Free Press Advocate

Lady ‘Cats get tourney time, prepare for R-C in regional

Published by admin on Tue, 10/22/2019 - 5:55pm

by shawn long
staff writer
The ‘Cats went 2-3 during the BBCHS Tournament over the weekend.
They captured wins over Hope Academy (25-9, 25-18) and Joliet Central (25-22, 19-25, 15-13). And they felll to Bishop McNamara (14-25, 16-25, 13-15), Rock Island (19-25, 25-21, 11-15) and Champaign Centennial (14-25, 11-25).
Alyssa Ohlund led Wilmington (11-17, 4-9), with 30 kills in the five games. She also served up three aces, put a block up and had10 digs.
Claire Rink tallied 20 kills, four aces and three blocks.

Three levels still in it for the Bobcats

Published by admin on Tue, 10/22/2019 - 5:42pm

by shawn long
staff writer
The Bobcat youth football program had three out of four levels advance to the semifinal round of the playoffs which will be played Saturday in Plano.
The superlight Bobcats were shutout 14-0 by the six seed Chanooka. They finished the season 6-3, scoring 119 points to the 50 they gave up.

Coalers claim conference title

Published by admin on Sat, 10/19/2019 - 8:57am

Coal City won the battle for the Illinois Central Eight football conference Friday night, upending Wilmington 29-14.
Both teams were undefeated and state ranked entering the contest.
The Coalers held the visiting Wildcats scoreless the first half while building a 21-0 lead off a pair of touchdown runs from Daniel Jezik (20 and 5 yards) and a 60-yard scoring pass from Payton Hutchings to Connor Burch.

‘Cats kickers advance to regional semifinal after beating Comets

Published by admin on Tue, 10/15/2019 - 5:25pm

by shawn long
staff writer
On Monday, the stage was set for the rematch between Wilmington and Reed-Custer soccer. And Wilmington remembered about the last time these two teams met, giving them another curly L.
They had revenge in mind, pulling off a 1-0 victory over the Comets during the regional quarterfinal game to move onto Tuesday’s semifinal game in Coal City against Peotone (the outcome of that match was unknown as of press time).

Lady ‘Cats sweep Lisle, fall to top-grade Herscher

Published by admin on Tue, 10/15/2019 - 5:24pm

by shawn long
staff writer
The Wilmington volleyball team had a tough time against Herscher on Thursday, falling 17-25 and 16-25. The visiting Tigers have lost only one of their 26 matches making them the conference leaders.
The Lady ‘Cats got off to a 5-0 start thanks to accurate serving by Jordyn Reents. But once Herscher came alive they took the lead at 10-9, and pulled away from 15-14 on.
Wilmington’s Rebecca Horton served up three aces, hammered a kill and dug up four digs to lead the Lady ‘Cats (11-14, 4-7).

Friday’s contest will be Wilmington’s toughest test yet

Published by admin on Tue, 10/15/2019 - 5:21pm

by shawn long
staff writer
The battle for the Illinois Central Eight conference championship takes place Friday.
Coal City will host Wilmington to decide the conference lead with only one other game left before the football playoffs. It will also determine which team stays undefeated.
The two teams have been in this situation before, both with perfect records before facing each other and if history repeats, the game won’t be decided until near the end.

Lady ‘Cats fall to Manteno, defeat both Streator, Seneca

Published by admin on Tue, 10/08/2019 - 6:04pm

by shawn long
staff writer
On Monday, the Wilmington volleyball squad upended Seneca, 25-12 and 25-17.
The ‘Cats 10-13 (3-6) attacked the ball well early on and never looked back.
Rebecca Horton led WHS by hammering down five kills. She also served up four aces and added four digs.
Claire Rink was big from the middle blocker position, nailing four kills and an ace.
Natalie Van Duyne and Alyssa Ohlund both had four kills. Ohlund had a block and seven digs to go along with it while Van Duyne scooped up a dig.

Cannon misfire doesn’t throw off #1 Wildcats

Published by admin on Tue, 10/08/2019 - 6:01pm

by Eric Fisher
Publisher
The squad firing the replica Civil War cannon in the north end zone at Becker Field got a little trigger-happy Friday night.
No sooner had Wildcat Jake Rodawold gotten up from making a diving catch for a touchdown, the cannon erupted smoke and fire.
The squad hadn’t seen the referee whistling at midfield that the TD was void due to a Wilmington penalty. Nevertheless, it was thrilling to hear the cannon roar once again as it was fired five times before half-time for each touchdown the Wildcats scored.

Bobcats sweep Patriots, all levels in good shape for playoffs

Published by admin on Tue, 10/08/2019 - 5:53pm

by shawn long
staff writer
The Wilmington youth football program won at all four levels over Manhattan Saturday to conclude their season.
The superlight Bobcats picked up a 20-0 win over Manhattan to as they had everything clicking on both sides of the football.
The superlights finish their season with a 6-2 record. They have a solid defense, allowing only 36 points all year. Their offense has scored 119 points, meaning they have an 83 points differential.

‘Cats look to stay undefeated in battle for ACE Trophy

Published by admin on Tue, 10/08/2019 - 5:46pm

by shawn long
staff writer
Rivalries will be renewed this week when Reed-Custer travels to Wilmington to take on the undefeated Wildcats.
It’s the annual battle to determine who gets to keep the ACE Trophy for the next year.