Local Sports

High School Volleyball Postseason Results

Class 1A Regional volleyball scores:

 

At Cerro Gordo

 

Cerro Gordo 25  25

Meridian 20  15

 

Central A & M 19  25  25

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 25  18  19

 

At Farmer City 

 

Champaign Judah Christian 25  25

Urbana Uni 19  12

 

Danville Schlarman 25  23  25

Armstrong 23  25  23

 

At Kansas

 

Bethany Okaw Valley 25  25

Villa Grove 9  19

 

At LeRoy

 

Argenta-Oreana 25  25

Normal Calvary Christian Academy   9  16

 

At Mt. Pulaski

 

Hartsburg-Emden 25  25

Delavan 11  13

 

Springfield Lutheran 25  25

Springfield Calvary   9  12

 

At Streator-Woodland

 

Lexington 25  25

Tri-Point 16  13

 

Class 2A Regional volleyball scores:

 

At Clinton

 

Tri-Valley 25  25

Olympia 18  18

 

Pleasant Plains 25  25

Bloomington Central Catholic 19  19

 

At Fithian-Oakwood

 

St. Joseph-Ogden 25  25

Fithian-Oakwood   5    8 

 

Monticello 25  32

Tuscola 21  30

 

At Decatur St. Teresa

 

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 25  25

Petersburg PORTA 21  23

 

Decatur St. Teresa 25  25

Williamsville 17  18

 

At Mackinaw

 

Illinois Valley Central 25  25

Knoxville 13  19

 

Dee-Mack 23  19  25     

Monmouth-Roseville 25  16  18

 

At Paxton-Buckley-Loda

 

Tolono Unity 25  25

G.C.M.S. 16 16

 

Paxton-Buckley-Loda 25  25

Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin 19  20

 

At Pontiac

 

El Paso-Gridley 22  25  25

Eureka 25  22  15

 

Fieldcrest 16  26

Pontiac 25  28

 

At Robinson

 

Shelbyville 25  25

Robinson   9  13

 

Class 3A Regional volleyball action....

 

Bartonville 

 

Metamora 25  25

East Peoria 18  10

 

Washington 25  25

Limestone 15  19

 

At Bethalto 

 

Taylorville 25  25

Jersey 10  15

 

At Canton

 

Morton 25  25

Canton   9  18

 

Peoria Notre Dame 25  25

Peoria Richwoods 16  23

 

At Champaign St. Thomas More

 

Champaign St. Thomas More 25  25

Rantoul   6  12

 

Mt. Zion 24  25  25

Urbana 26  15  18

 

At Decatur Eisenhower

 

Mahomet-Seymour 25  25

Decatur MacArthur 11  12

 

Champaign Central 21  29  25

Champaign Centennial 25  27  22

 

At Jacksonville 

 

Rochester 25  25

Springfield Southeast   8  15

 

Chatham-Glenwood 18  25  26

Jacksonville 25  14  24

 

At Normal U-High

 

Normal U-High 25  25

Lincoln   8  16

 

Springfield 12  13

Bloomington 25  25

 

Class 4A regional volleyball action:

 

At Minooka

 

Normal West 23  17

Bradley-Bourbonnais 25  25

 

At Pekin

 

Normal Community 25  25

Quincy 11  19

Preds Blank Blackhawks

Nick Bonino had a natural hat trick, Pekka Rinne made 20 saves for his second consecutive shutout and the Nashville Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-0 on Tuesday night.

 

Rocco Grimaldi had the primary assist on all three goals for the first three-point game of his career. Craig Smith added two assists for the Predators, winners of four straight.

 

The struggling Blackhawks have lost five of six.

 

Bonino's hat trick was the third of his NHL career and first with the Predators.

 

After scoring once in each of the first two periods, Bonino buried the rebound of a shot from Grimaldi from just outside Robin Lehner's crease, prompting fans to shower the ice with hats at 3:40 of the third.

Lehner finished with 48 saves.

 

The Blackhawks visit the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Nationals Force Game 7

Seizing the October spotlight he missed out on as a youngster, Stephen Strasburg pitched another postseason gem into the ninth inning Tuesday night as the Nationals beat the Houston Astros 7-2 to tie this Fall Classic at 3-3.

 

Juan Soto ran all the way to first base with his bat following a go-ahead homer, the same way Houston slugger Alex Bregman did earlier.

 

Seizing the October spotlight he missed out on as a youngster, Strasburg pitched another postseason gem into the ninth inning Tuesday night as the Nationals beat the Houston Astros 7-2 to tie this Fall Classic at 3-3.

 

Juan Soto ran all the way to first base with his bat following a go-ahead homer, the same way Houston slugger Alex Bregman did earlier.

 

Adam Eaton and Soto hit solo homers off Justin Verlander in the fifth to help the Nationals overcome a 2-1 deficit. Anthony Rendon also went deep and drove in five runs.

 

Anthony Rendon added a two-run double off Chris Devenski in the ninth to just about seal it after Strasburg gutted through without his best fastball to throw five-hit ball for 8 1/3 innings.

 

After George Springer’s one-out double put runners at second and third in the fifth, José Altuve struck out on a curve in the dirt and Michael Brantley hit a hard grounder to second.

 

Sean Doolittle got the final two outs as the Nationals bullpen headed into Game 7 relatively rested.

Verlander dropped to 0-6 with a 5.68 ERA in seven Series starts, a blemish on his otherwise sterling career.

 

Bregman’s third homer of the Series put the Astros ahead on Strasburg’s 12th pitch. He carried his bat out of the batter’s box and tried to hand it to first base coach Don Kelly, only for the bat to fall as Kelly stuck out his hand for a shake.

 

Visiting teams have won three straight Game 7s in the Series since the Cardinals defeated Texas at home in 2011.

 

Zack Greinke will start for the Astros, who led the majors with 107 wins and are seeking their second title in three seasons.

 

Max Scherzer, revitalized by an injection of painkiller, is primed to return from an irritated nerve in his neck to start Game 7 for Washington in a Series that’s been all road, sweet, road.

Girls Volleyball Postseason Scores

Class 1A girls volleyball regional quarterfinal scores from Monday:

 

At Blue Ridge

 

Catlin Salt Fork 25  25

Fisher 13  18

 

At Cerro Gordo

 

Windsor 25  25

Decatur LSA 16  17

 

At Kansas

 

Villa Grove 25  25

Arcola 21  15

 

At LeRoy

 

Heyworth 25  15

Warrensburg-Latham 27  25

 

At Mt. Pulaski

 

Mt. Pulaski 25  25

Edinburg 20  18

 

At Streator Woodland

 

Ridgeview 25  25

Woodland 23  17

 

Class 2A girls volleyball regional quarterfinal action:

 

At Clinton

 

Olympia 24  25  25

Clinton 26    9  11

 

Maroa-Forsyth 17  25  23

Bloomington Central Catholic 25    9  25

 

At Decatur St. Teresa

 

Petersburg PORTA 25  25

Riverton 14  21

 

Williamsville 25  25

Sangamon Valley 14  10

 

At Fithian-Oakwood

 

Tuscola 25  27

Georgetown-Ridge Farm 15  25

 

At Paxton-Buckley-Loda

 

G.C.M.S 16  25  25

Watseka 25  22  18

 

At Pontiac

 

Eureka 25  18  25

Prairie Central 15  25  21

 

Pontiac 25  25

Tremont 17  17

 

At Teutopolis

 

Teutopolis 25  25

Sullivan 13  11

 

Class 3A girls volleyball regional quarterfinal action:

 

At Limestone

 

East Peoria 25  25

Peoria 22  17

 

At Decatur Eisenhower

 

Decatur MacArthur 23  25  25

Decatur Eisenhower 25  16  14

 

At Jacksonville

 

Springfield Lanphier 24  21

Springfield Southeast 26  25

Knicks Rally Past Bulls

Bobby Portis scored a season-high 28 points against his former team, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:47 remaining, and the New York Knicks beat the Chicago Bulls 105-98 on Monday night for their first victory of the season.

 

Portis hadn't scored in double digits yet in his first season with the Knicks, but was superb in bringing New York back from an 18-point deficit. The reserve was 10 for 14, making all four 3-pointers, and added 11 rebounds.

 

The Knicks needed all of it on a night when they fell behind with a dreadful start and stayed that way until the fourth quarter. They never even led until Portis' go-ahead 3, which he followed with another 3 that pushed it to 103-98 during a 15-0 run to finish the game.

 

Portis was a 2015 first-round pick of the Bulls. He spent 3 1/2 seasons in Chicago before being traded last season to Washington. He signed with the Knicks over the summer.

 

Rookie RJ Barrett added 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Knicks, who had dropped their first three games. Kevin Knox II scored 14 points, and Julius Randle finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.

 

Zach LaVine scored 21 points for the Bulls, who fell to 1-3. Wendell Carter Jr. had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

 

The Knicks missed 13 of their first 15 shots and quickly fell behind by double digits. The Bulls led 33-15 after one quarter and re-opened an 18-point cushion in the third quarter.

 

The Bulls visit Cleveland on Wednesday.

Pistons Hold Off Pacers

Derek Rose shot just 4 of 16 from the field and was having a particularly tough time in the fourth quarter, but his left-handed layup went in off the glass to put Detroit up 95-94. Malcolm Brogdon missed at the other end, but Indiana got an offensive rebound. T.J. Warren then missed badly on a tough shot from the corner, and the Pistons came up with the ball.

 

Luke Kennard made one of two free throws for Detroit, and Indiana had one more chance with 2 seconds left. Warren missed a 3-pointer from the left wing.

 

Andre Drummond had 18 points and 18 rebounds for the Pistons, and Christian Wood had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Detroit led most of the game, but the Pacers erased a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter and led by four late. Kennard then got a fortunate bounce on a 3-pointer to make it 94-93, and Rose's basket gave the Pistons the lead.

 

Domantas Sabonis had 21 points and 14 rebounds for Indiana, and Brogdon contributed 15 points and 11 assists.

 

Indiana entered the night one of five NBA teams without a victory. The Pacers are minus star guard Victor Oladipo, who is still working his way back from a right knee injury. Jeremy Lamb (right hip pointer) did not play.

 

The Pacers are at the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.

Packers Hold Off Chiefs

Aaron Rodgers threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Aaron Jones on a big night for the Green Bay running back, and the Packers held off fill-in quarterback Matt Moore and the rest of the banged-up Chiefs for a 31-24 victory Sunday night.

 

Jones, who briefly left with a shoulder injury, had seven catches for 159 yards and added 67 on the ground - a big chunk of them in the closing minutes, when the Packers (7-1) sealed their first win at Arrowhead Stadium since Nov. 4, 2007.

 

The Chiefs (5-3) hoped Patrick Mahomes could make a miraculous recovery 10 days after dislocating his kneecap in Denver in time to play. But after the league MVP was limited all week in practice, coach Andy Reid announced Friday his franchise quarterback would be inactive for the game.

 

Moore took the reins of the high-powered offense and fared well, throwing for 267 yards with two touchdowns and no picks in the ex-high school coach's first start in more than two years.

 

The Chiefs led 17-14 at halftime, raising some eyebrows across the league.

 

Packers WR Davante Adams (toe) went through pregame warmups before he was scratched. But they did have LB Blake Martinez (hand) and SS Darnell Savage (ankle), who had missed the last two games.

 

Green Bay continues its AFC West trip against the Chargers next Sunday.

Bears Come Up Short Against Chargers

Chicago kicker Eddy Pineiro missed a 41-yard field goal as time expired and Los Angeles hung on to beat the Bears 17-16 on Sunday.

 

The Bears (3-4) took over at their 35 with 1:33 remaining and had a chance to win it after driving all the way to the 21. Chicago had quarterback Mitchell Trubisky take a knee with about 40 seconds left rather than try to get closer to the goal line because coach Matt Nagy didn't want to risk a fumble.

 

And Pineiro, who hit an upright on a miss earlier, drove the potential winner wide left as time expired.

 

The miss allowed the Chargers (3-5) to snap a three-game losing streak and avoid their first 0-4 October since 2000, while the Bears (3-4) dropped their third in a row. Los Angeles also picked up its first victory in seven road games all-time against Chicago and its first win at Soldier Field after losing four.

 

Rivers threw an 11-yard touchdown to Austin Ekeler in the fourth quarter to put the Chargers on top with just over eight minutes left after Melvin Ingram III recovered a fumble by Trubisky in Chicago territory.

 

Rivers was 19 of 29 for 201 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Melvin Gordon ran for a score. Joey Bosa had two of Los Angeles' four sacks , and the Chargers picked up their first victory since Sept 29 at Miami after losing three by seven points or fewer.

 

Rookie David Montgomery ran for a career-high 135 yards and one touchdown, after Chicago set a franchise low with seven rushing attempts the previous week against New Orleans.

 

Trubisky completed 23 of 35 passes for 253 yards an interception and a lost fumble that led to the go-ahead touchdown. The Bears also came away with just one touchdown and three field goals in five trips inside the 20. And the Chargers sensed they were rattling Trubisky.

 

The kicking position was a huge sticking point for Chicago last season, when Cody Parkey struggled. They won the NFC North at 12-4, only to lose the wild-card game to Philadelphia at Soldier Field when his attempt in the closing seconds missed off the upright and crossbar.

 

The Bears visit Philadelphia next Sunday.

Blues Outlast Red Wings in Overtime

David Perron scored at 1:28 of overtime to give St. Louis a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night.

 

The Blues blew a two-goal lead in the third period and needed Ryan O'Reilly's late goal to send it to overtime.

 

Perron scored from the left circle, beating Jonathan Bernier, after circling with the puck for a few seconds. He has six goals this season.

 

O'Reilly's power-play goal tied it at 4-4 with 4:18 left in regulation. He put in a one-timer from the slot.

 

O'Reilly had two goals and two assists and Perron added three assists. Brayden Schenn had a goal and an assist, Zach Sanford also scored, and Jordan Binnington made 29 saves for the Blues.

 

Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi each had a goal and an assist for Detroit, which lost its eighth straight. Filip Hronek and Valtteri Filppula added goals, and Bernier made 15 stops.

 

O'Reilly's tying power-play goal came 23 seconds after the Red Wings took a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty.

 

Bertuzzi gave the Red Wings a 4-3 lead with 8:09 left in the third when his shot from the bottom of the right circle - off the faceoff - went in off Binnington. It was Bertuzzi's fifth goal.

 

Larkin brought the Red Wings to 3-2 1:44 into the third with his third goal.

 

Filppula tied it at 3 at the 6-minute mark, with his first goal.

 

Schenn's power-play goal gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead 2:07 into the game. It was his ninth goal. Sanford made it 2-0 at 7:26 with his first goal.

 

Hronek put the Red Wings on the board, making it 2-1, with a power-play goal 10:04 into the second period. It was Hronek's second goal and broke Detroit's 127:39 scoreless streak.

 

But O'Reilly restored the Blues' two-goal cushion 1:35 later.

 

The Blues host Minnesota on Wednesday night.

Blackhawks Blast Kings

Dylan Strome had two goals and assisted on linemate Alex DeBrincat's score to help the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 on Sunday to end a four-game skid.

 

DeBrincat set up both of Strome's goals as the two former offensive whizzes of Ontario Hockey League's Erie Otters clicked again and sparked Chicago's attack.

 

David Kampf and Drake Caggiula also scored as the Blackhawks bounced back after they were shut out in Carolina on Saturday and managed just two goals in their previous three games.

 

Robin Lehner made 38 saves and lost a bid for his first shutout with Chicago when Sean Walker scored early in the third period.

 

Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook was a healthy scratch for the second time in his career.

 

Rookie Dennis Gilbert took the spot of the 15-year-veteran, who has one goal, no assists and is a minus-5 in nine games.

 

Jack Campbell blocked 21 shots as Los Angeles lost its third straight and second in two nights, after falling 5-1 at Minnesota on Saturday.

 

The Blackhawks are at Nashville on Tuesday night.

Truex Wins At Martinsville

Martin Truex, Jr. earned a spot in NASCAR’s championship race for the third consecutive year by leading 464 of the 500 laps. He’s the first driver to claim one of the four spots in the Nov. 17 title race at Homestead-Miami Speedway while leading the most laps in a win since Kyle Petty led 484 laps in 1992 at Rockingham.

 

There were just three lead changes, and Truex controlled the event from the first round of pit stops, when he beat Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Hamlin back onto the track for the lead. He was hardly challenged at all and his Toyota coasted to his first career victory at NASCAR’s shortest track.

 

Truex was celebrating the victory that locked him into NASCAR’s title race when he heard the crowd roar, looked up at the big screen and saw two championship contenders jawing at each other on pit road.

 

Denny Hamlin was knocked to the ground in a confrontation with Joey Logano in the most intense action of an otherwise lackluster playoff Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

 

Martinsville marked the first of three races in the round of eight of the playoffs, where the field will be trimmed to a winner-take-all final four for the finale. Truex is locked in, while Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Logano are above the cutline. Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson are the bottom four.

 

The next two rounds will be must-win situations for Elliott, NASCAR’s most popular driver, who suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure and finished 36th in the 38-car field. A victory earns a playoff driver an automatic berth into the final four.

 

William Byron and Brad Keselowski, both already eliminated from the playoffs, finished second and third.

 

Hamlin was fourth, followed by Blaney, another playoff contender.

 

Kurt Busch, eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, was sixth and followed by title contenders Harvick, Logano and Larson at his worst track in this round.

 

Kyle Busch had a really rough day and finished 18th, which would have been worst of the title contenders if not for Elliott’s issues.

 

Elliott had to start at the back of the field because of an engine change but worked his way inside the top-five until he stopped for a routine service.

 

The middle race of the third round of the playoffs, Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Harvick won last year but was disqualified after for an illegal part. Hamlin won in the spring.

Cole, Astros Overpower Nationals in Game 5

Handed the ball for what was supposed to be a high-stakes showdown against Max Scherzer, Gerritt Cole gave Houston a firm grip on the Series by beating the Nationals 7-1 Sunday night for a 3-2 lead.

 

Cole looked exactly like the stud who dominated baseball most of this season, bouncing back from a Game 1 clunker to pitch the Astros to their third straight win.

 

But then Scherzer was scratched only 3 1/2 hours before game time because of an irritated nerve near his neck, an injury that could finish him for the Series.

 

Slumping rookie Yordan Álvarez and Carlos Correa each hit an early two-run homer off emergency starter Joe Ross. George Springer added another postseason drive for the Astros, who led the majors with a franchise-best 107 wins during the regular season.

 

Alvarez hit 27 home runs in 87 games this season, but hadn’t connected in 71 at-bats since Sept. 21.

 

Cole threw three-hit ball for seven innings, nicked only by Juan Soto’s home run in the seventh, and struck out nine — eight on breaking balls.

 

The crowd gave Joe Ross a huge ovation when he walked onto the field for warmups, sympathetic to his situation — he had pitched a total of two innings in almost a month.

 

Cole ended his outing by getting Victor Robles on a called third strike, a pitch the TV zone showed to be off the plate. Robles chucked his bat, helmet and gloves, and the crowd soon began a derisive chant at umpire Lance Barksdale.

 

Correa made it 4-0 with his homer in the fourth and Yuli Gurriel added a two-out RBI single in the eighth.

 

Springer’s 15th career postseason home run — seven in the World Series for the 2017 Series MVP — finished off the rout.

 

With the road team winning every time so far, Houston heads home with two chances to claim its second title in three years. Justin Verlander gets the first try when he starts against Stephen Strasburg in Game 6 on Tuesday night.

Penn State, Oregon Move Up In Latest Polls

As October turns into November, college football's top 25 is taking on a far different look from the preseason. There are still the familiar names at the top like Alabama, Clemson and LSU, but some new contenders are starting to emerge in the College Football Playoff race. 

 

The newest USA Today-Amway Coaches Poll top 25 from features a different top five following Week 9's action. LSU has now jumped Clemson for the No. 2 spot behind Alabama while Penn State moves up to No. 5, replacing Oklahoma. The Sooners fell four spots to No. 9 following their upset loss at Kansas State. 

 

Oregon enters the top 10, moving up three spots, after needing a last-second field goal to beat Washington State. The Ducks move ahead while Auburn drops two spots to No. 12 after coming up short against LSU on the road. 

 

A couple of former top-10 teams also continue their slide. No. 16 Notre Dame and No. 17 Wisconsin fell nine and four spots, respectively, following Week 9 losses. Interestingly, though, the Irish are only one spot behind Michigan after losing in Ann Arbor 45-14 while the Badgers are two spots behind the Wolverines after beating them 35-14 in September. 

 

One new team entered the top 25 -- Kansas State, which replaced No. 24 Arizona State. 

 

The Nov. 9 game between Alabama and LSU will, barring any change in the next week, indeed be a battle between No. 1 and No. 2 -- just not in the order anyone initially expected. Following a 23-20 win over Auburn on Saturday, LSU is the new No. 1 team according to the latest AP Top 25 poll. The Tigers barely edged the Crimson Tide by two points (1,476 to 1,474) to claim the top spot.

Furthermore, No. 3 Ohio State is only eight points away from LSU as voters clearly see those three teams as the best in college football. Alabama and LSU have an open week ahead of their Nov. 9 showdown in Tuscaloosa. Barring an extreme change of direction, they'll stay in the top two spots for the next week. 

 

Clemson and Penn State round out the top five while Oregon jumps up to No. 7 after barely beating Washington State on Saturday night. Oklahoma falls from No. 5 to No. 10 after its loss to Kansas State. Speaking of the Wildcats, they're No. 22 and one of three new teams to be ranked this week along with No. 24 Memphis and No. 25 San Diego State. The biggest faller was Texas, which fell out of the standings entirely after losing to TCU. 

