L-P fell behind early in the first set but bounced back to beat Rock Falls 25-18, 25-18 in a nonconference match.

Sterling fell at Metamora, Oregon's Cooper Johnson had 192 yards rushing and three TDs in a win, Draven Zier had five touchdowns and more in Friday's Sauk Valley football roundup.

Byron scored touchdowns on three of its first offensive five plays, and added tochdowns on interception and punt returns on its way to a 63-0 win over Rock Falls on Thursday night at Hinders Field.

Rock Falls faces off against Byron on Thursday, August 28, 2025 for week 1 football. Byron trounced the Rockets 63-0.

Here is a look at the Week 1 football matchups in the Sauk Valley area.

Looking to rebuild the foundation of Rock Falls football from the ground up, first-year head coach David Chavira got some advice from Newman coach Mike LeMay and Sterling coach Jon Schlemmer.

The Rock Falls Rockets hit the field for the first week of football practice Tuesday, August 13, 2025. The Rockets open at home against Byron August 29.

We take a look at the top players in the Big Northern Conference, a team-by-team breakdown, key games and predict the order of finish.

Who steps up next for Dixon? Will Morrison transfer Rylan Alvarado lead Newman's backfield? Can Sterling revitalize its run game? What is next for Rock Falls under its new coach? Here are six questions in the Sauk Valley area this season as practice kicks off.

Here is a look at the top softball players from the Sauk Valley area for the 2025 season.

The IHSA just released its statewide football schedule for the 2025 season. Here is a game to watch each week in the Sauk Valley coverage area.

Here is a look at the top baseball players from the Sauk Valley area for the 2025 season.

Dixon's Aaron Conderman and Dean Geiger finished 1-2 in their hometown race at the 25th annual Reagan Run 5K on Saturday. Melissa Winchester was the top female finisher.

The Illinois Coaches Association held their 48th annual Senior Baseball All Star Game on Monday, June 30, 2025 at Schweickert Stadium in Peru.

Here is a look back at the top boys basketball players in the Sauk Valley area for the 2024-25 season.

The Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association released its All-State teams, and players from Newman, Rock Falls, Fulton and A-FC were selected.

Oregon and Rock Falls meet in Stillman Valley Thursday, May 22, 2025, for a Class 2A Regional semifinal. Oregon scored all their runs in fourth for a 3-0 shutout win. Oregon will face Byron for the Regional title on Saturday.

Here is a look at some of the top athletes and relays to watch from the Sauk Valley area competing in 1A and 2A at this weekend's state track and field meet.

A fearless attitude and background in tumbling have helped Rock Falls junior Ryleigh Eriks break the school pole vault record in her first season of track & field. She is the Sauk Valley Athlete of the Week.

The Oregon girls won their first Big Northern Conference track & field title since 2019 on Thursday as a strong start in the field events carried over to the track.

Dixon hosts the girls BNC track meet Thursday, May 8, 2025.

Local teams compete Friday, May, 2, 2025, at Sterling's Night Relays.

In a roller coaster of a game, Rock Falls watched a five-run lead disappear before scoring three times in the top of the seventh inning for a 10-8 win over Dixon on Tuesday.

Rock Falls heads into Dixon Tuesday, April 29, 2025 for a baseball game. Rock Falls took the win 10-8.

Local schools Amboy, Forreston Bureau Valley, Rock Falls and Newman compete with others at the Rock Falls Rocket track invite Friday, April, 25, 2025

Newman scored runs in each of the first three innings Wednesday, then held off Rock Falls for a 7-3 nonconference victory at home.

It was an exciting night for the Rock Falls track teams with both the boys and girls meets at Princeton’s Ferris Invite coming down to the very final race in the 4x400 relay. No race was more exciting than the boys’ 4x400 where the Rockets edged Princeton by 1/100th of a second

Culver’s of Rock Falls will host a share night from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 30, when a percentage of sales and all cash donations will be donated by the Rock Falls senior class to Dylan Wescott and his family as he recovers from a sports accident.

