Payson-Seymour High School
The fourth annual Muddy River Showcase takes place June 21 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. The girls game will tip at 2 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 4 p.m. General admission is $10. PAYSON, Ill. — Like most children, Ella Archer had visions of grandeur. Now, those lofty dreams…
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The fourth annual Muddy River Showcase takes place June 21 at John WoodCommunity College’s Student Activity Center. The girls game will tip at 2 p.m.with the boys game to follow at 4 p.m. General admission is $10. PAYSON, Ill. — Blake Schwartz’s accomplishments on the basketball court could have pushed him to follow his hoops…
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CONCORD, Ill. — Abby Hagerbaumer and a late rally gave the Payson Seymour softball team a puncher’s chance, but Triopia’s Mylee Tracy had other plans. The two pitchers combined to give up just four hits in Saturday’s Class 1A Triopia Regional championship game, and Tracy escaped a seventh-inning jam to seal a 1-0 victory. Lucie…
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MENDON, Ill. — The Jacksonville Routt baseball team’s death-by-a-thousand-cuts strategy paid off in the form of a trip to the Class 1A Mendon Unity Regional championship game. The No. 2 seed Rockets rattled out 12 hits — 10 of them singles — on a blustery day in Mendon and scored in all but one of…
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MENDON, Ill. — Brown County right-hander Myer Maxwell tossed 6 ⅓ innings while giving up two runs and belted his first home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth inning, tying the game and setting the stage for Jack Buss’ walk-off single in the seventh as the Hornets beat Mendon Unity 3-2…
Read Full Article PAYSON, Ill. — A pair of passed balls brought in the tying and winning runs for the Payson Seymour softball team, which rallied for a 5-4 victory over Camp Point Central on Tuesday. The Indians trailed 4-3 entering the bottom of the seventh. Tori Hugenberg led off the inning with a single up the middle.…
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QUINCY — Just call Chase Saalborn “The Fireman.” In his first varsity start, the junior right-hander extinguished Payson Seymour’s offense by tossing a five-inning, complete-game shutout in the Blue Devils’ 10-0 victory on Saturday. As Saalborn watched from the dugout while the Blue Devils scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth to put…
Read Full Article MENDON, Ill. — As the strings tightened, Raulin Zehnle stayed composed. Zehnle retired the final four batters he faced in a one-run game and stranded the tying run on base in the sixth to help the Payson Seymour baseball team beat Mendon Unity 2-1 on Friday. Zehnle took the ball from Connor Howell with the…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Pittsfield’s Draven Puterbaugh and Tim Hull combined for six hits and eight RBIs, and four Saukees had three hits in a 15-6 victory over Payson Seymour on Thursday. Hull and Puterbaugh drove in the Saukees’ first three runs with two-out singles as part of a five-run top of the first inning. Hayden…
Read Full Article PAYSON, Ill. — Lane Barker beat the throw home on a ground ball to second base and scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Payson Seymour baseball team captured an 8-7 victory on Wednesday afternoon. Isiah Brass set down Central (7-16) in order in the top of the eighth.…
Read Full Article PAYSON, Ill. — Megan Kirby shined at the plate and Bryn Buescher starred in the pitcher’s circle for the Payson Seymour softball team on Tuesday. Kirby hit two home runs, and Buescher tossed a four-hit shutout in a 4-0 victory over Illini West. Buescher, a senior right-hander, completed all seven innings on just 66 pitches,…
Read Full Article CAMP POINT, Ill. — The Payson Seymour baseball team made Camp Point Central pay for its mistakes. The Indians used timely hits and aggressive baserunning to take advantage of 13 walks and five errors in a 15-2 victory on Tuesday. The Indians led 2-1 entering the top of the third, but a catcher’s interference call…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Slowly, but ever so surely, Izzy Weppler is carving out her softball niche as a member of the Quincy High School pitching staff. The left-handed sophomore made just her second start of the season Monday afternoon, pitching the Blue Devils past Payson Seymour 7-3. Weppler has worked to overcome a series of…
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Liberty softball team backs John's pitching with nine unanswered runs in victory over Payson Seymour
LIBERTY, Ill. — The Liberty softball team trailed 3-2 after 2½ innings, then scored nine unanswered runs to post an 11-3 victory over Payson Seymour on Thursday afternoon. Chandler John earned the victory, striking out eight, allowing five hits, three walks and one unearned run. Payson Seymour scored twice in the second inning, then Abby…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Pitch count was the only thing that prevented Bobby Harris from finishing what he started on Monday. The Pittsfield junior right-hander tossed 6 ⅔ scoreless innings against Payson Seymour before eclipsing the maximum of 105 pitches as allowed by the IHSA. Harris gave way to Carter Frazier, who allowed a double to…