Tiger Gets Record 82nd Win

Tiger Woods completed a wire-to-wire victory at the Zozo Championship on Monday from Inzai City, Japan, equaling Sam Snead’s PGA Tour record of 82 victories.

 

The 43-year-old returned Monday to play the final seven holes in the rain-hit tournament, completing a 3-under 67 to beat local favorite Hideki Matsuyama by three strokes at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club.

 

Woods had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee two months ago — his fifth on the same problem joint. He’s also had four back surgeries, including a spinal fusion, and looked at times as if his career was over, but he returned to win the Tour Championship in 2018 before his triumph at the Masters in April for his 15th major.

 

The Japan event was Woods’ first start of his 23rd season on the PGA Tour.

 

The fourth round was suspended because of darkness Sunday with Woods holding a three-stroke lead over Matsuyama in the first official PGA Tour event in Japan.

 

He bogeyed his first hole of the day, the par-4 12th, but was solid the rest of the way with birdies on Nos. 14 and 18 to finish at 19-under 261. Matsuyama also closed with a 67.

 

Woods opened with consecutive 64s, with a day off in between because of rain. He had a 66 on Sunday in the third round.

 

Woods’ approach shot on the 12th found a greenside bunker. He blasted out and left himself a long par putt that he missed for bogey, cutting the lead to two strokes.

 

But that was the only time he would falter.

 

Matsuyama missed a short birdie putt on the par-5 14th with a chance to cut the lead to a stroke. Woods, playing in the group behind Matsuyama, made birdie to restore the three-stroke lead.

 

Matsuyama cut the lead to two with a birdie on par-3 16th. On the par-5 18th, he drove into a fairway bunker, and hit his approach into a greenside bunker before saving par.

 

Woods’ second shot on 18 also found a greenside bunker. He blasted to 10 feet and made the putt.

Woods last played in an official tournament in Japan in 2006 at the Dunlop Phoenix, where he lost in a playoff to Padraig Harrington. He won the Dunlop Phoenix the two previous years.

 

Rory McIlroy, the highest-ranked player in the field, completed his round with two birdies for a 67 to tie for third at 13 under with Sungjae Im, who shot 65.

Football Playoff Pairings Released: Clinton Heads to Unity, Monticello Off to DuQuoin

The Clinton Maroons will head to Tolono in the first round of the 4A state playoffs and the Monticello Sages will head to DuQuoin in the 3A playoffs, both for a 2 pm kick.

 

When Clinton Coach Chris Ridgeway found out they would be headed to Unity he was not completely caught off guard and pointed out one of his former players, Micah Downs, was playing at Unity now.

 

 

Hear the action next Saturday on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

In Class 1A:

 

 #16 Havana (5-4) at #1 Central A & M (9-0)

#9 Toledo-Cumberland (6-3) at #8 Fisher (7-2)

#13 Oakland [Tri-County Coop] (5-4) at #4 Arcola (7-2)

#15 White Hall (North Greene) (5-4) at #2 Argenta-Oreana (8-1)

#10 Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond (6-3) at #7 Carrollton (7-2)

 

In Class 2A:

 

#12 Rushville-Industry (6-3) at #5 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (8-1)

 #12 Villa Grove-Heritage (5-4) at #5 Nashville (8-1)

#15 Sesser-Valier (5-4) at #2 Maroa-Forsyth (8-1)

 #10 Auburn (6-3) at #7 Chester (7-2)

#14 McLeansboro (5-4) at #3 Decatur St. Teresa (8-1)

#11 Flora (6-3) at #6 Tuscola (7-2)

 

In Class 3A:

 

 #12 Chicago Carver (6-2) at #5 Paxton-Buckley-Loda (7-2)

#11 Chicago Dunbar (6-2) at #6 Eureka (7-2)

#15 St. Joseph-Ogden (5-4) at #2 Williamsville (9-0)

#10 Monticello (6-3) at #7 DuQuoin (8-1)

 

#16 Taylorville (5-4) at #1 IVC (9-0)

#13 Clinton (6-3) at #4 Tolono Unity (8-1)

 

Class 5A:

 

#16 Decatur MacArthur (5-4) at #1 Mt. Zion (9-0)

#9 Joliet Catholic (6-3) at #8 Morton (7-2), TBA

#13 Peoria Notre Dame (6-3) at #4 Kankakee (8-1)

#15 LaSalle-Peru (5-4) at #2 Rochester (8-1)

#11 Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (6-3) at #6 Morris (7-2)

 

Class 6A:

 

#9 Rock Island (7-2) at #8 Dunlap (7-2)

#13 Washington (6-3) at #4 Oak Lawn Richards (8-1)

 #12 Palos Heights  (6-3) at #5 Peoria (8-1)

#15 Danville (6-3) at #2 Chatham (Glenwood) (9-0)

#10 Springfield (H.S.) (7-2) at #7 Lemont (7-2)

Providence Catholic (6-3) at #6 Normal West (7-2)

 

Class 7A:

 

#24 Burbank Reavis (6-3) at #9 Normal Community (7-2)

Monticello Drops St. Joseph-Ogden; Secures Playoff Spot with Sixth Win

Chris Brown eclipsed 300 total yards and the Monticello defense rebounded from a tough outing last Friday night to drop St. Joseph-Ogden 35-6 in the regular-season finale Friday night at Monticello High School. 

 

Brown ran for two touchdowns and was on the receiving end of another, eclipsing 100 yards early in the first half and racing to 253 total rushing yards and an 81-yard touchdown reception. 

 

Matt Kerr caught four catches for 54 yards and scored once. He also had 18 yards on the ground on a single jet-sweep carry in the first quarter.

 

Nic Tackels was an efficient 7-for-12 for 154 yards and two touchdown passes and rushed for another score on 35 yards over eight carries.

 

Jarrett Stevenson was the lone Spartan to find the end zone late in the ballgame and led the St. Joe offense with 48 yards. 

 

The Sages finish the regular season 6-3 and are projected to find themselves south in the 3A playoffs. 

 

St. Joe finishes the regular season 5-4 and should hear their name called tomorrow night.

 

Hear from Monticello coach Cully Welter during the WHOW/WEZC playoff show from 7 pm to 9 pm.

 

Maroons Top Cards, Secure Playoffs

As heard on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons defeated the Warrensburg-Latham Cardinals by a score of 28-6 on Friday night at Warrensburg. Garrett Wayne lead the Maroons with 26 carries for 135 yards and two touchdowns. Wayne was also 5 of 14 passing for 26 yards and an interception. Tyrese Petty had 13 carries for 52 yards, a touchdown, and an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Chance Baldwin was named the Nate Ennis State Farm Player of the Game. Baldwin had two sacks and was a defensive leader for the Maroons.

 

Cardinals quarterback Braden Matthews was 4 of 19 throwing for 46 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions.

 

With the win, the Maroons improve to 6-3 overall and finish 4-3 in the Central Illinois Conference regular season. Warrensburg falls to 3-6 on the season and 2-5 in conference action.

 

Tune in Saturday, October 26, for the Pigskin Playoff Preview Show to hear who the Maroons will play in the playoffs along with other area schools. The show will be broadcasted from 7 pm-9 pm on 92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, 95.9 FM WEZC, and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

Central Illinois

 

Decatur St. Teresa 61, Shelbyville 21, F

Central A&M 55, Sullivan-Okaw Valley 14, F

Tuscola 50, Meridian 18, F

 

Illini Prairie

 

Monticello 35, St. Joseph-Ogden 6, F

Illinois Valley Central 35, Olympia 14, F

Prairie Central 52, Champaign St. Thomas More 20, F

Pontiac 22, Rantoul 6, F

Tolono Unity 27, Bloomington Central Catholic 7, F

 

Big Twelve

 

Bloomington 54, Champaign Centennial 6, F

Normal Community 18, Peoria 32, F

Peoria Notre Dame 42, Danville 49, F

 

Central State Eight

 

Decatur Eisenhower 26, Normal U-High 34, F

Rochester 26, Chatham-Glenwood 56, F

Springfield 50, Jacksonville 24, F

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 39, Decatur MacArthur 8, F

 

Heart of Illinois (Large)

 

Downs 3, Eureka 34, F

G.C.M.S. 19, Dee-Mack 0, F

Fieldcrest 34, El Paso-Gridley 7, F

 

Heart of Illinois (Small)

 

LeRoy 36, Fisher 55, F

Tremont 32, Heyworth 7, F

 

Lincoln Prairie 

 

Argenta-Oreana 63, Blue Ridge 14, F

Oakland Tri-County 44, Cerro Gordo-Bement 6, F

Toledo-Cumberland 47, Sangamon Valley 7, F

Villa Grove-Heritage 0, Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 23, F

 

Mid-Illini

 

Morton 49, Dunlap 20, F

Pekin 42, Limestone 20, F

Washington 49, East Peoria 14, F

 

Sangamo

 

Auburn 14, Maroa-Forsyth 28, F

PORTA 15, Williamsville 51, F

Pittsfield 20, Pleasant Plains 55, F

Riverton 0, Virden North Mac 55, F

 

Non-Conference

 

Lincoln 41, Macomb 7, F

Peoria Richwoods 17, Mahomet-Seymour 18, F

Taylorville 6, Civic Memorial 42, F

Troy-Triad 10, Mt. Zion 29, F

Maroons Need Win To Clinch Playoff Spot

A win and point totals and scenarios go out the window. That's the theme for the Clinton Maroons this week who travel to Warrensburg-Latham this week for the regular-season finale and finale of the Central Illinois Conference slate.

 

The Maroons are eligible for a postseason birth but a sixth win clinches their place in the playoffs. Coach Chris Ridgeway says the Cardinals are playing disciplined football despite a tough finish to their season.

 

 

The Maroons are 5-3 overall while the Cardinals are 3-5. Hear all the action on 92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

 

Central Illinois Conference action Friday

 

Decatur St. Teresa at Shelbyville

Central A & M at Sullivan-Okaw Valley

Tuscola at Meridian

Monticello, St. Joe Looking to Improve Playoff Position

The Monticello Sages are sitting at 5-3 overall entering tonight's senior night game against St. Joseph-Ogden at Monticello High School with more than enough points for a playoff spot but a win tonight would be more than just the security of knowing their name will be called Saturday evening.

 

The defending 3A state champions had a loaded back-end of the schedule and after losses in two of their last three games, Monticello needs to find something to feel good about heading into the 3A playoffs. Head Coach Cully Welter challenged his team after their 59-37 loss at Prairie Central last Friday.

 

 

Coach Welter says his team has gotten a healthy dose of the St. Joe film in scouting throughout the year. He calls the Spartans a solid team with a good defense. 

 

 

Indeed both teams will be fighting for that sixth win after St. Joe dropped Olympia from playoff contention with a 41-21 win last week. 

 

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

 

Other action in the Illini Prairie Conference:

 

Illinois Valley Central at Olympia

Prairie Central at Champaign St. Thomas More

Pontiac at Rantoul

Tolono Unity at Bloomington Central Catholic

 

Big Twelve

 

Bloomington at Champaign Centennial

Champaign Central at Peoria Manual

Normal Community at Peoria

Peoria Notre Dame at Danville

 

Central State Eight

 

Decatur Eisenhower at Normal U-High

Rochester at Chatham-Glenwood

Springfield at Jacksonville

Springfield Lanphier at Springfield Southeast (Sat.)

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin at Decatur MacArthur

 

Heart of Illinois (Large)

 

Downs Tri-Valley at Eureka

 

G.C.M.S at Dee-Mack

Fieldcrest at El Paso-Gridley

 

Heart of Illinois (Small)

 

LeRoy at Fisher

Tremont at Heyworth

 

Lincoln Prairie

 

Argenta-Oreana at Blue Ridge

Oakland Tri-County at Cerro Gordo-Bement

Toledo-Cumberland at Sangamon Valley

Villa Grove-Heritage at Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond

 

Mid-Illini

 

Metamora at Canton

Morton at Dunlap

Pekin at Limestone

Washington at East Peoria

 

Sangamo

 

Athens at New Berlin 

Auburn at Maroa-Forsyth

Petersburg PORTA at Williamsville

Pittsfield at Pleasant Plains

Riverton at Virden North Mac

 

Non-Conference action tonight...

 

Ridgeview at Nokomis (Sat.)

Lincoln at Macomb

Peoria Richwoods at Mahomet-Seymour

Peoria Heights at Abingdon-Avon

Taylorville at Civic Memorial

Troy-Triad at Mt. Zion

Clinton's Wayne Clinches School Rushing Record After Confusion

It was a record-breaking night for Clinton High School senior quarterback Garrett Wayne last Friday night, but not before a great deal of confusion.

 

366 ended up being the official total for Wayne's rushing yards in a wild 66-38 win over Sullivan at Clinton High School. Coach Chris Ridgeway says he knew Wayne was approaching the record and so he gave him three plays to try to get there.

 

 

After Ridgeway thought his quarterback broke the record, that was only halfway through the confusion. According to Alec Cooley, who held the record, his record was 356. But Ridgeway wanted to make sure so he watched film....

 

 

So the new single-game rushing record at Clinton High School is 366 yards held by Garrett Wayne from 2019. 

WHOW/WEZC To Air Playoff Pairings Show

Get the latest in Saturday night's playoff pairings and hear from coaches all over central Illinois on 92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

We'll be airing our annual Pigskin Playoff Preview show from 7 pm to 9 pm. Hear from Steve Kirk at Argenta-Oreana, Josh Jostes at Maroa-Forsyth, Mike Allen at GCMS and many more. 

 

As pairings become available we'll tell you where you hometown team is headed and what the rest of the matchups are for each class.

 

Again, that's Saturday evening from 7 pm to 9 pm on WHOW, WEZC and dewittdailynews.com. 

Illinois Visits Purdue Saturday

Illinois (3-4, 1-3 Big Ten) ranks in the bottom three in the league in scoring defense, total defense, run defense, pass efficiency defense and third-down conversion defense. But dig deeper and the progression becomes clear. The Illini are seventh in sacks, eighth in red zone defense, second in turnover margin and have a league-high 17 takeaways including three in last week’s 24-23 upset over then-No. 6 Wisconsin.

 

The Illini will look to continue the positive trends Saturday when they visit the Purdue Boilermakers.

 

The injury-depleted Boilermakers (2-5, 1-3) desperately need a win, too.

 

Four losses in five games have put their postseason hopes in peril though the West Division schedule gives Purdue a chance. After the Illinois game, they still have home dates against Nebraska and rival Indiana and road trips to Northwestern and the Badgers, now No. 13.

 

But lose Saturday, and the Boilermakers would have to win out for to reach Brohm his sixth straight bowl game as a head coach.

 

Purdue has won the last four against Illinois.

Blues Blast Kings

Alex Pietrangelo and Robert Thomas scored goals in a two-minute span of the second period and the St. Louis Blues came back to beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-2 on Thursday night.

 

Brayden Schenn scored twice, including an empty-netter, and Vince Dunn also scored for the Blues, who went 3 for 4 on the power play against a Kings penalty kill that had stopped 16 of their previous 17 attempts. Jaden Schwartz and Colton Parayko each had a pair of assists for the Blues and Jordan Binnington made 33 saves.

 

Jeff Carter and Alex Iafallo scored for the Kings and Jonathan Quick made 30 saves.

 

Pietrangelo tied it up 2-2 with a one-timer from the high slot midway through the second for the Blues' second power play goal in three tries.

 

Thomas poked in a puck freed up by a quick stick from Zach Sanford to give the Blues a 3-2 lead with 8:04 left in the second. It was the first goal of the season for Thomas, who thought he had scored earlier in the period but a review showed his shot went off the crossbar instead of into the net.

 

Schenn finished off a nice feed from Schwartz and Parayko gave the Blues a two-goal advantage at 7:27 of the third with the team's third power play goal of the game.

 

Blues right-winger Vladimir Tarasenko left the game with an upper body injury after getting tangled up with Kings defenseman Walker on a partial break with about 6 minutes left in the first. Tarsenko, who had 8 points in his previous 5 games, had two shots in 4:37 of ice time before leaving.

 

Craig Berube said Tarasenko would be evaluated tomorrow.

 

St. Louis travels to Boston on Saturday.

Philly Downs Blackhawks

Kevin Hayes scored after he lost a goal because of an offsides challenge, and the Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Thursday night.

 

Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk and Oskar Lindblom also scored for Philadelphia, which beat Chicago 4-3 in Prague in the season opener on Oct. 4. Brian Elliott made 23 saves in the Flyers' first win in their fourth road game.

 

It looked as if Hayes scored the first goal 6:09 into the first, but the Blackhawks challenged the play and the call was overturned because Hayes was offsides. Joel Farabee's first career goal was thrown out in the third because of another offsides challenge.

 

But there was no disputing Hayes' breakaway 5:03 into the final period. He skated away from Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook and beat Robin Lehner for his third of the season and a 3-1 lead.

 

The Blackhawks closed out a disappointing 2-3-2 homestand with their third consecutive loss. They had just one shot on goal in the second, and the crowd of 21,315 booed during the final seconds of the period.

 

Brandon Saad scored for Chicago early in the third, and Lehner finished with 19 stops in his second straight start.

 

The Blackhawks visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

Cubs Bryant's Long Standing Grievance Being Addressed

According to David Kaplan of NBC Sports Chicago and Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, the Cubs and Major League Baseball are holding a grievance hearing to resolve Kris Bryant's longstanding dispute with the organization as it pertains to service-time manipulation. 

 

Baseball uses "service time" to determine when a player is eligible for free agency. A player can be credited with up to 172 days in a season, which in turn represents a full "year" of time. After achieving six "years" of service, a player can then file for free agency after the season. Bryant, who has four years and 171 days of service, is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2021 season. Had he been promoted one day earlier, he would've hit the open market after 2020.

 

Bryant told Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic, he saw few fielding opportunities during his minor-league stint before he was deemed ready for big-league duty.

 

The Cubs will likely contend that Bryant's promotion was legitimate and in response to then-starting third baseman Mike Olt suffering a fractured wrist. It's unclear what resolution the sides hope to reach. Bryant's camp, presumably, would like credit for that extra day, which would allow him to become free-agent eligible after the 2020 season -- or, perhaps, financial compensation for delaying, if not suppressing his earning potential. The Cubs might instead propose an extension, although front-office members with other teams have told CBS Sports they expect Chicago to look to trade Bryant this winter as part of a roster makeover. 

 

Bryant has averaged more than five Wins Above Replacement during his big-league career, and has hit .284/.385/.516 (136 OPS+) while winning the 2015 Rookie of the Year and 2016 Most Valuable Player Awards. He's also made three All-Star teams.

Hornets Rally Past Bulls

Rookie PJ Washington was stellar in his NBA debut, scoring 27 points on 7-of-11 shooting from 3-point range as the Hornets opened the post-Kemba Walker era with a thrilling come-from-behind 126-125 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night. Washington's seven 3s set an NBA record for a player making his debut, and his 27 points were the most since Gordan Giricek in 2002.

 

The Hornets made 23 3-pointers, setting an NBA record for the most 3s in a season opener. It was also the Hornets' most 3-pointers in a regulation game. The franchise record is 24, set in a game that had two overtimes.

 

Backup point guard Devonte Graham was a difference-maker off the bench with 23 points on 6-of-7 3-point shooting to go along with eight assists, while Marvin Williams had 17 points on five 3s.

Washington, Graham and Williams were a combined 18 of 25 from 3-point range, offsetting the Bulls' 78 points in the paint.

 

Cody Zeller added 15 points and 12 rebounds for Charlotte.

 

Chicago got a strong game from its top draft pick Coby White, who had 17 points, seven assists and only one turnover in his NBA debut in his home state.

 

The Bulls visit the Grizzlies on Friday night.

Cubs to Name David Ross Manager

The Cubs will hire former catcher David Ross as their new manager, Jon Heyman reported Wednesday. Ross, 42, had been working in the Cubs' front office and will replace Joe Maddon, who recently agreed to manage the Angels. Astros bench coach Joe Espada had also been a finalist for the Cubs' job, but the Cubs reportedly will go with the familiar hand in Ross, who has been long rumored to be Maddon's replacement. 

 

Former Yankees and Marlins manager Joe Girardi, bench coach Mark Loretta and former infielder Mark DeRosa had also reportedly been candidates to replace Maddon. 

 

Ross has no managerial or coaching experience, but teams in recent years have shown a willingness to go with inexperienced candidates. Ross spent parts of 15 seasons as a big-league catcher, the last two of which came with the Cubs. In his final season of 2016, when the Cubs won the World Series, Ross split time at catcher with Willson Contreras and Miguel Montero. Ross homered in Game 7 of the World Series against the Indians that year. 

 

Ross inherits a talented roster that includes the likes of Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, Contreras and others. While the Cubs endured a disappointing 2019 season that saw them finish in third place in the NL Central, they're not far removed from a 2015-18 run that saw them average almost 97 wins and make the playoffs four times.

Pistons Drop Nets

Andre Drummond scored 32 points, grabbed 23 rebounds and blocked four shots while Luke Kennard made half of his career-high six 3-pointers in the final six minutes to help the Pistons pull away for a 119-110 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.

 

The league's three-time rebounding champ was a wrecking ball right from the start, knocking down 12 of 18 shots and even making his last eight free throws after missing the first two. Kennard warmed up late, scoring 16 of his career-high 30 points in the final 11 minutes.

 

The teams combined for 33 turnovers and 29 fouls resulting in a back-and-forth game in which neither team seized control for long.

 

Indiana extended a 55-54 halftime lead to 73-64 midway through the third quarter then nearly gave it all away as the Pistons closed to 86-83 after three.

