Football Special Section 03/19/21 Journal-Courier

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FOOTBALL 2021 MARCH 19, 2021 50 cents A special supplement to the Journal-Courier

2 • Friday, March 19, 2021 • Jacksonville Journal Courier

NEW BERLIN

Pretzels hope to keep making strides

By Travis Zuellig

NEW BERLIN

For the Journal-Courier

Locally Owned & Independent Community Bank Dennis Mathes | Journal-Courier Locally & Independent Theduring mission ofOwned thepractice.

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New Berlin fell to eventual IHSA team, and try to come into next and stableseason community bank focused on playClass 3A state champion Wiltrying to look at the The mission of the Warren-Boynton providing high quality financial products liamsville before beating Pleasoffs. We don’t want to get too far Bank serveOne its customers service. out is intofront. of the things ant Plains in Week 8 to set and upState apersonal and communities by remaining a strong we preach here is to enjoy the chance to reach the postseason.

Business Banking/Commercial Loans and stable community bank focused journey, so we take it day byonday, The Pretzels fell to Athens, a providingand high quality financial products that is what our focus playoff team, in Week 9, but the is on.”

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offensive line.

Meiseman will be back for his junior season after some success as a sophomore. He completed 96-of-185 pass attempts for 1,398 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also rushed for 448 yards on 100 carries and eight touchdowns.

He led the team in all three categories.

“Last year as a sophomore, playing in the Sangamo (Conference), it’s a tough conference, especially your first year,” Hill Online said.

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throughout the season from what he was at the beginning at game one to what he was at the end. I felt like by the end of the year, he had started to grow.”

Juniors Mason Oschwald and Mike Miller return on offense as well. A few newcomers include juniors Matt Crow, Cody Spencer and Troy Williams, and sophomores Flynn Tirey and Kevin Howell.

The Pretzels will host Auburn, Williamsville and Riverton before going to Pittsfield in Week 4.

New Berlin will close out the season hosting Pleasant Plains and traveling to PORTA/A-C Central.

“Hopefully, it gives our seniors a chance to go out and showcase their skills and have a chance to play with their buddies and their fellow seniors for one more time before they move on to the next facet of their life,” Hill said.

“We have some young guys that I think have been waiting for their chance and their opportunity and hopefully, they make the most of it.”

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The New Berlin football team has made slow but undeniable progress on its way to becoming a playoff team under third-year head coach Seth Hill.

The Pretzels haven’t made the playoffs since 2015, but the team had a chance late last season, needing two wins in the final three games to earn a winning record.

New Berlin (4-5) returns a younger team for this spring season, led by returning junior quarterback Joey Meiseman. The Pretzels graduated two of their three leading rushers and their four leading receivers, but Hill thinks this spring will be a good time for this young team to grow.

“For these six games, I say stay healthy, and I think that is a big part of it. We want to try everything we can to keep our players as safe and healthy as possible,” Hill said. “I think outside of that, a lot of growth is what we are hoping for. We want to be able to use these six games as a chance to see some of our younger players. We have a lot of young guys this year and we want to take this time to grow, mature and develop some skills to help us out moving forward.”

To close out last season, the Pretzels needed two wins to finish with a winning record.

Friday, Mar 19 Auburn, 7 p.m.

Friday, Mar 26 Williamsville, 7 p.m.

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Jacksonville Journal Courier • Friday, March 19, 2021 • 3

NEW BERLIN — (from top, l-r): Michael Buehrle, Joey Meiseman, Colby Willhite, Tanner Frye, Wes Preckwinkle, Connor Sheley, Dominic Petrilli, Zachary Trout, Lucas Bixby, Ben Hermes, Alex Stone, Cole Oliver, Kevin Howell, Flynn Tirey, Landon Snider, Dylan Cook, Collin Featherston, Hayden Surratt, Cody Spencer, Austin Pasley, Skyler Hackwith, Dominic Pecoraro, Jadyn Perry, Vernon White, Troy Williams, Noah Lyons, Malakai Vaughn, Will Kindred, Will Cummings, Caleb Woolfolk, Michael Sanders, Trent Turley, Noah Anderson, Ethan Mudd, Jaxson Taylor, Mason Oschwald, Bryce Pridemore, Matt Crow, Mike Miller, Izaac Luckey and Evan Cully.

(Note: New Berlin declined to sit for a team photo.)

4 • Friday, March 19, 2021 • Jacksonville Journal Courier

Photo courtesy Winchester High School

WEST CENTRAL — (not listed in order): Mason Berry, Cole Meyer, Conner Turner, Tyson Brown, Chance Little, Brayden Little, Lathan Barnett, Tanner Whewell, Brody Gregory, Owen Barber, Rylen Shaw, Eli Brown, Landon Barnett, Andrew Kaufmann, Isaiah Gregory, Jackson Ford, Jackson Surratt, Jake Bangert, Dylan Fox, Noah Smith, Zach Magelitz, Eli Crews, Kody Holmes, Brenden Clanton, Matthew Hopkins, Gabe Drake, Ethan Slagle, Josh Bailey, Parker Hoots, and Grant Frost.

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Jacksonville Journal Courier • Friday, March 19, 2021 • 5

WEST CENTRAL

Cougars hope to break through

By Dennis Mathes

WEST CENTRAL

dmathes@myjournalcourier.com

Even in a short season, there’s plenty for the West Central football team to play for this spring.

The Cougars, who won two games last year and were within a touchdown in four other games, hope this is the year they get over the hump.

“We still have that opportunity to go play conference games, and I know last year we were in quite a few games and just fell a little bit short a number of times,” coach Matt Coultas said.

And West Central has the team to do it. This season the Cougars have right around 30 players, and 10 of them are seniors. “It’s really nice that those senior boys are going to get to have an opportunity their senior year to play some football,” Coultas said.

Several seniors return to key the Cougars’ offensive and defensive lines. “We do have a couple pieces that are going to be tough spots to fill from some graduation last year, but I’ll tell you what — Gabe Drake’s come in and has looked really good throughout the summer and the time we did get the opportunity to work through the pandemic here,” Coultas said.

Noah Smith and Ethan Slagle and Brayden Little also return after helping the Cougars win the Western Illinois Valley Conference basketball championship. “We’re really looking forward to seeing what they have the opportunity to do,” the coach said.

Slagle and Smith, two huge contributors for the basketball team this year, figure to make a big impact in football as well.

“Both those kids have really lost a lot of weight in the off-

Saturday, Mar 20 at Calhoun, 1:30 p.m.

Friday, Mar 26 GreenfieldNorthwestern, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 2 North Greene, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 9 Carrollton, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 16 at Pleasant Hill, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 23 or Saturday, Apr 24 WIVC Crossover Game

A West Central player catches a pass during practice this week.

season before basketball, and they’re trim and very mobile young men,” Coultas said. “I think, really, the sky’s the limit for them. We could see them on the ends of the line of scrimmage, or we could see them as tackles on our offensive side of the ball. And defensively, down-linemen or even defensive end types. So, you know, it’s nice to have those 6-5 bodies on the corners.”

Tanner Whewell, who started playing football with West Central’s youth program, is back for his senior season. “It was nice for him to see that eighth year come to fruition,” Coultas said.

Senior Dylan Fox returns at guard, and senior Eli Crews is back as well on the offensive side. “Both those guys are solid defensive kids as well,” Coultas said. “They’ve been with us throughout the duration here.”

The Cougars have added a

couple of players from the golf team as well. “I think that’s great for those guys to be out with us,” the coach said.

The player everyone will be talking about this year figures to be running back Andrew Kaufmann, who skipped basketball to get ready for the football season.

“That young man has really put some time in the weight room throughout the pandemic and really put on some size, and looks very dynamic for us at this point,” Coultas said.

Kaufmann is 6-foot-4 and pushing 230 pounds coming into the season. “Big, strong kid. … He’s quite a specimen of a young man, that’s for sure,” Coultas said.

“He’s a versatile young man.

With his size and physical ability, we could probably use him more like a Swiss Army knife than anything, I think, this

Dennis Mathes | Journal-Courier

year,” the coach said.

West Central lost its starting quarterback from a year ago when Wes Hughes moved to Missouri with his family.

Hughes wound up leading Southwest Livingston County to a state championship in eightman football last fall and was named Player of the Year.

Stepping in will be sophomore Tyson Brown, a backup quarterback last season. “We really like the young man we’ve got,” Coultas said, “but we’re going to go through some growing pains as well.”

A short season will be tough on many young players. But Coultas said Brown has been in the weight room and worked hard to get ready for the season.

“He’s taken it upon himself to get some other kids around and work on stuff outside of our normal practice schedule to where, he’s definitely put the time in to

rise to the occasion to be that player for us,” the coach said.

Grant DeWitt returns as the Cougars’ defensive coordinator.

“I know what he’s going to do, but we don’t have a good idea on where people are going to be,” Coultas said. “But with that senior leadership, I can’t imagine that a number of those kids aren’t going to be on that defense in some shape or form.

