We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
Sorted by date Results 551 - 575 of 1301
With Pearl City clinging to a 5-4 lead in game two of their non-conference match at home against Forreston, a hard hit sent Forreston's Lily Johnson racing towards the back wall to try and make a save. She got a dig on the ball, extended her right arm to brace herself but slammed into the padded wall, jerking her shoulder backwards awkwardly and sending her down to the floor screaming in pain. A good 30 minute wait took place as the EMTs were called and tended to the Cardinal senior as the PC...
Both the Lena-Winslow Panthers and River Ridge Wildcats were able to make an early season assessment of where their respective volleyball teams stood early in the season when they squared off in a non-conference battle at River Ridge Thursday night. And following the Panther's three game 25-22, 20-25, 25-7 win, both teams could make a strong argument for being satisfied with where they stood right now. A pattern developed early in game one, and continued throughout the night. The Panthers, who...
While Gunar Lobdell was getting most of the pre-season hype for the Lena-Winslow Panthers, it was senior Gage Dunker who bulldozed his way to 94 yards and three touchdowns to lead the onslaught in a 60-6 victory that was really a lot closer than the scoreboard. The EPC Wildcatz were off to a good start. After getting the opening kickoff at their own 19, they ran a collection of runs up the middle combined with an option to either side, and had put together three first downs to move the ball to...
The 2022 Stockton Blackhawks are much better than last season's squad, but as the Forreston Cardinals proved Friday night ... there's still a long way to go. Taking on a state ranked team with a lot of strength on the front line is hard enough, but when you make far too many silly mistakes ... that's a recipe for disaster. And disaster struck the Blackhawks. A fumbled snap on the center-quarterback exchange; a fumbled hand off that lay on the ground for almost two seconds before Stockton was...
By several accounts, the Orangeville Broncos opened up the return of the Jay Doyle era with a lot of promise: the Broncos had 166 yards rushing while the Milledgeville Missiles only got 104; the Broncos threw for 46 passing yards and had more total offense than Milledgeville – 212 to 185; and although sidelined for the first three quarters for disciplinary reasons that carried over from the year before – when Blake Folgate was finally allowed to play he burst through for 68 yards and a tou...
I know this is a little bit early … okay it’s a lot early … but there has been a thought in my head that just needs to be put down on paper. I want a party. On January 31st, I will hit the big 60. Sixty years! In teenage terms – that’s ancient! And while that number tends to freak some people out, I see it as the perfect excuse for a party – and I want one. All of you are invited. I don’t care if we’ve never been formally introduced or not, you read this column on a regular basis, you know...
Power Rankings Volleyball 1. Aquin 0 – 0 Bulldogs have yet to open their season (this week) but are still known as the class of the area. 2. Dakota 2 - 0 Indians got a pair of nice wins to open the season, and both were against 2A teams. 3. Galena 6 - 0 Another year, another powerful Pirate team. Wins over Fulton and Durand are impressive. 4. Lena-Winslow 1 - 0 We’re deliberately keep the Panthers down to force them to earn it, which they look very capable of doing. 5. Durand 6 - 1 Beat Bago and...
Power Rankings Football 1. Lena-Winslow 1 – 0 Panthers laid 60 points on an EPC squad that is much better than what the score would indicate. 2. Du/Pec 1 – 0 Rivermen cruised past West Carroll, but ... we’re talking a program that was defunct last season. 3. Forreston 1 – 0 Cardinals were more than impressive as they amassed 451 yards rushing in romp over Stockton. 4. Fulton 1 – 0 Steamers got the win at home over Galena, but the jury is out on the Pirates, so how good was the win? 5. Dakota 1...
With Fall Sports making this Dan’s “Week from Hell” we gave him a break and are running an old column we like. Let us get one thing straight – I am not gay. Growing up as a theater kid who played basketball, I heard all of the comments, and members of my basketball team never did know what to make of seeing me on stage wearing makeup, but … nope. My eye has always been captured by the female of the species. When I went to New York and tried my hand at the professional stage, it was a rather ru...
Everyone knows about the flooding that hit the region two weeks ago, but not everyone is aware of all of the things being done to try and avoid suffering yet again the next time the clouds open up and drench our region. To begin with, there need to be a couple of points made. First of all, for full disclosure, my wife is a member of the Lena Village Board – so take that into account in terms of judging how unbiased this story is. Secondly, according to the National Weather Service, Lena was t...
Sometimes, it's better to be lucky than good. We were under a tight schedule in order to get our Fall Sports issue out before the first week of games - with nine schools in our coverage area, assorted school photo days, chasing down rosters - there's a reason I refer to it as my week from hell. But this year was especially tense because my idea for the front cover was to find a prairie field, complete with wild flowers, and put all the athletes into it with the heading "Field of Dreams". Well,...
Last Season No, last season was not one that most EPC fans will remember fondly as the Wildcatz struggled to compete, and didn't win a game until week #9 against Walther Lutheran. But in response to the foolish rumor mills swirling that head coach Jared McNutt was on the "hot seat", let me quote one of my favorite films, "Lighten up Francis!" Let us look at WHY the Wildcatz have struggled over the past two seasons, and it has nothing to do with coach McNutt. Unlike every other quality program -...
