CIC:

Shelbyville 50, Macon Meridian 7
Warrensburg-Latham 14, Central A&M 13

Illini Prairie:

Bloomington Central Catholic 35, St. Joseph-Ogden 21
Fairbury Prairie Central 32, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 0
Tolono Unity 55, Pontiac 6

Apollo:

Charleston 50, Mattoon 21
Mahomet-Seymour 26, Mt. Zion 7
Effingham 55, Taylorville 12

Big 12:

Bloomington 34, Champaign Centennial 20
Peoria Notre Dame 53, Champaign Central 21
Normal Community 42, Danville 10
Normal West 54, Peoria Manual 0
Peoria 76, Peoria Richwoods 13

Central State 8:

Decatur MacArthur 62, Decatur Eisenhower 14
Lincoln 41, Jacksonville 28
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 24, Chatham Glenwood 17
Springfield 43, Springfield Southeast 14

Heart of Illinois:

El Paso-Gridley 47, Colfax Ridgeview-Lexington 18
Downs Tri-Valley 28, Deer Creek-Mackinaw 8
Eureka 63, Tremont 6
LeRoy 35, Fisher 19
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 40, Minonk Fieldcrest 14

Lincoln Prairie:

Toledo Cumberland 25, Arcola 14
Argenta-Oreana 47, Oakland Tri-County 24
Villa Grove 55, Cerro Gordo-Bement 12
Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 43, Nokomis 23
Sullivan-Okaw Valley 27, Sangamon Valley/Tri-City 0

Sangamo:

Auburn 48, Riverton 7
Maroa-Forsyth 35, Stanford Olympia 26
Williamsville 56, New Berlin 41
Athens 42, Petersburg PORTA 12
Pleasant Plains 28, Pittsfield 26

8-Man Football:

Martinsville 26, Farmer City Blue Ridge 6

Non-conference:

Decatur St. Teresa 55, St. Louis Principia/Whitfield, MO 38
Heyworth 42, Rushville-Industry 22
Normal University 73, Urbana 6

In a game heard Friday night on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons topped the Tuscola Warriors, 49-27, in a Homecoming win at Clinton High School.  
 

Clinton utilized big plays on both sides of the ball to run away with the CIC conference win.  Dawson Graves started the scoring with a 53-yard first quarter touchdown run.  Tristin Potts then took one 68 yards for a score.  Seven minutes later Graves would then go 91 yards on the ground to put Clinton up 20-0.  Tuscola would get a 16-yard run from quarterback Jordan Quinn just before half to make it 20-6 at the break. 
 

The Maroons would add a 4-yard Tristin Potts score midway thru the third quarter.  The games first passing touchdown came at the end of the third when Mason Walker found his brother Colton for a 35-yard score.  However, Tuscola would return the ensuing kickoff to bring the score to 35-13 after three.  
 

The Maroons would add a 9-yard touchdown pass from Walker to Keaton Graves early in the fourth.  Tuscola would answer with a 33-yard touchdown pass, and then recover an onside kick. The Warriors used the extra possession to get another score on a Quinn 2-yard run to make it, 42-27.  Clinton would get the last score of the night when Tristin Potts rumbled for a 67-yard score to put the final at 49-27.  
 

Potts paced the Maroons offense with 15 carries for 184 yards and 3 touchdowns. Dawson Graves had 7 carries for 165 yards, and 2 TD's.  Mason Walker was 3 of 5 passing for 61 yards & 2 touchdowns.  He also ran 4 times for 57 yards.  Colton Walker had 2 catches for 52 yards and a score.  
 

Even with the high scoring offensive output, the Maroons defense was just as impressive.  They sacked Quinn four times, intercepted him three times, and forced a fumble.  Ryan Stapleton led the Maroons with two sacks, a fumble recovery, and numerous other big plays. He was named the WHOW / Serv Pro of DeWitt/Piatt County Player of the Game.  Kristian Hibbard returned from injury with two sacks; while Keaton Graves, Logan Thoms, and Colton Walker each had the picks. 
 

Clinton held Tuscola's Jordan Quinn to 75 yards on the ground on 16 carries with two touchdowns.  The Senior was 22 of 39 passing for 187 yards, a touchdown, and the three interceptions. Austin Cummings had 11 catches for 99 yard and a score for the Warriors.   
 

Tuscola falls to 2-4 overall, and 1-2 in the CIC.  They'll host Meridian next week. 
 

Clinton improves to 4-2 overall, and 3-0 in the Central Illinois Conference.  They'll travel to Warrensburg-Latham next Friday night.  Hear all the action on all WHOW platforms! 

In a game heard on Your Easy Choice 95.9 FM WEZC, the Monticello Sages defeated the Rantoul Eagles 63-12 in a Homecoming matchup on Friday night. Mason High was named the ServPro Piatt/DeWitt Counties Sages Player of the Game for scoring a touchdown as a defensive lineman.

With the win, Monticello improves to 4-2 on the season and 3-2 in the Illini Prairie Conference. Rantoul drops to 0-6 overall and 0-5 in conference action. Rantoul faces off against Tolono Unity next week at home.

Tune in next Friday night, October 6, as the Monticello Sages travel to Paxton to take on the PBL Panthers. You can hear the game live on Your Easy Choice 95.9 FM and online at dewittdailynews.com. Kickoff is set for 7pm with the broadcast beginning shortly before.

The Arizona Diamondbacks delayed clinching an NL wild card berth, losing to the White Sox 3-1 on Thursday as Andrew Vaughn and Yoán Moncada homered for Chicago.

The White Sox finish the regular season with a series against San Diego. Hear Sunday's season finale on WHOW.

Garrett Mitchell doubled, walked twice and scored in his first big league game since April, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 on Thursday.

Corbin Burnes, Julio Teheran (3-5) and Ethan Small combined on a six-hitter for the NL Central champions. Burnes struck out four and walked one in four innings in his final postseason tuneup, throwing 39 of his 66 pitches for strikes.

Mitchell led off the third with a double off the wall in left on Dakota Hudson's first pitch of the inning. Christian Yelich then hit an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.

Hudson (6-3) was charged with three runs and seven hits in five-plus innings. He struck out three and walked three.

Yelich also doubled and scored on William Contreras' single in the first.

The Brewers added another run when Carlos Santana scampered home on Willy Adames' double-play grounder in the sixth.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, but Juniel Querecuto lined to shortstop and Burnes fanned Masyn Winn to reach 200 strikeouts for the third consecutive season.

After Burnes departed, Teheran pitched four innings. Small, making his fourth major league appearance, got three outs for his first career save.

Max Olson hit his major league-leading 54th homer, and the Atlanta Braves clinched home-field advantage throughout the postseason with a 5-3 win over the slumping Chicago Cubs on Thursday night.

Atlanta rookie A.J. Smith-Shawver allowed a run in 3 2/3 hitless innings. Kyle Wright (1-3) then came in and pitched 2 1/3 innings of one-run ball. Raisel Iglesias picked up his 32nd save with a perfect ninth inning.

Stroman (10-9) was charged with four runs, two earned, and four hits in two innings.

Seiya Suzuki had three hits and two RBIs for the Cubs. Nico Hoerner went 2 for 4 and scored a run.
 

David Montgomery helped the Detroit Lions take early command of the division with a 34-20 victory at Lambeau Field on Thursday night.

Aaron Rodgers' replacement, Jordan Love, threw for a touchdown and ran for another as he tried to rally the Packers in the second half. He finished 23 of 36 for 246 yards and had two passes intercepted by Jerry Jacobs.

Detroit led 27-3 at halftime and had outgained Green Bay 284 yards to 21 as the half ended.

Love got the Packers within 10 points. His 1-yard touchdown pass to Christian Watson capped a season-long 86-yard drive to open the second half.

Jayden Reed ended the third quarter with a 44-yard catch that set up Love's 9-yard touchdown run with 14:52 left in the game to make it 27-17.

Detroit responded with a 14-play, 75-yard drive, capped by Montgomery's 1-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-goal, that took nearly nine minutes off the clock and put the game away.

The Lions were prepared to settle for a 30-yard field goal that would have kept it as a two-score game, but they got a first down when Green Bay’s Quay Walker received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for running forward and leaping across the line in an attempt to block the kick.

Rudy Ford intercepted Goff on the third play from scrimmage to set up a field goal. Detroit then scored 24 points on its next four drives.

Goff’s 24-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open St. Brown put the Lions ahead for good. Montgomery scored on runs of 3 and 2 yards, while Riley Patterson kicked field goals of 33 and 37 yards.

The second quarter was nearly halfway over and the Lions already led 24-3 when the Packers finally got their initial first down thanks to a Detroit penalty. The Packers didn’t get a first down on their own merits until 7 seconds remained before halftime.

The Clinton Maroons golf teams both competed in regionals this week.

The boy's golf team competed in regionals on Wednesday in Metamora. The team placed sixth and will not be advancing as a team. Senior Brooks Cluver shot a 74 and was 4th in the meet. He received a top 5 medal and will advance to sectionals on Monday at Kellogg Golf Course in Peoria. Aiden Toohill finished 7th with an 83 and will also advance to sectionals.

Ryan Pine shot an 87, Cole Fentress shot a 91, Briley Carter recorded a 95, and Ashton Douglas finished with a 110.

The girl's regionals were held on Thursday in Danville. They tied for 5th but did not advance. Junior Carley Earle was 5th overall with a 90 and received a top 5 medal. She will be advancing to sectionals on Monday in Taylorville. Senior Sarah Mills shot a 92 to receive 6th overall and will also advance to sectionals.

Leah Mills shot a 123, Addie Koritz had a 124, and Grace Gates finished with 133.
 

Brandon Pfaadt pitched shutout ball for the second time in three starts, and the Arizona Diamondbacks moved closer to an NL wild card berth by beating the Chicago White Sox 3-0 Wednesday for their eighth win in 10 games.

Remember WHOW is your home for Chicago White Sox baseball.

Ozzie Albies drove in Ronald Acuña Jr. with a 10th-inning single that clinched home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs for the Braves, who dealt the faltering Chicago Cubs another devastating setback by rallying time and time again for a 6-5 victory Wednesday night.

Marcell Ozuna hit a tying homer in the ninth to set the table for Acuña and Albies, who came through with the tying and game-winning hits off Daniel Palencia.

Albies also homered for the Braves. Jesse Chavez (1-0) earned the win.

Chicago starter Jameson Taillon allowed three hits over six-plus innings, retiring 17 of 18 hitters at one point. Mike Tauchman and Ian Happ homered for the Cubs, and Happ put Chicago ahead 5-4 with a sacrifice fly in the top half of the 10th.

Darius Vines made his second big league start for the injury plagued Braves, who are down two starting pitchers in the final days of the regular season. He went six innings, surrendering four hits and two earned runs.

Tauchman launched a 402-foot drive into the Chop House restaurant in right field for his eighth homer this season. Two batters later, Happ sent one even deeper over the center-field wall for his 20th homer.

Tyrone Taylor hit two run-scoring doubles and the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers came from behind to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 on Wednesday night.

Taylor’s second double in the seventh drove in Brian Anderson with the tiebreaking run after Anderson doubled off Jacob Barnes (0-1).

William Contreras doubled and scored on Taylor's hit and an error in the sixth. Taylor took third on a throwing error by left fielder Richie Palacios and scored when Rowdy Tellez hit into a fielder’s choice.

Joel Payamps (7-5) pitched a scoreless seventh for the win. Devin Williams pitched the ninth for his 36th save in 40 chances.

The Cardinals loaded the bases with one out in the eighth off Andrew Chafin. He escaped the jam by hustling to first to take the relay throw from shortstop Brice Turang and complete a double play.

Cardinals starter Zack Thompson allowed two runs - one earned - on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Masyn Winn hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded off Milwaukee starter Wade Miley in the second inning for a 1-0 lead. That was the only run on six hits that Miley allowed in five innings.

The Cardinals capitalized on reliever Abner Uribe’s wildness for a run in the sixth. Luken Baker singled, moved to second on a walk and scored after two wild pitches.

Cardinals rookie outfielder Jordan Walker’s single in the eighth extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

>>HS Golf: Cluver Leads Clinton Boy's, Mills Leads Girls

Brooks Cluver led the Clinton Maroons boy's golf team to a match win over Maroa-Forsyth and St. Teresa Monday night at Hickory Point Golf Course in Forsyth

.

Brooks Cluver was the day's medalist and shot a 38.Aiden Toohill shot a 39 and Ryan Pine recorded a 41. Clinton as a team shot a 161. Maroa-Forsyth recorded a 184, and St. Teresa finished with 242.

Briley Carter shot a 43, Cole Fentress recorded a 47, and Ashton Douglas finished with 51.

On the girl's side, Clinton beat St. Teresa by one stroke. Sarah Mills shot a 48 and Carley Earle shot a 49.

Leah Mills finished with 53, Addie Koritz shot a 56, and Grace Gates recorded a 64.

The boys will travel to regionals on Wednesday, September 27, at Metamora Fields in Metamora at 9am. The girls regional is Thursday, September 28, at Harrison Park Golf Course in Danville at 9am.

The Clinton Maroons offense has been somewhat of a work in progress and Friday night's 50-point explosion has Coach Ron Bass excited.

The Maroons were able to roll Meridian in a Central Illinois Conference matchup Friday 54-20. Coach Bass says it was good to see the offense get going, led by quarterback Mason Walker.

Coach Bass says part of their issues defensively in the first half was an alignment miscommunication by the secondary but once that was corrected, they were able to shut down the Hawks pass attack.

The offense was balanced Friday night for Clinton and Coach Bass says they could have had more of those things. It's about becoming more consistent.

It's Homecoming week at Clinton High School. The Maroons welcome the 2-3 Tuscola Warriors to Clinton. The Maroons are looking for a second signature win after dropping Central A&M a few weeks ago. Beating Tuscola would be another big statement by Clinton.

Game time is 7 pm. Hear all the action on WHOW and all its digital platforms.

Jordan Love rallied Green Bay from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit after New Orleans lost quarterback Derek Carr to a shoulder injury, and the Packers stunned New Orleans 18-17 on Sunday.

This was Love’s fourth start overall and first at home. The 2020 first-round pick spent the last three seasons backing up Aaron Rodgers, who's now with the New York Jets and is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon.

The Packers (2-1) scored 18 points in the final 11 minutes to win their 11th consecutive home opener, the NFL’s longest active streak. They took the lead on Love’s 8-yard pass to Romeo Doubs in the right corner of the end zone with 2:56 left.

Carr’s backup, Jameis Winston, threw a couple of completions to Chris Olave that drove the Saints (2-1) into scoring position before Blake Grupe’s 46-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide right with 1:05 left. It was the first career miss in seven attempts for Grupe, a rookie who played in college at Arkansas State and Notre Dame.

Green Bay became the third team in the past 30 years to win after being shut out 17-0 or worse through three quarters. The others were Carolina against Philadelphia on Oct. 21, 2018, and Tennessee against the New York Giants on Nov. 26, 2006.

The Packers were missing five key contributors: cornerback Jaire Alexander (back), running back Aaron Jones (hamstring), wide receiver Christian Watson (hamstring), left tackle David Bakhtiari (knee) and left guard Elgton Jenkins (knee). Bakhtiari and Jones were missing their second straight games, while Watson has yet to play this season.

The Packers host Detroit on Thursday night.

Patrick Wisdom put Chicago ahead with a two-run homer in the sixth inning, Seiya Suzuki had two hits and scored twice, and the Cubs helped their playoff chances by beating the Colorado Rockies 4-3 on Sunday.

Yan Gomes also drove in two runs for the Cubs, who remained a game in front of Miami for the National League's final postseason berth. Chicago is a half-game behind Arizona for the second of three wild cards.

Jordan Wicks (4-1) allowed three runs over six innings for Chicago in its final home game of the regular season. The Cubs have won three straight after dropping seven of eight.

Brendan Rodgers and Nolan Jones homered for the Rockies in their franchise-record 99th loss.

Gomes’ sacrifice fly pulled the Cubs within 3-2 in the sixth. Wisdom followed with his 22nd homer of the season, a 432-foot drive that chased Ty Blach (3-3).

The Cubs swept a series for the first time since Sept. 4-6 against San Francisco.

Cubs LHP Justin Steele (16-5, 3.00 ERA) is scheduled to pitch Tuesday at Atlanta. RHP Bryce Elder (12-4, 3.63) goes for the Braves.

Patrick Mahomes threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns, his All-Pro tight end caught Travis Kelce seven passes and one of the scoring throws, and the Chiefs romped to a 41-10 victory over the Bears - much to the delight of their newest fan, Taylor Swift, who joyfully pounded on the glass of her Arrowhead Stadium suite throughout the afternoon.

Jerick McKinnon had a pair of touchdown catches and Isiah Pacheco and Clyde Edwards-Helaire added touchdown runs, helping the Super Bowl champion Chiefs (2-1) deal the Bears (0-3) their 13th consecutive loss dating to last season.

