Photo Gallery: Unity beats St. Joseph-Ogden, 50-7

St. Joseph-Ogden's Alex Funk is brought down during first quarter action by a Unity defender. After dropping their season opener on the road seven days earlier to Prairie Central, the Rockets (1-1) stunned the host Spartans at Dick Duval Field last Friday with a dominating 50-7 win. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

A Unity player celebrates the team's first quarter touchdown against the Spartans (1-1). The Rockets drew first blood on a 40-yard run from sophomore Garrett Richardson to go up 6-0 after the PAT failed. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Spartans' Logan Smith tries to outrun Rockets' senior Kyus Root later in the first quarter. Smith finished the game with just 2 rushing yards and completed 8 of 17 passes for 57 yards. One week earlier against Monticello in SJO's season opener, the junior signal-caller collected 165-yards (11-20) passing in their 21-14 victory. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

St. Joseph-Ogden's Bryson Helfrich blocks Unity's Hunter Duncan in the second quarter. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Senior Cale Rawdin scrambles in the backfield while looking for an open Unity reciever. Rawdin chewed 151 yards rushing and threw for another 93 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown pass to junior Jay Saunders in the second quarter. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Unity head coach Scott Hamilton throws up the U's after Jay's Saunders'34-yard catch second quarter catch against the Spartans. The snag plus the 2-point conversion put the Rockets up 28-0 with 6:41 left to go in the first half. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Spartan lineman Spencer Fitch holds off Unity's Mason Perry and a teammate while playing on the offensive line. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Spartan defensive backs Tyler Burch and Coy Taylor bring down Unity quarterback Cale Rawdin. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

With a commanding 28-7 lead on the scoreboard at the start of the second half, Cale Rawdin hands off the ball to running back Garrett Richardson. The sophomre took the ball 21 yards to chalk up his fourth touchdown of the game. In for an injured Matt Brown, Richardson capped off his varsity debut with one more TD in the 4th quarter. He finished the night with 239 yards on 29 carries. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Alex Funk finds open grass as he runs the ball down the field on kick return against the Rockets. Funk, a senior, finished the SJO's second game of the season with 23 all-purpose yards. His longest run came on 16-yard kick return. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Finding plenty of wide open turf in front of him, Unity's Cale Rawdin sprints down the field on his way to an 83-yard touchdown. The run accounted for more than half of his total rushing yardage of 151. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

SJO's Tyler Burch fields the last Unity kickoff of the game. Burch gained 5 yards on the play. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Spartans' Justice Wertz and Aiden McCorkle stop Unity's Cale Rawdin in the 4th quarter. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Photo Gallery: Giving their all, Rockets come up short in 3A title game

(Left to right) Unity football captains Grant Albaugh, Dillon Rutledge, Chance Ingleman, and Blake Kimball hold up the team's runner-up trophy after the Class 3A title game at Huskies Stadium on the Northern Illinois University campus in DeKalb. In the program's sixth state final appearance since head coach Scott Hamilton took the reigns, the Rockets fell 35-7 to Byron Tigers finishing the season with a 13-1 record on Friday. More photos and recap coming later this week.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Unity's Nick Nosler comforts teammate Oran Varela as the final seconds tick off the game clock in the fourth quarter. Nosler, a junior, led all defenders with a game-high 11 tackles, five of which were solos. Varela finished the game with six tackles for the Rockets.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Lineman Karson Richardson (right) receives a hug from a teammate as time runs out for the Rockets. Byron held the Unity offense was held to just 205 yards of total offense and keep the ball for 32 minutes and five seconds during the combined four quarters.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Unity fans go crazy on a touchdown pass to Dillon Rutledge as time ran out in the first half. The 37-yard pass play would be the Rockets only score of the game.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