“We’ve got a couple or three junior boys in the Barnett twins, Landon and Lathan. Those kids logged a lot of time on our defense last year. They’re real aggressive young men who have also put some time in during the offseason to build a better body structure.”

Jackson Ford, a junior, is another solid player who should see time on both sides of the ball. “He’s probably the tallest kid we’ve got in our program,” Coultas said.

Coultas said the Cougars are fixed a little better at linebacker than they were last year. “I think we’re trying to test the waters there,” the coach said. “We’ll probably see Andrew Kaufmann in there some. See Lathan Barnett and Eli Crews — he’s been a linebacker for that group for the last couple of years, so I can’t imagine that he’s not going to have quite a bit of time in there as well.”

6 • Friday, March 19, 2021 • Jacksonville Journal Courier

David Blanchette | For the Journal-Courier

PORTA/A-C CENTRAL — First row (l-r): Isaak Espenschied, Nate Logsdon, Blake McDaniel, Jake Sinclair, Dalton Knapp, Cole Klauzer, Kobe Williams and George Sherren IV. Second row: Assistant coach Duran Rademaker, Landon Smith, Declan Larakers, Tobin Turasky, Logan Peterson, Colby Flanders, Johnathan Loeffler, Jordan McNulty, Clayton Miller, Josiah Espenschied, and assistant coach Bill Shaub. Third row: Assistant coach Jake Stewart, Landon Eilers, Hunter Stroupe, Gatlin Servis, Jacob Vogel, Levi Bradley, Mitchell Horn, Trace Shaub, Jordan Vickers, Paige Klauzer, and head coach Lonnie McAnally.

“It was a great thing for us to have, to be quite honest. I have been around the fitness center and the weight room a long time, and I have never seen the kids so amped and excited for what they were doing. So it has been a positive for us.”

— Lonnie McAnally Coach

Jacksonville Journal Courier • Friday, March 19, 2021 • 7

PORTA/A-C CENTRAL

Extra prep time could help PORTA/A-C Central

By Travis Zuellig

For the Journal-Courier

2019 was a whirlwind of a first season for PORTA/A-C Central head football coach Lonnie McAnally.

McAnally made a quick decision to take the job right before the season. He had only days to implement an offense and defense, and had to shuffle his staff around after defensive coordinator Scott Chambers suffered a stroke in late August.

The Bluejays (3-6) finished in the bottom half of the Sangamo Conference. But in spite of everything that happened last season, McAnally felt it was a successful year, and he’s excited about his team going into this spring season after a long winter getting ready.

“It was a pieced-together process,” McAnally said. “A 3-6 season, and with everything that went on, we felt pretty good about what we did.”

Having the extra time to prepare this fall and winter helped. “It was a great thing for us to have, to be quite honest,” the coach said. “I have been around the fitness center and the weight room a long time, and I have never seen the kids so amped and excited for what they were doing. So it has been a positive for us.”

PORTA/A-C Central will return a veteran team for this spring season, with eight starters back on both offense and defense. The most notable returning player is quarterback Nate Logsdon. The senior committed to Illinois Wesleyan in January. McAnally said Logsdon has come a long way and has worked to get better over the fall and winter.

Senior Jack Sinclair, an

David Blanchette | For the Journal-Courier

PORTA/A-C Central players stretch at practice last week.

All-Sangamo Conference selection last year, returns at running back for his final season. Blake McDaniel, a senior guard, will be expected to anchor the offensive line and defensive line.

Colby Flanders, described as a big guy who wants to get to the ball, will be starting at middle linebacker on defense.

Flanders also is expected to get reps on offense at tight end.

The Bluejays will play Southwestern, Pleasant Plains, Pittsfield, Athens, Riverton and New Berlin in this six-game schedule. McAnally expects to prepare as if this were a normal season.

“I don’t see it any differ-

ent,” the coach said. “It is a shortened season of course.

We just feel fortunate that we are able to play. Like I said, it was tough staying positive not knowing the outcome if we were going to have it. We are very excited and feel fortunate.

We prepared for it, so we will take what we can get right now.”

PORTA/A-C CENTRAL

Friday, Mar 19 Piasa Southwestern, 7 p.m.

Friday, Mar 26 Pleasant Plains, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 2 at Pittsfield, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 9 Athens, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 16 at Riverton, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 23 New Berlin, 7 p.m.

8 • Friday, March 19, 2021 • Jacksonville Journal Courier

GREENFIELD-NORTHWESTERN

Lansaw, Davenport set to lead Tigers

By Travis Zuellig

GREENFIELDNORTHWESTERN

For the Journal-Courier

The Greenfield-Northwestern football team will be returning one of the most experienced backfields in the area. Seniors Jacob Lansaw and Denver Davenport will have the chance to play out their last six games during this spring season.

The two combined for 21 total touchdowns during their junior seasons as the Tigers (8-3) made the playoffs for the sixth time in the past seven years, falling to Arcola 23-14 in the second round of the IHSA playoffs.

Head coach Joe Pembrook, who is in his ninth season in charge, said those two seniors, plus the rest of the senior class, have made it a little easier for the Tigers to get back into football during the pandemic.

“We have an eager group of kids that are excited to get back out there,” Pembrook said. “We are fortunate enough to have some experience coming back from last year, so that has made this difficult year a little bit easier as we transition back into practice. We have a lot of guys that have good leadership and got valuable time last year. The guys are ready to go.”

Lansaw and Davenport had

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besides Lansaw and Davenport, including senior Blake Woelfel and juniors Brady Pembrook and Drake Stuart.

Woelfel scored three touchdowns with 519 yards on 30 receptions. Pembrook led the team with 39 receptions and recorded 457 yards and three touchdowns. Stuart rushed for 370 yards on 74 carries and eight touchdowns.

Greenfield-NW will have to Dennis Mathes | Journal-Courier replace some linebackers due to graduation but will return er grasp of our offense and our the entire secondary, giving Mon. &They Thurs.do(only) offensive schemes. a the defense plenty of experigood job on both sides of the ence at the second level.

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Davenport led the Tigers with 114 carries for 418 yards and was second on the team with nine rushing touchdowns.

He also had 22 receptions for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Pembrook expects those two, along with the team’s other seniors, to use their experience this spring.

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BEARDSTOWN

Tigers rebuild around offensive line

By Dennis Mathes

BEARDSTOWN

dmathes@myjournalcourier.com

After the best season in school history, the Beardstown football team is mostly starting over this season. But not completely.

“Defensively, we bring back Clement Kayembe and Oscar Espinoza up front,” Beardstown coach Robbi Howard said.

“They’ve both been first-team all-conference defensive lineman types. That’s a good start. They’re both offensive starters for us as well. Clement’s played tight end for us in the past. He’s actually going to play some running back for us this year. And Oscar’s been a staple on our offensive and defensive lines.”

Espinoza, who will play in the Illinois High School Shrine Game in Bloomington later this year, will be a key to Beardstown’s offense. “Great player,” Howard said. “He’s going to go to Illinois College next year and continue his career as a football player and student-athlete. Quiet leader. We only have three seniors on this team. It’s always been a small class. But Oscar’s always been the leader, and Clement and Armando (Martinez) have been really good as well.

But Oscar’s been the leader, and he’s been our leader up front, and he’ll be one that we rely on. We’re going to run behind him a whole bunch this year.”

Also returning is Owen Quigley, who played defensive back last year as a freshman, and Lucas Domitien, who also saw a lot of playing time. “They’ll be a big part of our receiving corps and defensive backfield,” Howard said. “Besides that, we’ve got a lot of spots to fill. And we have some young kids that I think can do it.”

Martinez and Owen O’Hara, who both started last year on the offensive line, are back, too. They’ll be joined on the line by junior Harry Juarez, a solid performer at the JV level, and Isaac Guaddarama. A freshman, Braxton Baer, could also see some time on the line, along with sophomore Heber Olivas. “I think we could be as good an offensive line as we’ve ever had,” Howard said.

“We don’t have a ton of kids, but our top six or seven, I really like, and I think will battle it out and hopefully find our best five,” the coach said.

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Beardstown players warm up before a recent practice.

Howard thinks this team will score a lot of points. The Tigers have a new quarterback — Jacob Pate, a star pitcher on the Beardstown baseball team. “He has a great arm,” the coach said. “He’s a really good baseball player. I think he would have been a starter at a lot of places. The last couple of years, obviously, we had Clint Cooper, who was a really good quarterback. He was kind of stuck behind him. But Jacob can throw it. He’s a big-time baseball recruit.

“With Owen, Lucas, Treyvon McKinney and some other kids — Ryan McClenning, some receiver-type kids, with Clement and Denmark Mahilom out of the backfield, we think we can take advantage of his arm.

And that’s why we really are hoping for fast fields, because we think we can throw it a little bit this year.”

The Tigers are faced with replacing the

Dennis Mathes | Journal-Courier

irreplaceable Pascal Guilavogui and Avery Quigley in the backfield. Mahilom, who got a little time at running back last year, should be ready to step in. And Beardstown is taking a good, long look at Clement Kayembe, who has played at tight end and defensive end. “He’s 6-2, about 225 pounds, and moves pretty well,” Howard said. “So we don’t know for sure if it’s going to work out yet, but we’re going to give him a shot at running the football, and we think he can do good things there for us.” The Tigers also could expand their QB run game.