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QUINCY — Four teams provided a day full of action at Saturday’s Quincy Notre Dame Softball Slam at The Backyard. The finale provided plenty of drama with QND squeaking out a 1-0 victory over Hardin Calhoun. Here is a recap of the three games preceding that showdown: Archer’s timely hits give Indians lift Corin Robinson…
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PAYSON, Ill. — For one night at least, Liberty owns Adams County bragging rights. The Liberty baseball and softball teams swept matchups with Payson Seymour on Monday as the baseball team picked up four hits and two RBIs from the bottom three batters in the order to secure a 6-0 victory, while the softball team…
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PAYSON, Ill. — One by one, seniors and their parents were introduced before last Friday night’s boys high school basketball game between Payson Seymour and Western. Blake Schwartz’s name was called last. After exchanging hugs with his mom and dad in front of the Payson bench, he was asked by the public address announcer to…
Read Full Article PAYSON, Ill. — Vince Cramsey is one of the premier guards in West-Central Illinois, and he’s just a sophomore. Cramsey punctuated the Liberty boys basketball team’s 49-42 victory Friday night over Payson Seymour, scoring seven of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter to propel the Eagles to their fourth straight victory in front…
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MENDON, Ill. — Everyone in the gymnasium knew sharp-shooter Blake Schwartz was going to take the shot with the Payson Seymour boys basketball team down three points in the final seconds of regulation, but it was up to his teammate, Nick Boone, to get him the ball. “Boone did a great job of being there…
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MENDON, Ill. — The finish to the MVIT championship game was as exciting as any title game of any holiday tournament around. The Payson Seymour boys basketball team forced overtime with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Blake Schwartz and then outlasted Mendon Unity 64-62 to win the title. Southeastern took third place with a 55-52 victory…
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QUINCY — The Monroe City boys basketball team made sure Friday night wasn’t an Illinois sweep. After the Quincy High School and Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball teams earned victories in the 17th Rumble on the River at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center, Monroe City dispatched Payson Seymour 66-50 in the nightcap. Muddy…
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QUINCY — Quincy Mayfield has been searching for his shooting touch. He may have found it Friday night. The junior point guard sank five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 23 points to help carry the Monroe City boys basketball team to a 66-50 victory over Payson Seymour in the 17th Rumble on the River…
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MENDON, Ill. — If Mendon Unity boys basketball coach Keith Carothers was spotted at a local pharmacy early Saturday morning in search of some sort of magic hair-growth potion, there was a specific reason for his being there. “I’ll tell ya what, I’m a lot balder now than I was before the game,” said the…
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QUINCY —Jackson Pyatt didn’t flinch when his number was called. After watching Blake Schwartz, Payson Seymour’s top player, torch the Quincy Notre Dame defense for 18 points through the first three quarters, Pyatt had one job in the final eight minutes. “The goal was just make sure (Schwartz) doesn’t score,” Pyatt said. Consider it mission…
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QUINCY — The Payson Seymour boys basketball team made 11 3-pointers on Friday night at The Pit, but Quincy Notre Dame held on for a 71-62 victory. Jackson Connoyer and Jace Allensworth scored 15 points for the Raiders, while Beau Eftink pitched in 13 points. Blake Schwartz scored 18 points for Payson Seymour, and Lane…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — When Reed Sparrow finds his groove, there is no telling where he will shoot from next. “You kind of question it a little bit with him being so far away, but you also have to give him the green light because sometimes that hoop looks like an ocean to him,” Liberty boys…
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MENDON, Ill. — Make no mistake about it, that victory Thursday night was important for the Unity-Payson football team. The Mustangs’ 26-12 win over Beardstown before the U’s faithful fans proved doubly important, from the standpoint of both immediate result and potential long-range impact. Unity’s Western Illinois Valley Conference North victory was its second in a…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — Elijah Genenbacher could take a serious liking to this quarterback thing. Thanks to some lineup reshuffling, due mostly to a series of nagging injuries, Camp Point Central football coach Brad Dixon installed Genenbacher as the starting quarterback Friday night for the first time in his career. Genenbacher, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior,…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Quincy Notre Dame volleyball coach Danielle White knows the days are ticking away until the postseason begins. “Forty days is not a lot, so we have to start really performing how we are going to want to be performing come that 40-day mark,” White said. That was White’s message to her team…