Princeton's Camryn Driscoll won the 100 (13.07), 200 (27.58) and 400 (1:02.45) to lead the host Tigresses to a narrow second-place finish while Cade Odell won the shot put in his first outdoor meet of the season and final Ferris Invite.

The Rock Falls Rockets downed the Oregon Hawks 5-1 in a Monday, April 21, 2025, game at Oregon High School.

Oregon's Isabelle Berg struck out 13 batters in a complete 7-0 shutout over Rock Falls on Monday, April 14, 2025, at Oregon Park West.

Backing up Zoey Silva’s perfect game with plenty of offense, Rock Falls rolled past Rockford Lutheran 13-0 for a five-inning Big Northern Conference win Thursday afternoon.

An inning after three straight bunt singles led to the tying run, Kiyrra Morris’ RBI double to left field drove in Sam Woolley with the winning run in the Princeton’s 3-2 victory over Rock Falls on Thursday afternoon at the Hinders Field Complex.

Rock Falls and Princeton face off in baseball Thursday, March 27, 2025 in Rock Falls.

Princeton and Rock Falls battle on the diamond Thursday, March 27, 2025, in Rock Falls. Princeton took the win 3-2 in 8 innings.

Paschal: Eastland will represent the Sauk Valley in the state tournament this weekend in Champaign. Clearly talented with a top-notch coach calling the shots, the team definitely has a chance to bring back the hardware.

A look at all-time boys & girls basketball scoring leaders for 53 area schools, including 14 closed schools, as researched by the BCR's Kevin Hieronymus. Three area boys moved to No. 1 this season: Noah LaPorte at Princeton, Darius Hetherington at Dixon, Paxton Giertz at Seneca.

Rock Falls faces off against Christ the King High School Monday, March 10, 2025, in the Class 2A boys basketball Supersectional at Sterling High School. The postseason run came to an end for the Rockets who lost 58-44.

A closer look of Friday's Princeton vs. Rock Falls sectional championship game with a running play by play and boxscore.

Cole Mulnix, 6-8 junior center, came off the bench and scored 10 points, all in the second half, with several blocked shots, to give the Rock Falls the spark it needed to lift it to a 49-43 win over Princeton in the Class 2A Marengo Sectional championship.

Rock Falls defeated Princeton 49-43 to win the Class 2A Sectional final on Friday, March 7, 2025 at Marengo High School. Rock Falls wins their first Sectional since 2006. Princeton ends their season with a record of 21-12.

Princeton and Rock Falls will meet Friday night in the Class 2A Marengo Sectional championship. The Tigers, who have won 12 straight games, beat the Rockets 60-52 on Jan. 4 at Rock Falls.

Rock Falls meets Princeton Friday, March 7, 2025, in the boys basketball Class 2A Sectional final in Marengo. Rock Falls took the win 49-43 for their first Sectional since 2006.

Rock Falls and Winnebago battle it out in Marengo in the boys Class 2A Sectional semifinal Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Rock Falls took the win 42-40 on a last second bucket. The Rockets will play for the Sectional title on Friday.

Rock Falls and Riverdale face off for the Class 2A Regional title at Bureau Valley Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. Rock Falls won a thriller 61-58 in overtime on a Kuitim Heald 3-pointer with one second left.

Kuitim Heald broke Brian Vance's 27-year-old single-single season scoring record to help Rock Falls beat Oregon in Wednesday night's Class 2A regional semifinal matchup at Bureau Valley.

Rock Falls takes on Oregon in the semifinal of the Class 2A boys basketball Regional at Bureau Valley. Rock Falls won 58-38.

Rock Falls, Dixon and Sterling are all top four seeds as postseason boys basketball kicks off this week. As the boys basketball postseason tips off this week, here are storylines to watch.

Newman grapplers took to the mat at the 1A Oregon Sectional on Friday, Feb. 14 and Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025.

Oregon deafeated Rock Falls 46-36 in 2A regional action on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. Aniyah Sarver led Oregon with 22 points and Ari Reyna scored 16 for Rock Falls.