Photo Gallery | Urbana is back, Tigers lose first game in two years

After a two-year hiatus, the Urbana football program is back in action in the Big 12 Conference. As expected, the road to rebuilding a quality football program will be brutal for the Tigers. With just six players - Lucas Pankau, Jaydon Riggs, Ayden Palmer, Tahaji Haymer, Aveon Vann, and Seth Pierson - who make up the senior class on this year's squad, the Tigers haven't won a game after the first three weeks of play in the regular season.

This past Friday, Urbana fell 92-0 to the Peoria High School and dropped their Week 2 contest a week earlier to Peoria Notre Dame, 72-0.

Those scores might be a cause for concern, but keep in mind the program's youth and varsity inexperience outside of the efforts of a lone senior, it is the team's underclassmen doing the heavy lifting in the stat book.

Sophomore Sorrell Darough, Jr., has 116 all-purpose yards so far, and freshman Christian Porter has tallied 70 yards after making appearances in two games for Urbana. Kyree Hillsman, who has 23 rushing and 12 passing yards, is also a sophomore.

Pankau is leading the Tigers' offensive effort in his final season of eligibility with 198 yards.

Riggs, the starting quarterback, has completed 16 of 54 passes for 233 yards and has tallied 13 yards rushing.

Below are photos from the team's season opener against Centennial on Saturday, August 26. Despite a running clock in the second half, Urbana scored two touchdowns during the fourth quarter in the 49-14 loss.

Locked arm-in-arm, (left to right) Kamario Kersch (So.), Tahaji Haymer (Sr.), CJ Blanden (So.), Jaydon Riggs (Sr.) and Kyree Hillsman (So.) lead members of the 2023 Tigers football team on to Tommy Stewart Field to take on the Centennial Chargers in their season-opener. The group is the first to represent the Urbana athletic program in two years. Keeping in mind, not one athlete on the team saw time on a varsity squad, Urbana played with heart and determination displaying occassional glimpses of their future potential.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

Sorrell Darough, Jr., is wrapped up by Chargers' defender during first quarter action. After three games, the sophomore is averaging 3.8 yards per carry for the Tigers.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

Urbana's Jaydon Riggs drags a Centennial player on a play during the first quarter. The senior ran for six yards and went 6-for-14 for 119 yards passing.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

Tiger's CJ Blanden provides pass protection during a first half play.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

Tigers' defensive back Jaydon Riggs drags down a Charger ball carrier for a loss.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

Sorrell Darough, Jr., is tackled by a Centennial Charger. UHS trailed 14-0 after the first quarter of the game. Darough would go on to finish the game with six carries good for 51 yards.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

Surrounded by the opposing team, Jaydon Riggs looks for running room against the Chargers. The senior would score the team's only rushing touchdown of the game late in the fourth quarter.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

Despite their team's struggle on the field in front of them, Urbana student fans were supportive and cheered enthusiastically at every opportunity.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

Urbana sophomore ball carrier Anthony Portis hangs on to the ball after taking solid licks from Centennial defenders while returning a kickoff.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

Urbana fans watch their team during the season-opener on Saturday in Champaign.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

Centennial cornerback Trunique Harvey breaks up a pass play to Urbana's Alexander Davis.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

The Urbana Tiger plays rock-paper-scissors with a Tiger fan during halftime. At the break, UHS was down 42-0.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

Urbana head coach Curtis Blanden goes over the team's second half game plan with Kyree Hillsman. The sophomore carried the ball twice gaining 15 yards in the conference loss.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

A young football fan shows off his dance moves during a timeout while music is played over the P.A. system during the fourth quarter.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

Sorrell Darough, Jr., races to the end zone to score the first, and so far, only passing touchdown of the season. The sophomore made two catches for a total of 59 yards against the host Chargers.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

The Rolling Stones are still Rocking!

by Jim Runyan
Columnist

Full disclosure, I am a Rolling Stones fan and have been since the summer of 1978 when the album “Some Girls” came out. Now, some 45 years later, The Rolling Stones have a new album being released. On October 20th, Hackney Diamonds will be the 26th Rolling Stones album released in the United States, and it has been 18 years since they last released an album of original music (they snuck in an album of blues covers in 2016 called Blue and Lonesome).

In true Rolling Stones fashion, they announced the album with a worldwide event hosted by Jimmy Fallon. The event was streamed live around the world and could be seen locally at 8:30am on Wednesday, September 6th. You can watch a replay of the announcement at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSzJhzfDtS4.

The interview and event with Jimmy Fallon are fun to watch. The Rolling Stones consist of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood (80, 79, and 76 years old, respectively). Their longtime band mate, Charlie Watts, passed away in 2021 and Hackney Diamonds is their first album without him, although his work will be heard on several tracks.

The band seems relaxed, happy, and glad to be producing new material. They explain in the interview that “Hackney Diamonds” is slang for something like “smash and grab,” like when a windshield (or “wind screen” as Mick calls it), is broken and the bits of glass on the street are called “Hackney Diamonds.” Hackney is a district in London and the announcement came from the Hackney Empire Theater in East London. After all, as Keith puts it, “It’s a London band.”

Following the event came the debut of the first single and video from the album. “Angry” is a straightforward rocker with a classic Stones guitar hook, vocals about a confused lover whose partner, for unknown reasons, is angry with him, and of course, a bluesy, ripping guitar solo which is often a hallmark of Rolling Stones rockers.

As expected, the video for the song is done with high production value and is very clever. A woman (Sydney Sweeney) is frolicking on the back of a cherry-red Mercedes Benz convertible rolling down Sunset Boulevard while passing billboards that have come to life with Rolling Stones scenes and performances.

The classic theme of the billboards reveals a bit of history in that Rock & Roll billboards were once an iconic staple on the Sunset Strip in the late 1960s with the first one advertising The Doors’ first album. The older videos are synchronized to seem as if they are playing the current song and the whole thing comes together seamlessly and should appeal to tried-and-true fans and newcomers alike.

Overall, having a new Stones song, and a new Stones video, and a new Stones album just seems right. If nothing else, it is worth celebrating a band that has been in existence for 61 years (1962-present) and has seen a thing or two on their times around the block. Keep an eye on this space for a full review after the October 20th release of Hackney Diamonds.

---

Jim Runyan is an avid tennis player, BBQ enthusiast and dart player. He enjoys craft beers and writing fiction and is the author of Ravage the Moon and Other Short Stories available on Amazon.