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Weekend’s Best Here are the top individual passing, rushing and receiving performances from the area in Week 1. PASSING Kohl, BB 16-23, 238 yards, TD; 3 rushing TDs Castillo, Mom 14-22, 219 yards, 2 TDs Fifer, SA 4-14, 153 yards, 2 TDs, INT Krutsinger, Mac 4-17, 138 yards, TD, INT Velasco, Peo 3-5, 89 yards, TD RUSHING Phillips, Kan 209 yards, 2 TDs Farrell, Wil 171 yards, 3 TDs Rodriguez, Peo 162 yards, 2 TDs Reardon, RC 142 yards, 2 TDs; 3-5 passing, 56 yards Draine, Mom 127 yards, TD RECEIVING Link, SA 136 yards, 3 TDs; 112 rushing yards, TD Halpin, Mom 110 yards, TD Wright, Mac 90 yards, TD; 62 rushing yards, 2 TDs Allen, BB 89 yards, TD Hart, Peo 89 yards, TD

The nights are getting just a wee bit shorter. Save for the mid- to late-week heat wave, the temperatures sit just a bit lower; school parking lots are filling back up.

High school football season is back.

The first weekend of IHSA football has come and gone, and the area had quite a historic opening weekend.

Kankakee beat its first-ever AP No. 1 team when the Kays took down Nazareth. Mike Kohl tied the top of the Bradley-Bourbonnais coaching wins record book. St. Anne returned to the gridiron after a 46-year absence. Wilmington was dealt a regular-season nonconference loss for the first time in 22 years. (Thanks to former Journal sports editor Steve Soucie for helping me find the Wilmington info about three minutes after I asked him on the sideline at St. Anne on Saturday.)

As we begin to flip the page to the second week of the season, we have a week of results to look at, but to be honest, there’s still a lot to learn about where our area teams and talents stand against the rest of the state and each school’s respective conferences.

Week 1 Recap

Here are the area’s football scores from Week 1:

• (6A-5)Kankakee 33, (5A-1)Nazareth 26

• (7A-RV)Bradley-Bourbonnais 49, Plainfield East 20

• Leo 20, (2A-RV)Bishop McNamara 19

• (2A-8)Seneca 27, (3A-5)Wilmington 21

• (3A-9)Reed-Custer 67, Elmwood Park 14

• (4A-4)Morris 43, (4A-8)Coal City 3

• Peotone 53, Rantoul 6

• Charleston 42, Herscher 13

• Sandwich 34, Manteno 14

• Momence 28, Oakwood 21

• (2A-6)Bismarck-Henning 56, Central 14

• Watseka 27, Georgetown-Ridge Farm 0

• Hoopeston 10, Iroquois West 6

• Martinsville 22, Milford-Cissna Park 14

• Bushnell-Prairie City 60, St. Anne 30

Kays prove presence in revenge game

When I made my final trip to Kankakee in the preseason earlier this month, I spoke to senior running back and slot receiver Tony Phillips a little bit about his summer and excitement for the season. After tweaking his ankle against Nazareth in last year’s season-opener, the speed demon never got back to 100% and finally was feeling good to go during the summer.

Just as quarterback Larenz Walters did on his first touch with a 74-yard sprint down the field for a touchdown, Phillips showed he’s back and as good as ever on his first touch of the 2023 season one offensive play later when he broke loose for a 67-yard score.

Phillips added a 40-yard burst through the hole for another touchdown in the third quarter and trotted for a total of 209 yards, joining Dink Stampley with two touchdowns apiece in the team’s first-ever win against a top-ranked team Friday night.

The Kays carried a chip on their shoulder into Friday’s contest — one they led 13-0 within minutes and then slammed the door shut with Stampley’s game-winner in the fourth after the Roadrunners marched back to tie things at 26. They saw the predictions around the state that said they’d lose. They saw those who questioned if they could keep their competitive edge after losing a senior class for the ages and their head coach.

They used that as fuel for their Friday night fire, but they also know that fire has to keep burning through Thanksgiving weekend to reach their goals. And if that competitive chip can stay where it was Friday, that fire will stay white hot.

Kohl’s win kicks off special coaching season

Mike Kohl became tied atop the coaching ranks at his alma mater with Friday’s win, joining Craig Bundy with a program-record 67 wins. Kohl will hope to move into sole possession this weekend at Thornton, but Friday certainly was a fitting start to a season that will be a special one for Boiler coaches.

Not only will Kohl likely pass the soon-to-be Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall-of-Famer in Bundy, but the Boilermakers also will be honoring another former coach this fall — the late Doug Barclay — later this season.

The school renamed the football field after the three-year head coach whose time spent as a Boiler teacher and coach spanned several decades, with a ceremony cementing that renaming Sept. 22.

I never attended Bradley-Bourbonnais, but my parents and their siblings did, as did many friends and cousins, and one common feeling they all had was Coach Barclay was one of the most important adults they had in their life during high school.

And as I have transitioned into being a full-time sports editor in the very same community in which I grew up in and heard these stories and kind words about Barclay, it’s made me realize this generation’s Coach Barclay is in front of our eyes in the form of Coach Kohl. Sure, Barclay isn’t at the top of any career wins records, but he and Kohl certainly are near the top of coaches whose voices will last the longest in the minds of their student-athletes.

Renewing the rivalry

I was in the stands the last time Bishop McNamara traveled to Herscher for football. It was the first round of the 2014 IHSA Class 4A Playoffs and the Fightin’ Irish, a 9-seed, were dealt a quick trip west on Route 17 to visit the 8-seed Tigers on Halloween night.

Half-dressed in my Bobby Hill costume for a party that night, we had to stop by and take in the first football meeting between area football rivals in 26 years, one the Tigers won with a 21-18 win.

After it took 26 years between meetings last time, the wait for the next installment is much shorter, just nine seasons. Friday’s game will be the first football game on Herscher’s newly installed field turf and will feature a pair of 0-1 teams looking for their first win of 2023.

But the records always can be thrown out for this matchup. Sure, the win will be important for each team’s drive for five wins and a playoff berth, but pride perhaps will be what these two teams are playing for most.

Here are the top individual passing, rushing and receiving performances from the area in Week 1.

PASSING

Kohl, BB 16-23, 238 yards, TD; 3 rushing TDs

Castillo, Mom 14-22, 219 yards, 2 TDs

Fifer, SA 4-14, 153 yards, 2 TDs, INT

Krutsinger, Mac 4-17, 138 yards, TD, INT

Velasco, Peo 3-5, 89 yards, TD

RUSHING

Phillips, Kan 209 yards, 2 TDs

Farrell, Wil 171 yards, 3 TDs

Rodriguez, Peo 162 yards, 2 TDs

Reardon, RC 142 yards, 2 TDs; 3-5 passing, 56 yards

Draine, Mom 127 yards, TD

RECEIVING

Link, SA 136 yards, 3 TDs; 112 rushing yards, TD

Halpin, Mom 110 yards, TD

Wright, Mac 90 yards, TD; 62 rushing yards, 2 TDs

Allen, BB 89 yards, TD

Hart, Peo 89 yards, TD

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