Coal City Courant

WHS cheer team qualifies for final round

Published by admin on Fri, 02/06/2026 - 2:47pm

The Wilmington competitive cheer team is the only one of three teams that will advance to the state finals on Saturday, finishing eighth in the preliminary round of the IHSA Class 1A State Cheerleading Competition at Grossinger Auto Arena in Bloomington.

Wilmington posted a score of 88.10, good enough to land inside the top 10 and earn one of the coveted advancing spots to Saturday's final round, where teams will compete for a possible state trophy. Only the top 10 teams from Friday's preliminaries advance.

Coal City rolls to ICE Conference title

Published by admin on Tue, 01/27/2026 - 3:28pm

The Coal City wrestling team captured the ICE Conference Tournament title Saturday at Coal City with championships in 10 weight classes and overwhelming depth throughout the lineup,
The Coalers finished with 276.5 points, easily outdistancing runner-up Braidwood (Reed-Custer) with 112.0. Herscher placed third with 94.0 points, followed by Lisle (82.5), Wilmington (50.0), Manteno (48.5), Peotone (46.0) and Streator (20.5).

Free Throw Contest open to area boys and girls

Published by admin on Tue, 01/20/2026 - 3:45pm

All boys and girls ages 9 through 14 are invited to participate in the local level of competition of the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship.
The Wilmington Knights of Columbus #11149 will host the local contest on Saturday, Jan. 24. Registration will be 8:30 a.m. and competition will begin at 9 a.m. in the St. Rose Parish gymnasium, 626 S. Kankakee St., Wilmington.
All young people, not in another local contest, are invited to participate. Each will vy for the best of 15 consecutive free throws.

IHSA Board calls special meeting of Legislative Commission to address 2026 football start date

Published by admin on Thu, 01/15/2026 - 10:02am

During its meeting on January 14, 2026, the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Board of Directors approved action for Board President Dan Tully to call a special meeting of the IHSA’s Legislative Commission on January 27.

Coalers rule the Rumble

Published by admin on Wed, 12/31/2025 - 2:33pm

The Coal City wrestling team won the 2025 Abe's Rumble trophy on Tuesday in Springfield, finishing 9-0 to claim their 4th Abe's Rumble Dual team title.

Jake Munsterman, Owen Petersen, Cooper Morris, Luke Munstersman, Max Christensen, Aidan Kenney, and Mason Garner all went 8-0 while Noah Houston went 7-0.

They improve to 32-0 and will wrestle at the Princeton Invitational Tournament January 9-10.

IHSA expands football playoffs to 384 teams

Published by admin on Wed, 12/17/2025 - 12:13pm

Several significant changes have been approved by members of the Illinois High School Association, including expansion of the Football Playoffs from 32 teams per class to 48 teams per class, increasing the number of total playoff qualifiers from 256 qualifiers to 384 in 2026.

There are no changes to the number of playoff classes in football, which remains at eight. The season start date remains the same (August 10 in 2026), but the first regular-season games will be played one week earlier (August 20 in 2026), eliminating the Week Zero scrimmage.

Coal City soccer caps historic season with a state trophy

Published by admin on Tue, 11/11/2025 - 3:06pm

The Coalers achieved a milestone in program history Friday, capturing third place during the 2025 IHSA Class 1A Boys Soccer State Finals.
After a tough semifinal loss to Mendota on Thursday night, they bounced back with a dominant 6-1 victory over the Chicago Academy Cougars on Friday at Hoffman Estates High School.
Coal City finishes with a 24-4 record. Their defensive performance stood out: entering the third-place game, they had allowed only 14 goals in 28 games (about 0.5 goals per game).

Coalers-Dixon to 'duke' it out again

Published by admin on Tue, 11/04/2025 - 1:06pm

One team has averaged 50.1 points per game while allowing just 7.1.
The other has averaged 43.7 while giving up just 12.3.
Sounds like quite the recipe for a playoff battle and for the second consecutive year, the Coalers will face Dixon in the playoffs, but this time it's on the road Friday night at 7.
The Dukes play in the always tough Big Northern conference where four teams made the playoffs. Their lone loss was to unbeaten Byron 28-7 in week two and they faced little resistance from Woodstock North in the opening round, winning 45-0.

Playoffs tickets for Friday can be bought in advance

Published by admin on Tue, 11/04/2025 - 1:04pm

The Coalers will travel to Dixon on Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff in Round 2 of the IHSA Football Playoffs. The school is located at 300 Lincoln Statue Drive, Dixon.
Coalers fans attending the game should park in the bus parking lot located adjacent to Peoria Avenue and enter through the back gate. After parking, walk down the alley and through the drop-off lot.
The back ticket gate is located in the southwest corner of the drop-off lot.
There is construction near the school that could limit parking in the area. So fans are encouraged to carpool.

Buy playoff tickets in advance

Published by admin on Tue, 10/28/2025 - 4:11pm

Tickets for Saturday’s 4 p.m. IHSA 4A Playoff game between Coal City and Sterling are now on sale. GoFan tickets can be purchased using the link below: https://gofan.co/event/5183042?schoolId=IHSA
Tickets are also available in the CCHS Main Office this week from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. All fans are asked to purchase their tickets in advance prior to Saturday’s game.