Forreston 56, Lena-Winslow 45: Jordan Bagley had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Michael Schneiderman scored 14 points to lead Forreston over Le-Win.
Matt Martinez scored 15 points, while Wes Ertmer and Brian McCabe added 12 points for the Panthers.
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Eastland 53, Lena-Winslow 48: Tyler Zundahl and Brad Dunlap led Eastland with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Wes Ertmer had 19 points for Lena-Winslow.
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Le-Win 50, Stockton 36: Brian McCabe scored 11 and Fritz Werhane and Wes Ertmer 10 each for Le-Win.
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FORRESTON — Dakota outlasted Christian Life 39-37 Thursday in the Forreston Tournament.
Dakota took a 10-point lead into halftime, but Christian Life outscored Dakota 25-17 in the second half.
Jesse Jansen had a team-high 11 points for Dakota. Cody Maddox and Landon Ketchum each added eight points.
Christian Life sophomore Adam Westendorf scored a game-high 12 points and Reggie McGee followed up with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.
Oregon 63, Lena-Winslow 50: After a 26-all halftime score, Oregon went on to outscore Lena-Winslow 37-24 in the second half.
FORRESTON — Freeport Aquin held on for a 59-58 win against Oregon on Wednesday at the Forreston Tournament.
Aquin led 28-23 at halftime, but the Hawks outscored the Bulldogs 35-31 in the second half.
Amboy 58, Christian Life 57, OT: Amboy survived a tight match that was tied at 25-25 at halftime and again at 51 at end of regulation.
River Ridge 65, Dakota 40: Dakota hung early with River Ridge, but a 29-point third quarter would secure the win for the Wildcats. River Ridge led 23-19 at halftime, but extended it to 52-36 by the end of the third.
FORRESTON — The Forreston Holiday Tournament hosts got an early boost with a 49-47 victory over Pecatonica in the tourney’s opening-day action Saturday.
Michael Schneiderman had 18 points and Colton Scott added 15 as the Cardinals turned a 27-25 halftime deficit into a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Pec, led by Makenzi Peyton’s 16-point effort, outscored Forreston 12-9 in the fourth, but it was not enough.
Forreston Tournament
MENDOTA - Wes Ertmer rang up 224 yards on 25 carries for Lena-Winslow.
He scored two touchdown runs on a 22 and 70 yards. Kolten Kempel added a 30-yard TD run for the Panthers (7-2).
Alex Caruso’s 5-yard run in the first quarter was Mendota’s lone score.
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SOUTH BELOIT - Six different players scored for the Panthers, who led 42-0 at halftime, and the Panthers went on to defeat South Beloit by the same score.
Ryan Werhane, Wes Ertmer, Kolton Kempel, Evan Johnson, Trey Griffin and Jeff Monroe each posted a touchdown, and Lena-Winslow also scored on a safety.
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DURAND - Wes Ertmer ran for 176 yards and four touchdowns on 14 carries to lead Lena-Winslow past Durand.
Le-Win ran for 330 yards and held Durand to 168 total yards. Tom Harms (5-yard run) and Jake Pelley (6-yard run) scored for Durand.
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LENA — All season, the Lena-Winslow offense has lived with the attitude that speed kills.
On Friday night, it was the defense’s turn to live by that adage, setting up shop in Pecatonica’s backfield, winning 35-15.
“We thought our speed would really help us against their size,” Lena-Winslow coach Ric Arand said. “They have some big kids and good athletes at the skill positions, so we thought our defense would have to disrupt their timing with speed.”
FORRESTON – If the desire to succeed breeds creativity, then Lena-Winslow must be desperate to win.
The Panthers used some creative play calling to top Forreston 35-6 Friday night.
“We have to get a little creative and use our speed because we won’t be able to rely on our size,” Lena-Winslow coach Ric Arand said. “We have to do those reverses and misdirection plays.”
The misdirection plays were working all evening, as the Panthers scored on a pair of end-arounds and picked up big yards on power sweeps.
LENA — A stout defense, big-play offense and opportunistic special teams are the hallmark of a good team, and Lena-Winslow had all three phases working.
“There were some of the usual first game blunders, but overall we played pretty well,” Lena-Winslow coach Ric Arand said. “Offensively we squandered some chances when our defense was giving us great field position all night long, but eventually we got it going.”
The Panther defense was indeed strong, not allowing a Thunder first down until five minutes remained in the first half.