 

Drummond helped the Pistons trade punches early in the fourth, just long enough for Kennard to heat up. When he knocked down the second of back-to-back 3s to end an 8-0 run with 4:40 to play, Detroit led 105-101. His third 3 of the quarter, with 1:24 left made it 113-103 and sealed the Pacers fate.

 

Rose had 18 points and went 5 for 5 from the field in the first half,k Tony Snell scored 10 points on a night the Pistons committed 18 turnovers but Detroit's bench outscored Indiana 57-16.

 

Indiana's T.J. Warren was taken straight to the locker room with 3:46 left after taking a hard spill following an offensive foul. He finished with 10 points. Malcolm Brogdon was 10 of 11 from the free- throw line, and Jeremy Lamb scored 10 points in his first game with Indiana. 

 

The Pacers were outrebounded 45-36 and lost on opening night for the first time in four years.

The Pacers are in Cleveland on Saturday night.

Nats Rout Astros in Game 2 of World Series

Stephen Strasburg outpitched fellow ace Justin Verlander, overcoming a shaky start to help the Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros 12-3 for a commanding 2-0 lead in the World Series.

 

Kurt Suzuki hit a tiebreaking homer in what became a messy six-run seventh, and the Nationals headed back home needing two wins in three potential games in Washington to claim their first championship.

 

Adam Eaton paraded around the bases pointing to the Houston crowd after a late home run as the Nationals won their eighth in a row. They’ve won 18 of 20 overall dating back to the regular season, with the last two over AL Cy Young Award favorites Gerrit Cole and Verlander.

 

Anthony Rendon hit a two-run double in the first inning.

 

Strasburg allowed a two-run homer to Alex Bregman in the first before throwing five shutout innings to improve to 4-0 this postseason. He allowed seven hits and struck out seven.

 

Verlander fell to 0-5 in six World Series starts. He gave up seven hits and four runs, and was lifted after walking a batter following Suzuki’s home run. He fanned six to become the career leader in postseason strikeouts with 202 — another impressive statistic on a stellar resume that’s still missing that elusive World Series win.

 

Only three of the previous 25 teams to lose the first two games at home under the 2-3-2 format have come back to win the Series. No one has done it since the 1996 New York Yankees.

 

Game 3 is Friday night when Aníbal Sánchez opposes Houston’s Zack Greinke in the first World Series game in the nation’s capital since 1933.

Local Teams Make Moves in Latest High School Football Rankings

The final week of the high school football regular season is here and you won't find many teams in the top 10 of the high school football rankings fighting for playoff spots.

 

Movement was minimal this week but some local teams made news in this week's rankings.

In Class 1A, previously ranked Ottawa Marquette dropped out of the rankings following their second loss of the season. Lena-Winslow holds their position at no. 1 overall, collecting all nine first-place votes. Central A&M holds steady at no. 2 and Carroltlton jumped in the rankings. Arcola and Argenta-Oreana received votes this week in 1A.

 

In Class 2A, defending state champion GCMS received a vote for first place from their fourth spot in the latest rankings. Fieldcrest remains No. 1 with six first-place votes and Clifton Central received three first-place votes at no. 2. Maroa-Forsyth held steady at no. 3 and St. T remains fifth this week. 

Sixth through ninth remained unchanged with Knoxville, Newman Central Catholic, Bismarck-Henning, and Auburn followed by Flora new to this week's rankings rounding out the top 10 in 2A.

 

Williamsville received seven of ten first-place votes to jump to no. 1. Byron jumped a spot to no. 2 with a first-place vote followed by Wilmington and Beardstown in a tie for no. 3 with 69 points and a first-place vote each. Vandalia rounds out the top five. Fairfield, Princeton, DuQuoin, Breese Mater Dei and Pana round out the top ten in 3A. 

 

Rochester takes over the top spot in 4A after IC Catholic lost for the first time last week. The Rockets received seven first-place votes and Coal City collected the other two first-place votes to move up to no. 2 and Richmond-Burton moved up to no. 3. Chicago St. Francis and IC Catholic round out the top 5. Mt. Zion, Stillman Valley, Columbia, IVC, and Effingham round out the top ten.

 

IVC jumps back into the rankings for the first time in two weeks at 8-0 and wrapped up the Illini Prairie Conference title. Tolono Unity and Prairie Central in the Illini Prairie received votes in 4A. 

East St. Louis was the unanimous no. 1 team in 5A. Dunlap jumps into this week's rankings at no. 10.

 

Chatham-Glenwood received seven of eight first-place votes in 6A. They'll host top-ranked Rochester Friday night. Second-ranked Crete-Monee received the other first-place vote. Normal West and Peoria Central enter this week's rankings at nine and ten respectively. 

 

Chicago Mt. Carmel is no. 1 in 7A. Normal Community moved up a spot to no. 9 this week. 

 

Lincoln-Way East is the unanimous no. 1 in 8A.

Nats Get to Cole to Take Game 1 of World Series

Juan Soto homered onto the train tracks high above the left field wall and hit a two-run double as the Nationals tagged Gerrit Cole and the Houston Astros 5-4 Tuesday night in the World Series opener.

Ryan Zimmerman homered to back a resourceful Max Scherzer and boost the wild-card Nationals in their first World Series appearance.

 

Trea Turner singled on the second pitch of the game and the Nationals were off and running, ending Cole's 19-game winning streak that stretched back 25 starts to May.

 

Soto finished with three hits and a stolen base.

 

The MVP when Houston won its first crown in 2017, Springer set a record by connecting in his fifth straight Series game to make it 5-3 in the seventh. But reliever Daniel Hudson threw a fastball past rookie Yordan Alvarez with the bases loaded to end the inning.

 

In the eighth, Springer put a charge into a drive to deep right-center, and it appeared as though he might've hit a tying, two-run homer. Springer took a couple of hops out of the batter's box to watch, and had to settle for an RBI double when the ball glanced off the glove of a leaping Adam Eaton at the fence.

 

Heavily favored at the start, the 107-win Astros will try to get even Wednesday night when Verlander faces Stephen Strasburg in another matchup of aces.

Vegas Outlasts Blackhawks in Shootout

Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves through overtime and two more stops in the shootout, leading the Golden Knights to a 2-1 victory over the Blackhawks on Tuesday.

 

Playing for the second straight night for the last stop of a three-game trip, Vegas used a stellar performance by Fleury to improve to 7-0-0 against Chicago since entering the league for the 2017-18 season.

 

Fleury was beaten by Jonathan Toews in the first round of the tiebreaker, and then turned away attempts by Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. Jonathan Marchessault and Shea Theodore scored on Robin Lehner on the other end, giving Vegas the victory after it lost 6-2 at Philadelphia on Monday night.

 

Kirby Dach scored his first goal in his second NHL game for Chicago, and Lehner had 33 saves in an impressive performance. Dach was selected by the Blackhawks with the No. 3 overall pick in this year's draft.

 

Lehner, who signed a $5 million, one-year deal with the Blackhawks in July, was working on his 15th career shutout when the Golden Knights replaced Fleury with an extra attacker late in the third period. Nick Holden then tied it at 1 when he shot it between Lehner's legs with 1:33 left.

 

Vegas had a power-play opportunity in overtime, but Chicago killed it off. Lehner had a great stop on Max Pacioretty's one-timer with 22.8 seconds left.

 

Chicago almost added to its lead in the second, but Fleury made a tumbling save on DeBrincat's shot off a slick pass by Toews. Brandon Saad had a one-timer go off the post with about 6:40 left.

 

Lehner denied William Carrier on a couple of prime chances in the second. First, Lehner kicked Carrier's shot away about five minutes into the period. Lehner also got in the way of another Carrier try with about four minutes left.

 

The Blackhawks host Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Bulls Open NBA Season On Road in Charlotte

The Chicago Bulls enter the season with a roster filled with proven players, but there's a lot to prove for this team.

 

The Charlotte Hornets look much less imposing at first glance and will be looking to prove people wrong throughout the season.

 

The teams meet in the season opener Wednesday night at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.

Both teams missed the playoffs last season, so the preseason was crucial.

 

The Bulls come into the season off a miserable 22-60 campaign, so they're looking to get things rolling in the right direction.

 

Guard Zach LaVine, who posted 23.7 points per game last season, figures to be the centerpiece for what Chicago is trying to build. Entering his fifth NBA season, he's coming off his most productive campaign.

 

Bulls point guard Coby White, the team's first-round draft pick out of North Carolina, gets the chance to open his career in his home state.

 

The Bulls also hope to get more from second-year forward Wendell Carter Jr., who was limited to 44 games as a rookie because of injuries.

 

Meanwhile, the Hornets could have a starting lineup with center Cody Zeller (10.1 points per game) as the top returning scorer.

 

Not only are the Hornets without guard Kemba Walker -- who left for the Boston Celtics -- but Jeremy Lamb also moved on. That means the top two scorers from last season are gone.

 

Charlotte looks for the arrival of guard Terry Rozier from the Celtics to help pick up the slack. First-round draft pick P.J. Washington, a forward, should have ample opportunity for a key role.

 

Chicago opens with three games across a four-night span. Four of its first five are on the road.

Pacers Host Pistons to Open New Season

Surprising overachievers each of the past two seasons, the Indiana Pacers tip off the 2019-20 season Wednesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse against the Detroit Pistons as contenders to win a wide-open Eastern Conference.

 

The loss of All-Star Paul George in the 2017 offseason elicited preseason projections of an Indiana team near the cellar in the Central division. But the emergence of swingman Victor Oladipo as an All-Star powered the Pacers to the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference in 2017-18, a feat they duplicated last year.

 

Last season's run came with Oladipo sidelined for 46 games with a quadriceps injury. Despite a return to 5-on-5 practices on Oct. 18, the two-time All-Star -- who last played on Jan. 23 -- will not be available for the season opener.

 

The Pistons will also be missing a star, as the team announced Tuesday that six-time All-Star Blake Griffin will miss the start of the season due to hamstring and knee soreness. Griffin will likely miss several games, with the team saying he will be re-evaluated in the first week of November.

 

Indiana opens with much of the young corps that kept things going down the stretch last season. The interior duo of center Myles Turner and forward Domantas Sabonis made considerable career strides in 2018-19.

Turner averaged 13.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and an NBA-best 2.7 blocked shots per game. Sabonis, who just signed a contract extension on Monday, registered career-highs of 14.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists. Both are just 23 years old.

 

The addition of steady 3-point shooting wing Malcolm Brogdon from divisional rival Milwaukee helps offset the Pacers' most noteworthy roster loss from a season ago, Bojan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic signed with Utah in the offseason after putting up 18 points per game in Indiana.

 

Adding Brogdon, a career 40.8 percent 3-point shooter, promises to bolster an already-dangerous lineup from deep that ranked fifth in the NBA from behind the arc a season ago. That stands in stark contrast to opening-night opponent Detroit, which tied Oklahoma City for the worst 3-point shooting percentage among playoff teams in 2018-19.

Clinton Maroons Likely Need Win Friday for Postseason Birth

Last season, the IHSA playoff cut-off was 38 points and the Clinton Maroons had 37.

 

If the Maroons win Friday, they are in the postseason with six wins. A loss, however, likely ends their chances as 38 looks to be the cut-off again for a spot in the postseason, and Clinton would be at 37 unless South Fork can pull off an upset against Alton Marquette. Coach Chris Ridgeway, talking before Friday's contest against Sullivan, says this isn't something he's hiding from his team - they know the implications of Friday's matchup at Warrensburg-Latham High School.

 

 

Warrensburg-Latham has been eliminated from the playoffs as they are 3-5 overall but can play spoiler this year, just as they did last year when they won 21-14 at Clinton High School in week 9.

If the Maroons win, where will they be headed? That question will be speculated on throughout the night and into Saturday but be sure to hear the results on the WHOW/WEZC playoff preview show Saturday night from 7 pm to 9 pm. You'll hear from coaches in the postseason that lead teams in the Central Illinois Conference and all over central Illinois.

 

That's again Saturday night, from 7 pm to 9 pm on 92.3 FM/106.5 WHOW and on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

 

CIC matchups Friday...

 

Decatur St. Teresa at Shelbyville
Central A & M at Sullivan-Okaw Valley
Tuscola at Meridian

Illinois Getting Votes in AP Preseason College Basketball Poll

There isn’t much Michigan State has yet to accomplish under Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo, from Big Ten titles and Final Four trips to winning a national championship.

 

The Spartans can now add another milestone to the list: They are No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 men’s college basketball preseason poll for the first time in program history.

 

The Spartans were the overwhelming choice with their veteran returnees led by star Cassius Winston. They topped 60 of 65 ballots in voting results released Monday, easily outdistancing No. 2 Kentucky and No. 3 Kansas as the only other teams to receive first-place votes.

 

Duke was fourth, followed by Louisville, Florida, Maryland, Gonzaga, North Carolina and Villanova to round out the top 10.

 

Defending national champion Virginia has gone from facing questions about how it would respond to an unprecedented tournament loss against UMBC to how it will build on its run to its first NCAA title.

 

Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers are 11th after losing De’Andre Hunter, Ty Jerome and Final Four most outstanding player Kyle Guy to the NBA draft. It is the lowest preseason ranking for a champion since Connecticut was 17th to start the 2014-15 season.

 

Illinois received 14 votes in the preseason poll but were not ranked. 

Illini LB Jake Hansen Named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week

Illinois linebacker Jake Hansen was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week the conference office announced on Monday. Hansen led Illinois to a 24-23 upset over No. 6 Wisconsin on Saturday with two forced fumbles, 11 tackles, and one sack in one of the biggest upsets in Big Ten history. 

 

Hansen's first forced fumble came on a strip sack of Wisconsin QB Jack Coan, resulting in only the second turnover of the season for Coan. Later, Hansen punched out the ball from Wisconsin All-American and Doak Walker Award winner Jonathan Taylor at the Illinois 25-yard line with 7:12 remaining to set up an Illini touchdown drive to cut Wisconsin's lead to 23-21.

 

Hansen leads the nation with seven forced fumbles, the second-most in a single season in Illinois history. He is the first Big Ten player to force seven fumbles in one season since Whitney Mercilus set the Illinois record of nine in 2011.

 

It is the second time Hansen has earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors (Sept. 3, 2018).

Blues Down Avalanche

Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and two assists to help the St. Louis Blues beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 Monday night, snapping a four-game losing streak.

 

Brayden Schenn and David Perron also scored for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who came in with their longest skid since March 30-April 4, 2018. Jordan Binnington finished with 17 saves.

 

Nathan MacKinnon scored for Colorado, which was the only team in the NHL without a regulation loss and fell to 7-1-1. Philipp Grubauer stopped 22 shots.

 

The Blues swept the four-game season series last season and their latest win moved them to 8-1-0 in the last nine home games against Colorado. The Blues are 15-3-0 over the Avalanche at home since April 5, 2011.

 

St. Louis scored twice in the second period for a 3-1 lead. The Blues outplayed the Avalanche while outshooting them 11-1 in the period.

 

Perron scored a 6-on-5 goal at 5:07, giving the Blues a 2-1 lead with his fifth of the season. Standing in the slot, Perron one-timed a pass from Tarasenko on a delayed penalty on Andre Burakovsky for kicking the puck like a soccer ball while playing with a broken stick.

 

Tarasenko scored his third goal of the season with 4:54 left in the period. Jaden Schwartz fed Tarasenko, who was along the right goal line, and his shot trickled between Grubauer's pads for a 3-1 lead. Tarasenko has a five-game points streak and he moved into ninth place on the Blues career scoring list.

 

Schenn scored a power-play goal at 10:07 of the first period for a 1-0 St. Louis lead. Tarasenko dropped the puck to Vince Dunn, who sent a pass across the ice to Schenn. From the top of the circle, Schenn skated into the slot and rifled a shot over the shoulder of Grubauer.

 

Colorado had a two-man advantage for 26 seconds and made it count when MacKinnon scored a power-play goal on a wrist shot with 7:22 left in the first. The goal came with 3 seconds left in the two-man advantage. The Blues killed off the second penalty.

 

The Blues host Los Angeles on Thursday night in the finale of a four-game homestand.

Astros, Nationals Open World Series in Houston

Gerritt Cole led the majors in strikeouts, topped the AL in ERA and finished second in the big leagues to teammate Justin Verlander in wins. The Houston Astros power pitching rotation will go up against perhaps their greatest equal in baseball when Max Scherzer and the Washington Nationals come to town for game 1 of the 2019 World Series.

 

Fusing his talent with the Astros’ fortified analytics approach, Cole has found what works best for him. Among the results with his four-seamer, curve and slider: Nearly 17 percent of his pitches result in a swing-and-miss, the highest rate of anyone since such data has been tracked in the last 18 years.

 

NL MVP candidate Anthony Rendon is among the few hitters who’ve managed some success against Cole, going 5 for 13 overall. He led the majors in RBIs this year and ranked third in the NL with a 1.010 OPS. He’s kept it going during the postseason, batting .375 with 5 extra-base hits and 7 RBIs.

 

Alex Bregman was third in the AL with a 1.015 OPS before hitting .257 with a homer, 3 doubles, 4 RBIs and 10 runs during the playoffs. He was mostly held in check by the Yankees, who walked him seven times. Both guys can pick it on defense, too.

 

This is the first World Series appearance in the 51-season history of Nationals franchise that began as Montreal Expos in 1969 and moved to Washington before the 2005 campaign. The last time the nation’s capital had a pennant winner was 1933 Senators. The only championship came in 1924. 

 

The Astros are making their third trip to World Series and seeking the second title after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road in Game 7 two years ago.

NBA's Top Pick Out 6-8 Weeks

Zion Williamson will miss the start of the season after the No. 1 overall draft pick by the New Orleans Pelicans had right knee surgery, sidelining the hyped rookie for nearly two months.

 

Williamson had his torn right lateral meniscus repaired on Monday. The club says his recovery will last six to eight weeks.

 

The 6-foot-6, 285-pound former Duke star averaged 23.2 points in four preseason games. He missed New Orleans’ final exhibition game in New York last Friday night.

 

The 19-year-old Williamson turned pro after one season in college, during which he averaged 22.6 points and was voted to the Atlantic Coast Conference’s All-Defensive Team. He also averaged 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 steals, and 1.8 blocked shots.

 

He was projected to start immediately at forward for New Orleans, alongside guards Lonzo Ball and Jrue Holiday, forward Brandon Ingram and center Derrick Favors.

 

While it remains to be seen how coach Alvin Gentry will change his rotation in Williamson’s absence, it appears 6-foot-9, 235-pound forward Nicolo Melli of Italy could be in line for more playing time.

 

Melli, who was acquired in the offseason, averaged 8.4 points and 5.4 rebounds this season.

Pats Blank Jets on MNF

Tom Brady threw a TD pass to Phillip Dorsett, Sony Michel ran for three scores and New England forced Sam Darnold into five turnovers while cruising to a 33-0 victory over the New York Jets on Monday night.

 

The Patriots improved to 7-0 for the third time in franchise history, and first since 2015. They also swept the two-game season series against their AFC East rivals for the fourth straight year, outscoring the Jets (1-5) 63-14 in the two meetings this year.

 

Darnold finished 11 of 32 for 86 yards and a 3.6 quarterback rating. ESPN had Darnold wear a microphone during the game, and he was caught on the sideline saying, “I’m seeing ghosts” at one point.

 

Brady was 31 of 45 for 249 yards with a TD and an interception before leaving with 2:55 left to chants of “Brady! Brady!” from the Patriots fans who stayed until the end at MetLife Stadium.

Packers Blow By Raiders

Aaron Rodgers had his best game by far under the new Packers coach, throwing for 429 yards and five touchdowns and running for another as Green Bay beat the Oakland Raiders 42-24 on Sunday.

 

Rodgers completed 25 of 31 passes to eight different targets and finished with the first perfect passer rating of his career, leading LaFleur's offense to a season-high in points.

 

Derek Carr finished 22-for-28 for 293 yards, two touchdowns and two costly turnovers for the Raiders (3-3), who lost their eighth straight against Green Bay, dating back to 1990. The Packers (6-1) have scored 30-plus points in each of their last five games against the Raiders.

 

Green Bay took the lead for good on a 2-yard touchdown from Rodgers to Jamal Williams with 3:27 to go in the first half. The score capped an 11-play, 82-yard drive that took up 8:06 - the Packers' longest drive of the season - and made it 14-10.

 

Carr put the Raiders in position to retake the lead with a 48-yard completion down the middle to Waller, giving Oakland first and goal at the 3. On second down, as Carr scrambled for the pylon, Blake Martinez forced a fumble and the ball went through the end zone for a touchback.

 

Rodgers made Oakland pay, finding Jake Kumerow for a 37-yard touchdown to make it 21-10 at halftime.

 

The Raiders had seven penalties for 87 yards in the first half. They finished with eight penalties for 97 yards.

 

Rodgers opened the second half with a 59-yard completion to Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Four plays later, Rodgers crossed the goal line on a 3-yard run.

 

Carr and Waller connected on a 7-yard score to cut the Green Bay lead to 28-17.

 

Jimmy Graham got into the action, scoring his third touchdown of the season on a 3-yard pass from Rodgers before the end of the third.

 

Kevin King picked off Carr in the end zone with 8:09 to play. That led to Rodgers' sixth score of the day, a 74-yard pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who finished with the two catches for 133 yards.

 

Valdes-Scantling was a game-time decision after suffering knee and ankle injuries on Monday night against the Lions. Geronimo Allison, who was also listed as questionable, had four catches for 33 yards.

 

Mike Glennon relieved Carr late in the fourth and found Waller for a 17-yard score for the Raiders, whose winning streak ended at two games. Oakland fell to 3-14 following a bye since 2003.

 

The Packers are at Kansas City next Sunday who will likely be without Patrick Mahomes.

