We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
Sorted by date Results 501 - 525 of 1301
With midterm elections set for early November, there is always a question regarding how much voter turnout will occur in an election that does not include choosing a president. But there are some serious local issues on the ballot that will impact us much more than anybody sitting in the White House. Freeport Home Rule (Important point on this one – we have no vested interest what-so-ever, so the information we got was from those educated about the issue who gave both sides of the argument.) Wit...
There are well known rivalries in sports – the Packers and Bears; Yankees and Red Sox; Cubs Cardinals; and don't get me started on Indiana vs Purdue in basketball. And while Northwest Illinois has its share of big rivalries in High School sports, when it comes to volleyball, there are none bigger – anywhere – than Lena-Winslow against Eastland. The roots of the rivalry run deep – all the way back to the mid 70s when both programs first began. With Rose Black leading the Panthers and Linda L...
Aquin, Galena and Forreston completed their seasons as undefeated conference champions, while Dakota, Durand, Fulton, and Lena-Winslow all proved they are more than capable of making a strong post season run. So, what's going to happen this week? Who will live up to expectations, and who will surpass them? Well, from what I've seen throughout the season, here's what my crystal ball is showing me. Annawan Regional More than any other Regional, the seeding for the Annawan Regional was just plain...
My Dad was very old school when it came to voting. Every time people complained about low voter turnout, he immediately stated how much he liked it when the turnout was low. “Don’t vote,” he’d say. “That just makes my vote count for more.” Mathematically, he had a point. The fewer voters, the higher percentage your vote counted. So, for years, every time I heard concerns about low voter turnout, I just remembered my dad and thought nothing of it. But things have changed. For as long as I can re...
The regular season is over, and all of the running clock blow outs we were forced to sit through have added up to the playoff pairings – where only the best were admitted, and everyone faces a win or go home scenario from now through the Championship weekend over Thanksgiving in Champaign. You've seen the pairings, but how much do you know about the teams that will be squaring off against the NUIC Northern qualifiers? Well, let's look at some numbers. Chicago Richards at Lena-Winslow This one w...
We'd been hearing it ever since the season began, and had seen it in the numbers whenever the Lena-Winslow Panthers went off to play in a high-end tournament somewhere, but Tuesday night was the first time the home fans got to see the Panthers at the top of their game as they dominated a very strong Dakota Indian squad 25-16, 25-13. "We wanted this so bad," said setter Alyssa Daughenbaugh. "I got up at five Monday morning to come here to practice at six, it was all I could think about all day."...
River Ridge junior, Gwen Miller had a big day Wednesday in the Wildcat's conference battle against the East Dubuque Warriors. When the match was over, her stat line read: Six kills, 1 Stuff Block, and five ace serves ... but the more impressive point is ... she's a setter. "We tell everyone they have to do several things," said head coach Brittany Sinagra. "If you want to be a big hitter, you have to make a good pass first. And Gwen is like the poster child for that – we ask her to do it a...
When the region talked about the best volleyball teams heading into the post season, Aquin and Galena got the most attention, with Dakota, Lena-Winslow and Durand not far behind. And judging from their rankings on MaxPreps, it's understandable. But the team most people might be overlooking – that will have a much easier post season road – is the Forreston Cardinals. Thursday night in Forreston, the Cardinals locked up the NUIC South conference title with an exciting 14-25, 25-19, 25-21 win ove...
Sitting with a 3-4 record, the River Ridge Wildcats were tied with three other teams for the 16th and final playoff spot in the Eight-Man post season tournament, so a win was needed – and needed badly. Unfortunately, River Ridge was playing host to the Milledgeville Missiles. Milledgeville's junior quarterback, Connor Nye, didn't take long to crush whatever Wildcat hopes were held for pulling off the upset. On the first Missile possession, Nye connected with Kacen Johnson for a 14 yard t...
I was hitting a wall when trying to come up with a column for this week. Sometimes something will happen that I immediately want to write about, other times if I sit and ponder life for a while on the toilet I come up with an idea. But this week … I was leaning towards how being a Viking fan in the demilitarized area between Bear and Packer lovers has been vastly different this season because my team is actually winning. But even that seemed a bit strained, and I know I’m at my best writing whe...
Game one between the Aquin Bulldogs and Lena-Winslow Panthers was one of the most thrilling, edge-of-your-seat back and forth battles ever witnessed. Both teams used both of their time outs, and both of them had huge plays by huge players, but as the score climbed to the terminal mark of 25 ... neither team was in charge. "I don't know about you Dan, but my heart is racing right now," said Aquin head coach Robyn Stovall. "Have you ever seen a more exciting game?" Four times, the Panthers had...
At 6:30 in the morning, Warren JV Volleyball coach Ana Zinke got a phone call she never saw coming. Head coach, Brynn Bohnsack, was going into the hospital for an emergency appendectomy and Zinke would have to take over as the varsity coach too that night in Warren's conference battle with Stockton. "I was nervous all day," Zinke admitted. "On top of it all this was pink night, so all of the jersey numbers were different, but fortunately Addie (Bohnsack, Brynn's younger sister who is on the...
