Isaac Price scored a game-high 27 points and Blue Ridge rolled First Baptist Academy 44-26 Friday afternoon.

Price scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter as the Knights used a big fourth-quarter surge to put the game away.

They led 29-22 at the end of three quarters.

No other Knights scorer reached double figures.

Windsor-Stew-Stras took down Argenta-Oreana 61-56 in Cerro Gordo Thanksgiving tournament action Saturday afternoon.

Jackson Gurgel scored 24 points to lead all scorers and Brody Bible added 13 points.

The Bombers were led by Carter Logue's 19 points and MJ Hall scored ten points. 

Windsor-Stew-Stras goes to 2-1 overall while Argenta-Oreana is 1-2. 

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Lombard Montini Catholic held Monticello to under 100 total yards and rolled to a 49-8 win in the Class 3A state title game from Hancock Stadium in Normal. 

Jeremiah Peterson had 134 yards rushing and a touchdown, leading a balanced rushing attack that saw four different players get a rushing touchdown for the Broncos.

CJ Harkins had 123 yards receiving on two receptions with two touchdowns. Israel Abrams threw for 225 yards with three touchdowns for Montini.

In the championship game, Carter Foran eclipsed the 100-yard mark again with nine receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown. 

All-State quarterback Ike Young did not play in the second half due to an injury. Nolan Buehnerkemper threw for 85 yards with a touchdown. Young threw for 92 yards in the first half. 

Monticello ends its season 11-3 overall. 

Improbable. Revenge tour. Unexpected. Resilient. 

The superlatives for the 2024 Monticello Sages football team have taken them to the Class 3A state title game today and Coach Cully Welter says the journey sometimes wasn't pretty but they got it done - the latest being a 23-20 victory over rival Tolono Unity. 

Montini is very good overall. Coach Welter says their defense is very stout and the things they do well will present quite the challenge for his pass-first offense.

Montini offers a high powered offense with a tall quarterback who has a nice arm. While they offer a good passing game, Coach Welter says they are balanced. 

Coach Welter says the teams that have success against Montini have been able to sustain offense and keep the ball away from their offense. While Monticello is a generally pass first team, he hopes their short passing game and quarterback run game can keep some drives moving. 

Game time is 4 pm this evening. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

State final action this weekend

FRI

Class 1A

Lena-Winslow         10:00am
Belleville Althoff Catholic

Class 2A

Chicago Christian         1:00pm
Maroa-Forsyth

Class 4A

DePaul Prep         7:00pm
Mt. Zion

SAT

Class 5A

Nazareth Academy         10:00am
Joliet Catholic

Class 6A

Geneva         1:00pm
East St. Louis 

Batavia         4:00pm
Chicago Mt. Carmel

Loyola Academy     7:00pm
York

Freshman Kasparas Jakucionis scored a season-high 23 points, Tomislav Ivisic had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Illinois beat No. 19 Arkansas 90-77 on Thursday in the Thanksgiving Hoops Showcase.

Jakucionis hit two free throws to give Illinois a double-digit lead with 3:49 remaining in the game. Arkansas had a turnover and a missed jumper on its next two possessions and Jakucionis hit an open 3-pointer to make it 85-71 at 2:42.

Kylan Boswell added 18 points for Illinois (6-1). Head coach Brad Underwood broke a tie with J. Craig Ruby (1922-36) for fifth place in program history with 149 wins.

Adou Thiero went 12 of 21 from the line and scored 26 points for Arkansas (5-2). Zvonimir Ivisic had 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks.

Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Sam LaPorta, Jake Bates made three field goals in the first half and Detroit held off the Bears 23-20 on Thursday.

Caleb Williams threw an incomplete pass as time expired from the Detroit 41 after being sacked with about 30 seconds left, allowing time to run off the clock even though Chicago had one more timeout.

Detroit led 16-0 at halftime and 23-7 after three quarters and Williams led a comeback that came up short for the second straight week. Williams helped the Bears rally from an 11-point deficit in the final 22 seconds of regulation against Minnesota before losing in overtime.

Detroit opened the game with four straight scoring drives, going ahead 16-0 on Goff's 3-yard touchdown pass to LaPorta in the second quarter and Bates' field goals.

Chicago, meanwhile, failed to pick up a first down on its first four drives and gained a total of 32 yards on those possessions.

Goff's second touchdown pass to LaPorta, a 1-yard toss, gave Detroit a 23-7 lead late in the third quarter. The score was set up by Jameson Williams' 15-yard reverse, which included him hurdling Kevin Byard to gain several extra yards.

Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick overall in the draft, was 20 of 39 for 256 yards with two touchdown passes to Keenan Allen and one to DJ Moore.

Williams seemed to make his first rookie mistake of the game in the third quarter on a run, pulling up instead of going out of bounds and took a low hit from linebacker Jack Campbell.

The former USC star shook it off and on the next snap, threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Allen. William connected with Allen for another score, throwing a 9-yarder to him with 5:36 remaining.

Detroit had a chance to add to its cushion, but Bates missed a 45-yard kick after starting his NFL career 19 of 19 on field goals on a drive that was stunted by Jameson Williams' 15-yard penalty for tossing the football at a Bears player on the sideline.

Jordan Love threw two touchdown passes to Jayden Reed in a 30-17 Green Bay win over the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night.

Love and Reed connected on touchdown completions of 3 and 12 yards, Jacobs scored from 1 yard out and Brandon McManus kicked two field goals as Green Bay led 27-3 midway through the third quarter.

Tagovailoa’s 14-yard pass to De’Von Achane – and a 2-point conversion pass to Jaylen Waddle – cut Green Bay’s lead to 27-11 with 2:43 left in third. After Miami stopped Jacobs for a 2-yard loss on third-and-1 to force a punt, the Dolphins drove again and had second-and-goal at the 1 early in the fourth quarter.

Green Bay's goal-line defense vanquished those hopes. After Rashan Gary stopped Achane on second down and Tagovailoa couldn’t connect with Jonnu Smith on third down, Quay Walker made a fourth-down sack with 9:33 remaining.

A 49-yard completion from Love to Jacobs then set up McManus' 33-yard field goal with 5:02 left. Miami completed the scoring on a deflected 12-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill with 3:04 remaining.

After forcing a three-and-out on the opening possession, the Dolphins gave Green Bay a first-and-goal opportunity when Malik Washington muffed a punt and Robert Rochell recovered at the 9.

The turnover set up Love’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Reed on third-and-goal.

Green Bay reached the end zone again on its next series as Jacobs' touchdown capped a 12-play, 76-yard drive that lasted nearly seven minutes.

The Dolphins had first-and-goal at the 9 in the second quarter but settled for Jason Sanders’ 33-yard field goal.

Green Bay then scored 10 points in the final 96 seconds of the half to make it 24-3.

On third-and-2 from the 12, Reed caught a pass around the line of scrimmage and used a downfield block from Dontayvion Wicks to reach the end zone. After Tagovailoa overthrew Achane on fourth-and-5 from the Green Bay 38 with 22 seconds left, a couple of completions from Love to Tucker Kraft helped the Packers get into position for McManus’ 46-yard field goal as time expired.

Monticello football coach Cully Welter will be coaching in his seventh state finals and says this time is no different than any of the others, it is special to be there.

His 11-2 Sages have had an improbably run through the playoffs to get to the Class 3A state title game on Friday in Normal. Coach Welter says it still exciting.

In his seven trips to the State championship, Coach Welter believes this may be as improbable of an appearance as he's had.

Perhaps a large part to the Sages second state title appearance in school history - both under Coach Welter - is because of the clutch play of seniors Ike Young and Carter Foran.

Monticello schools are out this week for Thanksgiving Break and Coach Welter says with that much down time, he still gets nervous but it comes and goes.

For Coach Welter, he still enjoys watching the kids have the once in a lifetime experience of playing in the state championship game.

Monticello battles Lombard Montini Catholic on Friday afternoon at 4 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

State final action this weekend

FRI

Class 1A

Lena-Winslow 10:00 am

Belleville Althoff Catholic

Class 2A

Chicago Christian 1:00 pm

Maroa-Forsyth

Class 4A

DePaul Prep 7:00 pm

Mt. Zion

SAT

Class 5A

Nazareth Academy 10:00 am

Joliet Catholic

Class 6A

Geneva 1:00 pm

East St. Louis 

Batavia 4:00 pm

Chicago Mt. Carmel

Loyola Academy 7:00 pm

York

The NFC-leading Lions (10-1) are expected to get what they want against the slumping Chicago Bears (4-7) on Thursday at Ford Field as favorites with a double-digit spread, according to BetMGM.

Chicago has lost five straight games, including three on the final play.

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, who was taken No. 1 overall at the NFL draft in Detroit last spring, has looked more comfortable in two games with Thomas Brown as offensive coordinator after a rough stretch of play led to Shane Waldron’s firing.

Williams followed up a solid outing against Green Bay with one of his best performances. He helped the Bears rally from an 11-point deficit in the final 22 seconds of regulation against Minnesota, finishing with 340 yards passing and two touchdowns in an overtime loss.

The former Southern Cal star, who has set a franchise rookie record with 2,356 yards passing, has played four straight games without a turnover and five in a row without an interception.

The Lions are 10-1 for the first time in 90 years and have a chance to win 11 of their first 12 games for the first time in franchise history.

Detroit's nine-game winning streak is its longest since starting 10-0 in 1934, leading to the team being the favorite to win the Super Bowl for the first time.

The Lions have reached double digits in wins in consecutive seasons for the first time and their 22 total wins are a franchise record for a two-season span.

Chicago won five of seven during a late-season surge last year with an improved defense, which led to Goff having two of his worst games in 2023.

