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2026 season preview: Scouting the Three Rivers Conference · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Twenty twenty sixth season preview scouting the Three Rivers Conference.
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  Speaker 1: Written by Kevin Hieronymous. This article is being read by
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  Speaker 1: an automated voice brought to you by Everlett Team Previews
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  Speaker 1: Mississippi Division Hall Putnam County Red Devil's coach Nick Sterling.
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  Speaker 1: Twenty twenty five record three six, three to two schedule
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  Speaker 1: August twenty first at Mercer County August twenty eighth, versus
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  Speaker 1: Riverdale September fourth, at Orion September eleventh, at Mendota September eighteenth,
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  Speaker 1: versus Monmouth Roseville September twenty fifth, at Sherard October second,
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  Speaker 1: versus Kaiwanee October ninth, Princeton October sixteenth, versus Eerie Prophetstown
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  Speaker 1: Worth noting. Sterling took over as head coach at his
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  Speaker 1: alma mater last year after former coach Logan Larson left
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  Speaker 1: after one season to take over at his hometown Pleasant Plains.
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  Speaker 1: The Red Devils won three straight conference games to improve
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  Speaker 1: to three to two mid way through the season before
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  Speaker 1: dropping their final four. Key returners include seniors Colton Crowther
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  Speaker 1: RBLB Kiden Alina, OILDL Jackson, Pinter WRDB, Alex Tucker OILLB,
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  Speaker 1: Evanveckia OILDL, and juniors Kegan Mary Keen WRDB and Chase Sterling.
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  Speaker 1: There will open competition between senior Houston Yannick, junior Tysons Zuniga,
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  Speaker 1: and sophomore Gage Olsen to take over at QB, succeeding
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  Speaker 1: graduated Braden Curran, who took over after the week sixth
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  Speaker 1: injury to starter Dylan Glenn. All three will be key
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  Speaker 1: players regardless of their role, Sterling said Keweny. Boiler Makers
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  Speaker 1: coach Matt Taylor. Twenty twenty five record zero nine zero
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  Speaker 1: five schedule August twenty first at Rockridge. August twenty eighth,
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  Speaker 1: versus Newman, September fourth at Erie Prophetstown September eleventh, at
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  Speaker 1: Shared September eighteenth, versus Mendota September twenty fifth, versus Princeton
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  Speaker 1: October second, at Hall October ninth, versus Monmouth Roseville October sixteenth,
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  Speaker 1: versus Riverdale. Worth noting the boiler Makers may have not
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  Speaker 1: won game last year, but Monroe's coach Jeremy Adamson said
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  Speaker 1: they may have the most athletic talent in the division.
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  Speaker 1: Kewanee will look to seniors Canon, Griffin Oil Deal, Camden
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  Speaker 1: Hicks Oil Deal, Isaiah Ent QB dB, Ace Lafalette RB,
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  Speaker 1: and juniors Chris crow WLD dB and Eli Dennison LB
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  Speaker 1: to help write the ship. Kiwanee was the last team
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  Speaker 1: other than Monmouth, Roseville and Princeton to win the Three
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  Speaker 1: Rivers Mississippi Championship, finishing nine two to twenty twenty one
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  Speaker 1: with a second round playoff defeat. The Boilermakers have gone
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  Speaker 1: five to fourteen the last two years, since going eight
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  Speaker 1: two in twenty twenty three. Mendota Trojan's coach Jim Eustace
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty five record two seven two three schedule August
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  Speaker 1: twenty first at Orion, August twenty eighth, versus Eerie, Prophetstown
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  Speaker 1: September fourth, at Riverdale September eleventh, versus Hall September eighteenth,
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  Speaker 1: at Kewanee September twenty fifth, versus Monmouth Roseville October second,
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  Speaker 1: at Princeton October ninth, at Schirard October sixteenth, versus newman Worth.
