The Forreston Cardinals downed the Ashton-Franklin Center Raiders 84-31 in an afternoon game at Forreston High School on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.

The Forreston Cardinals hosted the Oregon Hawks in an afternoon game at Forreston High School on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026.

Byron downed Oregon 79-62 on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 at the 64th Forreston Holiday Tournament at Forreston High School.

Forreston and Polo squared off on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025 at the 64th Annual Forreston Holiday Basketball Tournament held at Forreston High School. The Cardinals won 64-52 as Connor Politsch scored 18 points.

Oregon wrestlers hosted Polo and Fulton in a triangular in the Blackhawk Center in Oregon on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025.

Five Sauk Valley boys basketball players to watch this season include Forreston's Kendall Erdmann, Newman's Asher Ernst, Eastland's Parker Krogman, Fulton's Landen Leu and Rock Falls' Cole Mulnix.

Here is a look at the Sauk Valley boys basketball teams as the 2025-26 season tips off this week.

Forreston beat Morrison and Eastland downed Stockton in action at the Forreston High School Girls Basketball Thanksgiving Tournament on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025.

With the 2025-26 girls basketball season getting started this week, here’s a look at the teams in the Sauk Valley area.

Dixon's Landon Knigge was named all-state by the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association after a record-breaking senior season. Newman, EPC, Forreston, Amboy, Milledgeville, Polo and West Carroll also had all-state selections from the area.

It’s finally here. The game that area high school football fans had earmarked since the season began. Byron versus Immaculate Conception Catholic Prep of Elmhurst at 2 p.m. Saturday.

This was one of the weeks when is was hard to get motivation to do a column. Could it be from a bad head cold, writer’s block or burnout from 627 trick-or-treaters on Halloween? Sadly it is from emotional distress after seeing my beloved Rochelle Hubs lose a playoff game.

The Lena-Winslow Panthers downed the Forreston Cardinals 48-22 in 1A first round playoff action on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.

Here is a look at the seven IHSA first-round playoff football matchups in the Sauk Valley area and what to watch for. Dixon and Sterling would face each other in Class 4A if they both win.

Runners from area high schools compete at the 1A Winnebago Regional on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, at the Levi and Ester Fuller Memorial Forest Preserve.

Teams from 38 area high schools converged on the Shady Oaks Golf Club east of Amboy for the 52nd Annual Columbus Day Invitational on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. Johnsburg's Grady Smith finished first in the boys race and Winnebago's Molly Webb was the winner of the girls race.

Eastland-Pearl City defeated Forreston 51-24 in a NUIC conference game in Pearl City on Friday, Oct. 3, 2025.

Byron and Forreston competed at the 1A Pearl City Regional held at Wolf Hollow Golf Course in Lena on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. The Tigers finished third to advance to the sectional as a team. Forreston's Kaden Brown finished third overall.

The 2025 Forreston High School Homecoming celebrated school spirit, creativity, and student leadership with a week of exciting events and impressive class floats.

Local High School teams gather at Hoover Park in Sterling for the Rock River Run, held on Saturday, September 27, 2025.

Forreston beat Fulton 36-28 in NUIC football action on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025.

Sterling opens Western Big 6 Conference play against Moline, Dixon hosts Rock Falls, Newman hosts E-P on Saturday and more, including picks and what to watch for in this week's Sauk Valley football previews.

Sterling girls golf took second at the Geneseo invite, Lucas Porter earned medalist for Rock Falls, Dixon volleyball improved to 7-1 and more in Monday's Sauk Valley roundup.

One hundred and 68 runners took part in the boys varsity race at the Oregon Cross Country Open on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025 at Oregon Park West.

Dixon's massive game at No. 1 Byron highlights the 15 matchups in the Sauk Valley area in Week 2. Newman heads to Mendota, Sterling has a nonconference home game, Rock Falls hosts North Boone and more this Friday.

