El Paso-Gridley wins state-ranked battle against Tri-Valley, stays undefeated

EL PASO — Two top-five teams in Class 2A battled under the bright lights in El Paso on Friday night. It was the perfect small school football scene on a mid-September night as fans of No. 2 El Paso-Gridley and No. 4 Tri-Valley packed the stands to see their undefeated team go up against another undefeated squad. Heart of Central Illinois Large Conference title implications were on the line. The host Titans proved their strength with 21 unanswered points after halftime to defeat the Vikings 28-7 and move to 5-0 on the season. “We realized it’s going to be a...