LeRoy Panthers blow by Tuscola in windy Week 5 victory

Posted on September 27, 2024
The Panthers move to 5-0 on the season after defeating Tuscola. (WJBC File Photo)

By Jake Fogal

LEROY – Heavy winds Friday night could not slow down the LeRoy football team as the Panthers ran all over Tuscola in Week 5.

LeRoy entered Week 5 of the high school football season as the fifth ranked team in Class 1A, and continued to prove why after leveling Tuscola 57-7.

The Panthers kept the ball on the ground in the windy conditions Friday night, as two players found the end zone to give LeRoy a 14 point advantage after the first quarter. Brock Owens picked off the first pass of the game by Tuscola to set the Panthers up for a quick score. Junior Stephon Williams and Senior Landon Welte both punched in scores for the Panthers. Welte added a 52-yard touchdown to his stat line later in the second quarter.

Kobe Brent kept the momentum going in the second quarter for the Panthers, returning a 70-yard punt.

Welte added another score to the Panthers point total after totaling a 52-yard scamper, before senior Sam Wagner tallied six points on a three yard rush to round out the second quarter, 35-0. LeRoy’s defense allowed less than 10 yards to to the Tuscola offense through the first half of play.

Quarterback Bo Zeleznik rushed in for the first touchdown of the second half early in the third quarter before getting pulled for backup Kobe Brent. Brent immediately made an impact, securing his second touchdown of the game on a 67-yard run. The Panthers added one additional touchdown to the scoreboard by the way of Brett Helfich late in the fourth quarter.

(LeRoy Head Coach BJ Zeleznik spoke with WJBC’s Eric Lapan following the win over Tuscola.
WJBC’s Eric Lapan chatted with the Lanz Underground Player of the Game Kobe Brent after the 57-7 victory.

The lone Tuscola score in the game came from running back Cooper Lyons to begin the fourth quarter.

LeRoy improves to 5-0(4-0) on the season while Tuscola drops to (3-2)(3-2)

Other final scores throughout Central Illinois in Week 5:

(3-2) Normal West 20-18 Peoria (4-1)

(3-2) Central Catholic 20-10 Tolono Unity (2-3)

(3-2) Rochester 38-30 U-High (3-2)

(5-0) Bloomington 84-0 Urbana (0-5) (Highest point total for BHS since 1914)

(4-1) Normal Community 42-0 Peoria Manuel (0-5)

(5-0) Eureka 19-14 Clinton (4-1)

(5-0) GCMS 38-12 Heyworth (2-3)

(2-3) Ridgeview/Lexington 48-6 Tremont (0-5)

(4-1) Tri-Valley 42-0 El-Paso Gridley (2-3)

(4-1) Williamsville 27-12 Olympia (4-1)

(4-1) Monticello 49-0 Pontiac (0-5)

(4-1) Shelbyville 48-14 Dee-Mack (2-3)

(3-2) Prairie Central 47-7 IVC (0-5)

(3-2) Lincoln 55-24 Decatur Eisenhower (0-5)

(4-1) Warrensburg-Latham 21-0 Fieldcrest (1-4)

Next week, WJBC’s featured game of the week will showcase a clash in the Big 12 conference as undefeated Bloomington hosts 4-1 Normal Community.

The High School Football Extravaganza is sponsored by CEFCU.

Jake Fogal can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…