Embattled Bears quarterback Justin Fields was 11 of 22 for 99 yards with an interception and a meaningless touchdown in the final minutes. He also led the Bears with 47 yards rushing, a good chunk of that coming on a 17-yard scramble, as the league's 27th-ranked offense finished with just 203 yards against one of the NFL's fast-improving defenses.

The Chiefs began their assault with the first of Mahomes' two TD passes to McKinnon, then Edwards-Helaire scored from a yard out to make it 14-0 early in the second quarter. When the Bears punted a third consecutive time, Mahomes hit McKinnon again to extend the lead, and Kansas City proceeded to score on its next four possessions.

As for Fields, well, the QB was not just robotic but inaccurate. When one of the league's most porous offensive lines wasn't allowing the Chiefs to pressure him, Fields was consistently missing open targets down field.

He was picked off by Mike Edwards late in the first half, leading to Pacheco's touchdown run. And when Harrison Butker added the second of his two field goals, the Chiefs were able to take a 34-0 lead into the break.

Bears starting safety Eddie Jackson was inactive with a foot injury and cornerback Josh Blackwell was dealing with a hamstring injury, all before cornerback Tyrique Stevenson had to be evaluated for a concussion; he later was deemed to have an illness and did not return. Defensive backs Jaquan Brisker and Jaylon Johnson also were hobbled during the game.

The Bears host the Denver Broncos next Sunday.

Mike Clevinger pitched six solid innings, Elvis Andrus had a two-run double and the Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in a rain-shortened game on Sunday, ending a string of 12 straight series losses.

Trying to avoid their second 100-loss season in five years and the fifth in club history, the White Sox took two of three from the Red Sox and captured their first series since August 7-9 when they went 2-1 against the Yankees.

Chicago outfielder Luis Robert Jr. left with a sore right knee after stealing his 20th base. He has 38 homers and 36 doubles, becoming the first White Sox player with 35 homers, 35 doubles and 20 steals.

Clevinger (9-8) gave up two runs and five hits without striking out or walking a batter.

Playing with rain falling most of the time for the second straight day, the White Sox scored twice with just one hit against Kutter Crawford (6-8) to take a 2-1 edge in the fifth.

Gavin Sheets’ sacrifice fly made it 3-1 in the sixth.

It was Chicago’s first road series win since August 4-6, at Cleveland. The White Sox won the season series against Boston, 4-2.

The White Sox have an off day Monday because their scheduled game against Arizona was moved to Thursday so the Diamondbacks could play a makeup game in New York against the Yankees. RHP José Ureña (0-6, 7.27 ERA) is set to start the first of a three-game series vs. Arizona on Tuesday.

Hear this week's action on WHOW.

The San Diego beat the St. Louis Cardinals 12-2 in their home finale. Juan Soto had a big day as well, hitting a 461-foot homer and driving in four runs.

Jose Azocar also homered for the Padres, who had nine extra-base hits in winning for the ninth time in 10 games. Their best stretch of the season is likely coming too late to avoid an embarrassing pratfall.

The Padres came into this season with World Series aspirations after reaching the NL Championship Series last fall but have been a major disappointment. They've been under .500 since May 12 despite having a payroll of around $250 million, the third-highest in the majors.

Xander Bogaerts doubled, tripled and scored twice for the Padres, who moved closer to elimination from the wild-card race after the Cubs and Diamondbacks both won.

Soto hit a three-run homer off lefty Drew Rom (1-4) in the first inning, his 33rd.

Soto added an RBI double in the fourth and finished a triple shy of the cycle. He was one of four players to score two runs.

Luis Campusano also had three hits. Eguy Rosario tripled and scored on Bogaerts' triple in the second and then hit a two-run double in the sixth. The Padres tied their season high with 18 hits.

Michael Wacha (13-4) held the Cardinals to two runs and six hits in seven innings while striking out six and walking one against his original team. His only big mistake was allowing Luken Baker's two-run homer in the seventh, his second.

Rom allowed eight runs, six earned, and 11 hits in 3 1/3 innings.

Zack Thompson (5-7, 4.57 ERA) is scheduled to pitch Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series at Milwaukee, which will counter with RHP Adrian Houser (7-4, 4.35).

William Byron led only the last six laps Sunday at Texas, going in front by passing Bubba Wallace and Chase Briscoe right after the final restart, and advanced to the round of eight with his series-best sixth win of the season. It was the 300th for Hendrick Motorsports, coming just more than two years after passing Petty Enterprises’ longtime record of 268 wins for the most in Cup history.

With Byron already in the next round, Hendrick also has 2021 champion Kyle Larson still in contention. Larson is currently eighth in the playoff standings with two races left before the next cut, though he was almost the one to get No. 300 — like he got the record 269th at Charlotte midway through his championship season.

The top five finishers at the 1 1/2-mile Texas track were all playoff contenders, with Ross Chastain second, ahead of Wallace, Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin. Retiring driver Kevin Harvick was sixth and playoff driver Brad Keselowski seventh.

Byron maintained first place in the playoff standings, with Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski and Larson rounding out the top eight. Bubba Wallace moved up three spots to ninth, still one below the cutoff line before the round of 8. Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch were behind him.

There are two more races in the round of 12, at Talladega next weekend and then the Roval at Charlotte. Both can be unpredictable and concerning tracks for drivers still trying to advance.

Central Illinois:

Tuscola 42, Central A&M 14
Shelbyville 27, Warrensburg-Latham 0

Illini Prairie:

Fairbury Prairie Central 55, Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central 20
Paxton-Buckley-Loda 57, Rantoul 26
Bloomington Central Catholic 42, Tolono Unity 14

8 Man Football:

Milford 46, Farmer City Blue Ridge 44

Apollo:

Charleston 21, Effingham 17
Mt. Zion 35, Mattoon 14
Mahomet-Seymour 42, Taylorville 0

Big 12:

Normal Community 34, Bloomington 0
Danville 25, Champaign Centennial 12
Champaign Central 58, Urbana 6
Normal West 49, Peoria Richwoods 14
Peoria 58, Peoria Manual 0

Central State 8:

Decatur MacArthur 14, Chatham Glenwood 12
Rochester 59, Decatur Eisenhower 0
Lincoln 34, Springfield Southeast 26
Normal University 68, Springfield Lanphier 6
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 34, Springfield 7

Heart of Illinois:

Downs Tri-Valley 31, El Paso-Gridley 13
Eureka 42, Deer Creek-Mackinaw 8
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 42, Fisher 0
Heyworth 29, Minonk Fieldcrest 28

Lincoln Prairie:

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 14, Toledo Cumberland 6
Argenta-Oreana 31, Sangamon Valley/Tri-City 13
Nokomis 42, Oakland Tri-County 0
Sullivan-Okaw Valley 59, Cerro Gordo-Bement 7
Villa Grove 21, Arcola 14

Non-conference:

Carterville 32, St. Joseph-Ogden 28

In a game heard on WEZC and at dewittdailynews.com, Luke Teschke accounted for five total touchdowns leading Monticello past Pontiac 40-8 in Illini Prairie Conference high school football action from Pontiac Friday night.

Teschke threw for two scores and ran for three more. He finished 18-for-25 and 286 yards with two scores. He connected with Raiden Colbert for a 49-yard touchdown on Monticello's opening drive. 

Later in the first half, he connected with Carter Foran on a 54-yard throw over the top of the Indians' defense.

Teschke also had touchdown runs of 30, 9, and 34 yards - finishing with 114 yards on ten carries.

Trey Welter was Monticello's leading receiver for a third straight week hauling in eight catches for 98 yards. The senior also had two interceptions and earned the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game.

Ike Young had three catches for 37 yards and nine carries for 39 yards and a touchdown.

Foran finished with two catches for 67 yards with his touchdown and Colbert hauled in five catches for 72 yards with his touchdown.

Kerr Bauman paced the Indians offense with nine catches for 102 yards and caught a 30-yard touchdown. 

Pontiac falls to 1-4 while Monticello is 3-2.

The Sages host Rantoul for Homecoming next week. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

In a game heard on WHOW Friday night, the Clinton Maroons downed the Meridian Hawks, 54-20, in a Central Illinois Conference football matchup at Clinton High School.  
 

The Maroons jumped out in front early scoring on their first two possessions.  Dawson Graves ran in a score from 22-yards, and then Mason Walker took in a 15-yard score to put Clinton up 13-0 with 7 minutes to go in the first.   
 

Meridian would answer back with a 6-yard Lleyton Miller score to make it 13-7 Maroons.  Clinton's Tristin Potts would be the next to find the end zone with a 4-yard run at the start of the second quarter to put the Maroons up 19-7.  
 

Meridian's Drew Leffler would then find Miller through the air twice for scores from 10-yards and 75-yards to put the Hawks up 20-19 with just 34-seconds to go before halftime.  However, some Meridian penalties would give the Maroons a chance, and they scored from 35-yards out with 8 seconds left in the half as Mason Walker scrambled to find Dawson Graves to make the score 25-20 Clinton at the break.  
 

The second half was all Maroons as Walker added three more rushing touchdowns, and also found Keaton Graves for a 92-yard touchdown strike. The Clinton defense sacked Leffler twice in the second half, and Colton Walker picked off two passes as the Maroons pulled away for the 34-point win.  
 

Mason Walker was named the WHOW / Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt County Maroons Player of the Game for his six touchdown performance.  He finished 6 of 12 passing for 152 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception.  The Senior quarterback also ran 7 times for 96 yards and four touchdowns.  Dawson Graves had 10 carries for 79 yards, and a touchdown.  He also had 3 catches for 52 yards and a score.  Tristin Potts added 19 carries for 120 yards and a touchdown for the Maroons. 
 

Clinton improves to 3-2 overall, and 2-0 in the CIC.  Meridian falls to 1-4, and 0-2 in conference.  The Hawks travel to Shelbyville next week. 
 

Next week is Homecoming for the Maroons.  Clinton hosts Tuscola at 7pm Friday night.  WHOW's coverage begins around 6:45pm on all WHOW platforms!  

The Clinton Maroons are coming off a momentus win over Central A&M last week on the road and now will look to keep that momentum going as Meridian comes to town.

Coach Ron Bass says there was a lot to like about that game from the way the offense executed to better tackling by his defense.

Meridian will offer a good challenge this week for Clinton (2-2). Coach Bass says they have some pretty explosive-skill position players that can make some plays.

Meridian is 1-3 on the season.

Game time is 7 pm. Hear all the action on WHOW and on all its digital platforms.

Central Illinois Conference matchups tonight

Central A & M at Tuscola

Shelbyville at Warrensburg-Latham

The Monticello Sages are hoping to bottle up the disappointment of last week's tough loss to Bloomington Central Catholic and create some mementum heading into the second half of the season.

Football coach Cully Welter was pleased with his team's effort despite a 24-16 loss to Bloomington Central Catholic. He believes sometimes you see a good effort but the film doesn't reflect it however, that wasn't the case this week.

A lot or Pontiac is new this year. Coach Welter indicates they may see a different defense than what they have shown on film so far but they also have good, young athletes that can make plays.

Game time from Pontiac is 7 pm. Hear all the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Illini Prairie Conference matchups tonight

Prairie Central at Illinois Valley Central

Paxton-Buckley-Loda at Rantoul

Tolono Unity at Bloomington Central Catholic

8-man football 

Danville Schlarman at Champaign St. Thomas More (Sat.)

Blue Ridge at Milford 

St. Anne vs. Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland 

Apollo

Effingham at Charleston

Mattoon at Mt. Zion

Taylorville at Mahomet-Seymour

Big Twelve

Bloomington at Normal Community

Champaign Centennial at Danville 

Champaign Central at Urbana 

Normal West at Peoria Richwoods

Peoria at Peoria Manual

Central State Eight

Chatham-Glenwood at Decatur MacArthur

Decatur Eisenhower at Rochester

Lincoln at Springfield Southeast

Normal U-High at Springfield Lanphier

Springfield at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin

Heart of Illinois 

El Paso-Gridley at Tri-Valley

Dee-Mack at Eureka

Tremont vs. Ridgeview-Lexington 

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley at Fisher

Heyworth at Fieldcrest

Lincoln Prairie

Arthur -Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at Toledo-Cumberland

Sangamon Valley at Argenta-Oreana

Oakland Tri-County at Nokomis

Sullivan-Okaw Valley at Cerro Gordo-Bement

Villa Grove at Arcola

Mid-Illini

Dunlap at East Peoria

Metamora at Canton

Morton at Pekin

Washington at Limestone

Non-conference football tonight

Bridgeport Red Hill at LeRoy (Sat.)

Lena-Winslow at Decatur St. Teresa (Sat.)

Peoria Notre Dame at Jacksonville (H.S.)

Peoria Quest Charter Academy at South Beloit

St. Joseph-Ogden at Carterville

In a game heard on WEZC and at dewittdailynews.com, Monticello was balanced and gritty Thursday night in a three set upset of Champaign St. Thomas More, 25-22, 19-25 and 25-23, in Illini Prairie Conference high school volleyball action Thursday from the Sievers Center at Monticello High School.

Each set was back-and-forth for both sides as Monticello jumped out early in the first set before the Sabres rallied but Monticello was able to keep STM at arm's length and close out the first set win.

The Lady Sages jumped out again in the second set but a big run by the Sabres allowed them to gradually put away the second set.

The third set was back-and-forth. STM never led by more than three but the Sages would draw even before STM would go back up however, late, Monticello was able to benefit from some controversy at the net and get away 22-20 and closed out the upset.

The Sabres uncharacteristically committed a lot of unforced errors and Monticello was able to capatilize throughout the night.

Sophomore libero Mady Melton was terrific neutralizing the big hitters for the STM with 19 digs. She added an ace and assist.

Sophomore Addison Finet was excellent in front of the net all night for Monticello. She had two big blocks, 17 assists, six digs and two aces. 

Sierrah Downey was also terrific in front of the net with seven kills, eight digs, four assists and a block.

Sophomore Ashley Stiverson and Emma Hillard had six kills apiece for the Lady Sages. They too played well at the net as each created opportunities with tips all game. Coach Kim Allison called Stiverson "on fire" and was named the Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game. 

Shelby Smith had six digs and five kills while Callie Darsham added three aces and five digs. Jobi Smith had 12 digs, four kills and three aces for Monticello. 

The Lady Sages improve to 12-4 overall and 2-0 in the Illini Prairie Conference. They host Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond on Monday. 

Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer was benched after throwing four interceptions during Saturday's home loss to No. 7 Penn State, but offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. is "certainly confident" Altmyer can regroup.

Altmyer and the Fighting Illini (1-2) look to end a two-game skid when they host Florida Atlantic this week.

The Owls bring plenty of speed and perimeter athletic ability to Champaign. The personnel presents a challenge to an Illinois defense that has lost defensive backs Matt Bailey (shoulder) and Demetrius Hill (torn ACL) to season-ending injuries.

Illinois had five turnovers against Penn State, but a disciplined defense that committed zero penalties helped the team stick around for a portion of the game.

Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry lauded the efforts of defensive lineman Johnny Newton, who had six tackles, including one for a loss, while staying disruptive at the line of scrimmage.

Florida Atlantic (1-2) also tries to rebound as it visits a Power Five opponent for the second week in a row. The Owls fell behind 34-0 at halftime of their Sept. 17 game at Clemson on the way to a 48-14 defeat and lost quarterback Casey Thompson to a season-ending knee injury.

Game tims is 2:30 pm Saturday in Champaign.

Miguel Andújar had thee hits and drove in three runs, Joshua Palacios hit a pinch-hit three-run homer in the ninth inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates held off a late rally by the slumping Chicago Cubs to win 8-6 on Thursday night.

The loss was the 10th in the last 13 games for the Cubs, who fell into a tie with Miami for the final NL wild-card spot.

Pittsburgh's Johan Oviedo (9-14) threw six scoreless innings, giving up four hits. The right-hander walked five but escaped trouble on multiple occasions and held the Cubs hitless in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Connor Joe and Ji Hwan Bae each drove in a run for the Pirates, whose bullpen surrendered six runs in the last three innings.

Mike Tauchman had an RBI double in the eighth and scored later on an RBI groundout from Nico Hoerner to get the Cubs within 5-4.

Dansby Swanson hit a two-run homer in the ninth off All-Star David Bednar before the closer retired the next three batters.

Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon (7-10, 5.27) is scheduled to start against RHP Noah Davis (0-2, 9.58) when Chicago hosts the Colorado Rockies to begin a three-game series.

For the second-straight week, Illinois State (2-1) will square off against an opponent from the newly-formed Big South-OVC Football Association when the Redbirds host the Lindenwood Lions (2-1) at Hancock Stadium on Saturday.

With his touchdown late in the game against Eastern Illinois, transfer running back Mason Blakemorehas now scored a touchdown in each of the first three games of the season. His touchdown against the Panthers was his fifth of the season, but it looked in doubt after he left the game earlier with a shoulder injury. However, he would return and score from 12 yards out to give the Redbirds the lead at the time.