The Unity Dance Team performs for Rocket fans during halftime. The Rockets trailed on the scoreboard, 21-7.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Rockets' wide receiver Jay Saunders bobbles a pass from Blake Kimball in the third quarter. Saunders caught three passes for 39 yards in the state final game.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Unity offensive linemen line up infront of a propane heater to stay warm. Temperatures at game time was in the upper 20s.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Liam Alt and the Rocket offensive line move after the ball is snapped. The Class 3A game lasted just 2 hours and three minutes.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Wide open in the end zone, senior receiver Dillon Ruthledge hauls in a 37-yard pass in the second half for a Unity touchdown. Rutledge caught another pass, a 12-yard one, to finish the final game of his prep career with 49 yards.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Blake Kimball hands the ball off to teammate Matt Brown. The Byron Tigers effectively bottled up the Unity offense with Brown good for just 77 yards on 17 carries.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Unity fans root for their team during the first half.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Austin McDaniel pulls down a Byron ball carrier during the first half. McDaniel finished the game with seven tackles, one for a loss.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Will Cowan stretches out to push Byron ball carrier Chandler Binkley out of bounds in the first quarter.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

In Tolono, and still undefeated!
Rockets win Williamsville Holiday Tournament

Williamsville - Three-point shots from Andrew Thomas, Eric Miebach, and Jay Saunders in the first quarter gave Unity a six-point lead over Williamsville on Saturday at the Williamsville Holiday Tournament. Henry added two field goals in the frame to make the score 13-7 going into the second quarter.

Unity's Andrew Thomas brings the ball down the court in last year's home game against Paxton-Buckley-Loda. Thomas and the Rockets won this year's Williamsville Holiday Tournament and play in the Christie Clinic Shootout on Saturday in St. Joseph. The Rocket basketball program is enjoying it best start in decades at 13-0.

PhotoNews Media

The Rockets kept the six-point or better margin for two more quarters on the way to a 48-45, winning this year’s title, remaining one of the few Class 2A teams in the state with an unblemished record now 13-0.

Miebach and Henry Thomas finished with 11 points each. Dalton O’Neill scored six-for-six at the free-throw line, adding ten to the team’s scoring.

Unity has remained undefeated thanks to the depth of its roster. Six other players also contributed to the title win.

Andrew Thomas added a fourth-quarter free throw to his first-quarter trey, finishing with four points. Saunders and Eisenmenger chipped in three points each, with two points apiece from Tre Hoggard, Dane Langendorf, and sophomore Brayden Henry.

Brayden Scott led the Bullets’ scoring effort with 15 points. Brayden Saling scored one less to finish with 14 points and Carson Kohler had ten points. Brecken Thomas rounded out the team’s scoring with two treys, one in the first and fourth quarters, for six points. Williamsville’s record drops to a still impressive 11 wins against 2 losses.

Unity returns to action this weekend hosting Maroa-Forsyth on Friday at home for Alumni Night. The Trojans are 8-4, including a 55-34 win over St. Teresa (7-7) and posted a 52-42 victory over Monticello on December 9.

Less than 24 hours later, the Rockets travel to St. Joseph to face Quincy Notre Dame (8-6) in the annual Christie Clinic Shootout. The Raiders finished third in the consolation bracket on Friday beating Rockford Lutheran 78-56. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 pm on Saturday.

2023 Unity Rockets Football Schedule

TOLONO - The Unity football team opens its 30th season under head coach Scott Hamilton at Hicks Field on Friday, August 25th against Prairie Central. The Hawks, who ran last season's conference table with a perfect 8-0 record, look to avenge their 14-0 Class 3A quarterfinal loss to the Rockets.

After a home game with St. Joseph-Ogden the following week and a road game with Illinois Valley Central, Unity will host last year's Class 2A state champs St. Teresa in a non-conference affair on September 15.

The Rockets will finish the schedule alternating three away and two home games. The team's last home game and Senior Night will be on October 13 against Paxton-Buckley Loda.

See complete schedule and school information below.