Spots on the defensive line were still up for grabs early in practice. “Clement and Oscar, they’ve been, both, two-year starters —will be three-year starters after this year, at defensive end,” Howard said. “We’re looking for interior defensive linemen.

Maybe the toughest spot we have to fill,

of all the spots — obviously, Pascal (Guilavogui) and Avery (Quigley) were great players — but filling Clint Cooper’s spot at inside linebacker … he was the leader of our defense for three years. So finding a Mike linebacker and a defensive leader is a huge task. We’ve got a couple of young guys that we’re looking at — Brock Krumboltz and then Owen O’Hara, who’s also an offensive lineman for us — we think they can do some good things for us, but we know they’re both young. We’re going to have to grow up in a hurry with the season being so condensed. But we like what those guys do, and hopefully we can get them coached up and get them on the same level as some of the linebackers we’ve had in recent times.”

Beardstown followed COVID-19 rules in the offseason. Players participated mostly in weightlifting and sprinting as the school went back and forth between full remote and hybrid learning. “It seemed like every time we were getting some momentum, our school would go back to fully remote, so we’d have to stop, obviously,” Howard said.

“We haven’t gotten nearly as much off-season as we’re used to in a normal year. But, no excuses.”

Numbers are low. The Tigers’ roster is in the upper 20s — but they’ve always been able to accomplish a lot with a few players.

“We went 11-1 last year and had 32 kids,” Howard said.

“Hopefully, we can build on that,” the coach said. “These kids — a lot of them were a big part of it. Some of them were on the sidelines or they weren’t in school yet or maybe they didn’t come out yet. So hopefully, seeing that and seeing how those kids operated for four years — Avery and Pascal, Clint, Braden, all those guys. And hopefully, these guys know what we expect.

And we expect to put out another good product this year.”

12 • Friday, March 19, 2021 • Jacksonville Journal Courier

ROUTT

Rockets ready to take off

By Dennis Mathes

dmathes@myjournalcourier.com

The Routt football team doesn’t have a lot of players. But many of the key returners picked up some valuable experience in a tough 2-7 season.

And that’s cause for excitement in Rocketland.

“Just like everybody else has, we’ve done a lot of stuff against air, but we just need to see where we’re at when we line up on our first week,” coach Barry Creviston said. “I really like our starters, and we’ve got some role players who I’m really excited about as well. We just don’t have a lot of depth.

“They’ve been working hard all summer, and all COVID, and the kids we have, I’m excited to see what they can do in the WIVC,” the coach said.

Inexperience and injuries took a toll on last year’s team. This season, the players are much more familiar with the system.

“We are going to be small in numbers, but we’ve got the right kids out, so we’re excited for who we’ve got,” Creviston said.

Key returners — all with another year’s experience — include senior wide receiver/ defensive end Charlie Peters; junior defensive back/running back Alex Coop; sophomore running back/linebacker Will Jack-

son; sophomore quarterback/ defensive back Kohen Hoots; junior wide receiver/defensive back Braden Cors; junior defensive end/tight end Gus Abell; senior offensive lineman/ linebacker Jonah Hutton; senior offensive lineman/linebacker Reed Davis; sophomore linebacker/offensive lineman Kyler Gibson; and sophomore lineman Colton Decker.

Hoots figures to be dramatically improved over last season.

“We started a freshman, and he got his foot to the fire Week 2, so he’s got seven games under his belt, and we’re expecting big things out of him,” Creviston said. “And his maturation process should help us. We’ll go as far as our quarterback position will take us.

“If you think about,” the coach said, “you give the reins of your football program to a 14-yearold, and you hope he’s experienced, and you hope he’s ready, but when things are going fast, as you continue to get better at the quarterback position, you have to learn how to slow the game down, and things come easier to you as you get better and more experienced.”

Hoots will have plenty of targets. Creviston said Peters and Cors both looked great in the offseason, and Coop and Abell both were reliable pass-catchers

GO ROUTT ROCKETS!!

last year.

Will Jackson figures to get most of the carries this season, but he’ll have some help in the backfield.

“I think Will Jackson will probably get the majority of the rushes,” Creviston said. “We’ve got Alex Coop, and also a sophomore, Dax Baptist.

“They’re young. Will Jackson’s been working hard in the weight room, so he’s put on about 20 pounds of good muscle.

And again, he didn’t get a lot of runs last year with Birdsell and Rossi in the backfield, but we’re expecting a lot of good things out of him. He’s just a big, strong, tough, hard-nosed runner.”

Routt will have an offensive line made up mostly of upperclassmen.

“I think part of the problem last year was the same — I don’t think we played the same five guys every game, every week,” Creviston said. “So I’m hoping we can put together a good group of five guys that can be a solid offensive line and just come together and jell.”

Hutton will be a key player on the line.

“Jonah Hutton’s the leader of the offensive line,” Creviston said. “He’s been out there for four years. He put on about 20 pounds of good muscle as well.

He’s one of our strongest players on the team.”

Sophomore lineman Colton Decker has been working hard in the weight room. Davis is a little undersized at guard, but he’s strong, and has a wrestling background. Gibson played a lot as a freshman and increased his strength in the offseason.

Creviston expects to see more consistency out of the team’s defensive unit. “We’re going to be very fast, so I hope that — you know, sometimes you like to be big and bulky and be run-stoppers, and in our conference, you kind of have to be,” the coach said. “But we’re going to try to put our speed on the field to run sideline to sideline and be able to stop teams that way.”

Jackson, Hutton and Reed Davis figure to be Routt’s linebackers. “Those three guys are pretty strong, fast guys, so I expect big things out of them,” Creviston said.

“Jonah Hutton is one of the top linebackers, in my opinion, in the conference,” the coach said. “He led the team in tackles last year.

So I expect him to be a defensive leader.”

Coop had a couple of interceptions at defensive back last year, and Hoots should be improved in the defensive secondary as well.

The biggest improvement in

Good Luck Routt Rockets!

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ROUTT Saturday, Mar 20 at Mendon Unity, 1 p.m.

Saturday, Mar 27 Camp Point Central, 1 p.m.

Friday, Apr 2 at Brown County, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Apr 10 Triopia, 1 p.m.

Saturday, Apr 17 Beardstown, 1 p.m.

Friday, Apr 23 or Saturday, Apr 24 WIVC Crossover Game

the team will be the confidence that comes with experience.

“Just the comfortableness of running the offense with Hoots, and just guys stepping up and making plays when they’re called upon,” Creviston said. “That’s going to be the biggest thing. If it takes us three weeks to figure out what our identity is, the season’s almost going to be half over. So I’d like to come out early and run our base stuff and hope our kids have picked it up, and take off from there.”

The Rockets worked out at 6 a.m. the first week of practice to accommodate Routt’s basketball players.

Creviston said he was hoping his team would get a chance to play football this year.

“I hoped they would, for the kids’ sake,” the coach said.

“They worked their butts off trying to get to this position, and I’m glad the IHSA opened things up, along with the state. I know everybody’s been waiting about 400 days to get to this point, so hopefully they’re all excited to get ready and get going.”

Have a Good Season Routt Rockets!

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Jacksonville Journal Courier • Friday, March 19, 2021 • 13

ROUTT — First row (l-r): (51) Jonah Hutton, (28) Gavin Amdal, (60) Preston McCurry, (69) Roger Rehberg, (53) Avery Biggs, (49) Jack Wisdom, and (12) Alex Coop. Second row: Assistant coach Jamie Jackson, (2) Noah Oldham, assistant coach Chris Gibson, (16) Kohen Hoots, (65) Yawo Mignanou, (1) Carter Lightfoot, (8) Eli Pine, (66) Kyler Gibson, (58) Reed Davis, and (11) Dax Baptist. Third row: Head coach Barry Creviston, (77) Braddock Bearden, (15) Will Jackson, (88) Gus Abell, (9) Charles Peters, (24) Braden Cors, (57) Eli Oldham, (72) Colton Decker and assistant coaches Joe Krall and Kyle Graham.

GOOD LUCK ALL AREA TEAMS! The Home Of

14 • Friday, March 19, 2021 • Jacksonville Journal Courier

CALHOUN

Calhoun hoping to make the most of shortened season

By Travis Zuellig

CALHOUN

For the Journal-Courier

Saturday, Mar 20 West Central, 1:30 p.m.

Saturday, Mar 27 at Carrollton, 1 p.m.

Friday, Apr 2 Pleasant Hill, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Apr 9 at North Greene, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Apr 16 at GreenfieldNorthwestern, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 23 or Saturday, Apr 24 WIVC Crossover Game

Calhoun players run through a drill during a recent practice.

seniors from last season, so Calhoun will be returning plenty of starters. With Nelson out this season, two different underclassmen will have a chance to start at quarterback.