Goff threw a season-high three interceptions in a win over the Bears in November and had a season-low passer rating against them in December.

Game time is 12:30 pm on Thursday.

The Miami Dolphins (5-6) are seeking their fourth straight victory. The Green Bay Packers (8-3) have won their past two games, including a 38-10 blowout of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa hopes to continue his hot streak in the cold when he and the Miami Dolphins visit Lambeau Field for a Thanksgiving night matchup against the Green Bay Packers.

Tagovailoa has thrown a combined seven touchdown passes without an interception in his past two games, home victories over Las Vegas and New England. He could have a tough time keeping up that pace at Green Bay, where the Thanksgiving forecast calls for high temperatures in the 30s and lows in the mid-20s.

The Dolphins have lost their past 11 regular-season or postseason games in which the kickoff temperature has been below 40 degrees, according to Sportradar. The Dolphins’ most recent victory in a game with a kickoff temperature at 40 or lower was a 34-31 overtime triumph at Buffalo on Dec. 24, 2016.

This marks the first time the Dolphins have faced the Packers since a Christmas Day 2002 game in which Tagovailoa threw three fourth-quarter interceptions. Green Bay rallied for a 26-20 road win, and it was later determined that Tagovailoa had sustained a concussion during that game.

The Packers realize they’ll face a major challenge containing him and the Dolphin's speedy receivers on Thursday. Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Tagovailoa is “as good as it gets in this league” at throwing with anticipation.

Xavier McKinney is tied for the NFL lead with seven interceptions this season. Jacobs is third in the NFL with 944 yards entering Week 13.

This marks the second straight year the Packers have followed up a Sunday game by playing on Thanksgiving. They’re hoping to match the success they had last year when they won 29-22 at Detroit four days after beating the Los Angeles Chargers at home.

The Packers have their own quality tight end in Tucker Kraft, who scored his sixth touchdown of the season Sunday.

Game time is 7:20 on Sunday. 

Jalen Suggs scored a career-high 31 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored a season-high 24 on 6-for-10 shooting from 3-point range to help the Orlando Magic beat the Chicago Bulls 133-119 on Wednesday night.

Ayo Dosunmu led the Bulls with 21 points and Nikola Vucevic added 19 points and 11 rebounds.

The Magic raced out to an early lead and led by 13 after the first quarter and by as many as 27 points on the way to their fourth straight win and 10th in their last 11 games. Orlando's defense struggled in stretches, but still forced 18 turnovers and recorded eight blocks and 10 steals.

Franz Wagner had 21 points and six assists to help the Magic.

Bulls: The Bulls welcomed Lonzo Ball back to the lineup after missing 15 games with a sprained wrist. Ball finished with six points in 15 minutes.

Magic: The Magic improved to 9-0 at the Kia Center. Seven of their nine wins at home have been by double figures. It is their longest home win streak to open the season since the 1998-99 season.

Chicago had cut the deficit to 10 points in the second quarter when Caldwell-Pope found Moritz Wagner cutting along the baseline for a layup with a foul. Caldwell-Pope capped the second quarter with back-to-back 3s and a steal in between to give the Magic a 19-point halftime lead.

The Magic entered the game ranked last in the league in 3-point percentage at 30.6%. They came out firing early making 6 of 11 3-pointers in the first quarter to build an early lead and finishing the game 15 for 39 (38.5%).

The Chicago Bulls return home Friday to resume NBA Cup group play against the Boston Celtics. The Orlando Magic put their undefeated NBA Cup record on the line Friday at the Brooklyn Nets.

Jordan Binnington stopped 31 shots for the 16th shutout of his career and set the St. Louis franchise record with his 152nd victory as the Blues beat the New Jersey Devils 3-0 on Wednesday night.

Binnington's franchise-record win came in the 298th game of his NHL career and moved him past Mike Liut.

Dylan Holloway had two goals for the Blues and Robert Thomas scored nine seconds into the game, missing by one second the NHL record held by two players for the fastest game-opening goal. Thomas and two others scored in nine seconds.

Justin Faulk, Pavel Buchnevich, Brandon Saad, and Jake Neighbours recorded assists.

St. Louis did all of its scoring in the first period. Entering Wednesday, the Blues had outscored 23-12 in the opening period.

Jacob Markstrom, who was appearing in his 500th career game, stopped 17 shots for New Jersey, which outshot the Blues 32-18.

New Jersey managed just seven shots in three power-play chances.

The Devils were without forward Timo Meier, who was suspended for one game for cross-checking Nashville Predators forward Zachary L'Heureux in the face in Monday's 5-2 victory.

Blues: St. Louis is a resurgent team since Jim Montgomery took over as head coach on Monday after being fired by Boston five days earlier. The Blues have won two straight road games after dropping nine of their previous 11.

Devils: New Jersey is 10-4 over its last 14 games, with all four losses being shutouts.

Thomas' goal nine seconds into the game is the fastest game-opening goal by any team this season.

St. Louis blocked 24 shots, six by defenseman Ryan Suter, to help preserve its second shutout of the season.

The Blues host Philadelphia on Saturday before embarking on a four-game trip. The Devils visit Detroit on Friday for their third game in five days.

 Taylor Hall scored his fifth career hat trick, Connor Bedard, Teuvo Teravainen and Louis Crevier also scored, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Dallas Stars 6-2 on Wednesday night for their second win in three games.

Hall’s game-opening goal 17 seconds in set the tone. His shot clipped a defenseman’s stick and tumbled under the glove of Stars goaltender Casey DeSmith. From that point, the Blackhawks could do little wrong, and the Stars took the brunt of it in their second straight loss.

Bedard’s goal was his first in 13 games. After he scored on a wrist shot from the right circle, he lifted his head toward the roof in relief.

Petr Mrazek turned back 25 shots in collecting his seventh win of the season.

Colin Blackwell and Matt Duchene scored for Dallas.

Stars: DeSmith came in with a 2.22 goals-against average, his best in seven NHL seasons, but allowed four goals on the first 14 shots he faced, and got little help from his defenseman. Hall’s three goals didn’t travel 50 feet in total.

Blackhawks: For one night, the offense of the league’s last-place team clicked. Twelve of the 18 skaters scored goals or assists, with Crevier’s first NHL goal coming in his second game in the league.

Teravainen’s goal made it 4-0 3:06 into the second period. Six of the Blackhawks’ eight wins this year have come when they’ve scored at least four goals.

Hall went 659 games between his fourth and fifth career hat trick. Hall had four hat tricks for Edmonton in his first four seasons, but none in the next nine seasons with the Devils, Coyotes, Sabres, Bruins and Blackhawks.

The Stars return home to host Colorado on Friday. The Blackhawks are in Minnesota on Friday.

It's been the revenge tour of the ages for Monticello High School's football program.

The Sages avenged four losses in the postseason in the Coach Cully Welter era this year with victories over DuQuoin, Williamsville, Benton, and just this last week over Tolono Unity. Coach Welter did not see this kind of a run in his team when the year started.

Just like last week's win over Benton in overtime, Monticello had to grind through a slow and sluggish second-half offensive performance. Coach Welter was a little frustrated at times in Saturday's win over Unity.

Coach Welter credits the coaches around him for believing in his players and establishing good relationships to be able to be positive during a game where they trailed for most of it against not only Monticello's biggest rival but a team that has had its number over the years.

Now its off to take on Lombard Montini Catholic Friday in Normal for the State Championship. Coach Welter knows his team has its work cut out for them and they hope to put on a good performance against a very stout Broncos team. 

Game time is 4 pm Friday afternoon. Hear all the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Carly Anderson scored a game-high 20 points and Clinton withstood a late rally from Athens to win 68-57 Tuesday night in non-conference high school girls basketball action from Athens High School.

The Lady Maroons trailed 15-14 after one quarter but was gradually able to pull out to a 32-27 halftime lead and led 51-36 after three quarters.

Lyla Cluver added 18 points while Clara Dempsey scored 16 points to lead Clinton.

The Lady Maroons made nine three-pointers for the game. They improve to 3-2 overall while Athens drops to 0-3. 

Clinton is back in action Monday night hosting Tolono Unity.

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Pleasant Plains made 18 field goals with 13 being from beyond the arc as the Cardinals held off short-handed Monticello 53-45 in non-conference, season-opening high school football action Tuesday from the Sievers Center in Monticello.

Monticello led 11-6 at one point in the first quarter, but Plains went on a 10-0 run into the second quarter, fueled by the three ball, to lead 27-20 at the half.

The Sages chipped into the deficit, getting within two at one point in the fourth quarter but could get no closer. 

Plains' 13 three-pointers set a Sievers Center record for threes in a game. 

Senior Tyler Blythe paced Monticello with his first career double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Colton Vance chipped in with 12 points. Gatsby Grant had seven points and eight rebounds. 

Monticello held Plains to 38 percent shooting. The Sages shot 50 percent for the game but finished 4-of-15 from beyond the arc.

Monticello was also without three likely starters Ike Young, Nolan Buehnerkemper, and Carter Foran who are with the football squad this week preparing for Friday's state championship. 

Monticello drops to 0-1 overall while Pleasant Plains goes to 1-0.

The Sages are off until next Tuesday night when they host Riverton. Game time is 7 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Blue Ridge overcame a slow third quarter to get by Normal Calvary Christian Academy 73-61 in non-conference high school boys' basketball season-opening action Tuesday night in Normal.

The Knights led 40-29 at the intermission but Calvary rallied to go up 51-49 after three quarters.

Corbin Colbert scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to help the Knights put the game away late. 

Isaac Price paced all scorers with 34 points for Blue Ridge while Wesley Clark chipped in with 13 points.

Blue Ridge is 1-0 on the season. 

The Monticello Sages boys basketball team will open its 2024-25 season tonight hosting Pleasant Plains.