Unity wide receiver Jay Saunders goes up for a pass during first half action against Illinois Valley Central. Grey Ghost Andrew Burwell broke up the long pass play but it did not stop the Rockets from rolling to a 62-20 win on September 9, 2022, in their highest scoring game of the season. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Junior varsity quarterback Ryan Rink runs the ball on a keeper in the fourth quarter, putting another six points on the scoreboard against IVC in 2022. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Sophomore Dallas Hollingsworth blocks while seeing fourth quarter action against the Grey Ghosts. Look for the 6'1", 300-pound lineman to be a major asset for the Rockets in the upcoming season. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

2023 Unity High School Football Schedule

Aug 25 - Prairie Central - 7:00 - Home
Sep 1 - St. Joseph-Ogden - 7:00 - Home
Sep 8 - Illinois Valley Central - 7:00 - Away
Sep 15 - St. Teresa - 7:00 - Home
Sep 22 - Central Catholic - 7:00 - Away
Sep 29 - Pontiac - 7:00 - Home
Oct 6 - Rantoul - 7:00 - Away
Oct 13 - Paxton-Buckley-Loda - 7:00 - Home
Oct 20 - Monticello - 7:00 - Away

School Information

Unity High School
1127 County Rd. 800N
Tolono, IL 61880
Phone: 217-485-6230
Fax: 217-485-6220
School Web Site: www.unityrockets.com
Athletic Web Site: 8to18.com

Other links:

IHSA School Data

MaxPreps

Twitter

Facebook

Nickname: Rockets
Colors: Maroon/White
Conference: Illini Prairie
Enrollment: 516

Administration
Superintendent: Andrew Larson - larsona@unity.k12.il.us
Phone: 217-485-6510

Principal: Bill Behrends - behrendsb@unity.k12.il.us

Athletic Director: Scott Hamilton - hamilton@unity.k12.il.us
Phone: 217-485-6735 ... Fax: 217-485-6220

Boys Football Head Coach: Scott Hamilton - hamilton@unity.k12.il.us

Out to a fast start, Rockets blast PBL with 21-0 first quarter run

Andrew Thomas drives to the basket on a fastbreak during the first quarter. Thomas finished with 11 points in Unity's 36-point advantage over Paxton-Buckley-Loda in their Illini Prairie Conference game on Friday. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

by Daniel L. Chamness
Special to the Sentinel

Tolono - Tolono Unity's offense surged ahead and never looked back in their conference opener against the visiting Paxton Buckley Loda Panthers.

And, there was absolutely no reason to look back in the 58-22 victory. The Rocket offense did their best imitation of a Ferrari from the starting line, had a 10-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

While the Rocket offense was busy rambling out to a insurmountable lead, the Rocket defense was holding the Panthers at bay and feeding the offense as they capitalized on bad pass turnovers and their defensive rebounding.

Andrew Thomas scored the first Unity points draining a 10-foot jumper at 7:34. The 6-foot-3, 165-pound junior guard was also involved in the next bucket as well when he grabbed a defensive board to start the next offensive drive. The drive ended when senior Will Cowan drained a three pointer, hitting from the left wing, at the 6:47 mark. Henry Thomas drove to the bucket, but realized the defense was collapsing on him, as three Panthers closed in on him before hitting Cowan with a pass as he hit a wide open shot.

That was followed by a Henry Thomas layup, and a Cowan layup as he stole the ball and dashed down the court. He would then hit another three pointer, this one from the left corner at 4:48. With 3:12 drained off the clock, the Rockets boasted a 12-0 lead.

Before the quarter ended, both Henry Thomas and Cowan had struck from beyond the arc again, as Thomas nailed one from the right wing, while Cowan stuck from the left corner. The Thomas brothers and Cowan had the Rockets leading 21-0 after the first eight minutes at the Rocket Center.

In the opening minute of the second stanza, Andrew Thomas scored three more points hitting a free throw and then a layup at the 7:00 mark.

"We did a number of things well tonight, but our defense really stood out," said Matt Reed, Unity's head coach. "We pressured well. We made shots early and the passes were very good. They shared the ball incredibly well. We tried to stay focused the entire game, no matter how much we were leading by."

