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Sports
8-MAN FOOTBALL
Resur faced blacktop bat tle goes to Polo Marcos
BY CODY CUTTER ccutter@saukvalley.com
POLO – The “Battle of the Blacktop” between Polo and Milledgeville has resurfaced, and the Marcos appear to have written the start of the rivalry’s new chapter.
And what a start to that chapter it was. With 5:25 to play in the fourth quarter on Aug. 27, Polo regained a twopoint lead in a hard-fought game after a Tyler Merdian pass to Kahil Sankey from 40 yards out. Merdian then put the Marcos up by two with a successful 2-point pitch to the left side to Tyler Grenoble for the 40-38 win.
Brady Wolber’s interception with 1:35 to play in the game sealed the win for the Marcos.
The first half wound up being a shootout up until a halftime tie at 26. The Marcos owned brief leads during the run, but the Missiles came back each time.
Milledgeville’s first drive of the game penetrated the Marcos red zone, but an interception by Polo’s Brady Wolber stopped that run short. The Marcos’ next drive was successful; after a successful short pass from quarterback Tyler Merdian to Kahil Sankey for 63 yards, Brock Soltow ran 3 yards for the score and an 8-0 lead after Merdian ran the point-after opportunity.
Missiles quarterback Connor Nye responded just a couple of plays into his team’s next drive with a 36-yard run from their 4-wide formation right through the Marcos’ line. His point-after pass fell incomplete, however, and the Missiles trailed 8-6.
Avery Grenoble kicked off the second quarter for the Marcos with a 25-yard run along the right side for a 14-6 lead. Nye’s next passing score came to Kieren Harris from 13 yards out, but the point-after run failed to keep the Missiles trailing by two at 14-12.
The Marcos came back and controlled the clock en route to Soltow’s second score from a yard out with 2 minutes remaining in the half for a 2 0 - 1 2 l e a d . N y e a n d t h e M i s s i l es responded with their third TD with 1:33 left in the half to get back to within two, but Nye’s run during the point-after try ended with a sack by Polo’s Wyatt Queckboerner, who preserved his team’s lead for the time being.
The Marcos responded once more after Grenoble’s 41-yard TD run around right end, but once again their PAT try failed to keep their lead to within eight. Nye’s passing success then responded once more with a 4-yard connection to Ashton Nobis to get back to within two, and then the Missiles made good on the ensuring point-after pass to Bryce Aude for the tie at 26 with 11.1 seconds left in the half.
Grenoble amassed 163 yards on 15 carries by halftime. Nye had 162 yards both on the ground and in the air at the half.
Soltow added another 1-yard run with 8:05 to go in the third quarter for a 32-26 lead.
Tyler Soltow broke the halftime tie with the second of two 1-yard TD runs with 8:05 to play in the third quarter for a 32-26 lead.
Nye connected on a 54-yard pass to Bryce Aude with 5:40 to go in the third to tie the game again, but Nye was brought down in the backfield on the 2-point try by Cayden Webster and Wayde Reimer to keep the tie intact.
After both teams traded turnovers, Nye and Aude connected again for a score, this time from 49 yards out for the Missiles’ first lead at 38-32 with 1:38 left in the third.
The rivalry dates back to when the Marcos and Missiles became conference rivals starting in the former Upstate Illini Conference in 1991, but was halted when the Marcos joined the 8-man ranks in 2019.
This is Milledgeville’s first year playing the modified football format.
Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media ABOVE: Polo’s Avery Grenoble follows his blocker Wayde Reimer as he runs for a gain against Milledgeville. BELOW LEFT: Polo quarterback Tyler Meridian throws a pass to Kahill Sankey for a gain against Milledgeville. BELOW RIGHT: Sankey catches the ball and looks upfield.
Boys Golf
Galena 185, Polo 245: The Marcos lost an NUIC dual at Silver Ridge, with Galena’s Connor Glasgow as medalist with a 44.
Clay Davis had a 47 for Polo, with Cody Buskohl adding a 57. Connor Ukena shot a 69, and Caleb Sutton had a 72.
Dixon wins: The Dixon boys golf team defeated Oregon 177-221 in a Big Northern Conference dual at Silver Ridge on Aug 26.
Steven Kitzman was medalist with a 42, and Mason Weigle was runner-up with a 44 for the Dukes. Alex Harrison fired a 45, Grant Jacobs had a 46, Jayce Kastner added a 49, and Ben Oros shot a 55.
Isaac Kaltenbrun led the Hawks with a 50, Jared Glendenning fired a 55, Ryan Fox had a 57, and Brady Davis and Logan Sarver added 59s. Brogan Wilkinson (67) also competed for Oregon.
East Dubuque 178, Forreston 228: The Cardinals fell in an NUIC dual at LaComma Golf Course, as the Warriors were led by medalist Sam Stewart’s 42.
Hayden Stralow led Forreston with a 52, Kaden Ganz fired a 54, Colton McGlynn shot a 59, and Heath Schubert added a 63.
Amboy 177, Polo 261: Wes Wilson shot an even-par 36 to lead the Clippers past the Marcos at Shady Oaks.