Hamlin Wins Chaotic Finish at Kansas

Denny Hamlin roared away with a push from behind from teammate Kyle Busch on the second shot at a green-white-checkered finish, and Chase Elliott was unable to chase him down. 

 

Deep in the field, Brad Keselowski was going backward, and the spots he lost in the elimination race at Kansas Speedway were enough to send Elliott through in the final cut-off spot to the round of eight.

 

In a bit of irony, it was Keselowski who helped bring out the caution in the first overtime when he got into Daniel Suarez and triggered a wreck that collected teammate Joey Logano. The field was nearing the start-finish line but the caution light came on before the leader took the white flag.

 

Kyle Busch ultimately finished third, followed by Kurt Busch and William Byron. But the key was Keselowski, who dropped from 13th to 19th on the final restart and out of the next round of the playoffs.

 

He ended up three points — equal to three positions on the track — below the cutoff line.

 

Byron was the next driver eliminated despite a strong run at Kansas, where he would have needed a win to advance. Alex Bowman and home-state hero Clint Bowyer also were eliminated.

 

The frenzied push to the finish Sunday began when Blaney scraped the wall with 14 to go, causing his tire to go down and a caution flag to fly. Elliott was three points behind Keselowski at that point, but the savior of Hendrick Motorsports’ playoff hopes made a big move on the restart to climb to fourth place, and that put the pressure right back on Keselowski to make up ground.

 

Elliott was still in good shape until another caution flew, jumbling the front of the pack and giving Keselowski a chance. He made a quick stop and picked up three spots on pit road, putting Elliott back in a situation where it appeared he would need a victory to advance.

 

The entire field got through the first playoff restart cleanly, but Keselowski ran out of room deep in the pack and nudged Suarez, sending him into the wall. Logano also was heavily damaged in the wreck, throwing his own playoff hopes into question as another OT approached.

 

Hamlin got a good jump on the restart, and Elliott dived low and got in line. He immediately moved forward into second place while Keselowski began hemorrhaging positions, and the change that was made in the final two laps was enough to send Elliott into the next round.

 

Bowyer had a strong finish in eighth, but the playoff contender was a non-factor most of the day despite needing a win to advance. Kevin Harvick started 40th after inspection issues and never making it on the track to qualify, but he worked his way through the field to finish ninth.

 

Keselowski won the spring race at Martinsville, though that probably doesn’t make him feel much better returning now that he’s outside the playoffs. Logano edged Hamlin in the playoff race a year ago.

Saints Drop Bears

Teddy Bridgewater threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns, and the Saints improved to 5-0 without their injured star quarterback by beating the Chicago Bears 36-25 on Sunday.

 

Bridgewater completed 23 of 38 passes, Michael Thomas had nine receptions for 131 yards, and Latavius Murray ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns.

 

The Bears (3-3) lost their second straight, with Mitchell Trubisky struggling after missing a game because of a shoulder injury.

 

They were hoping their prized quarterback would build on a solid showing in Week 3 against Washington, when he threw for three touchdowns. Instead, he was erratic, made poor decisions and heard it from the crowd.

 

Trubisky finished 34 of 54 with 251 yards and two late touchdowns in his first appearance since he was hurt early against Minnesota on Sept. 29. He said his shoulder was fine, but the offense sure is not.

 

The run game was once again an afterthought, with Chicago setting a franchise-low with seven carries. And the 17 yards rushing were by far the fewest this season.

 

After losing at Oakland in London two weeks ago, it was another rough outing for the Bears. They gave up a season-high 424 yards while being held to 252 and managed just four first downs through the first three quarters. It added up to their fifth straight loss to the Saints, and a 1-2 record at Soldier Field this season.

 

The Bears host the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

Prairie Central Fast Start Dooms Monticello

Prairie Central scored 19 quick points and did not look back dominating Monticello 59-37 Friday night in Illini Prairie Conference football action from Fairbury.

 

Despite falling behind, once the Monticello offense got going, they were very efficient.

 

Nic Tackels threw an early pick-six on the second play of the game but finished 16-for-32 for 208 yards and five touchdown passes and ran nine times for 60 yards and another touchdown.

 

Chris Brown carried the ball 14 times for 108 yards and caught two passes for 20 yards and a touchdown. 

 

Matt Kerr found the end zone twice more Friday night among his six catches and 49 yards. Spener Brown hauled in four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown. 

 

Prairie Central improves to 6-2 overall while Monticello drops to 5-3. The Sages conclude the regular season at home next Friday night against St. Joseph-Ogden.

 

Game time is 7 pm and can be heard on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

 

Clinton Maroons Defeats Sullivan Redskins

As heard on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons defeated the Sullivan Redskins by a score of 66-38 on Friday night. The Maroons were led by the Nate Ennis State Farm Player of the Game Garrett Wayne with 19 carries for 353 yards and 5 rushing touchdowns. Wayne was 7 of 20 passing for 152 yards, 2 passing touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Tyrese Petty had 11 carries for 63 yards and 1 touchdown. Clayton Welch had 2 catches for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns.

 

The Sulivan Redskins were led by Luke VanderBurgh with 10 carries for 57 yards and 2 touchdowns. VanderBurgh was 18 of 38 passing for 291 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.

 

With the win, the Maroons improve to 5-3 overall. The Redskins fall to 0-8 overall.

 

Tune in next week as the Clinton takes on Warrensburg-Latham. You can hear the game live Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, on the WHOW app, and on Amazon Alexa.

 

Central Illinois

 

Meridian 12, Central A&M 42, F

Warrensburg-Latham 0, Decatur St. Teresa 49, F

Shelbyville 48, Tuscola 54, F

 

Illini Prairie

 

Monticello 37, Prairie Central 59, F

Bloomington Central Catholic 34, IVC 48, F

Champaign St. Thomas More 18, Pontiac 40, F

Rantoul 14, Tolono Unity 44, F

Olympia 21, St. Joseph-Ogden 41, F

 

Apollo

 

Effingham 23, Mt. Zion 37, F

Mattoon 28, Lincoln 29, F-OT

Taylorville 10, Charleston 28, F

 

Big Twelve

 

Champaign Centennial 13, Normal Community 41, F

Danville 27, Peoria Richwoods 10, F

Normal West 49, Champaign Central 14, F

Peoria 42, Bloomington 26, F

Peoria Manual 34, Urbana 0, F

 

Central State Eight

 

Decatur MacArthur 54, Decatur Eisenhower 0, F

Normal U-High 13, Springfield 27, F

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 55, Jacksonville 16, F

Springfield Southeast 7, Chatham-Glenwood 56, F

 

Heart of Illinois (Large)

 

El Paso-Gridley 0, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 27, F

Eureka 27, Fieldcrest 21, F

Dee-Mack 0, Tri-Valley 49, F

 

Heart of Illinois (Small)

 

Fisher 42, Ridgeview 14, F

Heyworth 7, LeRoy 12, F

 

Lincoln Prairie

 

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 34, Argenta-Oreana 42, F

Cerro Gordo-Bement 8, Toledo-Cumberland 55, F

Blue Ridge 13, Arcola 49, F

Sangamon Valley 7, Oakland Tri-County 35, F

 

Mid-Illini

 

Limestone 28, Morton 62, F

Canton 20, Dunlap 21, F

East Peoria 0, Pekin 44, F

Metamora 0, Washington 38, F

 

Sangamo

 

Auburn 41, PORTA 8, F

Maroa-Forsyth 76, Riverton 0, F

New Berlin 52, Pleasant Plains 27, F

North Mac 0, Athens 20, F

 

Non-Conference

 

Mahomet-Seymour 41, Macomb 0, F

 

 

Maroons Hosting Sullivan

The Clinton Maroons will look to get themselves back on track this week when they host 0-7 Sullivan at Clinton High School in Central Illinois Conference football action.

 

The Maroons offense has sputtered since a fast 4-0 start, dropping three straight and finding the end zone only once in that span. Coach Chris Ridgeway says the start last week at Central A&M was not great for his team but felt his team played one their of better games defensive games in a 42-0 loss.

 

 

Ridgeway credits the coaching staff of Sullivan for getting their kids improved. He feels they look like a more organized group this year.

 

 

Game time tonight is 7 pm. Hear all the action on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

 

Other CIC action tonight...

 

Macon Meridian @ Central A&M

Warrensburg-Latham @ Decatur St. Teresa

Shelbyville @ Tuscola

Monticello Travels to Prairie Central Tonight

The difference between a first round home playoff game and a road playoff game could be on the line tonight when the Monticello Sages travel to Prairie Central in Illini Prairie Conference football action.

 

Monticello rebounded from a loss at Unity with a big 59-7 win over Pontiac last week. Coach Cully Welter says it was nice to see his team continue to build on positive performances.

 

 

Coach Welter calls Prairie Central very solid and one of the better teams in the Illini Prairie Conference.

 

 

Prairie Central and Monticello both enter action 6-2 overall and third place in the Illini Prairie could be on the line tonight as well. IVC clinched the conference title in week 6. 

 

Game time tonight is 7 pm and can be heard on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

 

Illini Prairie Conference action tonight.....

 

Bloomington Central Catholic at IVC

Champaign St. Thomas More at Pontiac

Rantoul at Tolono Unity

Olympia at St. Joseph-Ogden

 

Apollo

 

Effingham at Mt. Zion

Mattoon at Lincoln

Taylorville at Charleston

 

Big Twelve

 

Champaign Centennial at Normal Community

Danville vs. Peoria Richwoods at Peoria Stadium

Normal West at Champaign Central

Peoria at Bloomington

Peoria Manual at Urbana

 

Central State Eight

 

Decatur MacArthur at Decatur Eisenhower

Normal U-High at Springfield 

Rochester at Springfield Lanphier (Sat.)

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin at Jacksonville

Springfield Southeast at Chatham-Glenwood

 

Heart of Illinois (Large)

 

El Paso-Gridley at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley

Eureka at Fieldcrest

Dee-Mack at Tri-Valley

 

Heart of Illinois (Small)

 

Fisher at Ridgeview

Heyworth at LeRoy

 

Lincoln Prairie

 

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at Argenta-Oreana

Cerro Gordo-Bement at Toledo-Cumberland

Decatur LSA at Villa Grove-Heritage

Blue Ridge at Arcola

Sangamon Valley at Oakland Tri-County

 

Mid-Illini

 

Limestone at Morton

Canton at Dunlap

East Peoria at Pekin

Metamora at Washington

 

Sangamo

 

Auburn at Petersburg PORTA

Maroa-Forsyth at Riverton

New Berlin at Pleasant Plains

North Mac at Athens

Williamsville at Pittsfield

 

Non-Conference high school football action tonight....

 

Mahomet-Seymour at Macomb

Illinois State Takes on In-State Rival Western Illinois

The in-state road swing continues for No. 10 Illinois State (4-2, 1-1 MVFC), as the Redbirds head to Macomb to face Western Illinois (0-6, 0-2) at Hanson Field.

 

For the second time this season, the Illinois State defense racked up nine sacks against an opponent as the Redbird lived in the backfield in their win over Southern Illinois. The Redbirds recorded nine sacks and 12 TFLs in their victory in Carbondale.

 

James Robinson racked up 150 yards last week at Southern. 

 

Illinois State currently sits at No. 10 in the FCS Coaches Poll and at No. 11 the STATS FCS Top 25.

 

The Leathernecks fell to 0-6 on the season and 0-2 in league play, after dropping a 20-10 road contest last weekend at Indiana State. WIU held a 10-0 lead at halftime but gave up 20 unanswered points to the Sycamores in the second half to remain winless on the season.

 

Game time Saturday is 1 pm.

Illinois Hosts Wisconsin

After Michigan pulled away from Illinois late in a 42-25 loss at home, Illinois turns their attention to another ranked opponent as the sixth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers come to Champaign. 

 

A perfect storm could be brewing for the Badgers as Illinois is allowing over 200 yards per game on the ground while the Badgers average 199 yards per game rushing. Wisconsin averages 42.5 points a game, eighth in the FBS, and quarterback Jack Coan has completed 103 of 135 passes with eight touchdowns and one interception.

 

Heisman candidate Jonathan Taylor is averaging 137.5 rushing yards a game and also leads the FBS with 18 touchdowns — 14 rushing and four receiving. He goes up against a run defense best described as porous. The Illini gave up 346 yards rushing, including a 100-yarder against Nebraska, 332 to Minnesota and 295 to Michigan.

 

Illinois' offense will have to show up against a Wisconsin unit that allows only 173 yards per game. Brandon Peters' status for Saturday is still up in the air after he was held out of last week's game against Michigan. While Matt Robinson played valiantly, nearly leading Illinois to a late comeback, Illinois will face another stiff defense at Memorial Stadium.

 

Robinson was 16 of 25 for 192 yards and one touchdown last week against Michigan. He also ran for a score. 

 

Illinois has dropped four straight and Wisconsin hasn't played any of their opponents within a touchdown all year.

 

Game time is 11 am Saturday morning. It will be aired on the Big Ten Network.

Packers Host Raiders Sunday

Allen Lazard caught his first pass from Aaron Rodgers on Monday night. He ended up catching three more, including one for a 35-yard touchdown in the Packers' win over Detroit and will try for an encore on Sunday when Green Bay (5-1) hosts the Oakland Raiders (3-2), a team the Packers have defeated seven straight times, going back to 1990.

 

The Raiders have been searching for a consistent pass rush ever since trading away Khalil Mack before last season. The rush is showing signs of progress. Oakland had four sacks in its last game against Chicago for its most since 2017. Benson Mayowa leads the team with 4 1/2 sacks, second-year defensive tackle Maurice Hurst had two against the Bears, and rookie Maxx Crosby got his first and has been disruptive the past two weeks.

 

Rookie Josh Jacobs is showing why the Raiders drafted him in the first round. His 430 yards rushing is the second most for a Raiders rookie through five games to Bo Jackson's 475 yards in 1987. He had 26 carries for 123 yards and two TDs against the Bears and has been a bigger factor in the passing game of late with five catches his past two games. The running game should get a boost this week with the expected return of right guard Gabe Jackson, who has been out since training camp with a knee injury.

Eastern Illinois Travels to Tennessee-Martin

Eastern Illinois pushed No. 17 Jacksonville State last Saturday but fell short 28-20 against the Gamecocks. The Panthers turn their attention to The University of Tennessee-Martin this week in Martin, Tennessee. 

 

JSU intercepted one pass in the end zone and two others to end the first and second halves.  
EIU fell to 0-7 on the season, 0-3 in the OVC.

 

Isaiah Hill scored two touchdowns on Saturday against Jacksonville State as he hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass and ran for a 10-yard score. 

 

Game time Saturday is 2 pm and can be heard on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Bears Host Saints

The Saints look to improve to 5-0 with Teddy Bridgewater as their starter in Brees' place when they visit Khalil Mack and the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

 

The Saints (5-1) are getting big contributions from their defense and special teams and enough from their offense even if they're not moving the ball the way they did a year ago. They're averaging 344.7 yards - down 34.5 yards per game from last season, when Brees made 15 starts. He's been sidelined since he tore a ligament in his right thumb during a loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2.

 

Bridgewater has completed about 69 percent of his passes for 1,089 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. He wasn't as effective last week at Jacksonville, after throwing for 314 yards and four touchdowns against Tampa Bay, but he hit Jared Cook for a tiebreaking 4-yard TD early in the fourth quarter against the Jaguars.

 

He will try to keep the Saints rolling against a team looking to bounce back. The Bears (3-2) are coming off a loss to Oakland in London two weeks ago in which their defense got pushed around a bit after dominating the first four games and their offense continued to struggle.

 

The Bears hope to get quarterback Mitchell Trubisky back after missing a game because of a left shoulder injury.

 

If he returns, he'll try to build on a promising showing against Washington in Week 3.

 

Trubisky threw three touchdowns in an easy win over the struggling Redskins after mediocre outings in a season-opening loss to Green Bay and a narrow victory at Denver. He was then injured on the opening drive against Minnesota on Sept. 29.

 

Veteran Chase Daniel figures to make his second straight start if Trubisky is unavailable.

 

With 18 sacks, New Orleans is tied with Green Bay and Tennessee for sixth in the NFL.

Vancouver Tops St. Louis in Shootout

Thatcher Demko made 34 saves in regulation and overtime and stopped all six shots in a shootout to help the Canucks to a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night.

 

Vancouver won its fourth in a row - its longest streak since winning four straight from March 25-31, 2018.

 

Josh Leivo scored the lone shootout goal, which came at the end of the sixth round.

 

Bo Horvat, J.T. Miller and Micheal Ferland scored for the Canucks, who won for the first time on the road in three tries this season.

 

Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Pietrangelo and Robby Fabbri scored for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who have dropped three straight.

 

Demko is replacing regular starter Jacob Markstrom, who has missed the last two games due to a family emergency.

 

The San Diego-born Demko stopped 26 shots in a 5-1 win over Detroit on Tuesday in his first start of the season.

 

He made a pair of impressive stops in the shootout, including pad saves on Brayden Schenn and Alexander Steen.

 

Leivo lifted a shot over Jordan Binnington after the first 11 shooters came up empty.

 

Horvat jammed the puck in off a scramble in front of the net to tie the game at 3-3 with 7:55 left in the third period.

 

The Blues host Montreal on Saturday.

Shake Up In Class 1A Football Rankings; Class 2A, 3A Unchanged

Class 1A of the IHSA Associated Press football rankings saw a shake up after a wild week of high school football.

 

Lena-Winslow received 11 first place votes to check in as the number team in 1A. After their drubbing of Clinton at home, Central A&M moves up to No. 2 from third last week. 

 

Annawan-Weathersfield, Morrison and Ottawa Marquette all jump a spot to come in 3-6 respectively. 

 

After their week 7 loss to top-ranked Lena-Winslow, Forreston drops from second to sixth. Aquin is ranked seven. Hope Academy jumps from 10 to 8, and received a first place vote in 1A. Camp Point Central moves to eight and Athens down to nine in 1A. 

 

It was an uneventful week in the Class 2A and 3A in the high school football rankings.

 

The entirety of the top 10 remained unchanged as Fieldcrest received seven first place votes, holding at no. 1 overall followed by Clifton Central, who received five first place votes and checks in at no. 2 followed by Maroa-Forsyth, who received one first place vote. GCMS and Decatur St. Teresa round out the top five. Knoxville, Newman Central Catholic, Bismarck-Henning, Auburn and West Carroll round out the top 10 in 2A.

 

In Class 3A, the top 10 all remained unchanged as well. Wilmington received nine first plates votes to hold steady at no. 1 overall, followed by Williamsville and their four first place votes. Byron, Beardstown, and Vandalia round out the top 5. Nashville, Fairfield, Pana, Princeton and Eureka round out the top 10.

 

The top five in 4A remained unchanged. IC Catholic checks in at No. 1 followed by Rochester, Coal City, Richmond-Burton and Stillman Valley round out the top 5. The only change in 4A was a swap at 9-10, Genoa-Kingston and Chicago St. Francis traded places this week. 

 

East St. Louis is the uninamous No. 1 team in 5A. Chatham-Glenwood holds their place atop the 6A rankings. Normal West dropped out of the top 10 despite a 35-6 win over Peoria Manual last Friday. Lemont enters the top 10.

 

Chicago Mt. Carmel is the top team in 7A. Normal Community enters the rankings this week after clinching the Big Twelve title this past week with a win over Danville. 

 

Lincon-Way East is the top team in 8A. 

Former Cubs Manager, Joe Maddon, Named Angels Manager

Joe Maddon agreed to a three-year deal to become the Los Angeles Angels’ manager on Wednesday, reuniting the World Series-winning former bench boss of the Chicago Cubs with the organization where he spent the first three decades of his baseball career.

 

Maddon signed with the Angels as an undrafted catcher in 1975, and he spent the next 31 seasons working at almost every level of the organization as a player, coach and manager. He served as a big league assistant coach under five managers, and he had two stints as the Angels’ interim manager.

 

He was the Angels’ bench coach alongside manager Mike Scioscia during their championship season in 2002.

 

Maddon left to manage Tampa Bay in 2006 for nine mostly successful seasons, followed by a big-money move to Chicago to make history.

 

The three-time Manager of the Year left the Cubs by mutual consent last month after they missed the playoffs for the first time in his five-year tenure. He’ll still likely never have to buy a drink in Chicago again because of 2016, when he led the Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years.

 

Maddon replaces Brad Ausmus, who was fired after one season when the Angels finished 72-90, their worst record since 1999. 

 

Maddon was expected to be a valued candidate for other managerial openings around the majors, but he was clearly eager for a reunion.

 

Maddon kept a home in Long Beach during his 14 seasons away from Anaheim, and he has fond feelings for the organization that gave him his start.

 

That organization is experiencing hard times: The Angels have endured four straight losing seasons for the first time since the 1970s, and they still haven’t won a playoff game with Mike Trout and Albert Pujols on their roster, making just one three-game postseason appearance after winning the AL West in 2014.

 

The Angels also were rocked this month by revelations about the role of a team employee in procuring opioids for pitcher Tyler Skaggs, who was found dead in his hotel room July 1.

Monticello Boys, Girls Cross Country Ranked Second

Monticello's cross country programs have experienced a great deal of success in recent years and the latest ILXCTF.com rankings has both squads ranked second in Class 1A.

 

The girls jumped a spot in the latest rankings to second over Tolono Unity. 

 

The boys program moved up from fifth to second behind Olympia who moved up from second to first.

 

Dave Remmert leads both programs in Monticello.

Nats Sweep Cardinals

The wild-card Washington Nationals got RBIs from middle-of-the-order stars Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto in a seven-run first inning Tuesday night, and Patrick Corbin's 12-strikeout performance plus a trio of relievers helped hold on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-4 in Game 4 to complete a sweep in the NLCS.