Kayden Snelling put the Panthers on the board with 6:23 to play in the first half. He would score the first six Panther points as he would score again at 2:56 and again at 1:19. While the Panthers had it the board in the second quarter, the Unity Rockets had expanded their lead to 29 points, 35-6, by halftime.

Unity pressed hard early in the first quarter, then backed off for the remaining 24 minutes.

The clock ran steady in the fourth quarter. Cowan, who was in double figures before the sun set on the first quarter, finished with a team-high 16 points. He hit a total of four treys and a pair of two-pointers. He was joined in double figures by Andrew Thomas, who finished with 11 points. He hit three regulation shots and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

In all, a dozen Rocket players lit up the scoreboard on Friday. Nate Bleecher finished with six points, while Dalton O'Neill and Henry Thomas each had five points. Unity's scoring effort was rounded out by Austin Langendorf and Dane Eisenmenger, who each had three points. Colten Langendorf, Eric Meibach, Taylor Warfel and Jay Saunders each had two points, while Isaac Ruggieri added one.

Unity moves to 10-7 overall and 1-0 in the Illini Prairie Conference.

"We started off hitting our shots from the beginning of the game," said Henry Thomas. "Hitting like that felt pretty good. Not to mention, it gave us so much confidence for the rest of the game."

Snelling led Panthers with 10 points.

The Sentinel 2021-22 Boys All-Area Basketball Team

Andrew Beyers goes up for a shot against the Eagles

Andrew Beyers goes for a layup between Rantoul seniors Angel Soto and Avontay Anderson (left) during second half action. Beyers, named to this year's Sentinel All-Area basketball team, and the St. Joseph-Ogden basketball team rolled over the visiting Eagles in their Illini Prairie conference game back on February 8, 74-54.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Sentinel All-Area First Team

Here is our list of the best area players for the 2021-2022 season.

First Team

Andrew Beyers, Senior
St. Joseph-Ogden

Will Cowan, Junior
Unity

Evan Ingram, Senior
St. Joseph-Ogden

Blake Kimball, Senior
Unity

Austin Langendorf, Junior
Unity

Ty Pence, Junior
St. Joseph-Ogden

Henry Thomas, Sophomore
Unity

Logan Smith, Sophomore
St. Joseph-Ogden

Second Team

McGwire Atwood, Junior
St. Joseph-Ogden

Hayden Brazelton, Senior
St. Joseph-Ogden

Nolan Grindley, Senior
St. Joseph-Ogden

Jacob Maxwell, Junior
Unity

Dalton O'Neill, Sophomore
Unity

Trustan Price, Senior
Unity

Coy Taylor, Freshman
St. Joseph-Ogden

Andrew Thomas, Sophomore
Unity

Honorable Mention

St. Joseph-Ogden:
Maddux Carter (Jr)

Unity:
Jay Saunders (So)

Unity's Trustan Price celebrates a three-point shot during the Rockets' Class 2A regional title game against St. Joseph-Ogden. Price and the Rockets' season came to end after a 58-50 loss to the Spartans at the Rocket Center. Price, a senior, is a member of The Sentinel's all-area Second Team.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Editor's Note:

A Certificate of Recognition is available for each of the players listed above. Players, coaches, or parents/guardians can email us at sports@oursentinel.com to receive their 2021-22 certificate.

Shooting Stars | Area basketball athletes shined brightly last month

• Clifton Central 46 - Hoopeston Area 41

Preston VanDeVeer and Anthony Zamora finished with nine points each in Hoopeston Area's loss at home to the Comets. Kenddrick Sigerill led the Cornjerkers (2-3) on the boards with a season-high 11 rebounds finished with eight points. Hoopeston Area's Owen Root went 3-for-6 from the field putting eight points in the book.

