South Beloit football gets victory #1 for the 2024 season

A partly clear cool first Friday night in September saw the South Beloit SOBOs notch their 1st victory of the 2024 football season. With about 250 fans in the stands and standing along the fence at the South Beloit Athletic Complex,  the SOBOs beat the Orangeville Broncos 42-20 on Friday, Sept. 6. 2024.

Not only was the victory the first for the SOBOs team but also Head Coach Josh Redieske got his first win as head coach of his alma mater.

The game didn't start great for South Beloit as Orangeville sophomore Hayden Schofield scored with less then a minute to go in the opening quarter. A missed 2-point conversion made the score 6-0 at the end of the 1st. South Beloit then gave Orangeville the ball back on downs. However, that's when South Beloit raised their ire and made a defensive stand to force a punt. That's when South Beloit senior Trudane Peterson (initial reports said junior Kayden Cook) blocked the punt and said thank you when he reached the end zone. South Beloit couldn't convert a 2-point attempt and we were tied at 6-6 with just over 8:30 before the half. An exchange of possessions between the teams saw South Beloit drive deep into Orangeville territory only to turn the ball over on a fumble. After two negative plays for Orangeville, they were forced to throw it up. When they did, it landed in SOBO senior Jacob Wilhite's's hands and he took it to the house from 68 yards out with just 20 seconds before halftime. A 2-point conversion for the SOBOs and we go into half 14-6 South Beloit.

After halftime it's as if the South Beloit SOBOs had a fire light under them. Two touchdowns in the 3rd quarter (one amazing bobbling, juggling Madden video game style catch by Cameron Meister and one short run by senior Trudane Peterson) made it 28-6 after three quarters.

While smelling the salty popcorn and listening on the benches to the Orangeville fans in the 4th quarter, you could almost feel the wind go out Orangeville. In the final quarter, the teams exchanged TDs which made you forget about the cold temps that were quickly coming on. When the final horn sounded, it was 42-20 South Beloit.

As I waited to talk with Coach Josh Redieske, I listened and watched as everyone spoke of the pride they had that an alumni came back to South Beloit and is leading the program. Coach Redieske spoke of his pride for the way his team responded after halftime and they way they work to become a team. They don't have starters -they have a rotation. He feels like they may have discovered a few things about themselves that they can now build on and maybe continue getting the wins.

Next up for South Beloit is a home game against River Ridge on Friday September 13, 2024 at 7 pm from the South Beloit Athletic Complex.

With the weather getting colder, don't forget to pick up your South Beloit SOBOs spiritwear. Right now they have their spiritwear store open. Click here to see the entire collection.

Thanks to Coach Josh Redieske for his time and for the South Beloit High School athletics team for access while I was on site for the game.

A self-described sports evangelist, Harold Bone is the Rockton-Roscoe News sports editor who is committed to finding stories behind-the-box scores and discovering engaging sports content. Harold has a background in many forms of media - everything from radio to TV. He has spent the last 25-plus years attending, following, and cheering for teams and athletes from the pros and colleges to local high schools and youth recreational leagues. Harold is passionate about creating engaging stories for athletes and sports fans in the Rockton/Roscoe/South Beloit, Illinois communities. Got a story idea? Contact Harold via email at harold@roscoenews.com and follow him on Twitter at @SPRTSEDRRNews.