 

The last time the World Series came to the nation's capital, more than eight decades ago, the Washington Senators lost to the New York Giants in five games. Have to go even further back, to 1924, for the city's lone baseball championship, when the Senators defeated the Giants.

 

The Senators eventually left, and the town didn't have a major league team at all for more than three decades until the Montreal Expos - who were founded in 1969 and never made it to the World Series - moved to Washington in 2005.

 

Corbin, a left-handed pitcher signed with $140 million of the money that became available last offseason when Bryce Harper left town to join the Philadelphia Phillies, was not quite the equal of Washington's other starters in the series.

 

Still, he did become the first pitcher to strike out 10 batters in the first four innings of a postseason game and earned the win after allowing four runs in five innings.

 

Then Martinez turned to his NL-worst bullpen, such a problem for so much of this season.

 

After Tanner Rainey got three outs, and Doolittle got five, Hudson came in for his fourth save in four chances this postseason. It wasn't easy, though: After replacing Doolittle with two outs in the eighth, Hudson hit his first batter and walked his second, bringing pinch-hitter Matt Carpenter to the plate as the go-ahead run with the bases loaded.

 

Carpenter, a career .481 batter with the bases full, grounded out to second baseman Brian Dozier, a defensive replacement who briefly lost the ball before gathering it and throwing to first to end that inning.

 

Hudson finished things with a perfect ninth, getting Tommy Edman on a fly ball to center field to end it, and red fireworks went off around the stadium.

 

In the fifth, a juggled Cardinals lineup finally awoke, scoring three runs - one more than the team managed to produce in Games 1-3 combined - to get within 7-4.

 

With a man on second and the tying run in the on-deck circle, Corbin came through, striking out St. Louis' 3-4 hitters, Paul Goldschmidt and Marcell Ozuna, with sliders.

 

The Nationals will play Games 1 and 2 of the World Series at the AL team's stadium because both the Astros (107) and Yankees (103) won more games than Washington's 93 in the regular season. Games 3, 4 and, if necessary, 5 will be at Nationals Park. Washington did not face either Houston or the Yankees in interleague play in 2019.

Blues Visit White House

President Donald Trump honored the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, using the occasion to announce an envoy to Turkey, mention the economy and an agriculture deal with China and laugh off the possibility of impeachment.

 

For the Blues, it was more of a last chance to celebrate the first title in franchise history than a political statement. Like previous NHL champions, they decided to keep with the long-held tradition of visiting the president at the White House amid teams from the NBA and other leagues either declining or not receiving an invitation or being disinvited by Trump.

 

St. Louis has a heavy concentration of Canadians and just one American still on the roster from the group that beat the Boston Bruins in the Cup Final. Every returning player from the Cup champions took the tour, met with Trump and was present for the ceremony in the Rose Garden.

 

Alternate captain Alex Steen said quote - “No matter what we do, we do it as a group. I think that’s how we won. We’re a very tight-knit group.”

 

Trump veered off into talk about bringing soldiers home from overseas and the stock market and revealed Vice President Mike Pence was traveling to Turkey to try to reach a ceasefire deal. When he circled back to the Blues, he went through their improbable run from last place in the league to champions with nods to Steen, owner Tom Stillman, captain Alex Pietrangelo, goaltender Jordan Binnington, forward Jaden Schwartz — who he called “Jason” — and playoff MVP Ryan O’Reilly.

 

Trump even mentioned the Blues adopting Laura Branigan’s 1982 hit “Gloria” as their victory song, and the U.S. Marine Band played the team into the ceremony with that tune. Young fan Laila Anderson, who was the team’s inspiration while she fought a rare auto-immune disease, got her own mention.

 

Stillman, who presented Trump with a No. 45 Blues jersey called it a “light-hearted, fun kind of celebration.” He echoed Steen’s sentiments about why the entire team showed up — a departure from when goaltender Braden Holtby and forward Brett Connolly skipped the 2018 champion Washington Capitals’ visit in March in support of teammate Devante Smith-Pelly.

 

 

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman; Pence’s wife, Karen; and Republican Sens. Roy Blunt and Josh Hawley of Missouri were among those in attendance for the half-hour ceremony.

Spieth To Return This Weekend, Looking To Get Back to Dominant Form

Jordan Spieth returns from his longest break during a calendar year hopeful that a fresh start will end his longest drought.

 

Spieth hasn’t won since the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale, a span of 54 tournaments worldwide. He last played in August at the BMW Championship, where he failed to advance to the Tour Championship for the second straight year.

 

Spieth is at the CJ Cup in South Korea and plans to stay in Asia another week for the PGA Tour’s first event in Japan.

 

Spieth said he has spent time at home in Dallas working on his tee-to-green game. He is coming off one of his best years with the putter — and there have been some good ones — and believes once he gets the rest of his game in order, he’ll have more chances.

 

He had only four top-10 finishes last year, often hurting himself with poor final rounds. The closest he finished to the winner was four shots behind in The Northern Trust, the first FedEx Cup playoff event.

Jaguars Send CB Jalen Ramsey to Rams

The Los Angeles Rams acquired Jalen Ramsey from the Jaguars on Tuesday night, ending the star cornerback’s tumultuous tenure in Jacksonville with a trade to the defending NFC champions.

 

Jacksonville got first-round picks from the Rams in 2020 and 2021, along with a fourth-round pick in 2021.

 

Ramsey is one of the NFL’s elite defensive backs, earning two Pro Bowl selections and one first-team All-Pro nod in three seasons with Jaguars. The fifth overall pick in the 2016 draft has nine career interceptions along with innumerable conflicts with his coaches, the front office and the Jags’ opponents.

 

One month after he requested a trade, Ramsey is off to the West Coast to join Aaron Donald on the Rams’ defense.

 

Ramsey has missed the Jaguars’ last three games with an apparent back injury, but he returned to practice last week. He’ll probably need to play immediately with the Rams (3-3), who are without both of their usual starting cornerbacks as they head to Atlanta this weekend.

 

The defending NFC champions traded cornerback Marcus Peters to Baltimore earlier in the day, getting depth linebacker Kenny Young for a two-time Pro Bowl selection who will be a free agent next year. Los Angeles also put cornerback Aqib Talib on injured reserve Monday after he missed last weekend’s loss to San Francisco with a rib injury.

 

Ramsey had never missed a start in his professional career before his current injury, but that was about the only certainty around the Tennessee native who once committed to USC, only to end up at Florida State.

 

Ramsey will join two prominent ex-Jaguars in Los Angeles, all three of whom were top-5 draft picks by Jacksonville.

 

Pass rusher Dante Fowler re-signed with the Rams after he was traded from Jacksonville at last season’s deadline, while quarterback Blake Bortles is Jared Goff’s backup after five years with the Jags.

Nebraska, Illinois To Open 2021 Season in Ireland

Nebraska will play Illinois in Dublin, Ireland, to open the 2021 season, the second game in a five-game series of college football games on the Emerald Isle.

 

Athletic directors Bill Moos of Nebraska and Josh Whitman of Illinois announced the game Monday. It’s set for Aug. 28 at 51,700-seat Aviva Stadium. Illinois is the designated home team.

 

Navy and Notre Dame will meet in Dublin next season.

 

The game in Dublin will be Nebraska’s first outside of the United States since the Huskers beat Kansas State in the 1992 Coca-Cola Bowl in Tokyo.

 

The teams will travel to Dublin the week of the game to practice, tour the city and acclimate to the time difference.

 

Nebraska also announced the completion of its 2021 non-conference schedule. The Huskers will play Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 13. That was the original date for the Nebraska-Illinois game.

Nats Roll Past St. Louis, Go Up 3-0

Stephen Strasburg took his turn silencing the Cardinals' struggling bats, Nationals postseason star Howie Kendrick doubled three times and drove in three more runs, and Washington took a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven NLCS by beating St. Louis 8-1 Monday night.

 

The Cardinals, quite simply, can't score in this NLCS: They have a grand total of two runs and 11 hits through three games. Washington's three starters have a combined ERA - no calculator necessary for this one - of 0.00.

 

The Nationals, who found themselves at 19-31 in late May, have won 15 of their past 17 games, stretching back to the last week of the regular season.

 

The Nationals roughed up Jack Flaherty for four runs, all in the third inning; he hadn't allowed that many in a game since July 2, a span of 18 appearances.

 

Seven of Washington's eight runs came with two outs, and there were contributions from up and down the lineup: Victor Robles homered in his return from a hamstring injury, and Rendon heard ''MVP!'' chants after a slick defensive play and an RBI double.

 

Now it's Patrick Corbin's chance to see if he can match his rotation-mates. The $140 million lefty will start for the Nationals in Game 4 on Tuesday night, when they can close out a sweep at home.

 

Rookie right-hander Dakota Hudson will be on the mound for the Cardinals.

Packers Rally Past Lions

Mason Crosby nailed a 23-yard field goal as time expired and jumped into the crowd with a boost from long snapper Hunter Bradley after he finished off a rally for the Green Bay Packers, who benefited from some questionable officiating to edge the Detroit Lions 23-22 on Monday night.

 

Aaron Rodgers, in his second straight game without top target Davante Adams, completed 24 of 39 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns, including a beautiful 35-yard throw to Allen Lazard for the second-year pro's first career score.

 

Rodgers linked up with Jamaal Williams for the other TD. Williams finished with 104 yards on 14 carries and four catches for 32 yards for Green Bay (5-1), which captured its first win in five tries against its NFC North rival.

 

The Packers, who are off to their first 3-0 start in the NFC North since 2012, might not have pulled it off if not for two fourth-quarter penalties for illegal hands to the face against Detroit's Trey Flowers, both of them on third down. The first set up Lazard's touchdown, and the second allowed Green Bay to run the clock down to 2 seconds before Crosby's game-winner. In both cases, replays showed Flowers' hands on the neck or shoulder - not the face - of a Packers lineman.

 

Matt Prater was good from 26, 22, 41, 51 and 54 yards for the Lions (2-2-1), who fell to 0-2 under Matt Patricia on Monday night. Detroit lost its last Monday night game to the Jets 48-17 last year.

Kenny Golladay had 121 yards on five catches for Detroit.

 

Matthew Stafford finished 18 of 32 for 265 yards and was sacked three times.

 

Kerryon Johnson scored the lone touchdown for the Lions from 1 yard out in the first quarter.

Preston Smith and Za'Darius Smith each had a sack for Green Bay. Preston Smith and Kyler Fackrell combined for the other.

 

Rodgers was sacked once by Damon Harrison Sr. and threw an interception that bounced off the facemask of an open Derrius Shepherd near the goal line. James Coleman snagged the ball returned it 55 yards, setting up Prater's last field goal that made it 22-13.

 

WR Geronimo Allison was carted off the field following a helmet-to-helmet hit by Tracy Walker on the first play of the third quarter. He did not return. Allison was being evaluated for a chest injury and a concussion.

 

The Packers host the Oakland Raiders on Oct. 20.

Blackhawks Down Oilers

Corey Crawford stopped 27 shots, Patrick Kane and Alexander Nylander scored, and the Blackhawks beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 Monday night. Brandon Saad added an empty-netter with 32.7 seconds left to seal the win for Chicago, which went 0-2-1 in its first three games.

 

Crawford lost a bid for his 26th career shutout when James Neal scored his NHL-leading eighth goal on a power-play with 2:11 remaining.

 

Crawford came through with big saves, and thwarted Edmonton's Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl - who entered as the NHL's top two scorers - on several prime chances. McDavid, who has 12 points, was kept off the scoresheet for the first time this season. Draisaitl earned an assist on Neal's goal.

 

Mike Smith finished with 32 saves for Edmonton, which had opened the season with five wins.

 

The Blackhawks host Columbus on Friday night.

Islanders Rally Past Blues in Overtime

Defenseman Devon Toews scored at 1:13 of overtime to complete a stunning late-game comeback by the Islanders as they downed the St. Louis Blues 3-2 on Monday. Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal had knotted the contest with late third-period goals before Toews netted the winner.

 

The Blues seemed to have the game well in hand in the closing minutes before Nelson put the home team on the board with his third goal of the season at 14:29 of the third. Barzal then tied the game at 19:33 off a scramble in front with Islanders netminder Thomas Greiss pulled for an extra attacker. Defenseman Johnny Boychuk, who kept the puck in the zone, had the lone assist.

 

That set the stage for Toews' goal - his second of the season - on which Barzal and Nelson had the assists. That sent what had been a mostly silent crowd of 10,355 at Nassau Coliseum into a frenzy as the defending champion Blues skated off toward their locker room. Griess made 21 saves for the win.

Goals from Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko had given the Blues a 2-0 lead.

 

The Blues were coming off a 6-3 loss at Montreal on Saturday. They finished their four-game road trip at 2-1-1.

 

Forward Oliver Wahlstrom made his NHL debut for the Islanders. The 19-year-old right-wing was picked 11th overall in the 2018 draft. He played for Boston College last year before joining AHL Bridgeport in the season. Wahlstrom skated on a line with Derick Brassard and Josh Bailey.

The Blues host Vancouver on Thursday night.

Ryan Blaney Wins at Postponed Talladega

Ryan Blaney beat Ryan Newman in a door-to-door race to the finish line to win Monday and advance to the third round of NASCAR’s playoffs.

 

Blaney’s first win of the season came as he was in danger of getting eliminated from title contention. The playoff field will be trimmed from 12 drivers to eight next weekend at Kansas. Blaney had little margin for error after he had mechanical issues at Dover last weekend and finished 35th.

 

Blaney joins Kyle Larson in the round of eight, with six spots still available.

 

Blaney was the leader on a restart with two laps remaining and had a huge push from fellow Ford driver Aric Almirola to gain space on the field. Then Newman came charging along on the outside line with help from Denny Hamlin and he easily zipped past Blaney.

 

But the Ford train remained committed and Blaney got another push from Almirola to pull alongside Newman. The two raced door-to-door to the finish line, with Blaney winning by a nose. The 0.0070-second margin of victory was the sixth-closest in the history of Talladega, which celebrated its 50th anniversary all weekend.

 

The win capped a remarkable weekend for the Penske organization, which on Saturday claimed the IMSA overall sports car championship with Dane Cameron and Juan Pablo Montoya, and then in Australia won the Bathurst 1000 with Scott McLaughlin and Fabian Coulthard.

 

Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott and William Byron are all below the cutline, as is Kansas native Clint Bowyer, who could be eliminated at his home track.

 

The race was stopped with seven laps remaining after an accident at the front of the field.

 

Stenhouse and Kyle Busch were side-drafting for the lead when Busch suddenly spun to the right, directly into title contender Brad Keselowski. The chain reaction caused Brendan Gaughan’s car to flip over the car of Kurt Busch and land on its wheels.

 

Keselowski’s car was destroyed, but he got it rolling down pit road for the sole purpose of passing Gaughan and Martin Truex Jr. in the running order, gaining two more points that very well could be needed next week when the playoff field is cut.

 

The elimination race of the third round of the playoffs is Sunday at Kansas Speedway. Elliott is the defending race winner, and Keselowski won the spring race.

Little Room For Error in Final Stretch for Clinton

The Clinton Maroons enter week 8 action 4-3 overall and might just need to win-out to make the postseason.

 

Last year's 5-4 mark was not enough to get a spot in the playoffs and it is, even more, a possibility this year with a forfeit win among their total.

 

The Maroons are struggling offensively right now, their latest showing a 42-6 loss at Central A&M Friday night. They've scored a mere two touchdowns in three weeks. 


Weeks 5-7 was going to be a gauntlet as Tuscola, Decatur St. Teresa and Central A&M were all ranked in the top 10 of their respective classes starting the season.

 

The Maroons were hoping to steal a win, maybe two, instead, they seemed punchless at best against the top-tier of the Central Illinois Conference and hit the final two weeks in essentially must-win territory. 

 

Injuries have plagued the Maroons in the toughest stretch of their season, but in sports, it is rare you get a clean bill of health from start to finish. 

 

The struggling Maroons get a chance to right things in week 8 when they welcome winless Sullivan to town. Off a 56-6 loss to Decatur St. Teresa Friday, the Redskins are allowing 40 points per game to their opponents.

 

Looking ahead is not an option for this team right now, but if the Maroons can take care of business, they will face a huge matchup against Warrensburg-Latham in week 9 on the road.

 

Five wins are likely not going to be enough to punch a ticket to the 3A playoffs, however, the Maroons can take a step in the right direction Friday night and begin to - as they say - play their best football at the right time. 

 

Hear Friday night's action on 92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, at Amazon Alexa and at the WHOW mobile app. 

Monticello Looking to Solidify Playoff Resume

The Monticello Sages are to their goal of five wins to qualify for the playoffs and defend their Class 3A state title but now they want more.

 

Monticello dominated Pontiac 59-7 in a rout Friday night in Illini Prairie Conference action to get them to five wins and qualifying for a playoff spot. Monticello will face a pair of quality opponents to finish out the season. The Sages travel to Prairie Central Friday and then host St. Joseph-Ogden in week 9 to finish out the year. 

 

Prairie Central and Monticello will enter week 8 action 5-2 overall in what will essentially be the third-place game for the Illini Prairie Conference. The Hawks dominated Olympia 48-7 Friday night.

 

St. Joseph-Ogden lost Friday to Illinois Valley Central, who in week six, clinched the Illini Prairie Conference regular-season title. 

 

Despite a loss on the road to Tolono Unity in week six, the Sages took a huge step forward and continued that improvement in their win Friday night. 

 

Just about every week has been a test for the Sages this season, and their latest is Friday night in Fairbury against Prairie Central. Game time is 7 pm and can be heard on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

LSU Jumps To No. 2 in AP Rankings

LSU moved up to No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll, giving the Southeastern Conference the top two teams in the country for the 29th time and putting the Tigers behind No. 1 Alabama less than a month before the rivals meet in Tuscaloosa.

 

The Tigers jumped from No. 5, past No. 3 Clemson and No. 4 Ohio State, after beating Florida in a matchup of unbeaten teams Saturday night. LSU received 12 first-place votes Sunday in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank while Alabama received 30 first-place votes and is No. 1 for the third consecutive week. The Crimson Tide host the Tigers on Nov. 9.

 

Clemson received 11 first-place votes Sunday and Ohio State had nine. Oklahoma was No. 5 and Wisconsin became the first new team to crack the top six after Georgia suffered the biggest upset of the season so far. The Bulldogs dropped from No. 3 to No. 10 after losing at home to South Carolina in double overtime.

 

Georgia is the highest-ranked team to lose to an unranked team this season. The Bulldogs had been steady at No. 3 since the preseason. They were among a season-high eight ranked teams to lose this weekend, including four to unranked teams.

 

Penn State moved up to No. 7. Florida’s loss at LSU cost the ninth-ranked Gators two spots. Notre Dame was No. 8, two spots ahead of Georgia, which won a close game at home against the Irish last month.

Texas slipped four spots to No. 15, the highest ranked team with two losses. The Longhorns lost to Oklahoma on Saturday and fell to LSU early in the season. Both losses were to current top-five teams, each by seven points.

 

The new Coaches Poll was released Sunday morning, and to the surprise of nobody, LSU moved up following its 42-28 win over Florida. Also moving up this week was Wisconsin, which is now flirting with the top five after a 38-0 dismantling of Michigan State. The Tigers climbed over Ohio State and Oklahoma to reach No. 3. They replace Georgia, which fell from No. 3 to No. 10 after an upset loss to South Carolina 20-17 in double-overtime.

 

Overall, the SEC and Big Ten are still dominating the top of the polls. The two conferences now account for seven of the top 10 spots.

Strasburg Gets Call For Nats, Up 2-0 on Cardinals As Series Shifts to Washington

Up 2-0 on the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Championship Series after near no-hitters from Aníbal Sánchez and Max Scherzer, the Nationals turn to historically strong playoff pitcher Stephen Strasburg in Game 3 Monday with the chance to take a stranglehold.

 

Washington starting pitchers are averaging more than 6 1/3 innings in the Division Series and League Championship series, a startling reliance on Strasburg, Scherzer, Sánchez and projected Game 4 starter Patrick Corbin. That has lessened the load of a bullpen that had the next-to-highest ERA in the major leagues behind Baltimore during the regular season.

 

Strasburg takes a 1.32 career postseason ERA to the mound for the first Championship Series game in the nation’s capital. The big right-hander, making the organization’s much-criticized 2012 Strasburg Shutdown look better over time, is 2-0 in the playoffs this fall.

 

St. Louis batters swung and missed at 11 pitches in the opener and 21 in Game 2. The Cardinals look perplexed at the plate not long after putting up 10 runs in the first inning of their Division Series clincher against Atlanta. St. Louis totaled one run and four hits — just one for extra bases— in the first two games against Washington and is batting .070.

 

Teams that have taken a 2-0 lead on the road in a best-of-seven series have gone on to win 88% of the time in MLB history. The first step toward bucking those odds for St. Louis is sending 23-year-old ace Jack Flaherty to the mound in Game 3, and there’s no shortage of belief in what he can do in what should be a raucous atmosphere.

 

>>Corea's HR Lifts 'Stros Past Yankees

 

Carlos Correa hit a leadoff home run in the 11th inning that lifted the Houston Astros over the New York Yankees 3-2 Sunday night, tying the AL Championship Series at one game apiece.

 

Correa, who earlier lined an RBI double and made a sensational play at shortstop, connected for an opposite-field shot to right off J.A. Happ.

 

Aaron Judge put the Yankees on top 2-1 with a two-run shot off Verlander in the fourth. It was his first homer this postseason and the eighth in his playoff career.

