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That's a wrap for Week 1: BHRA, Sullivan/Okaw Valley, ALAH all impress

matt daniels, the news-gazette, champaign-urbana, ill.
·7 min read

Aug. 27—Chatham Glenwood 14, Danville 12

CHATHAM — Danville couldn't come from behind in a low-scoring nonconference game, with the Vikings falling in their season opener on Saturday night as special teams miscues ultimately cost Danville.

Danville (0-1) took a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Darius Jay to Diddy Robinson, but did not convert the extra point before the Titans took a 7-6 lead into halftime.

Chatham Glenwood increased its lead to 14-6 in the first two minutes of the third quarter, but Danville kept the Titans scoreless the rest of the night. Phil Shaw IV scored the Vikings' second touchdown on a 16-yard run just past the midway point of the fourth quarter, but the Titans stopped Danville from converting the two-point conversion and then held on for the win.

Dakota 48, Fisher 12

DAKOTA — The Bunnies never led in their first varsity game since 2021, as host Dakota rolled to a nonconference win on Saturday afternoon. Ryan Hopkins hit Jeremiah Todd for a 20-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter as the Bunnies (0-1) trimmed their deficit to 22-6, but Dakota responded with 26 unanswered points and a running clock kicked in late in the third quarter when Dakota went up by more than 40 points.

LeRoy 14, Central A&M 12

LeROY — LeRoy produced all the offense it needed in a second quarter that started Friday night and wasn't completed until Saturday night, with the Panthers coming through with a close win in their season opener.

The nonconference game at L.A. McKean Field was halted on Friday night because of bad weather, with LeRoy leading 7-6 thanks to a 20-yard touchdown pass from Bo Zeleznik to Brody Bennett, the only pass completion of the game for the Panthers. LeRoy added to its lead on Saturday night when the game resumed, with Matt Stuepfert ripping off a 20-yard touchdown run.

LeRoy (1-0) never trailed after Braden Loy's successful extra point gave the Panthers a 7-6 lead and relied on a stout defense to limit Central A&M to 145 yards of offense.

Zeleznik rushed for 126 yards on 18 carries and also made 11 tackles on defense. Stuepfert added 46 rushing yards on 11 carries and Landon Welte also contributed with 37 rushing yards on seven carries.

Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin 56, Clifton Central 14

BISMARCK — Karson Stevenson connected with Ayden Ingram often, Enrique Rangel and Logan Hughes had solid games running the ball and Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin won its first game on turf at Payton-Moss Field with a Vermilion Valley Conference victory on Saturday night. Stevenson went 6 of 9 for 155 passing yards and two touchdowns, with Ingram catching five of those passes for 136 yards and both touchdowns, as the Blue Devils (1-0) led 29-8 at halftime and increased its lead to 50-14 before the start of the fourth quarter.

Rangel and Hughes each rushed for a touchdown, with Rangel supplying 117 rushing yards on 11 carries and Hughes finishing with 93 rushing yards on five carries.

Sullivan/Okaw Valley 39, Villa Grove 25

VILLA GROVE — Villa Grove held a 13-7 halftime lead before the season opener was suspended on Friday night because of bad weather, but visiting Sullivan/Okaw Valley put forth a strong second half when play resumed Saturday afternoon to leave Russ Ghere Field with a Lincoln Prairie Conference win.

Cooper Christensen led Sullivan/OV (1-0) by completing 10 of 21 passes for 158 yards and one touchdown to go along with 130 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Aian Fryman also contributed with 109 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. Christensen spread the ball around to six receivers, with Seth Forlines (three catches for 66 yards), Aiden Ballinger (two catches for 41 yards) and Kyle Corkill (two catches for 39 yards and a touchdown) his primary targets.

Layne Rund went 10 of 19 for 154 passing yards and a touchdown for the host Blue Devils (0-1). Rund also produced 75 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Brady Clodfelder had a team-high 100 rushing yards on just three carries for Villa Grove, with Gunner Cline finishing with 87 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Noah Wilcoxin hauled in four receptions for 87 yards, with Rund also hitting Kyler Williams (three catches for 42 yards) and Braydon Dowler (three catches for 25 yards, one touchdown).

Arcola 34, Nokomis 16

ARCOLA — The host Purple Riders picked up a win in their season opener, building a 27-8 halftime lead on Friday night before bad weather delayed the Lincoln Prairie game until it was completed on Saturday night at Thomas-Bradford Field.

Oden Barron rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the first half for Arcola (1-0), with Jayden Henson-Stice throwing a touchdown pass and completing 3 of 5 passes for 97 yards in the first two quarters.

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 30, Argenta-Oreana 18

ARGENTA — A strong third quarter by visiting Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond allowed the Knights to pick up a Lincoln Prairie win on Saturday after lighting delayed the game on Friday night.

Jayce Parsons accounted for three touchdowns — two on runs of 1 yard and 4 yards — and also threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Connor Nettles for ALAH (1-0). Parsons also converted three two-point conversions, all on runs as the Knights led 14-12 at halftime before outscoring the Bombers 16-0 in the third quarter. A 37-yard touchdown run by Landon Waldrop and subsequent two-point conversion run by Parsons staked ALAH to a 22-12 lead early in the third quarter.

Ethan Mathan threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Jalynn Flowers for A-O (0-1), with Jamario Barbee scoring on a five-yard touchdown run and Justin Flowers adding a two-yard touchdown run.

Sangamon Valley 12, Tri-County 8

OAKLAND — A defensive struggle that started Friday night and continued into Saturday after inclement weather halted the game on Friday saw the visiting Storm leave with a Lincoln Prairie win against the host Titans.

Tri-County (0-1) trailed 12-0 at halftime and pushed across its lone touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Garrett Pollock completed 4 of 12 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown for the Titans, with Myles Watson accounting for all those receptions.

Clay Kibler produced 59 rushing yards on 15 carries to go along with 11 tackles and one fumble recovery.

Schlarman 52, Peoria Quest 22

DANVILLE — The host Hilltoppers relied on superb offensive production to earn a win in their season opener.

Owen Jones and Jerrius Atkinson hit on numerous big plays as Schlarman (1-0) built 14-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and increased it to 44-6 by halftime.

Jones rushed for 90 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns while also completing 3 of 6 passes for 97 yards and one touchdown. Atkinson had four receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown to go with 40 rushing yards on three carries and two touchdowns. Princeton Rush added 71 rushing yards on four carries and one touchdown..

Martinsville 22, Milford/Cissna Park 14

MILFORD — The host Bearcats led 14-8 at halftime, but were shut out in the second half and lost their season opener at Sam Fanning Stadium. Tyler Neukomm rushed for 49 yards on 11 carries for Milford/Cissna Park (0-1) and a 1-yard touchdown run that put the Bearcats ahead 8-0 in the first quarter. Neukomm also had two receptions for 49 yards.

Gavin Schunke went 4 of 12 for 61 passing yards, hitting Caleb Clutteur on a 7-yard touchdown pass to give the Bearcats a 14-8 lead in the second quarter.