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MOUNT STERLING, Ill. — About the time Brown County sophomore Jack Sefton was finishing off his touchdown return to open the second half, there was a distinct sound accompanying his 80-yard sprint to the end zone. With each step Sefton advanced toward the first kick return score of his career, the slow hiss of momentum…
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PAYSON, Ill. — You can take Ella Archer out of volleyball, but you can’t take volleyball out of Ella Archer. The Payson Seymour do-everything senior, who also plays softball and basketball, decided to step away from volleyball during her junior year. “I just needed a break, a little time off to kind of regroup,” Archer…
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AUGUSTA, Ill. — Kennedy Gunning’s reaction said it all. In a rematch of a three-set roller coaster that took place just nine days ago, Gunning delivered the game-winning kill for the Illini West volleyball team in a 20-25, 25-18, 15-11 victory over Camp Point Central in Lady Suns Classic pool play Thursday. Her subsequent celebration…
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MENDON, Ill.— It wasn’t the debut Sawyer Allen envisioned. After winning the starting quarterback job with his work over the summer and through preseason practice, the Unity-Payson sophomore approached the 2023 season opener at home against Winchester West Central with eager anticipation. “I had every opportunity to show Coach I want to be the quarterback…
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Coverage of the Unity-Payson football team is brought to you by: MENDON, Ill. — An early-season gauntlet once again awaits the Unity-Payson football team. The Mustangs are scheduled to face three playoff teams from a year ago — Winchester West Central, Greenfield-Northwestern and Camp Point Central — during the first four weeks of the season.…
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MENDON, Ill. — It has become a tradition for the Unity-Payson football team to practice at the stroke of midnight the first allowable day Illinois High School Association schools can begin working out in full pads. So Friday night, just before midnight, the Mustangs pulled up at their home field to see the lights shining…
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GLASFORD, Ill. — When Payson Seymour coach Joe Fessler addressed his team after their 6-1 loss to Illini Bluffs in the Class 1A Glasford Sectional semifinal on Tuesday, there were some understandably disappointed faces. “Some of them had some tears in their eyes,” Fessler said. “I don’t think it was necessarily tears that we lost.…
Read Full Article BARRY, Ill. — As the ball came off Ava Heming’s bat, Payson Seymour softball coach Joe Fessler figured the tying run was headed for home. “I thought for sure it was hit into the outfield,” he said. Olivia Mock didn’t let that happen. The Indians second baseman and a leaping catch of Heming’s liner between…
Read Full Article PAYSON, Ill. — The top of the Payson Seymour baseball team’s lineup set the tone for a 10-5 victory over Southeastern in Monday’s opening round matchup in the Class 1A Liberty Regional. It made history possible, too. Indians leadoff hitter Nolan Sparks went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while No.…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Ashton Ertz and Josh Cook share more than just a record. Ertz, a senior center fielder for the Payson Seymour baseball team, has 86 career hits. This mark puts him in a tie with Cook, a 1993 Payson Seymour graduate who spent time in the Houston Astros and New York Mets farm…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Relief. That was Hunter Miller’s overwhelming emotion as he rounded the bases for the first home run of his baseball career Wednesday. “It’s taken way too long,” Miller said. The sophomore’s two-run fourth-inning home run helped Payson Seymour secure a 9-6 West Central Conference victory over Camp Point Central. “I’ve been waiting…
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LIBERTY, Ill. — Sara Reichert sees it as clearly as anyone. Her brother and her cousin share a common trait passed down through generations of the Fessler family. That’s their even-keel disposition. “Our grandparents were sports-loving fans,” said Reichert, the junior varsity softball coach at Liberty, where her first cousin B.J. Fessler is the varsity…
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PAYSON, Ill. — It was windy Thursday afternoon. Really windy. Gusts blew as strong as 25 miles per hour with steady wind around 15 mph, forcing Liberty softball coach BJ Fessler to make sure his team was prepared for the conditions. “During our in-and-out (before the game), I hit some big flies so they could…
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PAYSON, Ill. — The last two days of practice for the Griggsville-Perry boys basketball team were not much fun. Tornadoes coach Garrett White thought his team needed a lesson on toughness after it suffered a 54-50 loss on Tuesday to South County, snapping an eight-game winning streak. It was only the fourth time this season…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Michael Myers made four 3-pointers and finished with 19 points to lead Griggsville-Perry to a 60-32 victory over Payson Seymour on Friday night. The Tornadoes made 10 3-pointers in 17 attempts, while the Indians missed on 14 of their 16 3-point tries. MRN Editor David Adam took photos of some of the…
