Bingo Magic Sports

09/03/2026

LOOKING AT WEEK 3 FOOTBALL

By Erich Murphy
Bingo Magic Sports

Dwight and Prairie Central will be looking to win for the second straight week while El Paso-Gridley takes aim at its third triumph. Pontiac and Monmouth-Roseville are looking for their respective first wins as the football season enters Week 3.

EPG (2-0) vs. Ridgeview-Lexington (0-2)
The Minutemen are hitting the road for the first time this season. The challenge will be huge as they march into Titan territory.

R-L has lost to LeRoy and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, both teams are perennial powers who each have lost to Tri-Valley. Both losses for the Minutemen were a one-touchdown difference. This week’s challenge is even greater.

El Paso-Gridley opened up with a win over Class 1A state title hopeful Stockton, and then hit to road to rout Class 4A opponent Charleston. To say the Titans are battle tested is an understatement.

EPG will ride the arm and legs of Adams — quarterback Owen Adams and running back Aaden Adams. There is the speed factor in brothers Jayvion and Cha’von Maxon.

Speed and aggressiveness is also a key factor for the EPG defense.

Dwight (1-1) at Dee-Mack (0-2)
The Trojans posted their first win of the season with a 12-6 decision over Chicago Christian last week. Quarterback Collin Bachand scored on a 23-yard run and threw a scoring strike to Trevor Jensen that covered 5 yards for the DTHS scoring.

Head coach Luke Standiford noted the game wasn’t as close as the final.

Dwight will be heading to Mackinaw to see the Dee-Mack Chiefs, who have yet to win. The Chiefs have lost to Central A&M and Warrensburg-Latham. Dee-Mack will also be playing its first home game.

Dwight’s loss came to highly regarded Forreston in Week 1.

Prairie Central (1-1) vs. St. Teresa (2-0)
The Bulldogs of St. Teresa are typically a tough matchup. With not all the Decatur public schools fielding football, the private school may have picked up some quality athletes.

St. Teresa is an independent with its wins coming against Quincy (Notre Dame) and Reed-Custer. The Bulldogs will face three schools from the Illini Prairie.

The Hawks are going off a huge win over rival Pontiac.A defense stop late sealed the 20-16 victory. Prairie Central will be looking to improve on its offensive attack, though quarterback Colin Kilgus and back AJ Basham combined for more than 200 rushing yards. The Hawks’ defense was solid against the run last week, but it did face some problems with the passing game.

Pontiac (0-2) vs. PBL (0-2)
The Indians are certainly looking at game they feel could/should win. There have been improvements in the Tribe’s play this season, but the defense has still given up big plays at key times and the offense has been a bit inconsistent.

Some of the offensive issues can be related to quarterback Josh Hartke’s injury problems. He started both games this season but has been knocked out of both. Corban Dyck has been a capable backup.

Another problem has been not getting the running game in gear. Jayden Reed is one of the more explosive backs in the league but he hasn’t had much room to run thus far.

Paxton-Buckley-Loda has lost to unbeaten Central Catholic and undefeated St. Joseph-Ogden. The Panthers will be looking to get that first win against a team they feel they handle. PBL’s offense has been limited to two touchdowns, both coming against St. Joe-Ogden. The Panthers have given up 93 points.

Monmouth-Roseville (0-2 at Mercer County (1-1)
After falling short on the road at Erie-Prophetstown in Week 1, the Titans were overwhelmed by a very strong Rockridge club in Week 2. Hey coach Jeremy Aldophson’s charges will be looking to claim that first victory on the road against Mercer County.

Monmouth-Roseville will be looking for experience to move forward veterans Lars Bergren and Landon Montroy.

The Golden Eagles are 1-1 with their win coming against Hall in Week 1. Last week was tough as Princeton rolled to a 49-14 win.

It appears that the Titans should be able to move the ball, but will the Bergren-led defense stymie Mercer County?

09/03/2026

HAWKS RALLY PAST MINUTEMEN; PONTIAC, M-R SUFFER SETBACKS

LEXINGTON — Prairie Central relied on defense and more accurate hitting over the final two sets to snare a three-set victory in its nonconference volleyball match against host Lexington on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

After spotting the Minutemen a first-set win, the Hawks rallied to claim a 23-25, 25-15, 25-11 victory at The Fort.