Oakwood's Brody Taflinger shakes hands with St. Joseph-Ogden Athletic Director Justin Franzen after recieving his recognition plaque for the Toyota of Danville All-Tournament team on December 3. Taflinger's efforts lead the Comets to a runner-up finish after falling to the hosts Spartans 66-31 in the championship game on Saturday. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

• St. Joseph-Ogden 66 - Oakwood 31

Ty Pence drained 33 points in SJO's title game against Oakwood at the Toyota of Danville Classic on December 3. The senior D1 recruit scored 15 points in the first quarter to put the host Spartans on cruise control to this year's tournament title.

Junior Brody Taflinger led the Comets, who entered the fray with an impressive 8-0 record, with a 13-point effort in the team's first loss of the season.

• Teutopolis 56 - Unity 40

Before boasting a four-game win streak, the Rockets suffered their second consecutive loss at the hands of the Wooden Shoes on December 3. Despite nine players contributing with two or more points, Unity fell 56-40.

The Rockets led at the halfway point by five and trailed by one, 38-37, at the end of the third quarter. Jay Saunders, who led the team in the loss with nine points, hit the team's only field goal during a fourth-quarter offensive collapse. Dalton O'Neill sank one of two free throw attempts to round out the scoring in the frame to just three points. O'Neill, Unity's second-leading scorer, finished with seven points. Henry Thomas tallied five points in the third quarter.

Joey Niebrugge, a junior, led all scorers with in the contest with 18 points.

• St. Joseph-Ogden 68 - Watseka 28

Junior Logan Smith and senior Ty Pence combined effort produced 48 of SJO's 68 points in the team's romp over the Warriors at the Toyota of Danville Classic.

Pence, an 2023 Illinois State basketball recruit, drained 28 points while Smith rained down 20 more. Six other Spartans including Maddux Carter and Brock Trimble contributed to the victory.

• Rochester 56 - Unity 46

Andrew and Henry Thomas sank 11 points apiece in the Rockets' second game of the season. Without home court advantage, Unity (1-1) came out of the locker room cold after the halftime break, scoring just six points to Rochester's 17.

• St. Joseph-Ogden 44 - Danville 14

Addisyn Martinie dropped a game-high 16 point in the Spartans' first game during the month of December that snapped a three-game early season slide. Addison Seggebruch supplied 13 points in the non-conference victory.

SJO's improves to 2-4 heading into their next contest against Maroa-Forsyth at home.

• URBANA 39 - Charleston 34

Senior Gabrielle Mboyo-Meta led the Tigers girls' basketball effort with 16 points in the team's first win of the season. Junior Jasmine McCullough also delivered a double-digit finish with 13 points. Urbana (1-3) enjoyed a team effort with six points from McKenzie Sprague and two points apiece from Savannah Blanden and Elizabeth Lange.

Trojans' Ally Logsdon all scorers with 19 points, 15 of those delivered in the fourth quarter of the non-conference game on December 1.

Running down the Christie Clinic Shootout, our Sunday morning recap

Kankakee's Larenz Walters goes up for a shot in the fourth quarter in this team's Christie Clinic Shootout game against Peoria Notre Dame. The Kays, who led much of the first three quarters, fell to the Irish 51-46 on Saturday. Walters tallied a game-high 24 points in the loss.

Peoria Notre Dame 51 - Kankakee 46
A lackluster third-quarter performance by Kankakee erased a nine-point halftime lead over Notre Dame. The Irish outscored the Kays 13-3 in the period on the way to a 51-46 win in the final game of the day at the Christie Clinic Shootout.

Larenz Walters drained a game-high 24 points for the Kays and was the only player from his bench to score in the third quarter. Jahiem Porter finished with eight points, and Kennarious Chandler chipped in six more in the loss.

The Irish were paced by Cooper Koch's 23 points. Missing just one of his 12 free throw attempts, the junior unleashed a 13-point fourth-quarter eruption to keep the chance for victory out of the Kays' reach. Teammate Eoin Dillon was the only other player finishing in double-digits with 12 points.

St. Joseph-Ogden 59 - Nashville 35 The Spartans beat last year's Class 2A state champions with ease. SJO's starting five put the game on cruise control in the third quarter.

