We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
We don't write papers, we build scrapbooks
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 26
Last Season: Last season the Aquin Bulldogs came roaring out of the gate with three straight wins, but then suddenly the wheels fell off. Losses to a state power like Forreston was expected, as was a loss to conference champion Milledgeville, but it was a pair of tough losses to Polo, and Orangeville, that eventually kept the Bulldogs from making it into the state playoffs. Still, there were several reasons to see the season as a major success. Nothing was expected of Aquin after they had lost...
Last Season While everyone knew the 2018 Wildcatz would be good - nobody expected them to run the table through the tough NUIC - knocking off both Forreston and Lena-Winslow on their home fields! That undefeated regular season led to a deep post season run where the Wildcatz were arguably the second best team in the state - barely being edged out by eventual State Champion Gibson City in an incredibly well played defensive battle. Additions & Subtractions On paper, the Wildcatz lost a ton as a...
Last Season If you told any other team, in any other state, that they would end their season just one step short of a state title game, they would see that as exceptional. But not in Lena. With expectations that exploded when the Panthers gave an elementary "Farm Football" lesson to Aurora Christian, nobody who followed the program thought the Panthers could be stopped short of winning back to back state titles. But that's the funny thing about football - you have to play the game. And when...
Last Season Last year, we said the Broncos had to get off to a fast start, and after barely dropping their opener to Polo, they ripped off three straight wins and were in the playoff hunt from then on. A huge win over Aquin locked up a playoff invitation, and although they were unceremoniously bounced out by a powerful Ottawa Marquette team in the first round - the fact that the smallest Illinois public school with a football team made it into the playoffs to begin with speaks volumes about the...
Last Season Last season, the River Ridge Wildcats opened up with a shut out win, and in all fairness tied the school record for most wins in a season, but were unable to string back to back wins together all season as they battled to a 4-5 record overall and were left on the outside - looking in - when it came time for the playoffs to get under way. But perhaps the best game the program ever played took place last season at home when the Wildcats knocked off Polo 6-0 in a tight defensive...
Last Season The Blackhawks maintained their tradition of making it into the post season playoffs last year behind the powerful running of senior Colin Dvorak. The runingback was named All Conference for a reason as he was the biggest weapon in the Stockton arsenal - even though every single opponent knew he was going to get the ball most of the time. Combined with a staunch defense - which is a Blackhawk trademark, and Stockton stumbled a bit early, but still finished 7-2 overall, but fell to...
Last Season It's a bit hard previewing the new co-op between Blackhawk of Wisconsin and the Warren Warriors. Warren struggled in their final season by themselves last year, but Blackhawk is a major power in Wisconsin 7A football. (The smallest class in Wisconsin is 7A, while in Illinois the smallest is 1A) IN fact, after finishing second in the state in 2017, Blackhawk was on a mission and completely ran the table in 2018 - going undefeated in conference play, then sweeping through the playoffs...
Last Season Last season the Aquin Lady Bulldogs seemed to have all of the pieces in place to make a legitimate run for the conference title, but ... that never happened. Whether it was the dominance of Durand who was coming off a state final trip, or the strength of both Dakota and Forreston who were moved up into the 2A playoffs last season, Aquin floundered below the 500 mark all season long - finishing only 5-8 in conference play (5th place) and 14-21 overall. Things didn't get much better...
Last Season Last season the Eastland Lady Cougars were still supposed to be in rebuild mode. But you couldn't prove that by the results. While Eastland went 0-3 against the top two teams in the conference, they still pulled off a 9-4 conference finish which was good enough to tie Stockton for third, and finished 21-12-1 overall. In the post season, Regionals tend to come easy for the Cougars, and once again they won a Regional title without losing a single game. But their season came to a close...
Last Season By all accounts, last season was a major accomplishment for the Lady Panthers as they had a dominant season that ended with a final regular season record of 30-5. Although moved up into 2A in the post season, the Panthers didn't drop a single game in running the table at the Regional, then also blew past Orion in the Sectional semi-finals. Unfortunately, there was one hurdle the 2018 Panthers were never able to clear - the Galena Pirates, who went on to their first State finish in pr...
Last Season With a full season, and off season under her belt, head coach Abbi Rillie was able to get the Broncos back to the competitive group opposing coaches remembered. After only five wins in her first season - where she took over the day before the season started - Rillie produced a solid program that finished in fourth place in the NUIC East with a final overall record of 11-11-1. That's a pretty impressive mark when you realize that only Durand, Dakota and Forreston finished ahead of...
Last Season At the risk of ticking everybody off - let's be honest. Pearl City has not been a major contender in volleyball since ... well ... it's been quite a while. There were 15 wins in 2017, but it dropped to 12 last year, and before that there were only six wins total for the season. And in all three years, the number of losses was at least five or more higher than the wins. Worst of all, in conference play, the victory totals were far worse - 3 and 10 has been a pretty common record for...
Last Season The 2018 River Ridge Wildcats were basically a three player show. With no offense intended to the other players on the court - Breya Christopher, Reese Miller and Tabria Thomas dominated everything the Wildcats did. I mean, statistically, they accounted for 80% of all points scored by the team last year. Think about that - 80% of all offensive points - whether by kill, or service ace - came from them. Unfortunately, while that was a special trio of athletes, they could not maintain...