Monticello faces a unique situation in that a number of its likely regular contributors will be playing in the football state championship game Saturday and haven't stepped on the basketball floor yet. Coach Kevin Roy says while they await several of those kids to return, they anticipate having a good core of seniors to lead this year's team. 

Early on, Coach Roy indicates his team should have a good chance to get some sophomores and a few seniors who will be role players an opportunity at varsity minutes.

Nolan Buehnerkemper is what Coach Roy calls his team's 'X-factor' calling them a different team when he's on the floor. The junior missed all of last year with an injury and has battled through an injury in football. Coach Roy says the junior wants to play and is hoping for good health this year.

Senior Ike Young has had an eventful year. He received an offer to play baseball at Illinois - ultimately committing and signing this fall - and was recently named a first-team all-state quarterback. Coach Roy says in that time, he's become a different player.

Monticello will look to build on a 15-15 season where they lost in the Regional Championship.

Tonight the Sages open the winter season hosting Pleasant Plains at the Sievers Center. Hear tonight's action and Monticello basketball action all season long on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Game time tonight is at 7 pm.

Argenta-Oreana opened its boys basketball season Monday night with a 65-61 overtime victory over Cowden-Herrick from the Cerro Gordo Turkey Tournament.

MJ Hall paced the Bombers with 19 points while Damian Gude and Carter Logue each scored 14 points while Tyson Tennin added 13 points.  

Wyatt Rueff scored a game-high 29 for Cowden-Herrick. 

The Bombers start the year 1-0. They'll take on Riverton tonight at 7 pm. 

Freshman Kasparas Jakucionis hit three 3-pointers and scored 21 points - both season highs - and Tomislav Ivisic had his third double-double of the season to help Illinois beat Little Rock 92-34 Monday night.

The 7-foot-1 Ivisic scored 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds with two steals. Louisville transfer Tre White also scored 16 points and Will Riley added 13 for Illinois (5-1).

After Little Rock's Mwani Wilkinson hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring, White made a layup and then hit two free throws to give Illinois the lead for good with 18:26 left in the first half. Riley hit a 3-pointer to make it 20-10 with 12 minutes left in the first half before the Fighting Illini scored 23 consecutive points - including four 3-pointers and three dunks - to take a 30-point lead when White made a layup with 4:05 left in the first half.

The Trojans went 0 for 9 from the field and committed three turnovers during a scoring drought of nearly 8 minutes and Illinois scored eight second-chance points off four offensive rebounds during that span.

Jakucionis, who played point guard for Lithuniana at the 2023 FIBA U18 European Championship, scored 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting and hit 6 of 6 from the free-throw line as Illinois took a 51-19 halftime lead.

Jordan Jefferson led Little Rock (3-4) with 11 points.

Illinois plays Arkansas on Thursday.

Trey Autry scored 16 points off of the bench to help lead George Washington over Illinois State 72-64 on Monday night to claim a fifth-place finish at the Paradise Jam tournament in the Virgin Islands.

Autry had five rebounds for the Revolutionaries (6-1). Gerald Drumgoole Jr. scored 16 points. Darren Buchanan Jr. finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The Redbirds (4-3) were led by Chase Walker, who posted 18 points and two steals. Johnny Kinziger added 16 points for Illinois State. Dalton Banks also had 13 points, six rebounds and two steals.

Autry scored seven points in the first half and George Washington went into the break trailing 29-27.

Illinois State visits Belmont on Wednesday.

The Clinton Maroons Defeated the Buffalo Tri-City Tornadoes by a final score of 58-42 on Monday night at the 14th Annual Bill Rucks Memorial Tournament. The Maroons were led by junior Brock Wilson who scored an impressive 17 points and was the Servpro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties Player of the Game. Anthony Westbrooks and Dalton Bell scored 11 points, while Keaton Graves put up 9. Jack Manning had 6, and Jaxon Reynolds and Jack Webb chipped in with 2 each. 

The Tornadoes were led by Hill Muir and Dominik Riley who both scored 8. Jaeger Hill and Gage Shafer had 7 and 6 respectively. 

With the Win, the Maroons kick off their season 1-0 and will play their next game in the tournament against Illinois Central High School Wednesday at 5 PM.

Tune in on Wednesday, December 4th as the Lady Maroons take on Peoria Heights at 6:00 PM. Hear the game live on WHOW and all our digital platforms.  

It is official for DeWitt County - come next summer, Show Bus will be out and Piatt-Tran will be in.

That's according to DeWitt County Board Chair Dan Matthews who indicates changes at the State of Illinois level would have made it difficult for DeWitt County to maintain the Show Bus services.

Show Bus has long been the public transportation service in DeWitt County and Matthews indicates there was a big change when McLean County backed out of the intergovernmental agreement.

The DeWitt County Board approved the new contract last week at its monthly Board meeting. 

The Clinton Maroons will tip off its 2024-25 boys basketball season tonight when they open play at the Bill Ruck's Memorial Holiday Tournament in Mt. Pulaski taking on Buffalo Tri-City.

Off its second consecutive 25-win season last year under Coach Vic Binkley, the Maroons will have a lot of production to replace, as three 1,000 scorers from last year's squad graduate out.

Coach Binkley has been around long enough to know when young players have to compete against kids like Mason Walker, Dawson Graves, and Brooks Cluver every day in practice, they are going to get better.

Anthony Westbrooks has recovered from an elbow injury and is showing great improvement. Coach Binkley adds they've got some young kids shooting the ball well in pre-season practices so far as well. 

Game time tonight is 5 pm from Mt. Pulaski. Hear all the action on WHOW and all its digital platforms. Also get a schedule of this year's Maroons boys and girls basketball broadcast schedule at the home page at dewittdailynews.com. 

The Illinois State was selected as to participate in the 24-team FCS Playoff field as the No. 12 overall seed and will have a first-round road matchup at Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 30 at 11 a.m. CT.

The Redbirds (9-3, 6-2 MVFC) will be making their ninth appearance in the FCS playoffs and sixth under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. ISU, which was ranked No. 13 in the final regular-season poll released Sunday by Stats Perform, is 10-8 all-time in playoff games and will be making its first appearance in the FCS playoffs since 2019.  During that 2019 run to the FCS Quarterfinals, the Redbirds also began that run with a road contest at SEMO.

Illinois State finished the regular season on a five-game winning streak and as winners of six of its last seven contests. 

Game time is 11 am local time on Saturday. The Redbirds are on the road in the first round of the playoffs despite being the higher seed because of the IHSA football championships being held at Hancock Stadium this weekend. 

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Ike Young hit Carter Foran in the back right corner of the end with 13 seconds left and Monticello held off chaos at the end to beat Tolono Unity 23-20 in Class 3A high school football semifinal action Saturday in Monticello.

With the score 20-15, Monticello had a third down and one to go at the four-yard line. Young spun out of pressure in the pocket and on the run fired to his favorite target on the season to put the Sages ahead for the second time in the fourth quarter. 

Foran took a reverse over two Unity defenders to convert the two-point conversion to make the score 23-20.

On the kickoff, Unity got the football to the 40-yard line with six seconds left in regulation. 

On the first and ten play, the Rockets tried a wide receiver screen to Tre Hoggard but gained just two yards. Time expired on the play but officials put one second back on the clock as players, fans, and students stormed the field in celebration, drawing a 15 yard penalty - moving the football to the Monticello 40-yard line. 

On the first down play, Unity junior quarterback Dane Eisnemenger's hail mary into the end zone was actually caught but a flag was thrown as the Rockets were penalized for an ineligible receiver downfield, finally ending the game.

As fans and students tried to storm the field, there was confusion as to whether Unity would get another untimed down but the officials were racing towards the north end zone to get off the field, ending the football game.

Neither team scored through the first 12 minutes of action. But Unity started the second quarter with a fourth down and goal to go from the three-yard line and elected to go for the fourth down try rather than kick the field goal.

Senior tailback Garrett Richardson ran it in for a touchdown putting the Rockets up 7-0.

On the first play of Monticello's next possession, Young and Foran took the top off the Unity defense for a 70-yard touchdown pass. The Sages missed the extra point for a 7-6 score - giving each squad a touchdown in the first 30 seconds of the frame.

Neither team would score again until Eisenmenger found Hoggard for a 57-yard touchdown pass on a well-executed play action pass over the top of Monticello's defense to make the score 14-6 with 3:37 left in the second quarter and was the score at the intermission. 

Monticello got the ball to start the second half and drove the length of the field and settled for a 30-yard Nolan Buehnerkemper field goal with 8:35 left in the quarter to make the score 14-9.

Starting the fourth quarter, Monticello drove the ball to the six-yard line and opened the quarter with a Foran six-yard pass to Hunter Romano to make the score 15-14 - the first lead of the season for Monticello over its rival.

It did not take Unity long to get back in the end zone as Eisenmenger scrambled for an eight-yard touchdown run to put the Rockets back on top 20-15 with 9:39 left for the game. 

Unity's Eisenmenger finished 12-of-18 for 194 yards with a touchdown. Richardson had 23 carries for 76 yards with a touchdown for the Rockets.

Hoggard hauled in five catches for 85 yards and a touchdown while Oliver Rawlings had had four catches for 38 yards for Unity.

Young finished 29-of-43 for 338 yards with two touchdowns and an interception to lead Monticello. The all-stater also had 66 yards rushing on 17 carries.

Buehnerkemper and Foran each hauled in 13 receptions. Foran had 211 yards receiving with two touchdowns, threw for another, and converted a two-point conversion to earn the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties Player of the Game.

Buehnerkemper had 102 yards receiving and kicked a 30-yard field goal.

Unity ends its season 9-4 overall.

