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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Central Illinois:

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

Illini Prairie:

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

8 Man Football:

Milford 46, Farmer City Blue Ridge 44

Apollo:

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

Big 12:

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

Central State 8:

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

Heart of Illinois:

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

Lincoln Prairie:

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

Non-conference:

Carterville 32, St. Joseph-Ogden 28

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Meridian is 1-3 on the season.

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

Central Illinois Conference matchups tonight

Central A & M at Tuscola

Shelbyville at Warrensburg-Latham

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

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

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

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

Illini Prairie Conference matchups tonight

Prairie Central at Illinois Valley Central

Paxton-Buckley-Loda at Rantoul

Tolono Unity at Bloomington Central Catholic

8-man football 

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

Blue Ridge at Milford 

St. Anne vs. Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland 

Apollo

Effingham at Charleston

Mattoon at Mt. Zion

Taylorville at Mahomet-Seymour

Big Twelve

Bloomington at Normal Community

Champaign Centennial at Danville 

Champaign Central at Urbana 

Normal West at Peoria Richwoods

Peoria at Peoria Manual

Central State Eight

Chatham-Glenwood at Decatur MacArthur

Decatur Eisenhower at Rochester

Lincoln at Springfield Southeast

Normal U-High at Springfield Lanphier

Springfield at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin

Heart of Illinois 

El Paso-Gridley at Tri-Valley

Dee-Mack at Eureka

Tremont vs. Ridgeview-Lexington 

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley at Fisher

Heyworth at Fieldcrest

Lincoln Prairie

Arthur -Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at Toledo-Cumberland

Sangamon Valley at Argenta-Oreana

Oakland Tri-County at Nokomis

Sullivan-Okaw Valley at Cerro Gordo-Bement

Villa Grove at Arcola

Mid-Illini

Dunlap at East Peoria

Metamora at Canton

Morton at Pekin

Washington at Limestone

Non-conference football tonight

Bridgeport Red Hill at LeRoy (Sat.)

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

Peoria Notre Dame at Jacksonville (H.S.)

Peoria Quest Charter Academy at South Beloit

St. Joseph-Ogden at Carterville

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game tims is 2:30 pm Saturday in Champaign.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game time is noon Saturday afternoon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game time is 3:25 pm Sunday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game time is noon Sunday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The victory was Allgaier’s third of the season. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Milwaukee has won 21 of its last 30 games.

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

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

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

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

Goldschmidt hit an RBI single in the first.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Then the Pirates offense broke out.

Steele has allowed 12 runs in his last two outings.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blue Ridge falls to 3-14 overall.