CHAMPAIGN – Decatur St. Teresa may have outpaced Tri-Valley in their Illinois High School Association Class 2A Championship game, 29-22 Saturday at Memorial Stadium on University of Illinois’ campus, but Vikings Head Coach Josh Roop told reporters afterward it may be 15 or 20 years to determine if, even after the loss, whether this season was a success as a whole for the team.

Rupp said once the players come back after that much time has gone by and they have become husbands and fathers and raised families of their own will the measure of success of the season in which the Vikings finished 11-2 be able to be estimated to its fullest. Rupp said he and his coaching staff started to see selflessness from their players as the season went on.

Vikings Scored Early: The Vikings managed to heel the Bulldogs who had managed to end the drive deep in Tri-Valley territory, turning the ball over putting Vikings perilously close to their own end zone. But the Bulldogs pushed further scoring a safety, getting a quick 2-0 lead at the 7:53 mark in the first quarter. Each team’s defense added pressure from that point on, resulting in that being the only points scored in the quarter.

At 4:34 in the second quarter, a drive Tri-Valley initiated from their own 21 yard line and was continuing at the Bulldogs’11 yard line was disrupted by a turnover on downs as Bulldogs defenders giving Decatur St. Teresa the ball at that point. Three plays later, senior quarterback Joe Brummer connected with senior wide receiver Bryce Hendrix on an 87 yard touchdown pass with 2:25 until halftime followed by a successful 2-point by Brummer to senior wide receiver Jeremy Walker increasing the Bulldogs’ lead to 8-0.

Senior wide receiver Blake Regenold took the ensuing kickoff back to midfield for the Vikings where Tri-Valley began their next drive which lasted for 7 rushing plays ending in Regenold’s 3 yard dash for a touchdown with 11 seconds left until halftime, followed by Regenold pushing through Bulldogs defenders for a successful 2-point conversion. When the half ended, the game was tied 8-all.

Decatur St. Teresa (13-0) returned the ensuing kickoff and started their next set of downs at the Bulldogs 32 yard line. Twelve plays later, senior running back Christion Harper dashed 22 yards into the end zone to cap a 4 play 54 yard drive. That was followed by a successful 2 point conversion pass play, putting the Bulldogs up, 16-8 with 9:57 until halftime.

After receiving the ensuing kickoff, Tri-Valley started their next drive from their own 32 yard line. Keeping the ball on the ground, the Vikings’ offense chewed yardage as they got past Bulldog defenders until the 12th play of the drive when senior quarterback Andy Knox connected with sophomore wide receiver Cole Klein on a 22 yard touchdown with 3:43 left in the half. The Vikings were not able, however, to complete a 2-point conversion play, resulting in the Bulldogs holding a 16-14 lead going into halftime.

Four plays after St. Teresa received the ball to begin the second half, senior running back Elijah Wills slipped past Bulldogs defenders dashing 76 yards for a touchdown with 2:19 left in the third quarter followed by an extra point by senior kicker Billy Guyse, putting his team up, 23-14.

Tri-Valley carried the ensuing kickoff back to its own 31 to begin their next drive which ended after nine plays with Regenold running through opposing defenders a second time for a touchdown followed by a 2-point conversion run by Knox, cutting Decatur St. Teresa’s lead to one, 23-22, with 11:07 left in the contest.

With 6:06 left in the contest, Guyse’s 9 yard pass reception from Brummer capped a 10 play 80 yard drive which concluded with a failed 2-point try, resulting in the final score.

At the 2:43 mark, St. Teresa was near midfield and appeared to have called timeout and players headed toward their sidelines, and yet, the clock continued to run. That prompted Roop to run onto the field to check with game officials about why the clock was running. Tri-Valley finally did call time with 1:59 remaining.

Bulldogs Head Coach Mark Ramsey admitted this victory made up for what he classified as “a heartbreaking loss in the semis last year.” He said he was proud of his team for “putting up a heck of a fight” which went back and forth throughout the contest.

Rupp reminded his team was making its third appearance at State Finals and were now 1-2 as a result of Saturday’s outcome. Admitting his team didn’t start the season playing “up to our potential,” Rupp added, “It’s an amazing experience with an amazing group of young men.” He added that the previous senior class and current senior class of players were really close and the community bonded with those players last year and this year giving an indication of what experiencing what he called “community football” is like.

“Our captains and our senior leadership just didn’t want to quit,” Rupp added. “We played our best football at the end of the year, and that is really what I am proud of. These guys went to another level. I saw them play for one another. I saw them pick each other up, build each other up, and build off of each other.”

Rupp said the way that a team can get a school to come together and get a community behind those kids to carry themselves in the right way and grow up and mature before your eyes – “that’s really what this group of kids did for the community this year. I’m really, really proud of them.”

“I love these guys and we worked really hard for this,” Regenold said. “We really meshed well going into the playoffs. It means a lot to everyone to have this experience.”

During critical moments of their key drives to move down field, Knox explained, “we just had to be a team, working together. Junior center Jacob Bischoff added St. Teresa’s defensive backs were “pretty quick” in not allowing Vikings receivers to get very far once they had the ball.

Knox said although the way the game ended wasn’t the result the Vikings wanted, “its been really fun playing with the guys and building up relationships. These are all my brothers and I wouldn’t trade anything for them.”