Monticello goes to 11-2 and will play for the Class 3A state championship on Friday in Normal opposite Lombard Montini Catholic at 4 pm.

Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Zek Montgomery had 19 points in Bradley's 77-74 victory over Wright State on Friday night.

Montgomery went 7 of 13 from the field (3 for 4 from 3-point range) for the Braves (5-1). Almar Atlason scored 12 points while shooting 4 for 7 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and 2 of 3 from the free-throw line. Ahmet Jonovic had 11 points and shot 5 of 6 from the field.

The Raiders (4-3) were led by Brandon Noel, who recorded 26 points. Wright State also got 16 points and four steals from Jack Doumbia. Alex Huibregste had 13 points, four assists, and two steals.

Montgomery scored 12 points in the first half and Bradley went into the break trailing 37-35. Bradley used a 10-2 second-half run to take the lead at 76-71 with 1:07 remaining. Jonovic scored seven second-half points.

Javohn Garcia scored 16 points as McNeese beat Illinois State 76-68 on Friday.

Garcia also contributed seven rebounds for the Cowboys (3-2). Brandon Murray shot 4 of 10 from the field and 5 for 7 from the line to add 13 points. Sincere Parker shot 4 for 8 (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line to finish with 13 points.

Ty Pence led the way for the Redbirds (3-2) with 14 points and six rebounds. Malachi Poindexter added 13 points for Illinois State. Logan Wolf had 11 points.

Legal disputes can be intimidating to many, but a local law firm is offering its services to local seniors. 

Paula Jiles with the Friendship Center in DeWitt County explains that Land of Lincoln Legal Aid will be offering its services. This assistance could apply to many things, from wills to rental disputes. 

On December 11th, Land of Lincoln Legal Aid will be at the Friendship Center from 8 to 11:30 a.m. You must make an appointment ahead of time by calling the center at 217-935-9411.

A rivalry game for an appearance in the State Championship next week.

Monticello will play host to rival Tolono Unity Saturday for a chance to play in the Class 3A state championship game next Friday in Normal on the campus of Illinois State University.

The Sages had to survive a Benton comeback and overtime two-point conversion for the win in last week's 3A quarterfinal in Monticello. Coach Cully Welter says there were some moments in the 27-26 win that could have derailed his team but with 18 seniors, they stayed the course and made plays when they had to.

Some would say Monticello is playing its best football of the season, particularly offensively. Coach Welter would say Unity is playing its best football of the season as well.

Monticello lost 42-28 at Unity in week nine action. The Sages had some untimely turnovers and allowed some big plays that allowed Unity to start fast and maintain its momentum. Coach Welter knows they have to clean those things up to have a chance Saturday.

Because of the familiarity with Hall of Fame Coach Scott Hamilton and the Unity Rockets, did Coach Welter go to the film? 

Game time is 2 pm Saturday afternoon in Monticello. 

Hear all the action, starting with a 1:45 pregame on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Football semifinal matchups

Class 1A

 Lena-Winslow (12-0) at LeRoy (12-0) Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 2A

Maroa-Forsyth (11-1) at Johnston City (11-1) Sat. 3:30 pm

Class 4A

Mt. Zion (9-3) at Normal U-High (10-2) Sat. 7:00 pm

While Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State are hogging Big Ten headlines, Illinois and Rutgers are enjoying a few big accomplishments of their own.
 

No. 25 Illinois attempts to reach eight wins for the second time in three seasons and inch closer to its first nine-win season since 2007 when it meets Rutgers on Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.

For its part, Rutgers hopes to reach seven wins in consecutive seasons for the first time in since 2012.

Illinois (7-3, 4-3) is coming off a 38-16 win over Michigan State last week in its home finale, finishing 6-1 at home. The defense led the way with five sacks, while running back Josh McCray scored three touchdowns and Pat Bryant totaled 135 receiving yards. Luke Altmyer threw for 231 yards, including a 57-yard touchdown pass to Bryant.

The Illini close the season against Northwestern on Nov. 30 and are heading to their second bowl game in four seasons under Bielema. Illinois was 8-5 two seasons ago but slumped to 5-7 last year for its 11th losing campaign in 12 years. The Illini are attempting to reach nine victories since it went 9-4 in 2007 and advanced to the Rose Bowl under Ron Zook.

Rutgers (6-4, 3-4) went 12-22 in the first three seasons of coach Greg Schiano's second stint. The program is seeking back-to-back seven win seasons for the first time since finishing 9-4 in 2011 and 2012, its final seasons in the Big East.

Rutgers is attempting to end a 40-game losing streak against ranked opponents that dates back to a 31-0 win over South Florida on Nov. 12, 2009.

Rutgers heads into its final home game coming off consecutive wins over Minnesota and Maryland. 

Game time is 11 am Saturday.

One final regular-season contest awaits No. 13 Illinois State (8-3, 5-2 MVFC), as the Redbirds return home to host North Dakota (5-6, 2-5 MVFC) on Senior Day at Hancock Stadium. 

Winners of four-straight and five out of its last six contests, ISU will look to further bolster its NCAA FCS playoff resume with a strong performance against the Fighting Hawks as selection Sunday quickly approaches and the playoffs begin next weekend.

Transfer wide receiver Xavier Loyd nearly tied a school single-game record in Illinois State's big 31-19 road win at Indiana State. He caught nearly everything thrown his way with 13 receptions against the Sycamores, one catch shy of the school single-game mark of 14. Loyd finished the game with 94 yards and scored the Redbirds' first touchdown on an eight-yard reception from Tommy Rittenhouse early in the second quarter that started a string of 31 unanswered points scored by ISU. That performance earned him his second MVFC Newcomer of the Week honor.

With his 156 yards receiving against Indiana State, wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz moved past the 2,000 career yards receiving mark and now has 2,149 in his stellar career thus far.

The Fighting Hawks hold a 5-6 overall record and are 2-5 in MVFC action. North Dakota started the season 4-1 with wins over Montana, Idaho State and San Diego in non-conference action before defeating Murray State in the MVFC opener.

However, UND has gone on to lose its last four contests in a row in league action, with road losses at Youngstown State and Indiana State and home defeats at the hands of nationally-ranked South Dakota State and South Dakota.

Game time is noon Sunday. 

Eastern Illinois wraps up the 2024 regular season on Saturday with a Noon kickoff at Tennessee Tech.  The Panthers improved to 3-8 overall, 2-5 in the Big South OVC with a 16-13 overtime win against Charleston Southern to send its 27 seniors out with a win during their final home game at O'Brien Field. 

Julian Patino knocked home an 18-yard field goal on Eastern Illinois first overtime possession after the Panthers defense held on a fourth down play by Charleston Southern handing the Panthers a 16-13 victory.  

Tennessee Tech enters the final regular season game as the hottest team in the conference having won four straight including a win at nationally ranked UT Martin to capture this year's Sgt. York trophy.  With a win and some help in other games, the Golden Eagles could finish as co-champions of the Big South OVC and earn the league's automatic FCS playoff bid.

Game time is noon on Saturday. Hear all the action, starting with an 11:30 am pregame, on WHOW and all its digital platforms.

Christian Davis had 21 points in Bradley's 82-68 victory against Texas State on Thursday night.

Darius Hannah added 16 points with seven rebounds for the Braves (4-1). Zek Montgomery had 13 points.

Kaden Gumbs finished with 19 points and two steals for the Bobcats (2-3). Texas State also got 15 points and seven rebounds from Tylan Pope. Tyler Morgan also put up 14 points.

Davis led his team in scoring with 13 points in the first half to help put them up 44-24 at the break. Davis led the way with a team-high eight second-half points.

Bradley moves on in holiday tournament play to battle Wright State this evening in South Carolina.

The Clinton Maroons defeated Decatur Eisenhower by a score of 61-22 on Wednesday night in high school girls basketball action. The Maroons were led by Carly Anderson and Regan Filkin who both dropped 18 points. Clara Dempsey put up 15 to round out the top three scorers. Lilah Cluver, Karlie Bless, Alania Helfand, Averie Fatheree and Avery Smith all had 2 points. 

Decatur Eisenhower was led by Honesti Woodland who scored 8 points, and Tatiana Ramey who put up 5. 

With the win, the Maroons improve to 2-0 on the season. 

The Lady Maroons will play again this Friday, taking on Dee-Mack starting at 8:00 PM. 

Tune in Monday Night as Clinton Boys Basket ball takes on Buffalo Tri-City High School. You can hear the game live on WHOW and all our digital platforms. 

It wasn't lost on Monticello football Coach Cully Welter his team could face a handful of opponents that had been thorns in their side in the postseason over his time at Monticello.

First it was DuQuoin who the Sages were 0-2 against in the playoffs in the last five years. Then it was Williamsville who beat Monticello in 2012 and throttled this year's seniors in freshman football. And most recently, a thrilling overtime win over Benton avenged a disappointing loss in 2022.

Coach Cully Welter was thrilled to come out of the Benton overtime game with a win because he feels his team isn't built for overtime.

Before needing a stop on a two-point conversion for the win in overtime, Monticello led 14-0 and it was looking like the Sages were on its way to another runaway win - especially after a 98-yard pass from Ike Young to Carter Foran, but the score was called back and Coach Welter felt that was a pivotal point in the game.

Despite the adversity of getting a pivotal touchdown called back then surrendering a safety and a 14-0 lead, Coach Welter credited his team with grinding through it all and coming up big at the end of the game.

Now it's off to host Tolono Unity on Saturday afternoon in Class 3A semifinal action. The Rockets have had the Sages number often over the years in both the postseason and regular season. The winner advances to the state finals next Friday in Normal.