A young and inexperienced Redbird defense headed into the season with a lot of question marks, however through three games they have not been the ones feeling the pressure: opposing quarterbacks and ball carriers have. Against Eastern Illinois, ISU racked up eight sacks and 12 tackles for loss and also picked up a pair of interceptions while forcing two fumbles with one recovery. All of that pressure finds them in national rankings this week, as the team now has 18 sacks on the year and 34 tackles for loss through three games. The Redbirds rank No. 1 in all of Division I football and in the FCS team sacks per game (6.0) and No. 1 in team tackles for loss per game (11.0). ISU also ranked No. 2 in the FCS in rushing defense (36.7 yards per game) and No. 3 in scoring defense (10.7 points per game) and total defense (229.3 yards per game).

Transfer Cam Grandy has become a top target for ISU quarterback Zack Annexstad in the passing attack. Against Eastern Illinois, Grandy caught five passes for a season-high 72 yards to up his season total to 152 yards receiving through three games with a touchdown. He's also been a key asset in a running attack that has scored nine touchdowns on the ground through three contests.

Game time is noon Saturday afternoon.

Eastern Illinois plays the first of two schools on its schedule from the state of Louisiana this Saturday as the Panthers host McNeese at 2 p.m. at O'Brien Field. 

Eastern Illinois drove 93 yards on eight plays in 62 seconds on Saturday scoring the game winning touchdown with 30 seconds remaining on a Pierce Holley to Justin Thomas 25-yard touchdown strike as the Panthers snapped a five game win streak by beating Illinois State in the Mid-America Classic, 14-13.

Runningback MJ Flowers was named the Big South-OVC Football Association Freshman of the Week after the Panthers win over Illinois State.  On a day when offensive yards were hard to come by, Flowers had 55 all-purpose yards.  He rushed for 25 yards on three carries and caught four passes for 30 yards.  Two of his receptions were on the Panthers final game winning drive.

EIU is off to a 2-1 start to the season and receiving votes in this week's STATS Perform FCS Top 25 poll.  The 2-1 start is the best to a season for the Panthers since 2016 when they opened 3-1 which included wins over nationally ranked Illinois State and FBS member Miami (Ohio). 

Eastern Illinois defense picked off three passes against Illinois State on Saturday as the Panthers are the national leader with seven picks this season including two returned for touchdowns in the opener at Indiana State Tyris Harvey and NiJhay Burt. 

Game time is 2 pm Saturday afternoon. Hear all the action starting with pregame at 1:30 pm on WHOW. 

The Kansas City Chiefs appeared to fix many of their Week 1 problems last week in Jacksonville, when All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones returned from his holdout, star tight end Travis Kelce was back on the field following a knee injury, and an offense that struggled against Detroit looked just a little bit better against the Jaguars.

They still had a bunch of penalties. Turnovers remained a problem. The offense was still trying to hit its stride.

Yet those issues seem like mere nuisances compared to what's going on in Chicago these days.

As the Bears prepare to visit the Chiefs on Sunday, they are without a defensive coordinator following Alan Williams' surprising and abrupt resignation and their offense is embroiled in controversy after quarterback Josh Fields blamed coaching for “robotic” play and then tried rather unsuccessfully to walk back his comments.

Problem is their feet will be in Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, facing the defending Super Bowl champions. The Bears (0-2) are nearly two-TD underdogs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, as they try to snap a 12-game losing streak dating to last season.

It's not as if the Chiefs (1-1) are humming along perfectly, especially on offense. They turned the ball over three times, committed 12 turnovers for 94 yards and a group of wide receivers that had eight drops in their opener against Detroit continued to put the ball on the ground during their 17-9 victory over the Jaguars last week.

Fields, whose 70.7 passer rating is worst in the NFL, turned heads this week when he indicated coaches are feeding him too much information. Fields later said his statement was taken out of context and that he only points a finger at himself.

The Bears put left tackle Braxton Jones on injured reserve with a neck injury, while safety Eddie Jackson has been dealing with a foot injury, wide receiver Darnell Mooney with a knee problem and defensive back Josh Blackwell with a sore hamstring.

Game time is 3:25 pm Sunday.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love’s first regular-season home start has him attempting something nobody has accomplished over the last 10½ months.

The New Orleans Saints (2-0) come to Lambeau Field on Sunday having held each of their last 10 opponents to 20 points or less. The last time the Saints allowed more than 20 points was in a 27-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 7, 2022.

That offers quite the challenge for Love, who leads the NFL in passer rating two weeks into his first season as a starter.

Love and the Packers (1-1) are attempting to bounce back from a 25-24 loss at Atlanta in which they squandered a 12-point, fourth-quarter lead.

Aside from that late collapse, Love has played well in his first year taking over for four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers, who was traded to the New York Jets in April. Love has thrown three touchdown passes without an interception in each of Green Bay’s first two games while leading a young Packers offense that’s dealing with multiple injuries.

The Saints have their own strong-armed quarterback in Derek Carr, who arrived from Las Vegas in the offseason after spending nine seasons with the Raiders. But the strength of the Saints is a defense that has allowed only one touchdown.

The Saints won’t have safety Marcus Maye, who received a three-game suspension Wednesday for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

Saints running back Alvin Kamara will be finishing his three-game suspension to start the season. Kamara’s suspension is connected to his role in a February 2022 altercation in a Las Vegas hotel during Pro Bowl weekend.

Green Bay has been dealing with injuries to its offense through the early part of this season. Wide receiver Christian Watson missed Green Bay’s first two games with a hamstring injury. Running back Aaron Jones sat out the Falcons game with a hamstring issue.

Packers left guard Elgton Jenkins is out with a sprained medial collateral ligament and left tackle David Bakhtiari missed the Falcons game with a lingering knee problem.

Game time is noon Sunday.

Victor Caratini hit a three-run homer and Blake Perkins added a solo shot, leading the Milwaukee Brewers to a 6-0 victory on Thursday in the final game of a four-game series.

The Brewers’ magic number to clinch their second National League Central title in three years fell to three with nine games to play.

Milwaukee (87-66) could wrap up the division title as soon as Friday in Miami with another victory along with two Chicago Cubs losses. The number to just clinch a postseason berth is two over the Marlins.

The Brewers have won eight of their last 11 and 22 of their last 31 games.

St. Louis (67-86) fell to 20 games behind first-place Milwaukee in enduring its first losing season since 2007. The Cardinals, now shut out 12 times this season, have lost seven of their last 11 games.

Wade Miley (9-4) breezed through six scoreless innings, throwing 92 pitches. He gave up three hits and only one runner reached second base. He struck out seven and walked two while stranding five runners.

Miles Mikolas (7-13) pitched into the sixth inning, allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits and a walk. He had lost eight of his last nine decisions dating back to July 27.

Cardinals: C Willson Contreras (left wrist tendinitis) was placed on the 10-day IL after the game. He had an MRI taken before the game. He left Wednesday’s game in the sixth inning.

Dakota Hudson (6-2, 5.12) vs. San Diego’s RHP Matt Waldron (1-3, 5.16). Hudson’s last start at Petco Park imploded to a 12-2 loss fueled by a seven-run second inning as his own throwing error opened up a two-out rally culminated on back-to-back home runs by Manny Machado and Franmil Reyes.

Denny Hamlin took the lead off pit road and led the final 135 laps at Bristol, beating Kyle Larson by 2.462 seconds in the first elimination race of the Cup Series playoffs.

The series shifts to Texas Motorspeedway this weekend for the first leg of the Round of 12. 

Defending series champion Joey Logano, retiring Kevin Harvick, Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell were eliminated from the playoffs. Logano is the first defending champ not to make it out of the first round the following year. 

Bubba Wallace and Reddick, who drive for the 23XI Racing team co-owned by Hamlin and Michael Jordan, also advanced in the playoffs. 

Pole sitter Christopher Bell led a race-high 187 laps. Hamlin led 142 laps in all, and Ty Gibbs led 102.

Practice and qualifying is at 11:30 am Saturday morning. Race tims is 2:30 pm Sunday afternoon.

Riverton native Justin Allgaier won at Bristol for the second time in his career — the first win came in 2010 — and earned a spot in the second round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs.

The series continues its playoff run at Texas Motorspeedway this week.

The victory was Allgaier’s third of the season. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove his first race of the season and was contending before his car caught fire with 29 laps remaining. Earnhardt plans to race again at Homestead-Miami in late October. 

Daniel Hemric, who will move up to the Cup Series next year for Kaulig Racing, finished second after starting the race ranked 11th in the 12-driver playoff field. John Hunter Nemechek finished third, followed by Cole Custer and Chandler Smith. Regular season champ Austin Hill finished 32nd after contact with Richard Childress Racing teammate Sheldon Creed caused him to crash.

Practice and qualifying is at 9:30 am Saturday morning. Race time is 2:30 pm Saturday.

The Craftsman Truck Series is off this week. Its playoffs continue next weekend at Talladega. 

As you come out to support the Clinton Maroons on Friday night, administrators are hoping you'll consider wearing your red, white, and blues and supporting a central Illinois military non-profit as well.

Matt Koeppel is the Athletic Director of Clinton High School and tells Regional Radio they've been able to purchase military-themed uniforms, much like those worn by the Washington Commanders.

The Maroons host Meridian Friday night before a big Homecoming week game against Tuscola next week.

Lane Thomas hit a grand slam and the Washington Nationals routed the Chicago White Sox 13-3 on Wednesday.

The White Sox will return to the WHOW airwaves next week.

Josh Donaldson hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Tyrone Taylor homered twice and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-2 on Wednesday night to take another step toward their second NL Central title in three years.

Donaldson homered off Zack Thompson (5-7), the former AL MVP’s second home run since he was released by the New York Yankees and signed by Milwaukee. Twelve of Donaldson’s 22 big league hits this year have been home runs.

Mark Canha hit a three-run double in the ninth inning for Milwaukee, which began the night six games ahead of the second-place Chicago Cubs. Acquired from the Mets ahead of the trade deadline, Canha has 30 RBIs in 42 games with the Brewers after getting 29 in 89 games with New York.

Milwaukee has won 21 of its last 30 games.

St. Louis lost its 85th game for the first time since 1999. The Cardinals (67-85) already were assured of their first losing season since 2007.

Taylor had the fourth multihomer game of his career, hitting solo drives in the fourth off Thompson and in the ninth against Casey Lawrence.

Adrian Houser (7-4) won his third straight decision, giving up one run and four hits in six innings. Three relievers finished a six-hitter.

St. Louis catcher Willson Contreras left in the sixth inning with left wrist discomfort.

Goldschmidt hit an RBI single in the first.

Milwaukee LHP Wade Miley (8-3, 3.38) will face RHP Miles Mikolas (7-12, 4.84) in the final game of the four-game set on Thursday. The Brewers are 13-8 in Miley’s starts. He is 2-4 with a 2.85 ERA in eight career starts in St. Louis. Mikolas has eight wins against Milwaukee, his most against any team.

Joshua Palacios hit a three-run homer in a seven-run fourth inning and the Chicago Cubs' postseason drive remained stalled with their sixth loss in seven games, 13-7 to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.

Connor Joe hit a two-run homer in the sixth as All-Star Justin Steele (16-5) lost his second straight start, allowing six runs and eight hits in three-plus innings.

Chicago (79-73), which has lost nine of 12, remained a half-game ahead of Miami (79-74) for the third NL wild card spot, with Cincinnati (79-75) another half-game back.

Steele was chased in the fourth when the Pirates hit six straight singles. All of the runners scored, with Palacios homering off José Cuas to cap the rally.

Ian Happ’s third career grand slam, a drive off Mitch Keller (13-9) in a five-run fifth, cut the deficit to 8-6. Christopher Morel started the inning with his 24th homer, a 440-drive to left that sailed to Waveland Avenue.

Joe, who had three hits, homered off Mark Leiter Jr. Jared Triolo added a solo shot for Pittsburgh.

Steele has had breakout season and is an NL Cy Young Award contender. The left-hander looked strong through the first three innings, allowing two hits and striking out six.

Then the Pirates offense broke out.

Steele has allowed 12 runs in his last two outings.

Cubs All-Star RHP Marcus Stroman said before the game he’ll gladly accept any bullpen role down the stretch.

Stroman was activated Sept. 15 after six weeks on the IL, then made a pair of scoreless relief appearances against Arizona. Those were his first bullpen outings since 2014 as a rookie with Toronto.

Stroman was 10-8 through 25 starting when he went on the IL with hip inflammation on Aug. 2. He was diagnosed with a right rib cartilage fracture on Aug. 16.

Pirates RHP Johan Oviedo (8-14, 4.27) faces Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (6-7, 3.77) on Thursday in the series finale.

The Chicago Bears’ season took an unexpected turn Wednesday when defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned for what he said were personal reasons.

Williams’ resignation was part of a wild day at Halas Hall, with quarterback Justin Fields indicating he is being given too much information by the coaching staff and thinking too much as a result rather than trusting his instincts. Fields said later in the locker room that his quotes were taken out of context and that he is not blaming the coaches.

Williams’ departure comes just two games into his second season with the Bears. He missed last week’s loss at Tampa Bay after working the opener against Green Bay.

Chicago-based attorney Andrew M. Stroth insisted Williams resigned for health and family reasons. He told The Associated Press neither Williams nor his family are facing any legal issues.

Coach Matt Eberflus called the defensive plays in Williams’ absence and figures to do so again when the Bears (0-2) visit Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs (1-1) on Sunday.

In his statement, Williams thanked the McCaskey family, which owns the team, as well as Eberflus, general manager Ryan Poles and President Kevin Warren.

The Monticello Sages fell short Friday night to the no. 5 team in Class 2A, Bloomington Central Catholic, 24-16.

It was a game last season BCC took over late with a power run game. This year, Monticello was able to stand up to the power run of the Saints and Coach Cully Welter was overall pleased with his team's effort last Friday.

Coach Welter knew BCC would go to the power run a lot because of its success last year but felt his team was opportunistic with three first half interceptions.

For the Sages, it's all about getting better with each game, each practice and each play.

For Coach Welter, he believes the Illini Prairie Conference offers quality opponents each and every week and with that said, Monticello turns its attention to Pontiac this Friday night. 

Hear the action starting just before 7 pm on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Joey Meneses pinch-hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning, and the Washington Nationals defeated the Chicago White Sox 4-3 on Tuesday night.

With Apple n' Pork Festival coverage coming up this weekend and high school football, the White Sox will return to the WHOW airwaves next week.

Rookie Alexander Canario hit a grand slam for his first major league home run in an eight-run eighth inning, and the Chicago Cubs ended a five-game losing streak with a 14-1 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.

Cody Bellinger hit a three-run homer later in the eighth for the Cubs, who are a half-game ahead of Miami for the final NL wild card, with Cincinnati one game behind Chicago.

Canario, a 23-year-old who debuted on Sept. 6, had five RBIs. He hit an RBI double in the sixth for his first big league hit and drove a hanging slider from into the left-field bleachers for a 10-1 lead against Kyle Nicolas.

Dansby Swanson and Seiya Suzuki also homered for the Cubs, and Suzuki had three of Chicago's 12 hits. The Cubs are 10-1 against the Pirates this season.

In a game that started after a 1-hour, 25-minute rain delay, Javier Assad (4-3) allowed one run and five hits in five innings with eight strikeouts. Drew Smyly, José Cuas, Mark Leiter, Jr. and Luke Little finished a five-hitter.

Pirates batters struck out 16 times, one shy of their season high.

Pirates RHP Mitch Keller (12-9, 4.04) faces Cubs LHP Justin Steele (16-4, 2.73) on Wednesday in a matchup of All-Stars. Steele allowed six runs in seven innings in a 6-4 loss at Arizona on Friday.

William Contreras homered and Tyrone Taylor scored twice and drove in a run as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-3 on Tuesday night.

Milwaukee stopped a two-game skid and reduced its magic number to clinch the NL Central to six. The Brewers hold a six-game lead over the Chicago Cubs with 11 to play.

Richie Palacios homered for the last-place Cardinals, who were eliminated from playoff contention.

Contreras’ solo homer in the third snapped a 16-inning scoring drought for Milwaukee.

Drew Rom (1-3) allowed five runs in 3 1/3 innings as the Cardinals had their two-game winning streak snapped. He gave up six hits, walked two and struck out three.

Alec Burleson doubled home Lars Nootbaar, stole third and scored on Nolan Arenado’s sacrifice fly to give St. Louis a 2-0 lead in the first. Palacios added a solo home run in the fifth.

Brewers RHP Adrian Houser (6-4, 4.53 ERA) starts Wednesday night against Cardinals LHP Zack Thompson (5-6, 4.34).

Houser is 4-5 with a 3.19 ERA in 14 career games (11 starts) versus St. Louis, and the Brewers are 12-6 when he starts this season. 

Thompson will make his first career start against Milwaukee, but he is 3-0 with a 4.24 ERA in three starts this season against NL Central teams.

Friday night, the Clinton Maroons earned something they've been seeking for several years - a statement win in the Central Illinois Conference.

