What did we learn from the first weekend of high-school football?
How about Dixon taking it to Stillman Valley, 56-14. Yes, Dixon is a formidable foe and has a pronounced BNC enrollment advantage, but to put eight scores on the Cardinals wasn’t an expected outcome.
Up front, the Dukes set the tone with complete domination, especially in the first half where SV only mustered 24 yards, save for a long halfback pass that caught Dixon off guard.
A big plus for Dixon is having a coach’s son at quarterback in Cullen Shaner, who was 24-35 for 285 yards and four touchdowns. Be it point guard in basketball, pitcher in baseball/softball or QB in football, there is an intangible about having the coach’s kid in those type of positions.
Can Dixon give Byron a genuine test in conference play?
Considering they had 419 yards offensively against a decent Cardinal squad, the answer is maybe. Right now, Byron’s program has a stronghold over everyone. It was a year ago that Dixon pushed 5A state runner-up St. Laurence to the brink in the playoffs, but had a running clock put on them by Byron.
Put Oct. 18 on your calendar. That’s when Dixon hosts Byron, in what looks to be for the league title.
Two things stand out in Rockford Lutheran’s 49-6 whipping of Winnebago.
Lutheran’s returning skilled players are as good as advertised. For the last few years, once-proud Winnebago has struggled with low participation and this year is the same scenario.
Besides losing their three-year starting quarterback Jack Washburn due to health concerns, Oregon dropped a heartbreaker to North Boone 18-13, with mistakes and penalties being a factor.
With such a close margin for making the playoffs, this was a game Oregon was counting on to win. A year ago in week one, the Hawks eked out a 6-0 win over NB and made the playoffs at 5-4.
As has been documented since the current crop of seniors were freshmen, the talent is there for Oregon to repeat as a playoff team.
The biggest question is whether the Hawks have the mental fortitude to persevere?
It’s been lacking in boys sports at Oregon for a long time and difficult to restart without team leaders stepping to the forefront. Give me kids with determination and discipline over gifted ones.
Football is such a unique game that mental toughness often means more than physical ability. Countless times, I have seen so-called underdogs come through because of simply playing smart and a passion for competition.
It doesn’t even have to be winning a game. How about keeping Byron from putting a running clock on you, like the Tigers did against everyone in the conference except SV.
I’m not discounting Byron’s prowess, but not giving up when things start to go bad is a way to build team morale and character. We grow more from adversity than when things go our way.
Long advertised as the top small-school football conference in Illinois, the NUIC is heavily loaded again, as demonstrated by Forreston’s 28-0 loss to Fulton.
Allowing both a fourth-down touchdown and kickoff return and then fumbling away scoring chances, Forreston made this score a bit misleading. But, could the Cardinals streak of playoff success be in danger one game into the season?
Stockton proved to be a legitimate contender by taking league favorite Du-Pec to the brink in a 32-26 loss. Le-Win is Le-Win and Dakota, Galena, Morrison, and EPC have tradition behind them.
However, before too much panic sets in Forreston, remember they started 2-2 in conference play before winning a state title in 2018. In terms of the aforementioned mental toughness, what was most notable about that season was Forreston going on the road to beat Le-Win in the playoffs after losing to them by three touchdowns in the regular season.
In the eight-man ranks, newcomer West Carroll won its first football game since before COVID-19 with a 64-14 victory over River Ridge. With an enrollment about double over the rest of the teams in the eight-man conference, West Carroll is still a good fit after demonstrating they could not compete in the NUIC.
Biggest blowout was 80-8 by Milledgeville over Ashton-Franklin Center and new coach Dave Smith, whose long-time experience will be an asset to AFC. For now, though, Milledgeville might be team to beat in eight-man, along with Amboy.
As usual, Polo will make its presence felt. It remains to be seen if the Marcos have personnel to run with the big dogs, though.
I missed the first Friday night of the season, as I drove south of Peoria to set up to run a 100K race at the Sand Ridge State Forest. Like lighthouses along the ocean beckoning ships to safe harbor, I would occasionally see rural towns in the distance aglow with football field lights.
Like a ship, those sights made me feel all is right in my little world.
Andy Colbert is a longtime Ogle County resident with years of experience covering sports and more for multiple area publications.
