Andy Colbert
Sauk Valley Media
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Past articles by Andy:
Rosenstiel, Indians’ long-range shooting too much for Oregon
“He was phenomenal,” Oregon coach Quinn Virgil said. “We gave him a little space early. Then he hit some bombs. Those shots in the third quarter were huge.” Rosenstiel gave the Hawks an inkling of what they were in store for with a basket to start the third quarter. Josh Sitze, who had three steals, matched that with a basket and Oregon still led by seven. Then, the nightmare that was Rosenstiel… → Read More
Campos 3 turns momentum, Oregon takes control in second half of BNC win
Shortly after that, Hawk star Trey Woolsey was simultaneously whistled for a personal foul and technical for throwing an elbow. With the atmosphere at a high pitch between the two fan bases, the game turned what Stillman Valley coach Corey Jenkins termed “chippy”. Jake Gaudreau, in a light cast because of his hand injury, brought the home crowd to its feet with a 3-pointer to tie things at… → Read More
Sterling’s Farnham wins sectional title; Garcia battles back through blood round
Farnham even one-upped himself with a sectional title at 220 pounds, heady stuff for a sophomore wrestling against a bunch of upperclassmen. Farnham's not a typical sophomore, but rather one gushing with confidence. Facing Brock Neill (32-7) of LaSalle-Peru, Farnham (28-4) gave up an early takedown, appearing to be caught out of position. Neill was hoping to avenge a 2-0 loss in the regional… → Read More
Wrestling: Pair of Golden Warriors off to state
ROCHELLE – Sterling will be sending two wrestlers downstate and the path was very different for each of them. Jason Farnham had the luxury of winning his semifinal bout and being guaranteed a spot, while Mauricio Garcia had to survive a 3-1 win in the so-called "blood round" to even make it to a third-place match. → Read More
Wrestling: Ten locals advance to semifinals
Tunink, Quintana, Meenen and Farnham still alive for titles → Read More
Gaither outscores Woolsey, but Hawks beat BNC rival Dixon
The Hawks were stunned early, with Gaither going off for 16 of the Dukes’ first 18 points as they grabbed an 18-2 lead. “I told our guys before the game we needed to key on him and help out,” Oregon coach Quinn Virgil said. The Hawks eventually righted the ship, with Eli Rufer starting a rally with a basket. That started after Riley Abell and Nathan Long scored for Dixon to make it 25-14 Dukes… → Read More
Polo picks it up in second quarter to top Morrison
It was couple of underclassmen that got Polo going. Freshman Lindee Poper, who battled 6-foot-1 Morrison freshman Shelby Veltrop under the basket much of the night, scored to break a Marco scoring drought. On the next trip down the court, sophomore Cadence Sheaffer nailed a 3-pointer, and Polo never looked back. “We got off to a slow start,” Polo coach Jeff Grobe said. “Sheaffer is a go-getter,… → Read More
Polo picks it up in second quarter to top Morrison
It was couple of underclassmen that got Polo going. Freshman Lindee Poper, who battled 6-foot-1 Morrison freshman Shelby Veltrop under the basket much of the night, scored to break a Marco scoring drought. On the next trip down the court, sophomore Cadence Sheaffer nailed a 3-pointer, and Polo never looked back. “We got off to a slow start,” Polo coach Jeff Grobe said. “Sheaffer is a go-getter,… → Read More
Hawks can’t match Kewanee’s percentage in Senior Night loss
“We have our days, and today was one of them. The last three games, we hadn’t shot so well,” Kewanee coach Jessica Shipley said. “We came in looking to move the ball around and get the best shot.” Oregon (16-15) tried to do the same thing, but couldn’t find the bottom of the net as much as Kewanee (16-14), as both game plans mirrored each other. “We tried to close out on them,” Shipley said.… → Read More
Girls basketball: Mistakes cost Marcos late in loss to Cardinals
FORRESTON - All season long, turnovers have prevented Polo from winning basketball games. That was the case again at Forreston in a 48-41 loss where everything fell apart in the fourth quarter. → Read More