Last Season The 2021 Panthers charged out of the gate looking like the top team ion 1A. For six weeks they routed opponents where the running clock worked harder than the Panther starters. But then they hit a bump - and a big one. Du/Pec got their revenge - barely - to claim the conference title for the first time, and in the final game of the season, Forreston shocked everyone - including themselves - by out-Panthering the Panthers with a 96 yard time consuming drive to win the game. But the...
Last Season For most Blackhawk fans, the 2021 season was not up to the level of success they are used to seeing from the most iconic uniform in High School football. The 2021 Blackhawks just never seemed to be able to put all of the pieces together. A nice win one week, was followed up by a tough loss the next - and some of the losses were incredibly "tough". The Blackhawks dominated Dakota in every statistic, but lost the game on the scoreboard. The same thing could be said about how they were...
Last Season: The Aquin Bulldogs looked like they were a major power early in the season as they rolled through their first three opponents. And while Orangeville did knock them off, they continued to roll until they ran into Milledgeville. The argument could be made that the loss to the Missiles really shook the foundation of the Bulldogs, and they never really recovered - falling at home to Amboy in the playoffs when most people ... us included ... thought they would be able to handle the...
Last Season Last year was a magical season for the Broncos. With the exception of the Milledgeville game - in which they admitted themselves to being "out-coached", there was nobody better than the formidable lineup Orangeville brought to the field. After rolling through the season, they continued rolling through the playoffs where they squared off against Polo in the State Championship. People can say what they want, but Polo did not "win" that game. When the Broncos took points off the board,...
Last Season More than any other program in Illinois - Covid ruined what would have been a magical, and probably state championship year, for the River Ridge Wildcats in 2020. The sad thing was that they had a ton of seniors graduate from that team, so the 2021 season was pure rebuild mode as the Wildcats limped to the finish with a 3-6 final record. Ethan Fye worked as much magic as he could at quarterback, but the simple truth was that a lot of talent on the team was simply too young and...
Last Season The Warhawks stumbled out of the gate early in the season, and had to play catch-up in the conference race. And while they put it together and had some big wins, the tough schedule and early losses left them with a tougher post season road - a road that found them falling on the road after an opening round win. Additions & Subtractions Okay, we could point out that they lost Bohnsack at QB, but the addition they have made - sliding Reed McNutt into the QB position could be a season...
Last Season The 2021 season did not go at all as expected - which was not a good thing for the Benton/Shullsburg/Scales Mound Knights. Coming into the season, they were expected to battle Blackhawk/Warren for the conference crown, but they slipped early, then never got off the mat as they limped through what was - for them - a sub par season. Additions & Subtractions When you break down the Knights, you begin to realize how young they were last season. The only major loss to graduation was Ben...
Now that we've looked at a few teams individually, how do they stack up when compared against each other? With several schools leaving for the eight man format, and the inclusion of taking a look at the Six Rivers Conference in Wisconsin, there's a lot to cover. So, with that in mind, let's look at the Six Rivers first because it is the easiest to break down. The 2022 Six Rivers Conference breaks down more by who has stars returning, and who is starting over. With that in mind, Blackhawk/Warren...
Last Season The Bulldogs picked up where they left off during the Covid shortened season - they opened with a win, and then simply kept on winning. Our region has been blessed by allowing us to witness some of the very best volleyball teams to ever take a small school high school court. Eastland, Lena-Winslow and Galena have all made state runs, and in 2021 the Aquin Bulldogs added their name to the list of programs people will be talking about for years to come. The Bulldogs success came...
Last Season Not much was expected out of the Eastland Cougars last season considering the level of competition they were up against. Even we questioned whether or not they would win a regional crown. I'll admit it - I was an idiot. Not only did the Cougars once again claim the South, but they also won yet another Regional, and advanced into the Sectional finals - where, they didn't lose - they had a match stolen from them by the same official who stuck it to Pearl City. The Cougars were...
Last Season In many ways, the 2021 Lena-Winslow volleyball season surpassed expectations. The Panthers came in relatively young. Yes, you had Kalli Humphrey, Izzy Flaminio and Cierra Mapes surprised a lot of people with her play in the middle. But the most lethal attacking came from the baby trio of sophomores - Molly Amendt, Grace Groezinger and Kaidynce Lynch. During the season, Aquin pulled away, and while the Panthers did take a game off of the Bulldogs at Aquin - where it's tougher - they...
Last Season The 2021 Season saw a major turning point for the Orangeville Broncos. Behind new first year head coach Steph Reidel, the Broncos surprised a lot of people, and - at times - proved they could play with the best. No, they did not challenge for a conference title - but when placed in the toughest volleyball conference in all of Illinois - that wasn't expected. With Aquin, Dakota, Lena-Winslow and a powerful 2021 Pearl City team all in their midst, the Broncos struggled in conference...
Last Season The 2021 could go down as one that many future seasons are measured against. Blessed with a loaded senior class, Pearl City became a major contender in the North for the first time in recent memory. More importantly, the success carried over into the post season where the Wolves claimed a Regional championship - and should have taken on Eastland in the Sectional finals if they hadn't run into a biased official who refused to call a fair game - giving Newark a win they didn't...
