Litchfield High Sports | The Journal-News

The Litchfield-Mt. Olive baseball team has had plenty of reasons to celebrate so far this season, including a grand slam by Tate Dobrinich (far right) in their 15-11 win over Greenville. The win over the Comets, their first since 2014, was their tenth in a row to start the season. While that streak came to an end on Saturday with a loss to Sacred Heart-Griffin, the Panthers already have more wins in 2024 than they did all of last season.

Litchfield Battles To Get Past Greenville

In the preseason, Litchfield Coach Rocky Giannuzzi was not sure how his Purple Panthers would respond after a loss. After nine games, the Panthers still hadn’t experienced that, but they had … more

4/1/24

Panthers Clinch Share Of SCC

The 2013-14 season was the last time Litchfield hoisted the South Central Conference crown in boys basketball as they shared the title with the Greenville Comets. Prior to that the Purple Panthers … more

2/12/24

Hillsboro's Kearstynn Davis (left) and Litchfield's Chloe Law (right) go up for a 50/50 ball during the third place game at the Panther Classic in Litchfield on Saturday, March 30. After losing to Hillsboro twice last year, the Lady Panthers scored a 2-1 victory over the Toppers, with Law scoring the go-ahead goal in the second half.

Panthers Top Hillsboro For Third

Last year, the Hillsboro and Litchfield girls soccer teams were slated to play for the championship of the 2023 Panther Classic, before Mother Nature put the kibosh on those plans. This Saturday, … more

4/1/24

Litchfield libero Amy Frerichs makes a diving save tokeep the ball aloft during the Panthers' pool play game against Vandalia at the Montgomery County Invitational Grace Tournament on Sept. 8. Litchfield went on to win that game in three sets and eventually finished sixth in the 16-team tournament.

Litchfield Sixth At Grace Tournament

The Litchfield High School volleyball team celebrated co-hosting the Montgomery County Invitational Grace Tournament on Friday, Sept. 8, by doubling their season win total. The Panthers, who … more

9/11/23

After setting school records in rushing yards, touchdowns and points scored, A.J. Sypherd was selected to the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Class 3A all-state team.

Sypherd Earns All-State Honors

After a record-breaking senior season, Litchfield’s Adam “A.J.” Sypherd earned one more accolade recently as he was named to the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association … more

11/20/23

Litchfield-Mt. Olive infielder Alyssa Aubuschon scoops a grounder during the Panthers' game with Greenville on Friday, March 29. The hosts held the Comets to just three runs, but a stellar outing from Greenville's Kaitlyn Lurkins silenced Litchfield's bats and gave the visitors a 3-1 win.

Lady Panthers Beat Rams, Fall To Comets

The Litchfield-Mt. Olive softball team picked up their second win of the season on Wednesday, March 27, as they defeated Ramsey 13-4 on the Rams’ home field. The two teams were tied at 0-0 … more

4/1/24

Birds Fly Past Purple Panthers In Season Finale

Heading into the postseason, what better way to prepare for the big games ahead than to have a big game to finish the season. For Litchfield, that big game took place in Piasa on Thursday, Feb. 16, … more

2/20/24

Litchfield Learning At Waverly

The 2023-24 season is going to be a learning process for the Litchfield girls basketball team and their new head coach, Evan Malloy. While the Panthers are still in search of their first win this … more

11/20/23

Litchfield's Chloe Law hit the post on this shot late in the Panthers' home game against Metro-East Lutheran on Monday, April 8, but the sophomore made two other goals earlier as Litchfield came away with a 7-0 victory over the Knights.

Litchfield Blanks Knights 7-0

In their first six games of the season, the Litchfield girls soccer team had an unfortunate pattern going. The Panthers defeated Jerseyville, but then lost their next two games. Then they beat … more

4/11/24

Lincolnwood 2nd, Litchfield 6th At Terry Park

The Lincolnwood and Litchfield girls golf teams competed in the 2023 Lady Viper Invite at Terry Park Golf Course on Saturday, Sept. 9. The Lady Lancers finished second on the day with a 415, while … more

9/11/23

Litchfield senior Anthony Bader earned first team all-conference honors this past year, his second straight selection after being a second team pick last year as a junior.

Panthers, Toppers Get Seven Each On All-SCC

A round of penalty kicks was the only difference between the Litchfield and Hillsboro boys soccer teams in conference play so it was fitting that the two teams tied for the most players on this … more

11/2/23

Litchfield Bounces Back At North Mac

After losing a heartbreaker to Lincolnwood on Saturday in their second game at the Kickoff Classic on Rt. 66, the Litchfield boys soccer team looked to bounce back on Tuesday, Aug. 29, with a win … more

8/31/23

Litchfield’s Bella Lueken watches from third base as Lincolnwood pitcher Taryn Clarke prepares to bring her delivery to the plate in the sixth inning of the game in Litchfield on Monday, April 8. Clarke only allowed two earned runs in the game, but Litchfield picked up a 5-1 win over the visitors from Montgomery County’s panhandle.

Purple Panthers Hold Off Lincolnwood

Litchfield’s Laynie Wyatt struck out 10 and held Lincolnwood to three hits as the Lady Panthers scored a 5-1 win over the Lancers. The only blip for the Panthers came in the second inning, … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 4/11/24

Nokomis' Natalie Brownback (#12) shadows Chloe Law (#5) as the Litchfield sophomore brings the ball down the court in the season opener for both teams on Tuesday, Nov. 14. Sporting a mask due to a broken nose suffered during volleyball, Brownback played like a super hero in the first half, scoring 12 of her 14 points to give the Lady Redskins a 33-9 halftime lead en route to a 62-16 victory over the Purple Panthers.

Nokomis Knocks Off Litchfield In Debut

Thirteen different players combined for 70 points when the Litchfield and Nokomis girls basketball teams opened up the 2022-23 season on Nov. 15 in Nokomis. One year later, just three of those … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 11/16/23

County Tournament Set For This Saturday

All eight Montgomery County baseball and softball teams will be in the same locale on Saturday, April 13, as the Hillsboro Sports Complex hosts the Montgomery County Baseball and Softball … more

4/11/24

North Mac Hands Litchfield First SCC Loss

After all the ups and downs for the Purple Panthers, it would not be complete without a speed bump in the last week of the season. Needing just one win in their last two games to be the outright … more

2/15/24

Litchfield's Max Leitschuh works to haul down Greenville running back Carson Bearley during the Panthers' week four match-up with the Comets on Sept. 15. Litchfield put a scare into the undefeated Comets, trailing just 28-20 going into the fourth quarter, before Greenville held on for a 34-20 victory.

Panthers Nearly Steal One From Greenville

The year was 2003 and Litchfield and Greenville would be set for a week eight match-up. Litchfield suffered their first loss of the season the week before and carried a 6-1 record into the contest, … more

9/18/23

Single Lets Piasa Birds Walk It Off Against Litchfield

A four-run fifth inning and a walk-off single in the seventh by Southwestern kept the Litchfield-Mt. Olive softball team from a win in their conference opener on Tuesday, April 9, as the Piasa Birds … more

4/11/24

Lady Panthers Notch First Win

The Litchfield Lady Panthers picked up their first win of the young season at Maryville on Aug. 28, but it was not without a bit of drama. The two teams met at Litchfield last year and the … more

8/31/23

Litchfield Picks Up Two More Victories

The Litchfield boys soccer team improved to 9-2 overall and 4-0 in the South Central Conference this week as they picked up a pair of wins over Pana and Metro-East Lutheran on the road. The … more

9/18/23