UTHS Football is eager for upcoming season

Energy is high at United Township as the Panthers get ready to begin the season. "I feel like we've been working hard all summer, all winter, all offseason with the workouts and everything. We really have expanded on that standard," said Leo Sim, a United Township senior. "It's been fun to watch this group, ya know, come together as a team, watching leadership emerge, and guys take ownership of our destiny," said Nick Welch, United Township football's head coach. "We always talk about the best teams are players-led, not coaches-led. So watching that leadership emerge and who is going to be that voice." United Township is coming off of its first playoff appearance in 24 years, but the program is not satisfied. "I think (the playoffs) gave everyone a morale boost. It set the expectation higher for everyone, and I think we just need to live up to that," said Jonathan Drake, a United Township senior. "(The playoffs last year) raised the standard for our program. Ya know, everybody wanted more, it brought more people into the stands. Ya know, it really raised everything around here. It brought more focus to our football team and it really raised the excitement for this season as well," Sim said. The 2026 Panthers are looking to write their own story. "Ya know, the best thing about making the playoffs last year is that we don't need to talk about it anymore," Welch said. "There's no, 'Let's be that team, let's be that team.' We already did it and now we want more. I think if you talk with anybody who came back from last year we felt like we left some meat on the bone, and I know our class of 2026 felt that a little bit. Our goals and aspirations are bigger than that. We don't just want to be there, we want to stay there." The first chapter in United Township's season is on Friday night inside the Soule Bowl against Wheaton Academy. 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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.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 WHBF - OurQuadCities.com.