Winning the water fights takes talent, strategy

The strategy that is needed to win the water fights during the Grundy County Corn Festival is not one that winning firefighters from Wilmington were willing to share. “I can't tell you how,” said Captain Todd Friddle. “Let's just say we watched our dad's do it and we learned.” Friddle is so secretive about his strategy that he obviously didn't share it with members of the Minooka Fire Department, where he holds a full-time firefighting position. Minooka's two teams dropped earlier than the final four, which pitted Sandwich against Mazon and Wilmington against Big Rock. Wilmington took first place, Big Rock second and Sandwich third. Friddle said the competition is much harder than people realize and it really drains the energy of the te