The Aaron Fiene era kicked off in style on Nov. 11, as Steeleville basketball celebrated the opening of the 2017-18 basketball season with its Blue/White scrimmage.
Grade school hoops teams - both boys and girls - from Steeleville Elementary and St. Mark's Lutheran were recognized, as were the Steeleville High School cross country and volleyball teams for their recent accomplishments.
Veterans in attendance were also presented with pins prior to the beginning of the varsity boys portion of the evening, but the night was still all about basketball.
For the girls, coach John Antonacci's 10-player squad went first with a pair of six-minute, running-clock halves. The junior varsity boys were next with two seven-minute halves, with the varsity wrapping up the night with four eight-minute, running-clock quarters.
Fiene is in his first season as head coach after getting promoted in May by the Steeleville District 138 school board. He was the Warriors' freshman/sophomore coach and replaced former coach and current SHS athletic director Bryce Bainter, who stepped down to spend more time with family.
The Lady Warriors are playing in the Sparta Girls Basketball Invitational this week, while the Warriors won't start playing games until Nov. 27, when Steeleville faces Harrisburg in the new, combined Murphysboro and Trico basketball tournament.
The Warriors will face the Bulldogs at 6 p.m. in Murphysboro on that night.