The Maroons took down Central A&M 28-20 in Moweaqua and the game did not come without more adversity for Clinton. With time running out late in the game and the Raiders driving needing a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game, some scoreboard malfunctions allowed A&M a few more opportunities at that potential tie but the Maroons held strong.

That's Coach Ron Bass who credits quarterback Mason Walker who worked very hard this offseason and feels that hard work paid off. He did give the senior a hard time over taking a score late in the game instead of taking a knee at the one-yard line that would have sealed the win for Clinton.

After starting with just one true home game in its first four, the Maroons return home Friday night to host 1-3 Meridian before a Homecoming week showdown with 1-3 Tuscola.

Game times are 7 pm and can heard on WHOW and all its digital platforms.

LeRoy dispatched Blue Ridge in two sets, 25-15, 25-22 in non-conference girl's volleyball action Monday night in LeRoy.

Phoebe Reynolds led the Lady Knights with seven kills and four aces. Lexi Phelps had four kills and two blocks. Alissa Edwards had 13 assists and Ava Hammer had 13 digs. 

Blue Ridge falls to 3-14 overall. 

Bijan Robinson capped another dynamic day for the rookie running back, Robinson ripped off a 7-yard run on fourth-and-1 to set up Younghoe Koo's 25-yard field goal with 57 seconds remaining as the Atlanta Falcons rallied for a 25-24 victory over Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

He rushed for 124 yards on 19 carries and hauled in four catches for another 48 yards, showing why the Falcons (2-0) selected him No. 8 pick in the draft even though running backs aren't supposed to go that high anymore.

The fourth-down conversion came with the Falcons in field-goal range at the Green Bay 23, but 2:08 left on the clock. Smith decided to gamble, not wanting to leave the Packers plenty of time to drive for a field goal of their own.

The Packers (1-1) squandered a 24-12 lead and three more touchdown passes from Love, who now has a half-dozen scoring throws in his first two games as Aaron Rodgers' replacement.

Atlanta's young quarterback, Desmond Ridder, sparked the comeback by bootlegging for a 6-yard touchdown on fourth-and-4 with just under 12 minutes remaining.

Then it was Ridder and Robinson teaming up for drives that set up two of Koo's four field goals, including a 39-yarder with 8:13 remaining.

Robinson had 56 yards rushing and 27 yards receiving in his NFL debut, a 24-10 victory over the Panthers.

Love completed 14 of 25 passes for 151 yards and hooked up with a pair of rookies on his three TDs - not too shabby considering the injury-depleted offense around him.

But the Packers offense dried up in the final quarter, allowing the Falcons to move to 2-0 for only the 11th time in franchise history.

In their last three possessions, the Packers managed just 11 yards and no first downs, with Love failing to complete any of his six passes.

The Falcons pounded Green Bay into submission, finishing with 211 yards rushing and 446 yards overall. The Packers had just 224 yards, including 84 on the ground.

The first three quarters went much better for the Packers.

Love connected with second-round pick Jayden Reed for touchdowns of 10 and 9 yards - the first scores of the receiver's young career.

Love also went to Dontayvion Wicks on a 32-yard touchdown that gave the fifth-round draft choice his first TD as a pro.

The Packers were missing three injured starters on offense and lost another during the game, leaving Love to play behind a patched-together line.

Ridder finished 19 of 32 for 237 yards passing, including a 3-yard touchdown to Drake London with 12 seconds remaining in the first half. The Falcons quarterback also ran 10 times for 39 yards.

The Packers face another NFC South team, the New Orleans Saints, in Green Bay's home opener at Lambeau Field.

Baker Mayfield passed for 317 yards and a touchdown in Tampa Bay's 27-17 victory over the struggling Chicago Bears on Sunday.

With Mayfield playing turnover-free ball for the second straight week and Mike Evans catching six balls for 171 yards, the Bucs (2-0) handed the sputtering Bears a franchise-record 12th consecutive loss dating to last season.

Mayfield completed 26 of 34 passes and also bailed out tight end David Wells by recovering a fumble that bounced 11 yards backward to the Chicago 32.

Evans delivered his second TD catch of the season on the next play.

The 28-year-old quarterback set up Rachaad White's 1-yard TD run with a 70-yard completion to Evans in the first quarter. His 32-yard scoring pass to Evans - Tampa Bay's all-time leading receiver - finished an 89-yard drive and put the Bucs up 20-10.

Tampa Bay's defense did its job, too, after yielding a 75-yard TD drive on Chicago's first possession of the game. The Buccaneers sacked Justin Fields six times and picked him off twice.

The Bears (0-2) closed to 20-17 on Chase Claypool's 20-yard TD catch, but saw any hope for a comeback fade when Fields - throwing out of his own end zone - tossed an interception that Bucs linebacker Shaquil Barrett returned 4 yards for a clinching TD.

Mayfield, who spent his first four seasons with Cleveland before splitting 2022 between Carolina and the Los Angeles Rams, shrugged off a slow start to throw for 173 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover to beat Minnesota 20-17 on the road in the season opener.

The Bucs started more smoothly against the Bears, driving 77 yards in 12 plays to take an early 3-0 lead on Chase McLaughlin's 26-yard field goal. Mayfield drove his team to another field goal in the closing seconds of the second quarter for a 13-10 halftime lead.

The sixth-year pro's transition to the Bucs has been helped by a strong complement of skill players.

In addition to Evans having a big day, Chris Godwin had five receptions for 58 yards and White finished with 73 yards rushing on 17 attempts.

Fields completed 16 of 29 passes for 211 yards. DJ Moore, acquired in the offseason in a bid to put more playmakers around Chicago's young quarterback, had six receptions for 104 yards, but the Bears were limited to just 67 yards rushing.

The Bears lost starting safeties Jaquan Brisker (illness) and Eddie Jackson (foot) on consecutive plays in the first quarter. WR Darnell Mooney (knee) departed in the third quarter.

The Bears travel to Kansas City to face Patrick Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.

In a game heard on WHOW, Sonny Gray closed on Gerrit Cole for the AL ERA lead, Edouard Julien and Jorge Polanco homered and the AL Central-leading Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 4-0 on Sunday.

Hear tonight's on WHOW.

Ketel Marte homered and Arizona got a great performance from its bullpen as the Diamondbacks defeated the skidding Chicago Cubs 6-2 on Sunday to pass them for the second National League wild-card spot.

Arizona completed a three-game sweep and handed the Cubs their fifth straight loss. The Diamondbacks won three of four last weekend at Wrigley Field and finished 6-1 against Chicago this season.

The latest victory moved Arizona a half-game ahead of Chicago for the second NL wild card, while the Cubs fell into a tie with Miami for the league's final playoff berth. Cincinnati is a half-game behind, and San Francisco is two back.

Four relievers combined to pitch 5 2/3 scoreless innings for Arizona, giving up three hits and no walks. That came after the Diamondbacks won a 13-inning game Saturday that took 4 hours, 24 minutes.

Luis Frías (1-0) got five outs for his second major league win.

Chicago scored in the second on Tauchman’s RBI single. After loading the bases with nobody out in the third, the Cubs settled for one run on Cody Bellinger’s double-play grounder.

Lovullo, who pulled starter Zach Davies in the fifth inning Saturday, had an even quicker hook Sunday for Ryne Nelson. He went 3 1/3 innings, giving up two runs, four hits and three walks.

Wicks, making his fifth major league start, lasted 4 1/3 innings for the Cubs. He allowed four hits and three runs, walked three and struck out three.

Chicago matched its longest losing streak of the season and has averaged 3.3 runs over the past 10 games.

The Cubs return home to play Pittsburgh on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series. Chicago had not announced a scheduled starter.

Jordan Walker hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning and Paul Goldschmidt drove in three runs to lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Philadelphia Phillies 6-5 on Sunday.

St. Louis avoided a season sweep after losing its first five meetings with the Phillies this year.

Alec Bohm homered for Philadelphia, which leads the NL wild-card race.

Walker homered off Seranthony Domínguez (4-5) with two outs to snap a 5-all tie.

Walker also made a diving catch in right field on a sinking liner off the bat of Kyle Schwarber to begin the game.

It was Walker's 16th home run and fifth game-winning RBI of the season.

John King (2-1) allowed one run in one inning for the win, and Ryan Helsley earned his 11th save in 15 opportunities.

Goldschmidt broke a 3-all tie with a solo homer in the fifth. Alec Burleson followed with a double and Nolan Arenado singled to push the St. Louis lead to 5-3.

Goldschmidt extended his on-base streak to 13 games.

Goldschmidt had a two-run double in the third.

Cardinals starter Dakota Hudson, who went 4-1 in August, permitted three runs and five hits in five innings.

Cardinals RHP Adam Wainwright (4-11, 7.95 ERA) goes for his 200th career win when he faces Milwaukee RHP Freddy Peralta (12-8, 3.79) in the opener of a four-game series Monday in St. Louis. Wainwright is expected to retire after this season.

Central Illinois:
Shelbyville 50, Tuscola 28
Warrensburg-Latham 20, Macon Meridian 16

Illini Prairie:
St. Joseph-Ogden 56, Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central 19
Paxton-Buckley-Loda 55, Pontiac 14
Fairbury Prairie Central 48, Rantoul 0

8 Man Football:
Martinsville 53, Decatur Unity Christian 0

Apollo:
Effingham 42, Mattoon 21
Mahomet Seymour 49, Charleston 21
Mt. Zion 28, Taylorville 6

Big 12:
Champaign Centennial 34, Champaign Central 7
Bloomington 31, Danville 14
Normal West 65, Urbana 14
Normal Community 63, Peoria 42
Peoria Notre Dame 42, Peoria Richwoods 7

Central State 8:
Chatham Glenwood 33, Springfield 0
Normal University 28, Decatur MacArthur 14
Rochester 56, Jacksonville 0
Decatur Eisenhower 46, Springfield Lanphier 24
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 42, Springfield Southeast 0

Sangamo:
Athens 51, Auburn 34
Maroa-Forsyth 68, Riverton 6
New Berlin 40, Pittsfield 0
Pleasant Plains 35, Petersburg PORTA 18
Stanford Olympia 27, Williamsville 20

Non-Conference:
Tolono Unity 42, Decatur St. Teresa 21
El Paso-Gridley 45, Elmwood-Brimfield 6
Colfax Ridgeview-Lexington 50, Fisher 18
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 34, Eureka 14
Heyworth 41, Deer Creek-Mackinaw 14
LeRoy 47, Tremont 0
Downs Tri-Valley 55, Minonk Fieldcrest 12
Lincoln 48, Peoria Manual 12

In a game heard on WEZC and at dewittdailynews.com, Bloomington Central Catholic scored the last 17 points of the game and held off Monticello 24-16 in Illini Prairie Conference high school football action Friday night in Monticello.

The Sages had a dream start looking for a signature win Friday night when they picked off Saints quarterback Colin Hayes and Luke Teschke finished the short drive with a 1 yard quarterback sneak put Monticello up 7-0.

On the second play of the next drive, Hayes would rumble 45 yards to the end zone to tie the score but the Sages answered quickly again.

Teschke hit Trey Welter from 45-yards out on a tailback sweep to Ike Young who threw back to Teschke whow threw to his open classmate to put Monticello up 13-6.

The Sages would pick off Hayes again on the next drive. Hayes hit his receiver in the helmet, it ricocheted off the helmet and right to Matt Swartz.

The Sages' drive stalled out but Cole Sowinski was able to slam through a 26-yard field goal to put Monticello up 16-7.

Unfortunately, that was almost the last of the sustained offense the Sages would muster despite turning over Hayes again later in the first half and standing up to the power run game of the BCC.

Last year the Saints pulled away late with the power run but Monticello was very good against BCC run game throughout the night.

Hayes would score from 17-yards out in the second quarter and Warren Tomczak hit a 35-yard field goal as time expired to give the Saints its first lead at 17-16 going to the intermission.

Another Hayes short touchdown run on BCC's first drive of the second half was the only scoring for the half on either side.

The Sages had a chance though after Tomczak missed a 30-yard field goal off the left upright. 

The Sages would turn it over on downs with just over a minute left ending the possibility of a late comeback.

Teschke finished 20-for-27 with 245 yards and a touchdown through the air and ran for a score.

Ike Young finished the game with five catches for 55 yards and ran 12 times for 40 yards. Young was the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game for his power runs and excellent defense.

Welter had his second straight 100-yard receiving game with 171 yards on seven catches with a touchdown.

Carter Foran had six catches for 62 yards and Rai Colbert finished with two catches for 15 yards. On the Sages' final drive, Monticello ran a hook-and-lateral. Tescke's short pass to Colbert to start the play was tipped but the senior made an athletic play to go up for the tip pass and lateral it to Foran. While the play only went for 14 yards, it extended the Sages' final drive.

Hayes finished with 25 carries for 205 yards and three touchdowns on the ground to pace BCC.

Will Adelman had ten carries and 83 yards for the Saints.

BCC stays undefeated, going to 4-0.

Monticello falls to 2-2. 

The Sages travel to Pontiac next Friday night. Game time is 7 pm and can be heard on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

In a game heard Friday night on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons topped the Central A&M Raiders, 28-20, in a road Central Illinois Conference game at Mowequa. 
 

The two teams traded scores and big plays throughout the game before the Maroons sealed it late.  
 

A&M started the scoring late in the first quarter with a 12-yard touchdown run by quarterback Drew Damery.  Clinton quarterback Mason Walker answered with a 12-yard touchdown run of his own on the Maroons next drive early in the second.  The Raiders would then score four minutes before the break on a 41-yard touchdown run by running back Evan Piersall to lead 14-7 at the half.  
 

The third quarter started with a bang for the Maroons as Dawson Graves took the first play from scrimmage 70-yards for a score to the tie the game back at 14 apiece.  Midway thru the third, Piersall scored again, but the Raiders missed the extra point making the score 20-14 A&M.  Clinton would answer two minutes later with a drive and a Tristin Potts 10-yard score.  The extra point conversion by kicker Taylor Anderson made it 21-20 Maroons.  
 

Both teams were held out of the end zone until late in the fourth when a Clinton touchdown was setup by an interception by Tristin Potts.  With 1:20 to go Mason Walker scored from 11-yards out to put Clinton up 28-20.  Central A&M put together a drive with a shot at the end zone as time expired, but they were unable to connect.  
 

Potts' interception and numerous tackles combined with his 18 carries for 97 yards, and a score earned him the WHOW / Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game award.  Mason Walker was 6 of 11 passing for 98 yards with an interception.  He rushed 10 times for 58 yards and a touchdown.  Dawson Graves carried the ball 6 times for 106 yards and a score, and had 3 catches for 56 yards.  Colton Walker had four catches for 54 yards for Clinton. 
 

For the Raiders, Damery finished 7 of 15 passing for 80 yards, and rushed 16 times for 53 yards and a score.  He was knocked out of the game with around two minutes to play in the fourth, and did not return.  Evan Piersall ran 21 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns for the Raiders, who fall to 2-2 overall, and 0-1 in the CIC.  They'll travel to Tuscola next week.  
 

Clinton improves to 2-2 overall, and are now 1-0 in the conference.  The Maroons return home next Friday night to host Meridian. Hear the action on all WHOW platforms! 

A third of the high school football season is in the books and the Clinton Maroons are looking to get back on the winning track this week after a frustrating couple of weeks.

Coach Ron Bass called last week's matchup at Eureka strange as it featured an ejection and a flag-fest at one point. He feels his team responded and made some plays but it just wasn't enough.

The Maroons face another stiff test this week when they visit Central A&M. Coach Bass says it starts with the quarterback for the Raiders and the Maroons playing good defense.

Game time tonight is 7 pm. Hear the action on WHOW and all its digital platforms.

Central Illinois Conference matchups tonight

Tuscola at Shelbyville

Warrensburg-Latham at Meridian

The Monticello Sages face a stiff test tonight when they host Bloomington Central Catholic in an Illini Prairie Conference matchup.

The Sages have rolled to two straight wins but the Saints will pose a very good test. After an easy 56-14 win last week over Confluence Prep Academy on Saturday, Coach Cully Welter was pleased his team didn't look past their opponent last week in anticipation of this week's game.

For the Saints, the offense goes through 6-foot-6, 240 pound senior quarterback Colin Hayes. Coach Welter says BCC shows a lot of heavy sets and so the focus this week in practice has been its alignment.

Game time tonight is 7 pm. Hear all the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Illini Prairie Conference matchups tonight:

Illinois Valley Central at St. Joseph-Ogden

Pontiac at Paxton-Buckley-Loda

Rantoul at Prairie Central

8-man football tonight

Flanagan-Woodland at Danville Schlarman (Sat.)

Milford at Champaign St. Thomas More (Sat.)