Sophomore Hunter Roth and freshman Miles Lorton both have been taking snaps in practice.

One key returner on the offense will be running back

Sage White, who was the Warriors’ leading rusher from a season ago. The then-sophomore ran for 895 yards on 166 carries, and scored 12 touchdowns. Senior DJ Lorton rushed for 116 yards on 17 carries last year and should be expected to get more touches this season. Colton Snyder, who was out last season with an injury, also will be getting

David Blanchette | For the Journal-Courier

the ball out of the backfield.

On the offensive line, Cole Chapman, Cale Burris, Trevor Eickmeyer and Kyle Robeen all return.

Elmore thinks the defense will be better this season with Brody Castleton, Kaden Baalman, White, Chapman and Burris all returning.

“I think the defense will be much improved,” the coach

HAVE A GREAT SEASON CALHOUN!

said. “We have kind of been lacking there the last couple of years, and I think with size and experience alone, that is going to help us tremendously.

So I am thinking we are going to be twice as good this year on defense.”

Calhoun will host West Central and Pleasant Hill this year, and play on the road at Greenfield-Northwestern, Carrollton and North Greene before the crossover game with the Western Illinois Valley Conference North Division.

“We have been working hard pretty much since last season,” Elmore said. “We had a great buy-in with kids on getting in for weight lifting and doing what we could during the times we were able to lift and run and all that good stuff.

C “We are just excited to have W a season, that is for sure.”

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2020 was supposed to be a big year for the Calhoun football team after the Warriors lost just two seniors from the 2019 squad. Size and experience were going to be key for a team that had compiled three straight two-win seasons.

Despite senior quarterback Corey Nelson missing this spring season with a torn ACL, and no playoffs to push for, Warriors head coach Aaron Elmore said this team is ready to achieve after working hard over the winter.

“They have gotten a lot bigger and stronger. We pretty much have everybody back, and they have grown substantially,” Elmore said.

“You don’t have the playoffs to play for, but I think this group of guys just want to be successful and want to win,” the coach said. “We have kind of been building toward this season for the last couple, and we talked at the end of last year about some of our goals.

Right now, we are playing six games and just taking it one game at a time. We are going to try to enjoy them and play the best we can for each one of those games.”

The Warriors lost only two

Jacksonville Journal Courier • Friday, March 19, 2021 • 15

David Blanchette | For the Journal-Courier

CALHOUN — First row (l-r): D.J. Lorton, Brennen Grimes, Auggie Squier, Hunter Medling, Miles Lorton, Charlie Kallal and Scott Roanes-Mager. Second row: Cole Chapman, Trevor Eickmeyer, Hunter Roth, Luke Wickenhauser, Kyle Robeen, Lex Johnson and Ayden Leavell. Third row: Grant Gilman, Cale Burris, Brody Caselton, Will Hurley, Cole Robeen, Steven Margheris, Joe Stein and John Kronable.

“We have kind of been building toward this season for the last couple, and we talked at the end of last year about some of our goals.

Right now, we are playing six games and just taking it one game at a time. We are going to try to enjoy them and play the best we can for each one of those games.”

— Aaron Elmore Head coach

16 • Friday, March 19, 2021 • Jacksonville Journal Courier

WEEK BY WEEK SCHEDULES WEEK 1

Beardstown Friday, Mar 19 Jacksonville at Rochester, 7 p.m.

Piasa Southwestern at PORTA/A-C Central, 7 p.m.

Camp Point Central at Brown County, 7 p.m.

Auburn at New Berlin, 7 p.m.

Pleasant Hill at Carrollton, 7 p.m.

Williamsville at Pittsfield, CANCELLED Saturday, Mar 20 Routt at Mendon Unity, 1 p.m.

Triopia at Beardstown, 1 p.m.

West Central at Calhoun, 1:30 p.m.

Greenfield-Northwestern at North Greene, 1 p.m.

WEEK 2

Friday, Mar 26 Jacksonville at Glenwood, 7 p.m.

Mendon Unity at Triopia, 7 p.m.

Brown County at Beardstown, 7 p.m.

North Greene at Pleasant Hill-Western, 7 p.m.

Greenfield-Northwestern at West Central, 7 p.m.

Pleasant Plains at PORTA/A-C Central, 7 p.m.

Pittsfield at Riverton, 7 p.m.

Williamsville at New Berlin, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Mar 27 Camp Point Central at Routt, 1 p.m.

Calhoun at Carrollton, 1 p.m.

WEEK 3

The Pretzels run a play during practice at New Berlin this week.

Dennis Mathes | Journal-Courier

Friday, Apr 2 Lanphier at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.

Routt at Brown County, 7 p.m.

North Greene at West Central, 7 p.m.

Beardstown at Mendon Unity, 7 p.m.

Carrollton at Greenfield-Northwestern, 7:30 p.m.

Pleasant Hill at Calhoun, 7:30 p.m.

PORTA/A-C Central at Pittsfield, 7 p.m.

Riverton at New Berlin, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Apr 3 Triopia at Camp Point Central, 1 p.m.

WEEK 4

Friday, Apr 9 Decatur Eisenhower at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.

Carrollton at West Central, 7 p.m.

Calhoun at North Greene, 6:30 p.m.

Camp Point Central at Beardstown, 7 p.m.

Mendon Unity at Brown County, 7 p.m.

Greenfield-Northwestern at Pleasant Hill, 7 p.m.

Athens at PORTA/A-C Central, 7 p.m.

New Berlin at Pittsfield, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Apr 10 Triopia at Routt, 1 p.m.

WEEK 5

Friday, Apr 16 Jacksonville at Southeast, 7 p.m.

Brown County at Triopia, 7 p.m.

West Central at Pleasant Hill, 7 p.m.

North Greene at Carrollton, 7 p.m.

Calhoun at Greenfield-Northwestern (at Palmyra), 7:30 p.m.

PORTA/A-C Central at Riverton, 7 p.m.

Pittsfield at Auburn, 7 p.m.

Pleasant Plains at New Berlin, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Apr 17 Beardstown at Routt, 1 p.m.

WEEK 6

Friday, Apr 23 Normal University High at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.

New Berlin at PORTA/A-C Central, 7 p.m.

Pittsfield at Pleasant Plains, 7 p.m.

WIVC Crossover Games (TBA) Saturday, Apr 24 WIVC Crossover Games (TBA)

Jacksonville Journal Courier • Friday, March 19, 2021 • 17

MUST-SEE GAMES FOR SPRING 2021 WEEK 1

Saturday, March 20 Triopia at Beardstown, 1 p.m.

This game is interesting for so many different reasons. A rising Triopia team takes on a rebuilt Beardstown squad coming off the best season in school history on the first weekend of the shortened COVID-19 season. It’s supposed to be sunny and warm — and maybe a little soggy.

WEEK 2

Friday, March 26 Greenfield-Northwestern at West Central, 7 p.m.

Two teams with a lot of players back crack heads in Week 2. The Tigers and the Cougars boast two of the area’s best backfields.

WEEK 3

Friday, April 2 Lanphier at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.

The Crimsons get their first home game against a team they can beat in the first contest of the this-year-only sub-conference schedule. Jacksonville has some weapons and should be fun to watch.

WEEK 4

Saturday, April 10 Triopia at Routt, 1 p.m.

Even in a shortened season, this rivalry game still means something.

WEEK 5

Friday, April 16 North Greene at Carrollton, 7 p.m.

The South is wide open this season, with as many as four teams vying for the championship. Here are two of them, in what could be a crucial game.

WEEK 6

Friday, April 23 or Saturday, April 24 WIVC Crossovers By a quirk of fate, the six-week COVID19 season allows for full WIVC North and South schedules, plus this crossover game at the end. The first-place teams in each league will play one another, as will the second-place teams and the thirdplace teams, etc. Some have compared these to bowl games. And then, baseball.

Jacksonville’s Drew Ezard secures a catch during a recent practice.

Dennis Mathes | Journal-Courier

18 • Friday, March 19, 2021 • Jacksonville Journal Courier

PLEASANT HILL-WESTERN

Wolves using spring as stepping stone to fall season

By Travis Zuellig

For the Journal-Courier

David Blanchette | For the Journal-Courier

Pleasant Hill players warm up before a recent practice.

along with Bryan Pults at tight end/wide receiver. Giles said there were a few more players vying for spots early in preseason practices.

“We are young, so there is going to be a lot of learning.

But we have some athletes, so we will have to see how everything progresses,” the coach

said. “I feel like all the other teams are in the same boat as us as far as being able to do things. I think we get better as the season goes.”

The Wolves will play Carrollton, North Greene, Calhoun, Greenfield-Northwestern and West Central before their crossover game with a Western Illi-

GOOD LUCK PLEASANT HILL!

nois Valley Conference North Division opponent to close out the season.

“I am fortunate to have quite a few young guys getting ready to play this year. Our numbers appear to be a lot more this year,” Giles said. “I am really excited about the numbers. It is a good sign for our program.”

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Friday, Apr 2 at Calhoun, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Apr 9 GreenfieldNorthwestern, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 16 West Central, 7 p.m.

