As I lay in bed and unwound from another frantic Friday night last weekend, while tuning into Steve Soucie and Matt Rodewald on Live with Friday Night Drive, I recognized a common theme in the reactions and comments I saw on some of the videos that I captured from Bradley-Bourbonnais’ home victory against Waubonsie Valley.

Comments on our Facebook page displayed pride for not just the football team, a team that improved to 3-0 with a resounding 35-6 win, but for the marching band, the crowd, the field and the football community that culminated at Bradley-Bourbonnais.

Every so often, I’ll have somebody ask me why high school sports, football in particular, is covered to the depths that it is. That feeling of unity and togetherness, something found in communities of all sizes and programs of all levels of success, is why.

On the field, the Boilermakers got three touchdown passes from Ellis Johnson – two to Lyzale Edmon and one to Calvin Kohl – while Ky’ren Edmon and Issac Allison ran for a touchdown apiece, and the defense continued its early-season dominance.

Off of it, a crowd that’s developed a reputation to create one of the toughest road environments to play in came together to not just watch their unbeaten, state-ranked football team, but to embrace one of the last true community-based Friday night activities around.

Quick recap

Here are the area’s scores from Week 3:

• (7A-8)Bradley-Bourbonnais 35, Waubonsie Valley 6
• (5A-RV)Kankakee 82, Thornridge 6
• (3A-10)Bishop McNamara 52, Christ the King 6
• Herscher 28, Manteno 23
• (3A-6)Wilmington 41, Peotone 13
• (4A-8)Coal City 49, Bloom 0
• Reed-Custer 28, Streator 21
• (1A-7)Clifton Central 48, Georgetown-Ridge Farm 0
• (2A-6)Westville 63, Momence 18
• Salt Fork 47, Iroquois West 7
• (1A-RV)Oakwood 48, Watseka 13
• St. Anne 43, Hutsonville/Palestine 12
• Milford/Cissna Park 42, Oblong24

Kankakee gets into win column in exclamatory fashion

They knew their first two weeks provided one of the toughest early-season schedules in the state, but that doesn’t take away any frustration the Kays may have felt after a 0-2 start against defending state champions Nazareth (Class 5A) and Lincoln-Way East (Class 8A).

Unfortunately for Thornridge, those frustrations were let out on the Falcons when the Kays unleashed themselves with a school-record 82 points, one more than their 81-0 win against those same Falcons in 2023.

After competing in Class 6A for the past two IHSA Playoffs, the Kays look to be trending back towards Class 5A this year, the same Class they made their lone trip to the state title game in 2021. A tough trip to Normal comes next, and Week 9’s home clash with Crete-Monee will likely decide the Southland Athletic Conference for the seventh straight season. But after they give rookie head coach Ed Hazelett his first win, the Kays could very well use last week’s victory to fuel a season-long fire.

ICE looks to entertain with a promising opening week

Since the Illinois Central Eight Conference was created in 2019, Wilmington and Coal City have consistently been atop the conference pecking order, and through three weeks, they look to once again.

Like the Southland, the odds of the ICE being decided with a de facto Week 9 championship game when the Wildcats and Coalers get together are fairly high. But with Herscher making a statement by fending off Manteno on the road and going punch for punch with a high-flying McNamara team for three quarters in Week 2, the Tigers are throwing their name in the conversation.

Reed-Custer is as well after storming ahead to a four-score lead and fending off a late Streator push. Peotone was outmatched by Wilmington last week, but they debuted a spread offense in that game and added their share of intrigue to what should be quite a fun conference to keep tabs on each week.

Weekend’s best

Here are the area’s passing, rushing and receiving leaders from Week 3 (Editor’s note: full individual stats were not available for Kankakee):

Passing

• Ellis Johnson, BB: 18 for 22, 231 yards, 3 TDs; 3-3 PAT
• Dierks Neukomm, MCP: 8 for 12, 1278 yards, 3 TDs
• Erick Castillo, Mom: 10 for 24, 178 yards, 2 TDs
• Brady Shule, Cen: 7 for 16, 173 yards, 4 TDs
• Connor Henline, CC: 8 for 13, 157 yards, 3 TDs

Rushing

• Ryan Kettman, Wil: 10 carries, 157 yards, 3 TDs
• Julius May, Mac: 6 carries, 139 yards, TD
• Connor Harrod, Man: 32 carries, 128 yards, 2 TDs; 11 for 25 passing, 130 yards, TD, 2 INTs
• Mason Roberts, Her: 9 carries, 100 yards, TD; INT TD
• Ky’ren Edmon, BB: 17 carries, 97 yards, TD

Receiving

• Skylar Estay, MCP: 5 catches, 136 yards, 2 TDs
• Kalub Jankuski, Man: 5 catches, 99 yards, TD
• Lyzale Edmon, BB: 5 catches, 91 yards, 2 TDs; INT
• Aiden Scrogham, CC: 2 catches, 77 yards, TD
• Andrew Rohlwing, Cen: 3 catches, 65 yards, TD