11/16/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - For the first time since 1996 a Black Diamond Conference football team has won three consecutive football playoff games.

The undefeated 12-0 Johnston City Indians and head coach Todd Thomas have accomplished the feat with a simple philosophy.

11/12/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARTERVILLE - On Saturday in the IHSA 4A quarterfinals against Rochester, the host Carterville Lions moved the ball up and down their home turf for most of the day.

But when it came to getting the ball into the endzone, especially with the opportunities in the first half, head coach Brett Diel's club couldn't find the right formula.

11/05/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARTERVILLE - The Carterville Lions have scored a bunch of points during this undefeated season but Coach Brett Diel's club also plays staunch defense.

During Saturday's home 4A second round playoff game against Coal City, the Lions' 'dialed' up the 'D' in a 22-0 shutout. Carterville allowed only 104-yards of total offense and the offense took advantage of the field position that its defense maintained as they improved .....

11/05/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
FAIRFIELD - Things started out really well for Fairfield and head coach Justin Townsend on Saturday afternoon against Pana in the second round of the IHSA 2A Playoffs.

Taking the opening kickoff, which was an onside kick attempt by Pana, the Mules did exactly what they wanted to do.

10/29/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
HILLSBORO - Roxana head coach Wade DeVries needed a huge play from his team in the second half of his club's road playoff game Saturday afternoon.

As it turned out, he got two.

A pair of sophomores came up with big plays, one on offense and another with .....

10/28/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
MURPHYSBORO - It was the 'same ole song and dance' for the Murphysboro Red Devils on Friday night in their 4A Playoff game against visiting Columbia.

It was Devon Clemons running and Drew Caldwell passing.

Clemons rushed for 176-yards and three touchdowns on Friday night and Caldwell added ....

10/27/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - It's a new beginning for the teams who have qualified for the postseason and the coaches, players, fans and schools prepare for games that will decide a state championship in eight different classes.

The ASV area teams, in Classes 1A thru 4A, will battle it out with schools their own size in hopes of reaching the title games on Friday, November 25th at the University of Illinois Memorial Stadium.

The Pairings for the ASV Area teams are posted on the "SCORES" Page.

10/22/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
VIENNA - A few weeks ago after a loss at Sesser-Valier/Waltonville, head coach Justin Townsend talked about his schedule being 'top heavy' in that they played the best teams of their league schedule in the first five weeks of the season.

The Mules were sitting at 2-3 with the task of winning their final four games to secure a playoff bid.

10/21/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
PINCKNEYVILLE - For the Pinckneyville Panthers' football program, this season had more 'downs' than it did 'ups'.

However one of the standouts for the campaign showed up with a big performance on his teams' Senior Night against visiting Massac County.

10/15/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
MOUNT CARMEL - Mount Carmel junior quarterback Blayne Sisson had a near perfect afternoon on Saturday.

The 5-11 play caller completed all 12 of his passing attempts for four touchdowns and he ran for four other scores as the Golden Aces passed perhaps their toughest test of the season against a non-conference Northern Invader.

10/14/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
CHESTER - The Chester Yellow Jackets had their 'backs against the wall' (goal line) late in the fourth quarter of their home game against Red Bud on Friday night.

Trailing 7-6 with under five minutes to play, and with Red Bud driving for a game clinching score, head coach Billy Belton needed his defense to step up.

With the IHSA playoff eligibility based on five wins to qualify and six victories to guarantee a spot, there are some 'must win' games in the next two weeks.

10/08/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
MADISON - Going into his teams' Saturday afternoon game at Madison, head coach Brett Diel and his Carterville Lions wanted to be 'workmanlike' in their approach.

That is what they did.

State-ranked and unbeaten Carterville took an early lead and was never threatened .....

10/07/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
MURPHYSBORO - The Murphysboro Red Devils jumped out to a 26-0 lead and survived a Harrisburg comeback bid to clinch a IHSA playoff berth on Friday night.

The Red Devils got big plays from Devon Clemons and Karmello Abernathy and a controversial officials decision in their favor to help them move to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in the SIRR Ohio with a 32-21 win at home.

10/07/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - As the high school football season heads into the cool, crisp days of October with just three weeks remaining in the regular season, the IHSA playoff picture is coming into focus.

Here's a quick look at the contenders from the ASV area.

10/01/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
BRIDGEPORT - The Red Hill Salukis are enjoying their first season playing as an Independent.

The kids now have even more excitement as they are playoff eligible for the first time since 2018.

Head coach Billy Gray, after two-consecutive losing seasons, has his program going in the right direction and they took another step forward on Saturday by taking care of old Little Illini ...

Head coach Patrick Bowman and his club haven't faced much competition so far.

North Mac took to the road and dominated Greenville on Friday night as they improved ....

Head coach Joe Clark is happy his squad isn't 'Price-less' on the field.

Eldorado senior quarterback Parker Price led the Eagles to a 22-13 victory over .....

Keeping the Oilers out of the endzone for the first three quarters, including forcing some key mistakes, Coach Brian Short saw his Cougars improve to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Mississippi Division of the Cahokia Conference with a 21-6 victory.

On Saturday afternoon the Pinckneyville Panthers took a long road trip (nearly three hours) up north and they turned to running back Chase Schneider to carry the ball for most of the game.

