Preps

SYCAMORE – Sycamore put the game out of reach with a touchdown drive just before half in the first round of the playoffs.

Sycamore cross country coach Mike Lambdin knows today’s boys Class 2A state cross country meet will be a tough task for his Spartans.

ROCHELLE – Kate Binder’s motivation is simple.

Longua a versatile offensive lineman for Sycamore

SERENA – Volleyball can be a game of momentum.

ROCHELLE – The Sycamore volleyball team remained calm.

HINCKLEY — Heather Weissinger remembers not being able to get into the second game against Dwight in last season’s sectional final loss.

HINCKLEY — Heather Weissinger remembers not being able to get into the second game against Dwight in last season’s sectional final loss.

ROCHELLE – Whenever the Sycamore volleyball team hits a bump in the road, Jill Johnson is the player there to stop them from falling too hard.

Dave Dudzinski’s parents woke up Tuesday morning to quite a surprise.

SERENA – As expected, Hinckley-Big Rock's girls volleyball team found little in terms of resistance from Christian Liberty Academy.

ROCHELLE – Some nights, not everything is working right.

Trevor Mathey's father Keith, like any dad, likes to give him football advice. But when the elder Mathey talks, Trevor makes sure to listen. Because Keith has been here before, and further.

SYCAMORE – As a freshman, playing time came easy for Brittany Olson. No one else on the Sycamore volleyball team really wanted to play middle, so she played three rotations a match there.

MAPLE PARK – When left tackle Zach Fraedrich and his Sycamore teammates ran back onto the field needing more than 70 yards to score in the final 50 seconds before halftime, they could have kneeled on the ball and been happy with a healthy lead at intermission.

Sycamore wins first playoff game since 1985, will host Wheaton Academy next Saturday

ELGIN – Hinckley-Big Rock’s girls volleyball team added yet another accomplishment to its best season in school history.

The DeKalb girls cross country team finished in 14th place at the East Peoria Sectional.

BURLINGTON – This past Thursday, after squeaking by a tough Burlington Central team, Sycamore decided to stay and watch Hampshire take on DeKalb.

BELVIDERE – Tyson Kinsley said he ran one of the best races of his career Saturday at the Class 2A Belvidere Sectional.

IHSA Class 5A playoffs

BELVIDERE – His face caked in mud and barely recognizable, Jake Johnsen struggled to find the words after an epic match that was inches from going the other way.

BYRON – Genoa-Kingston didn’t exactly end its season the way that it wanted to.

BURLINGTON – All night, the DeKalb volleyball team fought.

SOMONAUK – The Ottawa Marquette volleyball team wanted to play at a deliberate pace. With a distinct size advantage over Indian Creek, the Crusaders wanted to control the tempo to neutralize the Timberwolves’ speed advantage.

Sycamore celebrated as it beat Burlington Central to advance to Saturday's final in the Class 2A Burlington Central Regional.

ELGIN – Hinckley-Big Rock knew that, barring disaster, its season would not come to an end Wednesday night.

Kaneland filled its varsity girls softball coaching position internally, announcing Tuesday that Brian Willis is the Knights’ new coach.

BELVIDERE – Sycamore was looking for that one great chance for an equalizer in Tuesday night's Class 2A Freeport Sectional semifinal at Belvidere.

BELVIDERE – When DeKalb forward Chris Calbow headed to the bench with 20 minutes left in Tuesday's Class 2A Freeport Sectional match with Marian Central, his head was down.

GENOA – Genoa-Kingston's season didn't end with a playoff berth, leaving the Cogs at home for the playoffs after making it in back-to-back seasons.

KIRKLAND – Last Friday was a big night for Hiawatha running back Angel Hernandez as he scored a career-high four touchdowns while rushing for 159 yards. Late in the second quarter, a 12-yard run gave  him 1,002 for the season.

DeKALB – It all starts up front.

SYCAMORE – Victor Bundy tipped the ball in the air and Eric Ray was able to finish by picking off Glenbard South quarterback Trace Wanless' pass on Friday night.

DeKalb's Lake shows no fear on soccer field

SYCAMORE – The Western Sun Conference has been granted a stay of execution by the IHSA Playoff Selection Committee.

There was one thing in common at the area cross country regionals on Saturday: Terrible conditions.

Genoa-Kingston freshman Renae Kurpius will advance to sectionals after finishing 18th in 20:07 at the Class 1A Winnebago Regional on Saturday.

DeKalb breaks through in second half to win Sterling Regional

KIRKLAND – The Hiawatha football program had a renaissance season. But it will not head to the IHSA 2009 football playoffs.

FREEPORT – Coming into Saturday’s Class 2A Freeport cross country regional, Sycamore runner Tyson Kinsley was expected to finish near the top of the boys race. In the girls race, expectations weren’t quite as high for Kendra Johnson, who hadn’t been in the Spartans’ top seven all year.

SANDWICH – Nick Schrader felt the pain in his foot.

DeKALB – Back to the drawing board for the DeKalb/Sycamore girls swimming co-op.

YORKVILLE – On a cold night on an incredibly muddy field, the Kaneland football team rode a conservative gameplan and suffocating defensive performance to a 10-0 win against Yorkville on Friday night. 

DeKALB – Dylan Donnelly was the fastest player on the field.

BELVIDERE – Tyler Wallace wasn’t happy after he missed a great scoring opportunity in the second half of Sycamore’s Class 2A Belvidere Regional final match against Belvidere North.

GENOA – Even with a victory, Genoa-Kingston's playoff hopes were slim at best because of a low number of playoff points. The Cogs would have sweated out all of today waiting to find out whether they advanced to the postseason or not.

SYCAMORE – Sycamore has prided itself in being diverse in the running game all season, with plenty of formations and options to stop.

KIRKLAND – Sean Donnelly didn't know it was coming.

DeKALB – The black, neoprene-elbow sleeve fits snugly on Dylan Donnelly’s right arm.

Sycamore's Veronica Behrens waited all day to get her match in at the IHSA Girls Tennis State Tournament on Thursday.

Glenbard South (6-2, 5-1 WSC) at Sycamore (6-2, 4-2 WSC)

DeKalb defeated Kaneland, 29-27, 25-22. MacKenzie Johnson had seven kills, Rachel Raynor had 17 assists and three aces and Courtney Thomas had five aces, four digs, four kills and three blocks. McKenna Teboda added nine assists for the Barbs.

A switch from middle blocker to outside hitter has sparked Katie Browder this season.

BELVIDERE – Sycamore didn't wait around to let things get interesting.

The Kaneland boys soccer team lost to Antioch, 6-0, in a Class 2A Kaneland Regional semifinal match Tuesday. Antioch scored early with four goals in the first half to put the game out of reach. The Knights ended their season with a record of 7-14-1.

STERLING – Since he was suspended for a week in mid-September, Chris Calbow hasn't seen much of the field for the DeKalb boys soccer team.

BATAVIA – Marty Sanders was on the sideline watching the action closely.

MOOSEHEART – It was enough of a challenge that Hiawatha had to beat a tough Mooseheart team to keep its playoff hopes alive.

GENOA – Genoa-Kingston's passing offense has made strides the past two weeks, and especially in the past six quarters, as the Cogs' offense has started to use the pass to set up the run.