As the Lena-Winslow Panthers performed yet another routine ground pounding 44-18 win over the Du/Pec Rivermen, it allowed some deeper evaluation into what was taking place. On a third and eight for Du/Pec, the Rivermen went into an empty backfield – meaning there was no running back or end in the backfield near the quarterback – he was by himself. Lena-Winslow assistant coach Kevin Milder was screaming, "Empty! Empty!" and as the ball was snapped, Panther senior linebacker Jace Flynn raced in fr...
I’m beginning to doubt education. I was pondering nothing while sitting on the throne the other day … yes, that throne – when suddenly it hit me: I was lied to in school. I mean, if you were anything like me, they told us back in our High School science classes that the waves on the ocean were caused by the wind, the weather and the gravitational pull of the moon. But that doesn’t make sense when you think about. Because no matter what side of the ocean you’re on, the waves are always coming to...
Working on a board, any board, is never easy. By definition, you look for people with opposing views to debate what are the best ways to proceed. But the only way progress is made, is through the leadership that guides it. Simply put, lack of leadership leads to a lack of results. That was never more evident than in the Stephenson County Board “Special Meeting that Wasn’t” on October 3rd. It is important to point out that a vote was taken at the regular meeting on September 22nd in regard to wh...
On paper, the Stockton Blackhawks are supposed to be in the middle of a rebuilding year. They have no six foot power hitter, or any massive high jumping stud they can turn to in a pinch, they don't serve bullets on a line straight over the net that fall off the table for points, in fact – offensively – the Blackhawks have fewer kills than most teams in the NUIC-West. So, how is it possible that they sit at 5-1 in the conference and 11-7-2 overall? The answer is in some exceptional defense. As...
There are some exceptional volleyball hitters in the region that hammer the ball with thunderous power ... and then there is Galena's Gracie Furlong. As the Galena Pirates went to warm up for their conference match at Scales Mound, there was suddenly a tremendous "boom" that caught everyone's attention. Conversations stopped mid-sentence, kid's busy teasing each other suddenly stopped and stared, and even popcorn being consumed froze mid-chew. "What can I say? She's amazing," said Hornet head...
The Galena Golf Club played host to the 1A Boys Golf Regional, where the top three teams all advance on to the Sectional, along with the top ten individual golfers whose team did not advance. Final Team scores were: *1 Fulton 347 *2 RR/SM 349 *3 Galena 360 4 Stockton 398 5 East Dubuque 406 6 Forreston 411 7 Eastland 413 8 Pecatonica 422 9 West Carroll 429 10 Warren 450 11 LW/PC 459 12 Dakota 473 Fulton, River Ridge/Scales Mound and Galena all advance as complete teams to the Sectional at Port...
It was supposed to be the match of the season – the top two ranked 1A teams in the state of Illinois according to MaxPreps. Aquin against Dakota – for the game that, in all likelihood, would decide the NUIC North Champion. But it didn't take long for Aquin to ruin the party. The Bulldogs are loaded with talented athletes, but like most area high school teams they had struggled to put all of the pieces together. In addition, they had a bad habit of letting their talent carry them without even try...
It's getting to the point where the biggest challenge the Lena-Winslow Panthers are facing is convincing themselves to take opponents seriously. Woodstock Marian Catholic is currently listed as a 4A school even though their enrollment is just over 300. (Thank you IHSA multiplier) But we're talking about a school that has a proud tradition of football success. A school currently with a 1A recruit in tight end Christian Bentancur who has already received offers – as a junior – to play in the Big...
I am not a morning person – never have been. Typically, my daily routine involves covering a game somewhere, getting home around nine or nine thirty, downloading the photos, writing up the story, then posting it all online, and my “job” is usually done by eleven or so. I then spend about an hour watching sports center on ESPN, or – depending on the day – going through emails that had come in while I was off at the game. The point being – I get to bed around midnight, sometimes later – and wake...
The Lena-Winslow Panthers were coming off of a tough stretch in their schedule after falling to both Durand and Dakota, but a weekend road trip down to Mount Pulaski for one of the most prestigious tournaments in the state looks like it did them a world of good. "We got to bond," said Alyssa Daughenbaugh. "I thought the bus ride down was good for us." After claiming second place at Pulaski, the Panthers came back to Lena and swept past both Pearl City on Monday, and a vastly improved...
The River Ridge Wildcats have improved to the level of being seen as a major contender in volleyball this season – when you beat a major power like Durand, it changes how people look at you. But the young Wildcats, as good as they are, still have some major work to do. In game one of their conference battle with Warren Thursday night, the Wildcats made seven serving errors. Now, seven errors by itself, is a lot, but the Wildcats made seven in game one, with only two aces to show for it. "We knew...
All week you were hearing it ... "Lena's good, but who have they played?" "Fulton's the real deal." "We'll see how well they handle the Steamers on Homecoming." And, yes, the Panthers heard it too. But they were also being preached the lesson by their coaching staff. "You're going to get everyone's best shot," head coach Ric Arand told his team. "We have a target on our backs, and you have to be ready for them every single week." But early on, it looked as if Fulton was, indeed, the real deal,...
I’ve never been a baby fan. When people would all fawn over a cooing baby, I had no interest. I mean, until they got past the “Squeaker Leaker” stage of life, I couldn’t care less. It’s possible that’s because I never had kids of “my own”. You see, when I got married, my wife had two girls, and while I love them both to death, I was never part of their “Squeaker Leaker” stages in life. For me, I take interest when kids can talk and display their own personality. In fact, when I got married,...
