Fieldcrest falls 34-30 to Heyworth to end the season: The Times Friday Roundup

Football

Heyworth 34, Fieldcrest 30: At Heyworth, the Knights lead 22-14 in the second quarter but were outscored 20-8 the rest of the way to finish the season 1-8 overall and 0-8 in Heart of Central Illinois Small Conference play with the loss to the Hornets.

Wilmington 56, Streator 18: At Jeff Reents Stadium, the visiting Bulldogs finished their season 3-6. It is a one-win improvement under first-year head coach Matt Cloe. Streator went 2-7 each of the previous two seasons. The Bulldogs finish sixth in the Illinois Central Eight Conference, which Wilmington won.

A good number of the Bulldogs’ starters can return in 2025, though many of this year’s top skill-position players – namely Weibel, Finley, leading rusher Jordan Lukes and the program’s all-time leading receiver, Matt Williamson – are among the Bulldogs’ 16 seniors.

Wilmington head coach Jeff Reents praised the Bulldogs’ effort, particularly their passing game, as Weibel finished the night 17 of 40 for 261 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Wilmington, a No. 2 seed in Class 3A, will host Stillman Valley in the opening round.

— Read Bill Freskos’ full story on this game at FridayNightDrive.com.

Dwight/GSW 21, Marquette 20: At Gould Stadium, the host Crusaders (5-4) fell to the Trojans (6-3), splitting the regular-season series.

A 4-yard touchdown run by Evan Cox, a two-point conversion run by Collin Bachand and, after MA scored and threatened to take the lead again in the fourth quarter, a clutch interception on MA’s 2-point try by Caiden Nelson led the Trojans, who held Marquette to 91 yards rushing while rushing for 256 themselves.

Anthony Couch connected on 8-of-14 passes for 135 yards, but was picked twice. Payton Gutierrez led the hosts’ runners with 11 tries for 48 yards.

Marquette, a No. 13 seed, will visit No. 4 Rushville Industry in the opening round of the Class 1A playoffs Friday at 7 p.m.

Dwight/GSW will be a No. 12 in the 2A field and visit No. 5 Momence, also Friday at 7 p.m.

— Read Charlie Ellerbrock’s full story on this game at FridayNightDrive.

DuPec 33, Seneca 22: At Seneca, DuPec’s win over the Fighting Irish – clinched in the final minutes with a long Rivermen drive ending in a touchdown sneak by QB Cooper Hoffman (13-of-16 passing for 240 yards and four touchdowns; 70 yards rushing) will send both teams into the playoffs with records of 8-1.

Seneca, a No. 7 seed in Class 2A, will host No. 10 El Paso-Gridley in the opening round Friday at 7 p.m.

DuPec, a No. 3 seed, will host Genoa-Kingston in 3A.

“That’s a great team,” Seneca coach Terry Maxwell said. “We knew it was going to be a battle coming in, and you know, I’ve been telling these guys all year, they’ve been having these mistakes here and there, and we have to clean them up. This is evidence tonight.

“You can’t have turnovers and you can’t miss assignments. When you’re playing a good team like that, those things get you beat. [DuPec] capitalized on those mistakes, and they did a nice job tonight.”

Rademacher finished with a game-best 187 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries.

— Read J.T. Pedelty’s full story on this game at FridayNightDrive.

Marengo 28, Sandwich 14: At Sandwich, the host Indians (5-4) allowed Marengo (5-4) to pull away late and into the postseason with the Kishwaukee River victory.

Nick Michalek ran for 80 yards on 14 carries.

Sandwich will visit Wheaton Academy to open the Class 4A playoffs.

— Read Alex Mielcarz’s full story on this game at FridayNightDrive.