Lena-Winslow, ranked #1 in state rankings for 1A schools, downed the Forreston Cardinals 50-12 on the Cardinals' home field on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025.

This year's Club Championship golf tournament at Lake Carroll was especially special for Kaden Brown. The Forreston High School senior had plenty of fun breezing through the Lake Carroll Golf Course to becoming one of the youngest club champions at area courses this year.

The 2025 girls volleyball season starts this week. Here are previews of teams from around the Sauk Valley coverage area.

A look at the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference for the 2025 season, including team-by-team preview capsules, players to watch, six can't miss games and Steve Soucie's predicted order of finish.

The 2025 season begins Friday, Aug. 29, in the Sauk Valley. Here are the game schedules for Oregon, Polo, and Forreston.

Forreston opens the 2025 football season Friday, Aug. 29, with a home game against NUIC rival Lena-Winslow. It is also Senior Night for the Cardinals. Oregon will officially open the season at Genoa-Kingston on Aug. 29. In 8-man action, Polo hosts Bushnell-Prairie City on Aug. 29.

With lots of young players gaining valuable experience last season, the Forreston Cardinals look to return to their high standards this fall.

Who steps up next for Dixon? Will Morrison transfer Rylan Alvarado lead Newman's backfield? Can Sterling revitalize its run game? What is next for Rock Falls under its new coach? Here are six questions in the Sauk Valley area this season as practice kicks off.

Here is a look at the top softball players from the Sauk Valley area for the 2025 season.

Here is a look at the top baseball players from the Sauk Valley area for the 2025 season.

Sprinters Levi Milder and Brady Anderson and two relay wins led Morrison to the Class 1A state title, while Sterling earned medals in three relays in the 2A meet.

4x400 relay team of Brody Schwartz, Hayden Vinnedge, Eli Ferris and Noah Dewey blazed to a 3:27.90 to secure the win.

Freshman Jillian Hammer who placed third in the 100-meters hurdles and fifth in the 300 hurdles

West Carroll senior Emma Randecker prefers sprints. Not 5K races. Saturday, the Northern Iowa commit showed off her speed downstate, winning Class 1A titles in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes in the IHSA Girls Track and Field State Meet. She broke 2 state records.

With a six-run first inning, the Fulton baseball team had enough cushion to hold off a Forreston comeback Saturday in the Class 1A Amboy Regional championship game.

Fulton scored six runs in the first inning en route to a 7-4 win over Forreston to win the 1A Amboy Regional on Saturday, May 24, 2025.

The Forreston-Polo boys track team won the 1A Oregon Sectional on Friday, May 29, 2025 edging Winnebago 120 to 117.5. The Cardinals qualified individuals and relay teams to the state finals at Eastern Illinois University. Preliminaries at the state meet begin Thursday, May 29 in Mattoon.

Here is a look at some of the top athletes and relays to watch from the Sauk Valley area competing in 1A and 2A at this weekend's state track and field meet.

Oregon qualified seven individuals and three relays for this week's state meet at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

The Oregon girls track team edged Winnebago to win the 1A Lena-Winslow sectional on Thursday, May 15. 2025.

The Lady Cardinals fell to Lena-Winslow 10-0 in a Monday, May 12, 2025 game at Forreston High School.

Forreston-Polo took second at a competitive field at the Oregon Hall of Fame Hawk Classic on Friday.

Rochelle took top honors at the Hall of Fame Hawk Classic on Friday, May 2, 2025 at Landers-Loomis Field scoring 95 points to Forreston's 76 in the 18-team track & field event, Hubs' pole vaulter Andrew Nuyen set a new meet record clearing 5.03 meters (16'5") shattering the old record of 14'9" set in 2002.

Chris Thiel will be the coach of the high school’s new bass fishing team in 2026. The Forrestville Valley School Board hired Thiel April 16 to head the new program.

The Forreston Cardinals scored four runs in the sixth inning en route to a 13-11 win over conference rival Lena-Winslow on Monday, April 28, 2025 at Forreston High School.