An angel on the sidelines

By Patti Danner
STAFF WRITER

Andy Barnes was one of Linton-Stockton High Schools most loyal supporters. Although he loved all sports, his
favorites were Linton football, baseball,
and basketball.
The 38-year-old Barnes passed away
Feb. 6, 2009, and his legacy as the No.
1 Miners fan remains unparalleled. The
Miners, who won the Class A state football championship last month, would
have been in elementary school when
Andy passed away, but thanks to the
coaches and others whose lives Andy
touched, his legacy lives on.
At last years state-title game at
Lucas Oil Stadium, the players wore
special stickers on the back lower part
of their helmets, each in the image of
a black football helmet with Andy
lettered above. Worn in that location, it
was as if each player carried Andy on
his shoulder. This year, it seems to be
the general consensus that Barnes was
very much with the team in spirit.

We did that a few different times,

recalls Brian Oliver, Lintons head football coach.
Oliver and Coach Zed Gentry, as a
way to honor and remember a fan that
was impossible to forget, dreamed up
the idea.
One of the coaches came in to order
the decals, said Shad Cox of Shads
Signs in Linton. We talked about half
price, but I decided, nope.
Cox gave the stickers to the team, free
of charge.
Our boys never had the pleasure
of meeting Andy, said football mom
Maria Hill. Thanks to the coaches, his
memory lives on through each generation of Miners.
Linton-Stockton Elementary teacher
and former varsity baseball coach Bart
Berns remembers Andy fondly.
Barnes was Berns assistant varsity
baseball coach, right-hand man and
dearest friend. According to Berns, the
two coached over 500 games in their 19
years together.

Between the occasional tear, Berns

had fond memories to share.
When Andy passed, my wife sewed
black 33s on every baseball jersey, he
said. Both sets of jerseys, gray and
white, and we installed a banner for
Andy on the back fence of the baseball
diamond.
Berns recalled Barnes distaste for
getting his shoes muddy or his feet wet.
He said Barnes would pace and walk
around during games, but would not
come near the muddy path in front of
the dugout, lest he stain his shoes. The
team and coach put their heads together to come up with a solution.
We wound up hauling in gravel to
cover over the mud and provide a cleaner path for him, he recalls. We named
it Coach Barnes Boulevard, and put up
a sign.
The baseball team created another lasting legacy with the Schmack
Shack, an indoor pitching and hitting
File photo

Andy Barnes and his infectious smile.

See Barnes, Page 29

Kendall #22
and the
linton Miners!

Post #22
including the Legion Honor Guard
would like to congratulate the

We are so very
proud of you!
love,
Mom, dad,
Kaitlin, Hayden,
& Chloe

Linton Miners

on their Championship win!

Remembering a State Title Page 8

Barnes

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

facility.
One of the phrases Andy liked to repeat
was schmack, said Berns, so it was
only natural we call it that.
Barnes took his sports seriously and
was unafraid to let an ump know if he
thought they had made a bad call.
Ill tell you, Andy had everyones back,
and everyone had his, says Berns.
At one game played at Washington,
Berns recalls seeing Barnes during warmup time pacing, rocking back and forth as
he would do, and realized that some of the
opposing teams members were mocking
and teasing him.
Hey, thats not OK, you guys, Berns
told them, please dont. Evidently, his
warning did not sway the other team,
because they continued to tease Barnes.
Next thing I knew, I looked over and
saw a scuffle, mitts flying through the air
and opponents running the other way.
The team had Barnes back that day, and
Barnes would not stand for anyone talking
negatively about the Miners, either.
One season the team had an away
game, and was trounced by the other
team.
I promised the guys we would go to
Shoneys after the game, said Berns,
That bus, on the return trip, was as quiet
as a tomb. I was sitting with my head in
my hands, feeling as down as the team
was feeling, and I felt a tap on my shoulder, Berns recalled. It was Andy, and
he asked Are we still gonna eat, though?

Bowen

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

but Knightstown would get a first down.