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  Speaker 1: Noting Eustace starts his second season at Mendota since making
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  Speaker 1: the short trip north from Saint Bede, he said we
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  Speaker 1: had a good foundation built last year, and we'll have
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  Speaker 1: a good mix of experience in youth and expect to
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  Speaker 1: be extremely competitive. Key players for the Trojans will be
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  Speaker 1: senior's Javier Hernandez QB slash RB slash LB, Jaden Leslie RBDE,
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  Speaker 1: Gavin Stevenson RBDB, Caden Tally Osmer RBLB, and junior Canon
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  Speaker 1: chey on OLDL. Mendoda's last playoff appearance was twenty twenty one,
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  Speaker 1: bowing out in the first round. The Trojans last winning
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  Speaker 1: season was twenty fourteen, finishing six to four for with
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  Speaker 1: another first round playoff exit. Monmouth. Roseville Titans coach Jeremy
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  Speaker 1: Adolphson twenty twenty five record ten two five zero Schedule
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  Speaker 1: August twenty first at Erie Prophetstown. August twenty eighth, versus
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  Speaker 1: Rockridge September fourth, at Mercer County September eleventh, versus Princeton
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  Speaker 1: September eighteenth, at Hall September twenty fifth, at Mendota October second,
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  Speaker 1: versus Sheard October ninth, a x Kewanee October sixteenth, versus
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  Speaker 1: oryan Worth. Noting the Titans' top goal, Adolphson said is
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  Speaker 1: to defend their division titles from twenty twenty four and
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty five. While the Titans return two of the
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  Speaker 1: best running backs seniors Landon Montroy two hundred and four
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  Speaker 1: yards twenty t d's and Lars Bergran in the conference,
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  Speaker 1: they will be very young and inexperienced up front and
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  Speaker 1: in defensively. Bergran is also one of the best defensive
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  Speaker 1: players returning in the Track. The key to our success
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  Speaker 1: will be maintaining the standard for physicality that our last
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  Speaker 1: few teams have set. We will need a number of
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  Speaker 1: kids to step up and start for us on one
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  Speaker 1: son side of the ball, so we can two platoon
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  Speaker 1: as much as possible. Adolphson said, it is unlikely that
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  Speaker 1: many on our roster are ready e lapable to be
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  Speaker 1: two way starters on a high quality team. Other key
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  Speaker 1: players for the Titans are senior Braylan Hughes OLDL, juniors
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  Speaker 1: Kane Johnson QBDB, Ty Moore RB slash slash slash LB,
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  Speaker 1: and sophomore andrews Snyder RBDB. Princeton Tiger's coach Ryan Pearson.
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  Speaker 1: Twenty twenty five record six four to four to one
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  Speaker 1: schedule August twenty first, at Riverdale August twenty eighth versus
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  Speaker 1: Mercer County September fourth, at Newman September eleventh, at Monmouth
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  Speaker 1: Roseville September eighteenth, versus Sherard September twenty fifth, at Kewanee
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  Speaker 1: October second, at Mendota October ninth, versus Hall October sixteenth,
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  Speaker 1: versus Rockridge. Worth noting the Tigers will be very young
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  Speaker 1: and good. They will have big shoes to fill with
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  Speaker 1: the graduation of Casey Ethridge, who became Bureau County's all
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  Speaker 1: time leader in rushing for yards and tds. They will
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  Speaker 1: turn to senior Iden n Agucci, juniors Brennan Emmett and
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  Speaker 1: Lane Goskuski, and sophomore Reese Pearson to try to fill them.
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  Speaker 1: Juniors Jack Oster steps in at quarterback. Other key players
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  Speaker 1: are seniors Landin Keendel, TDT, Luke Laporte, T s A B.
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  Speaker 1: Longeville TELB, and juniors Deacon Gutshell t E LB, and
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  Speaker 1: Andrew Giacinto GLB. Sharond Tiger's coach Zach Weigel. Twenty twenty
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  Speaker 1: five record two seven schedule August twenty first, at Newman
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  Speaker 1: August twenty eighth. Versus Orion September fourth, at Rockridge September eleventh,
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  Speaker 1: versus Kewhani September eighteenth, at Princeton September twenty fifth, versus
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  Speaker 1: Hall October second, at Monmouth Roseville October ninth, versus Mendota
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  Speaker 1: October sixteenth, versus Mercer County Top Players, Top Players. Wegel
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  Speaker 1: takes over the Tiger's helm from Dan McGuire, who coached
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  Speaker 1: just one year. Wegel comes homes from Davenport Central, where
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  Speaker 1: he was associate head coach and defensive coordinator. We are
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  Speaker 1: looking to build on the momentum from coach McGuire last
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  Speaker 1: season and lay a strong foundation for the future. We
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  Speaker 1: have a young, hungry group of players that have been
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  Speaker 1: working hard this offseason. We are going to play fundamentally
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  Speaker 1: sound football and be a disciplined, well conditioned team. Weigel said.
