Jake Eversole hit the 20-point mark for the fourth time in his last five games, tossing in 23 on Friday in the Hawks’ 55-38 verdict over Blue Ridge at Heritage.

Eversole canned 23 points and raised his team-high total of three-pointers to 26 by sinking two of those shots.

Logan Nohren netted a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Carson Howard chipped in with six points.

VG/H led 15-13 after one quarter, but expanded its lead to 28-20 at halftime.

Nohren has amassed 278 rebounds in 28 games this season.

The Hawks (18-10) return to action on Friday when they end the regular season at Sangamon Valley.

The post Eversole’s 23-points lead Hawks over Blue Ridge first appeared on SJO Daily.

For the second time in seven days, the Hawks suffered an overtime loss.

The most recent setback came in Friday’s road game against Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond.

The teams were tied 62-62 after regulation, but A-L/A-H scored all nine of the points in the extra session to capture the 71-62 triumph.

Jake Eversole registered his third 20-point game in a row, dropping in a team-high 22 points for the Hawks.

Logan Nohren scored 14 points, Carson Howard totaled 12 points and Blake Smith contributed 11 points.

VG/H (16-10) returns to action on Tuesday at Heritage against Decatur Lutheran.

Eight squad members have hit three-pointers this season, led by Eversole (24) and Smith (21).

Smith leads in assists (102) and steals (69). Nohren (258) and Howard (153) are the Hawks’ top rebounders.

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In a rematch between teams that played on Saturday, the Hawks gained revenge for the earlier two-point defeat by edging Cumberland 55-53 on Tuesday at Heritage High School.

Jake Eversole tallied a team-high 21 points. Carson Howard made 15 points, Logan Nohren added 10 points and Blake Smith finished with nine points.

VG/H held an 18-9 lead after one quarter.

The Hawks (16-9) return to action on Friday in a road game against Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond.

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The Hawks avenged a regular-season loss to Okaw Valley by 12 points by garnering a 60-57 triumph on Tuesday at Arcola in the semifinals of the Lincoln Prairie Conference Tournament.

Logan Nohren bettered his previous high game by a point, sinking a game-high 33 points.

Carson Howard had nine points, Blake Smith had eight points and Jake Eversole added seven points.

Top-seeded Okaw Valley led after the first quarter, 16-10, and at halftime, 31-30.

Fifth-seeded Villa Grove/Heritage (15-8) returns to action on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the championship game against sixth-seeded Toledo Cumberland.

Those same two schools will play a rematch on Tuesday at Heritage in a game that will count in the conference standings.

Toledo Cumberland reached the finals by upsetting the No. 2 seed, Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond, in overtime 59-55.

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The Hawks trailed after each of the first three quarters on Tuesday at Arcola, but thanks to a 22-point fourth quarter, rallied for a 62-54 win over the Purple Riders.

Arcola led 28-22 at halftime and took a 45-40 lead into the final period.

Jake Eversole led a balanced scoring attack for VG/H with 16 points. Carson Howard scored 14 points and Logan Nohren added 12 points.

The Hawks hit 21 free throws in the win, including five by Ierik Sorenson, four by Sam Reno and two by Anthony Arbuckle. That trio accounted for all 11 of their points by virtue of free throws.

VG/H (13-8) returns to Arcola on Friday for first-round action in the Lincoln Prairie Conference Tournament.

The post Hawks overcome Arcola in big fourth-quarter rally first appeared on SJO Daily.

The Hawks were outscored 17-4 in the second quarter on Saturday and suffered a 62-55 loss to Judah Christian in Champaign.

Judah’s lead after one quarter was 16-13.

Logan Nohren made a team-high 18 points for VG/H. Jake Eversole, after missing the previous six games with an ankle injury, put in 12 points. Sam Reno scored 10 points and Carson Howard contributed nine points.

VG/H (12-8) returns to action on Tuesday at Arcola.

The post Judah Christian’s second quarter enough to top Hawks first appeared on SJO Daily.

Three players scored in double figures on Tuesday as the Hawks broke a two-game losing streak with a 64-47 win at Tri-County.