Peoria Heights at Sciota-West Prairie

River Ridge at Blue Ridge

Apollo

Effingham at Mattoon

Mahomet-Seymour at Charleston

Mt. Zion at Taylorville

Big Twelve

Champaign Central at Champaign Centennial

Danville at Bloomington 

Normal West at Urbana 

Peoria at Normal Community

Peoria Notre Dame at Peoria Richwoods

Central State Eight

Chatham-Glenwood at Springfield 

Decatur MacArthur at Normal U-High

Jacksonville at Rochester

Springfield Lanphier at Decatur Eisenhower

Springfield Southeast at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin

Mid-Illini

Limestone at Dunlap

Canton at East Peoria

Metamora at Morton

Pekin at Washington

Sangamo

Auburn at Athens

Maroa-Forsyth at Riverton

New Berlin at Pittsfield

Pleasant Plains at Petersburg PORTA

Williamsville at Olympia

Non-conference action this week

Decatur St. Teresa at Tolono Unity

Elmwood-Brimfield at El Paso-Gridley

Fisher vs. Ridgeview-Lexington 

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley at Eureka

Heyworth at Deer-Mack

LeRoy at Tremont

Fieldcrest at DTri-Valley

Peoria Manual at Lincoln

Blue Ridge fell in two sets, 25-18 and 25-13 to Toledo-Cumberland in Lincoln Prairie Conference girl's volleyball Thursday night in Toledo.

The Lady Knights drop to 3-9 and 0-3 in the conference. 

Both Monticello and Mt. Zion viewed Thursday night's non-conference tilt at the Sievers Center as a good test for their respective teams and the matchup did not disappoint.

In a game heard on WEZC, the Lady Braves outlasted the Lady Sages in three sets, 22-25, 25-13, and 29-27 in a thrilling girl's volleyball matchup from Monticello.

The Lady Sages got off to a quick start in the first set and withstood several runs by the Lady Braves to jump out front first but Mt. Zion settled down and limited the unforced errors and rolled to a second set win.

The third set was back-and-forth with great passing, hitting and exceptional defense on both sides but the Lady Braves used outlasted the Lady Sages in the final frame to take home the three-set win, their 8th win of the year.

Mt. Zion improved to 8-4 overall.

The Smith sisters for Monticello were stellar. Senior Jobi Smith led the way with nine kills, six digs and three aces while sophomore Shelby Smith also recorded nine kills and a dig.

Sophomore libero Mady Melton had 16 digs, a kill and two assists. Sierra Downey added seven kills and sophomore Addison Finet added 20 assists for the Lady Sages.

Monticello drops to 10-4 overall. They begin Illini Prairie Conference play next Tuesday taking on Paxton-Buckley-Loda.

Hear more Monticello volleyball on WEZC and at dewittdailynews.com next Thursday night when they host Champaign St. Thomas More at 7 pm.

One of the longest rivalries in FCS football continues Saturday as Illinois State (2-0, 1-0 MVFC) and Eastern Illinois (1-1, 0-0 Big South-OVC) square off for the 111th time in the Mid-America Classic in Charleston, Illinois at O'Brien Field.

Coming off a 2-0 start to the 2023 campaign with a pair of convincing FCS wins, Illinois State has earned a spot in this week's AFCA FCS Coaches' Top 25 Poll at No. 25.

NIU transfer Mason Blakemore rushed for a career-high 170 yards on 19 carries and scored three times to lead the way for the Redbirds over Western Illinois. That all earned him MVFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career.

EIU quarterback Pierce Holley continues to pace the Panthers offensive attack as the transfer quarterback passed for 250 yards and two touchdowns at Bowling Green. Kevin Daniels was a versatile part of the Panthers offense for the second straight week finishing the Bowling Green game with 116 all-purpose yards.

Daniels has rushed for 135 yards this season. He hauled in four passes for 38 yards on Saturday including a 15-yard touchdown for the Panthers opening touchdown. 

Game time is 2 pm Saturday afternoon. Hear all the action on WHOW with a pregame starting at 1:30 pm.

When Green Bay (1-0) faces the Atlanta Falcons (1-0) on Sunday, quarterback Jordan Love will be looking to build on the solid numbers he put up in a 38-20 victory at Chicago.

He threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns in his second career start after backing up Rodgers the last three seasons.

After moving on from Aaron Rodgers - whose fresh start in New York was cut short by an Achilles tendon injury on his very first series for the Jets - the Packers have rallied around his young successor.

The Falcons find themselves in strange territory after opening the season with a 24-10 victory over Carolina.

For the first time since the end of the 2017 season, Atlanta has a winning record.

The Falcons promised to get top draft pick Bijan Robinson involved in the offense in multiple ways - and the rookie didn't disappoint in the opener.

Robinson's first career touchdown was a thing of beauty: The running back caught a swing pass, faked out one defender, smashed through two more and scored on an 11-yard play.

Robinson also broke off a 21-yard run that set up the go-ahead touchdown against the Panthers.

The Packers are leaning heavily on their kids to launch the post-Rodgers era.

Green Bay played 12 rookies against the Bears - the highest number of rookies the Packers have used in a season opener since 1952, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Many of those rookies contributed right away. First-round pick Lukas Van Ness and sixth-round selection Karl Brooks each recorded a sack. Anders Carlson, another sixth-round pick, kicked a 52-yard field goal.

The two second-rounders – tight end Luke Musgrave and wide receiver Jayden Reed – combined to catch five passes for 98 yards. Reed also had a 35-yard punt return.

Game time is noon Sunday.

Bears QB Justin Fields says he was “a little bit too conservative” last week and settled for screens and swing passes rather than trying to make a play downfield. Considering the Bears are banking on him to grow as a passer, it was an ominous start to his third season. Fields was 24 of 37 for 216 yards, lost a fumble and had an interception returned for a touchdown as the Packers pulled away in the second half. He also ran for 59 yards.

Now the Packers take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who are coming off a confidence boosting week one win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Baker Mayfield shrugged off a slow start to win his debut for his fourth team in a little more than two years, completing 21 of 34 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over against the Vikings, giving his defense a chance to keep the Bucs in the game until Mayfield could get the offense on track.

Fields, who was sacked four times in Chicago’s season-opening loss to Green Bay, against an aggressive Bucs defense led by LBs Devin White, Lavonte David and Shaquil Barrett. Coach Todd Bowles says it’ll take a disciplined, team effort to contain the Bears QB, who has 13 games with 50-plus yards rushing.

Bears running backs combined for just 63 of Chicago’s 122 yards rushing last week and averaged 3.3 yards per attempt while WR DJ Moore was targeted only two times in his Bears debut, after Chicago acquired him from Carolina for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. 

Darnell Mooney had four receptions for 53 yards and a touchdown last week.

The Bucs defense allowed 41 yards rushing in Week 1, tied with the 49ers for the fewest in the league. The unit also had three takeaways against the Vikings. 

Game time is noon Sunday.

In a game heard on WEZC, Kyle Farmer hit a two-run homer to cap Minnesota’s four-run seventh inning, Kenta Maeda threw seven strong innings and the Twins routed the Chicago White Sox 10-2 on Thursday night.

The Sox return to the WHOW airwaves Saturday night following Eastern Illinois football. 

Richie Palacios homered, rookie Drew Rom and four relievers combined on a three-hitter and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Baltimore 1-0 Wednesday night to trim the Orioles' lead in the division to two games.

In a game dominated by strong pitching and tight defense, Palacios provided the lone run with a solo shot over the right-field scoreboard in the fourth inning off Gibson (14-9). It was his fourth homer of the season and third in two nights.

Gunnar Henderson’s two-out triple off Ryan Helsley in the ninth inning gave the Orioles a chance to pull even, but Aaron Hicks popped out.

Making his fifth major league start since being traded from Baltimore to the Cardinals on Aug. 1, Rom allowed two hits over 5 1/3 innings and left with a 1-0 lead. Effectively changing speeds and using both sides of the plate, the lefty struck out six and didn't give up a hit until Jorge Mateo beat out a grounder with two outs in the fifth.

Rom, selected in the fourth round of the 2018 draft by Baltimore, was part of the multi-player deal that send Jack Flaherty to the Orioles.

Cardinals OF Nolan Gorman was placed on the 10-day injured list after straining his right hamstring on Tuesday night.

After an off day Thursday, the Cardinals and LH Zach Thompson (5-5, 4.06 ERA) take on the visiting Philadelphia Phillies.

In a game heard on WHOW, Illinois alumnus Michael Massey homered for the second straight game, Salvador Perez had three hits and two RBIs and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 7-1 on Wednesday night.

Hear tonight's action on WHOW.

Kris Bryant went deep for the second straight game, one of four home runs by Colorado, and the Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs 7-3 on Wednesday for their first series win in a month.

Nolan Jones and Elehuris Montero each hit a two-run homer in a four-run fifth, and Ryan McMahon homered and finished with three hits for the Rockies, who took two of three from the playoff-contending Cubs. Colorado hadn’t won a series since taking two of three from the Chicago White Sox from Aug. 18-20.

Nico Hoerner tied his career best with four hits and Miguel Amaya and Ian Happ each had two hits for Chicago, which dropped the final two games at Colorado to lose ground on NL Central-leading Milwaukee. The Cubs (78-69) continue to hold the second NL wild-card spot after playing 27 games in 27 days.

Ty Blach (3-1) gave up nine hits in five innings but held the Cubs in check, allowing three runs. Gavin Hollowell worked two scoreless innings and Tyler Kinley, the fourth Colorado reliever, got the last five outs for his third save.

Cubs starter Jameson Taillon (7-10) came in 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in two career starts against Colorado, including a complete game at Coors Field on Aug. 7, 2018, when he was with Pittsburgh.

He allowed just one hit through three innings before Colorado scored a run in the fourth and took the lead in the fifth.

The Cubs loaded the bases with one out in the eighth, but Kinley induced two flyouts to keep it a four-run lead.

Cubs LHP Justin Steele (16-3, 2.49 ERA) will open a three-game series at Arizona on Friday night.

Tyler Reddick took advantage of a late caution and fresh tires to rocket past six others in a two-lap sprint to the finish at Kansas, winning for the second time this season and assuring himself a spot in the next round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs and the series htis the final leg of the Round of 16 in the playoffs this week for the Bristol night race.

The suddenly red-hot Chris Buescher won after starting 20th last year.

 Reddick passed team co-owner Denny Hamlin for the lead and joined Kyle Larson as drivers with secured spots in the Round of 12. Hamlin finished second, followed by Erik Jones, Larson and defending series champion Joey Logano. 

With one race remaining before the playoff field is cut down from 16, Kevin Harvick holds the 12th spot, with Martin Truex Jr., the regular-season champion, seven points below the cut line. Others below the line: Bubba Wallace (-19), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (-22) and Michael McDowell (-40).

Practice and qualifying is at 3:30 pm Friday. Race time is 6:30 pm Saturday night. 

On the XFinity cicruit, John Hunter Nemechek dominated, winning both early stages at Kansas and finishing with his series-best sixth victory of the year while Parker Kligerman claimed the last spot in the 12-driver playoffs when he finished fourth and Riley Herbst crashed early as XFinity runs Bristol Friday night.

Nemechek led 154 of the 200 laps. Brandon Jones finished second but needed a victory to make the postseason. Sheldon Creed finished third and Austin Hill was fifth. 

Kligerman rallied after Herbst nudged him into the wall, putting him two laps down. Sammy Smith, already in the playoffs with an early season victory at Phoenix, crashed for the seventh race in a row. Another playoff driver, Cole Custer, crashed after hitting debris.

Practice and qualifying is today at 1:30 pm and race time is at 6:30 pm Friday night.

Christian Eckes took the lead on the final restart at Kansas to lead his only two laps of the race and gain a berth in the Round of 8 as the Craftsman Truck Series heads takes on the next leg in its playoff run.

Eckes prevailed in a three-wide fight for the lead against Corey Heim and Zane Smith. It was his third victory of the year and the fourth of his career. Taylor Gray finished second and Matt DiBenedetto was third but missed out on a playoff advancement by five points to 2021 series champion Ben Rhodes. 

Also eliminated was three-time series champion Matt Crafton, who finished 33rd and missed advancing by 11 points.

Majeski won after starting sixth last year. 

Practice and qualifying is at 3 pm today. Race time is 8 pm tonight.

Hume-Shiloh took down Blue Ridge in two sets, 25-15 and 25-11, Tuesday night in Lincoln Prairie Conference high school volleyball from Shiloh High School.  

Phoebe Reynolds had four kills, two aces and a block to pace the Lady Knights. Lexi Phelps added four kills and had a block.

Blue Ridge falls to 3-8 overall and 0-2 in the Lincoln Prairie Conference.

Cedric Mullins hit a grand slam in the fifth inning, and the Orioles beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-5 to start a crucial homestand Monday night. Baltimore remained three games ahead of Tampa Bay atop the AL East, and the Orioles host the Rays for a four-game series after St. Louis leaves.

Baltimore trailed 5-4 when Mullins hit a drive to right off reliever Andre Pallante, who had just replaced starter Dakota Hudson (6-2). The Orioles withstood a shaky outing from Dean Kremer, who allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings. D.L. Hall (1-0) won in relief.

Gunnar Henderson also homered for Baltimore. He and Aaron Hicks each had three hits. The Orioles scored at least 10 runs for the fourth time in five games.

The Cardinals dropped to 63-81, meaning their streak of 15 straight winning seasons is over. The Orioles, meanwhile, have now defeated every other major league team at least once in 2023. Toronto is the only other team that's done that, according to Sportradar. This is the first season it has been possible because of the more balanced schedule.

Down 5-3, the Orioles began their decisive rally in the fifth thanks to two of their biggest stars: Adley Rutschman and Henderson both singled. One out later, Ryan O'Hearn doubled home a run, and Hudson was pulled after walking Ryan Mountcastle to load the bases.

Mullins' 14th home run of the year put Baltimore ahead, and Henderson added a solo shot an inning later.

Kremer walked two in the first inning and paid for it when Willson Contreras hit an RBI single, but the Orioles' aggressive baserunning worked out in the second.

The Orioles send John Means to the mound Tuesday night for his first appearance since having Tommy John surgery in April 2022. St. Louis starts Adam Wainwright (3-11).

Yan Gomes hit a two-run single in the ninth inning and Michael Fulmer stepped up at the very end, helping the Chicago Cubs top the Colorado Rockies 5-4 on Monday night.

Gomes finished with three hits and three RBIs. Christopher Morel homered and Dansby Swanson had two hits for Chicago in the opener of a six-game trip.

The Cubs stayed three games back of NL Central-leading Milwaukee and two games head of Arizona for the second NL wild card.

Drew Smyly (11-9) got four outs for the win, and Fulmer earned his second save of the season in his first big league appearance since Aug. 24.

Fulmer, who had been sidelined by a forearm strain, replaced Smyly with one out in the ninth. He walked Elias Díaz and hit Elehuris Montero with a pitch before striking out Harold Castro and Brenton Doyle.

Colorado left-hander Kyle Freeland was charged with three runs and eight hits over six innings.

The Rockies scored three times in the seventh to take a 4-3 lead. Hunter Goodman doubled home Díaz and then scored on Doyle’s two-run single against José Cuas.

The Cubs rallied against Tyler Kinley (0-2) in the ninth. Swanson led off with a double off the glove of left fielder Nolan Jones and Ian Happ walked. Following a double steal, Gomes drove in both runners with a liner to center.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, one of baseball’s top prospects, made his big-league debut for Chicago. He entered as a pinch runner in the seventh and was thrown out trying to steal third. He stayed in the game in center field.

Wicks permitted one run and three hits in six innings in his fourth major league start. He retired his last eight batters.

The Cubs will send RHP Javier Assad (3-3, 2.83 ERA) to the mound against Colorado RHP Chris Flexen (1-7, 7.36 ERA) on Tuesday.

Monday night's game between the Kansas City Royals and White Sox in Chicago was postponed due to rain. The teams will play a straight doubleheader on Tuesday starting at 3:40 p.m. CT.

Kansas City right-hander Brady Singer (8-10, 5.34) will start against Chicago right-hander Dylan Cease (6-,7, 4.98) in the opener. Royals righty Jordan Lyles (4-16, 6.24) will oppose White Sox righty Touki Toussaint (3-6, 4.70) in the nightcap.

The Royals entered Monday with the worst record in the majors at 44-100. The White Sox, at 55-88, have the fourth-worst record in MLB.

Both AL Central rivals have been mathematically eliminated from the postseason.

Earlier on Monday, the White Sox recalled right-hander Deivi Garcia and catcher Carlos Perez from Triple-A Charlotte. Chicago optioned outfielder Oscar Colás and righty Edgar Navarro to the farm team.

Colás made the White Sox opening day roster and was slotted as a regular in right field. But the 24-year-old Cuban batted just .216 with five homers and 19 RBIs in 75 games and, despite talent, still needs to work on baseball basics and reducing mistakes.

Hear today's action starting with the pregame just after 3 pm on WHOW. 

Jordan Love looked like he might be ready to follow in the footsteps of Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, throwing for three touchdowns to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 38-20 season-opening victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Love spent three years waiting for this moment behind four-time MVP Rodgers. He shook off a slow first half and helped propel the Packers to a lopsided win.