Hayden Wittenauer fired a 46, Jackson Rogers had a 47, and Jordan Harris added a 48 for Amboy.
Cody Buskohl paced Polo with a 52, while Connor Ukena had a 67, Clay Davis shot a 70, and Caleb Sutton added a 72.
Stillman Valley 170, Oregon 212: The Hawks fell to the Cardinals in a Big Northern dual at PrairieView in Byron.
Isaac Kaltenbrun led Oregon with a 48, Ryan Fox fired a 54, and Kyler Early and Brady Davis shot 55s.
Stillman Valley’s Griffin Smits was medalist with a 39.
Boys Soccer
Oregon 2, Byron 0: The Hawks notched their first win of the year against the rival Tigers, as Joey Gelander scored a goal and dished an assist. Jacob Vegliando had the other goal for Oregon (1-1), and Liam Dickson-Harriett also had an assist.
Girls Golf
Oregon tops Dixon in BNC dual: The Hawks shot a 195 to defeat the Duchesses in a Big Northern meet at Silver Ridge.
Dixon’s Katie Drew was medalist with a 3-over-par 39, while Shea Lahey (67) and Tya Collins (74) also played for the Ducheses. Ava Hackman led Oregon with a 44, Lena Trampel shot a 45, and Cassie Nyderek fired a 49. Mya Hernandez (57), Mia Trampel (58) and Lexy Davis (59) also played.
Oregon 195, Stillman Valley 200: The Hawks overcame Stillman medalist Grace Haas (40) to win a Big Northern dual at PrairieView in Byron.
Ava Hackman was runner-up with a 43 to pace Oregon. Cassie Nyderek and Lena Trampel added 49s, and Lexy Davis fired a 54.
Polo 246, Amboy 248: The Marcos edged out the Clippers in an NUIC dual at Shady Oaks. Polo’s Kamryn Stockton and Amboy’s Andrea Buhrow tied for medalist honors with matching 56s. Also for the Marcos, Kealie Wilcox fired a 58, and Avery Faivre and Faith Ukena both shots 66s.
Galena 204, Polo 231: The Marcos dropped an NUIC dual at Silver Ridge, with Galena’s Ayden Wells winning medalist honors with a 44. Kamryn Stockton led Polo with a 51, and Keali Wilcox fired a 56. Alivia Schmidt had a 61, Braylen Velez and Faith Ukena both shot 63s, and Avery Faivre had a 69.
Volleyball
Eastland def. Oregon 22-25, 25-23, 25-18: The Cougars bounced back to defeat the Hawks in the season opener for both teams on Tuesday night in Lanark.
Addison Burkholder led Eastland with nine kills and 21 digs. Jenica Stoner had 10 assists, Quinc Haverland served five aces, and Katlyn Spong added two blocks.
Dakota def. Oregon 22-25, 25-19, 25-18: Jenae Bothe had seven kills, two blocks and six digs, but the Hawks fell to the Indians at the Blackhawk Center on Aug. 26. Ava Wight added four kills and 16 digs, Cass Aylward added 12 digs, and Aubrey Point chipped in 10 assists and 11 digs for Oregon.
Football
Forreston 38, Stockton 14: Forreston opened the season with a 38-14 win over Stockton. Devonte King-Black had 12 carries for 85 yards. Noah Johnson rushed eight times for 96 yards.
The Cardinals jumped ahead on a Matthew Beltran touchdown and, after Stockton answered, took the lead for good on a touchdown from King-Black. Beltran added scores in the second and third quarters, and Johnson scored in the fourth.
Dixon 35, Oregon 0: The Dixon football team wanted to start the season on a strong note, but even the Dukes couldn’t dream up a better opening performance than they put forth Aug. 27 against Oregon.
Sophomore Tyler Shaner stepped in at the last minute to play quarterback, junior Rylan Ramsdell ran for nearly 100 yards, and the Dukes defense shut down the Hawks’ attack in a 35-0 Dixon win at A.C. Bowers Field.
Dixon ran for 273 yards on 29 carries, good for 9.4 yards per carry. On the flip side, the Dukes defense limited Oregon to 60 yards rushing and one pass completion for seven yards.
For Oregon, Gabe Eckerd had 28 rushing yards, Daniel Dominguez was bottled up all night and held to 16 yards, and Isaac Reber finished with 12 yards on the ground.
“I thought we played extremely hard, but obviously when you look at their O-line versus our our O-line, our D-line versus their D-Line, then you cross them on over, they obviously have the depth and the size and the strength, and we have some inexperience,” Oregon coach Nick Schneiderman said. “We only have one returning offensive lineman –Evan Flaherty – and we moved him from left tackle to center, so he’s also learning a new position, and he was battling a little knee injury tonight. I think we showed improvement through the game tonight.”
Earleen Hinton/Shaw Media ABOVE LEFT: Forreston’s Devonte King-Black fights for yards against Stockton. ABOVE RIGHT: Oregon goalkeeper Miley Smith jumps to try and stop a goal during Saturday action. BELOW: Oregon’s Liz Mois connects on a spike against Dakota.
