The big news in local sports from last weekend was Stillman Valley's thrilling sectional win over Byron in girls basketball. Did we expect anything less?
Often a particular game gets so much build up, there is no way it can meet expectations. With these two teams, it was going to be good anyway you looked at it.
For starters, they were fairly equal opponents, as evidenced by the 1-1 in head-to-head play. There would be no quit on either side, as seen in how hard both went after one another this year. Throw in five-mile apart rivals and you have the makings of a classic high-school basketball game.
The Cardinal faithful had to be worried early on when Byron jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half. This is a Tiger squad that knows how to win and doesn't get flustered in pressure-packed environments, like Tabor Gym in Rock Falls was.
However, the players from Stillman didn't appear to be fazed by the necessary task of mounting a second-half comeback. That's the steely determination built from months and months of preparation for moments like this and the desire to be the ones on the ladder clipping nets down.
It still saddens me to think of how long it took for girls sports to come into being in Illinois. For anyone of you in the gym watching Byron and Stillman, imagine not having that same opportunity 50 years ago because of ignorant, chauvinistic attitudes.
The last time these two teams played, Taylor Davidson of SV was held to six points. It was tight defense on her again, but she managed to make 5-6 shots in the second half comeback. It wasn't until the final minute that the Cardinals could claim their first lead. Again, the players had the resolve to finally pull in front, but as a fan, I would have been near cardiac arrest for the previous 31 minutes.
How about the 2A boys sectional with as wide open of a field as can found. The No. 1 seeds bowed out at regionals, with No. 2s Byron and Rock Falls surviving, along with No. 4 Princeton and No. 6 Winnebago, who beat one of those No. 1 seeds in Rockford Christian. Was it the tradition of Winnebago that got it done, or was RC overrated? Credit does need to go to RC for being the only team in IHSA history to have two 2,000-career scorers (Elijah Cummings, Elijah Daughtery) playing at the same time.
What I found interesting in the four regional finals was how close the scores were to one another, with Byron and 'Bago winning by identical 57-50 scores. Princeton was 59-53 and Rock Falls 61-58. Does that mean we will see scores in the 50s at the sectional?
If Byron plays like they did in the regular season against Pecatonica, they could be the one moving onto the super-sectional.
Anything can happen in the post season and the 3A regional final between Rockford Boylan (6-26) and Rochelle (12-20) bears this out. Neither should have been there, especially Boylan who had lost 21 of its last 22 contests.
Bear in mind, this was a once proud basketball power that dominated the northern Illinois basketball scene. But, Boylan has half as many students as they did in the glory years of decades past. Lately, it was been the public schools like Auburn, East and Guilford on top of the NIC-10 instead of Boylan or Hononegah. By making the sectional with a last-second 64-63 win over Rochelle, Boylan was at least able to salvage its season a bit.
Hey, its called March Madness for a reason and I sure wish I would have been able to be in Bureau Valley to watch the Stillman Valley girls and Peoria Notre go at for a trip to state on the line. I will be cheering you on from 1,300 miles away, though, on the NFHS network.
One regional final that puzzled me was Annawan beating Forreston 67-38. I really thought Forreston was going to be the type of underdog that nobody wanted to play. Apparently, Annawan surmised the situation differently and put the hammer down.
It's been nearly 40 years since tiny Ohio took second place the boys Class A state basketball tournament. That was when it was two classes instead of four and winning Class A was the same as being champ of 1A/2A combined. To finish second with about 60 kids was remarkable.
Sadly, there have been meetings about closing the school. With only 20 students in the entire grades 9-12, it's become something that needs to be addressed. If approved, the plan is to bus the remaining students to either Amboy or Bureau Valley.
Even though Oregon's wrestling team lost to Tolono Unity in the quarterfinal round of the 1A state duals, it doesn't diminish its season. The Hawks are loaded with younger talent and could regain its lofty status of top dog of area small-school wrestling in the years to come.
Andy Colbert is a longtime Ogle County resident with years of experience covering sports and more for multiple area publications.
