Kankakee hosts Nazareth for the first of two games with state champions to open the season while Bradley-Bourbonnais and Bishop McNamara also start their seasons at home. Check out previews on those games, as well as the rest of the Week 1 slate for the Daily Journal area.

Join hosts Mason Schweizer and Steve Soucie as they preview Week 1 in Illinois high school football for Kankakee County on the Friday Night Drive podcast

Kankakee made a strong statement to start the boys soccer season and more in Tuesday's Daily Journal roundup.

The rest of the state's fall sports joined golf by kicking off their seasons in Monday's Daily Journal roundup.

Manteno hosted Momence for a Week 0 scrimmage on Friday evening, with both teams getting in some live snaps a week ahead of their regular season openers.

Manteno hosted Momence in a pre-season scrimmage on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025.

Team-by-team previews of the Daily Journal area's girls volleyball teams for the 2025 season.

Manteno, Iroquois West and St. Anne/Central all scored boys golf victories in Wednesday's Daily Journal roundup.

Team-by-team previews of the Daily Journal area's boys soccer teams for the 2025 season.

Bradley-Bourbonnais hosted the Bill Breeden All-Area Classic as teams from Bishop McNamara, Kankakee, Beecher, Coal City, Grant Park, Herscher, Manteno, Momence and Peotone teed off at the Kankakee Elks Country Club on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025.

Beecher secured a five-peat at the Bill Breeden All-Area Classic on Monday at the Kankakee Elks Country Club, shooting a 340 to edge out host Bradley-Bourbonnais by four strokes, while senior Peyton Serafin placed first individually with a 78.

The Panthers boys bested Grant Park while the girls downed Bishop McNamara in the Daily Journal weekend roundup.

The Illinois Central Eight Conference will actually be the ICE seven for the 2025 season. Can anyone challenge defending champion Wilmington and runner-up Coal City atop the conference standings this fall?

Grant Park hosted Manteno and Bishop McNamara in boys & girls golf on Aug. 15, 2025.

From returning starters in the Big Ten to redshirt freshmen with new opportunities as transfers, seven football players from the Daily Journal area will play at college football's highest level this fall.

Mason Schweizer examines a handful of things to look for from the Daily Journal area once the football season starts.

Here are some of the top storylines to watch for from several fall sports this upcoming season.

The 2025 boys soccer season is nearly upon us, so here are a handful of storylines to keep an eye on this year.

Mason Schweizer looks at a handful of storylines to keep an eye on during the upcoming girls volleyball season.

Four playoff teams from a year ago got together in Manteno Thursday, as the Panthers hosted Illinois Central Eight rival Peotone and the Vermilion Valley Conference's Clifton Central and Momence for live scrimmages.

Peotone, Clifton Central and Momence traveled to Manteno for football scrimmage action Thursday, July 24, 2025.

With the IHSA releasing the state’s football schedules on Friday, here are the top games to watch in the Daily Journal area for the 2025 season.

Anchored by strong athletes both on the track and in the field, check out this year's Daily Journal All-Area Boys Track and Field team.

From dominant freshmen to speedy seniors and everything in between, there's plenty of state pedigree on this year's Daily Journal All-Area Girls Track and Field Team.

Whether at the plate, on the mound or in the field, top-tier players abound on this year's Daily Journal All-Area Baseball Team.

With 27 all-state standouts and several more all-conference selections that helped fuel spostseason runs, the Daily Journal All-Area Softball Team is as good as it gets.

From goalkeeper to forward and everywhere in between, this year's Daily Journal All-Area girls soccer team features some of the state's top stars.

In addition to the Watseka Tackling Disabilities camp coming up on July 26, Manteno hosted its first annual version of the camp on June 12, giving young athletes with disabilities an afternoon of football and fun.

The Daily Journal coverage area once again boasted some of the state's best softball talent this spring, earning a total of 27 Illinois Softball Coaches Association All-State nods.

A look at the area baseball and softball players named to the All-Illinois Central Eight Conference teams this season.

Bradley-Bourbonnais' Jocelyn Zettergren, Beecher's Grace Durante, Peotone's Allie Werner and Wilmington's Alaina Clark earned IHSSCA All-State honors for the 2025 girls soccer season, with 19 more earning earning All-Sectional honors.

Bradley-Bourbonnais' Malachi Lee, Coal City's Julian Micetich and Manteno's Briggs Cann all medaled at the state track and field meet Saturday.

Bradley-Bourbonnais' Malachi Lee, Coal City's Julian Micetich and Manteno's Briggs Cann advanced past Friday's preliminary round of the IHSA Boys Track and Field State meet.

Behind dazzling pitching performances from Callaghan O'Connor and Preston Payne and Jacob Lotz's late homer, Bishop McNamara downed Manteno in Thursday's Class 2A Beecher Sectional semifinal.

The Bishop McNamara baseball team topped Manteno 5-1 in the Class 2A Beecher Sectional semifinals Thursday, May 29, 2025.

Kankakee's Naomi Bey-Osborne put a bow on one of the best athletic careers in school history with three more medals, Reed-Custer's Sophia Burciaga won gold in the pole vault and more from the Daily Journal area at the IHSA Girls Track and Field State Finals.

The Manteno baseball team and Herscher softball team both won their regional championship games and more in Saturday's Daily Journal Roundup.

The Kankakee girls track team qualified for the state finals in the 4x100 relay, 4x200 relay and 4x400 relay and had Naomi Bey-Osborne qualify in the 400 meters, and more in Friday's Daily Journal Roundup

After rain suspended the Class 2A Coal City Regional semifinal between Bishop McNamara and Manteno Tuesday, the game resumed Wednesday, where the Fightin' Irish scored a 10-7 upset in extra innings.

Bridget Bertrand's two-run homer highlighted a three-run McNamara ninth inning as the Fightin' Irish outlasted Manteno in an instant classic Class 2A Coal City Regional semifinal that started Tuesday and ended Wednesday.

Teams from Coal City, Herscher, La Salle-Peru, Manteno, Morris, Peotone, Princeton and Streator competed in the Class 2A Sectional track meet on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at Pontiac High School.

Storylines to watch for in the 2025 baseball postseason, including intriguing potential matchups between local Class 2A teams and a Bradley-Bourbonnais team looking to recapture some of last season's playoff magic.

From Beecher battling through a challenging Class 2A Seneca Sectional to Bradley-Bourbonnais looking for a regional four-peat in 4A, here are some storylines to look for as the 2025 postseason gets underway.

The Bishop McNamara and Herscher girls soccer teams both won their regional semifinal games Saturday to set up a matchup in the regional championship and more in Saturday's Daily Journal Roundup.

Nolan Canfield escaped a fifth-inning jam with a two-run lead that grew late into a 6-1 Manteno win at Bradley-Bourbonnais Saturday.

The Bradley-Bourbonnais softball team dropped a close SouthWest Suburban Conference game to top-ranked Lincoln-Way Central and more in Friday's Daily Journal Roundup.

The Coal City baseball team extended its winning streak to four games with a nonconference win at Kankakee and more in Thursday's Daily Journal Roundup.

After Bella Pusateri's miraculous diving catch preserved a 2-1 Bradley-Bourbonnais lead through six innings, Lydia Hammond's late insurance gave the Boilermakers a 3-1 win at Manteno in Thursday's well-played, high-energy affair.

The Bradley-Bourbonnais softball team earned a 3-1 win at Manteno Thursday, May 15, 2025.

The Kankakee girls track and field team led the local charge on the first day of the postseason and more in Wednesday's Daily Journal roundup.