LeROY – Tri-Valley High School’s football team demonstrated precision, practically from the opening kickoff, against LeRoy, perhaps showing why they have their rank of 9th in Illinois High School Association Class 2A, defeating the LeRoy Panthers, 49-0, before roughly 400 people at McKean Field Friday night.

That precision in this Heart of Illinois Conference matchup was evident, literally from the opening kickoff, as Vikings senior wide receiver Mason Cagley took the game’s opening kickoff 85  yards for his team’s first score, followed by sophomore kicker Bryce Bedillion’s extra point, putting Tri-Valley (2-1) up, 7-0

Following LeRoy turning the ball over on downs to end their first possession, junior running back Zach Woodring’s 2 yard touchdown run at 6:10 in the same quarter, followed by Bedillion’s extra point, pushed the Vikings ahead, 14-0. The Vikings increased their first quarter scoring at the 3:38 mark courtesy of a 43 yard pass from junior quarterback Jake Reeser to senior wide receiver Casey Hamilton, followed by another Bedillion extra point, giving the Vikings a 21-0 advantage going into the second quarter.

LeRoy (1-2) fumbled to close out its first drive of the second quarter, turning the ball over to Tri-Valley on the Vikings’ 41 yard line. Seven plays later Reeser connected with senior tight end Clayton Leipold on an 18 yard touchdown strike followed by another Bedillion extra point, increasing the Vikings’ advantage, 28-0.at the 6:56 mark.

LeRoy had its next possession end in a punt and Tri-Valley went back to work scoring on a 6 yard run by Woodring at the 1:52 mark before halftime. Bedillion’s extra point pushed the Vikings’ advantage further, 35-0, going into the half.

LeRoy received the second half kickoff but punted after getting nowhere in three plays. The Vikings returned the punt to LeRoy’s 32 yard line, and three plays later, Hamilton scored again, from 3 yards out for a touchdown run followed by Bedillion’s extra point, pushed Tri-Valley further, 42-0. As a result of the 40-point difference, game officials employed IHSA’s “Mercy Rule,” using a continuously running clock, stopping it only for team timeouts or injury timeouts.

LeRoy’s next possession ended in a fumble, giving the Vikings the ball at LeRoy’s 39 yard line. Nine plays later, freshman lineman-turned-running back Jake Fatima’s 7 yard touchdown run at 1:02 in the third quarter, followed by Bedillion’s last extra point on the night, led to the final score.

“I was really happy with the way we executed, and our offensive did very, very well tonight,” Tri-Valley head coach Josh Roop said.

“Obviously, when you play a team of that caliber, you can’t give them points,” said LeRoy head coach B. J. Zeleznik. “We gave them free points right off the bat. That was it. We knew it was going to be an uphill battle and that didn’t help things.”

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley brings its 3-0 record to McKean Field when they take on the Panthers here on Sept. 15.

BLOOMINGTON – Tremont High’s girls basketball team entered the finals of the 99th Annual McLean County Tournament Thursday night at Illinois Wesleyan’s Shirk Center, with relative ease, defeating Downs Tri-Valley, 44-20.

The victory puts the Lady Turks in the finals against Ridgeview, who defeated LeRoy, 65-42. The two teams will meet for the girls’ championship Saturday at Shirk Center, starting with a 6:30p.m. tip-off.

Tremont trailed early in the contest, down 3-0 following a trey by Madison Roberts to get the game started. Dori Dudley’s deuce one minute into the game cut the Vikings’ lead, 3-2. Tanna Hinthorne scored a deuce 30 seconds later, giving Tri-Valley a 5-2 lead.

But Kiley Bugaieski answered with a three of her own – in her 20th straight game where she has scored a trey this season — to tie the game at 5-all with 5:21 left in the quarter. And Nichole Wagenbach sinking one of two free throws after that set the Turks on course toward an 8-0 run to close out the first quarter with a 13-5 lead.

In fact, the streak didn’t end until after Dudley sank the opening basket of the second quarter, giving the Lady Turks a 15-5 lead with 7:14 until halftime.

Hannah Sanidas scored six points in the second quarter for Tri-Valley, whose defense struggled to keep up with the streaking Turks, as Tremont pressed on to a 24-13 lead.

Wegenbach starred in Tremont’s third quarter, scoring 6 points, including a layup that began for her as a steal off a Tri-Valley opponent. The junior forward led all players on the night with 15 points. She was followed in double figures by Dudley’s 11. No Tri-Valley players reached double-digits on the night, as the Lady Turks led the Vikings 34-20 going into the fourth quarter. But Tri-Valley lost its fight in the fourth quarter, as Tremont outscored them, 10-0, en route to the final score.

“Our girls knew we could beat them,” said Tremont head coach Michelle Williams, referencing an overtime loss Tri-Valley handed them earlier this month. “Tonight, we changed up what we were going to do against them. Tonight, we changed up (and) played a slowed-down zone defense rather than our usual man-on-man.

“We had some big things happen tonight,” Williams added. “We had some nice blocked shots tonight.

“(Our) team likes to play zone defense (so) I challenged them,” Williams said. “I told them that so long as we can control them (and) get our hands in the passing lane, we’ll see if (Tri-Valley) can shoot from outside tonight.”

“(Tremont) did everything we thought they were going to,” said Tri-Valley head coach Brad Harmon. “In the fourth quarter, I just couldn’t hardly get energy out of anybody. (Tremont) came out in the third quarter and gained some energy, and we got down and lost energy (going into the fourth quarter).”