Winnebago County News Briefs

Chronicle Media

winn-113016-briefs-colorCHAMPAIGN

Forreston football reigns supreme in Class 1A

Tiny Forreston is once again the home of champions.

Forreston High School’s football team captured their second state championship in three seasons with last Friday’s 35-7 Class 1A title game victory over Decatur-St. Teresa at the University of Illinois.

The Cardinals finished 14-0, marking the second unbeaten season in school history and first since the 1962 team went 7-0.

AJ Christensen rushed for one touchdown and returned a kickoff 93 yards for another in the game, the first of eight championship games played at Memorial Stadium last weekend. Christensen, a junior running back and defensive back, also rushed 18 times for a game-high 183 yards.

The Cardinals never trailed after breaking a scoreless tie in the second quarter. Quarterback Hunter Daws tossed a 54-yard touchdown pass — his only completion of the day — to Sam Barkalow.

Decatur-St. Teresa tied less than two minutes later but the Cardinals replied with 28 unanswered points the rest of the way.

Forreston also won the 2014 Class 1A championship with a 13-1 record under head coach Denny Diduch, who now has a 76-25 record in nine seasons at the school

Forreston has a population of around 1,500 and the school enrollment for 2016-17 stands at 261 with 37 on the varsity football roster.

ROCKFORD

Boylan Catholic hosts placement examination

Boylan Catholic High School will offer a  Freshman Placement Exam on Dec. 3 from 9 a.m. to noon.

Walk-in registration begins at 7:45 a.m. at the school’s south entrance. Students should bring the $50 testing fee (cash or check made payable to Boylan Catholic High School).

Calculators are not permitted. Students may also bring water and/or a healthy snack .

Additional placement exam sessions will be held on Jan 4 and 28, Feb. 25 and March 25, 2017.

For more information, or to pre-register, contact. Mary Gavan (815) 877-0531; email: mgavan@boylan.org

For information about the HSPT, visit Scholastic Testing Service at: http://ststesting.com/hspt/

ROCKFORD

Pickle ball comes to UW Health Sports Factory

Pickleball players are now welcome to play at the downtown UW Health Sports Factory, 305 S. Madison Street, Rockford. 

Drop-in play will take place  Mondays through Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The cost is only $5 per session. 

Drop-in pickleball will run throughout November and December, and the Rockford Park District will look at creating new pickleball programs in January 2017.   Currently, five pickleball courts are available, but due to a successful opening day, the Rockford Park District is looking to add at least add four more, for a total of 9 pickleball courts along with a warm-up area. 

Anyone interested in being a part of the Pickleball Advisory Committee can contact Derek Papich at (815) 987-8881 or derekpapich@rockfordparkdistrict.org.

The Rockford Park District also has a variety of outdoor pickleball courts available when weather permits. Six pickleball courts at Sinnissippi Park,  1401 N. Second Street, Rockford, and six pickleball courts at Loves Park Playground are free to use.

ROCKFORD

Christmas in the Trenches at Midway Museum

Saturday, December 10 . 10 am – 12 pm

In December 1914, the soldiers in the Western front of the Great War I called unofficial ceasefires during the week of Christmas and enemies came together to decorate, exchange gifts, sing carols, and even play football.

Re-enactors will decorate the replica 150 yard-long trench on the Midway Village Museum grounds from 10 a.m. to noon on Dec. 10. Visitors will receive a special holiday trench tour and hear excerpts from letters from World War I soldiers experiencing Christmas in the trenches.

In addition to the tour, visitors can witness a narrated re-enactment of a battle and the cease fire, sing carols with the soldiers, receive a special gift, sip hot chocolate, see real WWI artifacts, view a replica WWI Trench Train on display and even play football.

Admission is $10 per person. Pre-registration is required by calling (815) 397-9112 and admission is due when registering. Please note this is outdoors and visitors will need to dress for the weather.

ROCKFORD

Fourth annual Sport Studies Symposium

Speakers from various areas in the field of sport and recreation management will be on hand to answer questions pertaining to careers in sports management and to share their tips for success at Rockford University’s fourth annual Sports Studies Symposium on Dec. 1.

This event is organized by members of Professor Jason Hunter’s Senior Seminar class. A full list of participants is TBD.

The Rockford University Forum Series presents speakers in a variety of disciplines who have achieved success both nationally and locally, and performers of stature in the arts.

The Forum Series’ central programming focus is geared toward students. Lectures and performances are concerned with intellectual, social and cultural matters of general interest to deepen and broaden students’ education at Rockford University.

Admission is free but tickets are required. Contact the Box Office at (815) 226-4100 for additional information.

–Winnebago County News Briefs–