Rockets end losing streak with six-point win over Blue Bullets

MORTON -- After back-to-back losses in the past week, the Unity basketball team survives a near loss to the Blue Bullets of Knoxville (15-5) to win 60-54 at the Morton Basketball Shootout on Saturday.

The Rockets' 12th win of the season was yet another nail-biting affair. The score was knotted at 25-all at the end of the first half after a productive 20-point quarter by Knoxville. Will Cowan and Thomas Henry drilled two threes apiece in the third quarter to help construct an 11-point Unity lead.

Despite a valiant effort by the Blue Bullets to rally back into the contest with four players reaching double figures, Unity was able to hold off the surge in the final quarter.

David Hise and Braden Downs led the Knox County team with 12 points each. Bryar Fleisher and Beau Honeycutt chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, Unity had three players turn in double-digit performances.

After a 19-point output against Paxton-Buckley-Loda less than 24 hours earlier, Blake Kimball scored 18 points to lead both rosters in the shootout game. Will Cowan found his stroke from beyond the arc, draining five treys and finishing with 17 points for the Rockets.

Starter Tristan Price hit a couple of three-pointers and went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line to finish with 10 points.

Unity (12-4), currently tied 5th in the Illini Prairie standings, will have a chance to polish their record a bit. Tuesday, the Rockets host St. Thomas More at the Rocket Center and take on the Eagles in Rantoul on Friday.

Box Score

Final: Unity 60 - Knoxville 54


  1 2 3 4 OT F
Unity 11 14 22 13 0 60
Knoxville 5 20 11 18 0 54


Unity --
Kimball 6 (1) 3-5 -- 18, Cowan 1 (5) 0-0 -- 17, H. Thomas 0 (2) 1-2 -- 7, Rawdin 2 (0) 0-0 -- 4, Warfel 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Saunders 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Porter 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, O'Neil 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Price 1 (2) 2-2 -- 10, A. Thomas 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Langendorf 2 (0) 0-0 -- 4, Maxwell 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0

Knoxville --
Downs 3 (0) 6-6 -- 12, McClay 3 (0) 3-3 -- 9, Hise 4 (1) 1-2 -- 12, Wallace 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Fleisher 0 (3) 2-2 -- 11, Nolan 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Tuckey 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Curey 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Honeycutt 5 (0) 0-2 -- 10, Shreves 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Saulte 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Morris 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Bent 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Bentz 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0

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

Andrew Thomas
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.

Rockets notch 11th win of the season, Unity picks up IPC victory

TOLONO -- Both teams were off to an ugly start in their first basketball game of 2022. Unity's shotmakers converted on just 34.2% of their shots while hosting Olympia in their Illini Prairie Conference game last Friday. Luckily, the visiting Spartans' shots weren't falling either allowing the Rockets to post a 41-34 win over their guests.

Backed by Will Cowan's 10 rebounds, seven of them on the defensive end of the court, Unity held Olympia to just six first-half points inside the Rocket Center.

The Spartans, who made baskets on 23.8% of the balls they tossed at the rim, were led by Chase Litwiller's double-double 19 points, and 11 boards.

Unity (11-2) took an early lead on a three-pointer from Cowan and two more, in addition to a field goal, from senior Blake Kimball for an 11-4 first-quarter lead. Kimball was Unity's only scorer in the next frame with six points. Meanwhile, Olympia mustered only two points, both on free throws from Litwiller and his brother Andrew before halftime.

Despite being outgunned 28-24 in the second half, a fourth-period burst from Kimball and teammate Henry Thomas' six crucial free throws kept the game from slipping away. Jacob Maxwell hit a field goal and free throw in the final frame for the Rockets.

Kimball led all scorers with 25 points. He also added to the cause six rebounds and a pair of steals from his 35 minutes on the court. A bigger asset on defense on Friday, Cowan finished the night with four points.