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  Speaker 1: Sheard's numbers have improved a bit, and Weigel is optimistic
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  Speaker 1: they'll be able to field a full varsity and JV
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  Speaker 1: team this year. We graduated a handful of really good
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  Speaker 1: players life last year that were key contributors, but we
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  Speaker 1: do have some talented returning players that we are counting
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  Speaker 1: on to take a big step this season and be
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  Speaker 1: leaders for us. He said. Those players include senior Javin
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  Speaker 1: Jones WRDB and Junior's Landon Clark RBDB, Harper Farwell, Stephen
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  Speaker 1: Hollins TLB, and Quinn Zimmerman d B. Steve Soussi's predicted
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  Speaker 1: finish asterisk projected playoff qualifier Monmouth, Roseville asterisk, Princeton asterisk,
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  Speaker 1: Mendota asterisk, Hall Putnam County asterisk Kney Shared Rock Division
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  Speaker 1: eerie Prophetstown. Panthers coach Tyler Whitebread twenty twenty five record
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  Speaker 1: six four to three to two schedule August twenty first,
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  Speaker 1: versus Monmouth, Roseville August twenty eighth at Mendota. September fourth,
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  Speaker 1: versus Kewene September twelfth at Newman September eighteenth, versus Orion
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  Speaker 1: September twenty fifth at Rockridge, October tewod versus Mercer County
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  Speaker 1: October ninth at Riverdale, October sixteenth at hall Worth. Noting,
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  Speaker 1: Whitebread said the Panthers expect to build on last year success.
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  Speaker 1: The Panthers lost some key skill position players that led
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  Speaker 1: to their second consecutive playoff berth, and replacing them will
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  Speaker 1: be tough to do. Whitebread said, However, ep returns senior
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  Speaker 1: RB Tristan Hovey that rushed for over one thousand yards,
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  Speaker 1: along with most of their starting offensive line, including first
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  Speaker 1: team All Conference Caleb Bramer OLDL. Other top players are
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  Speaker 1: seniors Derek nafsker OLLB and Evan Steinmel QBLB, first Team
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  Speaker 1: All Conference defense, and juniors Lane Decker wr dB and
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  Speaker 1: John Holland oil DL. Mercer County Golden Eagles coach Fred
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  Speaker 1: Lucas twenty twenty five record two seven zero five schedule
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  Speaker 1: August twenty first. Versus Hall August twenty eighth at Princeton
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  Speaker 1: September fourth, versus Monmouth Roseville September eleventh at Rockbridge September eighteenth,
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  Speaker 1: versus Newman September twenty fifth, versus Riverdale October second at
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  Speaker 1: Erie Profen October ninth, versus Orion October sixteenth at sheard Worth.
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  Speaker 1: Noting the Golden Eagles have gone two eight in three
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  Speaker 1: Rivers Conference Rock Division play since coming over from the
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  Speaker 1: Lincoln Trail in twenty twenty four, with both wins coming
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  Speaker 1: that season. They snapped a six game losing streak by
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  Speaker 1: defeating Mendota thirty three ten to end the season on
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  Speaker 1: a winning note. Last year. Key returning players are seniors
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  Speaker 1: Brady Heinrix, OLDL, Brady Holmes, OLDL, Caleb Qualm TLB and
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  Speaker 1: Logan Schuer's rb dB. Newman Comets coach Mike LeMay twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty five record eight three, four to one. Schedule August
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  Speaker 1: twenty second. Versus Sheerard August twenty eighth at Kawani. September fourth,
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  Speaker 1: versus Princeton September twelfth, versus Erie Propheestown September eighteenth at
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  Speaker 1: Mercer County September twenty fifth, versus Orion October third, versus
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  Speaker 1: Riverdale October ninth, at Rockridge October sixteenth at Mendota Worth
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  Speaker 1: of Noting, LeMay is optimistic the Comets have the firepower
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  Speaker 1: to get back on top of the division, which they
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  Speaker 1: last won in twenty twenty four. We have a ton
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  Speaker 1: of seniors coming back that have had a ton of
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  Speaker 1: playing time over the past two years. We are aiming
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  Speaker 1: to make our mark upon the three Rivers, hoping to
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  Speaker 1: be on top again. Overall, this group will be ready
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  Speaker 1: to go and are excited to take on the challenges
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  Speaker 1: that the new season brings, LeMay said. The Newman coach
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  Speaker 1: notes the Comets will be little young in the trenches,
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  Speaker 1: but as a group that is working hard to get
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  Speaker 1: everything together. He adds that our skill players will be
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  Speaker 1: explosive and may be one of the most talented groups
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  Speaker 1: we have had in recent years. Key players for the
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  Speaker 1: Comets are seniors Reelan Alvarado, RBDB, Matthew Blackert RBLB, Riley
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  Speaker 1: Mason LB, Matthew Murray, TDT Renner Rosngren QBDB, John Rowsey TB,
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  Speaker 1: and junior Tyson Williams TLB. Orion Chargers coach Matt McClain.
