Litchfield High Sports | The Journal-News

Lady Cavaliers Get Litchfield In Overtime

It is customary for graduating seniors to be recognized at one of the last home games of the season. Litchfield’s “senior night” was Feb. 6, and one would have expected to … more

2/13/23

The three senior members of the Litchfield High School girls basketball team were honored along with their parents on Monday, Feb. 6, prior to the Lady Panthers’ 38-16 win over Southwestern. Pictured from the left are Laura Boston, daughter of Deanna and Chris Boston; Hailey Rentz, daughter of Karen and Craig Rentz; and Emma Walch, daughter of Dawn and Curt Walch.

Litchfield Scores Win On Senior Night

The Litchfield Lady Panthers celebrated “senior night” on Feb. 6 and prior to the tip-off, the three graduating seniors, Laura Boston, Hailey Rentz and Emma Walch, were introduced and … more

2/9/23

Miners Battle Back To Beat Purple Panthers

Since 2010, the Litchfield Purple Panthers have had the upper hand over the Gillespie Miners on the hardwood. In the 23 meetings between the two schools, Litchfield has knocked off Gillespie 14 … more

2/9/23

Litchfield's Keenan Powell (left) tries to chase down Hillsboro's Will Christian in the second half of the match-up between the Toppers and Purple Panthers on Friday, Feb. 3. Both players led their respective teams in scoring (Powell had 19, Christian had 25), but it was Hillsboro who pulled away with the 76-45 win.

Hillsboro Upends Purple Panthers

When Litchfield came to the Hillsboro gym Friday evening, Feb. 3, history was slightly in Hillsboro’s favor; it was game number 275 between the two basketball teams, and Hillsboro had claimed … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 2/6/23

Litchfield's Matthew Boyd checks the official to see if he's got the pin during his 120-pound match with Aiden Dalby of Mt. Zion on Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Auburn Regional. Boyd got the pin over Dalby, finished fourth at the regional and will be an alternate at the Carterville Sectional on Feb. 10-11.

Powell, Moore Take Regional Titles At 106, 113

It’s not that the last three months haven’t counted, but for the Litchfield High School wrestling team, the real season started on Saturday, Feb. 4, at the IHSA Class 1A Auburn … more

2/6/23

Litchfield's Chloe Law (#14) and Greenville's Emma Veith (#12) try to track down a loose ball during the South Central Conference clash on Thursday, Feb. 2. Veith had a big night for the Comets, scoring 24 points in Greenville's 51-29 win over the Purple Panthers.

Veith’s 24 Leads Comets Past Litchfield

Greenville came into their conference game against Litchfield on Feb. 2 sitting pretty in the South Central Conference at 5-1, but the race for the conference title is about to get … more

2/6/23

Litchfield's Gina Painter tries to get the ball past Lincolnwood defenders Taylor Lush (left) and Haelee Damm (right) and to teammate Laura Boston during the county clash between the two teams on Tuesday, Jan. 31. Painter and Boston accounted for 23 of Litchfield's 50 points as the Panthers used their presence in the post to win 50-24.

Lady Panthers Post Victory Over Lancers

The Litchfield girls basketball team picked up their ninth victory of the season on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at the expense of their former co-op partner, Lincolnwood, by a 50-24 final score. Abby … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 2/2/23

Roadrunners End Braves' Bid For IESA State Spot

The clock struck midnight on the Nokomis seventh grade boys basketball team's Cinderella run on Monday, Jan. 30, as the Braves fell to Dieterich in the St. Elmo Sectional. The third seed in the … more

2/2/23

Sporting his trademark fedora for the medal ceremony, Litchfield senior Alex Powell won the 113 pound weight class at the Rich Lovellette Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 28.

Powell Snags Elusive Lovellette Title

Since 2014, the Powell brothers have accomplished a lot as members of the Litchfield High School wrestling team. They’ve made it to state, they’ve posted nearly 400 wins between the three … more

1/30/23

Panthers Step Up To Shoot Down Cavaliers

Entering Friday night’s contest against Carlinville, the Litchfield Purple Panthers have played the same opponent twice four different times this season. In those contests the Purple … more

1/30/23

Panthers Third At Strength Of The South

The Litchfield High School wrestling team picked up two wins and third place at the Strength of the South Dual Team Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 21, at Richland County High School in Olney. The … more

1/30/23

Pana Knocks Off Litchfield By Sixteen

A defensive-minded Pana team applied enough pressure to force Litchfield into numerous turnovers in a South Central Conference match-up at Litchfield on Tuesday, Jan. 26. The miscues allowed the … more

1/30/23

Saints Score Win Over Panthers In Rematch

In their first meeting, the Litchfield Purple Panthers and the Calvary Saints put on a show for fans at the Riverton Thanksgiving Tournament in the second game of the season for both teams. Nearly … more

1/26/23

Taylorville Too Tough For Lady Panthers

It was going to be a tall task for the Litchfield Lady Panthers to stay with Taylorville on their home court on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and Coach Hayden Eldred’s Lady Tornadoes didn’t waste any … more

1/26/23

Litchfield's Tate Dobrinich (#5), shown here during the Purple Panthers' ninth place bracket semifinal against Pana, had 26 points in his team's 68-44 victory over Ramsey in the 11th place game of the Rick McGraw Memorial Invitational on Friday, Jan. 20, in Litchfield.

Win Snaps Panthers' Losing Skid

Playing in the 11th place game was not the spot Litchfield wanted to be to end the Rick McGraw Memorial Invitational, but after dropping their first three games, that’s where the Purple … more

1/23/23

Pana Avenges Early Loss To Litchfield

If there was a reset button on the Litchfield boys basketball season, that button would have been pushed in the first few weeks of 2023. After finishing the 2022 portion of their season … more

1/23/23

Boston, Painter Lead Panthers To Eighth Win

The Litchfield Lady Panthers have begun the new year with wins in four of their last five games, the latest being a 40-37 road win over East Alton-Wood River on Jan. 19. Coach Rob … more

1/23/23

Eleven players from seven teams earned all-tournament recognition for their play at the 2023 Rick McGraw Memorial Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 21, in Litchfield. Above, from the left, are Aydin Hitt, Jake Stewart and McGrady Noyes, the tournament's MVP, from champion Triad; Sam Buckley and Adam Ogden from second place Civic Memorial; and the tournament's leading scorer with 94 points in four games, Will Christian of seventh place Hillsboro. Below are Elijah Aumann from fifth place Nokomis; Drake Howard from fourth place Taylorville; Landen Moss and Kaleb Gardner from third place Greenville and Christian Larson from sixth place Mattoon.

Triad Takes The Title At McGraw Invitational

All three Montgomery County boys basketball teams who participated in the 2023 Rick McGraw Memorial Invitational won their final games at the 12-team Litchfield tournament, so it was only appropriate … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 1/23/23

Marquette JV Picks Up Win Over Litchfield

Hosting a party is not always a fun time for the host, and that falls true when it comes to the annual Rick McGraw Memorial Invitational Tournament. It has been nine years since Litchfield has … more

1/19/23

Comets Beat Panthers To Move To Title Bracket

After dropping a heartbreaker on Monday night, the Litchfield boys basketball team continued action in the the Rick McGraw Memorial Invitational Tournament on Tuesday night, Jan. 17, as they would … more

1/19/23