The Journal-News

Somewhere beneath all of the muck accumulated from the Deer Camp course in Bloomfield, IN is the quad Briar Kuhl piloted to a ninth place finish in the Super Mini class of the Extreme XC series on Saturday, March 19.

Races Go From Extreme To Extremely Muddy

It was round two of the Extreme XC series in Bloomfield, IN, on March 19-20, with several local racers hitting the course. On March 19, the quads hit an extremely muddy course, with Butler’s … more

3/28/22

Shirt To Benefit Wieland's Cancer Battle

Friends and family of Niki Wieland are holding a T-shirt fundraiser for the Nokomis soccer mom as she battles breast cancer. The shirts are gray with a soccer ball and a modified MTXE (Mental … more

3/28/22

Hillsboro senior Abbi Schreiber sends a cross to the far post just before Metro-East Lutheran's Rhiannon Lazella can get a foot on the ball during the Toppers' home game on Monday, March 21. Schreiber had two goals for the Toppers and helped maintain Hillsboro's lead in the second half as the hosts beat the Knights' 7-1 to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Hiltoppers Knock Out Knights At Home

Hillsboro wasn’t the first to score in their game against Metro-East Lutheran at the Hillsboro Sports Complex on Monday, March 21, but the Lady Toppers definitely visited the back of the net … more

3/24/22

Lancers Walk Away With First Victory

The Lincolnwood baseball team picked up their first win of the season on Monday, March 21, with an 8-5 victory over Staunton. The game would have its challenges as Staunton staked starter Brady … more

3/24/22

Young Purple Panthers Fall To Civic Memorial

The Litchfield High School girls soccer team opened up their season with a tough opponent on Monday, March 14, as they traveled to Bethalto to take on the Civic Memorial Eagles. Sophomore Abrianna … more

3/24/22

Seven-Run Third Pushes Vandals Past Lincolnwood

The Lincolnwood softball team came up one run shy of their second victory of the season on Monday, March 21, as they fell to Vandalia 10-9 in Fayette County. The Lady Lancers led 6-3 going into … more

3/24/22

Bourke’s Taxidermy took home eight ribbons and four major awards from the Illinois Taxidermist Association convention and competition in Springfield on March 17-20. Pictured above with their award winning elk are the father and son team behind Bourke’s Taxidermy, Bill Bourke and son Derek, who took over the business from his father recently.

Bourke’s Taxidermy Takes Top State Spots

A familiar name to hunters in Montgomery County earned some of the state’s top awards at the Illinois Taxidermist Association Convention and Competition on March 17-20 in … more

3/24/22

Errors Costly To Toppers In No-Hitter

North Mac pitcher Kayla Gillespie allowed five base runners, but held Hillsboro hitless as the Lady Hiltoppers fell to the Panthers 11-1 in five innings on Monday, March 21. Gillespie walked three … more

3/24/22

College Report: Huber Tees Off For Illinois College

Hillsboro graduate Dane Huber, an Illinois College sophomore, quickly adjusted his goals after the first round of the Illinois College-hosted Spring Opener. "After the first round, I was in … more

by Dan Chamness | 3/24/22

Joined by his family and high school coaches, Hillsboro senior Dillon Smail made his decision to play baseball for St. Charles Community College official on Wednesday, March 16, at the Hillsboro High School gym. Seated with Smail are his parents, Donovan and Carrie, along with his sister, Chloe. In the back, from the left, are Hillsboro Baseball Head Coach Kyle McBrain and Assistant Coach Mike Rappe.

Hard Work Lands Smail At St. Charles

In last year’s regional championship game in Pana, Hillsboro’s final baseball game of the 2021 campaign, you could see the type of player Dillon Smail is by his face... and his hair... … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 3/24/22

Litchfield High School senior Kelvin Dooley made his college decision official on Friday, March 18, as he will continue his education and golf career at Blackburn College. Seated with Dooley, from the left, are his sister, Aryn, and his parents Stacey and Chad Dooley. Standing in the back are Litchfield Head Coach Dan Newkirk and Assistant Coach Justin Ripley.

Push Leads Dooley To Blackburn

In 2019, the Litchfield High School boys golf team finished eighth in their regional and fifth in the South Central Conference. Since then, the Panthers have gotten an influx of talented young … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 3/24/22

Hillsboro's Kinley Richardson (#32) celebrates after scoring the Lady Hiltoppers' third goal in their season opener on Friday, March 18, at North Mac. Layne Rupert (far left) assisted on Richardson's goal and scored two of her own as Hillsboro beat the Panthers 3-1 to start the 2022 campaign.

Toppers Victorious In Season Opener

With five all-conference honorees and 11 wins in 18 games, it’s hard to classify last year’s Hillsboro High School girls soccer season as anything less than a success, especially with the … more

3/21/22

Litchfield's Tate Dobrinich slides safely into home plate after scoring the first run of the game for the Purple Panthers on Thursday, March 17. Dobrinich and company would lead 5-0 after two innings, but Southwestern rallied to score nine runs in the final four innings for a 9-6 non-conference victory.

Piasa Birds Rally To Down LHS

After dropping their season opener the Litchfield Purple Panthers would look to rebound in their home opener as they welcomed the 0-1 Southwestern Piasa Birds on Thursday, March 17. The South Central … more

3/21/22

Greenville Battles Back To Beat Lady Redskins

The Greenville Comets overcame a two-run deficit on their home field to score a 4-2 victory over Nokomis on Thursday, March 17, as the Redskins played their third straight road game to start the … more

3/21/22

Lady Panthers Open '22 Season

The Litchfield High School softball team started their season on Wednesday, March 16, with a mix of youth and experience in this year’s starting nine. Three seniors, two juniors, two … more

3/21/22

Roster Set For All-Star Carlinville Game

The top 58 boys and girls’ basketball seniors from South Central Illinois will be playing in the 18th Annual Carlinville Rotary Club All-Star Basketball Classic, presented by Prairie Farms … more

3/21/22

Mills Ketching On Quick In Hillsboro

Last Friday’s baseball game scheduled against the St.Elmo/Brownstown co-op team was rained out; this afternoon’s (Monday, March 21) contest at Bunker Hill is junior varsity only. The … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 3/21/22

Strozier's Gem Spoils Litchfield Debut

For a few hours, on Wednesday, March 16, in Lebanon, life felt normal for high school baseball players from Lebanon and Litchfield. After being shut down in 2020 and a different season in 2021, … more

3/21/22

After two abnormal years due to the pandemic, the Litchfield High School baseball team is hoping to light up their new scoreboard early and often in the 2022 season. The purple Nevco board was installed by D&M Electric of Litchfield a few weeks before the start of the season, which kicked off on Wednesday, March 16, in Lebanon.

Panthers Excited For New Normal

For Conor White, his tenure as skipper of the Litchfield High School baseball club has been anything but normal. After his first year being cut off due to COVID, Coach White’s second … more

3/21/22

Nokomis' Elijah Aumann (left) and Hillsboro's Drake Vogel (right) both earned special mention recognition for this year's Illinois Basketball Coaches Association all-state teams.

Aumann, Vogel Earn All-State Nods

Two Montgomery County basketball players were among those honored by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) recently as members of the group's 2021-22 all-state teams. Nokomis junior … more

3/21/22