Aaron Jones ran for a touchdown and caught one, helping the Packers pull away in the second half for their ninth straight win over the Bears. Green Bay was 25-5 against Chicago with Rodgers, including an NFC championship game win at Soldier Field in the 2010 season, and the Packers were 22-10 in games Favre started.

For the Bears, it was more of a same for a team that went 3-14 to set a franchise record for losses last season. Chicago came into the season expecting major improvement after a series of offseason upgrades.

Love completed 15 of 27 passes for 245 yards and posted a 123.2 rating. His only previous start was a loss at Kansas City in 2021 when Rodgers was sidelined with COVID-19.

Jones caught two passes for 86 yards. He turned a screen into a 51-yard gain that led to a scoring run for him in the third, and added a 35-yard touchdown off a short pass on the next drive.

Romeo Doubs had two touchdown catches. Quay Walker returned an interception 37 yards for a TD, and the Packers won for the 13th time in 14 games at Soldier Field.

The Bears lost their 11th straight game overall, and their 10th in a row against NFC North opponents.

Fields was 24 of 37 for 216 yards. He had a touchdown pass and an interception in a performance that did little to answer the biggest question hanging over the team: Can he become the passer the Bears need him to be?

Fields also ran for 59 yards.

Prized acquisition DJ Moore was targeted just twice and had two catches for 25 yards. Darnell Mooney added 53 yards receiving and a TD.

The Packers scored touchdowns on their first two possessions in the second half to break open a four-point game.

Jones set up a TD on the opening drive of the third when he took a screen from Love - throwing off his back foot and across the field - and turned it into a 51-yard gain to the 7. Jones ran it in from the 1.

The Packers' Jayden Reed returned a punt 35 yards to the Chicago 42, leading to another score. Love hit Jones on a slant for a 35-yard TD, making it 24-6.

The Bears pulled within 10 with about a minute left in the third when Darnell Mooney caught a 20-yard TD pass from Fields. Khalil Herbert converted the 2-point run.

But the Packers quickly quieted the crowd with a 61-yard touchdown drive. Love found a wide-open Luke Musgrave for a 37-yard pass to the 4 after fumbling the snap and threw TD to Doubs on the next play, making it 31-14 with 13:30 remaining.

The Packers visit Atlanta next Sunday.

The Bears visit Tampa Bay next Sunday.

In a game heard on WHOW, Sawyer Gipson-Long won his major league debut, Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run double in a three-run third inning and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Sunday.

Hear tonight's action on WHOW.

Hunter Greene allowed one hit six innings in his first start in 11 days, Joey Votto homered on his 40th birthday and the Cincinnati Reds stopped a three-game losing streak with a 7-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

Miles Mikolas (7-11) fell to 1-6 over his last nine starts. He gave up seven hits and five runs with one walk and two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

The Cardinals (63-80) have lost 80 games for the first time since 2007 when they finished 78-84.

Cardinals RHP Dakota Hudson (6-1, 4.43 ERA, 35 strikeouts) is the scheduled starter in the opener of a three-game series on Monday at AL East-leading Baltimore.

Christopher Morel, Cody Bellinger and Dansby Swanson each hit solo homers in the third inning, and the Chicago Cubs snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.

Swanson added two singles and Kyle Hendricks tossed 5 2/3 effective innings to help Chicago (77-67) strengthen its hold on the second NL wild card spot and close to within three of first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central.

Arizona’s four-game winning streak ended, but the Diamondbacks (75-69) remained in the third wild-card spot. Arizona held the Cubs to just four runs in winning the first three games of the series.

Morel hit his 21st homer, Bellinger his 25th and Swanson his 20th off rookie right-hander Brandon Pfaadt, who was originally scheduled to start the game.

Pfaadt, however, entered in the third as Arizona’s second reliever after manager Tory Lovullo turned to left-hander Joe Mantiply as an opener.

And the Cubs teed off on Pfaadt.

Swanson finished with two RBIs and Seiya Suzuki doubled in a run for the Cubs. Morel also tripled.

Seby Zavala had two hits an RBI in his first game with the Diamondbacks. The catcher was claimed off waivers from the White Sox on Wednesday.

Hendricks (6-7) allowed two runs on seven hits, while striking out four. The right-hander exited after 82 pitches with two outs in the sixth after issuing his only walk.

Four relievers followed, with Julian Merryweather pitching the ninth for this first save.

Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the first, with Suzuki’s ground-rule double driving in Nico Hoerner. Morel led off with a triple, but was caught between third and home and tagged out following Hoerner’s comebacker.

Morel atoned with his homer, a shot to left off Pfaadt to start the third that made it 2-0.

Three hitters later, Bellinger launched a towering shot to right against a strong wind. Swanson cracked a 1-2 pitch deep into the left-center bleachers as the Cubs hit back-to-back homers for the ninth time this season.

Zavala’s RBI single in the fifth cut it to 4-1, but Swanson knocked in his second run of the game in the bottom half.

Alek Thomas cut it to 5-2 in the sixth with a sac fly.

Cubs LHP Jordan Wicks (3-0, 2.16) starts at Colorado on Monday night. Wicks has won his first three major-league starts after being called from the minors on Aug. 26. The Rockies had not yet named a starter.

With a bold move to the front of the field in overtime, Tyler Reddick won Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 and left his car owner frustrated at the end of the second NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Kansas Speedway.

Reddick beat Joe Gibbs Racing driver and 23XI Racing co-owner Denny Hamlin to the finish line by 0.327 seconds. Hamlin led 63 laps and was more than two seconds ahead of Reddick when playoff driver Chris Buescher blew a right-rear tire on Lap 261 of a scheduled 267 to cause the ninth and final caution.

Diverging strategies then gave Reddick the opening he needed to gain automatic entry into the Playoffs’ Round of 12. Daniel Suárez stayed out on 31-lap-old tires and inherited the lead. Erik Jones, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano made two-tire stops and restarted second, third and fourth.

Reddick restarted on the bottom of the third row and surged forward while Hamlin hung back in the top lane. After the field rounded Turn 4 on the restart Lap, Reddick shot to the bottom of the track and took the lead right before the start/finish line.

On the final circuit, third-place finisher Erik Jones moved up the track on the backstretch to block Hamlin’s progress for a moment, and that gave Reddick all the breathing room he needed to secure his second victory of the season, his first at 1.5-mile Kansas and the fifth of his career.

Larson finished fourth after leading a race-high 99 laps and winning the first stage. Logano came home fifth, thanks to the two-tire call by crew chief Paul Wolfe. Chase Elliott was sixth, followed by Kyle Busch, pole winner Christopher Bell and Brad Keselowski, who won the second stage.

The race, however, had dire consequences for playoff drivers now in danger of elimination next Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Disaster struck Regular Season Champion Martin Truex Jr. before the race was four laps old. As the field was working Lap 4, Truex started to slow on the backstretch and then slammed the wall in Turn 3, the result of a cut tire.

With the suspension on his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota damaged beyond repair, Truex retired to the garage in 36th place and fell seven points below the cut line for the Round of 12.

Bubba Wallace was next to have his hopes of advancement to the Round of 12 suffer a crippling blow. Wallace was running second on Lap 108 when his right rear tire exploded, sending his No. 23 Toyota hard into the outside wall.

The Cup Series’ next race is the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, scheduled Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Bristol Motor Speedway. The 500-lapper will conclude the Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 16, and four drivers will be eliminated from title contention at the checkered flag.

Luke Teschke accounted for five more touchdowns and Monticello's defense had another defensive touchdown as the Sages ran away with a 56-14 victory over St. Louis Confluence Prep Academy Saturday in non-conference high school football action from Monticello High School.

In last week's win over IVC, the Sages used big plays to create separation but it was methodical offense this week that worked for Monticello. 

Teschke started the day with a four-yard touchdown run on the opening drive to put Monticello up 7-0.

Confluence Prep's James Holmes ripped off a 60-yard run on the Titans' second play of the game to bring them within 7-6.

But was all Monticello after that. Teschke found Trey Welter from 21 yards out to go up 14-6. Ike Young picked off a fourth down throw to make it 28-6. Raiden Colbert caught a four-yard score to put the Sages up 35-6.

After a Teschke one-yard run to make it 42-6, the Sages finished the half on a short pass to Carter Foran who finished off the scoring running it up the sideline for a 21-yard touchdown.

With a running clock for the rest of the game, each team scored a touchdown.

Monticello's scoring was capped by a Heyden Romano 21-yard touchdown. 

Teschke finished 14-for-21 with 231 yards passing and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 68 yards on nine carries with a touchdown. 

Ike Young had 100 yards total offense and two touchdowns with a rushing touchdown and a defensive touchdown. 

Foran finished with three catches and 45 yards with a score. Colbert had two catches for 26 yards and a touchdown.

Welter was the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game with a game-high five catches and 103 yards with a touchdown.

Monticello improves to 2-1 overall. They'll host Bloomington Central Catholic in a big matchup of Illini Prairie Conference rivals next Friday night. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

CIC:

Farmington 53, Tuscola 34
Central A&M 32, Decatur St. Teresa 29
Sherrard 24, Warrensburg-Latham 15

Illini Prairie:

St. Joseph-Ogden 26, Fairbury Prairie Central 19
Bloomington Central Catholic 44, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 7
Pontiac 40, Rantoul 14
Tolono Unity 49, Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central 9

Big 12:

Normal Community 43, Normal West 0
Danville 58, Peoria Manual 12
Bloomington 34, Peoria Notre Dame 26
Peoria 92, Urbana 0

Central State 8:

Chatham Glenwood 58, Decatur Eisenhower 0
Springfield 29, Lincoln 12
Rochester 49, Decatur MacArthur 21
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 51, Jacksonville 10
Normal University 42, Springfield Southeast 26

Lincoln Prairie:

Argenta-Oreana 21, Arcola 20

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 36, Tri-County 16
Sangamon Valley/Tri-City 38, Cerro Gordo-Bement 16
Sullivan-Okaw Valley 33, Toledo Cumberland 12
Villa Grove 19, Nokomis 12

Sangamo:

Athens 14, Stanford Olympia 6
Auburn 48, Pleasant Plains 21
Maroa-Forsyth 63, Petersburg PORTA 0
Williamsville 49, Pittsfield 13
New Berlin 56, Riverton 6

Non-conference:

Minonk Fieldcrest 36, Colfax Ridgeview-Lexington 14
Downs Tri-Valley 57, Fisher 0
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 21, El Paso-Gridley 13
LeRoy 34, Deer Creek-Mackinaw 14
Mahomet-Seymour 42, Quincy Notre Dame 14
Mt. Zion 48, Salem 6
Champaign Central 55, Springfield Lanphier 14
Taylorville 15, Columbia 0
Heyworth 28, Tremont 8

Jalon Daniels threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns, and Devin Neal ran for 120 yards and another score, sending the Jayhawks past Illinois 34-23.

Daniel Hishaw added 98 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Lawrence Arnold had five catches for 89 yards, as Daniels and the Jayhawks (2-0) piled up nearly 300 yards of offense in the first half and finished with 543 for the game.

he Illini's Luke Altmyer threw for 202 yards and a touchdown while running for 70 and two more scores, and he showed some grit by bouncing back from a crushing blow from Kansas defensive lineman Austin Booker to lead a fourth-quarter rally.

The Illini (1-1) trailed 34-7 before Altmyer scored both of his TDs on the ground, and the 2-point conversions got them within 34-23 late in the fourth quarter. But the Illinois quarterback was picked off with 1:59 to go, ending the comeback bid.

In a game heard Friday night on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons fell to the Eureka Hornets, 47-28, in a non-conference road contest.  
 

Clinton started with a bang as Colton Walker returned the opening kickoff 58-yards to set up the Maroons with excellent starting field position.  The return was followed up a few plays later by a scrambling Mason Walker touchdown pass to a leaping Ryan Stapleton putting Clinton up 6-0.  

Eureka would answer on their first possession with a Mason Boles 9-yard touchdown run tying the game at 6 apiece.  From there, things would pick up dramatically as Eureka added two more Boles touchdowns and a 6-yard Dawson Dorn touchdown pass to lead 28-6 with 33 seconds left in the first half.  

However, that left Clinton enough time to score two touchdowns before the break!  Dawson Graves returned a Hornets kickoff 75-plus yards for a score, and the ensuing kickoff was then recovered by the Maroons.  Two plays later Mason Walker found his brother, Colton, down the sideline for a 24-yard TD to bring the score to 28-20 Hornets at the half.  
 

Neither team would find the end zone in the third quarter, but the first play of the fourth saw the Hornets send Boles into the end zone for the fourth time to go up 35-20.  Eureka would then score score again twice more to lead 47-20.  
 

Clinton's last score came on a 70-yard Dawson Graves run with 51-seconds left to play, bringing the final to 47-28.   
 

Graves was named the WHOW / Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game.  He finished with 6 carries for 107 yards, and a touchdown, a catch for 17 yards, and the kickoff return for a touchdown.  
 

Mason Walker went 5 of 17 passing for 67 yards and two touchdowns.  He ran 8 times for 22 yards.  Tristin Potts ran 10 times for 16 yards, and Colton Walker had 2 catches for 30 yards and a touchdown. Stapleton had the 21-yard touchdown grab. 
 

Eureka's Mason Boles ran 26 times for 116 yards and four touchdowns, and had 4 catches for 45 yards.  Dawson Dorn was 15 of 20 passing for 233 yards, and two touchdowns.  He also ran 16 times for 44 yards, and a score. 
 

Eureka improves to 2-1 on the year, and opens Heart of Illinois Conference play at home next Friday against GCMS. 

The Maroons fall to 1-2 on the season, and open Central Illinois Conference play next Friday on the road at Central A&M. Hear the Maroons in action Friday night on all WHOW platforms.  

Max Fried (7-1) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings, improving to 5-0 in his last seven starts. He is 5-0 in his career against the Cardinals.

Wainwright (3-11), pitching in his home state of Georgia for the final time against the team that drafted him in 2000, allowed six runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, including four solo home runs The 42-year-old right-hander, nearing the end of his 18th big league season, matched his career high for homers allowed.

He is stuck at 198 wins, losing seven straight starts and dropping to 0-10 in 11 outings since winning at the New York Mets on June 17.

Tommy Edman was 2 for 4 with two RBIs for the Cardinals (61-79), who with three more losses would assure their first losing season since 2007.

Cardinals rookie LHP Drew Rom (0-2, 7.24) will face Cincinnati LHP Andrew Abbott (8-4, 3.22) on Friday in the opener of a three-game series in Cincinnati.

Tommy Pham hit two first-pitch home runs, Ryne Nelson was efficient on the mound in his return from the minors and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Chicago Cubs 6-2 on Thursday night.

Ketel Marte added his 22nd homer to help the Diamondbacks win their second straight and move a half-game ahead of Miami for the last of the three NL wild-card spots. Chicago holds the No. 2 wild card, three games ahead of Arizona.

Nelson (7-7), recalled from Triple-A Reno a night earlier, gave up two hits while striking out three and walking two in the first 5 2/3 innings. Paul Sewald, the last of five Arizona relievers, finished for his 31st save.

Seiya Suzuki tripled and scored the first run for Chicago, which saw a four-game streak end and missed a chance to trim idle Milwaukee’s NL Central lead to one game. Dansby Swanson added a ninth-inning RBI single off reliever Joe Mantiply.

Assad pitched the first 5 1/3 innings, giving up seven hits while walking one with no strikeouts.

Arizona’s Zac Gallen (14-7, 3.48 ERA) faces fellow right-hander Jameson Taillon (7-9, 5.73) on Friday.

Quarterback Luke Altmyer saved Illinois from a deflating first-week loss to Toledo, engineering a late drive that set up a 29-yard field goal by Caleb Griffin for a 30-28 win on Saturday.

Altmyer and the Fighting Illini try to make it 2-0 on Friday night when they travel to Lawrence, Kan., for their first meeting with Kansas since 1968.

The Ole Miss transfer made his debut with Illinois one to remember. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns while running for a team-high 69 yards on nine carries. His 33-yard pass to Casey Washington on fourth down keyed the 64-yard drive that turned defeat into victory.

Less impressive was a defense that did most of the heavy lifting last year when the Illini contended for the Big Ten West title. Toledo rolled up 27 first downs and 416 total yards, creating a time of possession advantage of nearly six minutes.

Illinois will have to defend much better against a 1-0 Jayhawks team that hopes to have its leader, quarterback Jalon Daniels, back after he was sidelined by a back injury for Friday's 48-17 rout of FCS opponent Missouri State.

Daniels wasn't needed in the season opener, not with backup Jason Bean carving up the Bears for 276 yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-28 passing. ESPN reported Thursday that Daniels is expected to play, though it wasn't clear whether Daniels or Bean would start the game.

The Illini own a 3-2 lead in the all-time series with the Jayhawks. Friday night's matchup will be their first in Lawrence since 1892.

Longtime rivals Illinois State and Western Illinois will meet the earliest they have in a season since 1985 when the Redbirds (1-0) and Leathernecks (0-1) square off in the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener for both squads on Saturday in Macomb.

