“They’re not gonna catch him!” Elizah Thomas of the Tigers is on his way to a 47 yard touchdown in Beardstown’s win over Triopia.

Tigers win black and blue trophy

On an absolutely beautiful fall evening, the play on the field may not have always been pretty, but in the end the Beardstown Tigers had to feel great about picking up their third win of the year while spoiling Triopia’s homecoming with a 38 to 12 victory.  

In addition to bringing home the highly sought-after “Black and Blue Trophy,” the Tigers moved that much closer to the five wins needed for a playoff berth.  A valiant Trojan team kept the game close through the first half, but the Beardstown defense shut them out in the second half and slowly pulled away.

Josh Severino takes a shot on goal for BHS as the Athens defender closes in.

BHS Soccer gets double win

The Beardstown High School Soccer team picked up two home wins last week before falling on the road to Lincoln to finish the week.  

On Monday, at the newly renovated BHS soccer field, the Tigers walloped Macomb high school with the varsity team winning 6-2.  The Tigers led 5-2 at the intermission and coasted to victory.  Marcos Lopez had a hat-trick (3 goals), Memo Hernandez added two goals, and Cesar Rodriguez scored one goal.  Michael Sevilla handed out two assists, and Joshua Severino, Lopez and Hernandez all had one helper.  The JV team also blasted the Bombers, winning by a score of 8-0.

Beardstown Junior Cade Ross is pictured with his hole-in-one ball on the 18th hole of Deer Run Golf Course in Hamilton, Illinois. Congratulations Cade!

Cade Ross nails hole-in-one for BHS

According to Google, an amateur golfer has a .01 % chance of getting a hole-in-one.  Stated another way, the odds of an amateur golfer hitting a hole-in-one are 12,500 to one.  

So, when BHS golf coach Isaac Riddle sent in the news that during a meet at Hamilton last Wednesday, Tiger junior Cade Ross had hit “what could be described as the shot of the year…,” he was certainly understating the accomplishment.  For nearly all of the millions of golfers in the world, it never occurs, so it was certainly the shot of a lifetime for Cade.

The PORTA-AC Central freshman volleyball team is pictured with the First Place Plaque from last week's Virginia Tournament.

PORTA/A-C Volleyball on win streak 

The PORTA-AC Central volleyball team pushed their winning streak to eight games and their overall record to 9-3 with two wins last week.  

On the road at Riverton last Tuesday, the Bluejays flew past the Hawks 25-12, 25-16 to win in straight sets.  Carson Arthalony had seven kills and two blocks and Caitlyn DeFreezer had 13 assists and a block.  Jayce Privia also had seven kills, Mikaela Clary had four aces, Chloe Maltby had 13 digs and Shae Bell handed out 11 assists in the win.  At home last Thursday the Jays won two close ones over their archrivals, the Athens Warriors 25-21 and 25-19.

Tigers Volleyball

Lady Tigers strike down Vipers

The Beardstown Lady Tiger volleyball team picked up a win last week, knocking off the Vipers of South County on the road in straight sets 25-22, 25-17 last Tuesday.  A great team effort led to an exciting win and brought the girls’ record to 4-12 on the season.  Vanessa Nunez had five aces, 13 assists, 11 digs and a block to lead the way home for BHS.  Shelby Goodrich had 16 digs and a block, Brandy Mendoza had eight kills and eight digs, Bella Palmer and Gracy Hamlin each had four kills, Ashley Salazar had nine digs and Alora Logan had four assists in the win.

David Petefish on his combine among his corn fields. Photo By Michelle Carty

Being Good Stewards of the Environment

Farming in 2023 is a bit different now than when David Petefish’s family came to Illinois in the early 1830’s. Relocating from the state of Virginia, they settled in the area of Virginia, selecting that area for the rich, black soil.

State leaders announce FFA mental health awareness grant program

Farmers and residents of rural communities often face stigma when it comes to mental health challenges, but state leaders hope to change that.

Governor JB Pritzker announced Tuesday that chapters of FFA – the group once known as Future Farmers of America – will be eligible for $1,000 grants to fund mental health awareness programs in schools and rural communities. Up to 20 such grants will be available through the Illinois FFA Foundation starting this fall.

Marty Turner on the first day of harvest 2023 for Turner Farms. Photo by Dena Turner

Farming is a good way of life, but a hard way to make a living 

Up before the sun, making sure he knows what everyone else is going to do and what he’s going to do for the day is how Marty Turner starts his day. Running a farm is a good way of life, but a hard way to make a living. 

His family has been farming for many years. It started with his great grandfather. Then later his grandfather moved to Beardstown in the late 1950’s. His father helped his father farm the land along with taking care of cattle. Marty followed in the family business. And that’s what it is now, a business Marty says. Many changes in farming have occurred in the last few decades to make farming more modern and business-like.