Normal U-High 56 - Unity 48
Henry Thomas, who finished with a team-high 13 points, was solid in the paint for the Rockets while senior Will Cowan tossed in four treys for 12 points in a hard-fought battle against the Pioneers. Jay Saunders and Dalton O'Neill contributed seven points apiece in the loss.

Down by one at the break, U-High's Ty Blake lept into action delivering nine of this team's 13 points in the third frame. Blake finished with 23 points and a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Mason Funk piled on another 13 points over four quarters in the win for the Pioneers.

Mount Zion 70 - Bloomington 49
The Braves (17-2) had a foursome finish in double-figures on their way to knocking off the Raiders in the midday game at the Shootout. Carson Cuddy led all scorers from both sides of the scorer's table with 22 points, 13 tallied in the third quarter.

JC Anderson drained 12 points across his first three quarters in the fray and finished with 14 points. Lyncoln Koester and Grant Mcatee each chipped in 12 points for the Apollo Conference frontrunners.

Bloomington (3-11) trailed at the half 51-46 and mustered just 23 points the remainder of the contest.

Niko Newsome paced BHS with 21 points and Adam Beasley put up 16 to lead their team.

Centennial 39 - Addison Trail 34
Picking up their fifth win of the season, the Chargers (5-7) worked their way out of a 12-point deficit to slide past the Blazers in the lowest-scoring game of the day at the shootout. Silent during the first half, Preston Sledge collected all of his game-high 14 points in the second half.

Addison Trail's Charles Little, Jr., led his squad with 11 points. Joey Morales put in four field goals in the second quarter and one in the third to finish the day with 10 points.

Beecher 64 - Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin 48
The Bobcats (17-1) handed senior Brett Meidel and the Blue Devils their fourth loss of the season. BHRA travels to Armstrong on Tuesday to face the Trojans in conference play.

Unity High School announced first semester honor roll students

The students named below earned recognition for their academic performance and attention to excellence at Unity High School. Congratulations to each on their exceptional scholastic effort last semester.

Seniors

High Honors: Evelyn Albaugh; Connor Cahill; Analyse Carter; Rebecca Carter; Brenlee Dalton; Taylor Drennan; Natalie Ellars; Bailey Grob; Brooklyn Haas; Madison Henry; Shelby Hoel; Margaret Ingleman; Caroline Jamison; Eden Johnson; Cassidy Keller; Caelyn Kleparski; Jocelyn LeFaivre; Reagan Little; Tatum Meyer; Eric Miebach; Lauren Neverman; Dean Niswonger; Anna Polonus; Aiden Porter; Meredith Reed; Maci Richmond; Briana Ritchie; Aubrey Sanders; Tsihon Shotton; Logan Siuts; Carsyn Smith; Piper Steele; Lily Steffens; Brock Suding; Ruby Tarr; Andrew Thomas; Darren Weckle; Erica Woodard; Abigail Woolcott; Emberly Yeazel; Ava Price; Erin Sanders; Bayleigh Jones; Isaac Ruggieri; Jeremy Wells; Madysen York; Brooke Hewing; Kendra Cromwell; Emma Plackett; Alexis Ritchie; Lynndsay Talbott; and Henry Thomas.

Honor Roll: Emma Fish; Trevor McCarter; Keaton Roether; Bailey Wayne; Caedmon Cazares; Zachary Lorbiecki; Carly Scroggins; Elianna Duo; Matthew Short; Santiago Sanchez; Rylee Richardson; Bryson Weaver; Isabel Sellers; Dalton ONeill; Aubrey Schaefer; Bridget Vazquez; Kolten Wells; Nicholas Brown; Desire De Los Santos; Ava Holladay; Raegen Stringer; Hector Jimenez Gil; Aileen Vasquez Munoz; Tanner Chilton; Kamryn Edenburn; Gabriel Pound; Jay Saunders; McKayla Schendel; Breanna Weller; Addison Ray; Aidan Ward; Sophia Wozencraft; Anna Wood; Olivia Hosley; Gillian Rice; Kate Thomas; Riley FitzGerald; Tyler Gumm; Grant Siuts; Nathan Bleecher; Kaylin Owen; and Thayden Root.

