By Ben Cox
High School Football
It was a hot week 3 in high school football with temperatures in the low to mid 80s. This week is a story of the haves and have-nots. West Central
had one of the biggest shutouts in WIVC history Saturday at North Greene, trouncing the Spartans 62-0. The Cougars are gearing up for week 4 when they face off with the Carrollton Hawks. Routt had a tough test this week when they welcomed Brown County. The Hornets put their foot down early and never looked back with a 40-0 win. The Rockets are going to need to find a way to score points when they head to archrival Triopia next week.
Speaking of the Trojans, they had an equally tough test against the #2 1A team in the state in week 3 with Camp Point Central. Camp Point won decisively 44-0. Looking at the biggest school in the area, Jacksonville had some improvements in week 3 but were no match for Sacred Heart-Griffin, falling 55-20. The Crimsons hit the road to Springfield to take on Lanphier (1-2). The Crimsons should be able to handle the Lions and find themselves back in the win column next week.
High School Volleyball
Jacksonville volleyball split the last week’s worth of matches, going 2-2. The Lady Crimsons are now 5-5 and 1-2 in Central State 8 Conference play. They have two formidable conference opponents this coming week with games split between Normal U-High, Quincy, Decatur-Eisenhower and Chatham-Glenwood. They will look to sweeten up their conference record before they visit the Troy Triad Tournament to start the month of October.
The Triopia Lady Trojans went 2-3 since our last edition, taking wins over PORTA-AC Central and Decatur-Eisenhower but with some close losses to Barry-Western, Dunlap and Mattoon. Triopia will face more of their WIVC Conference foes in the coming weeks.
Due to my incomplete records, I have South County at 8-5; West Central at 0-6 and Routt at 3-8. South County took 10th place at the Montgomery County Invitational. More tournaments are on the way.
Illinois College Athletics
Congratulations go out to IC Head Football Coach Ray DeFrisco. The Blueboys secured DeFrisco his 50th career victory at the helm on September 13 when they defeated Lake Forest 28-25 in overtime at home. A couple of local players carried the load in the winning effort. Wide receiver Kyle Leonard caught nine balls for 132 yards and two scores, including the final touchdown in overtime. Linebacker Drake Stuart had 14 tackles (one for loss) and a sack. The Blueboys hit the road for the first time in the 2025 season when they travel to Chicago to face the University of Chicago this week.
The IC women’s volleyball team heads home this week for the Illinois College Invitational. They are currently 4-5 on the season. The IC women’s soccer team picked up a win over Manchester College at home this week to push their record to 3-2-1. The men’s soccer pitched a 2-0 shutout against Webster at home this past week. The men’s team is 3-1-1.