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PAYSON, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team’s 65-37 victory over Payson Seymour left Aden Genenbacher satisfied, but not necessarily overjoyed. “We’re still trying to find our identity,” said Genenbacher, a 6-foot-4 senior guard who scored a game-high 21 points Thursday night. The victory came after back-to-back losses for QND (6-4), which is…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Melvin McMillen thoroughly enjoyed himself Friday night. “I like a physical style of game, and it’s also great when there’s a lot of trash talkin’ going on,” said McMillen, a 6-foot-4 senior whose 27 points and 12 rebounds spearheaded Unity’s 50-41 victory over rival Payson Seymour. McMillen was at his best when…
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QUINCY — A quarterback who helped his team make history, a linebacker who tackled everything in sight and a pair of all-purpose performers who have pushed their team into the state semifinals share one thing in common. They have been named first-team all-staters. The Illinois High School Football Coaches Association released its all-state teams Tuesday…
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QUINCY — Saturday, four area football teams kickstart their pursuit of a trip to Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium on Thanksgiving weekend for the chance to play for a state championship. Here is a closer look at each of those matchups: West Chicago (5-4) at Quincy High School (9-0), 2 p.m. • Class 7A first-round…
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QUINCY — An answered prayer, a unique draw and a top spot on the bracket. The revealing of the Illinois High School Association’s football playoff pairings had some of the intrigue teams crave and an intriguing twist with the final team to qualify for the 256-team field spread over eight classes. Quincy Notre Dame, which…
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QUINCY — The Illinois prep football playoff picture is starting to gain some clarity. Six teams in our area have qualified, should qualify or could qualify depending on what happens over the final two weeks of the regular season. Around the state, some coaches and other prognosticators are updating and changing brackets, opinions and thoughts…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Aden Frese positioned himself to make history. Then came the ninth hole at Edgewood Golf Course in Auburn, Ill., and suddenly, he felt like he was teetering on the edge. A wayward shot into the woods on his final hole of the Class 1A Auburn Sectional saddled the Payson Seymour senior golfer…
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AUBURN, Ill. — As the Quincy Notre Dame boys golfers made the turn Monday, the situation seemed pretty cut and dry. Beat Bloomington Central Catholic head-to-head and win a sectional championship. Raiders coach Brian Hendrian didn’t shy away from telling his golfers that. “We went out there and played it like a Ryder Cup format…
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MENDON, Ill. — There is a quiet effectiveness about the Camp Point Central football team. And it’s obvious. The Panthers go about their duty on game nights with a business-like approach, and they fully expect to win. Most of the time, they do just that. “We go into every game confident,” said Nick Moore, the…
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QUINCY — Coming off a second-place finish at the Lincoln Tournament in which it went 4-1 against Class 3A and 4A competition, the Quincy Notre Dame volleyball team returned home Wednesday for a West Central Conference matchup with Payson Seymour. A balanced attack that featured three hitters leading the way with five kills apiece led…
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QUINCY — A defensive stand could be the difference between making the playoffs and putting the gear away early. That depends on how the Unity-Payson football team seizes the momentum of last week’s victory. Brown County drove to the Mustangs’ 6-yard line and faced third and four with two minutes remaining in regulation. A fumbled…
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MENDON, Ill. — The big plays were a big deal. The Winchester West Central football team was able to ride the momentum of some big-play scores Friday night — and take advantage of a “gassed” Unity-Payson team — to hand the Mustangs a 28-15 loss before an opening-night crowd of about 550. West Central’s Conner…
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MENDON, Ill. — Brady Muegge admits he was a little surprised as a junior last fall to be voted a captain for the Unity-Payson football team, an honor often reserved for seniors. His coach, Matt Woodworth, wasn’t. “He’s a leader on our team,” Woodworth said of the offense and defensive lineman who has started since…
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QUINCY — Lucas Loos is a making a case to be the Prospect League’s Player of the Year. Friday night, the case grew stronger. The Quincy Gems third baseman belted his league-leading 13th home run during a 13-3, seven-inning victory over the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp. The Payson Seymour graduate finished 3 for 4 with…
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PAYSON, Ill. — It’s not only the top of the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team’s lineup that can inflict pain on opposing defenses. The bottom half of the order is feisty as well. Saturday, in a West Central Conference matchup, the final five batters combined for eight hits, three doubles and nine RBIs in a…