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The Pleasant Hill-Western football team will be looking to use this six-game spring season as a chance to build for the 2021 fall season after recording just one win in the past two seasons following the Wolves’ run to the playoffs in 2017.

The Wolves will have a young team this spring season, which should include more than 30 players. Head coach Mike Giles said this is a great chance to build on all the practice and training over the past year.

“Being so young, it is almost like being a college spring season,” Giles said. “I think it is going to help our young team out. We will have a pretty good group of seniors in the fall. We are hoping that this gets us ready for the fall season. We are going to look to improve during the spring and give our guys some playing time.”

Pleasant Hill will have to replace running back Kodiak Rogers, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season, and Kelly Ham at quarterback — both lost to graduation.

Sophomore Carter Dolbeare, who played in four games as a freshman, should be taking snaps this season.

Juniors Aidan Johnson and Conner Heatherly will get touches out of the backfield,

Jacksonville Journal Courier • Friday, March 19, 2021 • 19

David Blanchette | For the Journal-Courier

PLEASANT HILL — First row (l-r): Trey Shireman, Reese Thompson, Garret Benjamin, Erich Lopez and Gavin Coy. Second row: Zachary Al-Rawas, Carter Dolbeare, Gavin Crowder, Preston McKinnon, Aidan Johnson and Caleb Hammitt. Third row: Zach Ontis, Wade Barnes, Cohnen Heatherup, Bryan Potts, Will Carsey, DaeCorion Dolbeare and Aadyn Myers. Not pictured: Coltyn Prunner, Thorn Holcomb, Cayden Fessler, Bowman Taylor, Jeremie Taylor and Brenden Hull.

“Being so young, it is almost like being a college spring season. I think it is going to help our young team out. We will have a pretty good group of seniors in the fall. We are hoping that this gets us ready for the fall season. We are going to look to improve during the spring and give our guys some playing time.”

— Mike Giles Head coach

20 • Friday, March 19, 2021 • Jacksonville Journal Courier

JACKSONVILLE

Crimsons return 17 seniors dmathes@myjournalcourier.com

The Jacksonville High School football team has 17 seniors on the roster this spring. And any coach can tell you, the more seniors you have, the more likely you are to win — even in a season like this.

“We had a lot of practices in the summer and fall, with the contact days they allowed us,” Jacksonville coach Mark Grounds said. “There’s a good amount that’s in. The thing that we haven’t been able to do is live blocking and live tackling — almost 18 months.

So that’s a concern. It’s a developed skill. It takes time.

So now we’ve got to crunch it in a little bit. Crossover athletes, you’ve got to be careful.

So, I mean, we’re going to take it one day at a time and work to put the best team that we can on the field under the circumstances that we’ve been presented.”

All the running backs are back, several of the wide receivers are back, both linebackers are back, a couple of defensive linemen are back, and a couple of secondary guys are back. They know the system inside and out. “These kids have been playing a lot of football for us since they’ve been sophomores,” Grounds

said.

Chris Pulley, Michael Walker and Gavin Roegge all return, and they’ll be getting the majority of the carries out of the backfield this season.

“They’re all back,” Grounds said. “They had, I think, most of our rushing touchdowns after Week 2, when Tyger Vaniter got hurt. So there’s a lot of experience, a lot of familiarity with the offense that’s there. And you couple that with a two-time all-conference tight end in Drew Ezard who’s the anchor to a young line and receiving corps, I think that bodes well for us offensively.”

It’s a good mix. “I think we’ve got a good complementary style of runners,” the coach said. “We’ve got the power guys, and we have the slashers, and speed. They each have, I think, a good place in our offense. And we can throw some diverse running styles at a defense.”

The Crimsons return last year’s second-leading receiver, Ty Phillips, who has been starting since he was a freshman. Drew Ezard returns at tight end, and senior Kelley Hume is back. Several younger players, including junior Tyler Wright, are battling for a spot.

Senior center Calvin Darnell is the anchor for Jacksonville’s offensive line. Darnell is a two-

year starter and played a lot as a sophomore. “Smart kid.

Good leader,” Grounds said.

“One of our hardest workers.”

Myles Homann and Josh Grace will play at the guard positions, with Jaden Johnson and Aaron Puck at tackle.

“They’re juniors, but they’ve played a lot of football for us,” Grounds said. “They’ve been a group that’s started with each other at the younger levels for two years. They’ve got good size, good mobility, good quickness. So I think even though most of them are firsttime varsity starters, I think they’ve been exposed to the varsity game and have shown a lot of promise.”

On the defensive line, the Crimsons return Devin Lovell, a junior who’s seen playing time since his freshman year, and Jaylon Jackson, a threeyear starter at nose guard.

Drew Ezard and Chris Pulley will man the defensive end spots.

Isaac Willner and Karter Chappell will be in their third seasons at inside linebacker.

Outside linebackers figure to be Phillip Johnson, Carnell McGee and Drew Ezard.

Jaliek White will also figure into the mix.

Grounds said Jacksonville’s defense should be improved.

“I think with some of the guys who were spot players

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last year that put the work that they’ve put in, some of our speed and athleticism has increased,” he said.

The Crimsons will have to replace their kicker. They’re looking at Kelley Hume and Nathan McCombs, a soccer player who has been working out with the football team since the summer. “We’ve had some good crossover players in the past from soccer to football, and he appears to be in the same mode as those guys who were standout kickers and had opportunities to kick in college for us. We’re excited to get Nathan out, and we’re ready to roll.”

Players were looking forward to the fall season before it was taken away, then as the pandemic wore on into early January, hope started to fade.

Then, suddenly, football was back on.

“From the time that they announced it, our kids — we’ve had the best turnout in the weight room we’ve had in a long time,” Grounds said.

“Our open gyms and contact day at practice have had great turnouts. Great enthusiasm.

Great hustle.”

In an effort to make the games more competitive in a six-game season, the Central State Eight divided the league into two divisions of five teams each, based on their I

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Friday, Mar 19 at Rochester, 7 p.m.

Friday, Mar 26 at Glenwood, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 2 Lanphier, 7 p.m.

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Friday, Apr 16 at Southeast, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 23 Normal University High, 7 p.m.

records over the past two years. Teams will play four teams within their division, plus two crossover games this year. “That’s probably the best and most equitable schedule that gives everybody a chance to have a little bit of success,” Grounds said.

Jacksonville opens with its two crossover games, at Rochester and at Chatham — two of the league’s best teams. “We start off with them, so we’ve got our work cut out for us,” he said. “But it also gives us some challenge.”

And student-athletes will get a chance to play. Some have misgivings about a spring football season, but Grounds said it beats the alternative.

“Well, it’s a lot better than no football,” the coach said.

“It’s been a long time coming.

It’s going to have its own unique circumstances — snow and rain, and a shortened season. But it gives our kids an opportunity to participate for the first time in over 18 months. … And we’re excited to get started.”

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Jacksonville Journal Courier • Friday, March 19, 2021 • 21

JACKSONVILLE — First row (l-r): Rees Megginson, Jose Garcia, Trayvion Johnson, Moses Banks, Ian Willner and Brighton McNeece. Second row: Tyler Wright, Michael Walker, Jacob Pool, Michael Hills, Carnell McGee and Chris Pulley. Third row: Phillip Johnson, Jaliek White, Kentravion Jackson, Jaylon Jackson and Devin Lovell. Fourth row: Case Turner, Calvin Darnell, Ty Phillips, Karter Chappell, Isaac Willner and Mason Meyer. Fifth row: Gavin Roegge, Nathan McCombs, Ryan Hutchison, Aaron McBride and Ryan Maul. Sixth row: Drew Ezard, Jaden Johnson, Marcel Hanowski and Brianna Dobson. Seventh row: Aaron Puck, Landen Fricke, Laurence Littler, and Trey Elliott. Eighth row: Elijah Owens, Christian Bartlett, Jaden Dill, Josh Grace, Myles Homann, and Talon Ford. Ninth row: Assistant coaches Damian Anderson, Jon Zang, and Tim Thrasher, head coach Mark Grounds, and assistant coaches Jae Owens, Mike Sullivan, and Brent Heaton. Tenth row: Manager Eric Walden, and assistant coaches Garrick Adams, Mark Dyer, Trey Cook and Mike Chappell.

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22 • Friday, March 19, 2021 • Jacksonville Journal Courier

BROWN COUNTY

Battle-tested Hornets set for 2021 season

By Dennis Mathes

BROWN COUNTY

dmathes@myjournalcourier.com

Tom Little and the Brown County football team enter the 2021 spring season with a roster that’s a little thinner than usual, but the Hornets are confident.

Brown County is in the low 30s this year. “We had some kids who graduated early and some kids who had some other things going on,” Little said. “So it was just — not where we normally are, but we’re real excited about the kids we’ve got.”

Early graduation forced some difficult decisions. “We had a couple of kids — they had to make a tough choice of hoping that they would have a chance to play football, or move on and start that next stage in their life,” Little said. “And they chose to go ahead and start the next stage of their life. We’re happy for them in that. We just wish they would have had the opportunity to keep playing.”

