Sports

  • Sports briefs

    Morris Warriors to hold sign-up for football9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, the Morris Warriors youth footbal ...
    March 11, 2014 - 8:45 pm

  • Johnson: Newark grad Anderson feeling the ‘Madness’

    If you think you’re excited for the start of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, imagine how the residents of Newark who know Kyle Anderson are feel ...
    March 11, 2014 - 8:42 pm

  • Jurasits named unanimous All-NIB12E girls selection

    Bailey seemed to be the key name in regards to the Northern Illinois Big 12 girls basketball teams this winter.
    March 11, 2014 - 8:31 pm

  • Thin depth at center concerning for Hawks

    Hockey players are going to get hit, and they’re going to be slow to get up every once in a while. It happens often and to everyone.
    March 10, 2014 - 9:09 pm

  • Newark wins league title, but Serena, H-BR, IC win regionals

    Two post players from Newark, one a freshman and the other a senior, garnered All-Little Ten Conference girls basketball honors in recent days, the le ...
    March 10, 2014 - 8:59 pm

  • Morris boys basketball happy with results, goals achieved

    FAIRBURY – This is the 17th time Morris won at least 17 varsity games in a boys basketball season, per incomplete records on the IHSA website.
    March 10, 2014 - 8:54 pm

  • Question & Answer with Morris basketball/baseball player Ricky Pelnarsh

    With basketball season in the later stages of the season and, even though the ground is still full of snow, baseball season is also upon us. The first ...
    March 7, 2014 - 9:44 pm

  • Johnson: Newman resumes role of roadblock to Irish

    MANLIUS – Sterling Newman Central Catholic is the new Minonk Fieldcrest or, if you’d rather, the new Varna Midland.
    March 7, 2014 - 9:47 pm

  • Morris falls in heartbreaker

    FAIRBURY – For the second time in three years, Pontiac upset a top-seeded Morris team at a Class 3A boys basketball regional, winning 48-45 Friday at ...
    March 7, 2014 - 9:42 pm

  • Rogers: My driveway would make a good Olympic bobsled course

    I’ll be completely honest with you. Sometimes, it gets hard to think up new ideas to write about each week. This time of year is even more challenging ...
    March 6, 2014 - 8:49 pm

  • Minooka’s Laczynski headed to Ohio State

    Ohio State University haswon 88 national championships in 15 different sports. Ten different OSU men’s varsity sports programs own national titles.
    March 6, 2014 - 8:41 pm

  • Johnson: Successful seniors saying goodbye in Coal City

    FAIRBURY – Never has a prep coach told me – on the record, anyway – he or she is happy to lose a group of seniors.
    March 7, 2014 - 9:23 am

  • Solid Pontiac run ousts Coal City from regional action

    FAIRBURY – The records and the seeds portrayed Coal City as the favorite over Pontiac going into Tuesday’s semifinal game at the Class 3A Prairie Cent ...
    March 5, 2014 - 9:42 pm

  • Minooka hoops falls short of postseason hopes

    BLUE ISLAND – It was not the ending the Minooka boys basketball team was hoping for.Playing chase to ...
    March 6, 2014 - 8:55 pm

  • Seneca ends season in loss to Newman Central Catholic

    MANLIUS – Seneca’s second straight Class 2A boys basketball regional championship resulted in a second straight sectional semifinal loss to Sterling N ...
    March 5, 2014 - 9:40 pm

  • Coal City boys hoops falls in regional semifinal

    FAIRBURY – The records and the seeds portrayed Coal City as the favorite over Pontiac going into Tuesday's semifinal game at the Class 3A Prairie Cent ...
    March 4, 2014 - 11:01 pm

  • Coal City girls hoops heads up All I-8 class

    The Interstate Eight Conference recently announced its girls All-Conference team, as well as the senior All-Star nominations. Coal City had three girl ...
    March 4, 2014 - 9:56 pm

  • Struggling offense holds Minooka back

    BLUE ISLAND – For the Minooka boys basketball team the shots were just not falling Tuesday night. Playing Oak Forest at the Class 4A Eisenhower Region ...
    March 4, 2014 - 9:47 pm

  • Morris takes Prarie Central with balanced attack

    FAIRBURY – Basketball teams aspire to be figuratively on fire during postseason basketball games. Morris brought real fire into the equation as it pre ...
    March 4, 2014 - 9:25 pm