 

George Springer tied it in the fifth with his franchise-record 12th career postseason home run. The 2017 World Series MVP homered on the first pitch after reliever Adam Ottavino entered.

 

Game 3 is Tuesday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Gerrit Cole, who is 18-0 in his last 24 starts and led the majors in strikeouts, starts for the Astros against Luis Severino.

Talladega Postponed

NASCAR’s playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway has been postponed a day because of rain.

 

William Byron won the first stage, moments before scattered showers halted action. The race will resume Monday at 1 p.m. CDT. Byron held off fellow playoff driver Joey Logano to earn the stage victory.

 

NASCAR called the red flag at the end of the first stage of Sunday’s race. The cars came down pit road and NASCAR initially told the drivers to stay inside the cockpits. As the rain picked up, the drivers climbed out and teams began covering the cars.

 

Paul Menard used the break between stages to give way to relief driver Matt Crafton. Menard has been bothered by discs in his neck all week and Crafton got time in the No. 21 Ford during Friday practice in anticipation of Menard not being able to finish the race.

 

Menard is retiring from full-time competition after his 13th full season.

 

At 2.666-miles, the track takes more than two hours for NASCAR to dry it.

 

The Alabama superspeedway has a tight window with no lights to permit racing after dark.

 

Chase Elliott started on the pole with three Hendrick Motorsports teammates right behind him.

Clinton Maroons fall to Central A&M Raiders

As heard on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons fell to the Central A&M Raiders by a score of 0-42 on Friday night. The Maroons were led by Garrett Wayne who was 3 of 13 passing for 13 yards, 1 interception, 10 carries for 51 yards. Tyrese Petty had 9 carries for 35 yards. Braden Cross was the Nate Ennis State Farm Player of the Game with 1 sack.

 

The Raiders were led by Conner Heon with 6 carries for 52 yards, 1 touchdown, was 7 of 13 passing for 130 yards, and 1 touchdown. Conner Hutchins had 7 carries for 97 yards, 1 touchdown, and had 3 catches for 75 yards.

 

The Maroons fall to 4-3 overall and 2-3 in the conference. The Raiders improve to 7-0 overall.

 

Tune in next week as Clinton takes on Sullivan for senior night. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, on the WHOW app, and on Amazon Alexa.

 

Central Illinois

 

Shelbyville 37, Meridian 21, F

Sullivan-Okaw Valley 6, Decatur St. Teresa 56, F

Tuscola 40, Warrensburg-Latham 7, F

 

Illini Prairie

 

Pontiac 7, Monticello 59, F

Bloomington Central Catholic 28, Rantoul 14, F

Illinois Valley Central 33, St. Joseph-Ogden 12, F

Prairie Central 48, Olympia 7, F

Tolono Unity 42, Champaign St. Thomas More 30, F

 

Apollo

 

Effingham 48, Taylorville 6, F

Mahomet-Seymour 20, Charleston 12, F

Mt. Zion 43, Lincoln 7, F

 

Big Twelve

 

Champaign Central 27, Peoria 64, F

Normal Community 22, Danville 19, F

Peoria Manual 6, Normal West 35, F

Peoria Richwoods 43, Urbana 20, F

 

Central State Eight

 

Chatham Glenwood 48, Normal U-High 0, F

Decatur Eisenhower 32, Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 68, F

Jacksonville 55, Springfield Southeast 41, F

Springfield 27, Rochester 69, F

Springfield Lanphier 7, Decatur MacArthur 40, F

 

Lincoln Prairie

 

Argenta-Oreana 58, Decatur LSA 28, F

Cerro Gordo-Bement 34, Blue Ridge 12, F

Sangamon Valley 13, Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 44, F

Tri-County 20, Arcola 62, F

 

Mid-Illini

 

Dunlap 26, Limestone 38, F

Morton 54, East Peoria 20, F

Pekin 35, Metamora 14, F

Washington 35, Canton 7, F

 

Sangamo

 

Athens 7, Maroa-Forsyth 21, F

Pittsfield 14, Petersburg PORTA 29, F

Pleasant Plains 14, Virden North Mac 36, F

Riverton 7, Auburn 61, F

 

Non-Conference

 

Champaign Centennial 18, Dolton Thornbridge 28, F

Tri-Valley 27, Heyworth 20, F

El Paso-Gridley 14, Knoxville 46, F

Fisher 30, Dee-Mack 24, F

LeRoy 0, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 42, F

Fieldcrest 43, Ridgeview 0, F

 

 

Monticello Blows By Pontiac

As heard on WEZC Friday night, Chris Brown returned the opening kick-off 80 yards for a touchdown and Monticello scored on every possession of the first half and raced past Pontiac 59-7 in Illini Prairie Conference football action. 

 

Nic Tackels connected on touchdown passes of five yards, 31 yards and 68 yards in the first half. None of his seven passes hit the ground as he finished 7-for-7 for 119 yards. 

 

Brown rushed 10 times for 152 yards with three touchdowns. He ran for scores of 23, 41 and 63 yards. 

 

Matt Kerr caught two touchdown passes and hauled in six total passes for 100 yards. 

 

Kolton Knuffman caught a 31 yards touchdown pass. 

 

In the second half, Joey Sprinkle ran for a 12-yard touchdown. 

 

The Sages improve to 5-2 overall and Pontiac drops to 1-6.

 

Monticello travels to Prairie Central next Friday night. Game time is 7 pm. Hear all the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

 

Maroons Looking To Get Back in Win Column

The Clinton Maroons are looking to get back in the win column tonight when they hit the road for week 7 action in the Central Illinois Conference. 

 

To do so, they'll have to go through the third ranked team, Central A&M in Moweaqua this Friday night. Weeks 5 through 7 were going to be a gauntlet for the Maroons, with their opponents, Tuscola, Decatur St. Teresa and Central A&M all ranked. While Tuscola has fallen out of the rankings, the Maroons would like to grab a victory this week and Coach Chris Ridgeway says A&M will throw the ball with a big offensive line to protect their quarterback.

 

 

Coach Ridgeway says some might be pleased to hear they are going to go with a new offensive formation this week...

 

 

Tonight's action kicks at 7 pm. Hear the action on 92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

 

Central Illinois Conference Week 7 Matchups

 

Clinton at Central A & M

Shelbyville at Meridian

Sullivan-Okaw Valley at Decatur St. Teresa

Tuscola at Warrensburg-Latham

Monticello Hosts Pontiac

Off a tough 33-28 loss to Unity last Friday night, the Monticello Sages return home to host Pontiac in week 7 Illini Prairie Conference high school football tonight.

 

Monticello had a shot at the win as they were driving with under 90 seconds to play. Despite a late fumble that ended the drive and the game, head coach Cully Welter says his team took a huge step forward against a Unity team that he thought was one of two teams that could've won the conference this year.

 

 

The next two weeks, Monticello takes on two solid 4A programs in Pontiac and then Prairie Central. Entering the week 4-2, Coach Welter is focused on getting his team to their fifth win to qualify for the playoffs.

 

 

Tonight's action from Monticello kicks at 7 pm. Hear all the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

 

Illini Prairie Conference Week 7 Matchups

 

Pontiac at Monticello

Bloomington Central Catholic at Rantoul

Illinois Valley Central at St. Joseph-Ogden

Prairie Central at Olympia

Tolono Unity at Champaign St. Thomas More

 

Other high school football week 7 matchups

 

Apollo

 

Effingham at Taylorville

Mahomet-Seymour at Charleston

Mt. Zion at Lincoln

 

Big Twelve

 

Bloomington at Peoria Notre Dame (Sat.)

Champaign Central at Peoria

Normal Community at Danville

Peoria Manual at Normal West

Peoria Richwoods at Urbana

 

Central State Eight

 

Chatham Glenwood at Normal U-High

Decatur Eisenhower at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin

Jacksonville at Springfield Southeast

Springfield at Rochester

Springfield Lanphier at Decatur MacArthur

 

Lincoln Prairie

 

Argenta-Oreana at Decatur LSA

Cerro Gordo-Bement at Blue Ridge

Sangamon Valley at Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond

Tri-County at Arcola

Villa Grove-Heritage at Toledo Cumberland

 

Mid-Illini

 

Dunlap at Limestone

Morton at East Peoria

Pekin at Metamora

Washington at Canton

 

Sangamo

 

Athens at Maroa-Forsyth

Pittsfield at Petersburg PORTA

Pleasant Plains at Virden North Mac

Riverton at Auburn

Williamsville at New Berlin

 

Non-Conference high school football....

 

Champaign Centennial at Dolton Thornridge

Tri-Valley at Heyworth

El Paso-Gridley at Knoxville

Fisher at Dee-Mack

LeRoy at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley

Fieldcrest vs. Ridgeview

Illinois Hosts Michigan Saturday

The Fighting Illini haven't put up much resistance during their three-game losing streak, giving up nearly 39 points per game to Eastern Michigan, Nebraska and Minnesota.

 

The Wolverines have a shot to put together a feel-good performance as they did in a 52-0 win over Rutgers two weeks ago. Michigan may need a boost of confidence, coming off a 10-3 victory against Iowa in which it was held scoreless over the last three quarters.

 

Illinois' best chance to pull off an upset, or at least keep the game close, may be tied to a trend.

 

The Illini lead the Big Ten with nine forced fumbles and eight recoveries. Michigan, meanwhile, has lost seven fumbles to rank 13th in the conference and among the worst in major college football.

 

Illinois quarterback Brandon Peters, a graduate transfer from Michigan, left last week's loss at Minnesota with an upper-body injury and it isn't clear if he will be healthy enough to face his former teammates.

 

If Peters isn't cleared, Matt Robinson will likely start in his place. The sophomore was 15 of 29 for 125 yards in his first extended opportunity to play last week in relief of Peters.

 

Illinois is unveiling a larger-than-life bronze statue of Dick Butkus, who helped the program win the 1964 Rose Bowl before going on to have a Hall of Fame career as an all-time great NFL linebacker.

Game time Saturday is 11 am and can be seen on ABC.

Illinois State at Southern Illinois Saturday

Illinois State will begin a two-game road swing this weekend, when the No. 13 ranked Redbirds (3-2, 0-1 MVFC) travel to Carbondale, Illinois, to face off against the Southern Illinois Salukis (2-3, 0-1 MVFC) in a crucial MVFC matchup for both squads early in the season.

 

The Salukis have lost their last seven games versus ranked FCS opponents, with the last win over a ranked team coming on Oct. 14, 2017, when SIU beat No. 15 Illinois State, 42-7. 

 

Illinois State currently sits at No. 13 in the FCS Coaches Poll and at No. 14 the STATS FCS Top 25. Five MVFC teams are ranked in the polls this week, including North Dakota State (No. 1), South Dakota State (No. 3), Northern Iowa (10), Illinois State (13) and Youngstown State (17). The Redbirds have been ranked in every poll so far this season, with a high ranking of No. 6 in the FCS Coaches Poll.

 

Game time is 6 pm from Saluki Stadium. 

EIU Still Searching for Season's First Win

Eastern Illinois was stopped just short of the goal line as time expired on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers just missed a potential game-tying touchdown during a 24-17 loss at Murray State.  The loss dropped EIU to 0-6 on the season, 0-2 in the OVC.  

 

Eastern will look to pull off the upset this Saturday with Jacksonville State entering the weekend at 4-2 overall, 1-1 in the OVC.

 

JSU has won the last five OVC regular-season titles including five straight wins over EIU to take a 10-6 all-time series lead.  EIU won back-to-back games over JSU in 2012 & 2013 as the Panthers claimed back-to-back OVC championships.  Since JSU joined the OVC in 2003, the two schools have won a combined 13 conference titles with the Gamecocks winning eight and the Panthers five.

 

Game time Saturday is noon from Charleston. You can hear all the action on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Bears on Bye, Packers Host Lions on Monday Night Football

The Chicago Bears head into the bye week off a disappointing loss to the Oakland Raiders in London last Sunday.

 

The loss dropped the Bears to 3-2, but also a game back of the Packers who improved to 4-1 overall with a big win on the road in Dallas. 

 

The Packers will take Sunday off before a Monday night matchup with division rival Detroit on Monday Night Football.

Blues Win; Blackhawks Lose Thursday

>>Blues Rally Past Senators

 

Anders Nilsson stopped 31 shots in his first start of the season as Ottawa fell to the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues 6-4 on Thursday night.

 

David Perron's second goal of the game proved to be the winner for the Blues. The goal was also Perron's 200th NHL goal.

 

Oskar Sundqvist, Jay Bouwmeester, Brayden Schenn also scored for the Blues. Ryan O'Reilly had a goal and three assists and Jake Allen made 25 saves in his season debut.

 

Vitaly Abramov, Artem Anisimov, Chris Tierney and Anthony Duclair scored for the Senators (0-3-0), who are off to their worst start after losing three straight games in regulation.

 

Perron broke a 4-all tie with less than five minutes remaining and O'Reilly sealed the win with an empty-net goal.

 

The Blues are at Montreal on Saturday night.

 

>>Sharks Drop Blackhawks

 

Patrick Marleau scored two goals in his first game back with San Jose, and the Sharks beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 on Thursday night for their first victory of the season.

Barclay Goodrow snapped a third-period tie and Brent Burns scored his 200th career goal for San Jose, which opened with four consecutive losses. Kevin Labanc also scored, and Dylan Gambrell had two assists.

 

Goodrow was all alone in the slot when Joe Thornton threw the puck in front 4:47 into the third. The Blackhawks pushed hard for the tying goal in the final seconds of their home opener, but came up empty.

 

Andrew Shaw had two goals for Chicago, which hadn't played since its season-opening loss to Philadelphia in Prague last Friday. Dominik Kubalik scored his first NHL goal, and Dylan Strome had a goal and an assist in the opener of a seven-game homestand.

 

The 40-year-old Marleau tied it at 2 when he redirected Erik Karlsson's power-play shot past Corey Crawford with 17 seconds left in the first period. Marleau added another tying goal with 2:14 remaining in the second, making it 4-all when he knocked home a rebound.

 

The Blackhawks host the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday night.

High School Football Top 10 Rankings

The latest high school football top 10 rankings were released Tuesday night.

 

In Class 2A where Fieldcrest took over number one two weeks ago, things remain largely unchanged. Fieldcrest, Clifton Central, Maroa-Forsyth and GCMS come in at 1 through 4 while Decatur St. Teresa enter the top 5 after a big win over Clinton Friday night.

 

Knoxville, Newman Central Catholic, Bismarck-Henning are 6 through 8 and Auburn and West Carroll enter the top 10 at nine and ten, respectively.

 

In Class 1A, Lena-Winslow and Forreston come in at a tie atop the rankings while Central A&M comes ranked third. Anawan-Weathersfield, Morrison, Ottawa Marquette, and Aquin come 4 through 7. The top seven in 1A are all undefeated. Camp Point Central, Athens and Hope Academy round out the top 10.

 

In Class 3A, 1-4 remains unchanged this week, with Wilmington topping the rankings followed by Williamsville, Byron, and Beardstown. Vandalia and Nashville flip at 5-6. Fairfield and Pana hold their positions and 7-8 and Princeton and Eureka flip place at 9-10 in 3A.

 

IC Catholic tops the 4A standings and 1-5 remains unchanged with Rochester, Coal City, Richmond-Burton and Stillman Valley falling in. Mt. Zion moved up the rankings to No. 6 followed by Columbia, Effingham, St. Francis and Genoa-Kingston. IVC dropped out of the top 10 in 4A this week despite clinching the Illini Prairie Conference this week.

 

East St. Louis remains atop the 5A rankings. 

 

In 6A, Chatham-Glenwood remains atop the rankings while Crete-Monee holds at No. 2. The rest of 6A saw a shakeup from top to bottom, as Normal West remains ranked, coming in at No. 10 despite a loss to Indianapolis Bishop Chatard this past week in Indianapolis. 

 

In 7A, Chicago Mt. Carmel holds at No. 1 and Lincoln-Way East received all 11 first-place votes in 8A. 

Cardinals, Braves Set For Game 5 Tonight

A pair of winner-take-all Game 5s will decide the two NL Division Series.

 

First, the Atlanta Braves host the St. Louis Cardinals at 5:02 p.m. EDT. Then, it’s the Washington Nationals at the Los Angeles Dodgers beginning at 8:37 p.m. The winners meet in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series starting Friday.

 

Things will get settled in Atlanta — not necessarily a good omen for the home team. Over the years, the city has been the place where opponents come to celebrate in October, and St. Louis certainly hopes to continue that trend.

 

Atlanta has lost nine straight postseason rounds starting with a five-game setback to Arizona in the 2001 NLCS. The Braves are one series loss from equaling an ignominious record set by the Chicago Cubs, who dropped 10 postseason rounds in a row between 1908 and 2003.

 

The pitching matchup will be a rematch of Game 2, when Atlanta’s Mike Foltynewicz outdueled Jack Flaherty of the Cardinals for a 3-0 victory.

 

Nine visiting teams eliminated the Braves at their previous ballpark, Turner Field — with the Cardinals doing it twice. The move to SunTrust Park in 2017 didn’t change Atlanta’s fortunes. Last season, the Braves were closed out at home by the Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLDS.

Friday Night Likely to be Wet in Illinois

If you're a high school football coach, gameplan for a wet night Friday.

 

That's the message from the National Weather Service in Lincoln and meteorologist Chris Miller indicates a front will move through that will bring rain throughout the day and into the evening.

 

 

Miller says right now the storm center is keeping an eye on the possibility of storms forming that could stretch from Illinois and Indiana down to Mississippi and Louisiana. 

 

Prolific passing offenses like Maroa-Forsyth, Monticello, Tuscola, and IVC could be impacted if field conditions deteriorate. 

Cardinals Force Game 5

Yadier Molina pushed the Cardinals to a deciding Game 5 of the NL Division Series, poking a tying single in the eighth inning and then lifting a sacrifice fly in the 10th to beat the Braves 5-4 Monday.

 

Kolten Wong led off the St. Louis 10th with a ground-rule double against Julio Teheran. After Goldschmidt was intentionally walked, Wong advanced on Marcell Ozuna's forceout and easily scampered home on Molina's fly to the front of the warning track in left field.

 

Ozzie Albies homered and drove in three runs for Atlanta, and Acuna Jr. had four hits. But the NL East champions went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position, a continuing problem in the postseason over the past two years.

 

The Braves left the bases loaded in the sixth and seventh. Acuna was stranded on third when Josh Donaldson flew out in the ninth.

 

Ozuna homered twice for St. Louis, and Goldschmidt also connected. But the NL Central champions were four outs from a second straight difficult loss before Molina delivered down the stretch.

 

Carlos Martinez gave St. Louis a lift after Acuna led off the ninth with a double, retiring three in a row. The closer took the loss Sunday when he gave up three runs in the ninth.

 

Game 1 starter Miles Mikolas worked the 10th for the win.

 

Dansby Swanson had two hits and scored twice for Atlanta, which has dropped its last nine postseason rounds - just one off the major league record held by the Chicago Cubs. It is trying to advance to the franchise's first NL Championship Series since 2001.

 

Game 5 will be Wednesday back in Atlanta. The Cardinals will have ace Jack Flaherty on the mound, and the Braves will go with Mike Foltynewicz.

PGA Tour To Stream Entirety of The Players Championship

The PGA Tour is expanding its live video coverage of The Players Championship as far as it can go — every shot by every player in every round.

 

In a first for golf, and most likely the first step toward video access to every player at every tournament, The Players Championship will offer live streaming of all 144 players in the field.

Coverage will be available to “PGA Tour Live” subscribers on NBC Sports Gold or Amazon’s Prime Video channels.

 

The ambitious production will require about 120 cameras — some stationary, some hand-held and others part of the NBC Sports Group broadcast — to show shots that for the opening two rounds start at about 7:40 a.m. and end some 12 hours later.

 

Augusta National had video coverage of every shot from every player at the Masters this year, though it was available through a catalog of players chosen off its website. The difference at The Players is that every shot will be accessible live.

 

It’s up to the subscribers to choose whom they want to see.

 

PGA Tour Live for the last few years has had featured groups in the morning and afternoon that have live streaming, often the biggest names in the field that have consecutive tee times to make it easy for cameras to get to them.

 

That was expanded this season, with all domestic events in the fall having featured pairings for live streaming.

 

Now it’s every player, even those who might not be seen at all during a tournament.

 

The announcement Monday comes as the PGA Tour already is talking to media companies about a new television deal. The current arrangement ends after 2021, and consumption habits are changing rapidly.

Blues Hold Off Maple Leafs

Alex Pietrangelo scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period, leading the defending champion Blues to a 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.

 

Oskar Sundqvist and Brayden Schenn also scored and Jordan Binnington stopped 32 shots to help St. Louis improve to 2-0-1 this season.

 

On the decisive goal at 7:51 of the third, David Perron found a pinching Pietrangelo, who beat a down-and-out Frederik Andersen from a tight angle at the bottom of the faceoff circle for his second of the season. Pietrangelo also earned his 400th career point and 23rd game-winner to break a tie with Al MacInnis for the most by a defenseman in franchise history.

 

Frederik Gauthier and William Nylander scored for Toronto, which has dropped two straight (2-1-1). Andersen finished with 26 saves.

 

The Blues opened the scoring at 8:30 of the second when Sundqvist - the Blues' fourth-line center - moved in on Andersen and fired a slap shot from the top of the faceoff circle that defenseman Tyson Barrie tried to block with his stick.

 

The Maple Leafs tied it when Jason Spezza batted a puck out of the air to Gauthier, who banged in his second of the season with 8:26 left.

 

Fans at Scotiabank barely had a chance to sit back down when they were on their feet again 24 seconds later when Nylander finished off a beautiful passing play with Cody Ceci and Andreas Johnsson for his second.