Forreston answers earlier loss to Oregon with win
Taking the locker room message to heart, the Cardinals scored the first six points of the game and never looked back in a 47-40 nonconference win in a Saturday afternoon contest in the Oregon High School gym. "They weren't going to be denied the way they came after us in the first 2 minutes of the game," Oregon coach Wendy Lambrigtsen said. Taylor Greenfield, Megan Hagemann and Alexus Houston… → Read More
Polo answers Forreston’s fourth-quarter surge to pull away for victory at home
Riley Cornelius scored off a steal for Forreston, and then Ethan Greenfield added another five points on one possession after Polo coach Matt Messer was whistled for two technicals. The first was for uttering the term “displaced player”. The second was for protesting what he deemed, as did many others in the gym at Polo, the severity of the technical. That cut the lead to 56-47, as Messer calmly… → Read More
Oregon starts strong, finishes off much-needed win over Byron
“We just don’t have enough bodies,” Oregon coach Quinn Virgil said. “Losing Josh really hurts because of the pressure he exerts out front on defense and his offensive rebounding. Until we get everyone back, we lack cohesiveness.” Hoping to get a much-needed win in Big Northern play against 5-13 Byron, the Hawks did just that with a 57-28 blowout. Ryker Finch got the team off to a 13-9… → Read More
Construction changes route for Saturday
“We’ll have close to 1,000 runners here,” Lawton said. “And, with about 2 weeks notice, we’ve had to completely alter our course.” It was circumstances out of control for both the school and park district. “Like us, the park district got late notice on this,” Oregon cross country coach Tim Gipper said. “It comes down to when the government releases the money and when the contractors decide to… → Read More
Oregon High graduates 91
OREGON – The Oregon School District granted diplomas to 91 graduating seniors Sunday at the Blackhawk Center. → Read More
Girls soccer: Stillman Valley ends Oregon's magical season
“I’m proud of how far we’ve came in 3 years and even how far we’ve came this season,” said Larson, who started the program from scratch in 2017. “Just because we lost, there’s no reason to look down upon it. We had the support of the school, parents, administration and community. Hopefully, younger girls will want to be a part of it.” The Hawk faithful, complete with a fan bus, outnumbered the… → Read More
Oregon stuns Byron in overtime to win regional title
“These girls never quit,” Oregon coach Seger Larson said. “At halftime, I told the girls not to give up on each other. I haven’t given up on them.” After a first half in which Byron controlled the ball on its side of the field for 75 percent of the time, the Hawks trailed 2-0 with only 20 minutes left. To compound matters, Olivia Lambrigtsen, one of Oregon’s best players, was out of town, and… → Read More
Oregon qualifies 6 individuals, 2 relays for Charleston
“I’m really proud of how many PRs we had and the way everyone stepped up,” said one of those returning state qualifiers, Lydia Cermak. “It’s OK we didn’t win the meet. We’re sending enough people down.” With six state qualifiers all hitting personal bests, the field events couldn’t have started any better for Oregon. Within 45 minutes, Cynthia Nyderek improved nearly 2 feet in the triple jump to… → Read More
Girls soccer: Hawks stun Byron in OT to win regional
GENOA – After a first half in which Byron controlled the ball on its side of the field for 75 percent of the time, Oregon’s soccer team trailed 2-0 with only 20 minutes left in the 1A Genoa-Kingston Regional final. → Read More
Dixon claims fifth straight title; Rock Falls takes third
Leading the way was Brayden Forrest, who won the long jump and 110 hurdles, was second in the 300 hurdles, and third in the 100. “He’s a senior, a captain and a vocal team leader,” Deets said. “Brayden always does the right thing, and has put the work in over 4 years. He’s reaping the benefits.” With Forrest attempting to be a four-event winner, it was teammate Ethan Fox playing spoiler in the… → Read More