Cowan & Co. are at home again tomorrow against Tuscola. The varsity game is scheduled to start at 7pm. The Warriors are 12-3 on the season with losses to Okaw Valley, Monticello, and Indiana's 21st Century Charter.

Box Score

Final: Prairie Central 48 - Urbana 21

  1 2 3 4 F
Unity 11 6 5 19 41
Olympia 4 2 10 18 34

Unity --
Kimball 5 (4) 3-10 -- 25, Cowan 0 (1) 0-0 -- 3, H. Thomas 0 (0) 6-8 -- 6, Rawdin 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Warfel 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Saunders 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Porter 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, O'Neil 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Price 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, A. Thomas 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Langendorf 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Maxwell 1 (0) 1-6 -- 3

Olympia --
Ragland 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Peifer 1 (0) 1-2 -- 3, Wilson 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, D. O'Donnell 0 (0) 1-2 -- 1, Swartzendruber 0 (2) 0-0 -- 6, Pierce 1 (0) 2-4 -- 4, A. Litweiler 0 (0) 1-2 -- 1, Wilie 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Dane 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, C. Litwiler 6 (0) 7-9 -- 19, David 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Evans 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, G. O'Donnell 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Olsen 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0


Photo Gallery: Unity offense produces big win in football playoff opener

Chance Ingleman tosses teammate Braxton Manuel up in the air during team introductions prior to the start of Unity's first round playoff game against Newton at Hicks Field. Undefeated in the regular season, the Rockets continued their win streak with a 46-6 win over the visiting Eagles.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Matt Brown puts his shoulder into Newton player
Running with the force of a Mac Truck, Unity's Matt Brown collides with Newton's Gus Bierman during first quarter action of their first-round playoff game. Brown was responsible for 175 of the Rockets' 421 total yards against the Eagles.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Matt Brown scores first of five TDs

Stopped late by Newton linebacker and team captain Meyer Tarr, Unity's Matt Brown scores the first of five touchdown against the Eagles on a short 4-yard run. Brown finished the game with 175 yards on 21 carries.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Newton's Issac Flowers hit

Newton's Issac Flower is stopped in his tracks after a short gain by Unity defensive back Will Cowan and linebacker Boden Franklin during first half action. The Rockets' stingy defense helped the program move to 10-0 on the season.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Dance team waiting to perform

Four members of the Rockettes huddle together under a blanket while waiting to perform during halftime at last Saturday's home football game against Newton.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Austin Langendorf leaps

Junior linebacker Austin Langendorf leaps to block a punt in second quarter. Langedorf and the Unity defense held the Newton offense under 100 rushing yards.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Matt Brown scores again

Matt Brown, the unstoppable 6-foot-1 running back from Unity, drags three Newton players into the end zone for another Rocket touchdown.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Dance Team halftime show
With Halloween 24 hours a way and in the spirit of the day, members of the Rockettes, Unity's competitive dance team, perform a routine to Michael Jackson's Thriller during halftime.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Unity Marching Band
Alto sax players from the award-winning Unity Marching Band perform during the halftime show.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


flag girl
A Unity flag girl twirls her flag during the halftime show.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Unity fans

Unity fans clap for the girls' cross country team who brought home a championship title from the Decatur St. Teresa Class 1A sectional meet on Saturday. This Saturday the Rockets will attempt to bring home the state title at Detweiller Park in Peoria before their football team's 2pm home game against Paxton-Buckley-Loda.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Wide receiver Damian Knoll in action

Rockets' wide receiver Damian Knoll stiff-arms Newton's Gus Bierman as he is wrapped up by Austin Moore on a pass play in the second half.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Matt Brown runs over Newton player

Unity's Matt Brown runs over Newton's Austin Moore before being brought down from behind by Eagles' Mason Mulvey and Gus Bierman.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Camden Mette breaks up a pass play

