10/11/2025
Bears lose heartbreaker at Homecoming
Pekin slips by 32-27
By Chris Faulkner
Beacon Sports
Danville's football team suffered a tough 32-27 loss in their Homecoming game against Pekin on Friday night, a game that saw several twists and turns in the second half.
Pekin claimed the Class A District 5 title and sits at 5-0, 7-0, with a week remaining.
The Bears fell to 4-1 in the district 5-2 overall, finishing at Wapello next week. Wapello (3-2, 5-2) lost to Van Buren County Friday, and a Bears' victory will give them second place and make them a likely host for the post-season opener.
In the final regular-season home game for the Bears, both teams had big pass plays, but both teams made big interceptions. Pekin had numerous fumbles that either stalled its offense or handed the ball to the home team.
It all came down to the final 1:47 of play, with Danville holding a slim 27-26.
Danville, from its own 15, on third and 10 and too much time left to take a knee, tried to throw for a first down.
But Pierce Coleman of Pekin intercepted Dillan Mason's pass and ran it in for a score at 1:27. The conversion attempt failed, but the Panthers now led 32-27 with 1:27 remaining.
Danville started its next drive at its own 27, and then Mason was sacked for 10 yards. But he threw a deep pass to Noah Horn, who was tackled at the Panthers' 23.
After three incomplete passes, the Bears had one more chance. But Mason was under pressure and about to be sacked when he released the ball in hopes it would find a teammate.
A Pekin player picked it off, and the Panthers were able to take a knee as time ran out.
Rough first half
Danville had been out of competitive play for two weeks because first Highland and then New London canceled their seasons.
Pekin dominated the first half. On the second series from scrimmage, the Panther scored on a 51-yard pass from Riley Smith to Henry Adam with 8:06 left in the first quarter. The conversion run made it 8-0, Pekin.
Danville went the entire first quarter without a first down, and Pekin made it 14-0 when Nolan Glick ran the ball seven times in a row on a 10-play drive, capping it with a two-yard TD run. The conversion pass failed. Only 11 seconds remained in the first quarter.
Hunter Hampton of Danville recovered a fumble, and Danville finally got its first first down in the ensuing drive, only to have to punt it away.
Pekin then took the ball from its own 4 to the Danville 16 in 13 plays covering 7 ½ minutes. Adam kicked a 34-yard field goal and Pekin led 17-0 with just 1:07 left in the half.
But Mason threw a nine-yard to Ty Frazier and one play later connected with Frazier for 42 yards.
Two incompletions and a quarterback sack after that, and with the clock running out right after the snap, Mason threw a 30-yard TD pass to Trevor Yaley, who was Danville's Homecoming king.
Yaley made the extra point, and it was 17-7, Pekin, at halftime.
Better second half
Danville took the opening kickoff of the second half and 10 plays later, Mason threw a 29-yard pass to Frazier. The extra-point attempt was blocked, keeping the score at 17-13 with nine minutes left in the third quarter.
Danville's Noah Horn intercepted Smith's pass and ran it just five yards in to put the Bears up, 20-17, following Yaley's extra point.
Frazier made an interception on Pekin's next series, and two plays later, Mason ran a single yard to make it 26-17, and Yaley's kick made it 27-17.
But the game was far from over. Smith threw a 58-yard touchdown pass with just 1:13 left in the third quarter, and Adam's extra point cut Danville's lead to 27-24.
Early in the fourth quarter, Glick fumbled the ball, and Drake Bielser recovered for the Bears. It was the fifth fumble for the Panthers.
Pekin went on another long drive but found itself with fourth-and-five at the Danville 20.
Frazier intercepted the Smith pass by the end zone, but was tackled, and Danville faced first-and-10 on its own 3.
Pekin earned a safety with a sack on the next play, making it 27-26 with 3:39 left in the game.
But the Panthers, who started on the Danville 38 after the Bears' free kick, gave up the ball on fourth-and-nine on the Danville 15.
That's when Pekin's Coleman took an interception in for a score, going ahead again and holding on to win.
Mason threw 8 of 23 for 149 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Frazier caught four passes for 87 yards, and Yaley caught three passes for 58.
Too many mistakes
“We didn't play very well at all in the first half, and then we were able to stay in it with the drive there going into the half," Danville coach Cody Thompson said.
“Then we came out hot in the second half."
But down the stretch, Thompson said, “We made one too many mistakes. It's kind of been a thread for us this season: We get in our own way, and we beat ourselves.”
Thompson said he didn't think Pekin did anything special, but the Panthers played hard. “They've got some really good players, but we just made too many mistakes.
“Part of that is on us,” he said of the coaching staff, and, for the players, “We've got to execute a little better.”
Even with the two-week layoff and the bad start, “We've got to be able to finish.”
Photos by Chris Faulkner