Blake Smith tallied a game-high 19 points to lead VG/H, which led 20-6 after one quarter and 36-15 at halftime.

Carson Howard generated a season-high 16 points and Logan Nohren contributed 10 points.

VG/H is 12-7 overall and returns to action on Friday at Heritage against Argenta-Oreana, weather permitting.

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Heritage Volleyball

Bri Struck and Bree Buck were the catalysts on Thursday as Heritage dispatched visiting Cerro Gordo 25-16, 27-25 in a Lincoln Prairie Conference match.

Struck piled up seven kills, six digs and five aces. Buck’s stat line included six kills, four digs and three blocks.

Olivia Sorensen handed out 14 assists. Anna Sanders contributed seven digs and Malani Smithenry finished with four digs.

Heritage (11-3 overall, 3-1 conference) plays at Chrisman tonight.

Villa Grove Volleyball

Madison Burwell delivered six kills and teammate Kyleigh Block had three kills and three aces on Thursday as the Blue Devils (7-6) topped visiting Sangamon Valley 25-14, 26-24.

VGH Football

Blake Smith accounted for five touchdowns on Friday – three on passes and two on quarterback runs – as Villa Grove/Heritage reached the .500 mark with a 54-14 win over Sangamon Valley in Niantic.

VG/H (2-2) led 27-6 after the first quarter and 40-6 at halftime.

Shirley opened the scoring with a 1-yard TD scamper.

He completed 4 of 4 passes for 73 yards and hooked up with Carson Howard twice for TDs, covering 24 and 32 yards. Lerik Sorenson also had a 15-yard TD reception.

Kehm Shirley, who rushed for a team-high 106 yards, scored one TD.  As a team, VG/H rolled up 310 yards o the ground.

Ezra Ely scored one TD and converted six extra-point placements. The Blue Devils’ other TD was by Luke Zimmerman on a 31-yard run.

Villa Grove/Heritage returns to action at home on Friday against Cerro Gordo/Bement (2-2)

VGH Golf

Zach Buesing shot a 39 on Thursday at Tri-City Country Club to lead the Blue Devils in a three-school meet. VG/H did not have enough players to post a team score.

VGH Boys’ cross-country

The Blue Devils placed 19th in Saturday’s 42nd Tuscola Invitational at Wimple Park.

The team-leader, with a 3-mile time of 18:52.88, was freshman Rowan Denmark-Collins.

All five of the VG/H participants are freshmen or sophomores.

Teammates following Denmark-Collins were sophomore Kylee Witte (129th in 22:04.37), sophomore Kaleb Miller (144th in 23:45.5), freshman Fletcher Hannah (158th in 26:17.88) and sophomore Konner Pearman (160th in 26:28.04).

Meet champion Urbana Uni High had a team s core of 26. VG/H’s point total was 497.

The team returns to action on Tuesday against Urbana Uni High at the UI Arboretum.

VGH Girls’ cross-country

Kyleigh Price was the Villa Grove/Heritage leader in Saturday’s 42nd-annual Tuscola Invitational at Wimple Park.

Her 3-mile time was 24 minutes, 31.95 seconds.

Other top teammates were Emma Buesing (80th in 24:41.01), Madison Logan (106th in 27:21.80) and Kate Eisenmenger (114th in 29:07.47).

Price, Buesing and Logan are all freshmen. Eisenmenger is a junior.

The Blue Devils did not have enough runners to be scored as a team. The meet champion was Unity with 32 points.

VG/H returns to action on Tuesday at the UI Arboretum against Urbana Uni High.

The post Buck and Struck lead Hawks past Cerro Gordo, Burwell and Block lead Blue devils past Sangamon Valley first appeared on SJO Daily.

Heritage Volleyball

The Hawks won their 10th match in their last 11 outings on Thursday, sweeping DeLand-Weldon on the Eagles’ court, 25-18, 25-23.

Olivia Sorensen had 24 assists and two aces.