  • Minooka boys basketball opens postseason with strong win

    BLUE ISLAND — For the Minooka boys basketball team, the postseason couldn't possibly have gotten off to a better start. The Indians bolted out to a 14 ...
    March 5, 2014 - 4:32 pm

  • Carey opposes new rule proposal

    DeKALB – If college football’s 10-second proposal is approved Thursday, there could be some significant change to the game.
    March 3, 2014 - 9:35 pm

  • Blumberg right to expect the best of his team right now

    Before the four-game slide on which it will enter the postseason tonight, Morris was winning at a higher rate than I’d ever seen it win in boys basket ...
    March 3, 2014 - 9:15 pm

  • Reed-Custer wins Class 2A Regional

    The Reed-Custer boys basketball team won the Class 2A Wilmington Regional on Friday, knocking off Beecher, 92-63.
    March 3, 2014 - 9:07 pm

  • Seneca boys aim for success at sectional

    PRINCETON – Seneca’s 24-5 record and Princeton Regional title are evidence that the Fighting Irish have fewer flaws than a typical Class 2A boys baske ...
    March 3, 2014 - 9:04 pm

  • Smith: Area wrestlers well represented at state this year

    So, I never could find a way to work it in before, but Coal City junior 113-pound wrestler Cody Minnick was on the cover of the IHSA state wrestling p ...
    March 3, 2014 - 2:16 pm

  • Seneca takes Bureau Valley after impressive 1st half

    PRINCETON – A nearly perfect first half and a very imperfect second equated to a second straight boys basketball regional championship for Seneca on F ...
    Feb. 28, 2014 - 10:23 pm

  • Question & Answer with Morris forward Tanner Sampson

    MORRIS – Tanner Sampson leads the Morris varsity boys basketball team in no major statistical categories this season, but he has contributed in plenty ...
    Feb. 28, 2014 - 10:46 pm

  • Mooseheart boys survive Newark’s stall tactics

    SOMONAUK – Newark senior guard Grant Riehle-Moeller made a running layup to beat the buzzer at the end of the first quarter, and the Norsemen fans fin ...
    Feb. 28, 2014 - 10:22 pm

  • Morris falls to Sycamore, gets title share

    SYCAMORE – For 32 minutes Morris couldn’t figure out Sycamore’s 2-3 zone.The Redskins, bothered all ...
    Feb. 28, 2014 - 10:21 pm

  • Minooka hopes defense, confidence leads to victory

    CHANNAHON – Following its game Jan. 10, Minooka seemed destined for much worse than the No. 10 seed in the 23-team Class 4A Thornton Boys Basketball S ...
    Feb. 27, 2014 - 9:39 pm

  • Coal City, Morris favorites to win regional

    The four games at the 2013 Class 3A Herscher Boys Basketball Regional were decided by a total of 15 points. Three were decided by three points or fewe ...
    Feb. 27, 2014 - 9:26 pm

  • Johnson: Morris boys hoops in line for its best season

    MORRIS – Morris has already matched its second highest single-season boys basketball win total since 1993. It will at least share its first-ever North ...
    Feb. 27, 2014 - 9:33 pm

  • Second half surge drives Seneca to advance to regional championship

    PRINCETON – Sometimes it takes a little bit of time to loosen up at the start of the postseason. Take a look at the Seneca boys basketball team as a c ...
    Feb. 26, 2014 - 9:26 pm

  • Smith: No lack of storylines on Saturday at IHSA State Wrestling championships

    Considering that the Morris Daily Herald area had four wrestlers in the state finals Saturday, you might find it as no surprise that there were volume ...
    Feb. 26, 2014 - 9:54 pm

  • Top-seeded St. Anne dominates GSW in regional

    GARDNER – Gardner-South Wilmington may have been the second-best boys basketball team in the River Valley Conference this season, but the champion sho ...
    Feb. 26, 2014 - 9:52 pm

  • Johnson: Remaining winter sports schedule is intriguing

    It’s rare that, by Feb. 23, our winter prep sports teams are done playing, with the exception of those in the sport (boys basketball) whose postseason ...
    Feb. 25, 2014 - 10:53 pm

  • Gardner-South Wilmington bounces back from 2-24 season

    GARDNER – The senior class at Gardner-South Wilmington High School has watched the boys basketball program bounce between some high highs and some low ...
    Feb. 25, 2014 - 9:45 pm