Football semifinal matchups

Class 1A

 Lena-Winslow (12-0) at LeRoy (12-0) Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 2A

Maroa-Forsyth (11-1) at Johnston City (11-1) Sat. 3:30 pm

Class 4A

Mt. Zion (9-3) at Normal U-High (10-2) Sat. 7:00 pm

The Clinton Lady Maroons kicked off the girls' basketball season with a 58-28 win over Olympia, continuing a decade-long tradition at the high school.

Clinton Athletic Director Matt Koeppel explains they are in the 11th year of the Turkey Tussle. This tournament started in participation with Riverton High School but is now hosted entirely by Clinton. 

One of the major benefits of hosting the tournament is getting 4 home games. Koeppel says they will continue to host the event as long as there are teams interested in participating. 

Koeppel notes one of the major challenges of a large tournament is finding officials. He says it's not easy, so they do everything they can to treat the refs well. 

The Lady Maroons will match up against Decatur Eisenhower on Wednesday night at 8:00 PM. Tune in to Clinton Boys Basketball on Monday to hear the Maroons take on Buffalo Tri-City High School, tip off is at 5:00 PM. 

As heard on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons defeated the Olympia Spartans by a score of 58-28. The Lady Maroons were led by Senior Clara Dempsey who had 11 points. Regan Filkin had 9 points and Avery Smith had 11 points. Lilah Cluver and Carly Anderson scored both 12 points. Cluver and Filkin both shot 50% from the free-throw line. 

The Lady Spartans were led by Elyse Eimer who scored half of Olympia's total points, achieving 14, 6 of them being from beyond the 3-point line. 

Clinton improves to 1-0 while Olympia falls to 0-1. The Lady Maroons will take on Eisenhower on Wednesday in their next Turkey Tussle Tournament matchup at 8 PM.

Lilah Cluver was our Servpro of Piatt/DeWitt counties player of the game, for her impressive performance in limited minutes. 

Tune in next week as Clinton Boys Basketball takes on Buffalo Tri-City High School in the Bill Rucks Memorial Thanksgiving Tournament on Monday the 25th at 5 PM on WHOW and all our digital platforms. 

Clinton Girls Basketball kicks off it's season tonight in the Clinton Turkey Tussle against Olympia.

Last season, the Lady Maroons finished their season 21-12. Head Coach Josh Williams will hope to improve on that record with the experienced team they are returning. 

Coach Williams says a big focus for this team has been working together and building a culture. He notes multiple events they host to promote fellowship.

The Lady Maroons will focus on Pack-Line defense and playing clean basketball. Williams notes cutting off the easiest ways for an opponent to score. 

Tune into the action tonight on WHOW and all our digital platforms, tip off at Clinton High School is 7:00 PM. 

Find the Clinton Maroons winter sports schedules at dewittdailynews.com 

Jack Daugherty scored 28 points off of the bench and Illinois State breezed to a 107-52 victory over Trinity Christian (IL) on Sunday night.

Dalton Banks scored 14 points and added five rebounds and five assists for the Redbirds (3-1). Logan Wolf shot 5 for 7, including 3 for 5 from beyond the arc to finish with 14 points.

Danny Staskunas led the way for the Trolls with 14 points. Tylan Harris added 12 points and Mac Parmelee scored 10.

Illinois State travels to McNeese State Friday afternoon in the US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Monticello's defense stood up a Benton two-point conversion in overtime and escaped with a 27-26 win in Class 3A high school football quarterfinal action Saturday afternoon in Monticello.

Benton kicked a 27-yard field goal to tie the game at 20-20 and send it to overtime. 

Monticello got the ball first and on a fourth down from just outside the goalline, Ike Young found Carter Foran in the back of the end zone to go up 27-20.

Benton go the ball back and in two plays scored as quarterback Tiffin Kouzoukas scored from seven yards out.

Benton took a timeout to set up a two-point conversion play and Kouzoukas broke one tackle but was pulled back before he could get to the goal line and Monticello players and students stormed the field as they secured a spot in a class 3A semifinal game next week against Tolono Unity.

Monticello jumped out to a 14-0 lead. On the Sage's first possession, Young hit Foran for an 85-yard touchdown pass to put the Sages up 7-0. 

With 2:43 left in the first, Young rolled in from a yard out to go up 14-0.

Benton's only score of the first was a safety. With Monticello backed up against their own end zone, Young threw an interception but a holding call in the end zone resulted in a safety. 

The Rangers chose to take the two points instead of taking the ball inside the ten-yard line. They would not find the end zone again the rest of the half.

But the Benton offense rebounded in the second half. Kouzoukas led the Rangers on an opening drive touchdown to make the score 14-9.

Nolan Buehnerkemper kicked two field goals in the second half to put Monticello up 20-9. 

With 9:18 to play in the game, Kouzoukas hit AJ Craven from 37 yards out and the Rangers converted the two-point conversion to get within 20-17.

Kouzoukas finished 19-of-29 passing for 243 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He also had 29 carries for 150 yards and two touchdowns. 

Kobi Cali led the Rangers receiving with nine catches for 65 yards. Nolan Shafer added 63 yards on five receptions. 

Young was 21-of-34 passing for 231 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. The first team all-stater also had 60 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown. 

Foran continued his stellar season with 12 receptions for 155 yards and two touchdowns. He was the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game. 

Buehnerkemper had five receptions for 44 yards and kicked two field goals. 

Benton ends its season 8-4 overall.

Monticello goes to 10-2. They will host Tolono Unity next Saturday.

Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

It was a busy week for Monticello football.

Of its upset win over Williamsville last week, Carter Foran broke the school's single-season receiving yards record. Coach Cully Welter says it is quite an accomplishment given the excellent skill players that have come through his program over the years.

This week, Seniors Ike Young and Mason High were named to the Class 3A All-State teams. Coach Welter believes Monticello might have three all-state players but he's happy for those two to receive a recognition like that.
 

Young also signed his National Letter of Intent to pitch at Illinois next year. Coach Welter credits him for rising up the baseball boards quickly given where he was just a year ago.

Monticello takes on Benton on Saturday in Class 3A quarterfinal action in Monticello. 

The revenge tour continues for Monticello this week when they host Benton in Class 3A high school football playoff quarterfinal action on Saturday.

Monticello avenged 2019 and 2023 playoff losses with a first round win over DuQuoin then rolled Williamsville 42-14 last week to avenge a 2012 playoff loss and a 62-14 loss for this year's seniors when they were freshmen.

That's Coach Cully Welter - and Monticello doesn't need a reminder of what happened the last time the Sages played Benton. In the second round of the 3A playoffs in 2021, Benton rolled Monticello 42-14.

Benton enters action 8-3 overall with one of its losses to DuQuoin, whom Monticello knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. Coach Welter says his team cannot get caught up in the conversation that because they beat DuQuoin, they'll beat Benton.

The balance of Benton and its ability to run and pass very effectively is going to be a problem for Monticello's defense. Coach Welter calls their defense very aggressive despite being a little undersized.

Game Saturday is 2 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Quarterfinal playoff action

Class 1A

 #12 Galena (7-4) at #1 LeRoy (11-0), Sat. 1:00 pm

#3 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (10-1) at #2 Lena-Winslow (11-0), Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 2A

#3 Quincy Notre Dame (10-1) at #2 Maroa-Forsyth (10-1), Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 3A

#4 Nashville (10-1) at #9 Tolono Unity (8-3), Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 4A

 #12 Mt. Zion (8-3) at #1 Breese Central (11-0), Sat. 5:00 pm

#10 Normal U-High (9-2) at #6 Cahokia (9-2), Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 5A

#1 East St. Louis (10-1) at #5 Chatham-Glenwood (9-2), Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 6A

#2 Peoria (9-2) vs. #6 Joliet Catholic (8-3) Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 7A

#19 Chicago Mt. Carmel (8-3) vs. #6 Normal Community (10-1 Sat. 5:00 pm

Michigan State and Illinois have had a bye week to think about what they've done, and what they need to do better to create a November to remember.

Illinois (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) and Michigan State (4-5, 2-4) carry two-game losing streaks into the home finale for the Fighting Illini on Saturday afternoon in Champaign.

Both teams also have soft enough schedules to suggest a three-game winning streak is feasible. But a slide isn't out of the question for either team.

The Illinois defense will be without leading tackler Dylan Rosiek. The junior linebacker suffered a season-ending leg fracture in the Nov. 2 home loss to Minnesota.

The Illini also will miss defensive back Miles Scott in the first half. He is serving the rest of his penalty for a fourth-quarter targeting call versus the Gophers.

Game time is 2:30 pm Saturday.

The final road contest of the 2024 regular season awaits Illinois State, as the Redbirds (7-3, 4-2 MVFC) head to Terre Haute, Indiana, for another crucial road game against the Indiana State Sycamores (4-6, 3-3 MVFC) at Memorial Stadium. The Redbirds will be looking to keep their playoffs hope alive with their fourth win in a row to push their season win total to eight, which will continue to bolster the Illinois State's playoff chances headed into the final week.

The Sycamores hold a 4-6 overall record and are 3-3 in MVFC action. Indiana State has been on a bit of a run lately, winning two of its last three conference games with win at home against Southern Illinois and then nationally ranked North Dakota.

Last Saturday, the Sycamores fell on the road to No. 5 South Dakota inside The DakotaDome, 49-0.

Freshman tailback Matt Lawson had his best day as a Redbird, as he helped lead ISU to a 31-9 victory at UNI. The Hoffman Estates native rushed for a career-high 84 yards and scored his third touchdown of the year in the win over the Panthers. 

Wenkers Wright tallied 109 yards in a win at UNI to give him his fourth and fifth 100-plus yard rushing efforts of the season.

Game time is noon on Saturday.

Eastern Illinois plays its final home game of the 2024 season as the Panthers host the southern most school in the Big South OVC in Charleston Southern.  