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QUINCY — Addi Zanger understands there’s a peaceful, easy feeling knowing the Quincy Notre Dame softball players won’t let each other down. It helps they’re all on common ground. “You want to get a hit, but there’s no stress,” the senior first baseman said. “We have good at-bats all the way through. It’s a really…
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QUINCY — The full potency of the Quincy Notre Dame softball team’s lineup was on display Wednesday in a 12-4 victory over Payson Seymour at The Backyard. The Raiders racked up 16 hits, five doubles, a triple and a home run, while seven different players had at least one hit and six players drove in…
Read Full Article HARDIN, Ill. — In the end, Bryan Dieker may have captured the moment better than anyone else. “This was a great season for us,” he said. “This was the most fun I’ve ever had playing basketball.” Dieker, a 6-foot-1 senior forward on the Payson Seymour boys basketball team, had just completed the final game of…
Read Full Article PAYSON, Ill. — The Brotherhood plays on. The Payson Seymour boys basketball team’s latest unexpected postseason success, a 42-39 overtime victory Friday night in the Class 1A regional finals against Triopia, allows the underdog Indians to keep their unlikely tournament dream alive. “It’s a brotherhood here in Payson, a family,” junior point guard Wyatt Neisen…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Lane Barker was not designed to take the last shot. Fortunately, he did. Barker, a 5-foot-8 sophomore guard, buried a 3-point field goal from the left corner with 2.4 seconds to play Wednesday night, sending Payson Seymour to a 41-38 upset of New Berlin in the Class 1A regional semifinals. New Berlin…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Lane Barker’s 3-pointer from the corner with 2.4 seconds remaining in the game gave the Payson Seymour boys basketball team a 41-38 victory over state-ranked New Berlin in the semifinals of the Class 1A Payson Regional on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Griggsville-Perry won 24 games during the regular season, but the Tornadoes’ season…
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QUINCY — The gentle giant is back. Jake Wallingford, the soft-spoken big man with an even softer jump shot, is once again an integral part of the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team. The 6-foot-8 senior made his season debut Friday night, helping QND to a 70-42 victory over Payson Seymour in the KHQA-American Family…
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PAYSON, Ill. — All of those running backs who were stopped dead in their tracks the past couple of seasons by Unity-Payson linebacker Bryan Dieker might find this funny. Five years ago, he didn’t know how to tackle. Those trying to defend Dieker on the basketball court might find this funny, too. Three years ago,…
Read Full Article MENDON, Ill. — Maybe it was the tournament championship his team had just won. Or the appreciative response he was hearing from those who packed the gym at Unity High School. Or just possibly it was him soaking in all that is good about high school athletics on a warm December night. “This is what…
Read Full Article PAYSON, Ill. — Payson Seymour girls basketball coach Bert Koehler resigned Wednesday from his duties as a teacher and coach amid an investigation being conducted by the Adams County Sheriff’s Office. Koehler, who was a junior high math teacher, is being investigated for allegedly exchanging text messages with a 14-year-old student. He submitted his resignation…
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KNOXVILLE, Ill. — As the Unity-Payson football team broke its final postgame huddle of the season, senior quarterback/defensive back Ryle Duke found coach Matt Woodworth. The two embraced, heads buried in each other’s shoulders for several moments, following the Mustangs’ 33-14 Class 2A first-round playoff loss Saturday afternoon at Knoxville. “In every year, you hate…
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A mix of prep football, collegiate volleyball and collegiate soccer made Friday a busy day and night. Here’s a look at some of the highlights: • The Quincy University women’s volleyball team continued its dominance of NCAA Division II foes throughout the Midwest, winning a pair of matches in the Midwest Regional Crossover in Hammond,…
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MENDON, Ill. — When modern technology accents old-school charm, you wind up watching a prep football game in an environment artists pen songs about and screenwriters use as inspiration for movie scripts. Friday night, this Adams County village offered one of those backdrops. From the bonfire in the neighboring yard to a respected, celebrated old…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — There is an entertaining tradition on Friday nights at Central’s home football games. In between the third and fourth quarters, Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” can be heard booming from the loudspeaker. And it’s as if fans and players alike begin to anticipate the arrival of the sing-a-long portion of the soft-rock…
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MENDON, Ill. — Spend enough time exploring YouTube, TikTok or any other video streaming service and you are bound to run across an entrance or hype video featuring an offensive lineman devouring something. With that in mind, Brady Muegge knew he needed to be different. Biting the cap off a bottle of syrup accomplished that.…