  • Morris boys basketball team keeps it close, but falls to Ottawa

    MORRIS – For the Morris boys basketball team on Tuesday night, its task was simple. Stop a two game losing streak against Ottawa in the Northern Illin ...
    Feb. 25, 2014 - 10:46 pm

  • Smith: Minnick beats two-time champ to get to top of podium

    CHAMPAIGN — Coal City junior wrestler Cody Minnick was officially the first state champion from the area on Saturday. Wrestling at 113 pounds, Minnick ...
    Feb. 24, 2014 - 10:47 pm

  • Prep roundup: Minooka bowlers 5th at state

    ROCKFORD – Minooka finished fifth with a 12-game total of 12,018, for an average of 200.3 per game per bowler, at the girls bowling state final tourna ...
    Feb. 24, 2014 - 9:47 pm

  • Morris' Baldridge wins IHSA wrestling individual championship

    CHAMPAIGN – For just the second time in Morris Community High School wrestling history, the Redskins have a state champion wrestler who doesn’t have t ...
    Feb. 25, 2014 - 9:40 pm

  • Panthers prevail in opening round of own regional

    GARDNER — Morgan Park Academy may have made the partisan crowd nervous a few times, but Gardner-South Wilmington pulled away for good in the fourth qu ...
    Feb. 25, 2014 - 10:44 am

  • Baldridge, Minnick capture state wrestling champions

    CHAMPAIGN — For the first time since 2006, the Morris Community High School has a state wrestling champion. Kenny Baldridge became the first titleist ...
    Feb. 22, 2014 - 8:55 pm

  • Question & Answer with Morris wrestler Kenny Baldridge

    Before heading down to the IHSA State Wrestling Class 2A Finals for a third straight year, Morris 132-pound senior Kenny Baldridge already knew what t ...
    Feb. 21, 2014 - 11:50 pm

  • Saturday Sentinel: Foul trouble can present problems for coaches at this time of year

    In the past nine days, three area girls basketball teams had pivotal players face foul trouble during the games in which they were eliminated from the ...
    Feb. 21, 2014 - 11:35 pm

  • Prep roundup: Seven area wrestlers still alive at state

    CHAMPAIGN – At press time, semifinal winners at the IHSA state wrestling finals for the MDH area include: Cody Minnick of Coal City, Corey Jurzak of C ...
    Feb. 21, 2014 - 11:50 pm

  • Plainfield Central's Velasquez beats buzzer, Minooka boys basketball

    CHANNAHON – With about seven seconds left Friday and his boys basketball team down, 47-46, to Minooka, Plainfield Central’s Logan Velasquez did what h ...
    Feb. 21, 2014 - 11:32 pm

  • Morris boys basketball falls short against Kaneland

    MORRIS – Kaneland’s status as a thorn in the side of Morris since the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference formed might have reached a new depth Friday ...
    Feb. 21, 2014 - 11:33 pm

  • Minooka holds early lead to beat Normal West in regional play

    NORMAL — For the Minooka girls basketball team, it could not have possibly gotten off to a much better start.
    Feb. 20, 2014 - 9:30 pm

  • Morris swimmers eying Metea sectional

    MORRIS – Standing between Morris and its first boys swimming and diving state final qualifier since 2004 is what coach Andrew Porth calls the toughest ...
    Feb. 20, 2014 - 8:40 pm

  • Seneca beats Lisle in boys hoops to lock up league title

    In area boys basketball action in recent days, Seneca defeated Lisle to claim sole possession of the Interstate Eight Conference title.
    Feb. 20, 2014 - 8:32 pm

  • Rogers: Late winter blues have me thinking warm thoughts

    Sometimes the slightest things can fire off new thoughts in our minds; thoughts that we anxiously await. Thoughts that soon dominate our reality and m ...
    Feb. 20, 2014 - 8:32 pm

  • Smith: Loss to Streator has Morris hoops fans scratching their heads

    STREATOR – Considering how well the Morris boys basketball team has been playing this winter, and considering the fact that Streator entered Tuesday’s ...
    Feb. 20, 2014 - 8:46 pm

  • Indians once again seeking bowling state hardware

    JOLIET – Emily Koulis will make Minooka girls bowling history Friday when she competes in her fourth state final tournament as part of a Minooka team.
    Feb. 19, 2014 - 8:31 pm

  • Breaking down the area wrestler's state matchups

    Seven area wrestlers will be heading to the annual IHSA individual wrestling state finals in a return appearance there. Three are from Coal City, two ...
    Feb. 21, 2014 - 1:46 pm