Juniors

High Honors: Avery Alagna; Noah Bryant; Elle Cheely; Madelyn Darnall; Ashlyn Denney; Kade Dubson; Chloey Duitsman; Ava Fenter; Catharine Ford; Kadence Goff; Sophia Hartke; Dallas Hollingsworth; Wyatt Huffstutler; Alex Mowrer; Camryn Reedy; Rylee Reifsteck; Lydia Rossi; Savannah Rubin; Lauren Shaw; Daniel Stein; Avery Watson; Ashely Rennels; Jenna Adkins; Lindy Bates; Paige Brewer; Faith Hall; Lauren Hellmer; Ryan Rink; Josephine Cler; Emily Decker; Maegan Rothe; Estella Dodd; and Molly Baxley.

Honor Roll: Joseph Tempel; Oscar Boldt; Gracie Meharry; Gavin Weaver; Sophia Beckett; Paige Garretson; McKenzie Hart; Nolan Wishall; Jordan Daugherty; Logan Church; Hunter Eastin; Tessah Williams; Austin Mikeworth; Logan Zumbahlen; Bentten Cain; Franke Davis; Sophia Frye; Andrew King; Brady Parr; McKinley Weller; Lindsey Johnson; Sydney Jackson; and Nathaniel DeNeal.

Sophomores

High Honors: Anna Amias; Mylie Castle; Eli Crowe; Ella Darnall; Crewe Eckstein; Callie Ellars; Camden Fairbanks; Margaret Garcier; Collin Graven; Isabel Grob; Faith Lampe; Kallista Lancaster; Mylie Loftsgaard; Claire Meharry; Harry Polonus; Dallas Porter; Mackenzie Pound; Ty Rodems; Katie Ruggieri; Vanna Schriefer; Hunter Shike; Annalise Shunk; Caden Stierwalt; Ginna Stierwalt; Madelyn Stierwalt; Emma Swisher; Carter Tiemann; Anna Vasey; Lucille Wiesbrook; Paula Wilson; Lucas Hood; Deakin Moore; Isaac Neverman; Olivia Egelston; Olivia Rawdin; Claire Zorns; Kaylee Cooke; Caden Hensch; Logan Jeurissen; Bailey Tompkins; Savanna Cruz; Chason Daly; and Kenley Harris.

Honor Roll: Chloe Cousins; Samantha Gumbel; Ian Taber; Phoenix Molina; Mason ONeill; Shelby Smith; Aria Battaglia; Maddix Buchanan; Jillian Schlittler; Andrew Ray; Dane Eisenmenger; Anna Kuhns; Analea Popovics; Shelby Zoch; Brayden Henry; Tyler Henry; Desmond Winfrey; Johanna Langley, Ethan Mohr; Heath Stringer; Cameron Kaiser; Brody Osterbur; Kyla Reed; Kamden Schuckman; Olivia Tempel; Bryan Crosby; Abram Davidson; Tanner Gallivan; and Joshua Heath.

Freshmen

High Honors: Dominic Baxley; Clare Bryant; Caleb Coy; Lillian Daly; Hudson DeHart; Danika Eisenmenger; Allison Fenter; Journey Gabbard; Bailee Gadeken; Colton Harmon; Avery Kamradt; Kathryn Knoll; Audrey McDaniel; Emily Osterbur; Adam Reedy; Allyson Shaw; Evalyn Skibbe; Piper Staley; Grace Tempel; Jacob Ward; Leah Watson; Maggie Weckle; Grace Wherley; Rylan Wolf; Broderick Irwin; Cash McCann; Elizabeth Wayne; Grace Bickers; Max Rossi; Alex Bromley; Berkley Cloud; Lucy Kleiss; Cadence Chandler; Reese Frye, Brooklyn Mumm; Kendal Zerrusen; and Aidan Ellis.

