoff feel.

Much of the same is expected in the Battle for Route 51 on Oct. 24 for the conference game in Pana, so you may want to mark your calendars now.

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South Central simply finds ways to win.

It hasn’t seemed to matter who is on the roster, the Cougars are always winning – or falling just short – of regular-season conference championships.

And a switch to the NTC hasn’t changed that, as South Central picked up its second regular-season title in two years.

Curt Jones’ squad wasn’t able to win the NTC Tournament last season, however, and it will be a tough test to win the event this season.

The Cougars got past St. Anthony and Windsor/Stew-Stras during the regular season, but lost to Altamont.

All four of those teams have the personnel to win the tournament, and even the lower-ranked schools have the ability to score an upset, so who comes away with a victory will be one of the biggest storylines next week.

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The Vandalia soccer has one of the most pleasant surprises for area sports.

Two wins doesn’t sound like much, but it is just one away from the program record, and with a core of players who have been around for a couple of years mixed with some first-year talent, the work that was put in through the past two winless seasons is showing some dividends.

The Vandals have at least three more chances to get that third win, and may win the school’s first-ever regional game, as they match up with Pana, who narrowly beat Vandalia, 4-3, in the season-opener.

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Wesselman has faced his problems with consistency over the years, but the senior took a big forward late in the fall season.

He had three straight wins to end the fall, beating Mulberry Grove twice before striking out 13 Beecher City players to win the EIC Tournament third-place game, 4-1.

If Wesselman can continue to harness that success, he will not only prove valuable in the spring season, but also for Post 95 if he chooses to play for Vandalia’s Sr. Legion team next summer.