The group coming back is battle tested. The Hornets have experienced the postseason and have been through plenty of tough games — none tougher than last year’s 22-21 loss to Greenfield-Northwestern in the first round of the playoffs.

Key returners include quarterback Tate Fullerton and offensive linemen Lars Reische, Chance Fuqua and Clayton Schenk. Reische and Fuqua were also defensive standouts for the Hornets last year.

“We’re really looking forward to having those guys coming up and contributing,” Little said.

Fullerton is in his junior year. “Tate is just a really smart kid,” Little said.

“He’s a great team leader, and he’s a good athlete. He threw for a lot of touchdowns last year, which doesn’t happen a lot in our offense. He’s able to run the ball. His leadership is invaluable. So he’s a nice piece that we’re happy to have for these next two seasons.”

Several players were vying for playing time on the offensive line early in

Friday, Mar 19 Camp Point Central, 7 p.m.

Friday, Mar 26 at Beardstown, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 2 Routt, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 9 Mendon Unity, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 16 at Triopia, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 23 or Saturday, Apr 24 WIVC Crossover Game

Dennis Mathes | Journal-Courier

A Brown County player works on tackling technique during a recent practice.

preseason practice. “We’ve got a lot of guys right now in that hunt,” Little said. “We’ve got Mason Henry, who’s a junior that got a lot of good JV time, so we’re expecting some good things from him, along with Jake Laning, who is in that same boat. They got a lot of reps last year at the JV.” The Hornets are replacing their entire corps of running backs, but Little said the team has a lot of choices there. They include Ezra Keokham, Brody Woodward, Bryar Lenover, Colby Wort, Cole Behymer, Caleb Farve and Trevon Volk.

All of them were tested at the junior

varsity level last season.

“These guys all got opportunities last year,” Little said. “Our backfield was senior-heavy last year, so these guys got most of their carries in JV games.

“We’ve got a lot of guys in that backfield,” the coach said. “We’re excited about the depth there and the potential each of them brings.”

Little said it’s a good mix. “All of them are really good athletes, but they bring a little bit something different to the table,” he said. “One might have a little bit more size, one might have a little bit more quickness, one might be better at catching the ball out of the

backfield. So we have a lot of different pieces to use with all the different kids we have in the backfield.”

Brown County will use several of those same players at wide receiver.

The Hornets return tight ends Gabe Blakeley and Ethan Lehne, and that’s a plus. “They’re big targets that can do a lot,” Little said.

Fuqua and Reische will anchor Brown County’s defense at linebacker. “Chance Fuqua has always been a solid linebacker for us, along with Lars Reische, and those are two big pieces that we have back,” Little said. “But you also have Bryar Lenover, who’s a senior linebacker for us, and Trevon Volk, who’s done a nice job. And then we’ve got some sophomores that we’re really liking, too, in Colby Wort and Gavin Montgomery.”

Defensive backs will include Keokham, Woodward, Wort, Behymer and Fullerton.

“They’re very athletic,” Little said.

“A lot of them are playing basketball right now, so they should be in pretty good shape for the season, and our basketball team’s done really well this year.”

Little said he’s excited about giving the seniors one last chance to play.

“I was really worried that this group was going to end with how we ended in the playoffs last year against Greenfield, and that was going to be their last taste of Brown County football,” the coach said. “We’re just real excited that we get another opportunity with these guys to keep trying to play games, and hopefully we’ll get some wins and just send them off on a really good note because they’ve been really big contributors to our success over the last four years.”

Jacksonville Journal Courier • Friday, March 19, 2021 • 23

BROWN COUNTY — First row (l-r): Colby Wort, Caleb Farve, Ezra Keokham, Brody Woodward, Tate Fullerton, Cole Behymer and Carter Maas. Second row: Ethan Oliver, Clayton Schenk, Gavin Montgomery, Bryar Lenover, Trevon Volk, Dalton Reische and Kayden Sorrells. Third row: Ethan Lehne, Logan Wilson, Chance Fuqua, Gabe Blakeley, Mason Henry, Marcus Perry and Lars Reische.

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24 • Friday, March 19, 2021 • Jacksonville Journal Courier

Photo courtesy Pittsfield High School

PITTSFIELD — First row (l-r): Jonas Petty, Javan Petty, Mason Pherigo, Elijah Leonard, Konner Allen, Bobby Stout, Juluis Jackson, Matthew Edwards, and Aidan Poor. Second row: Issac Helms, Justin Pennock, Marco Ballinger, Jeremiah Jackson, Preston Bonds, Frank Smith, Noah Turnbaugh, and Weston McAllister. Third row: McKelvey Mohr, Colton Story, Ethan Palmer, Gauge Gratton, Ian Damon, Joe Ladner, Logan Howland, and Kamden McAllister. Fourth row: Lane Yelliott, Jason McKee, Kadin Hittner, Cameron Walker, Corey Guthrie, John Grahovac, Skyler Harvey, and Ethan Thompson. Fifth row: Nathan Gunder, Cade Corgiat, Aaron Shaw, Aiden Duncan, Hunter Beck, Tracer Mowen, Skyler Smith, and Robbie Grummel. Sixth row: Joey Swan-Vandee, Jesse Place, Wyatt Potter, Elijah Mendenhall, Joel Clements, and Caden Anstedt. Not pictured: Levi Chaplin, Nate Anderson, and Keller Personett.

“Our goal is as it was the last two years, and that is to compete first.

I am confident our kids are dying to get back into what they lost 11 months ago, and throughout the last 11 months.”

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Jacksonville Journal Courier • Friday, March 19, 2021 • 25

PITTSFIELD

Big freshman class could mean a bright future for Pittsfield

By Travis Zuellig

PITTSFIELD

For the Journal-Courier

It has been a tough first couple of years for head coach Paul Petty and the Pittsfield football team. The Saukees were struggling for numbers in Petty’s first two seasons with just 31 players in his first year and 42 in his second.

But things appear to be looking up this spring.

Pittsfield (1-8) is expecting more than 50 players for this spring season, thanks to a big freshman class. This fivegame spring season could be key in the development of a program that has won only one game in each of the past two seasons.

“We tried to make it as best we could because we had such a nice turnout with our student-athletes and we wanted to keep them busy,” Petty said. “We are excited about what we are seeing. We are lgoing to fill some voids we ohaven’t had in a while.” d Petty hadn’t named a startw,ing quarterback early in preiseason practice. But whoever is under center should have plenty of weapons available, and will be protected by a veteran offensive line.

Tight end seniors Lucas Ruble and Joel Clements will be returning, along with junior wideouts Bobby Stout, Jonas Petty, Mason Pherigo and Ethan Palmer. Last season’s leading rusher, Gauge Gratton, will return for his senior season. Sophomores Jeremiah Jackson, Jason McKee and Lane Yelliott should also see playing time at the skill positions.

“I believe we open up the season with one of the best receiving corps that we have

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A Pittsfield player hauls in a pass during practice this week.

seen in awhile — the most athletic, and they have probably worked the hardest on the football field in the last 11

months,” Petty said. “A lot of reps out on the football field by themselves, with quarterbacks throwing and the

Dennis Mathes | Journal-Courier

receivers catching.”

On the offensive line, seniors Skyler Smith, Cameron Walker and Aden Duncan

will be ready to protect the backfield and clear lanes for the running backs. Petty said another four players are vying for a spot on the line.

The coach said his seniors have worked hard this winter to get bigger and stronger.

“They all got valuable reps last year,” Petty said. “Walking in the door this year, they are probably benching 100 pounds more than they were last year at this time.

The weight room has been really good for them, and we need to get the legs back in shape. And I am looking forward to the confidence they are bringing because of the way they are pushing in the weight room.”

Pittsfield cancelled it first game of the season, against Williamsville, due to low numbers. The team is missing 12 players who are on COVID-19 quarantine. All 12 are expected back for Week 2.

Petty, whose Pittsfield team plays in the Sangamo Conference, said his team is excited to compete.

“Our goal is as it was the last two years, and that is to compete first,” the coach said. “I am confident our kids are dying to get back into what they lost 11 months ago, and throughout the last 11 months.”

26 • Friday, March 19, 2021 • Jacksonville Journal Courier

TRIOPIA

Triopia football team returns depth, experience — and golfers

By Dennis Mathes

dmathes@myjournalcourier.com

Some area high school football teams are a little short on players this spring, for various reasons.

Not Triopia.

Graduation losses notwithstanding, virtually everyone returns — and the Trojans have added some players for the shortened spring season. Several student-athletes who play golf during the fall football season have joined the team this spring.

“They’ve been a really, really nice blessing for us,” coach Adam Brockhouse said. “They’ve actually performed very well.”

The newcomers join a team that was young and inexperienced last year but still managed to win a couple of games. “We were just so young,” Brockhouse said. “I mean, they couldn’t even tell you what a guard trap was last year coming off week one.

But man, do they look really, really good right now.

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Early practices have gone well.