EIU is coming off a road loss at Gardner-Webb while Charleston Southern lost its final home game to UT Martin.

Cooper Willman landed himself in the record books on Saturday as the wide receiver finished with a school record 291 yards receiving on 11 catches with three touchdowns.  More impressive is that he had just two catches for 39 yards at halftime, so did the bulk of his damage in the second half.  The 291 yards is the most in the FCS this season and is the record of the two-year old Big South OVC Football Association. 

Willman is looking to post just the 10th 1,000 yard receiving season in EIU history needing 147 more yards this season.

Pierce Holley passed for more than 300 yards in a game for the sixth straight week finishing with 458 yards on Saturday at Gardner-Webb.  It was the sixth most passing yards in a game by a Panthers quarterback as Holley has now passed for 2,828 yards this season.  He is on the verge of becoming just the fourth quarterback in program history to pass for 3,000 yards in a season joining Sean Payton, Tony Romo and Jimmy Garoppolo who combined six times among those three.  

Game time is at noon on Sunday. Hear all the action - starting with an 11:30 am pregame - on WHOW and all its digital platforms. 

The Green Bay Packers (6-3) hope to keep pace in the tight NFC North and maintain their dominance in this storied rivalry, while the Chicago Bears (4-5) look to put the brakes on a skid that just cost their offensive coordinator his job.

The Packers have dominated the Bears, winning 10 in a row and 25 of the past 28 meetings, including the NFC championship game at the end of the 2010 season. The current streak matches the longest by either team in the rivalry, matching a run by Green Bay from 1994-98.

While the Packers would surely love to extend the streak, there's also that other matter of trying to catch division rivals Detroit (8-1) and Minnesota (7-2). Green Bay had a bye last week following a loss to the Lions that stopped a four-game win streak.

The last-place Bears have dropped three straight after winning three in a row prior to their bye. Their offense has gone back-to-back games without a touchdown for the first time since 2004.

Chicago fired an offensive coordinator for the second time in 10 months when it let Shane Waldron go after just nine games on Tuesday in the wake of a 19-3 loss to New England. The Bears replaced him with passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, and his most important task is to get No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams on track.

The schedule, meanwhile, is taking a tougher turn. Six of Chicago's final eight games are against division foes.

The Bears have gone 23 consecutive possessions without a touchdown since driving for one in the final minute to take the lead against Washington in Week 8. They lost on a Hail Mary by Jayden Daniels. In the three games since the bye, Chicago's offense has just two touchdowns in 34 drives.

Williams is 48 of 95 without a TD in the past three games. He was sacked nine times against New England. During the win streak, Williams completed 74% of his passes for 687 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception.

Both teams have done a good job at forcing turnovers.

Green Bay is tied for second in the NFL with 19 takeaways, one behind Minnesota. Chicago has 16.

The Bears have done a better job taking care of the ball. They have eight giveaways while the Packers have 13. Chicago is tied for fourth with a plus-8 turnover differential, while Green Bay is tied for seventh at plus-6.

This will be the Packers’ first game since they sent veteran pass rusher Preston Smith to Pittsburgh last week for a 2025 seventh-round pick. Smith had 2 1/2 sacks this year and had totaled 44 since joining the Packers in 2019.

There could be some interesting conversations between Bears receiver DJ Moore and Packers safety Xavier McKinney.

That's because McKinney said something to reporters this week about Moore heading to the sideline as Williams was running from pressure during Chicago's loss at Arizona on Nov. 3.

Moore has said he left the field because he rolled his ankle and not out of frustration.

Brown was in a similar spot last year as Carolina's offensive coordinator.

He had a rookie quarterback drafted with the No. 1 pick in Bryce Young and assumed play-calling duties during the season from coach Frank Reich, who eventually took over calling plays again before getting fired after a 1-10 start.

Brown called plays against Green Bay in Week 16 last season when the Packers squeezed out a 33-30 win. Young threw for a career-high 312 yards and two touchdowns.

The Illinois 8-Man Football Association will continue to operate independent of the Illinois High School Association, at least for now. But IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson says they continue to follow the sport.

The Illinois 8-Man Football Association fielded 30 teams this year.

A decision on high school football playoff expansion won't happen this school year says IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson.

The IHSA is celebrating its 50th year of the high school football playoffs.

Tomislav Ivisic scored 20 points, Ben Humrichous added 10 and Illinois overcame 18 turnovers to beat Oakland 66-54 on Wednesday night.

Illinois has started a season 3-0 for the fourth time under Brad Underwood, and the second time in three seasons after starting the 2022-23 season 4-0.

Illinois had its lead trimmed to 38-36 early in the second half before going on a 17-4 run for a 55-40 lead. Ivisic started the run, which included 11 straight points, with three made field goals. Oakland was just 2 of 10 from the field during the run.

Ivisic was 9 of 14 from the field, while the rest of his teammates combined to go 14 of 41.

Jayson Woodrich scored 11 points and DQ Cole added 10 for Oakland (1-2). The Grizzlies shot just 38% from the field, including 4 of 25 from 3-point range.

Oakland also turned it over 18 times.

Illinois has a week off before playing at No. 2 Alabama on Nov. 20 in the C.M. Newton Classic.

Zach LaVine scored 31 points and Colby White had 22, including the winning free throws with three seconds left, as the Chicago Bulls outlasted the New York Knicks 124-123 on Wednesday night.

The Bulls led by as many as 22 in the third quarter, but the Knicks rallied and went ahead 123-121 on Jalen Brunson’s bucket with four seconds remaining.

On the ensuing possession, White was fouled by Josh Hart on a 3-point attempt and made all three.

Brunson’s potential winner rimmed out at the buzzer.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored a season-high 46 points for the Knicks, adding 10 rebounds. Brunson finished with 24 points and Mikal Bridges had 20.

Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls.

After playing in three of the Bulls’ first four games, Lonzo Ball has missed eight straight with a sprained right wrist. He missed the entire 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons with knee injuries. Prior to the game, LaVine was listed as “probable” due to a strained right adductor, but was in the starting lineup.

The Knicks trailed by 22 points, 90-68, but went on a 17-0 run to end the third quarter and get back into the game.

After shooting 41.3 % (19 of 46) in the first half, the Knicks connected at a 60.4% clip (29 of 48) in the second to erase their double-digit deficit.

The Bulls visit Cleveland and the Knicks host Brooklyn on Friday night.

Monticello played one of its best games of the season Saturday in a 42-14 upset win over Williamsville in Class 3A high school football second-round action in Williamsville.

Senior receiver Carter Foran broke the school's single-season receiving record in the victory piling up over 200 yards and scored three touchdowns. Senior quarterback Ike Young accounted for over 450 total yards of offense and six total touchdowns. Coach Cully Welter was proud of his team Saturday.

The runaway win did not come without some adversity. Monticello was penalized several times early in the game for sideline warnings. Coach Welter - who is rarely openly critical of officiating - was not happy with the over-the-top nature of keeping him off the field to communicate with his skill position players between plays.

Monticello's defense has been led by its front four and five. Coach Welter says while players like Jack Helms and Ryan Frazee are undersized, they get off the ball quickly and can create a lot of havoc in the backfield.

The Sages will host Benton in a Class 3A quarterfinal matchup Saturday at 2 pm. Coach Welter indicates they saw Benton on film when they scouted DuQuoin and felt they were very underrated. 

Benton beat Monticello in the second round of the 3A playoffs in 2021 in Benton. 

Hear Saturday's action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Quarterfinal playoff action

Class 1A

 #12 Galena (7-4) at #1 LeRoy (11-0), Sat. 1:00 pm

#3 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (10-1) at #2 Lena-Winslow (11-0), Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 2A

#3 Quincy Notre Dame (10-1) at #2 Maroa-Forsyth (10-1), Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 3A

#4 Nashville (10-1) at #9 Tolono Unity (8-3), Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 4A

 #12 Mt. Zion (8-3) at #1 Breese Central (11-0), Sat. 5:00 pm

#10 Normal U-High (9-2) at #6 Cahokia (9-2), Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 5A

#1 East St. Louis (10-1) at #5 Chatham-Glenwood (9-2), Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 6A

#2 Peoria (9-2) vs. #6 Joliet Catholic (8-3) Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 7A

#19 Chicago Mt. Carmel (8-3) vs. #6 Normal Community (10-1 Sat. 5:00 pm

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Ike Young accounted for over 475 yards of total offense and all six touchdowns, Carter Foran broke the Monticello single-season receiving record with 241 yards and three touchdowns as the Sages rolled Williamsville 42-14 in second round Class 3A high school football action Saturday in Williamsville.

The Young and Foran connection started early as Young hit Foran on a 63-yard touchdown on Monticello's first possession. 

The Bullets answered to tie the game at 7-7 but it was all Sages after that.

An 80-yard completion to Foran set up Young's only rushing touchdown of the game from six yards out. 

The pair would connect two more times after Young connected with Nolan Buehnerkemper for a 55-yard touchdown pass to put the Sages up 21-7 in the second quarter.

Monticello took a 28-7 lead into the half after Young connected with Foran on a reverse option-screen trick play for 22 yards.

Then in the third quarter, Foran raced 49 yards on a dump-off pass to put Monticello in control 35-7.

Young would find Beuhnerkemper one more time for the final score from 5 yards out for a 42-7. 

Young was 14-of-19 passing for 358 yards and five touchdowns. He also had 18 rushes for 120 yards and a touchdown.

Foran hauled in nine passes for 241 yards and three scores. His receiving day broke Monticello's single-season receiving record.

Buehnerkemper also had five catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns.

Williamsville was led by Brandon Cates who had 16 carries for 103 yards. Jackson Sanders was 8-of-13 passing for 140 yards with two touchdowns. Matthew Miller had two receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown while Gage Paul had two catches for 18 yards and a touchdown reception.