Honor Roll: Addison Davis; Olivia Hall; Madison Spohn; Paige Bradley; Braedyn Dalton; Taylor Finley; Landrey Mohr; Addison Wyatt; Alyssa Shields; Isaac Siegwald; Ethan Schaefer; Nicole Paeth; Evan Puckett; Juan Acosta Toro; Noah Conde; Sadie Polonus; Ava Wolf Rice; Natalie Haas; Nicholas Montgomery; Elizabeth Farney; and Rush Little.

Prep Sports Notebook | Area schools produce a bouquet of basketball victories

Thomas piles on points at Williamsville Holiday tournament

Williamsville - Henry Thomas led Unity in their 62-57 win over Peoria Christian on Thursday with 21 points. Dalton O'Neill and Dane Eisenmenger added 10 points each to propel the Rockets into the semifinals against Illini Prairie Conference foe Prairie Central.

Another team win, Unity enjoyed scoring from seven other players, including Tre Haggard with two points, Colton Langendorf 5, Brayden Henry 5, Aiden Porter 2, Jay Saunders 3, Eric Miebech 1, and Andrew Thomas rounding out the scoring effort with five points.

St. Joseph-Ogden boys advance to semis at State Farm tourney

Bloomington - Tanner Jacob scored 16 points, and Coy Taylor piled on another 14 in the Spartans' quarterfinal game against Rock Falls. In complete control from start to finish, St. Joseph-Ogden kept the game out of reach, defeating the Rockets, 66-40.

Unlike their opener against East Dubuque, SJO took an early lead and didn't look back with seniors Luke Landrus, who snagged nine rebounds, and Logan Smith with seven assists, contributing nine points each.

St. Joseph-Ogden looks to lock up one of the title game spots tomorrow after tonight's 8:30 pm game against Pecatonica. The Indians, in their first State Farm Holiday Classic appearance, shocked Normal U-High yesterday, 62-55.

Unity girls roll past Armstrong-Potomac

Bismarck - Addison Ray scored a game-high 19 points for the Rockets in the team's 61-41 win over Armstrong-Potomac. Ray amassed her total take in three quarters and was 3-for-8 from three-point range.

Raegen Stringer finished with 12 points, and Reagen Little had ten points. Unity's bench contributed 20 points in win number ten. Emily Decker scored six points, Claire Meharry delivered for points in the second half, Jocelyn LeFaivre four points, Elle Cheely 2 points, and Lauren Haas added four more to the cause.

Unity will face Benton Central (14-2) in the Heritage/Bismarck Holiday Tournament championship game.

Rockets blast Comets in tournament quarterfinal

Bismarck - Unity's Addison Ray started her day at the Heritage/Bismarck Holiday Tournament with 16 points to lead Unity to a 51-25 win over Oakwood yesterday. Raegen Stringer, who was 2-for-2 from the free-throw line, scored 11 points, and Reagan Little book ten points to advance in the Rockets in the championship bracket.

Jaydah Arrowsmith and Nikita Taylor paced the Comets with six points each.

Spartan girls rebound

Bloomington - Katie Ericksen drained a season-best 20 points in SJO's 45-42 win over Rockford Lutheran in the State Farm Holiday Classic Small School consolation bracket quarterfinal. Addisyn Martinie chipped in 11 points, and Addison Frick, a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, finished with seven points.

The Lady Spartans advanced to a semifinal game against Port Byron Riverdale.

Area high school coaches

We need your help covering your team this season to help keep fans, college recruiters, and area readers informed.

If you are coaching basketball, wrestling, competitive cheer or competitive dance at Unity, Uni-High, Urbana High School, or St. Joseph-Ogden, please send us your game or meet results for our Prep Sports Notebook. The best way to send us box scores and other info is via email to sports@oursentinel.com or editor@oursentinel.com.