With Will Cowan looking on behind them, Rockets' Camden Mette breaks up a pass play to the Eagles' Trevor Haarman early in the fourth quarter.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Garrett Richardson scoots by Newton linebacker Kohlten Barthelme

Unity running back Garrett Richardson scoots by Newton linebacker Kohlten Barthelme during the fourth quarter. With a running clock and the Rockets up 46-6 on the scoreboard, the two freshmen squared off in their first postseason football game.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Lineman Kalen Shoot (68) provides a big hole for running back Garrett Richardson during the fourth quarter. The two freshmen players saw their several minutes in the first playoff game of their prep football career.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Unity head coach Scott Hamilton delivers his postgame speech to his players. Saturday, Hamilton and the Rockets will host Illini Prairie newcomer Paxton-Buckley-Loda (7-3) at 2 p.m. next Saturday for a round-two. Earlier in the season Hamilton's team defeated the Panthers 35-0 at Hicks Field.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Publisher's Note: Check later for more photos from this game. Looking for photos of a specific player? Email us at photos@oursentinel.com with the athlete's name and jersey number for details.

Christie Clinic Shootout: A showcase of top downstate small school basketball teams

Unity's Henry Thomas dribbles the ball around a Normal University High player during the Christie Clinic Shootout game in 2023. Already on a three-game slide and 8-6 a the midpoint in the season, the Rockets lost 56-48 to the Pioneers. Currently undefeated this season at 13-0, Unity returns to the shootout lineup this weekend to face Quincy Notre Dame at 5 pm on Saturday.


ST. JOSEPH - St. Joseph-Ogden High School will host the Christie Clinic Shootout this Saturday, with the first game tipping off at 11 am between Streator and Normal Community West. Six more varsity basketball games will follow (see schedule below) for a full day of exciting prep basketball.

The school will also host a JV side of the shootout, with the contests starting at 9 am in the school's practice gym.

Admission for adults is $8.00 for the day and $5.00 for students with their student ID.

Christie Clinic
Shootout
Schedule
Varsity Schedule

11:00 AM:
Streator vs. Normal West

12:30 PM:
Carterville vs. Normal University

2:00 PM:
 New Berlin vs. Monticello

3:30 PM:
 Belleville West vs. Bradley-Bourbonnais

5:00 PM:
 QND vs. Unity

6:30 PM:
 Pinckneyville vs. SJO

8:00 PM:
 Washington vs. Mt. Zion


Junior Varsity Schedule

9:00 AM:
Streator vs. Normal West

10:30 AM: Carterville vs. Normal University

12:00 PM: New Berlin vs. Monticello

1:30 PM:
Belleville West vs. Bradley-Bourbonnais

3:00 PM:
QND vs. Unity

4:30 PM:
Pinckneyville vs. SJO

6:00 PM:
Washington vs. Mt. Zion

What's the competition look like?

St. Joseph-Ogden (10-2), Unity (13-0), Normal University (9-6), and Mount Zion (14-0) are the four teams returning from last January. The Rockets and the Braves have yet to suffer a loss this season.

Five programs - SJO, QND, U-High, Carterville, and Pinckneyville - made deep postseason runs last year. The Panthers from P'ville were only three points away from state appearance, falling to Teutopolis in the supersectional, 42-40.

Last year's shootout winners included host St. Joseph-Ogden, Normal University High, Mount Zion, Centennial, and Beecher.

New teams to the shootout include programs from downstate Illinois with strong, winning traditions. Belleville West, Bradley-Bourbonnais, Carterville, New Berlin, Normal West, Quincy Notre Dame, Pickneyville, Streator, and Washington join the line-up this January.

The Spartans, Rockets, and Monticello Sages (6-7) will represent the Illini Praire Conference on Saturday.

Here is a brief rundown of what went down in last January's installment.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.


Prep Hoops | Scoring drought sinks Rockets in second game of the season

Unity's home game against Paris last Friday was a textbook case of a tale of every other quarter.

