IT'S JUST A GAME: WUNDERLICH'S RESIGNATION SHOULD SOUND ALARM AT PHS

When the Perryville Lady Pirates take the basketball court next season, for the first time since 1981, Steve Wunderlich in his trademark green sports jacket will not be on the sidelines as the head coach.

Wunderlich, who built the Lady Pirates basketball program into one of the finest in the state, recently resigned as athletic director and head girls basketball coach to become principal at Oran High.

Wunderlich's resignation follows the departures of seven other high school coaches at Perryville in the past school year.

Coaches come and go on every level of athletics, but the sudden resignation of Wunderlich should raise a few eyebrows locally.

Wunderlich had been at Perryville for 16 years, compiling a 367-103 record with 10 district titles. The Lady Pirates made six Class 3A Final Four appearances, winning the 3A title in 1986.

Although Perryville has had its fair share of head coaches over the years in other sports, Wunderlich remained a fixture at the school.

But after clashing with the new high school administration on several fronts, Wunderlich decided to move on after watching many of his colleagues leave before him.

Signs of trouble in the Perryville athletic department began this past year with the dismissal of boys basketball coach Rhett Oldham just prior to the start of the season. Head football coach Doug Smith resigned in January, leaving the high school with two important positions to fill.

Poor pay is a reason I've heard why several of the coaches have left. But when a coach has been at the same school for 16 years and suddenly leaves, its sounds like the problems at Perryville run deeper than a couple of dollars.

* Vicki Lohmann, an assistant to Wunderlich for the past seven years and a 1984 Perryville graduate, was named as the new head coach of the Lady Pirates.

Lohmann was a key member of Wunderlich's first successful teams at Perryville, earning all-state honors her junior and senior years. Lohmann went on to star at John A. Logan junior college and finished her basketball career at Southeast.

Perryville softball and golf coach Lynn O'Neal was recently named the new athletic director.

* The Kelly Hawk baseball team may have taken third-place at the Class 2A championships in Columbia, but the Hawks could have very easily finished on top.

St. Mary's of Independence, who beat Kelly 3-1 in the semifinals and claimed the 2A championship with a 3-1 win over Springfield Catholic, last week was stripped of its state title for using an ineligible player.

The ineligible player, who had not completed enough credit hours the prior semester to play a spring sport, was primarily used as a courtesy runner.

* The Cape Central Lady Tiger soccer team had an undefeated season end in sectional action a few weeks ago. As it turned out, it took the state championship team to end the Lady Tigers undefeated run.

Lafayette, which beat Central 1-0, went on to win the state title with a 1-0 victory over Visitation Academy. Lafayette ended with a 21-3-4 mark. Central, in only its second year of girls soccer, finished 18-1.

Rus Baer is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.