Bri Struck pounded 14 kills and added seven digs. Anna Sanders had seven digs. Teammate Malani Smithhenry had matching totals for kills and digs with six apiece.

Heritage (10-2) returns to action on Tuesday at home against Okaw Valley.

Villa Grove/Heritage Football

Blake Smith’s touchdown pass to Lerik Sorenson in the final minute of the first half on Friday accounted for the only points for Villa Grove/Heritage in a 41-6 loss to state-ranked Arcola in Villa Grove.

Smith completed 8 of 17 passes for 90 yards. Kehm Shirley had three receptions. Sorenson caught two passes as did Carson Howard.  Shirley rushed for a team-high 65 yards on 11 carries.

Sorenson had 90 yards on kickoff returns.

Arcola is ranked eight in Class 1A.

VG/H (1-2) returns to action on Friday at Sangamon Valley.

Heritage Golf

Zach Buesing finished in fourth place, two strokes behind the medalist in Saturday’s Blue Ridge Invitational at Woodlawn Country Club.

Buesing fired an 80 for VG/Heritage, which didn’t have enough competitors to be scored as a team.

Villa Grove Volleyball

The Blue Devils (6-4) completed a comeback on Thursday and handed Okaw Valley a 16-25, 25-14, 25-21 loss.

Jordyn Ray led the way with three kills and three aces for VG, which is unbeaten in Lincoln Prairie Conference matches.

The win snapped a three-match losing streak.

The post Heritage Volleyball continues to win, Villa Grove Volleyball defeats Oakhaw, Buesing medals at Blue Ridge first appeared on SJO Daily.

Heritage High School volleyball evened their season record (1-1) with a two-set sweep at Salt Fork on Thursday, 25-22, 25-23.

Olivia Sorensen handed out 17 assists. Bri Struck (seven kills) and Aliya Holloman (five kills) were the offensive catalysts. Struck and Anna Sanders each collected six digs.

Holloman served two aces and totaled two blocks. Bree Buck also had two blocks.

Heritage will return to action on Tuesday at Oakwood.

Villa Grove/Heritage Football

The Blue Devils suffered a 55-14 first-game loss at state-ranked Tuscola on Friday. Tuscola was tied for second in the first Class 1A state poll.

Kehm Shirley was the top VG/H ground-gainer, rushing for 106 yards on 15 carries. As a team, the Blue Devils had 181 yards rushing on 38 attempts.

Shirley scored one touchdown. Logan Nohren scored the second TD on a 3-yard pass from Blake Smith.

Smith was 5 for 15 passing for 60 yards. Carson Howard hauled in two of the receptions, totaling 24 yards.

The other VG/H points were on two conversion kicks by Zayzen Price.

Tuscola built a 34-0 lead before Shirley scored on a 10-yard run.

The Blue Devils return to action on Friday at home against Tri-County (0-1).

Girls’ cross-country

Villa Grove/Heritage finished 14th as a team in Saturday’s Saber Corn Classic, at St. Thomas More.

Teammates Kyleigh Price and Emma Buesing finished next to each other. Price was 57th with a 3-mile time of 24 minutes, 3.9 seconds. Buesing was 58th in 24:13.8.

Other team leaders were Kate Eisenmenger (74th in 27:14.3), Allison Kneer (75th in 27:18.1), Madison Logan (78th in 27:32.8) and Regan Blanton (84th in 30:12.5).

The team returns to action in Saturday’s Cowchip Classic, at Chrisman.

Boys’ cross-country

The Blue Devils didn’t have enough runners to be scored as a team, but had four individuals compete in Saturday’s Saber Corn Classic, at St. Thomas More.

Rowan Denmark-Collins was the VG/H leader with a 3-mile time of 19 minutes, 38.8 seconds.

The team’s other competitors were Kaleb Miller (104th in 23:10.1), Kylee Witte (109th in 24:01.6) and Fletcher Hannah (111th in 4:21.9).

VG/H is back in action on Saturday in Chrisman’s Cowchip Classic.

The post Heritage Volleyball evens season record, VGH football and cross country kick-off season first appeared on SJO Daily.