The Panthers scored with about two minutes or less on the clock and Linton could
not score, losing 14-7.
I think that game was smashmouth
football at its finest, a hard-fought contest
between two excellent teams, a game in
which the most critical play was defensive. Id rank it as one of the best football
games Ive ever seen, right on the list with
the 1984 Orange Bowl between Nebraska
and Miami and the 2004 Super Bowl between New England and Carolina.
In 2000, I got out of journalism, but I
would occasionally come over to see the
Miners play. My clearest memory was

That whole bus went from utter silence to

uproarious laughter in two seconds.
Oliver remembers Barnes as a fan who
never missed a game.
I remember when I played, Andy was
always there.
Oliver played quarterback and free safety for the Linton Miners from 1992-95.
He never missed a game, whether it
was football, baseball or basketball, said
Oliver.
Their relationship wasnt just on the
field.
Id pick him up, said Oliver, Wed
go play video games and he would try to
cheat and win, he added, smiling.
Whenever we would win an away game,
and come back into town in a caravan,
Andy was always the loudest, right up
front, screaming and rocking like he did,
Oliver recalled.
The two would talk sports as they
played, confirming Barnes position as the
Miners No. 1 fan.
He was just so supportive, thats the
main thing I miss, said Oliver. Girls or
boys teams, he was right there. The officials all knew him well, joked around with
him. He was recognized as one of us.
Barnes picture hangs near the gym,
visible to all and a reminder to the players
of his dedication and support.
We talk about him at least once a year.
He was such a big part of our lives, and
he was a huge part of Linton sports. His
legacy will always live on.
Barnes father, Kenton, says he has no
doubt that his son was there as the football team earned the state championship
title.

He was there, I know he was there,

said the elder Barnes. If he had physically been there, Lucas Oil Stadium would
probably need new artificial grass, he
said, referring to the younger Barnes propensity to pace during games.
My boy touched more lives in his 38
years than I have in 70, said Barnes. I
couldnt be prouder. Im very proud of
all the kids on all the Miner teams, they
are very special to me. They always made
Andy feel like an important part of the
team.
Barnes was buried in a Miners baseball
jersey, specially ordered by Coach Berns
and his wife Barbara, and his father says
the gift meant more to the Barnes family
than they could ever express.
I can still see him, running to the fieldhouse, said Barnes. So excited.

The Linton Miners football team wore

these decals on their helmets, to honor
their friend and number one fan, Andy
Barnes (left).
Barnes mother, Barbara Griffin, recalls
a son whose heart belonged to his Miners.
I dropped him off to a lot of games, she
recalls. He graduated from Shakamak,
but that boy loved the Miners.
Griffin says Barnes added girls softball
to his sports infatuation roster, the moment his niece made it onto the team.
He went to all his nieces games, every
one, she said.
She related the day of Barnes funeral,
the biggest she had ever seen. However
many that church holds, it was totally
full, she recalled.
I am amazed, touched and honored
that Andy is still remembered, she says,
I can see him now, smiling down at his
boys, smiling so big, but he wouldnt
gloat, that wasnt Andy.

watching them play Indianapolis Scecina in the 2012 semistate. The teams
fought to a 14-14 tie. Late in the fourth
quarter, the Miners drove into Scecina
territory with the clock running down.
As the Miners picked up a first down,
I began to hope that I would see Dyllanne Deischer, the only female kicker
Ive seen, make a game-winning field
goal. Alas, the Scecina defense held
and the game went into overtime. The
Crusaders got the ball first and kicked
a field goal.
On their turn, the Miners drove to a
fourth and goal on the Scecina 1. They
ran the ball, but the Crusaders stopped
the runner short and the Miners lost
again. Still, I thought that was the way
to play football: with guts beneath the
open sky.

I returned to sportswriting of a sort in

2014. I had been down at Goosepond to
watch the birds that Friday night and
realized the Miners would be playing
North Knox in the sectional championship so I came to watch them demolish
the Warriors 41-0.
A friend of mine had to work so I
texted her highlights and scores from
the game as it was played, including
a beautiful touchdown pass, a perfect
strike of about 40 yards or so, and
analyzed the reasons why the Warriors
were getting stomped into the frozen
groud. She thanked me, but Im sure
that reportage was bittersweet as she
graduated from North Knox.
Then in September I took on this job
and ended up watching Linton win its
first state championship on November

26, a fantastic 34-20 victory over an

excellent Pioneer team. I learned just
today that a Miner jersey is hanging in
Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Colts
(and dont they wish their season was
half as good as Lintons) and the site
of Lintons victory. A gentleman named
Danny Shonk sent me this picture. No.
78 is not on the Miners roster, but
the jersey will demonstrate Lintons
success to visitors to the stadium.
Thanks to Mr. Shonk for bringing it to
my attention and thanks to the Indiana
High School Athletic Association for
supplying us with the official statistics
for the game.
I hope to return to Lucas Oil Stadium
next year and see Linton win a second
championship. This year was a real
blast.

courtesy Maria Hill

Remembering a State Title Page 29