09/19/2026
Post Game Report Manteno
PANTHERS DIDN’T PLAY LIKE A TEAM WE’D BEATEN 17 OF 19 TIMES; THEY PLAYED LIKE A 4-0 TEAM WHO WANTED TO BECOME A 5-0 TEAM
The Fresh-Soph game at Manteno went about as we expected: Wilmington 40, Manteno 0. The Varsity game had a little different “feel” before it even began. Coach had warned us Wednesday evening that their running back ( #5) 6’3”, 200 was someone to be feared, as was their giant Guard ( #77) 6’2”. He wasn’t kidding. Gratefully, they are both seniors. He also alerted us about their QB being a good football player. He’ll be back next year.
As a person trying to keep stats, the game was a nightmare. The P A system was very good, but the person speaking into it was useless. When Wilmington was on offense, we were quickly informed what Panther(s) made every tackle. Never once did he mention a Wilmington ball carrier – even the scorers of TD’s. When Manteno was on offense, we knew every ball carrier and the length of their run or pass. Never once did he name the name of any Wildcat who made a tackle.
The scoreboard operator wasn’t a whole lot better. He couldn’t look at the 10-yard first down “sticks” and at the down number stick between them and interpolate with any accuracy. The first down sticks might be on the 35 and 45 yard lines, with the down number stick parked on the 40. He could find a way to determine that the gain had been 4 or 6 yards. The scoreboard operator may have had a problem staying awake – sometimes he wouldn’t update the line of scrimmage for four or five plays.
I can tell you that Dane Van Duyne had a 22-yard TD and I am fairly certain that Brysen Meents had a pair of 4th quarter TD’s covering 6 yds and 19 yards. Someone on the Wildcats scored on a 2-yard run in the 2nd Qtr, but I’ll have get back to you that one. We did gain a Safety at a point where it gave us a 9-point lead in the third period.
Some results from tonight:
Wilmington 30 Manteno 13
Peotone 42 Streator 0
Lisle 34 Herscher 28
Coal City 53 ? Braidwood 13?
Dwight 28 Seneca 18
El Paso 28 Downs Tri-Valley 7
Sandwich 35 Harvard 7
JCA 56 Marian Catholic 6
Bishop Mac 42 AuroraChristn 22
Mercer County 3 Sterling Newman 0 Nazareth 17 Providence 7
Lena-Winslow 46 Morrison 7
Morris 44 Rochelle 13
NEWS FLASH!
One night this past week I bumped into Chaz and Joanna Cutter at Hayden’s and inquired about how BILLY MURPHY was doing at Augustana (because I was aware that their son, Jack, was a good friend of Billy). I was tickled when they said that BILLY had scored a TD on a long pass-and-run as a
Wide Receiver for Augie. Their roster lists him at 5’6”, 140 pounds !