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  Speaker 1: Twenty twenty five record three six one four schedule August
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  Speaker 1: twenty first, versus Mendota August twenty eighth at Sherrard. September fourth,
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  Speaker 1: versus Hall September eleventh, versus Riverdale September eighteenth, at Eerie
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  Speaker 1: pri Straffordstown September twenty fifth, at Newman October second, versus
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  Speaker 1: Rock Red October ninth, at Mercer County. October sixteenth at
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  Speaker 1: Monmouth Roseville Worth noting McLean, an assistant defensive coordinator for
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  Speaker 1: four years at Davenport North, succeeds longtime Orion coach Chip Filler,
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  Speaker 1: who resigned after seventeen years, returning all conference players are
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  Speaker 1: seniors Charlie Arnold, DL, Aaron Moore, dB, Cayden Taylor, OELL,
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  Speaker 1: and Grayson Weaver OEL. Riverdale Rams coach Guy Dirick's twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty five record sixty four two three schedule August twenty first,
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  Speaker 1: versus Princeton August twenty eighth at Hall, September fourth, versus
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  Speaker 1: Mendota September eleventh, at Orion September eighteenth, versus Rockridge September
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  Speaker 1: twenty fifth at Mercer County. October third at Newman October ninth,
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  Speaker 1: versus Erie Prophetstown October sixteenth at kewany Worth. Noting the
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  Speaker 1: Rams made their first playoff appearance in fourteen years last year,
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  Speaker 1: falling to Seneca thirty five twenty one in the first
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  Speaker 1: round in two A. They have gone ten eighteen since
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  Speaker 1: sitting out the twenty twenty two season due to lack
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  Speaker 1: of numbers. Returning players are senior lineman Marcus Bennett, Jackson
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  Speaker 1: Fritch and Carter Orr and classmate Jackson Tedler TB dB,
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  Speaker 1: and junior linebackers Lucas Dunbar and Brady Rogers. Rockridge Rocket
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  Speaker 1: coach Sam Graves twenty twenty five record ten one five
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  Speaker 1: zero schedule August twenty first. Versus K one E August
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  Speaker 1: Is twenty eighth at Monmouth Roseville. September fourth, versus Sherrard
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  Speaker 1: September eleventh, versus Mercer County September eighteenth at Riverdale September
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  Speaker 1: twenty fifth, versus Eerie Prophetstown October third at o'ryon October ninth.
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  Speaker 1: Versus versus Newman October sixteenth at Princeton Worth noting, while
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  Speaker 1: first team All State QB and three year starter Cullinschwiggan
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  Speaker 1: sixty three, two hundred and five running back Thomas Swords
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  Speaker 1: five eight one sixty five pound tackle, Isaac Bull six
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  Speaker 1: three one seventy, Chase Wheatley w RDB, and Wyatt Osbourne dB,
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  Speaker 1: all seniors returned for the Rockets, they have some holes
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  Speaker 1: to fill to defend their conference championship. Graves said team
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  Speaker 1: explosiveness drops with the graduation of two statistical leaders Owen
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  Speaker 1: Steele and Liam Steele at wide receiver in DB's The
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  Speaker 1: Rockets also must replace all state linemen linebacker Ryan Lower,
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  Speaker 1: along with Tanner mcgegue and junior two way lineman Levi Junas,
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  Speaker 1: who had knee surgery. How do you replace those guys.
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  Speaker 1: Graves said the differensive line is thin with graduation losses
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  Speaker 1: and injury, and Graves said lack of line depth on
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  Speaker 1: both sides of the ball and experience is a concern.