 

The Blues are at Ottawa on Thursday night.

Braves Push Cardinals To The Brink of Elimination

Dansby Swanson hit a tying double with two outs in the ninth inning and Adam Duvall delivered a two-run single as the Atlanta Braves rallied past the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in the NL Division Series.

 

Atlanta had managed just four hits off Adam Wainwright and Andrew Miller before breaking through against closer Carlos Martinez. With runners on the corners, Swanson tied it at 1 with a drive off the wall in left.

 

Duvall, who entered in the eighth, then hit a liner into center field to put the Braves ahead to stay. It was his second big hit of the series after he connected for a pinch-hit homer in Atlanta's 3-0 victory Friday.

 

St. Louis wasted a terrific performance by Wainwright, who pitched 7 2/3 innings of four-hit ball in his first postseason start since 2014. The 38-year-old Georgia native and former Braves draft pick struck out eight and walked two.

 

In the age of bullpens taking over in October, Wainwright and Mike Soroka locked up in an old-fashioned pitchers' duel. But the relievers ultimately decided the game.

 

St. Louis jumped in front when Ozuna doubled in the second, advanced to third on Molina's grounder and scored on Matt Carpenter's sacrifice fly.

 

Game 4 is Monday at Busch Stadium. Atlanta needs one more win to advance to the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2001.

Packers Beat Cowboys; Bears Lose in London

The Green Bay Packers went on the road Sunday afternoon and upset the Dallas Cowboys 34-24.

 

The Packers (4-1) built a 31-3 lead, although Dak Prescott (463 yards passing) and Amari Cooper (226 yards receiving) set career highs trying to keep things interesting in the fourth quarter.

 

The last hope for Dallas ended with 1:41 left when Brett Maher missed his second field goal - a 33-yarder that would have given the Cowboys a shot at an onside kick down seven.

 

Missing his biggest threat in Davante Adams because of a toe injury, Aaron Rodgers threw for 238 yards without an interception - to the delight of a large contingent of Green Bay fans that pulled off several ''Go Pack Go'' chants without much resistance from the home crowd.

 

Prescott, on the other hand, matched a career high with three interceptions, although the first was a drop by Cooper on what should have been a big play early.

 

The Cowboys (3-2) lost their second straight game and dropped into a tie with Philadelphia atop the NFC East after winning their first three, just as the Packers had done.

 

Green Bay, also coming off its first loss, took sole possession of first in the NFC North with Chicago's 24-21 loss to Oakland. The Packers opened the season with a win over the Bears.

 

Aaron Jones had a career-high 182 scrimmage yards - 107 rushing and 75 receiving - and opened the scoring with an 18-yard run after being held to 19 and 21 yards rushing the previous two weeks.

 

The Packers play Detroit at home next Monday night.

 

>>Raiders Upset Bears in London

 

Josh Jacobs scored his second touchdown of the game with a leap from the 2-yard line with 1:57 to play, capping a 97-yard drive that helped the Raiders rally after blowing a 17-point lead to beat the Chicago Bears 24-21 on Sunday night.

 

The Raiders (3-2) broke out to a 17-0 halftime lead only to fall behind the Bears (3-2) in a mistake-filled third quarter.

 

Then Oakland fumbled at the goal line when going in for the go-ahead score, needed a replay review to overturn a fumble on a successful fake punt on the game-winning drive and then intercepted Chicago backup Chase Daniel with 1:14 to go to seal the victory.

 

The Bears turned that turnover into a 1-yard run by David Montgomery and got two TD passes from Daniel to Allen Robinson in the third quarter to take a 21-17 lead.

 

A brilliant top-tapping sideline catch by Robinson and a roughing the passer penalty on Maurice Hurst that angered the Raiders and overturned an interception by Daryl Worley helped the Bears move the ball off the goal line.

 

Chicago pinned Oakland to the 3 with the punt before the Raiders responded with their longest game-winning drive in the fourth quarter in at least 20 years, aided by Erik Harris' 3-yard run on a fake punt after Chicago committed a running into the punter penalty on fourth-and-6.

 

David Carr completed a 23-yard pass to Foster Moreau on third-and-1 to get the ball deep and Jacobs finished it off as part of a big night from the player acquired with one of the draft picks Oakland got for Mack. Jacobs ran 123 yards and two scores against a defense that hadn't allowed 100 yards rushing to a single team all season.

 

Chicago gets a week off following the long trip and will host New Orleans on Oct. 20.

Joe Maddon to Interview for Angels Job

Joe Maddon will interview for the Los Angeles Angels’ managerial vacancy this week, a person familiar with the process told The Associated Press.

 

ESPN first reported the interview.

 

Maddon is considered the prohibitive front-runner to replace Brad Ausmus, who was fired after one season in charge. The Angels finished 72-90, their worst record since 1999.

 

Maddon spent 31 years employed by the Angels as a player and a coach throughout the organization. He was Mike Scioscia’s bench coach with the 2002 World Series champions before leaving for managerial jobs in Tampa Bay and Chicago, where he won the World Series in 2016. He was let go by Chicago on the final day of the regular season.

 

Despite the Cubs’ post-championship disappointments over the past three years, Maddon remains regarded as one of baseball’s top managers. His teams have made eight playoff appearances, including four straight in Chicago before this season’s 84-win team finished third in the NL Central.

Larson Wins At Dover

As Kyle Larson stood atop his Chevy with a two-year winless streak behind him, perhaps his playoff victory Sunday at Dover International Speedway was indeed a preview of a championship celebration ahead.

 

The 27-year-old Larson has been oh-so close toward grabbing the checkered flag since his last win Sept. 9, 2017, in Richmond. Larson had nine runner-up finishes in the No. 42 Chevrolet over that span and won the $1 million NASCAR All-Star race this season.

 

He cashed in at Dover with the Monster Mile-stone win (it was the track’s 100th race) that earned him an automatic berth into the third round. Not only has Larson failed to win a title, long-time team owner Chip Ganassi has never won a NASCAR Cup Series championship, something that’s surely chapped an organization with handfuls of IndyCar titles.

 

Larson had four of his six career Cup wins in 2017 and Dover marked his first one in the playoffs. He led 154 laps late after Denny Hamlin faded from a dominant early run (he led 219 laps) in the No. 11 Toyota that opened the door for Larson. Playoff drivers took the top six spots: Martin Truex Jr. was second, followed by Alex Bowman, Kevin Harvick, Hamlin and Kyle Busch. Chase Elliott and reigning series champion Joey Logano both suffered serious blows to their championship runs with a rough start to the second round.

 

Truex won the spring race at Dover and didn’t have enough down the stretch to catch Larson and complete the season sweep.

 

Logano and Elliott both had their races ruined before the race even finished 10 laps. Logano failed to start the race because of a broken axle on the No. 22 Ford. He eventually hit the track more than 20 laps down and finished 34th.

 

Clint Bowyer and Ryan Blaney join Logano and Elliott as the bottom four drivers in the playoff field.

NASCAR heads to Talladega Superspeedway where Aric Almirola is the defending race winner.

Kevin Na Wins in Playoff in Vegas

Kevin Na made triple bogey without hitting into a hazard on No. 10. He went at the flag and found the water on the par-5 16th for a bogey to lose the lead for the first time all day.

 

Right when he looked to be out of chances, Na saved himself with a 25-foot par putt on the 17th, a 10-foot birdie to extend the playoff, and he won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open when Patrick Cantlay made the worst mistake — the last one.

 

Cantlay, who gave up a one-shot lead by hitting 9-iron into the water on the par-3 17th, three-putted from 45 feet on No. 18 on the second extra hole for bogey. Na rolled in his 4-foot par putt to win in Las Vegas for the second time.

 

Cantlay took his first lead with a two-putt birdie on the 16th, only for his 9-iron to come up short and just far enough to the left that rolled down into the water. He still looked as though he would head to the final hole until Na made his 25-foot par putt.

 

Na won for the third time in the last 15 months, and third in as many seasons on the PGA Tour. He joined Jim Furyk as the only multiple winners in Las Vegas.

 

Even after his bogey on the 17th, Cantlay was poised to win in regulation when he hit the longest drive of the final round — 345 yards — and had only 113 yards left. But he could get no closer than 25 feet, and his putt hung on the right edge of the putt.

 

Cantlay, trying to win for the third time when facing a deficit of at least three shots, closed with a 68.

They finished at 23-under 261.

 

On the first extra hole, Na hit wedge to just inside 10 feet. Cantlay was just outside 10 feet — on the same line as his 25-foot birdie chance in regulation — and made it. Na poured his in, walking toward the hole before the ball dropped.

 

Cantlay came up well short on his approach to the 18th on the second playoff hole — his third time playing it in less than an hour — and his birdie putt came up well short.

 

Na set a record by making 559 feet of putts over four rounds, the most since the PGA Tour developed its ShotLink system of measuring every shot of every player. And he won with a 4-foot par.

 

Pat Perez closed with a 68 to finish alone in third, his best finish since he won in Malaysia two years ago.

 

Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau shot 63 and tied for fourth with Adam Hadwin (63) and Brian Stuard (67).

Week 6 Football Scores

Central Illinois

 

Meridian 23, Warrensburg-Latham 28, F

Central A&M 55, Shelbyville 13, F

Tuscola 56, Sullivan-Okaw Valley 13, F

 

Illini Prairie

 

Champaign St. Thomas More 18, Bloomington Central Catholic 45, F

Rantoul 7, IVC 49, F

St. Joseph-Ogden 13, Praire Central 33, F

Olympia 47, Pontiac 14, F

 

Apollo

 

Lincoln 13, Mahomet-Seymour 6, F

Mattoon 0, Effingham 42, F

Taylorville 14, Mt. Zion 31, F

 

Big Twelve

 

Bloomington 26, Normal Community 43, F

Champaign Central 27, Danville 52, F

Peoria 44, Peoria Richwoods 14, F

Peoria Notre Dame 63, Peoria Manual 14, F

 

Central State Eight

 

Decatur MacArthur 0, Chatham-Glenwood 48, F

Jacksonville 46, Springfield Lanphier 14, F

Normal U-High 56, Springfield Southeast 48, F

Rochester 61, Decatur Eisenhower 27, F

Springfield 54, Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 42, F

 

Heart of Illinois (Large)

 

Eureka 45, El Paso-Gridley 0, F

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 22, Tri-Valley 7, F

Dee-Mack 6, Fieldcrest 42, F

 

Heart of Illinois (Small)

 

Ridgeview 13, Tremont 22, F

Heyworth 23, Fisher 29

 

Lincoln Praire

 

Arcola 48, Sangamon Valley 6, f

Argenta-Oreana 48, Villa Grove-Heritage 34, F

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 46, Cerro Gordo-Bement 0, F

Decatur LSA 26, Blue Ridge 6, F

Toledo Cumberland 33, Oakland Tri-County 34, F

 

Mid-Illini

 

Canton 30, Limestone 14, F

East Peoria 28, Dunlap 42, F

Metamora 7, Morton 35, F

Washington 21, Pekin 26, F

 

Sangamo

 

Athens 42, Pittsfield 0, F

New Berlin 55, Riverton 28, F

Petersburg PORTA 0, Maroa-Forsyth 56, F

Pleasant Plains 13, Williamsville 63, F

North Mac 7, Auburn 27, F

 

Non-Conference

 

South Fulton 6, LeRoy 36, F

Normal West 8, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard 56, F

Unity Holds Off Monticello

Trailing 28-27, Hank Cain plunged into the end zone from two yards out with 1:45 to give Tolono Unity their third and final lead of the night and forced a turnover with less than a minute left on a near-heroic play by Hayden Graham in a 33-28 win over Monticello in Illini Prairie Conference football action Friday night from Tolono. 

 

Andrew Ellison drilled a 28-yard field goal to put the Sages ahead 28-27 but the Unity Rockets methodically moved the ball down the field on the ensuing possession. Cain found the end zone for the first time on the night with his 37th and final carry and the two yards were the biggest of his 224 rushing yards. 

 

Monticello converted a 4th down and 11 to Matt Kerr. After an incomplete pass brought up 2nd and 10 with 38 seconds left, Nic Tackels hit Hayden Graham over the middle. Eluding tacklers, Graham was on his way down at the 33-yard line and lost control of the football and Unity recovered. Both teams were without timeouts and all the Rockets had to do was kneel on the football and time expired.

 

Monticello led 25-20 at the break, however, while leading 25-13 in the waning moments of the first half, a 38-yard touchdown from Unity quarterback Nate Reinhart to Jared Routh (ruth) got the Rockets within 25-20 despite what appeared to be an early start by the Unity receivers before the snap. In fact, some players on both sides of the ball appeared to briefly pause, waiting for the flag while others played on and ultimately Routh snatched a wobbly pass from Reinhart out of the air and escaped to the end zone for the score. 

 

Much like their 21-14 win over Bloomington Central Catholic last Friday night, the Sages had opportunities to put the game out of reach but were unable to make enough plays in the second half. 

 

Nic Tackels had perhaps his best game of the season as the Sages signal-caller. Despite an early interception, he finished 9-for-19 with 297 yards through the air with three touchdowns. Tackels found Matt Kerr twice on big plays of 61 yards and 65 yards. He also hit Spencer Brown for a five-yard score. 

 

Chris Brown finished with 89 yards on 14 carries and had a crucial 71-yard catch on a misdirection screen pass that set up Spencer Brown’s five-yard touchdown. 

 

Graham finished with four catches and 63 yards. Kerr finished with three receptions and 137 yards with two touchdowns. 

 

Unity’s Reinhart was an efficient 16-for-19 with 180 yards through the air and two touchdowns and rushed for 23 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. 

 

Routh caught eight passes for 89 yards and a score and rushed for 27 yards on three carries. 

 

Dalton Roberts caught a ten-yard touchdown pass for the Rockets.

 

Unity improves to 5-1 overall and Monticello drops to 4-2. 

 

The Sages host Pontiac next Friday night. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

Maroons Fall to St. Teresa on Homecoming

As heard on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons fell to the St. Teresa Bulldogs by a score of 42-0 on Homecoming. Garrett Wayne was 11 of 30 passing for 119 yards and two interceptions. Braden Cross had 4 catches for 61 yards. Drew Stacey was the Nate Ennis State Farm Player of the Game with a fumble recovery and several tackles.

 

The Bulldogs were led by Denim Cook with 20 carries for 290 yards and 4 touchdowns.

 

With the loss, Maroons fall to 4-2 on the season and 2-2 in the conference. St. Teresa improves to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the CIC.

 

Tune in next week, October 11, as the Maroons travel to Mowequa to take on the Central A&M Raiders. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, on the WHOW app, and on Amazon Alexa.

Maroons Host Decatur St. Teresa for Homecoming Game

Coming off big losses in week five matchups, the Clinton Maroons and Decatur St. Teresa Bulldogs will both be looking to right the ship when they square off in a Homecoming matchup at Clinton High School in Central Illinois Conference football action Friday night.

 

The Bulldogs were knocked off at home by Central A&M 28-26. Meanwhile, Tuscola boatraced the Maroons 41-6 at Tuscola. Head Coach of the Maroons Chris Ridgeway says it is time to put that loss behind them and have fun with Homecoming week.

 

 

Decatur St. Teresa brings a rush attack that will be one of the better run games they will see this year. Coach Ridgeway says they will pose a lot of problems.

 

 

The Homecoming game is 7 pm and can be heard live on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

Central Illinois

 

Meridian at Warrensburg-Latham

Central A & M at Shelbyville

Tuscola at Sullivan-Okaw Valley

Illinois At Minnesota Saturday

After an off weekend, the Fighting Illini return to action this Saturday with a trip to Minnesota to face the Golden Gophers at 2:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network. 

 

Illinois won last year's meeting with the Gophers, 55-31, in Champaign behind 430 rushing yards, including 213 yards from Reggie Corbin on just 13 carries. 

 

Despite losses in their last two games, llinois has scored 30-plus points in each of the first four games this season. 

 

The Illini are averaging 35.5 points per game in year two under offensive coordinator Rod Smith. The Illini averaged 26.0 points per game in Smith's first season in 2018, up from 15.4 ppg in 2017.

 

Minnesota running backs coach Kenni Burns is a native of Springfield and went to Sacred Heart Griffin.

Monticello Hits Road To Take On Unity

Coming off a thrilling 21-14 win over Bloomington Central Catholic at Monticello High School for Homecoming, Monticello hits the road for perhaps their stiffest test since a loss at IVC in week 2 when the Sages make the trip down the Monticello Blacktop to take on the Unity Rockets in Illini Prairie Conference football action Friday night.

 

The Sages held off BCC on a the final play from scrimmage by knocking down a pass on fourth down, preserving the lead and the win. Coach Cully Welter was very happy for his kids after the game and felt they played a much improved BCC squad very tough.

 

 

Coach Welter anticipates Tolono Unity being back to their traditional ground and pound attack. He says it'll be another challenge for his young team.

 

 

Hear tonight's action at 7 pm on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

 

Illini Prairie

 

Champaign St. Thomas More at Bloomington Central Catholic

Rantoul at Illinois Valley Central (IVC)

St. Joseph-Ogden at Prairie Central

Olympia at Pontiac

 

Apollo

 

Lincoln at Mahomet-Seymour

Mattoon at Effingham

Taylorville at Mt. Zion

 

Big Twelve

 

Bloomington at Normal Community

Champaign Central at Danville

Peoria at Peoria Richwoods

Peoria Notre Dame at Peoria Manual

 

Central State Eight

 

Decatur MacArthur at Chatham-Glenwood

Jacksonville at Springfield Lanphier

Normal U-High at Springfield Southeast

Rochester at Decatur Eisenhower

Springfield at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin

 

Heart of Illinois (Large)

 

Eureka at El Paso-Gridley

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley at Tri-Valley

Dee-Mack at Fieldcrest

 

Heart of Illinois (Small)

 

Ridgeview at Tremont

Heyworth at Fisher

 

Lincoln Prairie

 

Arcola at Sangamon Valley

Argenta-Oreana at Villa Grov-Heritage

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at Cerro Gordo-Bement

Decatur LSA at Blue Ridge

Toledo Cumberland at Oakland Tri-County

 

Mid-Illini

 

Canton at Limestone

East Peoria at Dunlap

Metamora at Morton

Washington at Pekin

 

Sangamo

 

Athens at Pittsfield

New Berlin at Riverton

Petersburg PORTA at Maroa-Forsyth

Pleasant Plains at Williamsville

North Mac at Auburn

 

Non-conference high school football tonight....

 

South Fulton at LeRoy (Sat.)

Normal West at Indianapolis Bishop Chatard

Eastern Illinois at Murray State Saturday

The Eastern Illinois University Panthers will be looking for their first win when they head to Murray, Kentucky to take on Murray State Saturday afternoon.

 

Eastern had its best offensive production of the season on Saturday but two second quarter turnovers cost the Panthers 14 points during a 40-29 loss to Tennessee Tech. 

 

EIU dropped to 0-5 on the season, 0-1 in the OVC.  The Panthers face a Murray State team that is 2-3 on the year, 0-1 in the OVC after a 40-7 road loss at UT Martin.

 

Quarterback Harry Woodbery set a school record for passing attempts in a game as he had 68 passing attempts against Tennessee Tech.  The previous record was 61 by Jimmy Garoppolo during the 2012 season against Illinois State.  Woodbery completed 34-of-68 for 334 yards and two touchdowns.  He did throw one interception.

 

Game time Saturday is 1 pm. Hear all the action on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Illinois State Hosts North Dakota State

With the non-conference portion of the schedule in the books, No. 6 ranked Illinois State now turns its focus to the start of Missouri Valley Football Conference action this weekend, when the Redbirds (3-1) host defending FCS national champion and No. 1 ranked North Dakota State (4-0) at Hancock Stadium on Family Weekend at ISU.

 

NDSU is ranked No. 1 in the STATS and AFCA polls for the 21st consecutive week dating back to the 2017 postseason poll. NDSU has been the top-ranked team in both polls 68 of 120 weeks this decade and No. 1 in at least one of polls for 72 weeks.

 

Safety Michael Tutsie and defensive tackle Cole Karcz each made interceptions in the fourth quarter to help North Dakota State improve to 4-0 on the season and hold off No. 4 UC Davis by a score of 27-16 to close non-conference play two weeks ago. 

 

Brady Davis rose to the challenge and exploded for 419 yards and two scores to help lead the Redbirds to the victory over Northern Arizona. Davis recorded a career-best 419 yards, with 228 of those recorded by wide receiver Andrew Edgar, as the Redbirds racked up 534 yards of total offense to improve to 3-1 on the season. The 419 yards passing were the most for the Redbirds since 2012, when Matt Brown threw for 473 against Eastern Illinois. 

 

Illinois State currently sits at No. 6 in the FCS Coaches Poll and at No. 10 the STATS FCS Top 25. Five MVFC teams are ranked in the polls this week, including North Dakota State (No. 1), South Dakota State (No. 3), the Redbirds (10), Northern Iowa (13) and Youngstown State (17). Indiana State and Southern Illinois are also receiving votes in the polls.

 

Game time Saturday is noon from Hancock Stadium in Normal. 

Bears, Raiders in London For Week 4

The Raiders drafted Kahlil Mack fifth overall in 2014, a round before taking quarterback Derek Carr. The two became tight and vowed to bring Oakland back to respectability after years of losing.

 

They managed to put together a 12-win season in 2016 when Mack won AP Defensive Player of the Year and Carr was an MVP candidate. But Carr broke his leg in the penultimate game of the regular season and Oakland lost in the wild-card round to Houston.

 

The Raiders stumbled to a 6-10 record the following year and Mack then held out of training camp in the first season under coach Jon Gruden while seeking a long-term contract and ultimately was traded to the Bears for a package that included two first-round picks.