Brockhouse has been impressed by the dedication of the student-athletes who are playing both basketball and football. “It’s been one heck of a season with basketball guys either being at practice, not being at practice,” Brockhouse said. “They’ve been showing up in the morning, lifting, and then days that they play games, they don’t come because they’re getting ready to play a basketball game. And the other days, they’re here.

“It’s been exciting. I finally have a full roster back this year, which — I’m excited to see some kids come back.”

Triopia lost four starters from last year’s squad, but everyone else is back. Cordell Walker returns as the team’s feature back. “He had a very, very good campaign last year,” Brockhouse said.

Walker has worked to build up his lower body strength. He’s a much stronger runner this year.

“There were a couple things last year, going back on film — little taps on the lower half, he’d fall down,” Brockhouse said. “But I was asking a sophomore to be my feature back. This year, even at practice, he’s taken those bumps and he’s just kind of rolling off.

So it’s been a very nice piece.”

Joining Walker will be Brendan Kanaske — who had a good junior year despite being injured — and Brayden Booth, who saw some playing time last season and could surprise some opposing defenses this year. “He looks really, really good right now for us in the backfield,” the coach said.

Caden Moore is expected to step in at fullback. “His vision on a football field is very, very nice,” Brockhouse said. “He sees holes.

He sees traps very well.”

The Trojans will have a solid, experienced offensive line this season. “We really don’t have a weak piece,” Brockhouse said.

“Our interior three are going to be very, very good for us this

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year.”

Ty Malcomson is moving from the backfield to a guard slot.

Brockhouse said he should be a solid fit on the line.

“Between him, (Sam) Stanberry at center and Isaac Strubbe playing guard, we’re going to be able to be back to our true bucksweep football,” the coach said.

“But our tackles look really, really good — athletic — so we can run that C-gap, and in between tackles. And then our ends — and with some other skill positions — we can spread the ball out just a little bit more and get people out

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of the box. It’s going to be fun.”

Joining Malcomson, Stanberry and Strubbe on the line will be Owen Bell, who returns at tackle.

Ben Krause, one of those golfers, should fill another tackle slot.

Ryan Snow, who was expected to play at tight end, was injured during basketball and will miss the football season. But the Trojans return Aiden Neathery, as well as Garrett Bell, who is playing football again. Booth will be able to rotate out of the backfield into a tight end spot when needed.

Connor Musch, sidelined by a series of injuries over the past two years, returns this year.

Musch will be vying for playing time at quarterback with Jake Mueller, who was thrown into the position as a freshman last season.

Triopia has options at virtually every position, and Brockhouse wants to use the team’s depth to its advantage. “We’re going to try to stay as fresh, physically, as possible this year with as much depth

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Jacksonville Journal Courier • Friday, March 19, 2021 • 27

TRIOPIA — First row (l-r): Eli Pahlmann, Owen Bell, Sam Stanberry, Eric Caldwell, Mason Fricke, Brendan Kanaske, Charly Gallegos, Connor Musch, Ben Krause and Garrett Bell. Second row: Jake Mueller, Aiden Neathery, Caden Moore, Sam Sullivan, Cordell Walker, Brayden Booth, Isaac Strubbe, Ty Malcomson, and Brady Hildebrand. Third row: Austin Lamaster, Ian Kessler, Hunter Wooldride-Short, Will Bateman, Zach Bolton, Brandon Bottens, Evan Murphy, Kasey Beard, and KJ Beck. Fourth row: Cooper Pahlmann, Steven Reynolds, Jackson Gaines, Jakob Harris, Evan Bell, Amari Little, Zach French, Jack Cox, George Gallegos and Carter Lakamp.

as we have,” the coach said.

Experience, and talent, will h allow Triopia to do some things offensively that they couldn’t do last year. And the circumstances call for experimentation. With no postseason and no pressure to make the playoffs, Brockhouse plans to loosen the reins a bit.

The coach said the team is still going to try to win, but he wants to work on some things that the team could carry into the 2021 fall football season. Most of the spring team will be coming back this fall.

“With no playoffs, it gives us the freedom to kind of experiment here and there with what we have coming back for that fall season,” Brockhouse said.

Limited to walk-throughs and drills because of basketball, Triopia still has some work to do on defense. Brockhouse said he doesn’t want to risk injury — one problem with overlapping seasons. “It’s basketball season right now, so I’ve got to give Coach T (Rich Thompson) and those boys their respect,” Brockhouse said.

The coach said he expects Trio-

pia to play smarter on defense.

The inside three — Strubbe, Stanberry and Malcomson — are looking good. All three learned a lot last year.

Garrett Bell and Moore will start at the defensive end/linebacker spots. Neathery will fill in, especially when Moore needs a break.

The on-again, off-again nature of high school sports during the pandemic has taken a toll. But the 2021 football season is on.

“I am very excited — especially for the seniors,” Brockhouse said.

“The way the kids were this fall was brutal. Every day, it kind of hurt your heart a little bit coming in because the kids — it was, hey, what if, what if, what if. And they would get a little bit of guidance, and then all of a sudden they’d get shut down again.”

There have been challenges.

Brockhouse, a part-time ref, worked 15 straight days before finally getting a day off this week.

“It’s been a whirlwind, not only for myself, but for our kids,” the coach said. “They’ve addressed how hard it is for them to try to

flip that basketball mode — OK, now we’re playing football, but yeah, we’ve got to go back to basketball. So that transition is really hard. It’s been hard for my staff — the majority of things we do in the spring … that’s when they go on their family-time trips.

I’m usually officiating. This year has been unreal officiating-wise, trying to leave practice and sprint to a game to officiate.

“But you come out, smile, and bring all the energy you physically can, and the kids have been enjoying it.”

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CARROLLTON — First row (l-r): Dylan Buerke, Karson Kraushaar, Caleb Howard, Preston Harrelson, Wyatt Settles, Holden Hayden, Brady Carroll, Trent Shinn, Kyle Coats, Konner Campbell and Gabe Hunt. Second row: Jackson Cotner, Mason Baumgartner, Willie Gilmore, Bodie Flowers, Matt Retherford, Gus Coonrod, Noah Sweeten, Matt Beiermann, Myka Bryson and Tyler Singleton. Third row: Connor Luper, Hayden Flowers, Travis Evans, Matt Camden, Kyle Leonard, Harley Angel, Ethan Harrelson, Deizel Middleton, Max Arnett, Grant Pohlman and Wyle Barrow. Fourth row: coaches Zach Duba, Paul Kesinger, head coach Nick Flowers, and coaches Rodney Flowers, Luke Spainhoward and Kurtis Weber.

“We feel like we’re going to be deeper on the offensive line than we’ve been in a couple years. Depth-wise, we kinda feel like we’re two-deep across the line.”

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Jacksonville Journal Courier • Friday, March 19, 2021 • 29

CARROLLTON

Hawks carry on despite COVID-19

By Dennis Mathes

CARROLLTON

dmathes@myjournalcourier.com

COVID-19 has plagued the Carrollton football team for months.

The coronavirus abruptly ended team camp in October.

“We actually got a couple days’ worth of camp in, and then we got shut down,” Carrollton coach Nick Flowers said. “We had a boy tested positive on the team, so it shut our whole camp down.”

Carrollton High School went fully remote after that. Just like everybody else, the Hawks weren’t allowed to do any group workouts again until the first of the year. And just this past week, the WIVC South schedule was changed because players on four of the six teams are in quarantine.

But things are coming together in Carrollton. “We encouraged as many boys as we could to play basketball so they could get some running in,” Flowers said, “and we got back to doing our : sstrength training. We’ve had great sattendance. Not a lot of numbers — we’re starting with 33. And so we’re still a little bit lower. We only have one returning senior, and we have a second senior coming back out, so we have two seniors.”

Matt Retherford, who got a lot of playing time as a receiver on last year’s state quarterfinal team, is the Hawks’ only returning senior. Next year Carrollton will bring in 11 or 12 freshmen. But that’s next year.

The Hawks started six sophomores last season, so they’ve got plenty of experience coming back. Nobody opted out of football because of COVID-19 or anything else.

But the Hawks will be missing their biggest piece, Hunter Flowers, the all-time greatest quarterback in school history. “Losing Hunter Flowers is — he’s irre-

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Carrollton’s Gus Coonrod throws a pass last week.

placeable,” Flowers said. “We felt like we were going to replace him with Grant Pohlman, who was a great receiver/running back for us last year, mostly a slot receiver.”

Then Pohlman was sidelined by a torn tendon in his elbow. He’s doing well but won’t be released until this summer or fall.

Instead, junior Gus Coonrod will step in at QB. Coonrod is the brother of major league pitcher Sam Coonrod, now with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Coonrod played basketball this season, which has made it doubly tough to get him worked into the system. “It’s going to be challenging,” Flowers said. “But I know we’re not the only ones dealing with it.”

Harley Angel, who showed signs of greatness last year, will anchor the running back spot.

“Harley’s going to get a bunch of carries,” Flowers said. “If there’s one thing that we may do a little bit more this year, you may see a

few more guys back there carrying the ball off and on — move Harley around a little bit. We’ll probably mix things up a bit much more when it comes to runpass and screens.