Read Full Article PAYSON, Ill. — A golf tournament to benefit the Payson Seymour High School boys basketball team will be held Saturday, Aug. 27, at Arrowhead Heights Golf Course in Camp Point. The tournament also will have a 50/50 raffle and silent basket raffle. Teams can register in advance by emailing Tyler Duschinsky at tduschinsky@cusd1.org. Entry fee…
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GRIGGSVILLE, Ill. — Unfortunately, the third time was not the charm for the Payson Seymour boys basketball team. The Indians saw their postseason run come to an abrupt end Wednesday night when Winchester West Central posted a 62-49 victory in a Class 1A Griggsville-Perry Regional semifinal game. West Central’s victory was its third this season…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Granted, Quincy Notre Dame was able to stretch its boys basketball win streak to five on Wednesday night. But it was not easy. The Raiders withstood several Payson Seymour comebacks over the final three quarters before leaving with a 59-55 victory. “Payson deserves a lot of credit,” QND coach Kevin Meyer said…
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GREENVIEW, Ill. —Tyler Duschinsky received some validation Thursday that the Payson Seymour boys basketball players are adapting well to the first-year coach’s style. The trophy the Indians won was nice, but the manner in which they won it was more impressive. Payson locked down defensively, limiting North Fulton to nine points in the second half…
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The Illinois High School Association created a second class for boys basketball for the 1971-72 school year. The 2020-21 season would have been the 50th year of the boys basketball small-school tournament. Muddy River Sports is celebrating 50 years of small-school boys basketball by ranking the 50 best teams in Adams, Brown, Pike and Hancock…
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NASHVILLE, Ill. — Riker Triplett’s 5-yard touchdown reception on the final play of the first half Saturday put the Unity-Payson football team in position to challenge sixth-seeded Nashville in the second half of Saturday’s Class 2A first-round playoff game. The Hornets quickly pushed the challenger aside. Leading 21-14 after Triplett’s TD, Nashville scored three touchdowns…
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QUINCY — Dylan Dickhut’s historical research uncovered a unique fact about the Central football program. The Panthers have never been a No. 1 seed in a playoff bracket, not even when finishing the regular season undefeated. Saturday night, history changed. Central drew the No. 1 seed in the Class 1A south bracket according to the…
Read Full Article MENDON, Ill. — Ryle Duke pulled no punches during a post-game assessment of his performance. “I knew I had to recover from my mistakes,” said Duke, the Unity-Payson football team’s 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior quarterback. And, boy, did he. Duke threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Cody Schaffer, which following a two-point conversion…
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In the third quarter of last Friday’s crucial Western Illinois Valley Conference North Division game against Beardstown, the Unity-Payson football team led 6-0 when it forced the Tigers to punt. The Mustangs’ Riker Triplett bolted around the right end untouched, blocked the punt, scooped it up and scored to give Unity-Payson a 12-0 lead with…
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MOUNT STERLING, Ill. — Liberty’s Blake Arnold waited for nearly an hour and a half to find out if a playoff was needed. “I didn’t do much. Just sat around and talked. Maybe hit 10 putts (on the practice green in front of the clubhouse),” he said. Arnold and Blake Deitrich of Illini West both…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — The instinctive and smart plays Central football coach Brad Dixon continues to see from some of his youthful playmakers is as encouraging as anything else three games into the season. Sophomore quarterback Nick Moore delivered one of those plays to help the Panthers build an insurmountable lead Friday night. Facing third…
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Cecil Hunt carried the ball just six times last Friday night in the Unity-Payson football team’s 58-0 whitewashing of North Greene, but those were six carries to remember. The senior running back ripped off a 93-yard touchdown run with a little less than four minutes remaining in the first quarter. With 16 seconds remaining in…
Read Full Article MENDON, Ill. — Matt Woodworth found it easy to pinpoint what he enjoyed most about his head coaching debut. “The aggression we played with,” the Unity-Payson football coach said. The Mustangs made Woodworth’s first game memorable, holding North Greene to minus-33 yards rushing in a 58-0 whitewashing Friday night. The Mustangs outgained the Spartans 484-119…
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QUINCY — In the brief amount of time Conner McLaughlin has been involved with the burgeoning Quincy University sprint football program, he’s answered a string of questions from those who have never heard of the sport. Is it 8-on-8? Is it 5-on-5? Is it flag football? Is it played in the spring? McLaughlin answers each…
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