  • Morris' Winter no stranger to hard work

    MORRIS – Nothing in Jessica Winter’s bowling career comes close, she said, to finding out she had advanced individually out of the Moline Sectional la ...
    Feb. 19, 2014 - 8:31 pm

  • Johnson: Halliday leads Coal City by example

    MORRIS – As far as coach Brad Schmitt knows, Emily Halliday had the greatest game, in terms of points scored, in Coal City girls basketball history Tu ...
    Feb. 19, 2014 - 8:33 pm

  • Morris basketball drops decision at Streator

    STREATOR — For the Morris boys basketball team, the first shoe came off on Tuesday at Streator right from the opening tipoff. The second one fell at t ...
    Feb. 18, 2014 - 10:38 pm

  • Coal City's season ends at the hand of Providence

    MORRIS – There was yet another delay, but Coal City and Providence finally played girls basketball for the first time during the 2013-14 season Tuesda ...
    Feb. 18, 2014 - 10:07 pm

  • Grade school roundup: MVK, Coal City third at IVC Tournament

    The Mazon-Verona-Kinsman Lady Mavericks eighth-grade girls volleyball team finished third Saturday at the Illinois Valley Conference West Tournament, ...
    Feb. 18, 2014 - 9:22 pm

  • Draft analysts high on Ward, split on Lynch as NFL quarterback

    Mel Kiper Jr. and Mike Mayock think highly of Jimmie Ward.Neither will be making selections for any ...
    Feb. 18, 2014 - 9:11 pm

  • Morris girls basketball program making strides

    MORRIS – Monday’s 56-53 regional loss to Lincoln-Way West was, in many ways, representative of the way the entire season played out for the Morris gir ...
    Feb. 18, 2014 - 9:17 pm

  • Allbert, Baldridge have big hopes as state approaches

    MORRIS – Morris senior Kenny Baldridge is 76-3 over the last two seasons and 112-10 over the last three. He is about to head to the State Farm Center ...
    Feb. 18, 2014 - 9:10 pm

  • Patterson leads Morris boys past Sycamore

    MORRIS – Austin Patterson was hot.And his teammates got him the ball.It was a fairly simple formula, ...
    Feb. 17, 2014 - 9:12 pm

  • Prep roundup: Seneca wrestlers get two to state

    BYRON – Seneca wrestlers Sage Friese and Tommy Lovett made the state cut Saturday at the Class 1A Byron Sectional, each finishing second on the day.
    Feb. 18, 2014 - 10:09 pm

  • Five Coal City wrestlers qualify for sate

    PLANO – Coal City’s success at lower weights has been a recurring theme in the past few years, and that may never have been more evident than Saturday ...
    Feb. 17, 2014 - 9:12 pm

  • Allbert makes cut, literally, gets to state meet with Baldridge

    PONTIAC – For the four Morris wrestlers, who took part in the Class 2A Pontiac Sectional this past weekend, each one took away something from the expe ...
    Feb. 17, 2014 - 9:17 pm

  • Minooka wrestling gets three out at Normal West Sectional

    NORMAL – Minooka’s wrestling team had three different state tournament success stories from Saturday’s Class 3A Normal West Sectional.
    Feb. 17, 2014 - 9:12 pm

  • Lincoln-Way West ends Morris' season with comeback win

    MORRIS – Morris led for more than three full quarters Monday, but Lincoln-Way West rallied to win 56-53 at the Class 3A Morris girls basketball Region ...
    Feb. 17, 2014 - 9:12 pm

  • Morris beats Sycamore, takes over NIB12E lead

    MORRIS — Austin Patterson was hot. And his teammates got him the ball.   It was a fairly simple for ...
    Feb. 16, 2014 - 9:23 am

  • Two Morris wrestlers advance to state

    PONTIAC – For the four Morris wrestlers who took part in the Class 2A Pontiac Sectional this past w ...
    Feb. 17, 2014 - 6:19 pm

  • Five Coalers advance, four are champions at Plano

    PLANO — Coal City had four champions, a total second only to the host school, at the Class 1A Plano Wrestling Sectional Saturday.
    Feb. 15, 2014 - 5:36 pm

  • Coal City prepared to play Class 3A teams in regional

    COAL CITY – Saying the Coal City girls basketball team primarily played small schools in regular-season competition is inaccurate. Of its 23 different ...
    Feb. 14, 2014 - 9:54 pm