Miranda Hari led the Prairie Central attack with 12 kills. Maggie Fehr collected 16 assists while Charlee Popejoy served up 11 points (4 aces). Hannah Sedam had 9 points (1 ace) from behind the line.

Sedam had a solo block and Mia Elliott and Cadyn Pride were each in a block. Popejoy had 12 digs.

Tinleigh Miller delivered 4 kills while Jaclyn Grunloh and Lynnley Fraher each had 3 kills for Lexington (4-3-2). Gracie Stutzman had 6 assists and Macy Frank dished out 5 assists. Brenna Stover served up 7 points and Stutzman had 6, including 2 aces. Frank also had 2 aces.

Stutzman and Jaelyn Melton each had 1 block on defense. Fraher had 14 digs, Miller dug up 12 attacks and Stutzman had 9 digs.

Lexington captured the two preliminary matches, winning 25-21, 26-16 at the freshman level, and 17-25, 25-17, 15-12 at the junior varsity level.

Pontiac-Streator
STREATOR — Pontiac’s seven-match winning streak came to an end Wednesday when the Indians were bitten 25-21, 25-19 by host Streator’s Bulldogs on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

Pontiac will travel to LaSalle on Thursday to take on host LaSalle-Peru. Both teams will enter the match sporting 7-1 records on the season.

Monmouth-Roseville-Mercer County
ALEDO — Monmouth-Roseville found the road a bit unforgiving as the Titans suffered a straight-set loss to host Mercer County on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

The Golden Eagles flew to a 25-14, 25-21 win to improve to 6-1 on the season. Monmouth-Roseville slipped to 4-3.

Carmyn Way had 10 kills for the Titans and Alayna Riley chalked up 4 kills. M-R had 19 kills as a team. Reese Anderson garnered 9 assists and Emily Stockdale had 5 assists. Riley served up 6 points (1 ace). Stockdale and Way also had an ace each.

Defensively, Riley, Stockdale, Way and Naylani Santos had 7 digs apiece.

Fieldcrest-Putnam County
MINONK — Fieldcrest lost its first match of the season after Putnam County prevailed in three sets, 25-17, 23-25, 25-17.

Kelani Armstrong led the Knights (2-1) at the net on offense with 17 kills. Alyssa Hymbaugh had 8 assists and served up an ace. Jerry Modro led the net defense with 3 blocks.
Bingo Magic Sports

09/03/2026

Bingo Magic Sports has heard Mike McCaskey, he of the Chicago Bears ownership, was in Bloomington Wednesday doing business at Heartland Bank. It seems he was looking into financing a new family home. Is this true? Don’t know, nothing has been confirmed. However, if this is true, it could signal that the Bears will be playing home games in Indiana.

09/02/2026

09/01/2026

INDIANS WIN COUNTY INVITE

PONTIAC — Pontiac went 5-0 to claim the championship of the Livingston County Invitational volleyball tournament Saturday, Aug. 29.

The Indians didn’t lose a set in posting wins over Dwight, Tri-Point, El Paso-Gridley, Woodland and Prairie Central. Trinity Cheek was the top attack for the Tribe with 34 kills, including 11 against Dwight. Bailee Branscum ran the offense with 72 assists.

The Indians improved to 7-0 and will face Streator on Sept. 2.

Lexington at Ottawa Tourney
OTTAWA — Lexington defeated Yorkville Christian in its final match to place fifth at the Ottawa Invitational event on Aug. 29.

The Minutemen (4-1-2) didn’t lose their four matches, winning 25-11, 25-21 against Yorkville Christian, and opening with a 25-19, 25-17 win over Indian Creek. Lexington split with Ottawa (17-25, 25-23) and Byron (25-23, 19-25).

Jaclyn Grunloh had 20 kills for Lexington in the meet. Jaelyn Melton added 11, Tinleigh Miller had 10 and Gracie Stutzman delivered 8 kills while collecting 24 assists. Macy Frank had 23 assists.

Stutzman had 23 digs on defense and Frank came up with 16. Melton had 3 blocks.

