The Peoria Notre Dame Irish were one of seven Big 12 teams to qualify for the IHSA playoffs last season. Now, they’re looking to reach the mountaintop in one of the toughest conferences in Central Illinois in 2024. “You just have to come every day, every game,” head coach Pat Armstrong said. “Each week is the entire season so you have to play week-by-week. I know it's kind of a coach's cliché that you play one game at a time [but] that's the truth for us…you can never look ah

Deer Creek-Mackinaw is a school that may be small in size, but big on a long history of football success. In 2024, the Chiefs punched their ticket to November for the 30th time in program history after overcoming adversity and picking up late-season victories to get to 5-4.  “I felt that was a really big thing; a couple of years ago I remember seeing that number was 28 and then we made it 29, and a lot of people were like ‘Dude, how cool is that going to be that you guys as a

Nathan Schroeder couldn’t have asked for a better result in his first tournament as a head coach. At Peoria Notre Dame’s Mickey Schallau Invite at Kellogg Golf Course on Monday, his Morton golfers stood above a crowded field of 17 teams, including some of the best in the area. The Potters beat out Normal U-High by one stroke, 303-304, for the trophy. “The main thing I told him before we went out there was ‘Guys, I don't really care how you shoot, I just want to drive around a

Late summer into autumn is a special time of year for the communities of Elmwood and Brimfield as football often captures the attention of students and families of both towns. For the 26th consecutive season, they’ll get to enjoy their Friday nights watching a Todd Hollis-led team. Since taking over in 1999, Hollis has shaped the program into the tradition-based, goal-oriented and successful team it is today.  The Trojans have made 17 different trips to the state playoffs in

BLOOMINGTON, IL. – After a dominant 2023 campaign, in which Bloomington Central Catholic went undefeated in the regular season and advanced to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs, the Saints expect only to build on the successful season with another playoff run in mind.  After participating in joint practices with Heyworth, Bloomington, Normal Community, and Normal West, they’re ready to hit the ground running for their 100th year of the school's football program. Adding

2023 was a productive year for Eureka as they once again qualified for the Class 3A playoffs, but the Hornets are looking to build on that this upcoming fall and it all starts with execution.  All the pieces are there for a successful season: experience, athleticism and leadership.  The Hornets reduced their number of 7-on-7 camps and increased the number of scrimmages this summer, taking on East Peoria, Metamora and Decatur Macarthur while still participating in 7-on-7 camps

Last season, Heyworth gave itself plenty of good momentum by breaking a nine-year playoff drought and making the postseason for just the seventh time in program history. The Hornets, who finished 7-3, were led by Nate Albaugh, who then resigned to pursue a different career opportunity. A coaching change can often feel like a hindrance to momentum, but not in this case. Former Bloomington head coach Scott Godfrey takes over after helping the Purple Raiders end a playoff drough

It’s been a long time coming for Fieldcrest football, or at least it’s felt like it. Until 2023, the Knights were strapped for experience and trudged through two straight campaigns without an on-field win.  But after a 4-5 season where they were oh-so-close to making the playoffs, head coach Nick Meyer and the Knights have more confidence than ever with a heap of returning starters who now know how to win.  “I’d be lying if there wasn’t a sigh of relief from our players and e

In multiple ways, football in 2024 is a different game than what it was decades ago.  New rules, such as the NFL’s recently-revised kickoff approach, play styles and equipment have all superseded those of years past but one thing remains the same, especially at the high school level: tough-nosed and defensive-minded football teams are always hard to beat.   Few area prep teams fit that description better than the Knoxville Blue Bullets, who are coming off their 10th consecuti

Following the 2023 regular season, Manual finished with an overall record of 2-7 – with one win being chalked up after Peoria High was forced to vacate its wins – which meant a 12-year postseason drought for the Rams lived on. But there is renewed hope in Manual High School and specifically within school itself, where the Rams are now owners of a brand new, renovated weight room. A project that was completed during the spring, Manual’s weight room was transformed with new wei

Every year since Jared Grebner took over as the head coach of Metamora football, the Redbirds have increased their win total.

Tiffany Klaus has always lived the game of volleyball. If there’s a net and a ball in the village of Tremont, she’s usually there. Volleyball also runs in her family too as her husband, Paul, has helped her coach club volleyball. Their daughter, Lilly, is an all-Heart of Illinois Conference setter for Tremont heading into her final year under her mother, the Turks’ second-year head coach.  “We put a sand volleyball court in our backyard when our kids were little, and we put a

Not much has separated Dunlap football from being in the driver’s seat of the Mid-Illini.  With many core returners from a young, but improved, group last season coming back, the Eagles have the capability to make 2024 an even better year.  Dunlap is coming off a campaign where it breezed through its first six games, winning by an average of over 38 points per game. The tables then turned as the Eagles found themselves locked in close battles with Washington, Morton, Metamora

There’s great football teams, and then there are great football programs.  Farmington certainly falls into the latter as head coach Toby Vallas enters his 11th season with the Farmers posting a winning record in every year since he took the position. Once again, the program’s numbers are sky-high, with nearly 100 boys suiting up across all three levels at a school of roughly 350.  Coming off another strong campaign in 2023 where the Farmers went 9-2 and won a Prairieland-Linc

Winning is oftentimes the best fuel for confidence. While Richwoods is still a relatively young team in 2024, more victories last fall and over the summer have accelerated the belief that the Knights can make a playoff push this year.  Richwoods is coming off a season where it scored wins against Springfield Southeast, Manual and Champaign Central, two of which came in the final three weeks of the year. The three wins were tied for the most that the Knights have had since 201

Entering a new season with a new coach has become common over the past decade for East Peoria football. Sam Durley was named the Raiders’ latest head coach last December and is the fifth person to occupy the position since the Raiders’ last playoff appearance in 2012. A dozen years later, the question is asked once again:  Could this be the year? Do the Raiders finally turn the corner?

After a 1-8 season in 2023, Canton football is looking to change its fortunes. Change itself is a common theme among the Little Giants this year as they hope to make progress in the perennially-competitive Mid-Illini.  The biggest change is at the top, where Nick McCormick takes over for Nick Wright as the head coach following a stint on the IVC coaching staff, where he was most recently the offensive coordinator.  With a new coach comes a new approach, which the Little Giant

When Peoria Heights football hosts Bushnell-Prairie City in the Patriot Bowl in week one of the 2024 regular season, they will be doing so with a more profound expectation than in recent years: make the playoffs. The Patriots finished last season 3-6 (1-3 Illinois 8-Man Central), and found themselves on the outside looking at the Illinois 8-Man Football Association (I8FA) playoffs in 2023. Following a winless 2022 campaign, a three-win season a year ago is certainly a step in

It feels like fate that El Paso-Gridley’s Adam Troll is an athletic director.  With six current or former teachers in his family, plus his wife, Carrie being a former teacher herself, Troll felt destined to work in a role where athletics and education intersected.

(Esta es la traducción al español de nuestra historia sobre la serie Copa Peoria entre Peoria City y Chivas de Guadalajara U23. For the...