Tolly Tsiamas has been part of a few long road trips during his time as Peotone football coach.
The Blue Devils have played in Indiana, and went to Quincy Notre Dame for a playoff game.
But they hadn’t taken a trip quite like the one they made to the St. Louis area for their season opener on Aug. 29.
At 11 a.m., the team got on a bus for the 255-mile ride to Granite City. They returned to the school 14 hours later after cruising to a 48-7 win.
As one might expect, a lot of planning went into the trip.
“We talked about it since (early) August on what (the players) should be doing leading up to the game,” Tsiamas said. “We had a lot of parents who pitched in. … If you ask the kids, I think they’d say they really enjoyed the trip, getting in a coach bus, being pampered with food and drink. …
“It was a cool little experience for us.”
As for the game, the Blue Devils dominated. Though their enrollment of 421 is less than a quarter of Granite City’s 1,711, the odds favored Peotone. The Devils have made the IHSA playoffs every year they’ve been held since 2019, while Granite City has won just one game since 2019.
Peotone dominated on both sides of the ball, forcing five turnovers and running the ball effectively.
Tommy Raschke had two interceptions and scored a touchdown, while Tucker Cain scored three TDs and Eli Chenoweth added a pair of scores. Alex Chenoweth also had a TD.
Cain ran 12 times for 118 yards, Raschke had seven carries for 63 yards and Eli Chenoweth finished with six carries for 51 yards.
“Tucker … stepped up in a big way,” Tsiamas said.
The Blue Devils will face a stiffer test on Sept. 5 when they host Marengo (1-0), a Class 4A playoff qualifier last season, in their home opener. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Manteno 54, Sandwich 30: Tyler Buehler ran the opening kickoff back 60 yards for a touchdown, quarterback Connor Harrod raced 96 yards for a TD and the Panthers never trailed en route to winning their opener on the road.
Manteno piled up 382 rushing yards as Harrod led the way with 13 carries for 196 yards and four TDs. He also passed for 53 yards.
Nick Honkisz added 18 carries for 186 yards and three scores for the Panthers, who led 34-14 at halftime. Sandwich cut the deficit to 40-30 in the fourth quarter before Manteno pulled away.
Franklin Jordan and Jacob Boeschel had 10 tackles each to pace the Panthers’ defense.
Manteno opens its home schedule at 7 p.m. Sept. 5 against Plano.
Richards 51, Crete-Monee 41: The Warriors dropped a high-scoring opener on the road despite gaining 473 total yards.
Quarterback Derrin Couch was 21-of-35 passing for 261 yards and three touchdowns with four interceptions. He also ran for 73 yards and a TD.
Dorian Patterson had eight catches for 66 yards and a score, and also ran back a kickoff 86 yards for a TD. D’Arion Yarbrough had four catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns.
Trevon Williams was Crete’s top rusher with 10 carries for 84 yards and a TD.
The Warriors play at Bradley-Bourbonnais on Sept. 5, with kickoff set for 7.