 

Now he gets the chance to torment them 13 months after the Raiders traded their most productive draft pick of this century to Chicago following a lengthy contract holdout.

 

With quarterback Mitchell Trubisky unavailable because of a left shoulder injury, Chase Daniel will make his third start in two seasons with Chicago. The 10-year veteran completed 22 of 30 passes for 195 yards and a 10-yard touchdown to Tarik Cohen. Daniel combined to go 53 of 76 with 515 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in two starts last season - a win at Detroit and loss at the New York Giants.

 

The Raiders have a big hole in the middle of their defense after middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict was suspended for the rest of the season for a helmet-to-helmet hit last week against Indianapolis' Jack Doyle. Burfict was brought in for his deep knowledge of coordinator Paul Guenther's defense and had helped the team cut down on communications breakdowns that were too frequent last year. With Burfict gone, Tahir Whitehead will take over as signal caller.

Cardinals Hold Off Braves For NLDS Game 1 Win

Marcell Ozuna and Kolten Wong each hit two-run doubles in the ninth inning as the Cardinals overcame shaky defense and a wild finish to extend Atlanta's postseason misery, holding off the Braves 7-6 in Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Thursday night.

 

The Cardinals fell behind 3-1 - hurt by their normally reliable defense. But Paul Goldschmidt homered in the eighth, sparking a two-run outburst that tied it 3. In the ninth, the Cardinals blew it open against Braves closer Mark Melancon.

 

Dexter Fowler and Tommy Edman singled before Goldschmidt walked on four pitches to load the bases with one out. Melancon got ahead of Ozuna with two quick strikes, only to give up a liner just inside the third-base bag that put St. Louis ahead for the first time.

 

Wong finished off Melancon with another two-run double, this one down the right-field line.

 

Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a two-run homer off Carlos Martinez, and Freddie Freeman added a solo shot. But Martinez got the final two outs to claim a shaky win and put the Cardinals head in the best-of-five series going into Game 2 Friday. St. Louis ace Jack Flaherty goes against Mike Foltynewicz.

Packers Take on Cowboys

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys want to get their offense back to what it was doing before a sputtering loss that slowed their best start in more than a decade.

 

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are looking for a repeat of their best offensive showing - but this time in a win when nearly 500 yards wasn't good enough.

 

The division leaders - visiting Green Bay (3-1) is tied with Chicago atop the NFC North - meet Sunday with the same goal: Answer a loss with a victory so they can still feel the momentum of opening with three straight wins.

 

In a 12-10 loss at New Orleans, the Cowboys (3-1) were held to 257 yards, barely half of what they rolled up in each of their wins while scoring more than 30 points each time.

 

Tight end Jason Witten and running back Ezekiel Elliott had fumbles that helped contribute to the first halftime deficit of the season, and Prescott made a critical mistake taking a sack on the first play of the final drive, when they ran out of time needing only a field goal to win.

 

The Packers could be without top receiver Davante Adams, who had his career-high 180 yards receiving against the Eagles before injuring a toe in the second half.

 

Green Bay's Aaron Jones had his first career 100-yard game in a 35-31 win over the Cowboys as a rookie two years ago, but has averaged 20 yards in two games since going for 116 in Week 2 this year. Like their defense, the Packers have the 26th-ranked rushing offense.

 

Randall Cobb, who spent his first eight seasons in Green Bay, is facing the Packers for the first time after signing with the Cowboys in the offseason. 

 

The Packers are 3-0 against Dallas at AT&T Stadium, with three dramatic victories, starting in 2013 when Rodgers was injured and Matt Flynn led Green Bay's 37-36 win after trailing 26-3 at halftime.

Blackhawks Open Season in Prague

Czech winger Dominik Kubalik has waited six years for a chance to play in the NHL. He never expected his debut would take place at home.

 

The 24-year-old Kubalik is set to play his first game for the Chicago Blackhawks against the Philadelphia Flyers in Prague on Friday in the teams’ season-opener, as part of the NHL’s 2019 Global Series.

 

Having been drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 2013, Kubalik has had to wait until now for a chance to actually play in the North American league and spent last season playing in Switzerland. The Kings shipped him to Chicago for a fifth-round pick in January, setting up a surreal homecoming this week.

 

It’s the third straight year _ and eighth overall _ that the NHL returns to Europe as part of its efforts to grow the local fan base in hockey-mad countries like the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland and others.

 

For the Flyers, it’s their first trip to Europe for a game. Chicago came in 2009 to open the season with a couple of games against the Florida Panthers in the Finnish capital of Helsinki, before going on to lift the Stanley Cup at the end of the season.

Longtime Bulls Announcer Neil Funk Retiring After Season

Chicago Bulls TV play-by-play announcer Neil Funk is retiring at the end of the season.

 

The Bulls said Wednesday that Funk, the voice of five of their six championships, will step down after his 29th season with the team. He is scheduled to work all home games and a reduced schedule on the road.

 

Funk initially joined the Bulls as their radio play-by-play announcer and moved to the TV side. He began his broadcasting career in 1971 calling University of Illinois basketball and football as well as minor league baseball games. He later broadcast Philadelphia 76ers, Kansas City Kings and New Jersey Nets games.

 

Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf says Funk “will be forever linked to three decades of storied Chicago Bulls basketball.”

Cardinals In Postseason For First Time Since 2015

Central Division champion St. Louis (91-71) and East Division champion Atlanta (97-65) have not played since May. The Braves went 4-2 against the Cards, winning both three-game series during the regular season.

 

The teams last met in the playoffs in the 2012 wild-card game, which the Cardinals won. The Braves have lost nine straight playoff rounds, one short of matching the Chicago Cubs' record for futility.

 

Atlanta sends left-hander Dallas Keuchel (8-8, 3.75 ERA) against St. Louis right-hander Miles Mikolas (9-14, 4.16) to begin the best-of-five series.

 

It will be the 11th career postseason appearance for Keuchel, who was expected to fill this role when he was signed as a free agent in June. He went 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA in his previous playoff games with the Houston Astros.

 

Over his past eight starts, Keuchel is 5-3 with a 2.87 ERA, but he lost his final three outings. The primary concern has been home runs; he allowed two long balls in two of his final three starts. He gave up four runs over five innings in his final tune-up on Sept. 27 against the New York Mets.

 

Keuchel did not face the Cardinals this year and is 0-2 with a 10.03 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against St. Louis.

 

Mikolas won 18 games a year ago when the Cardinals missed the playoffs. He was moved into the role as the Game 1 starter when St. Louis used ace Jack Flaherty to clinch the NL Central crown on Sunday.

 

Mikolas is 2-1 with a 3.03 ERA over his last six starts, striking out 35 in 35 2/3 innings. In his last start on Sept. 22 against the Chicago Cubs, Mikolas allowed one run over 7 2/3 innings but did not get a decision.

 

He is 1-2 with a 2.61 in four career appearances (three starts) against Atlanta. He lost his only start against the Braves this season despite allowing only three runs over seven innings on May 24.

 

The Braves are banking that first baseman Freddie Freeman (right elbow) and center fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. (hip) will be back to full strength. Acuna had one at-bat in the final week of the season. Outfielder Ender Inciarte, out since Aug. 17 with a right hamstring issue, has been ruled out.

 

>>Rays Power Past A's

 

Yandy Diaz slugged baseball's lowest spender into a playoff matchup with mighty Houston, Charlie Morton silenced the powerful Athletics on the mound, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat Oakland at its own game with a 5-1 win in the AL wild-card round Wednesday night.

 

After playing only one game since late July because of a foot injury, Diaz hit a leadoff homer and went deep again in the third inning.

 

Avisail Garcia hit a two-run drive in the second, and Morton had all the support he needed as Tampa Bay advanced to face the AL West champion Astros in a best-of-five Division Series.

 

Pham homered in the fifth for the 96-win Rays, who had the smallest payroll in the majors at $66.4 million. And in a playoff meeting between creative, small-budget teams that make the most of limited resources, it was Tampa Bay that came out on top.

 

The A's have lost nine straight winner-take-all games since 2000, going 1-15 with a chance to advance to the next postseason round. Their only win came in 2006 against the Twins before being swept in the AL Championship Series by the Tigers.

 

A year ago in the wild-card game, Oakland's first time back in the playoffs since 2014, the A's fell behind fast and lost 7-2 at Yankee Stadium. They won 97 games again to earn a wild card.

This game had a far different feel in the familiar, friendly confines of the Coliseum, but the A's dug themselves another quick hole.

 

And the visitors were the ones putting on a happy home run show this time. Oakland, which hit a franchise-record 257 homers, is 0-6 in winner-take-all playoff games at home since 2000.

 

Morton, with a career-high 16 wins and his best ERA yet of 3.05 this season, counted on his playoff experience giving him an edge. He won Game 7 of the ALCS and World Series for the Astros in 2017.

 

Morton gave up five hits without an earned run over five innings. He struck out four and walked three in his seventh postseason start and eighth appearance, having spent the last two seasons with Houston.

 

The right-hander walked Mark Canha to load the bases with two outs in the first before retiring Jurickson Profar on a flyball and had already thrown 32 pitches.

 

Morton quickly settled in and once his turn was done, the Rays' shutdown bullpen did the rest.

Game 1 is Friday at Houston, which piled up a major league-best 107 wins this season.

Brooks Koepka Returns to Action After Stem Cell Treatment on Knee

Brooks Koepka spent the majority of his short offseason recovering from stem cell treatment on his left knee.

 

Koepka returns to competition this week in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, giving Las Vegas the No. 1 player in the world for the first time since Greg Norman in 1988 when the tournament was played in the spring.

 

He said after his pro-am round Wednesday that he had the stem cell treatment on his patella on Aug. 25, the day after the PGA Tour season ended at the Tour Championship. He said he was limping for a few days because the treatment was painful, but he was excited about finally feeling whole.

 

The treatment followed a year in which Koepka won three times, including the PGA Championship for his fourth major and his first World Golf Championships title.

 

That makes him the third player from the top 10 in the world to have work done on his knee during the offseason, joining Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods. None was too serious, as Woods plans to return in three weeks at the new tournament in Japan. Johnson is likely to return at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas the first week of December, followed by the Presidents Cup in Australia.

 

With all that, he still managed to have the three victories, lead the PGA Tour money list and join Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth as the only players to finish among the top four in every major. Koepka was runner-up at the Masters and U.S. Open.

 

It just wasn’t good enough to be voted PGA Tour player of the year. That award, a vote of the players, went to Rory McIlroy, whose three victories included The Players Championship and the Tour Championship, which gave him the FedEx Cup for the second time. McIlroy also won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest adjusted scoring average. Still, even McIlroy was surprised he won.

 

Koepka last played Las Vegas in 2017, finishing two shots behind Rod Pampling. He first played in 2014, his first full season on the PGA Tour. At the time, he had played only regular PGA Tour events and was three months away from winning his first one.

Caps Outlast Blues in Season Opener

Jakub Vrana scored at 2:51 of overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 victory over the Stanley Cup champion on Wednesday night in the opener for both teams.

 

Vrana beat Jordan Binnington with a high snap shot to the star corner for his first point in five career games against the Blues. It was just Binnington?s third loss in 17 career home games.

 

Alex Ovechkin and Dmitry Orlov also scored for the Capitals. After allowing two goals on the first three shots he faced, Braden Holtby stopped the final 19 he faced.

 

Sammy Blais and Alex Pietrangelo scored for the Blues, and Binnington made 31 saves.

 

The Blues started their title defense in style with Blais scoring on the first shot of the game just 53 seconds in. David Perron carried the puck below the right circle and feathered a pass between two defenders to setup Blais' one-timer. Ryan O'Reilly got a secondary assist for his 500th career point.

 

Pietrangelo made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 7:55 of the first. Justin Faulk, playing in his first game for the Blues, set up the one-timer.

 

Ovechkin got the Capitals on the board with 4:23 left in the first. He entered the Blues' zone, made a nifty move between three defenders and beat Binnington with a wrist shot.

 

Orlov tied it on a power play with 7:32 left in the second. He blasted a slap shot from above the right circle directly off a faceoff.

 

The Blues hosts Dallas on Saturday night.

Cubs To Consider Loretta, Venable in Coaching Search

Cubs coaches Mark Loretta and Will Venable are being considered for the team’s managerial opening.

 

Loretta and Venable join David Ross as the club’s only internal candidates to replace Joe Maddon, whose contract expired after the Cubs missed the playoffs this year for the first time since 2014.

 

The 48-year-old Loretta was Maddon’s bench coach this year after spending the previous nine seasons in San Diego’s front office. He hit .295 in 15 years in the majors with Milwaukee, Houston, San Diego, Boston and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

 

Venable has been the Cubs’ first base coach for the past two seasons. He also worked in Chicago’s front office before moving to the coaching staff.

 

The 36-year-old Venable played in the majors for nine years, batting .249 with 81 homers.

 

The team confirmed Tuesday that Loretta and Venable are being considered for the job. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein said Monday that Ross, a former major league catcher who works in Chicago’s front office, is a possibility.

 

There has been no word on the external candidates for the position. Epstein said Monday that at least one person who works for a playoff team is on their broad list.

Nationals Outlast Brewers

Juan Soto delivered a bases-loaded single against Milwaukee closer Josh Hader that scored three runs with two outs in the eighth inning, thanks in part to an error by rookie outfielder Trent Grisham, and the Nationals came back to beat the Brewers 4-3 in the NL wild-card game Tuesday night.

 

It was Ryan Zimmerman's broken-bat bloop single as a pinch hitter that helped load the bases in the eighth off Hader, who took the loss.

 

Hader hit another pinch hitter, Michael A. Taylor, a ruling that stood up when the Brewers challenged, according to Major League Baseball, because there wasn't ''clear and convincing evidence to overturn the call.''

 

Trent Grisham, who has appeared in only 51 games in the majors and took over in right after reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich was lost for the season three weeks ago with a broken kneecap, said the ball ''came in with a little topspin, took a funny hop.''

 

After Max Scherzer fell behind 3-0 by giving up homers to Yasmani Grandal in the first and Eric Thames in the second, Strasburg replaced him in the sixth and threw three scoreless innings to earn the win in the first relief appearance of his major league career, regular season or playoffs.

 

Daniel Hudson pitched the ninth for the save, getting Ben Gamel to fly out to the warning track in center with a man on to end it.

 

The Nationals carry a nine-game winning streak into their best-of-five NL Division Series against the league-best Dodgers. 

 

Left-hander Patrick Corbin will start Game 1 for the Nationals against the Dodgers, who eliminated Washington in Game 5 of their 2016 NLDS. LA won the teams' season series this year 4-3.

Cardinals To Go With Mikolas in NLDS Game 1

The starting pitchers are set for the NL Division Series opener between the Cardinals and Braves in Atlanta on Thursday. Veteran left-hander Dallas Keuchel will face St. Louis right-hander Miles Mikolas.

 

Keuchel, who has made nine career postseason starts, went 8-8 with a 3.75 ERA in 19 starts after signing a one-year deal with Atlanta in June. He will pitch against the Cardinals for the first time since 2016.

 

Mikolas was 9-14 with a 4.17 ERA in 32 starts for the Cardinals. He will make his playoff debut.

 

>>A's Turn to Manaea, Rays Morton for AL Wild Card Game

 

Oakland tabbed left-hander Sean Manaea (4-0, 1.21 ERA) to start the AL wild-card game against Tampa Bay. 

 

The 27-year-old Manaea was sidelined last year when the Athletics lost the wild-card game to the Yankees, and missed most of this season following shoulder surgery. He returned in September and has been sharp over five starts. 

 

He’ll start opposite Rays right-hander Charlie Morton (16-6, 3.05) — no openers for either of these forward-thinking clubs — although neither manager will shy away from an early hook.

MLB: Cubs To Consider Ross; NL Wild Card Tonight

>>>> Cubs' Theo Epstein says David Ross will be considered for manager job: 'He's one of many candidates'

 

Ross, a member of the 2016 World Series team, is beloved by the Cubs' clubhouse
 
Before the season finale on Sunday, the Chicago Cubs announced that manager Joe Maddon would not return next year. The news was immediately followed with rumors and speculation about Maddon's next move, as well as the best candidates to be his successor in Chicago. One candidate garnering a lot of buzz as of late is former Cubs catcher David Ross. 

 

On Monday, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein confirmed that Ross will be considered as a candidate for the team's open managerial position.

 

"He's one of many candidates," Epstein said. 

 

The Cubs finished the 2019 regular season with a record of 84-78, and missed the postseason for the first time since 2014.

 

 

>>> NL Wild Card Tonight: Milwaukee @ Washington

NFL: Bears Won't Address Smith Absence, Prep For Raiders In London

>>>> Matt Nagy dodges questions about Roquan Smith's mysterious absence, won't say if he'll travel with Bears to London

 

The morning after the Bears' dominant win over the Vikings brought zero clarity to the situation that sidelined second-year inside linebacker Roquan Smith on Sunday. 

 

After practicing throughout the week, the Bears made Smith a surprising inactive just before kickoff on Sunday due to what the team called "personal reasons." The Bears survived without Smith, who was on the sidelines, in the middle of their defense, with backup inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski playing a starring role in Smith's place, but if they're going to reach the destination they're aiming for a year after suffering a devastating playoff loss, they'll need Smith on the field alongside fellow inside linebacker Danny Trevathan.

 

And that brings us to Monday morning, when Bears coach Matt Nagy met with members of the media. Sure enough, the topic of Smith's absence popped up more than once. On every occasion -- 12 to be exact, according to ESPN's Jeff Dickerson -- Nagy declined to provide any clarity to the situation. Every question, including if Smith will travel with the rest of the team to London for their Week 5 date with the Raiders, was met with some version of "personal issue."

 

"It's completely a personal issue," Nagy said, per ESPN. "I'm not going to answer any more about it. That's where it's at right now. I understand where you all are coming from, but out of respect to this right now, I just want to leave it at that."

 

In terms of football, though, Smith's absence is concerning for the Bears. The No. 8 pick in last year's draft, Smith racked up 121 total tackles, five sacks, five passes defended, and an interception during his rookie season. Through the first three weeks of this season, he generated 24 total tackles. While Kwiatkoski filled in admirably on Sunday with nine total tackles, two of which went for a loss, and one sack, he lacks the speed and athleticism that makes Smith one of the Bears' best defensive players. 

 

Fortunately for the banged up, but still 3-1 Bears, who also lost starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky to a serious shoulder injury early on Sunday, the schedule is kind to them. Next up are the Raiders in London followed by their Week 6 bye. Looming on the other side of the bye are the 3-1 Saints who have gone 2-0 without Drew Brees, but that game won't come for another three weeks, giving Smith time to make his way back to the team.
 

NFL: Steelers Top Bengals On MNF; Falcons & Eagles Trade

>>>> Pittsburgh rides ground game, defense in 27-3 rout of hapless rivals

 

The Steelers were able to get their first win of the season and the first win of the Mason Rudolph era on Monday night, taking down the Bengals (0-4) at Heinz Field, 27-3. 

 

Both clubs came out of the gate slow, but Pittsburgh was able to gain some traction offensively thanks large in part to their ground game featuring James Conner and Jaylen Samuel. Rudolph, meanwhile, was an efficient 24 of 28 for 229 yards and two touchdowns on the night as he showed flashes of being a possible heir to Ben Roethlisberger's throne. 

 

The Bengals simply had no answer for Pittsburgh's front seven as they tormented Andy Dalton throughout the course of the night and is a main reason why Cincy is still searching for their first win of 2019. 

 

>>>> Eagles, Falcons swap defensive players, late-round picks in 2020 NFL Draft

 

The Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons announced a trade Monday evening. The Eagles acquired linebacker Duke Riley and a 2020 sixth-round NFL Draft pick in exchange for safety Johnathan Cyprien and a 2020 seventh-round pick.

Archives:

2024-03 | 2024-02 | 2024-01 | 2023-12 | 2023-11 | 2023-10 | 2023-09 | 2023-08 | 2023-07 | 2023-06 | 2023-05 | 2023-04 | 2023-03 | 2023-02 | 2023-01 | 2022-12 | 2022-11 | 2022-10 | 2022-09 | 2022-08 | 2022-07 | 2022-06 | 2022-05 | 2022-04 | 2022-03 | 2022-02 | 2022-01 | 2021-12 | 2021-11 | 2021-10 | 2021-09 | 2021-08 | 2021-07 | 2021-06 | 2021-05 | 2021-04 | 2021-03 | 2021-02 | 2021-01 | 2020-12 | 2020-11 | 2020-10 | 2020-09 | 2020-08 | 2020-07 | 2020-06 | 2020-05 | 2020-04 | 2020-03 | 2020-02 | 2020-01 | 2019-12 | 2019-11 | 2019-10 | 2019-09 | 2019-08 | 2019-07 | 2019-06 | 2019-05 | 2019-04 | 2019-03 | 2019-02 | 2019-01 | 2018-12 | 2018-11 | 2018-10 | 2018-09 | 2018-08 | 2018-07 | 2018-06 | 2018-05 | 2018-04 | 2018-03 | 2018-02 | 2018-01 | 2017-12 | 2017-11 | 2017-10 | 2017-09 | 2017-08 | 2017-07 | 2017-06 | 2017-05 | 2017-04 | 2017-03 | 2017-02 | 2017-01 | 2016-12 | 2016-11 | 2016-10 | 2016-09 | 2016-08 | 2016-07 | 2016-06 | 2016-05 | 2016-04 | 2016-03 | 2016-02 | 2016-01

Townhall Top of the Hour News

Local Weather - Sponsored By:

CLINTON WEATHER

Local News

DeWittDN on Facebook