  • Coal City senior having successful final season

    COAL CITY – Winning often – and running into highly-touted private-school competition in the postseason – is becoming a theme for Emily Halliday’s tea ...
    Feb. 14, 2014 - 9:54 pm

  • Tough competition awaits Morris in regional play

    A 52-42 loss to DeKalb on Jan. 7 dropped the Morris girls basketball team, which was then 7-8, below .500 for the first time this season.
    Feb. 14, 2014 - 9:55 pm

  • Rogers: Bassmaster Classic is the Super Bowl of competitive fishing

    Every sport has its pinnacle event. An event that drives an industry and fuels passion for the sport at the grassroots level. Football has the Super B ...
    Feb. 14, 2014 - 10:04 pm

  • Smith: Two Morris senior wrestlers fulfilling a dream

    A couple of weeks ago, the Morris wrestling team celebrated its senior night. It was a crazy night for me and I couldn’t be there, but before the even ...
    Feb. 14, 2014 - 10:01 pm

  • Morris playmakers help get road win over DeKalb

    DeKALB – Whenever Morris needed a play to stay in control of Friday’s conference game against DeKalb, one of the Redskins made it.
    Feb. 14, 2014 - 10:27 pm

  • Aurora Christian claims regional title over Seneca

    OTTAWA – Aurora Christian's second straight and second-ever girls basketball regional championship blocked Seneca from its 24th on Thursday in a 53-49 ...
    Feb. 14, 2014 - 10:04 pm

  • Serena trumps Newark for regional title in rivalry game

    DWIGHT – One of the subtle nuances of playing in regional basketball action is that two neighboring rivals may have to take a trip to play each other ...
    Feb. 13, 2014 - 9:15 pm

  • Johnson: I-8 Coaches vs. Cancer night proves to be ultimate winner

    COAL CITY – Last Friday, Seneca defeated Coal City, 56-39, reversing a previous tournament result and keeping the Fighting Irish unbeaten in Interstat ...
    Feb. 12, 2014 - 9:19 pm

  • Coal City, Seneca boys hoops teams collect wins Tuesday

    In area boys basketball action Tuesday, Coal City defeated Lisle, 54-41, and Seneca defeated Westmont, 57-47, while earlier Herscher defeated Reed-Cus ...
    Feb. 12, 2014 - 9:09 pm

  • Newark gets carbon copy win over GSW

    DWIGHT – Earlier this season, the Gardner-South Wilmington and Newark girls basketball teams met with the Lady Norse scoring a 48-point victory (62-14 ...
    Feb. 12, 2014 - 9:08 pm

  • The Irish's fast start helps advance them to regional title game

    OTTAWA – Seneca parlayed a fast start into a 63-35 defeat of Reed-Custer in Wednesday's first semifinal game at the girls basketball Class 2A Marquett ...
    Feb. 13, 2014 - 10:33 am

  • Eight Coal City, three Seneca wrestlers make regional cut

    Eight wrestlers from Coal City and three from Seneca advanced out of regional action over the weekend, with the Coalers claiming four champions and th ...
    Feb. 11, 2014 - 9:23 pm

  • Ball goes Minooka's way in win over Plainfield South

    MINOOKA – Late in Tuesday’s girls basketball Suburban Prairie Conference season finale between visiting Plainfield South and Minooka, a play happened ...
    Feb. 11, 2014 - 9:29 pm

  • Minooka, Morris girls bowling finish 1-2 at Joliet West Regional

    JOLIET – Minooka and Morris form quite the rivalry in athletic competition, never any more passionate than in girls bowling.
    Feb. 10, 2014 - 9:15 pm

  • Morris competitive cheer team second at state

    BLOOMINGTON – What a way to go.Coaching in what likely is her last state final competitive cheerlead ...
    Feb. 11, 2014 - 9:30 pm

  • Four wrestlers advance to sectionals for Morris

    LASALLE – Although Morris wrestling coach Jon Lanning had hoped for six sectional qualifiers, there was plenty to like with the four who advanced.
    Feb. 10, 2014 - 9:15 pm

  • GSW rolls past Tri-point; will face Newark in semifinals

    DWIGHT – Gardner-South Wilmington rolled past a Tri-Point team with which it split during the regular season, winning 61-30 Monday night at the Class ...
    Feb. 11, 2014 - 10:23 am

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