On Friday night at home against Black Diamond Conference rival Christopher/Zeigler-Royalton, the 5-9, 180 senior 'added and padded' his totals.

With the skies bright and sunny, Coach James Welmaker, Jr. saw his athletic bunch make things tough on Dupo.

09/09/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARTERVILLE - Although he might be a bit sore come Saturday morning, Carterville senior running back Bryce Smith handed out as much punishment as he took against Murphysboro on Friday night.

The 6-1, 200 senior back ran around and all over the Red Devils.

They beat the Fairfield Mules in boy's varsity football.

11-26-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
DEKALB – Friday afternoon's 2A state title game turned into a game of “keep away” in a sense.

Undefeated Wilmington (14-0) dominated most categories in their 24-7 win over Nashville in the title game but the most glaring statistic that jumps off of the page showed the domination.

The Wildcats possessed the ball for 36:32 of the game's 48:00 total.

11-20-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
NASHVILLE - In what turned out to be a classic football playoff semifinal game between a pair of physically talented teams, an unlikely hero emerged.

Five-eight, 150 sophomore kicker Eduardo Garibay had one of those moments that will be talked about for years to come.

With his team trailing 35-21 with 8:26 left in the fourth quarter, the 16-year old foreign exchange student from Mexico, came up with two perfectly executed onside kicks to get Nashville back the ball twice in the fourth quarter

11-13-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
NASHVILLE - Saturday's trip by Pana to Nashville to play a 2A quarterfinal football was summed up in a simple, albeit tongue in cheek, statement by Panthers' head coach Trevor Higgins.

“I really hate this place,” said Coach Higgins, after his team lost back-to-back playoff games to the Hornets in Nashville. “It was like a rerun.”

11-06-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
BENTON - It took just three plays for the Benton Rangers defense to take control of their second round playoff game at home against visiting Monticello.

An interception by senior defensive back Reid Baumgarte set the stage for the rest of the contest.

11-05-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE – I decided to throw together a thumbnail sketch of a second round preview for the IHSA Playoffs that feature teams from the ASV area.
With just a handful of first round upsets, the second round will make the playoff picture come into focus.
Several of the teams remaining have legitimate chances to move deep into the tournament.
Best of luck to all involved.

Coach Derek Beard got everything he wanted and needed from his crew on Senior Night.

DuQuoin won the battle of the trenches, especially in the second half, in its .....

10-08-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
VANDALIA - Two South Central Conference teams went into Friday night's football game heading in opposite directions for the 2021-22 season.

After 48-minutes of action neither team changed their courses.

Following a season opening loss at undefeated and state-ranked Pana, the .....

Although they have lost two games to the top two teams in the BDC (Fairfield and Johnston City) head coach Brian Tackitt and his club have now pocketed four league wins.

10-01-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
SESSER - Keeping their playoff hopes alive, and also a shot at claiming a share of the Black Diamond Conference championship, the Sesser-Valier/Waltonville Red Devils made quick work of Eldorado on Friday night in front of a homecoming crowd at SV.

The Red Devils improved to 5-1 on the season with the win, racking up 349 yards of total offense in the 46-6 victory.

09-25-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
ALBION - With the constant changing of schedules this football season due to covid19 and other issues, an unlikely match up occurred on Saturday afternoon.

Nokomis, an independent football program from up north, traveled 2.5 hours south to play Edwards County.

09-25-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
LAWRENCEVILLE - It wasn't going to be the Lawrenceville Indians day when their old nemesis from the long gone North Egypt Conference rolled into town on this weekend.

Although the young squad led by head coach Travis Reeder had pulled a mild upset the week before in beating LIC rival Newton on the road 34-19, the Aces are a different animal.

09-24-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
CHESTER - Chester head coach Billy Belton is getting the most out of his unique opportunity this fall.

The coach has 14 seniors on his roster, all of which have contributed to a now 4-1 beginning of the 2021-22 campaign.

09-17-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
NASHVILLE - The Nashville Hornets won their first outright SIRR Mississippi Division title since 1998 last spring and are wanting to go back-to-back this fall.

Coach Stephen Kozuszek saw his 2021-22 Hornets open up league play with a resounding statement.

In the case of the Fairfield Mules and their Black Diamond Conference football winning streak, that run came to a “screeching halt” on the road Friday night at Johnston City.

The host Indians made the right plays at the right time, which included forcing two .....

04-12-2021
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE -

The teams and conferences will be the same as the ones I currently cover for boy's high school basketball in southern Illinois.

SIRR, LIC, BDC Cahokia and SCC are the ones I will focus on along with the few independent teams that fall into the geographical area of which ABV previews each year for hoops.

I'm going to use the spring games currently going on to gather information and photos for a 2021 preview.

After that it will be game coverage like I do for basketball.

The first year will be a “baby steps” year in which things will build towards the future.

Since moving from Mt. Vernon to Carbondale, I've decided to focus more on my sports and this is the first/next step.

It might be complicated at first and the initial season of football will have its issues, but as of this exact moment, Football is on the docket.

When you go and look at the "Teams" the preview informational stories are from the 2020-21 boy's basketball season.

The initial prototype of the website is set up to generate interest and to promote this coming school year of 2021-22.

It is a new beginning, one that I'm excited about.

I hope you enjoy the photos in anticipation of what is to come.

Jack