Last Season For the first time in a long time, the Scales Mound Hornets actually had a season as if they were the smallest public school team in the State of Illinois. Now, we know they are, but the Hornets never played like it. For years they would surpass expectations and knock off some bigger opponents. True, there was the one magical year - but on average we're talking about five or six wins in the conference that left them in the middle of the pack. But not last year. Last year Scales...
Last Season While Durand, Galena and Lena-Winslow were getting most of the attention last year, the Lady Blackhawks had yet another strong season behind the strength of Raeann Bergman who now goes on to play at the collegiate level. Stockton finished tied for third in the NUIC West behind Galena and Lena-Winslow with a 23-11-1 overall record, then blew through the Alden Hebron Regional to claim the championship without losing a single game. But their season came to a close in the Sectional when...
Last Season There is no real way to sugar coat it - the 2018 season was a disappointment for Warren. The Warriors pulled off some early season stunners - like a win over Aquin - but then for reasons nobody could really put their finger on ... the wheels fell off. Warren limped to a 9-20 final season record, but only claimed two wins in conference play - going 2-11 in the NUIC West. Both of those wins came against the winless Scales Mound Hornets, but then - when the games really mattered in the...
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Miller Rowley will grace Main Street in Galena on Saturday, Aug. 31 to launch the Galena-Jo Daviess County Historical Society's program, Reenactors on Main. Anthony (portrayed by Cathie Elsbree) and Rowley (Casey Fields), the wife of Galena General William Rueben Rowley will meet visitors at Gateway to History, 403 S. Main St. from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Also, during this timeframe, they will they will meet shop owners, employees and talk with visitors in their stores....
As students across Illinois head back to school, the Illinois State Police are reminding the public to be aware of school buses, crosswalks, and children walking or riding their bikes to school. Back to school is a good time for motorists to brush up on school zone traffic laws, and to avoid distracted driving. In school zones, the speed limit is 20 miles per hour from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on school days when children are present. Pedestrians have the right-of-way in a crosswalk, and when a sc...
One of the more mysterious entities found in the Bible is that of angels. Who are they? What do they do? What do they look like? Are they male or female? Do they walk, run, fly, all of the above, or none of the above? In the Middle Ages, scholars of the church debated at great length issues like how many angels can dance on the head of a pin? But that is a foolish debate. Angels are spirits, and as such do not occupy space. The head of a pin is the same as the top of a mountain to them. One...
Stockton Derick Scott Parker, 49 Derick Scott Parker, poet, provocateur and pool player; narrator of his own life, aged 49, left this world on August 20, 2019. He's now at rest with his intellectual equals; dad, Hugh Parker, Ernest Hemingway, Henry David Thoreau and Jim Morrison. He was born to Hugh and Judith (Below) Parker on March 7, 1970 and would proclaim forever more he was older and wiser than anyone else born that day. He graduated from Stockton High School, attended Highland Community College, where he served on the editorial board of... Full story
Rebecca Motley has resigned as the executive director of the Greater Freeport Partnership effective August 22. Her resignation was accepted. Motley joined the Partnership in June 2018. We have initiated an executive director search to find a leader to continue to build on the progress of the Partnership. In the meantime, we have full confidence in the Greater Freeport Partnership team to fulfill the day to day and ongoing needs of our members. Tess Dahm, who has served as the assistant executive director, will assume the role for the interim...
You can save a life at the American Red Cross Scales Mound School Blood Drive on September 4 from 2:30 pm to 6:30 pm in the cafeteria. For the best service, please make an appointment at 800-733-2767, but walk-ins are always welcome. This drive will feature the convenience of the Red Cross Rapid Pass found at http://www.redcrossblood.org/rapidpass. You can save your valuable time at the blood drive by completing the reading material and health evaluation before your appointment. Take the health evaluation the day of the drive and print the...
Associate Judge Kevin Ward is announcing his candidacy for the Resident Circuit Judge of Jo Daviess County vacated by Judge William Kelly. "My wife, Heather, and I have lived, worked and raised our children in Jo Daviess County for more than 25 years. We all know what a wonderful place this is," said Judge Ward. "Over these years, I have had the honor of working with, and for, many wonderful people in our community in my roles as prosecutor, private attorney, and as Associate Judge," Ward...
Highland Community College takes great pride in the achievements of its graduates and former students. To recognize their outstanding accomplishments, the Highland Community College Foundation sponsors the Distinguished Alumni program. Since 1995, the Foundation has recognized more than 120 alumni as Distinguished Alumni. The Foundation is now seeking nominations for the 2019 recipients. Distinguished Alumni made their start at Highland, demonstrated community leadership, professional achievement, and believe in the mission of the community...
Pretzel City Brewfest is being held September 14 featuring over 100 craft beers from local and national breweries for tasting at an outdoor atmosphere in Downtown Freeport. Tickets can be purchased online or find a list of physical locations at greaterfreeport.com/brewfest. Pretzel City Brewfest is a great event for residents and visitors who are 21 and older to socialize, be entertained with games and contests and enjoy food from local vendors. The event is open from 1-5:30 pm. Pre-event genera...