Redbirds quarterback Zack Annexstad and the Redbird offense came out firing and scored on five of the first six drives of the game in a 41-0 rout of Dayton in the season opener. The sixth-year senior completed finished the game 23-for-30 (76.6 percent) while throwing for 255 yards and a touchdown, highlighted by a 47-yard touchdown strike to wideout Daniel Sobkowicz.

Western Illinois opened the 2023 season on the road, making the long trip to New Mexico State and after playing NMSU close to even in the first half, the Aggies took control of the game in the second half picking up a 58-21 win.

Quarterback Matt Morrissey completed 16 passes for 215 yards with a pair of touchdown passes, and running back Ludovick Choquette ran for 37 yards and a touchdown for the Leathernecks.

Game time is 3 pm on Saturday afternoon. 

Eastern Illinois opened the season with a 27-0 win at Indiana State on Thursday night marking the first time EIU has opened a season with a win since 2017. 

Eastern Illinois defense was on-point in the opener forcing six turnovers with four interceptions and two fumble recoveries. 

Pierce Holley made his first start at quarterback for Eastern Illinois on Thursday as the graduate transfer from Georgetown passed for 244 yards with two touchdowns. He was 19-of-30.

Kevin Daniels carried most of the rushing load for the Panthers offense on Thursday night as the Northern Arizona transfer finished with 57 yards on 13 carries. 

Wide receiver Eli Mirza was a versatile weapon for the Panthers offense on Thursday at Indiana State. The junior college transfer was second on the team in rushing yards with 27 on an end-around play. He also led the Panthers in receiving yards with 82 including 42 yards after catch on his four receptions. 

Game time is 1 pm on Saturday afternoon. Hear EIU football on WHOW with pregame at 12:30 pm. 

Jordan Love gets his opportunity to show he's ready to keep the procession of great Green Bay quarterbacks going. For Justin Fields, it's time to start proving he can become the passer Chicago needs him to be.

All eyes will be on the QBs when the Packers visit the Bears in a season-opening matchup between the NFL's oldest rivals on Sunday.

Love gets his chance to follow in the footsteps of Hall of Famer Brett Favre and four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers and help lead the Packers back toward the top of the NFC North. Green Bay went 8-9 last year and missed the playoffs for the third time in six seasons.

Love's opportunity comes after Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets. He's been waiting since the Packers drafted him out of Utah State with the No. 26 overall pick in 2020.

The 24-year-old Love has played in 10 games. His only start was a loss at Kansas City in 2021 when Rodgers was sidelined with COVID-19.

Fields, also 24, needs to develop as a passer in his third season after establishing himself as one of the NFL's most exciting players. While the Bears finished a league-worst 3-14 - a franchise high for losses - he delivered one big play after another. But he did it with his legs, not his arm.

Fields ran for 1,143 yards and challenged Lamar Jackson's NFL record for a QB of 1,206. The Bears led the league in rushing but were last in passing.

Fields threw for just 2,242 yards and 17 touchdowns while getting sacked 55 times, tying Denver's Russell Wilson for the most in the league. His season high for passing was 254 yards against Green Bay in Week 13 at Soldier Field.

Rodgers and Favre led the way as the Packers took control of a rivalry in which the Bears long held the upper hand. They are 105-95-6 against Chicago, counting the playoffs.

Rodgers was 25-5 with an NFC championship game win at Soldier Field in the 2010 season. The Packers were 22-10 in games Favre started, including a 10-game win streak from 1994 to 1998 that is their longest in the series.

Game time is 3:25 on Sunday afternoon.

2021 series champion Kyle Larson passed Tyler Reddick coming off pit road and led the final 55 laps at Darlington to win the opening race of the playoffs.

The next leg of the round of 16 heads to Kansas Motorspeedway this weekend. 

It was Larson’s third victory this season, but first on the track where he had three seconds and two thirds in 11 previous Cup Series races. Reddick led 90 laps and Denny Hamlin won the first two stages and led 177 of the 367 laps, but had to pit twice for vibrations and wound up 25th. 

Playoff drivers took the first seven spots. Reddick was second, followed by Chris Buescher, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski and Wallace. 

The rest of the playoff field had Kyle Busch 11th, Joey Logano 12th, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 16th, Martin Truex Jr. 18th, Kevin Harvick 19th, pole-sitter Christopher Bell 23rd and Michael McDowell 32nd.

Bubb Wallace won last year. 

Practice and qualifying are at 11:45 Saturday morning and race time is 2 pm on Sunday.

Denny Hamlin, one of several Cup Series regulars in the field, passed Austin Hill on the final restart to win in overtime for his sixth Xfinity Series victory at Darlington.

Xfinity takes to Kansas this weekend as well.

Hill was second, followed by John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer and Josh Berry. Hill leads Nemechek by 23 points in the standings, with Justin Allgaier another 10 points back. They are the only three with a chance to claim the regular-season title. 

Riley Herbst finished sixth and passed Parker Kligerman by one point for the final spot in the 12-driver playoff with one race left to decide the postseason field.

Practice and qualifying is at 9 am and race time is 2 pm Saturday.

The Craftsman Truck Series takes to Kansas this weekend as well. Grant Enfinger led 95 of 175 laps and passed Carson Hocevar on the 159th lap to win in Milwaukee. His third victory of the season advanced him into the next round of the playoffs.

Hocevar, Christian Eckes and Cory Heim all clinched berths in the next playoff round on points, along with Ty Majeski, the winner of the first playoff race. 

Heim leads all drivers with 15 top-10 finishes despite have run just 17 races while the rest of the title contenders have raced 18 times.

Practice and qualifying is at 2:30 pm Friday. Race time is 8 pm Friday night. 

The Clinton Maroons are looking for a bounce-back performance this week when they travel to Eureka for a non-conference matchup.

The Maroons dropped a tough week two matchup 34-14 to Tri-Valley. Clinton struggled to find offensive momentum in the first half and by the time they were able to find the end zone, the Vikings had scored four times. 

Clinton faces another tough non-conference opponent tonight when they hit the road to Eureka. The Hornets are 1-1 on the season after falling in a shootout last week, 44-36 at Shelbyville.

Tonight's game will be the home opener for Eureka. 

Game time is 7 pm on WHOW and its many digital platforms.

Central Illinois Conference matchups tonight

Farmington at Tuscola
Meridian at Sparta (Sat.)
Central A & M at Decatur St. Teresa
Sherrard at Warrensburg -Latham
St. Louis Roosevelt-Carnahan, MO at Shelbyville (Sat.)

Monticello responded after a disappointing week one loss to topple IVC 52-13 last Friday night and now turns its attention to St. Louis Confluence Prep Saturday afternoon at Monticello High School.

The Sages forced six turnovers in last week's Illini Prairie Conference win and Coach Cully Welter was overall pleased with how his team played and responded to its week one loss.

Last week's emphasis was on effort all the way through the play and Coach Welter says sometimes coaching effort isn't always the right answer but he did see an improvement in finishing plays playing to the whistle.

According to Coach Welter, Confluence Prep has a limited roster but they play hard and have big play ability.

Game time Saturday afternoon is at 2 pm.

You can always hear Sages sports on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Week 3 matchups in the Illini Prairie Conference

Prairie Central at St. Joseph-Ogden

Paxton-Buckley-Loda at Bloomington Central Catholic

Rantoul at Pontiac

Tolono Unity at Illinois Valley Central

Big Twelve

Champaign Centennial  at Peoria Richwoods

Normal Community at Normal West

Peoria Manual at Danville 

Peoria Notre Dame at Bloomington 

Urbana at Peoria 

Central State Eight

Decatur Eisenhower at Chatham-Glenwood

Lincoln at Springfield 

Rochester at Decatur MacArthur

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin at Jacksonville 

Springfield Southeast at Normal U-High

Lincoln Prairie

Arcola at Argenta-Oreana

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at Oakland Tri-County 

Cerro Gordo-Bement at Sangamon Valley

Sullivan-Okaw Valley at Toledo-Cumberland

Villa Grove at Nokomis

Mid-Illini

Dunlap at Pekin

East Peoria at Limestone

Morton at Canton

Washington at Metamora

Sangamo

Athens at Olympia

Auburn at Pleasant Plains

Petersburg PORTA at Maroa-Forsyth

Pittsfield at Williamsville

Riverton at New Berlin

Non-conference football tonight

Ridgeview-Lexington at Fieldcrest

Tri-Valley at Fisher

El Paso-Gridley at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley

Dee-Mack at LeRoy

Mahomet-Seymour at Quincy Notre Dame

Salem at Mt. Zion

Springfield Lanphier at Champaign Central

Taylorville at Columbia

Tremont at Heyworth

Clinton v Rantoul - 18-25, 22-25
Monticello @ Shelbyville - 25-20, 30-28
Blue Ridge v Sullivan - 19-25, 25-21

Andrew Vaughn doubled, homered, drove in two runs and scored two as the Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 6-4 Wednesday night to snap a five-game losing streak.

The Sox will return to the WHOW airwaves Saturday evening.

The Blue Ridge Lady Knights fell in two sets, 25-13, 25-17 to Urbana University High School at Urbana Wednesday in non-conference high school girls' volleyball action.

Lexi Phelps paced Blue Ridge with five aces and two kills.

Blue Ridge is 3-6 overall.

Seiya Suzuki hit a three-run double, Cody Bellinger homered and the Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 8-2 on Wednesday for their fourth consecutive win.

Suzuki, Bellinger and Ian Happ each had two hits as Chicago completed a three-game sweep to move a season-high 12 games above .500 at 76-64. The Cubs also moved within 1 1/2 games of NL Central-leading Milwaukee.

Chicago left-hander Jordan Wicks improved to 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA in his first three major league starts. He allowed two runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings.

Dansby Swanson's two-out walk in the first inning loaded the bases for Suzuki, who hit a liner to right to give Chicago a 3-0 lead. Suzuki is batting .342 (38 for 111) with eight homers and 24 RBIs in his last 30 games.

Bellinger doubled in Happ in the third, and Miguel Amaya connected in the fourth for his fifth homer. Bellinger hit a solo drive in the seventh for his 24th homer, giving the Cubs to an 8-2 lead.

Javier Assad (3-2, 2.69 ERA) takes the mound on Thursday against Arizona. RHP Slade Cecconi (0-1, 4.44 ERA) pitches for the visiting Diamondbacks in the opener of a four-game series.

Paul Goldschmidt, Masyn Winn, Willson Contreras and Nolan Gorman went deep as the St. Louis Cardinals hit four home runs for the second straight game and beat the MLB-leading Atlanta Braves 11-6 Wednesday night to take the first two games of the three-game series.

Gorman hit his 27th homer of the season, one day after hitting two home runs as the NL Central-worst Cards beat the Braves 10-6.

Dakota Hudson (6-1) outpitched NL Cy Young Award hopeful Spencer Strider, allowing three runs and seven hits in five innings.

Strider (16-5) lasted just 2 2/3 innings, giving up six runs on six hits, including a home run. Strider had won his last four starts.

The Braves, who entered the series against St. Louis coming off an 8-2 road trip, had won their last eight series, dating to Aug. 4-6 against the Chicago Cubs. They'll try to salvage a game in the series finale on Thursday.

Matt Olson hit his MLB-leading 46th home run, and Austin Riley also homered for the Braves.

Gorman's three-run home run in the eighth inning off Dylan Lee put the game out of reach for the Cardinals.

The Braves closed a 7-2 deficit with three runs in the sixth inning. Olson led off with a home run and Michael Harris had a two-run double. With the tying runs on first and third, Ronald Acuña Jr. ended the threat by grounding into a double play.

The Cardinals struck for four runs in the first inning. Goldschmidt gave the Cardinals a 2-0 lead after just two batters with a 406-foot home run over the Cardinals' bullpen in left field, his 23rd of the season. Three batters later, Contreras knocked in Gorman from third with a grounder to second, and Alec Burleson followed with an RBI single that scored Nolan Arenado. Burleson was thrown out at second on the play by Acuña, but the Cardinals held a 4-0 lead and forced Strider to throw 26 pitches.

Contreras pushed the lead to 5-0 in the third with a ground ball single past a diving Orlando Arcia that scored Gorman. Burleson picked up another RBI on a fielder’s choice.

Contreras hit his 17th homer of the season in the seventh inning, and Winn hit his first of the year in the sixth.

Braves LHP Max Fried (6-1, 2.52) will face veteran Cardinals RHP Adam Wainwright (3-10, 8.10) in the final game of the three-game series. Wainwright, who has lost nine straight decisions, is seeking career win No. 199.

Brooks Cluver tied a school-record low score for a match and led the Clinton boy's golf team to a quad match win over Tri-Valley, Fisher, and Blue Ridge Tuesday in Farmer City.

Cluver shot a 32 for the round which ties a school record with Matt Michael from 1982. 

Clinton as a team shot 164, ten better than Tri-Valley. Fisher scored a 186 and Blue Ridge finished with a 194. 

Aiden Toohill shot a 41 for the Maroons, Ashton Douglas carded a 45 and Cole Fentress added a 46.

On the girl's side, Clinton came in fourth in the quad meet. Sarah Mills carded the fourth-best score for the day with a 47. Leah Mills recorded her personal best score with a 54. 

Carley Earle had a 53 and Grace Gates also carded a 54. 

The Maroons travel to Arcola this afternoon.

The Monticello Lady Sages took down Tuscola 25-12, 25-20 in two sets Tuesday night in non-conference volleyball action from Monticello High School. 

Jobi Smith led the Lady Sages with five kills. Shelby Smith and Ashley Stiverson contributed three kills apiece.

Monticello will travel to Shelbyville on Thursday. 

The Clinton Lady Maroons volleyball squad fell in two sets Tuesday night to Tolono Unity at Unity High School.

Clinton returns to action Thursday at home hosting Rantoul. 

Christopher Morel and Seiya Suzuki homered during Chicago's six-run seventh inning, and the Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants 11-8 on Tuesday for their third consecutive win.

Suzuki had four hits and three RBIs as Chicago remained 2 1/2 games back of NL Central-leading Milwaukee. Yan Gomes added three hits and two RBIs, and Drew Smyly (10-9) got three outs for the win.

The Cubs moved a season-high 11 games over .500 at 75-64. They are 49-28 since they dropped to 26-36 with a 3-1 loss at the Angels on June 8.

J.D. Davis, LaMonte Wade Jr., Mike Yastrzemski and Wilmer Flores homered for San Francisco in its fifth consecutive loss. Davis and Joc Pederson each had three hits.

Part of a four-way fight for the third NL wild card, the Giants dropped to 9-20 since Aug. 5.

San Francisco, which was shut out in its previous two games, scored three runs in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead. Pederson hit an RBI double off Kyle Hendricks and Davis greeted Hayden Wesneski with a one-out drive to center for his 16th homer.

But Chicago went ahead to stay in the seventh, taking advantage of a couple of defensive miscues for San Francisco (70-69).

After Suzuki's two-run homer tied it at 6, Pederson misplayed Jeimer Candelario's fly ball to left into a double. With one out and runners on the corners, third baseman Casey Schmitt committed a throwing error when he tried to cut down Candelario at the plate on Nick Madrigal's grounder.

Morel followed with a 431-foot drive to center against Luke Jackson (1-2) for a three-run shot that lifted the Cubs to a 10-6 lead. The 24-year-old Morel celebrated his 20th homer with a big bat flip.

San Francisco closed to 11-8 on Flores' leadoff drive to left against Julian Merryweather in the ninth. After Pederson walked, pinch-hitter Paul DeJong struck out before Davis bounced into a game-ending double play.

The late rally for Chicago spoiled a fast start by San Francisco.

Wade drove Hendricks' first pitch of the game into the bleachers in right for his 14th homer, helping the Giants build a 3-0 lead. Wade Meckler saved a run with a diving catch in center in the bottom of the first, and then hit an RBI single in the second.

Chicago responded with four runs in the third, including a two-run double for Gomes that deflected off a diving Pederson.

Cubs left-hander Jordan Wicks (2-0, 1.80 ERA) takes the mound Wednesday. Wicks is going for his third straight win in his third big league start. The Giants have not announced their starter for the series finale.

Gregory Santos balked with the bases loaded as the Kansas City Royals rallied from a six-run deficit to beat the Chicago White Sox 7-6 on Tuesday night.

Hear tonight's action on WHOW.

Tyler O'Neill and Nolan Gorman hit two-run homers to spoil Michael Soroka's return to Atlanta and the St. Louis Cardinals held on to beat the Braves 10-6 on Tuesday night.

O'Neill's homer to left field drove in Jordan Walker in the second inning. Gorman added a 426-foot blast off Soroka in the third and a ninth-inning homer, his 26th, off Michael Tonkin.

The major league-leading Braves, coming off an 8-2 road trip that included three wins in four games against the Los Angeles Dodgers, couldn't keep pace with the Cardinals, who are last in the NL Central. St. Louis led 9-1. The Braves cut the deficit to 9-6 before Gorman's second homer.

