Manteno came into Monday’s road matchup with Bishop McNamara with 11 goals scored in the season’s first eight games, going 4-2-2 to start off the year.

The Panthers nearly matched that season total Monday, and they only needed the first half in a 10-0 win over the shorthanded Fightin’ Irish. The game ended at halftime with Manteno’s double-digit lead as the Panthers improved to 5-2-2 on the season.

The Irish, who have been dealing with small numbers throughout the season, had just 10 players available for Monday’s game as they fell to 0-7 on the year.

Seniors Eric Eldridge and Gio Arrigo had three goals apiece for Manteno, with Ben Froeschle scoring two more. Gio Zuniga and Justin Foster also found the back of the net for the Panthers.

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Manteno's Eric Eldridge prepares to shoot on goal off a cross during the Panthers' 10-0 victory over Bishop McNamara on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Eldridge, now with a team-leading seven goals on the season, is one of eight returning starters for a Manteno team coming off its winningest season since 2018. A season that also saw the Panthers win regional and sectional titles before falling in the supersectionals to finish the year at 18-4-2.

With so much valuable experience back, Eldridge said that he and his teammates are hoping to back up last season’s success the rest of the way in 2025.

“I’m glad to have all my friends back for our senior year, and hopefully playing pretty well,” he said. “We have an outstanding group, and our chemistry is going to be great this season. We hope to keep going and bring back that regional championship.”

Head coach Oscar Farfan made sure to find time for some of the team’s younger players to see the field in Monday’s abbreviated game, although the starting unit accounted for all the scoring.

With just one more game this week, on Wednesday against Grant Park, the Panthers’ schedule gets tougher next week. They will visit Bradley-Bourbonnais Sept. 16 before hosting Beecher the following day and then Illinois Central Eight rivals Coal City on Sept. 18. The Coalers are off to a 7-0 start to the season.

The Panthers already have two ICE wins under their belt this season with 4-1 victories over Herscher and Reed-Custer. Still, Farfan said the team is ready for some stiff competition against the Coalers and throughout the remainder of ICE play.

“We know conference games this season are going to be tough since there’s a lot of good returning players on every team in our conference,” he said. “...With conference play coming up soon, and tougher games, it might be hard to get those younger guys some minutes, so being able to do that today was great.”

Manteno managed to hold off stiff competition to win the ICE title last season, and Edlridge said the team is prepared to head into the rest of the season with the same mentality that helped them go 5-1 in conference play last season.

“Same thing as last year, just take care of business,” he said. “They’re going to be tough, but that’s why you practice every single day. We’ve just got to stay strong and we should come out with a good result.”

For Bishop McNamara, the start to the season has been a bit rocky with so few players available, even when the team is at full strength. On days like Monday, when some injured players were unavailable and some of those able to suit up and take the field are feeling a bit under the weather, first-year head coach Myles Tryban said it can be hard for the team to compete at the level they would like.

But even when the results are not what they would like, he said, there is still valuable experience the team can find on the field.

“We gave them some take-home work to find out what it means to play soccer for Bishop McNamara, because they should take some pride in that,” Tryban said.“ ... I want us to build on the camaraderie that the players have and the leadership every single player has, and make it a team effort.”