Dwight-Lexington
DWIGHT — It took three sets for Dwight to edge past Lexington in a nonconference match Monday at Kresl Gymnasium.

The Trojans claimed the varsity match rallied for a 22-25, 25-20, 25-22 win.

Jaclyn Grunloh led Lexington (4-2-2) with 9 kills while Kalle Corkery and Gracie Stutzman had 5 kills apiece. Lynnley Fraher and Tinleigh Miller had 4 kills each. Stutzman chalked up 19 assists and Macy Frank had 8 assists. Miller and Stutzman were the top servers with 9 points apiece. Fraher served up 6 points and Jaelyn Melton had 5 points.

Melton and Fraher led the net defense with 2 blocks apiece. Fraher also came up with 18 digs. Miller dug up 17 attacks and Stutzman had 16 digs.
Bingo Magic Sports

08/30/2026

EPG THUMPS CHARLESTON

CHARLESTON — Making the trip to Charleston was worth it for El Paso-Gridley as the Titans trounced the host Trojans 54-21 on Aug. 28.

Aaden Adams was the destroyer for EPG as he scored four touchdowns and gained 124 yards on just seven carries. Owen Adams provided the airshow with 182 yards and two TDs on 17 of 21 throwing. He also added a running TD.

Aaden Adams got the Titans on the board with an 18-yard run 2 1/2 minutes into the game. Elliott Toth added the conversion. Toth was good on six PAT tries. Adams added scoring runs of 9 and 81 yards later in the opening frame as EPG went up 21-0.

Owen Adams called his own number to score from the two on the first play of the second quarter. He added scoring tosses of 4 yards to Braden Gibson and 1 yard to Braden Hayes. Aaden Adams scored on a 9-yard run and Toth found the end zone from the one as EPG built a 54-7 halftime advantage.

The Titans (2-0) will host Ridgeview-Lexington on Sept. 4.

08/30/2026

HAWKS TURN TRIBE AWAY

By Erich Murphy
Bingo Magic Sports

FAIRBURY — As it is every year, this matchup between Pontiac and host Prairie Central was highly anticipated. Last year’s contest was decided by five points. This time, The Hawks protected their home with a 20-16 at Lewis Field on Aug. 28.

Both teams were able to move the ball with Pontiac doing so through the air and PC showing its ability run it. But the deciding factor was being able to hold onto the ball, and the Hawks came up with one key play that proved to be the difference.

Prairie Central junior AJ Basham snared a Corban Dyck offering deep inside PC territory with 39 seconds remaining to ice the game for the Hawks. Pontiac had driven to PC’s 23 before an incomplete pass and an intentional grounding penalty set the Tribe back.

PTHS was needing to get to the Hawks’ 19 for a first down, but the pass was picked off by Basham at the PC 12 with 39 seconds left. Quarterback Colin Kilgus took a knee and the clock ran out for the win.

It was an earned victory for certain. The Hawks picked up 283 yards, with 268 coming on the ground. Pontiac’s blitzing efforts caused some issues, but PC was able to make key plays to keep drives alive.

One big play was Basham’s 53-yard scamper on Prairie Central’s first possession of the game. It came on a second-and-19 situation near midfield. Basham got the call on the next play and raced to pay dirt to give the Hawks a 6-0 lead with 7:58 left in the first quarter.

The Indians collected 278 yards, with 175 through air and 103 on the ground. They, too, came up with some big plays. This included Josh Hartke connecting with Cesar Gutierrez for a 69-yard touchdown on the Tribe’s first play after the PC score. Hartke ran in the conversion try for an 8-6 lead with 7:47 to go in the opening lap.

It stayed 8-6 until the third period when Prairie Central stopped Pontiac’s first drive with a Basham interception. The Hawks responded with a 43-yard drive highlighted by a Kilgus keeper for 19 yards and a TD. Basham had a big play in the drive with a 21-yard jaunt. The failed two-point try left it a 12-6 PC lead with 7:09 left in the third period.

Pontiac responded with a scoring drive that took two possessions. The first part ended when Dyck was intercepted by Kole Steidinger at the PC 8. Kinser Benjamin fumbled on the Hawks’ first play and Connor Shelton recovers for the Indians at the PC 9.