“If there’s a year that I’d say that we’re going to be 50-50 on run-pass, it may be this year,” the coach said. “Just with the weather — what are we going to have in March and April? I just feel like we’re going to be dealing with rain. And if we don’t, then so be it. But I think that we’re going to be forced to probably mix things up a little bit more.”

The Hawks return most of their linemen, including Hayden Flowers at tight end and defensive end. “Once again, we’re going to be junior-dominated, with a lot of experience,” the coach said.

Junior Travis Evans is back at center, along with junior Ethan Harrelson, who started last year as a sophomore. Junior Myka Bryson also started off and on

Dennis Mathes | Journal-Courier

last year. Wyle Barrow is another junior on the line. Sophomores Matt Beiermann and Willie Gilmore are slated at the guard spots.

Other players will see time on the line as well.

“We feel like we’re going to be deeper on the offensive line than we’ve been in a couple years,” Flowers said. “Depth-wise, we kinda feel like we’re two-deep across the line.”

Carrollton will have quite a few receivers back this season, including Retherford, who led the league in receiving yards last year.

Other receivers include Hayden Flowers, a nice target at tight end; junior Max Arnett; and Kyle Leonard, who racked up a bunch of yards and made some big-time TD catches in big games last year.

“We’ve got some big size up front, and experience, and some receivers,” Flowers said. “If we can just get them the ball, we’ll

be all right.”

On defense, the linebackers will be Angel and Retherford, who is moving from his corner/ safety slot.

Carrollton’s defensive line and secondary will be strong, with Hayden Flowers and Ethan Harrelson at defensive end. The secondary will include Max Arnett, Gus Coonrod and Kyle Leonard.

Sophomore, Tyler Singleton should get some playing time at defensive back as well. Hunter Flowers’ brother, Bodie Flowers, will play at receiver and DB and will get a lot of varsity reps this season. “He’s really fast,” the coach said. “He’s a lot faster than his brother Hunter was.”

The WIVC South will be tough this year, with strong rushing attacks at West Central, North Greene and Greenfield-Northwestern. “Our focus is going to be to slow these teams down,” Flowers said. “To say we’re going to stop them would be arrogant.

But we’re going to slow these teams down, for sure.”

Flowers is one coach who didn’t think there would be a football season this year. As it is, there’s not much time to get ready. The coach is worried about injuries, a lack of strength training, and tackling. “We want to teach tackling properly, and we’re going to be short on time to do that,” Flowers said.

30 • Friday, March 19, 2021 • Jacksonville Journal Courier

GO GSOPA

SPA

NORTH GREENE — First row (l-r): Jacob Suttles, Jordan Nichols, Karter Heberling, Will Merriman, and Owen Baird. Second row: Dalton Smith, Thomas Hazelwood, Brayden Allen, Kai Crain, and Calvin Shaw. Third row: Gunar Speaker, Gannon Williams, Colton Daniels, Landon Icide, and Gage Landis. Fourth row: Cayden Eilers, Lane Eschbach, Tyler Hodgson, Ethan Seaton and Zander Landis. Fifth row: Quentin Campbell, Noah Riley, Ben Tepen, David Hicks, and Jaiden Slater. Not pictured: Dalton Mitchell, Taylor Gaige, Tyler Goodall, Blayne Nunes, Adam Winters, Jerome Fane, Steven Pope, Michael Wilson, Hunter Janvrin, Walker McMillen and Isiaha Mudd.

“Baby steps, you know? Had good numbers considering the basketball players weren’t out there for the most part, but everything was kind of slow motion. We’ve got a lot of kids who have never done this before. The kids that were missing were my kids who are up to speed. So everything — for me, it was slow motion. But they did well. They’re picking it up pretty quick.”

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Jacksonville Journal Courier • Friday, March 19, 2021 • 31

NORTH GREENE

Mitchell, Speaker set to lead Spartans

By Dennis Mathes

dmathes@myjournalcourier.com

ball,” Allen said. “Two or three of my starting skill guys play basketball. So getting the timing down, where we’re game ready, is going to be really, really difficult.

So every second that I get with those basketball kids is going to be beneficial. But trying to get the timing down in basically 10 days is going to be a task.”

The Spartans have a lot of seniors back this season, including quarterback Dalton Mitchell.

“He is phenomenal,” the coach said. “I’m totally blessed to have Dalton.”

The team’s junior running back, Gunar Speaker, will be the star of the show this year, according to the coach. Senior co-captain Karter Heberling also will play a big role at running back. “I sort of made a spot for him that’s not typically in this offense,” Allen said. “But he’s such a dynamic kid, we had to figure out a way to get him in the backfield somehow and give him the ball.”

A major point in North Greene’s favor is that every single lineman from last year is back.

“Our starting line’s going to look a lot the same,” Allen said. “We lost two seniors, but all five of these guys had playing time at the varsity DRIVElevel UP last year. That’s sortAVAILABLE! of our bright spot. We’re not very deep at the line. We have a DRIVE UP couple of underclassmen that I’m really pleasedAVAILABLE! with. But we’ve

With basketball players playing basketball, the North Greene football team had to get back to basics in early practices for the 2021 spring season.

“Baby steps, you know?” coach Donnie Allen said. “Had good numbers considering the basketball players weren’t out there for the most part, but everything was kind of slow motion. We’ve got a lot of kids who have never done this before. The kids that were missing were my kids who are up to speed. So everything — for me, it was slow motion. But they did well. They’re picking it up pretty quick.”

North Greene has just over 30 players on the roster, although Allen was trying to get a few more to come out. Some juniors aren’t playing because of work and other pursuits. Allen said he asked one senior who worked out with the team this summer if he was going to play this spring.

“He’s like, no, it’s planting season,” Allen said. “So I know he was going to play, but I’m not going to have him because it’s time to put the crops in.”

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got four seniors and a sophomore who are going to be in our starting lineup.”

Linemen will include left tackle Brayden Allen, a backup last season who has played a lot of snaps on the varsity level, and left guard Owen Baird, who filled in at center last year when freshman Lane Eschbach was injured in Week 2. Eschbach is back for his sophomore season and will step back in at center.

North Greene’s right guard will be senior Kai Crane, with Thomas Hazelwood at right tackle.

The Spartans return several wide receivers, including Jacob Suttles, who had some big receptions last season. “Big, tall basketball player kid,” Allen said. “We’re not sure who we’re going to have at our X yet. We know that Taylor Gaige is going to be somewhere. I’d like to have him be that Brady Brown role, that slot receiver, put him in the backfield sometimes, jet sweeps with him … but it’ll depend on if we have that X receiver that I can plug in there.”

The Spartans are giving senior Calvin Shaw a strong look at that spot.

Gaige could be this year’s Brady Brown. “I’ve watched film from last year,” the coach said.

“Every time he has the ball in his hands, it feels like he has the potential to break it. I just don’t feel like he’s got that confidence

yet in his ability. He could be a total game-changer all by himself.

If he figures it out and understands how good he could be, I think he can definitely be that Brady Brown for us.”

North Greene’s defense could be another strong point, with many players coming back. The interior D-line starts with Owen Baird at nose. Kai Crain will figure in at defensive nose or tackle, and Hazelwood will be playing somewhere on the line. Brayden Allen will return to his spot at defensive end. North Greene will have enough players to sub guys in. Tall and strong Walker McMillen will get some playing time. And Lane Eschbach could play down in the dirt, although he’ll most likely start at linebacker.

Senior Dalton Smith figures to get some time at defensive end. Smith had some knee issues last year and did not play. “He’s a big, strong, quick kid, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do,” Allen said.

Tyler Goodall, the team’s number two tackler behind Brady Brown last year, returns at linebacker. “He was a stud at linebacker for us,” Allen said.

Either Eschbach or Speaker will play at the other inside linebacker spot. Both outside linebackers — Jordan Nichols and Karter Heberling — return.

The Spartans have plenty

Good Luck North GreeNe!

NORTH GREENE

Saturday, Mar 20 GreenfieldNorthwestern, 1 p.m.

Friday, Mar 26 at Pleasant HillWestern, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Apr 2 at West Central, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 9 Calhoun, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, Apr 16 at Carrollton, 7 p.m.

Friday, Apr 23 or Saturday, Apr 24 WIVC Crossover Game

of options at the corner spots.

Dalton Mitchell will probably play there, along with Calvin Shaw. Taylor Gaige will be in the mix somewhere in the secondary, either at corner or at safety. “We’ve got athletes that we can put in those defensive back spots,” Allen said. “I think defense ought to be our strong suit. That’s what we’re hoping for, anyway.”

The Western Illinois Valley Conference might be unique in that it just happened to have enough teams in each division for full conference schedules this year, with a “crossover” game at the end.

“That’s going to feel like a championship type of thing,” Allen said. “Everybody’s going to have an opportunity to win that last game. With a regular schedule, very, very few teams get to end their season on a winning note. It’ll be a fun little end to a six-week season.”

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