Area Sports

By Lenny Sementi Tuscola’s football team usually hits the road running when the first of June rolls around boasting a near perfect attendance rate for most of the summer. The COVID-19 shut down not only kept the Warriors out of the weight room the final nine weeks of the school year but also postponed the…

By Tony Hooker Grant Nohren played a lot of softball, competing from 1977 until knee surgery ended his career.  In this second part of the series, I sat down with him to discuss the highlights of those 22 years. You started playing in 1977.  How long did you play? I played from 77 until I…

The IHSA announced its ‘Return to Play’ guidelines and protocols on Friday afternoon. The detailed list includes several checklist items for any school in a Phase 3 region and is cleared to start practicing as of June 6, with school district approval.  The IHSA SMAC (Sports Medicine Advisory Committee) is responsible for creating the plan…

By Tony Hooker For the better part of five decades, softball, specifically fastpitch softball, was king in Villa Grove and the surrounding area.   How good was the competition in the area?  In 1978, the Villa Grove State Bank team won the regional tournament, defeating Sadorus in the championship game. but couldn’t advance out of…

Congratulations to the 2020 Villa Grove Junior High Basketball Cheer Squad: Lila Bessent, Brylee Butler, Carly Eads, Destiny Gray, Madison Hinds, Scarlett Howard, Kirstyn Jones, Olivia Jones, Ryan Lillard, Eva Piercy, Faith Shreeves, Nevaeh Thompson-Burton and Maddie Wicklander. 

Congratulations to the 2020 Villa Grove High Football Cheer Squad: Lily Lawrence, JoBeth Crafton, Kirsten Foreman, Molly Little, Taylur Orwick, Morgan Smith, Ava Vollmer, Maci Clodfelder, Breanna Duke, Mackenzie Ewing, Chloe Reardon, Cadence Sanders, Riley White and Addisyn Wilson. 

By Tony Hooker  With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing all athletic competition to a halt, I thought it would be good to get to know the seniors who compete for Villa Grove, Heritage and VGH co-op teams. Haley Sappenfield What’s your favorite high school memory?  Winning the IHSA sectional championship my junior year of dance.  What…

By Tony Hooker  With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing all athletic competition to a halt, I thought it would be good to get to know the seniors who compete for Villa Grove, Heritage and VGH coop teams. Grace Hutchison What’s your favorite memory of high school that didn’t occur in the classroom? My favorite memories that…

By Lenny Sementi  Every season eventually comes to end but the 2020 version of the Lady Warriors Softball team was thrown a curveball this spring. If you make the state championships you know you are done at the end of it. If you lose in the postseason before there are usually some tears but there…

By Tony Hooker  With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing all athletic competition to a halt, I thought it would be good to get to know the seniors who compete for Villa Grove, Heritage and VGH coop teams. Liberty Watson What’s your favorite memory of high school that doesn’t involve being in a classroom? If I am…