Williamsville ends its season at 9-2 overall. 

Monticello goes to 9-2 overall and will host Benton next week. Hear next week's action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. Game time is to be determined.

Class 1A second-round action on Saturday

Camp Point Central 40

Toledo-Cumberland 0

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 28

Newman Central Catholic 0

LeRoy 53

Rockford Lutheran 29

Class 2A

Tri-Valley 14

Chicago Christian 24

Maroa-Forsyth 28

Chester 7

Quincy Notre Dame 34

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 7

Class 3A

Sullivan-Okaw Valley 0

Benton 41

Nashville 41

Greenville 21

St. Joseph-Ogden 7

Tolono Unity 35

Class 4A

Richland County 13

Normal U-High 48

Classa 5A

Morgan Park 55

Metamora 28

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 0

Joliet Catholic 49

Peoria 52 (FRI)

Thornton Fractional North 14

Class 6A

Oak Lawn Richards 42

Washington 14

East St. Louis 48

Normal West 0

Oak Forest 21

Chatham-Glenwood 42

Kankakee 27

Bloomington 7

Class 7A

Normal Community 52

Mt. Prospect Prospect 49

Nate Calmese and Cedric Coward scored 18 points apiece and LeJuan Watts added a double-double to lead Washington State to a 91-74 victory over Bradley on Friday night.

Calmese hit 9 of 11 from the free-throw line and added six assists and three steals for the Cougars (2-0). Coward made three 3-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds with three steals. Watts finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

Dane Erikstrup totaled 16 points and seven rebounds for Washington State. Ethan Price had 14 points and six boards. Isaiah Watts had 10 points off the bench.

Darius Hannah and Christian Davis both scored 14 to lead the Braves (1-1). Zek Montgomery contributed 13 points and six rebounds. Connor Dillon came off the bench to score 12.

Washington State took a three-point lead into intermission before outscoring Bradley 46-32 in the second half.

Bradley hosts Texas-San Antonio on Tuesday. 

Tomislav Ivisic scored 18 points and led five players into double-figure scoring as Illinois raced to a 90-58 victory over in-state rival SIU Edwardsville on Friday night to win its second straight.

Ivisic dunked just seconds into the game and Tre White hit back-to-back 3-pointers to get Illinois out of the gate and the Fighting Illini used eight treys to build a 46-28 lead at the break and finished 15 of 38 from distance.

Kasparas Jakucionis dished 13 assists for Illinois to go with 12 points. Ben Humrichous hit 5 of 8 from beyond the arc to finish with 16 while Will Riley added 14 points off the bench and White hit 3 of 5 from deep to add 13 points. Eleven Illini figured in the scoring with six hitting at least one 3-pointer.

Reysean Taylor scored 14 points to lead the Cougars (1-2). Brian Taylor II added 10. SIU Edwardsville hit 20 of 73 from the floor (30.1%) and 6 of 24 from deep.

Illinois hosts Oakland on Wednesday night.

After a solid win in the opening round of the high school football playoffs, Monticello visits Williamsville for second Class 3A playoff action.

Like the Sages, the Bullets rolled in its first-round playoff game. Coach Cully Welter says Williamsville is always very tough and this year is no exception.

Williamsville suffered an early season defeat to Byron, one of the heavy favorites in Class 3A. Since then, the Bullets have gone away from their traditional spread offense.

For the Sages, Coach Welter says they need to be disciplined on defense. Offensively, Monticello is hoping to stretch the defense with its passing game.

Game time is 2 pm Saturday afternoon in Williamsville. Hear all the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Second Round playoff action

Class 1A

#1 LeRoy (10-0) at #9 Rockford Lutheran (7-3) Sat 1:00 pm

#6 Newman Central Catholic (8-2) at #3 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (9-1) Sat. 2:00 pm

#6 Toledo-Cumberland (8-2) at #3 Camp Point Central (9-1) Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 2A

#6 Chicago Christian) (9-1) at #3 Tri-Valley (9-1) Sat. 2:00 pm

#8 Warrensburg-Latham (8-2) at #1 Johnston City (9-1) Sat. 5:00 pm

#5 Vandalia (9-1) at #4 Pana (9-1) Sat. 1:00 pm

#7 Chester (9-1) at #2 Maroa-Forsyth (9-1) Sat. 2:30 pm

#6 Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond (9-1) at #3 Quincy Notre Dame (9-1) Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 3A

#7 Eureka (9-1) at #2 Wilmington (10-0) Sat. 5:00 pm

#1 St. Joseph-Ogden (10-0) at #9 Tolono Unity (7-3) Sat. 2:00 pm

 #2 Sullivan-Okaw Valley (10-0) at #10 Benton (7-3) Sat. 4:00 pm

Class 4A

#13 Peoria Notre Dame (6-4) at #12 Mt. Zion (7-3) Fri. 7:00 pm

#2 Richland County (10-0) vs. #10 Normal U-High (8-2) Sat. 4:00 pm

Class 5A

#1 Chicago Morgan Park (9-1) at #9 Metamora (7-3) Sat. 2:00 pm

#2 Peoria (8-2) at #10 Thornton Fractional North (7-3), Fri. 7:00 pm

#6 Joliet Catholic (7-3) at #14 Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (6-4), Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 6A

#8 Normal West (8-2) at #1 East St. Louis (9-1) Sat. 2:00 pm

#5 Chatham-Glenwood (8-2) at #13 Oak Forest (7-3) Sat. 2:00 pm

#7 Washington (8-2) at #2 Oak Lawn Richards (9-1) Fri.7:00 pm

#6 Bloomington (H.S.) (8-2) at #3 Kankakee (9-1) Sat. 2:00 pm

Class 7A

#11 Mt. Prospect (8-2) at #6 Normal Community (9-1) Fri. 7:00 pm

The Clinton High School boy's cross country team and Aubrey Peterson from the girl's team will compete at the IHSA State Finals this weekend in Peoria.

Co-head coach Rachel Anderson-Lyons notes her boys' team won the school's first regional in 25 years and is a return appearance to State for the boy's team.

Coach Anderson-Lyons says her boy's team is very young but credits her seniors for their leadership. She says watching those seniors lead a very talented freshman class has been great.

Freshman Aubrey Peterson finished second at the Sectional meet in Elmwood. Coach Anderson-Lyons called her Sectional run a breakout race.

Coach Anderson-Lyons believes her boy's runners are gunning not only to outpace their projected finish of 14th this weekend but they are striving to be the best team in Clinton's history.

Peterson and the boy's team will run from Detweiller Park in Peoria on Saturday morning. Follow the Clinton Cross Country Instagram account as well as the Clinton High School Athletics account for details on their runs and progress in Peoria this weekend. 

Class 1A qualifiers on the girl's side:

Addison Eades - Decatur St. Teresa

Annabelle LaFary - Delavan

Gracie Van Hoof - Tri-Valley

Amelia Kistner & Emma Swartzendruber - Olympia

Class 1A qualifiers on the boys side:

Will Fuson - Cerro Gordo-Bement

Coriell Green - Delavan

Ryan Kuhn - Dee-Mack

River Derby - Monticello

Both DuQuoin and Monticello struggled for offense early but a key sequence at the end of the first half and the start of the second half propelled the Sages to a 49-20 win in first-round Class 3A high school football action.

Monticello scored on the opening play from scrimmage when Sages senior quarterback Ike Young ran 66 yards for a touchdown. However, after that, the offense came at a premium for both sides.

DuQuoin broke through with a touchdown with 4:31 left in the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7. But Monticello answered with a quick score and after forcing the Indians to a three-and-out, they came down and scored again with 35 seconds left in the first half to go up 21-7. The Sages would get another score early in the third quarter to go up 28-7. 

Monticello coach Cully Welter felt that helped turn the game in their favor.

Big plays continue to plague Monticello's defense. Coach Welter points out there's been a few games this year where they get some separation but the opponent gets a big play to get right back in the game.

The Sages offense was sluggish until late in the first half but Coach Welter credits his quarterback coach Coach Chris Jones for getting his senior quarterback to settle down and make good throws the rest of the way as Young completed seven of his eight final throws on the afternoon.

It's off to Williamsville on Saturday for second-round action. Coach Welter is good friends will Williamsville head coach Aaron Kunz. The Bullets have played in three state title games under his leadership and a shakeup on offense for them this year will be a challenge for Monticello. 

Williamsville was ranked sixth in the final 3A high school football poll while Monticello came in seventh. Game time is 2 pm Saturday. Hear Saturday's action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Second-round playoff matchups

Class 1A

Camp Point Central 2:00 pm

Toledo-Cumberland

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 2:00v pm

Newman Central Catholic

LeRoy 1:00 pm

Rockford Lutheran

Tri-Valley 2:00 pm

Chicago Christian

Johnston City 5:00 pm

Warrensburg-Latham

Maroa-Forsyth 2:30 pm

Chester

Quincy Notre Dame 2:00 pm

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond

St. Joseph-Ogden 2:00 pm

Tolono Unity

Wilmington 5:00 pm

Eureka

Class 5A

Peoria Notre Dame 7:00 pm (FRI)

Mt. Zion

Richland County 4:00 pm

Normal U-High

Peoria 7:00  pm (FRI)

Thornton Fractional North

Chicago Morgan Park 2:00 pm

Metamora

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 2:00 pm

Joliet Catholic

Class 6A

Oak Lawn Richards 7:00 pm (FRI)

Washington

East St. Louis 2:00 pm

Normal West

Kankakee 2:00 pm

Bloomington

Oak Forest 2:00 pm

Chatham-Glenwood

Class 7A

Normal Community 7:00 pm (FRI)

Mt. Prospect

Will Riley scored 26 of his 31 points in the second half to set an Illinois scoring record in a freshman debut and the Illini eased by Eastern Illinois 112-67 on Monday night.