Jayden Reed ran for 7 yards and the go-ahead touchdown. Dyck hit Evinn Tracy for the two-point conversion and a 16-12 PTHS edge with 3:50 left in the quarter.

Prairie Central regained the lead on its next possession, which covered 57 yards but took 5:50 off the clock. Basham gained seven yards on a fourth-down play to keep the drive alive. The Hawks converted on fourth down again when Kilgus ran a keeper in from the four yard line. Wyatt Ault ran in the conversion try for a 20-16 lead with 9:54 left in regulation.

Arguably the star of the game was Basham, who rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown, recovered a fumble and had two interceptions. Kilgus ran for 114 yards and two TDs on 24 keepers, was 2 of 2 passing for 15 yards. Ault had the two receptions for 15 yards and rushed for 43 yards.

Dyck led Pontiac’s offense with 104 yards on 9 of 13 passing. He was intercepted three times. Hartke threw for 68 yards and a touchdown before leaving with an injury. Reed rushed for 49 yards and TD, Dyck added 29 rushing yards and Hartke gained 25 yards. Gutierrez had 81 yards and a TD on two catches to lead Pontiac’s receivers. Amazin King had 4 catches for 59 yards.

The Hawks (1-1) will host St. Teresa on Sept. 4. Pontiac will entertain Paxton-Buckley-Loda at Williamson Field.

(Look for the photo gallery on Bingo Magic Sports)

08/29/2026

M-R FALLS TO ROCKRIDGE

By Kadin Rogers/For Bingo Magic Sports

MONMOUTH — Coach Dobry Field in Monmouth was once again active on Friday night as the Monmouth-Roseville Titans held their home opener of the 2026 season, welcoming in a long time rival in the Rockridge Rockets.

Unfortunately for Monmouth-Roseville, the Rockets continued their overall dominance of the rivalry in a 56-8 road statement win.

The Rockets offense had no trouble lifting off right out of the gate as, after a penalty on the opening kickoff gave the unit great field position, Rockridge maintained a six-plus-minute drive, ultimately finding their way in the end zone on a 5-yard quarterback keeper from Western Illinois University commit Cullen Schwigen.

On the ensuing possession, Monmouth-Roseville started to put together a promising drive, but that would end in a fumble inside Rockets territory. Rockridge turned this into another score right before the end of the first quarter on a 23-yard connection from Schwigen to Wyatt Osborne.

Monmouth-Roseville was forced to punt on its opening possession of the second quarter. The Titans defense had a chance to get off the field on fourth down, but Schwigen delivered another touchdown toss from 17 yards to Chase Wheatley to increase the Rockridge cushion to 20-0.

Zayn Mason provided a sign of life for the Titans on special teams, returning the Rockets next kickoff all the way back to the house for an 80-yard return touchdown, and Kane Johnson’s two-point conversion cut the Rockridge lead to 20-8.

From this point though, the Rockets were able to control the game, putting together another long drive right before halftime. Schwigen punch in his fourth total touchdown of the half to increase the Rockets lead to 27-8 at the half.

The first four drives of the third quarter followed a very similar script, as a Monmouth-Roseville turnover was followed by a 27-yard score from Thomas Sowards, and a turnover on downs by the Titans lead to another Schwigen rushing score, ballooning the Rockets lead to 41-8 heading into the final quarter of play.

Needing one more touchdown and extra point to put the game into running clock territory, Schwigen ended his night with a 13-yard scamper to the end zone. Rockridge backup quarterback Levi Hoover tacked on another touchdown to bring the game to its resting score of 56-8.

Rockridge (2-0) running back Thomas Sowards finished with a full stat line of 211 yards and a score on 21 carries. While Cullen Schwigen tallied six total touchdowns in a big-time showing for the four-year starter.

On the Titans side, Landon Montroy finished as the team’s leading rusher with 40 yards on 12 carries. The loss for Monmouth-Roseville drops its record to 0-2 on the season. M-R will look to grab its first win of the season next Friday night on the road in Aledo taking on the Mercer County Golden Eagles.