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  Speaker 1: The good news, Graves anticipates have their numbers back up
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  Speaker 1: to around fifty kids out or more this fall. For
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  Speaker 1: a small school program, we think is a positive, he said. Schwigan,
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  Speaker 1: a three sports standout who recently committed to play football
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  Speaker 1: for Western Illinois, has passed for four five hundred and
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  Speaker 1: eighty nine yards and fifty one touchdowns and rushed for
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  Speaker 1: two four hundred and eighty five yards and forty three
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  Speaker 1: touchdowns on three fifty four carries. Five players to watch
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  Speaker 1: Lars Bergen Monroez as r RBDB, the Rocket standout, is
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  Speaker 1: one of the top two haway standouts in the Three Rivers.
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  Speaker 1: A returning All Conference player at flexen defensive back Landon
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  Speaker 1: Montroy Monrose Sr RBLB, the All Conference back rushed for
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  Speaker 1: one two hundred and four yards and twenty touchdowns for
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  Speaker 1: the Three Rivers. Mississippi Division champions Reyes Pearson Princeton so
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  Speaker 1: rb dB. The Tigers have big shoes to fill with
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  Speaker 1: the graduation of all time Bureau County rusher Casey Etheridge
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  Speaker 1: and Pearson, who showed flashes of game breaking speedy in
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  Speaker 1: a limited role last season, will get the opportunity to
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  Speaker 1: try to fill them for his dad's team. Cullen Schwigen
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  Speaker 1: Rockridge Sr QB. In three seasons the Rockets QB has
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  Speaker 1: thrown for four thousand, five hundred and eighty nine yards
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  Speaker 1: fifty one touchdowns and gained two four hundred and eighty
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  Speaker 1: five yards and forty three touchdowns on three fifty four carries.
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  Speaker 1: He has committed to Western Illinois. Chase Sterling Hall junior Tidez,
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  Speaker 1: the son the Red Devil's coach Nick, who played Division
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  Speaker 1: one football Vanderbilt. Sterling is making a name for himself
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  Speaker 1: on the summer camp circuit with invites from nine Division
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  Speaker 1: one schools, including five from the Big Ten. Five games
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  Speaker 1: to watch. Week two Rockridge at Monmouth Roseville, the reigning
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  Speaker 1: division champions clash in a Week two to three Rivers
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  Speaker 1: crossover in Monmouth. The Rockets won last year's Week seven
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  Speaker 1: matchup in Edgington forty eight twelve. Week three Princeton at Newman,
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  Speaker 1: the Tigers make another trip to Sterling for a three
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  Speaker 1: Rivers crossover, looking to avenge last year's twenty eight to
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  Speaker 1: fourteen loss to the Comets. The Tigers had won five
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  Speaker 1: straight against Newman prior to last year's defeat and own
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  Speaker 1: a ten eight series edge. Week four Princeton at Monmouth Roseville.
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  Speaker 1: If the Tigers are to get back on top of
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  Speaker 1: the three Rivers Missy Sisseba, they'll have to go through
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  Speaker 1: the two time defending champion Titans. It will mark Princeton's
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  Speaker 1: fourth trip to Monmouth in four years, including a twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty four playoff meeting. The Tigers hold a seven to
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  Speaker 1: five all time series edge, but the Titans won at
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  Speaker 1: Princeton last year thirty six to eight. Week four Hall
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  Speaker 1: at Mendota. This week four to three Rivers Mississippi battle
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  Speaker 1: will match both the Red Devils Nick Sterling and Trojans
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  Speaker 1: Jim Eustace coming out with second year head coaches in
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  Speaker 1: an anticipated Illinois Valley showdown. Hall won last year eighteen
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  Speaker 1: to six in Mendota. Week eight Hall at Princeton Bureau
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  Speaker 1: County fans always have this game circled on their calendar.
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  Speaker 1: Between the longtime rivals. It's just the fuel to light
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  Speaker 1: the Princeton homecoming fire for Week eight. The Tigers won
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  Speaker 1: last year's game in Spring Valley twenty eight to twelve.
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  Speaker 1: Steve Sussi's predicted Finnish asterisk projected playoff qualifier rock Ridge asterisk,
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  Speaker 1: Newman asterisk, Riverdale asterisk Erie, Prophetstown asterisk, Mercer County, Oriyon