After losing to Atwood-Hammond the Thursday prior, the Okaw Valley volleyball team hosted the Rajenes Monday night and made use of the home court advantage, winning in three sets 25-11, 20-25, 25-19.
Shelby Dash had 14 digs for the Lady T-Wolves, while Mollee Decesaro made 20 assists. Amy Orris also posted 12 digs, while Megan Dash recorded nine kills. Read More
Photo by Keith Stewart
Tyler Schuring takes off Friday night. This was a common sight last week when ALAH took on Arcola in Atwood, as Schuring ran for three touchdowns. The junior quarterback also threw for one touchdown and returned an interception for another in his team’s 42-14 victory.
27-7 first half lead too much for catch up
by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com
The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond Knights may have beaten neighbor Arcola 42-14 for Atwood/Hammond’s last homecoming this past Friday, but that didn’t stop head coach Dale Schuring from being critical of his team, especially the defense, which struggled to stop the Purple Riders from moving the ball and controlling the game.
“We have responded well to adversity and when other teams get things going, but the simple fact is they dominated us tonight,” said Schuring. “I don’t care, you can look at the scoreboard all you want, but they had the ball the whole game. They pounded the ball at us, threw it when they needed to; they completed every time they wanted to throw it. Hats off to them. They beat us everywhere but the scoreboard.” Read More
by Kirk Whitaker
Reporting in Bethany
After falling to Martinsville a week ago in the LOVC tournament, Okaw Valley took on conference foe Cerro Gordo in Bethany Tuesday night.
The Lady Timberwolves (5-11, 2-5 LOVC) started off the set down 5-1, but came back to take the lead at 6-5. In the first 12 points of the match, there were six ties. After OV initially taking the lead, the first multi-point lead was achieved by the Lady Broncos at 12-10, prompting an OV timeout. The two teams played each other closely after that point in the match, but it was Cerro Gordo who took advantage of some late hitting and service errors by the Timberwolves to take the first set 25-21. Read More
Playoff hopes dashed with best possible record of 4-5 on the year
Kirk Whitaker
Arthur/Sullivan Reporter
Heartbreak has come again.
This year it was dealt by rival Shelbyville on homecoming with three weeks left to go in the season. The Redskins needed to win out the rest of the season to make the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade. Instead, SOV fell short 14-12.
The game was physical from the start, as both teams asserted their ground attacks early and often.
Sullivan had three possessions in the first quarter but squandered each while Shelbyville also had three possessions in the first and capitalized on their final drive of the quarter with 1:34 left on an 11-yard touchdown run. Read More
Photo by Keith Stewart
ALAH celebrated their seniors last Thursday, including (from left to right): Thom Kongdetudomkul, David Emrick, Matthew Robinson, Blake Miller, Natalie Bicknell, Briana Morgan, and Cassandra Lambdin.
Final victory not as dominate as hoped for
by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com
After finishing disappointingly with two losses and one tie at the Mattoon soccer tournament the week before, the Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond soccer team rebounded by ending their regular season with back-to-back wins against Altamont and the Mattoon Green Wave JV team.
The Knights travelled to Altamont a week ago Monday and got off to a slow start but managed to take a 2-1 lead going into the half. In the latter portion of the game, the Knights’ offense got a boost, scoring three goals. Read More
OV junior earns trip after playoff
by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com
Four area golf teams competed at various post-season golf competitions this past week. Emerging from the dust to compete at the state series is lone female Paige Harlin of Okaw Valley High School. Area results are as follows: Read More
Long third set finally ends 33-31
by Kirk Whitaker
Arthur/Sullivan Reporter
For the third time in the last month, Tri-County and Arthur-Lovington squared off in volleyball and just as in their prior meetings, there was something big up for grabs. Last time it was the championship game of the Arcola Invite, this time it was the LOVC tournament crown. Read More
Photo by Keith Stewart
Jordan Feagin tries to escape the clutches of a Villa Grove defender during Friday night’s game. Feagin ran 65 yards on nine carries as well as had three receptions for 57 yards, including one for a touchdown.
Defensive effort creates for well- rounded performance
by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com
Traveling to LOVC rival Villa Grove Friday night, Arthur/Lovington-Atwood/Hammond not only had a conference matchup on the line but also their early qualification into the postseason. The Knights, who lost to VG last year 41-0 would have neither to worry about by the night’s end, as they cruised to a 49-22 win over the Blue Devils, improving to 6-1 on the season and 5-1 in the LOVC.
Villa Grove, however, was the first to strike, marching steadily downfield primarily with their run game, which accounted for the touchdown on fourth and goal on the three yard line. The point-after-attempt did not succeed, but Villa Grove took a 6-0 lead with 6:31 left in the first quarter. Read More
by Emily Scott
Reporting in Sullivan
In a conference volleyball game last Thursday, the Maroa-Forsyth Trojans had the power and skills to put away the Sullivan Redskins in a 25-13, 25-15 match.
The Redskins came out the first game ready to compete and despite a few communication errors, were able, at first, to keep up with the Trojans’ strong offense. Read More
Submitted
Pictured is the OVMS baseball team with their third place trophy at the IESA State Tournament Saturday in East Peoria.
Ends season 20-2 in historic fashion
by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com
You could certainly say OVMS’s third place finish at the IESA state baseball tournament has been, for some time, in the making.
Taking the head coach position six years ago, Chris Nichols recalls first talking to his team in 2008 about a state run.
They ended up managing one win on the season.
But Nichols’ teams steadily improved each year, from that one win season to three-peat regional champions and now a third place finish at the state tournament. Read More