After a solid first quarter of play and leading on the scoreboard 12-10, missed second quarter scoring opportunities led to an eventual 67-33 loss in non-conference action with the visiting Tigers.

Damian Knoll tied the game at 7-all midway into the first quarter and Will Cowan scored the go-ahead tip in to give Unity a two-point advantage early in the game. A couple of exchanges later, Cowan drilled a trey from the southeast corner of the floor for a 12-7 Rocket lead.

With it much too early to roll over and lie, Paris' Zach Farnham answers with three pointer for his team to close out the quarter trailing, 12-10.

Paris quickly tied the game at twelves in the second quarter on a shot from Jude Sullivan and then the Rockets' shoot woes surfaced. The Tigers outscored Unity, who made just one of the 13 shots in the frame, 23-4. Paris, on the other hand, sunk eight of their 13 attempts in the same period.

After a respectable third quarter effort yielding 13 points, Unity mustered just four in the final quarter of the contest. 

Three players had seven opportunities from the free throw line, to their team's detriment went unconverted.

Despite the team's overall shooting deficiency, Brady Porter led Unity's scoring effort with 13 points. Cowan and Austin Langendorf chipped in another five points apiece.

Three seniors did the bulk of the heavy shooting for the Tigers. Sullivan, who scored the majority of his points in the second and third quarters of the game, finished the night with a game-high 17 points. Garrett King contributed 12 points and Mason Hutchings rounded out the top scorers on the visiting team with 8 points.

The Rockets play at home again on Friday night hosting Pontiac for another Illini Prairie Conference game this week. The varsity game is scheduled to start 7pm. Fans can catch the game on the NFHS Network.


Box Score

Unity 12 4 13 4 - 33
Paris 10 23 24 10 - 67

Unity
Cowan 1 (1) 0-0 -- 5, Hensch 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Rawdin 0 (0) 0-1 -- 0, Rutledge 0 (0) 0-1 -- 0, Knoll 1 (2) 0-0 -- 8, Porter 3 (2) 1-6 -- 13, Page 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Langendorf 1 (0) 3-6 -- 5, Alt 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Jokisch 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2.

Paris
Allen 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Hutchings 2 (1) 1-1 -- 8, Farnham 0 (3) 0-0 -- 9, King 1 (2) 4-4 -- 12, Porter 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Breneman 4 (0) 2-5 -- 10, Rhoads 2 (0) 1-2 -- 5, Mills 0 (1) 0-0 -- 3, Sullivan 5 (1) 4-4 -- 17, Nugent 0 (0) 1-2 -- 1, Brinkerhoff 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0.

4th-quarter comeback propels Unity to Class 3A football championship game

The last time the Rockets played a semifinal football game at home there was three inches of slush on the grassy turf of Hicks Field. Brutally cold with a sustained 15 mile an hour crosswind gusting to 30 at times, last Saturday's weather conditions were in stark contrast to that of the Blizzard Bowl of 2015.

Under a cloudless blue sky and gentle rays of sunlight heating the barely two-year-old artificial turf, the outcome, played by seniors who were still in junior high during the Blizzard Bowl, was identical. Three quarters of solid defensive play yielded yet another shot at a football state title, the sixth since 1994 when head coach Scott Hamilton took the reigns, after defeating visiting Mt. Carmel, 28-21.

Head coach Scott Hamilton is congratulated by fans after Unity's 28-21 win over Mt. Carmel. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
"What a crazy game," Hamilton said while Unity players and fans celebrated the team's fourth 2021 playoff victory. The number one seed in the southern playoff bracket, the Rockets played all four postseason games at Hicks Field. "We'll enjoy this one and wake up tomorrow morning and give her hell."

The Rockets jumped out in front on their first possession on an 87-yard drive capped off with quarterback Blake Kimball sprinting three yards toward the southeast court of the end zone, and to the dismay of dozens of Golden Aces fans along the barrier behind the end zone, diving just inside the orange pylon for the first TD of the game.


PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
With a little help from teammate Camden Mette, Unity's Boden Franklin strips the ball from Mt. Carmel's Blayne Sisson during first quarter action. The Rockets recovered the fumble to set up their next scoring drive. See more game photos from iphotonews.com.

Three minutes later, thanks to a fumble forced by junior Boden Franklin, Kimball was back in the end zone after a two-yard run to put his team up 13-0. With another easy PAT and looking at 14-point first-quarter deficit, Mt. Carmel was shell-shocked. Or, so it seemed.

Shaking it off, the Golden Aces started pulling them out of their sleeve. The first, with less than a minute on the scoreboard, Zeke Hadra scored on an 11-yard run. Then, a second barely two minutes into the second quarter to tie the ballgame up at 14-all courtesy of Mt. Carmel quarterback Blayne Sisson's 70-yard gallop through the Rocket defense.

Mt. Carmel wasn't finished. Hadra threw down another ace in the form of a 10-yards touchdown sending both teams into the locker room with MTC looking golden at 21-14.

"Everything looked so bad the whole second quarter, the whole third quarter, and we couldn't do anything," Hamilton said.

Though it has been a rare occurrence for the Rockets to be behind on the scoreboard, teams don't win 17-straight football games by giving up.

"For whatever reason, whether it was the Monticello game, or if you look back to some of the other games last year, they just hung in there," Hamilton said. He also highlighted his team's struggle against Paxton-Buckley-Loda, whose football program loudly announced their entrance into the mighty Illini Prairie Conference this year. He was proud of how they responded with their 'it ain't over until its over' attitude. "They just don't ever give up on each other."

In the first series of the fourth quarter, Rockets' Will Cowan snags a interception in the Unity end zone. Taking full advantage of the opportunity, Kimball and Matt Brown, who broke out for a 56-yard run on the drive, move the ball down the field. Pushed out of bounds at the 15-yard line, the Rockets had to wait until Kimball barreled into the east end zone for a third time to tie up the score.

"These guys just don't quit," Hamilton said, holding back tears of joy. "Their character is unbelievable."

Re-energized the Unity defense squad created another scoring opportunity with another interception. Camden Mette comes up big with 6:40 left in the fourth quarter. Not long after that, Brown finds his way into the end zone and the Rockets get the PAT to go up 28-21. The Rockets are just 5 minutes, ten seconds away from going to state.

"As he does all the time, Coach (Tony) Reetz got it figured out upfront," Hamilton said. A couple of defensive stops, a little game-clock finesse, and Unity would be preparing to play their 14th game this season. "Coach (Dave) Fink and our defensive guys took care of it on that end, and it's off to DeKalb we go."

Refusing to give up ground, the Unity defense stood tall stalling Mt. Carmel's desperate efforts to get a first down. The Rockets take control of the ball on their own 40 and meticulously wind down the clock down for the win.

Next up, the final test. Unity, who will play its first postseason road game at Huskie Stadium on the campus of Northern Illinois University, will square off against Byron.

The Tigers, who will make their third consecutive state final appearance, lost both previous contests by four points. In 2018, Monticello prevailed at Memorial Stadium, 24-20, and Williamsville held on to beat Byron 46-42 in DeKalb for the 2019 title.

Game time is at 4pm.


Looking Back | Cowan leads Rockets in romp over PBL

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Unity's Will Cowan fires a shot from in front of the Paxton-Buckley-Loda bench during their Illini Prairie game back in January. The Rockets rolled easily to a 58-22 win over the visiting Panthers behind Cowan's game-high 16 points. View 28 more photos in the game gallery here ....


Search the PhotoNews Media archives for more photos:

Search by athlete's name, team, school and more



Prep Sports Notebook | Unity, SJO suffer losses on the hardwood


Unity falls in OT loss to PBL

PAXTON -- Paxton-Buckley-Loda (9-6) outscored the Unity basketball team 13-3 in an overtime session on their home court to hand the Rockets their fourth and second consecutive loss this season. The Panthers used seven of the 11 free throws in the extra period to win, 51-41.

