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The Mendota and Bureau Valley football teams have struggled the past several seasons.
The Trojans have not won more than one game since 2014, while the Storm went winless in 2019 and the spring 2021 season.
Through two weeks of the fall season the arrow appears pointed up for both programs, as they each are 2-0.
Mendota beat Erie-Prophetstown, 24-14, in Week 1 and rolled to a 57-20 win over Riverdale in Week 2 to start 2-0 for the first time since 2013.
“We’re finding our way,” Mendota coach Keegan Hill said. “This is the first time we’ve started 2-0 in a really long time here. We’re getting used to those feelings. That’s a whole learning curve, too. Our confidence is up.
“We’ve taken advantage of chances to play good football. We’re in a new conference with new settings. Every game we want to play better than we did the week before.”
Hill said offensive line play, depth on defense, ball security and execution on special teams have been key to the Trojans’ start.
Bureau Valley has had two running clock victories, 47-12 over Riverdale in Week 1 and a 50-7 rout of Sherrard for its first 2-0 mark since 2017.
“Getting off to a 2-0 start is exactly where we wanted to be,” third-year BV coach Mat Pistole said. “Building our confidence early in the season like we have is exactly what we needed. But the first two games in a season rarely define a full nine-game season, and we don’t want that to be the case for us. We have a lot of work left ahead of us.”
Either Mendota or Bureau Valley will start 3-0 as the teams meet Friday, with the Storm traveling to Mendota for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
“They’re going to come in with a lot of energy,” Hill said. “They’re looking for their third win. They’re playing better football every week, too. We’re going to get their best effort. They’re going to get our best effort. Each team is going to know more about itself after Friday.”
TIGERS LOOKING TO FINE TUNE
While Mendota and Bureau Valley are in unchartered territory at 2-0, Princeton is not.
The Tigers went 6-0 in the spring and 12-1 with a Class 3A semifinal appearance in 2019 and have aspirations of a state championship.
Despite rolling to a 45-7 win over Orion in Week 2, Princeton coach Ryan Pearson wasn’t pleased with what he saw after the Tigers committed eight penalties for 65 yards and fumbled the ball twice, losing two.
“I’ll be honest with you it was a nice win, but I kind of have a bad taste in my mouth. As clean as we played Week 1 execution-wise, limited our turnovers, penalties, things like that, I don’t think we did a very good job tonight,” Pearson said. “The only thing we can do is go back to the drawing board and make sure the mistakes we’re making get corrected. And they can’t happen against Hall next week.
“I don’t think we played to our potential, and I’m just being honest. We’re a much better team than we showed tonight. The film’s not going to lie.”
READY FOR THE KR/I-8 WHITE
After playing a pair of Mid-Illini Conference teams the first two weeks of the season, La Salle-Peru is ready to start Kishwaukee River/Interstate 8 Conference White Division play this week against Ottawa.
The Cavaliers went 1-1 in their nonconference games, beating Morton, 28-21, and losing to Metamora, 14-7.
The Potters now are 1-1 after a 34-21 win over Galesburg in Week 2, while the Redbirds are 2-0.
“(Metamora) was predicted to win the Mid-Illini Conference,” L-P coach Jose Medina said. “They’re going to be a playoff team. We played tough through all four quarters. We just have to regroup and learn from this one.”
L-P senior linebacker Luke Mertes said he believes the Cavs’ nonconference slate will be beneficial as the conference season goes along, especially when L-P plays Sycamore, Morris and Kaneland.
“We just played a conference championship-level team,” Mertes said of Metamora. “We know we have to get ready to do then same thing.
“We have a great conference. I think [our nonconference schedule] is going to be great toward the end of our season when we play Sycamore, Kaneland and Morris.”
BRUINS CONFIDENT IN CONDITIONING
Even as his team trailed for the majority of Friday’s game at Erie-Prophetstown, St. Bede coach Jim Eustice said the Bruins’ conditioning kept them in the game. After a third straight defensive stop in the third quarter we started noticing they had guys coming off between plays, and our guys were saying, ‘We’re in better shape then they are. Just stay here and we’ll get them in the fourth quarter,’ ” Eustice said. “Our kids started to feel like we were going to be stronger in the end.” St. Bede scored all 15 of its points in the fourth quarter of Friday’s 15-13 win, including a last-second 25-yard field goal by Stephen Shaver.
HALL BATTLING LOW NUMBERS
Hall has struggled with low numbers the past couple seasons, and it caused some issues for the Red Devils in Saturday’s 40-35 loss to Monmouth-Roseville.
Hall was down two starting linebackers and had to plug in a pair of sophomores.
Because of the lack of numbers, the Red Devils also have to rely heavily on players like Mac Resetich, Dominic Guerreini and Caleb Savitch to play in all facets of the game.
“The bad thing is those are the guys we depend on on both sides of the ball,” Hall coach Nick Guerrini said. “Those guys don’t come off the field. If they’re not blocking, they’re running it. If they’re not catching it, they’re trying to make a tackle. At some point it becomes a numbers game when you don’t have that guy who can spell them even on an extra point or a punt.”
LOCAL PLAYERS MAKE FND TEAM OF THE WEEK
Three area players were voted onto the Friday Night Drive Team of the Week for Week 2, led by Bureau Valley linebacker Jaden Michlig, who was voted MVP.
St. Bede receiver Tyreke Fortney, who was the Week 1 MVP, and L-P linebacker Luke Mertes, also earned spots.
Fortney had 183 yards and two touchdowns – one rushing and one receiving – in a 15-13 win over Erie-Prophetstown, while Mertes had 10 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack and a pass break up in a 14-7 loss to Metamora.