Serving the communities in Stephenson County
Shopper’s Guide
VOL. 78 • NO. 44
YOUR FREE HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER
Opening round winner for Lena-Winslow By Chris Johnson
Leading 33-14 at the half, the Lena-Winslow Panthers closed the deal in the second half and moved to the second round of the IHSA Playoffs following a 54-14 win over Bureau Valley. The Storm didn’t know what hit them as they saw a running clock go into effect. Playing out of the Three Rivers Conference and qualifying for the playoffs after surviving, doesn’t let a team believe something memorable could happen to them in the playoffs. The Storm are season-tested. They battled through former State Champions such as Morrison and Sterling Newman before. They stayed close in their losses this season, dropping an eight-point decision to playoffqualifier Fulton. They stayed within two scores of previously Stateranked Orion. They couldn’t hang with Lena-Winslow. The Panthers didn’t seem to care how well the Storm has been playing recently. They are working on getting better. Head Coach Ric Arand will see to that. Lena-Winslow is still a team in the development stage to many sports enthusiasts. Heading into the playoffs many feel the LenaWinslow Panthers have yet to play their best ball of the season. With a record of 8-2 the Panthers move to round two and a road trip which could be talked about for seasons to come. Catlin-Salt Fork is located west of Decatur in southern Illinois. They won their playoff-opener against an area favorite. Salt Fork was asked to travel north for their opening round game at Stockton. The Blackhawks were 9-0 heading into the Class 1A
opener. Stockton lost by a point 4342. A showdown with the Blackhawks in the post-season won’t happen this year for Lena-Winslow. It’s over for Stockton. It continues for Lena-Winslow. Because Catlin was on the road this week and the nearly four hour trip has been recorded, they will get to stay home for week two, since their opponent got the chance to host their opening round game. Everyone is given a chance to host in the longer marches towards State. Lena-Winslow is rewarded with a round two match in Catlin. If the Panthers win this weekend and move on to the Class 1A Quarterfinal, there is a chance they could face the Forreston Cardinals for the right to go to the State Semi-Final. Forreston hosted their opening round game. They defeated Luther North in recordsetting fashion, 67-0. The Cardinals have to take down seven-seed Stark County if they want the chance to face Lena-Winslow next week. In week seven, the Panthers fell to Forreston. The game was played in Forreston and home field was rewarded with a 13-7 win. The win helped secure the NUIC Northwest Crown for Forreston. Forreston won’t matter if the Panthers are tripped up this weekend. Match-ups with other NUIC teams such as Freeport Aquin or Dakota could also be in the cards for LenaWinslow. Everything wraps around the Panthers need to win. Each week pushes them one step closer to another shot at a State Title. Details of this weekend’s Class 1A Quarterfinal-qualifying round will be available in next week’s edition of this publication.
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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2016
Brittani DeVries Brings Ag in the Classroom to Pearl City School
COURTESY PHOTO Shopper’s Guide
On Monday, Oct. 24, Pearl City first graders and kindergarteners enjoyed a visit from Brittani DeVries, Education Coordinator of Stephenson County Ag in the Classroom. Students have been learning about pumpkins over the past few weeks.
Lena-Winslow lands in Regional Championship By Chris Johnson SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
Sitting as the four-seed in the Girls’ Class 1A State Volleyball Tournament, the Lena-Winslow Lady Panthers played through their competition and advanced to the Regional Final and a shot at Galena. The Lady Pirates were issued the top seed in the upper bracket of the Class 1A Tournament. They lived up to it as they ended LenaWinslow’s season in two sets 25-13 and 25-18. Lena-Winslow wrapped up the 2016 NUIC season with a fifthplace showing. Their overall con-
ference mark was one of the best in the league as they finished the year with a ledger featuring a 10-3 mark. Dakota, the recent winner of its own Class 2A Volleyball Regional tied for fifth place. They finished 2016 with a 10-3 record. Eastland ended 2016 with third place honors. They were 11-2. The Lady Cougars claimed the Polo Regional Title and moved on to the Eastland Sectional this year. Galena was 12-1 during the season. They finished in second place. In the front-end loaded NUIC. Freeport Aquin was the regular season conference champion. The Lady Bull-
dogs led the way with a 13-0 record. Each team which finished above Lena-Winslow in the regular season this year is either still alive in the 2016 post-season or played for their respective Regional Crown last week. Sectional play takes place this week in Eastland. Lena-Winslow’s victor joined with other qualifying NUIC representatives and moved to the Tuesday Nov. 1 Sectional SemiFinal Rounds. The Lady Pirates stared down the Sterling Newman Central Catholic Lady comets in the opening round game of Sectional play in Lanark.
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