Nursing a 22-16 lead at the half, the Rockets' Blake Kimball scored all eight of his team's points in the third frame. Meanwhile, PBL closed the gap on the scoreboard, shaving the point deficit down to a two-point difference.

Unity's scoring effort was a mere shadow of their first-half effort. Kimball, who finished with 19 points - 12 from three-point range, was quiet after the third period. Austin Langendorf stepped up by scoring six of the team's eight fourth-quarter points and forced the tie at the end of regulation play. The Rockets' third-leading scorer, he finished the night with nine points.

Behind Kimball, Thomas Henry was Unity's second-leading point producer with 11 hard-earned points. Will Cowan rounded out the team's scoring effort with two points from a field goal in the first quarter.

Keegan Busboom led the Paxton-Buckley-Loda scoring effort with 13 points. Fellow seniors Mason Medlock and Brandon Knight scored 12 and 11 points, respectively. Key to their success was another senior, Mason Bruns, who came off the bench to score nine points down the stretch for the Panthers.

Box Score

Final: Unity 41 - Paxton-Buckley-Loda 51

  1 2 3 4 OT F
Unity 11 11 8 8  3 41
PBL 11 4 13 10 13 51


Unity --
Kimball 2 (4) 3-3 -- 19, Cowan 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, H. Thomas 1 (2) 3-6 -- 11, Rawdin 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Warfel 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Saunders 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Porter 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, O'Neil 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Price 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, A. Thomas 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Langendorf 4 (0) 1-3 -- 9, Maxwell 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,


Paxton-Buckley-Loda --
Bruns 2 (0) 5-8 -- 9, Ager 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Busboom 1 (3) 2-2 -- 13, Uden 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Sanders 0 (0) 0- -- 0, Graham 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Gronsky 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Johnson 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Medlock 3 (0) 6-6 -- 12, Hitz 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Donaldson 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Snelling 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Knight 4 (0) 3-5 -- 11,


Unity wrestling squad post four wins

MONTICELLO -- The Rockets' wrestling squad posted three shutouts during the first day of wrestling at the Illini Prairie Conference Meet this week.

Unity defeated IVC, 84-0; Rantoul, 84-0; and the St. Thomas More program, 81-0. While Monticello was the only program to score team points against the Rockets, UHS wrestlers cruised to a 72-6 victory.


SJO loses conference game by 14

ST. JOSEPH -- The St. Joseph-Ogden (12-4) basketball team dropped their first conference game of the season, falling to Pontiac at home, 58-44. It is the second straight loss for the Spartans, who dropped a non-conference contest, 54-38, on the road against Class 2A powerhouse Teutopolis on Tuesday.

Hoping to avenge last season's two-point loss to the Hawks, SJO plays at Prairie Central on Tuesday, January 18.

The Spartans are back in the Main Gym next Friday, where they will tip-off against Illinois Valley Central.

Prep Hoops | Porter delivers 15 points in Unity's third loss

Brady Porter and Dillon Rutledge drilled three treys apiece in Unity's home game against Illinois Valley Central (2-1) this past Tuesday. Their combine effort was not enough in the Rockets' eventual 59-43 loss.

A three-pointer from both players and another from Will Cowan left UHS with mere six-point deficit after a competitive 17-11 first quarter. Once again, the Rockets' were crippled by second quarter shooting woes, delivering just two field goals and a free throw to fall behind at the half, 32-18.

The period might have been more manageable if it wasn't for the plethora of foul calls against the Rockets. IVC took advantage of all six trips to the foul line, missing just two of the nine attempts offered. It more of the same in the second half. After the final buzzer, the Grey Ghost capitalized on 22 of their 32 shots from line.

