Lena-Winslow’s traditional NUIC football rivals have faded into the background. Forreston, winner of three state football titles since 2014, is 1-4 and headed toward its first losing season in 15 years. Dakota, which won three state titles between 2005 and 2011, is 0-5 and needs to split its last two games just to tie its worst record of the last 44 years.
That leaves Durand/Pecatonica, the new kid on the block.
Du/Pec didn’t arrive as a contender until 2019. Before that, Durand had seven consecutive losing seasons and Pecatonica had dropped football. Now Du/Pec vs. Le-Win has decided the NUIC title four years in a row.
“Being able to have the success we have had is big to both communities,” Du/Pec coach Tyler Hoffman said of Durand and Pecatonica. "There is a sense of excitement now from both communities, regardless of where you go to school.”
More: Check out some of the breakout football stars from the Rockford area so far this season
Friday’s game — as usual — is probably bigger for Du/Pec (5-0) than Le-Win (5-0). This is Du/Pec’s only shot at the Panthers, who have traditionally had to go through the other NUIC powers to win one of their six Class 1A state titles since 2010. Du/Pec plays in 3A, where it has little hope of a state title. Last year the Rivermen reached the third round for the first time, where they lost 63-15 to eventual state champ Byron. This year, early playoff predictions have them playing Lombard Montini in the first round, the annual power that almost beat Byron in the semifinals last year.
Du/Pec’s one title since its rise as a small-school football power came when it beat Le-Win 24-20 three years ago. It was almost two wins, but Le-Win scored on the last play of the game to win 24-21 during the COVID year on a play so close that officials hesitated before signaling touchdown and even the Panther who scored said he wasn’t sure he crossed the goal line.
Hoffman never questions the call. He uses that game to drive the Rivermen today, blaming a blocked punt that Le-Win returned for a touchdown with 4 minutes left, not the final play.
“We should never have been in that position,” Hoffman said. “Kudos to them for being resilient all the way to the end. That was a huge learning lesson for us. They are going to fight all the way to the end and we have to be ready for that. The following year, it paid dividends (when Du/Pec won 24-20).
“That game taught us we have to make sure we play a full four quarters, because God knows, they are going to.”
Le-Win has won four of the last six Class 1A state titles and finished second last year. The Panthers have averaged less than one loss per season the last eight years (87-6). Du/Pec, quarterbacked by Hoffman’s two sons, has been the top passing team in the NUIC in recent years. This year, the Rivermen are running better than ever, rushing for 410 yards last week.
More: Rockford football takeaways: Harlem's history of odd titles, Hononegah reacts to forfeit
“We have the ability to be balanced if we want to,” Hoffman said, “but if the run game is there, it doesn’t make sense to put the ball in the air if we don’t need to.”
They will need to Friday.
Le-Win may be the 1A school in this matchup, but the Panthers are still the bully of the NUIC, a team that can outmuscle anyone close to its size.
The question isn’t whether Le-Win can hold up against anyone’s run game. It’s whether the Panthers, with more than 250 career wins under Ric Arand, can dominate against a team as good at both running and passing as Du/Pec.
“What Coach Arand and his staff have done is just awesome, reloading year after year,” Hoffman said. “I don’t know if we think we can go toe-to-toe with them. Trying to run through Lena is like trying to run through a brick wall.
“We’re going to have to catch some breaks. But one thing we have over most teams in the conference is our versatility.”
Matt Trowbridge is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at mtrowbridge@rrstar.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @MattTrowbridge.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: NUIC title once again comes down to Durand/Pecatonica vs. Lena-Winslow: Keys to the game
Local News
Comments / 0