Lena-Winslow looks to new blood to help lead them in 2026

LENA, Ill (WTVO/WQRF) — If you were to look up "consistency" in the dictionary, there should be a picture of the Lena-Winslow Panthers. The Panthers have made it to the State Championship game for the last 5 years in a row, winning 3 out of the 5. A feat that head coach Ric Arand says is all about the players and their leadership of each other. "It's really what takes place out on the field." Says Coach Arand, "It might be designed by us coaches, but everything else it's kind of been up to the kids. One group follows in the footsteps of the next, and we've always had good senior leadership, and the younger guys learn from them. When it's their turn to step up, they step up and lead as well as the group before them has." This year the leaders on the Panthers are going to have to work extra hard since Le-Win lost 17 seniors to graduation, leaving only 4 returning starters from last season. With a majority of them playing in the trenches, the group returning is using their chemistry together to their advantage. "It feels really good, you know, since the guys we have coming back, we are all really good friends," says senior lineman Gannon Dunker. "It's kind of nice to pick up right where we started from last year with how far along our chemistry is and stuff like that." The key players who graduated include Le-Win's dynamic duo of Alec Schlichting and Aiden Wild. Players that you cannot replace, but Coach Arand is hoping they have the ability to fill the shoes they left with the players they have now. "It's tough to replace them, but I think we have 5 or 6 guys that we can rotate in and out of there." Says Coach Arand. "We're not going to get the same production that we got out of them {Schlichting and Wild}. Hopefully these guys are up for the challenge because they're going to be seeing a lot of time back there." Two players to help fill in the shoes are Junior Merrick Mahon becoming the team's fullback to fill in for Aidan Wild, and Senior Ian Geisman slotting into the halfback slot for Alec Schlichting. Along with Senior Brendyn Smith taking over the quarterback role, a spot he is already familiar with. "He started a game for us at Rochelle, a big, big game for us last year, and came away with the W." Coach Arand explains. "So, he's got a little experience under his belt already." The Panthers kick off their season with two tough opponents in non-conference play, with them facing Lisle Benet Academy and Darlington High School from Wisconsin. Both teams will test what this Le-Win squad can do and get them ready for NUIC action. With Senior Vander Knoll saying, "The first two matchups are really hard, and we know that. We love a challenge over here. So it just makes it exciting, fuels the fire." Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO WQRF News, Weather and Sports.