Meanwhile, on the side of the scorer's table, the Rockets drew just six foul calls from the guys in stripes. Austin Langendorf made one of his four attempts while William Jokish finished the game 2-for-2.

Unity's effort was led by Porter who finished the night with 15 points. Rutledge chipped in three first half long range shots for nine points and Damian Knoll added eight points to the cause, all tacked on in the second half to round out the Rockets' top three shooters.

Mac Parmelee spearheaded the Illinois Valley Central offensive. The 6-foot-3 senior buried seven field goals and was 6-for-8 from the line good for 20 points in IVC's second win of the season. Stepping back to a supporting role, Holt Geltmaker was 7-for-8 from the free throw line and finished with 15 points.

Still in search of their first victory of the season, the 0-3 Rockets are on the road at Olympia on Tuesday.

Box Score

Unity 11 7 15 10 - 43
Illinois Valley Central 17 15 18 9 - 59

Unity

Kimball () - -- , Cowan 0 (2) 0-0 -- 6, Hensch 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Rawdin 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Rutledge 0 (3) 0-0 -- 9, Knoll 1 (2) 0-0 -- 8, Porter 3 (3) 0-0 -- 15, Drennan () - -- , Page 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Langendorf 0 (0) 1-4 -- 1, Alt 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Jokisch 0 (0) 2-2 -- 2.


Illinois Valley Central

Hulson 0 (1) 2-2 -- 5, Parmelee 7 (0) 6-8 -- 20, Brooks 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Hulett 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Harms 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Rainey 1 (0) 1-4 -- 3, Mercer 2 (0) 4-8 -- 8, Sawyer 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Wollard 3 (0) 0-0 -- 6, Geltmaker 4 (0) 7-8 -- 15, McNaught 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, McCoy 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Edlman 0 (0) 2-2 -- 2.

<

Photo of the Day | December 22, 2022

Postseason catch
Tolono - Unity receiver Will Cowan makes a leaping catch to haul down the ball over Mt. Carmel's Ashton Walker during their second-round playoff game on November 5, 2022. The Golden Aces' (9-2) playoff run ended the second straight season in a playoff loss at Hicks Field, after falling to the Rockets, 35-14. A senior, Cowan averaged 83 receiving yards per game for the program in his final prep season. .
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Search the PhotoNews Media archives for more photos:

Search by athlete's name, team, school and more


Prep Sports Notebook | Basketball season coming to a close, SJO soccer starts

Rockets lose another close one

Blake Kimball delivered points in all four quarters of Unity's road loss to Bloomington Central Catholic on March 9. The junior star led the team with 20 points and was 6-for-7 from the free throw line.

Will Cowan and Nate Drennan chipped in seven points a piece in the last game of the Rockets' 2021 basketball season. The team finished 3-9 overall, 2-6 in conference play.


St. Joseph-Ogden falls to Olympia

More than 40 spectators were on hand on a super windy Wednesday to watch SJO's first game of the season. The outcome wasn't what the Spartans had hoped for falling 3-1 to visiting Olympia in the season opener.

A little under four minutes after the visitors scored the first goal of the game at 26.:56, SJO senior Logan Ingram answered with unassisted shot in the center slice to tie up the game 1-all in the first period.

Olympia added two more scores, one with 15 and half minutes left in the half and the other early in the second period to seal the conference win.

The Spartans are back in action for another Illini Prairie Conference dual next week on Tuesday at Unity.


Pence has another 30-plus game

Ty Pence scored 36 points in St. Joseph-Ogden's 59-51 win over St. Thomas More at home last night. Logging yet another double-double this season, the sophomore baller hauled in 13 of the team 29 rebounds against the Sabers.

Making 57% of his shots from the field, Jackson Rydell finished with 8 points. Meanwhile, Evan Ingram and Andrew Beyers contributed in the reschedule game from February with six points apiece.

