Manteno, like most teams, is not interested in moral victories.
“No loss is a good loss,” Panthers coach RJ Haines said.
But all in all, a 30-13 home defeat against Class 2A top-ranked Wilmington on Sept. 18 wasn’t a complete downer.
“Considering how it’s (gone) traditionally with Wilmington, I feel pretty good about our effort,” Haines said.
The Panthers (4-1, 2-1 Illinois Central Eight) were down just 16-7 after three quarters and were within 23-13 before the Wildcats (5-0, 3-0) scored late.
Quarterback Logan Bufford had two touchdown runs for Manteno, a 34-yarder in the first quarter and a 4-yarder in the fourth.
Bufford had five carries for 25 yards and was 5 of 10 passing for 50 yards. Nick Honkisz led the Panthers’ ground game with seven carries for 50 yards and David Asher had four catches for 44 yards.
“Offensively, we just struggled at times,” Haines said. “We came up with a couple good drives but couldn’t string things together.”
Franklin Jordan paced Manteno’s defense with 12 tackles and 10 assists, while Honkisz had seven tackles, six assists and a tackle for loss.
“Frank is our rock on defense,” Haines said.
The coach also praised the play of Carter Stell, who shifted from safety to outside linebacker: “He did a phenomenal job of playing off the edge.”
“They didn’t have any big, explosive runs,” Haines said. “The downside was they ate the clock.
“All in all, there’s definitely some positives we came out with.”
Manteno travels to Coal City for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Sept. 25.
Crete-Monee 27, Thornwood 8: Isaiah Jordan returned a fumble 82 yards for a touchdown to highlight a road win for Crete (4-1, 3-0 Southland).
The Warriors host Rich at 6 p.m. Sept. 25.
Peotone 42, Streator 0: Nick Cronin ran 15 times for 132 yards and three touchdowns as Peotone (4-1, 2-1 Illinois Central Eight) rolled to a road win on Sept. 18.
Declan McMaster had seven carries for 81 yards and a TD, Eli Chenoweth rushed six times for 41 yards and Alex Chenoweth added six runs for 23 yards and two scores. Alex Chenoweth also was 1 of 4 passing with a 40-yard completion to Anthony Cronin.
Nick Cronin led the Blue Devils’ defense with four tackles, eight assists and a tackle for loss.
Peotone hosts Reed-Custer at 7 p.m. Sept. 25.