Riley scored 15 of Illinois' 17 points late in the second half, including 12 straight to take a 41-point lead. He finished 10 of 13 from the field in just 25 minutes, making 5 of 6 from 3-point range and 6 of 7 at the free-throw line.

Riley made all four of his 3-pointers in the second half, including a four-point play with 5:14 left.

Illinois has won nine straight openers, a streak that began with an 81-62 victory over Southeast Missouri in 2016. The Fighting Illini have hosted Eastern Illinois for its season opener the last three seasons.

Illinois sits just outside the Top 25 of the preseason AP poll, receiving the most points (92) among unranked teams.

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn added 21 points and four 3-pointers as Illinois went 16 of 42 (38%) from distance. Ben Humrichous and Tomislav Ivisic each scored 14.

Nakyel Shelton led Eastern Illinois with 16 points.

Christian Davis and Jaquan Johnson each scored 15 points as Bradley beat Southeast Missouri State 88-60 on Monday night in a season opener.

Almar Atlason finished with 13 points for the Braves.

BJ Ward led the way for the Redhawks with 17 points and three steals. Southeast Missouri State also got 11 points from Damarion Walkup.

Josue Grullon scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds as UT Martin beat Illinois State 67-65 on Monday.

Jack Daugherty hit a 3-pointer with 1:09 left to spark a 13-4 ending run for Illinois State. Grullon split a pair of free throws with four seconds left before the Redbirds' Landon Wolf missed a layup to end it.

Tarence Guinyard scored 12 points and added seven rebounds. Vladimer Salaridze finished with 11 points, while adding 12 rebounds.

The Redbirds were led in scoring by Daugherty, who finished with 15 points. Chase Walker added 13 points and seven rebounds for Illinois State. Ty Pence also put up 12 points, six rebounds and two steals.

Keyonte George had 33 points and nine assists, John Collins added 28 points and 13 rebounds and the Utah Jazz won for the first time this season, beating the Chicago Bulls 135-126 on Monday night.

The injury-depleted Jazz (1-6) entered as the NBA's worst team offensively, averaging 99.8 points on 39.1 % percent shooting. Against Chicago, the Jazz shot 53.9% from the floor and were 45.7% from 3-pointer range at 16 of 35.

Collin Sexton added 24 points for Utah, and Walker Kessler had 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Chicago's Coby White came on in the second half to score 28 points, tying it twice late in the third quarter. But the Bulls, playing without injured leading scorer Zach LaVine, were unable to take the lead after falling behind by 15 points.

Ayo Dosunmu scored 25 points on 9-for 13 shooting, and Nikola Vucevic had 23 points for Chicago. The Bulls have lost two in a row to drop to 3-4.

Chicago is at Dallas on Wednesday night.

Class 1A playoffs

Toledo-Cumberland 28

Tuscola 6

Leroy - 54

Aurora Christian - 21

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 38

Salt Fork 7

Hardin-Calhoun 38

Central A & M 7

Class 2A playoffs

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 54

North Mac 32

Farmington 21

Dee-Mack 0

Maroa-Forsyth 49

Decatur St. Teresa 13

Warrensburg-Latham 35

Carmi White County 30

Tri Valley - 42

Bloominghton Central Catholic - 28

Seneca - 39

El Paso Gridley - 23

Vandalia - 41

Sangamon Valley - 21

Pana - 21

Shelbyville - 18

Class 3A playoffs

Nashville 42

Olympia 35

Roxana 31

Tolono Unity 44

St. Joseph-Ogden 48

West Frankfort 0

Sullivan-Okaw Valley 32

Mt. Carmel 6

Eureka - 29

Peotone- 22

Williamsville-49

Carlinville-14

Byron-57

Fairbury-20

Class 4a

Waterloo 33

Taylorville 30

Normal U-High -41

Manteno- 14

Mt.Zion-42

Carterville-21

Peoria (Notre Dame)-59

Rochester-58

Class 5A

Centralia 9

Metamora 23

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin - 24

Mahomet-Seymour - 21

Peoria - 52

Country Club Hills - 36

Rochelle -42

Aurora-7

Class 6A

Washington-52

Palos Heights-21

Chatham-Glenwood 49

Crete-Monee 34

East St. Louis 67

Springfield 0

Normal West 20

Chicago Simeon 15

Class 7A

Normal Communituy- 41

West Chicago-16

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Monticello scored on its final two possessions of the first half and scored to start the second half as they took control of a 49-20  win over DuQuoin in the first round of the Class 3A high school football playoffs Saturday afternoon in Monticello.

Ike Young opened the game with a 64-yard run on the first play from scrimmage but each team missed opportunities with good field position and offense came a premium until the Indians scored with 4:31 to play in the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7.

Monticello answered with a scoring drive that was capped by Young finding Carter Foran from six yards out to put the Sages up 14-7 with 1:56 left in the first half.

The Indians went three-and-out on its next possession with two incomplete passes that stopped the clock and gave Monticello plenty of time to score.

A face mask penalty on the punt return set Monticello up at the 44 yard line three plays later Young hit Foran again on a post route for a 28 yard touchdown that put the Sages ahead 21-7 with 35 seconds left in the half - their lead going into the intermission.

Out of the second half, another drive stalled out for DuQuoin and Monticello got the ball back. The Sages capalized and Young ran in another touchdown from 34 yards out to go up 28-7. 

The Sages would put the game out of reach answering a 49-yard touchdown run by DuQuoin's Triston Webb to make the score 35-13. Young scored on another quarterback run from three yards out.

The senior quarterback - who is an Illinois baseball commit - accounted for six total touchdowns. He was 11 of 16 passing for 133 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Young also ran 14 times for 163 yards and three scores. 

Foran eclipsed the 100-yard threshold again catching six passes for 108 yards and three touchdowns. 

Young was the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game.

For DuQuoin, junior quarterback Johnathan Brown had 19 carries for 115 yards with a touchdown while Webb had 16 carries for 178 yards with two scores.

The Indians ran for 319 yards but only passed for 40 yards with two turnovers. They end their season 6-4 overall.

Monticello goes to 8-2 and will advance to take on Williamsville next Saturday. Game time is to be determined.

For the first time since 2021, Monticello will host a first-round high school football playoff game when the DuQuoin Indians come to town.

The Sages finished the regular season 7-2 overall and 6-2 in the Illini Prairie Conference. Coach Cully Welter says its nice to have a home playoff game after having to make back-to-back trips of three-plus hours in the first round the last few years.

DuQuoin knocked off Monticello last year in DuQuoin. Coach Welter says this year's team is a little different from what they saw last year.

Coach Welter says DuQuoin does a lot of things well and anticipates them blitzing a lot.

Game time is 2 pm on Saturday in Monticello. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

First round action this week

Class 1A

#16 Aurora Christian (5-4) at #1 LeRoy (9-0)

#14 Salt Fork (5-4) at #3 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (8-1)

15 Central A & M (5-4) at #2 Hardin-Calhoun (8-1)

#11 Tuscola (5-4) at #6 Toledo-Cumberland (7-2)

Class 2A

#16 Dee-Mack (5-4) at #1 Farmington (9-0)

10 El Paso-Gridley (6-3) at #7 Seneca (8-1)

#14 Bloomington Central Catholic (5-4) at #3 Tri-Valley (8-1)

#9 Carmi-White County (7-2) at #8 Warrensburg-Latham (7-2)

#13 Shelbyville (6-3) at #4 Pana (8-1)

#12 Sangamon Valley (6-3) at #5 Vandalia (8-1)

#15 Decatur St. Teresa (5-4) at #2 Maroa-Forsyth (8-1)

#11 North Mac (6-3) at #6 Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond (8-1)

Class 3A

#16 Prairie Central (5-4) at #1 Byron (9-0)

#10 Peotone (6-3) at #7 Eureka (8-1)

#11 Paxton-Buckley-Loda (6-3) at #6 Monmouth-Roseville (8-1)

#16 West Frankfort (5-4) at #1 St. Joseph-Ogden (9-0)

#9 Tolono Unity (6-3) at #8 Roxana (7-2)

#13 Olympia (6-3) at #4 Nashville (8-1)

#15 Mt. Carmel (5-4) at #2 Sullivan-Okaw Valley (9-0)

#14 Carlinville (5-4) at #3 Williamsville (8-1)

#11 DuQuoin (6-3) at #6 Monticello (7-2) - 2 pm Saturday

Class 4A

13 Peoria Notre Dame (5-4) at #4 Rochester (7-2)

#12 Mt. Zion (6-3) at #5 Carterville (7-2)

#10 Normal U-High (7-2) at #7 Manteno (7-2)

#14 Taylorville (5-4) at #3 Waterloo (8-1) 

Class 5A

#9 Metamora (6-3) at #8 Centralia (6-3)

#15 Country Club Hills Hillcrest (5-4) at #2 Peoria (7-2)

#14 Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (5-4) at #3 Mahomet-Seymour (7-2)

 #11 Jacksonville (6-3) at #6 Joliet Catholic (6-3)

Class 6A

#16 Springfield (5-4) at #1 East St. Louis (8-1)

#9 Chicago Simeon (7-2) at #8 Normal West (7-2)

 #12 Crete-Monee (6-3) at #5 Chatham-Glenwood (7-2)

#15 Dunlap (6-3) at #2 Oak Lawn Richards (8-1)

#10 Palos Heights-Shepard (7-2) at #7 Washington (7-2)

#11 Lemont (6-3) at #6 Bloomington (7-2)

Class 7A

#27 West Chicago (6-3) at #6 Normal Community (8-1)