SJO (8-3) plays their final game of the season on Friday against Bismarck-Henning tomorrow evening in non-conference competition. The Spartans completed their conference campaign with a 5-2 record.

St. Thomas More (4-3, 3-3) was paced by the 6-foot-3 Averi Hughes with 26 points and 12 boards.

Prep Sports Notebook: Rockets pick up two basketball wins, SJO celebrates all-conference players


Kimball averages 10pts a quarter

Senior Blake Kimball scored 31 points in the first three quarters of Unity's game at Arcola on Monday. Kimball's strong performance, along with Will Cowan's 12 points in the last three periods, the boys' basketball team won the away game, 69-41.

Jacob Maxwell hauled in 10 boards for the Rockets and Cale Rawdin snagged another seven for the cause.

Despite a scoreless first quarter against the Rockets, Arcola saw a balanced scoring effort with points from eight players. Beau Edwards led the Purple Riders' offense with 10 points.


SJO girls fall short on the road

Peyton Jones goes up for a shot in SJO's Turkey Tournament game against Centennial. The junior sunk five three-pointers at Mahomet-Seymour on Monday. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
St. Joseph-Ogden's Peyton Jones had a huge night against Mahomet-Seymour hitting five treys and finishing with a team-high 19 points. Unfortunately, it was enough as the Spartans fell to the host Bulldogs, 58-46.

Payton Jacob and Ashlyn Lannert came alive in the fourth quarter to finish the night with eight points apiece.

The Bulldogs' Cayla Koerner led all scorers with 26 points. The 5-5 senior buried four three-pointers and was 6-for-8 from the free throw line against SJO.



Rockets pick up road win at Urbana

Erika Steinman and Lauren Miller scored eight points each in Unity's road game at Urbana. Raegen Stringer and Katey Moore chipped in another six apiece in the Rockets' 43-22 non-conference win.

Taylor Henry led the squad with a team-high 12 rebounds and a pair of assists. The Rockets also saw good rebounding numbers from Hailey Flesch (6), and Miller (5), also credited with four steals.

Stringer distributed six assists and harassed the Tigers taking the ball away with three steals.


Mboyo-Meta leads all scorers

Urbana's Gabrielle Mboyo-Meta scored a game-high 10 points against visiting Unity. Five other players contributed to the Tigers' 43-22 loss at home to the Rockets. Zineria Edwards was the second-leading scorer on her team with five points on Monday.

Urbana travels to Peoria on Thursday to face the Lions in their den and then host Peoria Manual on Saturday in Oscar Adams Gym at 2:30pm.


Wrestling results wanted

High school and youth wrestling coaches send us your meet results to editor@oursentinel.com.


Other area basketball scores

Uni-High girls defeated Arthur-Okaw Christian, 41-21.


St. Joseph-Ogden football players earn all-conference recognition

Joe Frasca boots and extra point during SJO's home game against Rantoul. The sophomore earned all-conference honorable mention for his efforts during the 2021 season.
Last week, St. Joseph-Ogden football player Tyler Burch earned First Team recognition from the Illini Prairie Conference. The junior defensive back was the only Spartan named to the top team.

Seven other SJO football players also receive recognition this season.

Conrad Miller (Lineman), Keaton Nolan (Running Back), and Griffin Roesch (Wide Receiver) were named on Second Team offense.

Lineman Owen Birt, linebacker Coby Miller and Ethan Vanliew at defensive back made the cut for Second Team defense.

Sophomore Joe Frasca, who handled kicking duties for SJO, earn honorable mention.


Correction: When this story was originally published it said Tyler Burch was a senior. The story was changed to reflect his actual status as a junior at St. Joseph-Ogden.

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


More Sentinel Stories



Photo Galleries


2025 Illinois Marathon Photo Gallery
A couple of runners found themselves in the wrong race at this year's Illinois Marathon. Over 60 photos from the race that you should see.

Photos: Sentinel/Clark Brooks