Walker, born in nearby Stone Mountain, greeted Soroka's replacement, Collin McHugh, with a homer to center field to open the fourth. Walker drove in two runs with three hits. O'Neill also had three hits.

Atlanta's Ozzie Albies hit a first-inning homer off Miles Mikolas, who also gave up back-to-back, sixth-inning blasts to Austin Riley and Matt Olson.

The three solo homers were the only runs allowed by Mikolas (7-10) in 6 2/3 innings.

Marcell Ozuna added another solo shot off Giovanny Gallegos in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Orlando Arcia added a run-scoring double off Gallegos in the eighth.

Each team hit four homers. It matched the most allowed by Braves pitchers this season.

The Braves, who swept three games in St. Louis April 3-5, need one win over the Cardinals this week to win their fifth straight season series between the teams.

Braves RHP Spencer Strider, a NL Cy Young Award contender, will look for his 17th win when Atlanta faces Cardinals RHP Dakota Hudson on Wednesday night. Strider is 1-0 with a 0.75 ERA and has 19 strikeouts in 12 innings in two career starts against St. Louis.

Justin Steele tossed dominant two-hit ball through eight innings to move into a tie for the major league lead in wins, leading the Chicago Cubs past the San Francisco Giants 5-0 on Monday.

Steele improved to 16-3, matching the victory total of Atlanta’s Spencer Strider, as he won his seventh straight decision. Chicago's All-Star left-hander overwhelmed the sliding Giants on a scorching afternoon at Wrigley Field, striking out a career-high 12 and walking two as the Cubs strengthened their grip on the second NL wild card spot.

Seiya Suzuki hit a 432-foot solo shot off Giants starter Logan Webb in the second, then drove in Chicago's second run with a line double to the right-center wall in the seventh.

Suzuki has rebounded from a mid-season slump, upping his batting average to .267 and homer total to 15.

Yan Gomes also had two hits, including a double, and an RBI. Dansby Swanson drove an insurance run in the eighth with a bloop double that dropped in front of and got by Giants left fielder Mitch Haniger.

After allowing a solid line single to Casey Schmitt with two outs in the second, Steele retired 16 straight until walking J.D. Davis to start the eighth. Davis was erased on a double play before Paul DeJong singled for San Francisco's second hit.

José Cuas pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the win. The 28-year-old Steele hasn’t lost since July 16 when Boston scored six runs - five unearned - against him.

Webb (9-12) allowed three runs on five hits and walked one through 6 2/3 innings as San Francisco lost its fourth straight. The Giants have dropped 17 of their last 25, but entered Monday tied with Arizona and Miami for the last NL postseason spot. Cincinnati was percentage points behind in the crowded mix.

Webb retired 10 straight Cubs hitters between Suzuki’s homer and Gomes' double to the wall in the fifth.

The Cubs chased Webb in the seventh when Cody Bellinger singled and then came home on Suzuki's double. Gomes' RBI singled made it 3-0 and Tristan Beck relieved.

The Cubs added two unearned runs in the eighth.

Kyle Hendricks (5-7, 3.59 ERA) takes the mound on Tuesday night as the series continues. The Giants will use RHP Ryan Walker (4-2, 2.16) as an opener.

Cole Ragans continued his recent success with six scoreless innings as the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 12-1 in the first game of a three-game series Monday.

The American League Pitcher of the Month for August, Ragans (6-4) retired the first 13 batters he faced and finished with just one hit allowed. He struck out seven and didn't walk anyone. He now has a 21-inning scoreless streak.

Edward Olivares was 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs. Every Royals starter except for Salvador Perez had at least one hit, and Perez had an RBI.

Jesse Scholtens (1-7) took the loss after allowing five runs on nine hits in 3 2/3 innings.

The White Sox scored an unearned run in the eighth.

The White Sox and Royals will play the second game of a three-game series Tuesday night. The White Sox will hand the ball to Dylan Cease (6-7, 4.91 ERA). The Royals will send RHP Brady Singer (8-10, 5.15 ERA) to the mound.

Spencer Torkelson hit a tiebreaking solo home run in the seventh inning, Tarik Skubal worked seven solid innings and the Detroit Tigers ran their winning streak to four games with a 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.

Remember WHOW is your home for Chicago White Sox baseball. Our next broadcast is Tuesday, September 5, against the Kansas City Royals.

Mason Blakemore scored on a 71-yard run, Daniel Sobkowicz hauled in a 47-yard touchdown pass and Illinois State beat Dayton 41-0 in a season opener on Saturday.

Zack Annexstad completed 25 of 30 passes for 255 yards, including a perfect rainbow to Sobkowicz to make it 14-0 in the second quarter.

Blakemore burst untouched off right tackle and made it 28-9 in the middle of the second quarter. In-between Lavoise-Deontae McCoy added a defensive touchdown with a fumble recovery.

Six different running backs and Annexstad amassed 193 yards with no one carrying the ball more than five times. The Redbirds had 473 yards of total offense.

Two Dayton quarterbacks combined for 17 completions but just 106 yards. The Flyers finished with 203 yards of offense. They ran 16 more plays to average just 2.6 yards a snap.

Caleb Griffin kicked a 29-yard field goal in the closing seconds, giving Illinois a 30-28 victory over Toledo in the season opener for both teams on Saturday night.

Luke Altmyer threw for two touchdowns. Miles Scott returned an interception 48 yards for a score, and the Illini squeezed out the win in a back-and-forth game to start coach Bret Bielema’s third season.

 Ian Happ had four RBIs while Mike Tauchman and Cody Bellinger each drove in three to help the Chicago Cubs cruise to a 15-7 rout of the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday and earn a split of a critical four-game series between the contending divisional rivals.

Nick Madrigal and Tauchman each drove in two with bases-loaded singles off Reds All-Star closer Alexis Diaz in the seven-run Cubs eighth. Bellinger drove in another with a sacrifice fly, and a double by Dansby Swanson pushed two more across before the Reds could get out of it.

The Cubs, who banged out 18 hits, added three more runs in the ninth, including a solo homer by Jeimer Candelario.

Tyler Stephenson had three RBIs for the Reds, including a two-run homer in the second inning. TJ Friedl and Spencer Steer hit back-to-back homers in the first inning off Cubs starter Jameson Taillon.

Cubs starter Jameson Taillon had some tough going early, too. After he struck out Nick Martini in the Reds first before Friedl and Steer homered. Stephenson followed with his two-run shot in the second to give the Reds a 4-3 lead.

Bellinger led off the Cubs sixth with a 407-foot homer to center - his third of the series - that chased Spiers.

Jordan Walker homered and Zack Thompson tossed seven effective innings to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 6-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.

Nolan Gorman added a two-run single for the Cardinals, who avoided a three-game sweep. Alec Burleson broke a 3-all tie with a two-run single in the fourth.

Walker gave the Cardinals a 3-1 lead with his 14th homer in the third. He also doubled and scored in the seventh.

Thompson (4-5) allowed three runs and seven hits on 92 pitches. He struck out six.

Giovanny Gallegos earned his 10th save in 16 chances.

Pittsburgh starter Johan Oviedo (8-14) lasted just 3 2/3 innings. He gave up five runs on four hits and walked a season-high six.

CIC
Carlyle 30, Tuscola 49
Eureka 36, Shelbyville 44
Meridian 0, LeRoy 41
Marshall 14, Central A&M 29

Illini Prairie
Bloomington Central Catholic 56, Rantoul 0
Fairbury Prairie Central 47, Pontiac 6
St. Joseph-Ogden 38, Tolono Unity 35
Paxton-Buckley-Loda 55, Newton 8

8-Man Football
Champaign St. Thomas More 20, Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland 17
Farmer City Blue Ridge 30, St. Anne 6

Big 12
Normal West 35, Bloomington 14
Normal Community 57, Champaign Central 6

Central State 8
Chatham Glenwood 77, Springfield Lanphier 0
Lincoln 46, Decatur Eisenhower 6
Jacksonville 35, Decatur MacArthur 34
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 35, Normal University 17
Rochester 58, Springfield 0

Lincoln Prairie
Sullivan-Okaw Valley 54, Arcola 6
Nokomis 46, Argenta-Oreana 14
Cerro Gordo-Bement 16, Oakland Tri-County 0
Toledo Cumberland 41, Sangamon Valley/Tri-City 14
Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 43, Villa Grove 35

Sangamo
Stanford Olympia 35, Pittsfield 14
Athens 63, Pleasant Plains 21
Maroa-Forsyth 49, Auburn 6
New Berlin 48, Petersburg PORTA 6
Williamsville 49, Riverton 13

Non-conference
Belleville Althoff 46, St. Teresa 13
Stockton 47, Heyworth 13
Mahomet-Seymour 28, Highland 0
El Paso-Gridley 42, Minonk Fieldcrest 0
Taylorville 35, Robinson 13
Taylor Ridge Rockridge 39, Colfax Ridgeview-Lexington 32
Mt. Zion 39, Troy Triad 28

In a game heard on WEZC and at dewittdailynews.com, Monticello used big plays and turnovers to roll past IVCv 52-13 in Illini Prairie Conference football action Friday at Monticello High School.

Luke Teschke rebounded from a rocky first varsity start in last week's loss to St. Joseph-Ogden and accounted for five touchdowns, all in the first half.

Teschke was 9-for-16 through the air for 232 yards and three touchdowns. He added 45 yards on the ground on seven carries and two more scores.

Teshke connected with Carter Foran for 71 yards for the first score of the game. 

After Ike Young capitalized on a special teams turnover for a 25-yard touchdown run, Teschke answered the Grey Ghosts' first score of the night and hit Raiden Colber from 65 yards for a 21-7 lead. 

Cole Sowinski hit a 33-yard field goal to put the Sages up 24-7 and Teschke scored twice more on short-yard runs and just before the half found Foran again in the back of the end zone from 16 yards out for a 45-7 lead at the intermission.

The cushion allowed the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game to rest the entire second half.

Nolan Buehnerkemper had two interceptions on defense for Monticello. 

Foran finished with three catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns. 

Colbert had three catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. 

Young finished 87 rushing yards as he was able to get a couple of series of snaps playing quarterback. 

Trey Welter had three catches and 61 yards.

Monticello is 1-1 and IVC falls to 0-2.

The Sages host Confluence Prep Academy next Saturday at 2 p.m. Hear the action on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

In a game heard Friday night on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons fell to Tri-Valley, 34-14, in a non-conference football matchup at Clinton High School.  
 

Neither team could find the end zone in the first quarter, but the Vikings tallied three second quarter scores.  Quarterback Cole Klein found Cade Danko through the air twice for 10 & 16-yard scores, and then Klein ran in a 3-yard score just before half to put Tri-Valley up 21-0 at the break.  
 

Klein wasn't done.  He opened the third quarter with a 74-yard breakaway score to put the Vikings up 28-0.  
 

Clinton was able to get on the board in the third with a 14-yard Mason Walker touchdown run.  Walker would find Dalton Graves for a 10-yard touchdown pass later in the quarter to pull the Maroons back to within two touchdowns.  However, Tri-Valley came up with a big fourth quarter stop, and then a Danko 90-yard touchdown run put the game away, 34-14, in favor of the Vikings. 
 

Klein led Tri-Valley's option ground game as he piled up 243 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns. The junior was 2 of 6 through the air for 26 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Cade Danko had 2 carries for 88 yards and a score to go along with 2 catches for 26 yards and 2 TD's. 
 

As for Clinton, quarterback Mason Walker was 5 of 17 passing for 62 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.  His receivers didn't do the senior QB any favors with several dropped passes on the night.  Walker ran the ball 18 times for 60 yards and a score.  Dawson Graves was named the WHOW / Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game primarily For his defensive effort chasing down several Viking ball carriers through the game.  He also had 3 catches for 41 yards and a touchdown to go with 5 carries for 29 yards.  Tristin Potts had 14 carries for 89 yards as well for the Maroons.  
 

Tri-Valley improves to 2-0 on the season as they travel to Fisher next week.  
 

Clinton falls to 1-1 on the year, and travels to Eureka for another non-conference matchup next Friday night.  Hear live coverage on all WHOW platforms. 
 

Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer may seem long on seasoning, but Saturday's season opener against visiting Toledo will mark merely his first start with the program and second overall.

The Mississippi transfer's nine career appearances and four touchdowns -- three through the air -- still beat the alternative as the Fighting Illini face the reigning Mid-American Conference champions.

Sixteen starters return for the Rockets, including seven all-conference players. That total includes quarterback Dequan Finn, a second-team all-MAC selection after passing for 23 touchdowns and adding 631 yards on the ground. Cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, an all-MAC first-teamer a season ago, anchors a defense that helped Toledo finish 9-5 with a win over Liberty in the Boca Raton Bowl.

Illinois went 8-5 in 2022 but lost four of its last five games, including a 19-10 defeat to Mississippi State in the ReliaQuest Bowl. The defense, which finished No. 1 in opponents' scoring in the nation, got a jolt when defensive lineman Jer'Zhan "Johnny" Newton decided to return for his junior season.

Several key players must be replaced behind Newton, including cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who was selected No. 5 overall in this year's draft by the Seattle Seahawks. Illinois is also without running back Chase Brown, who compiled 1,883 total yards in 2022 before being drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals.

A Walter Camp All-American second-team selection, Newton paced Illinois with 5.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss, 11 quarterback hurries and two fumble recoveries.

The Saturday contest will mark the first meeting between the programs.

When Illinois State quarterback Zack Annexstad took the reins of the Illinois State offense prior to the 2022 season beginning, he did so having been out of game action for quite a long time. 

With that came the expectation that he would have to knock off some rust in-game during the non-conference season to get ready for Valley Football play. That certainly seems to be what has happened for the Minnesota transfer, who threw just four touchdowns as compared to five interceptions in the first three games of the season. However, he rallied in conference play to complete 63 percent of his passes for nearly 1,100 yards with just two interceptions and seven touchdown passes. 

Even though his season was cut short due to injury, Annexstad's play at the end of the year gives the Redbird offensive momentum headed into 2023.

The Redbirds will turn to the senior to lead his team as ISU opens the season hosting Dayton Saturday.

It was certainly a string of ups and downs for the Redbirds in 2022, as a streak of five wins in six contests was followed by a three-game losing streak to even the team's record at 5-5 heading into the season finale against Western Illinois. 

However, the Redbirds rallied to send their seniors out on a high note with a victory over their in-state rival Leathernecks. With the win, the Redbirds finished with six wins and a winning record, marking the 11th time in the last 14 seasons under coach Brock Spack the Redbirds have finished with a .500 record or better.

The Illinois State defense ranked No. 10 in the country in total defense (and second in the MVFC) in 2022 and much of that was due to the amount of success the Redbirds had had getting to the quarterback. 

ISU ranked No. 5 in the country in team sacks per game at 3.18 per contest. A total of 14 of those came from All-American and Buck Buchanan Award winner Zeke Vandenburgh, who led the FCS in sacks and tackles for loss per game. 

The loss of Vandenburgh to graduation will be a big hole to fill for the Redbird defense, however 10 players with significant playing time last year return from on the two-deep along with some talented transfers that will look to keep the Redbird defense one of the best in the country.

Game time is noon Saturday.

Only 36 points separate the 16 drivers as NASCAR’s playoffs begin Sunday at Darlington Raceway in what might be one of the closest fields in the history of this format.

After so many near-misses, is it finally Denny Hamlin’s year?

Confidence is nice but it has yet to pay off for Hamlin, who can’t shake the tag as the greatest NASCAR driver to never win a Cup Series title.

Chris Buescher led RFK Racing’s first 1-2 finish in nine years, winning at Daytona for the third time in the final five regular-season races.

Buescher’s victory boosted Bubba Wallace into the final postseason spot and eliminated fan favorite Chase Elliott, who finished fourth, from the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. 

Practice and qualifying is at 11:30 am Saturday morning and race time is 5 pm on Sunday evening.

Riverton-native Justin Allgaier held off Sheldon Creed by 0.005 seconds in double overtime to prevail in the fourth-closest finish in series history and win for the first time in 26 starts at Daytona.

Allgaier’s second victory of the season and 21st overall moved him to second in the points race, 27 points behind Austin Hill and one ahead of John Hunter Nemechek with three regular-season races remaining. 

Hill finished 23rd, Nemechek 28th. Daniel Hemric was third, followed by Parker Kligerman and Cole Custer. 

Hill and Trevor Bayne looked to be in control of the race late, but they started a multicar melee when they made contact with Chandler Smith following a restart with two laps to go. 

Riley Herbst had a second consecutive bad week and went from three points ahead of Kligerman to 20 points behind in the fight for the last playoff spot. Herbst has lost 54 points in that fight in the last two races.

XFinity practice is 9:30 Saturday morning and race time is 2:30 pm on Saturday. 

Grant Enfinger led 95 of 175 laps and passed Carson Hocevar on the 159th lap to win in the Craftsman Truck Series first leg of the postseason from the Milwaukee Mile last Sunday. His third victory of the season advanced him into the next round of the playoffs.

The truck series returns next weekend from Kansas Speedway.