Wednesday nights are normally men’s group at church for me. However, last Wednesday I felt a hankering for fried chicken and some good high school basketball.
Thus, it was off the Fritz’s Wooden Nickel for the $14.99 Wednesday chicken buffet, complete with soups, salad bar, pasta, ribs, garlic bread, potatoes, gravy, vegs and of course deep-fried chicken. With rising restaurant prices everywhere, what a bargain for such a wide array of home cooked food.
With a full stomach of guilty pleasures, it was a short five-mile drive from Stillman Valley to Byron to watch the Tigers take on the No. 1 team in 1A, Pecatonica. Going from an elbow-to-elbow crowd at Fritz’s, it wasn’t quite as jam-packed in Byron, but nearly a full house for these two rivals.
Finding a seat next to Russ Zick and John Zick, the basketball game was the perfect nightcap to my meal. Not only did I get the chance to see quality roundball, but John and Russ had plenty of lively banter for me.
As I shared before, why would I ever want to move somewhere else when I can have such an enjoyable evening with such simple pleasures as found in Ogle County.
Yes, I missed my biblical teachings, but I sense God is okay with me stepping out in a different venue occasionally, provided my faith is always with Him. Arriving home later the evening, there was a feeling of spirituality brought about by food, fellowship and fun.
After seeing Byron takes Pecatonica to the limit, I had to reassess my opinion of them. To be quite frank, I assumed they would be in the rebuilding mode after losing the bulk of last year’s 2A state third-place team.
Not so. With a young cast of budding stars and a heady coach in Matt Huels, they appear on their way to future success.
The main reason Pecatonica beat Byron is because of the poise and maturity of their seniors. Far from being tentative, the Tigers attacked from the opening tip off until the final seconds when the game out of reach.
In athletics, fear can keep individuals from reaching their greatest potential, and I didn’t see fear. Another factor that may have been in play in this game is pressure. Byron had no pressure on them. Undefeated and ranked No. 1, Pecatonica had to be feeling some.
For Pec, that will only ratchet up as the season progresses, especially into the post season, where anything other than a much elusive trip downstate will be considered a failure.
Harsh words, but coach Bobby Heisler had harsh words after the game, saying his team was outplayed. For a school that has never been downstate in any boys or girls sports other than bass fishing, so much is at stake with its most talented team ever.
A big plus for Pec is most of these kids had the experience of competing at the highest level in football. Generally speaking, basketball-only guys don’t have the same mental tenacity as multi-sport athletes.
A drawback for a young team like Byron is maintaining consistency. Compared to how well they played against Pec, it was a different story Saturday, losing at home to Oregon, 46-44.
Hawk coach Jarrett Reynolds thought it was the first time in around 10 years that Oregon beat Byron. The three-year head coach also called it the most impactful victory of his career.
A key for Oregon was a tough defense and being able to exert its force down low. In December, Byron won 54-42.
I saw a bunch of Oregon players at the Pec-Byron game and maybe that prepared them for returning to the same gym and taking it to the Tigers.
It was a big weekend all around for Oregon athletics, as the wrestlers held a cancer fundraiser at their last regular-season meet on Friday. It was for Jim Sklavanitis, whose son Brandon was a state champ for the Hawks and former state-placing wrestler Andrew Herbst.
Also on Friday, the Oregon bowling team made school history by advancing to Saturday’s final round of the state tournament. In 2012, when Oregon made its only other trip downstate, they bowed after Friday. Only 12 of the 24 teams make the cut from Friday’s round.
To give an idea of how tough the Oregon sectional was, all four qualifying teams advanced to Saturday, with Harlem taking second place. The Hawks ended up at 12th.
Sandwiched around Harlem were small schools Harrisburg (553 enrollment) and Breese Central (620 enrollment). Harrisburg, with three sophomores, crushed everyone by 689 pins, including a Saturday morning state record of 3,531 pins for a three-game series.
In another ode to small schools, the individual champ was from Carterville. Interestingly, Carterville, Harrisburg and Breese Central are located in the deep south of Illinois and close to the state final site in O’Fallon. There has to be something about the popularity of bowling in that part of the state.
Andy Colbert is a longtime Ogle County resident with years of experience covering sports and more for multiple area publications.
