Former East Aurora Teacher Charged With Sending "Inappropriate" Photos to Student

Kelly K. Miller, a former teacher at East High, was charged Wednesday with sexual exploitation of a child, Aurora police said.

Tomcats Fall On Penalty Kick In OT

Deerfield edges East Aurora 1-0 in Pepsi Showdown.

East Aurora assistant coach Sergio Rodriguez will probably remember his latest birthday for some time, but the memories will not all be happy ones. Filling in for head coach Jason Rollins, who was out of town, Rodriguez skippered the second-seeded Tomcats in second-round action of the Pepsi Showdown on Thursday night in Aurora. But a wild sequence in overtime of a scoreless game ended up with No. 15 Deerfield scoring on a penalty kick and leaving with a 1-0 triumph and a berth in Saturday's quarterfinals. After blasting Glenbard South 5-0 on Tuesday, the East Aurora offense never really got going against the Warriors (7-1) and the two teams played to a scoreless draw for 80 minutes of regulation and almost five minutes of the first sudden-…

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Yorkville Makes Easy Work of East Aurora

Foxes start season 2-0

The Yorkville Foxes improved to 2-0 with a 42-6 victory over East Aurora on Friday night at Roy E. Davis Field. Seniors Nick Gillette (quarterback), Ilir Emini (receiver, kicker) and Neil O'Brien (tailback) spearheaded the way for the Foxes. Gillette scored on a three-yard plunge off the right side of the line with 8:28 left in the second quarter. Yorkville coach Karl Hoinkes explained the need to establish the run. "It is good for us to do that," Hoinkes said. "We are not a speedy, flashy team. We are kind of solid, up front and our running backs are running real well." Then Gillette hit Emini with a 19-yard pass at the 4:44 mark of the second to make the score 14-0 at halftime. "My friend and teammate — the other receiver starter, Cody …

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Jillian Duchnowski

8:36 am on Tuesday, September 6, 2011

I'm not sure it's fair to say no one's interested in the sophomore teams. But, it is true that as editors, we have only so much time to do our jobs (and only so many reporters, for that matter.) Christine, I'm not sure which town you're from, but please feel free to e-mail me at jillian.duchnowski@patch.com and perhaps we can find a way to throw a little attention the sophomores' way.   more ›

Girls Soccer: West Rolls To Win Over East

West Aurora 5, East Aurora 1. West freshman Sammie O'Brien provides two assists off of her flip-throw and adds a goal in the win.

AURORA – From the first time that West Aurora freshman Sammie O’Brien saw a girl utilize a flip-throw on a throw-in, she knew she wanted to try it. “The first time I did it, I knocked the wind out of myself, but I kept trying and the next thing you know, I was getting better and better at it,” said O’Brien, who said she has done gymnastics since the age of two. Now a pivotal part of the Blackhawks’ varsity girls soccer team as a freshman, that weapon was on display in Saturday’s 5-1 win over cross-town rival East Aurora. She set up fellow freshman Reilly Kulakowski for West’s first two goals and then O’Brien scored the third goal as the Blackhawks (4-4) exploded to five goals in the first 34 minutes of the game. “I wish we would finish …

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Boys Basketball: End of the Road for Boatright, Tomcats

Glenbard East 80, East Aurora 62. East Aurora's run ends in the sectional finals, wrapping up the stellar four-year career of Ryan Boatright.

AURORA – With his standout high school career just having ended steps away from the locker room, East Aurora senior Ryan Boatright donned a symbol of his future Friday. The Tomcats’ season, and Boatright’s electrifying career, had just ended with an 80-62 loss to Glenbard East in the Class 4A East Aurora Sectional title game. Boatright addressed the media in a UConn T-shirt, where he hopes to write the next chapter of his career, while still processing the end of this stanza. “It’s heartbreaking,” Boatright said. “I feel it now. I loved my career here. I felt like I had a great career here, a lot of great teammates. I’m from the east side of Aurora, and I’ll never forget where I came from.” As usual, Boatright did his best to deliver a win…

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Video: Boatright Puts On Another Show

East Aurora senior Ryan Boatright led the Tomcats to the sectional finals with 29 points Tuesday. They knocked off the state's top-ranked team, Benet.

East Aurora senior Ryan Boatright has been making headlines since he was in eighth grade, but before heading off to UConn for his college career, he still has dreams of leading the Tomcats to the state tournament. Those dreams remain intact after Tuesday's 60-52 Class 4A East Aurora Sectional semifinal win over previously unbeaten Benet. Boatright scored 29 points in the win, several coming in highlight fashion.

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Boys Basketball: Boatright, Tomcats Knock Off Top-Ranked Benet

East Aurora 60, Benet 52. Behind 29 points from Ryan Boatright, the Tomcats end Benet's unbeaten run at 29-1 and reach the sectional title game for the first time in seven years.

AURORA – East Aurora senior Ryan Boatright has had visions of leading the Tomcats to the state tournament, which hasn’t happened since his father Mike McCallister’s senior year in 1992, for four years. Facing the state’s top-ranked team, 29-0 Benet Academy, was not going to faze him with his high school career on the line in Tuesday’s Class 4A East Aurora Sectional semifinal. The UConn recruit put on another dazzling show, leading the Tomcats to a 60-52 win by pouring in a game-high 29 points. The fourth-seeded Tomcats will face either Downers Grove South or Glenbard East in Friday’s sectional title game. “I want to fulfill my dream of going to state,” Boatright said. “We knew we couldn’t get over hyped because we were playing the No. 1 …

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Montgomery VFW Post Holds Voice of Democracy Contest

VFW Post 7452 gives $1,900 in savings bonds to eight high school students, winners of its annual essay competition.

What is democracy? For 65 years, the Montgomery post of Veterans of Foreign Wars has been asking this question of local teens. They call it the Voice of Democracy Scholarship Competition, and this week, they did it again, giving a total of $1,900 in U.S. savings bonds to eight Aurora high school students. The VFW works with two Aurora high schools—East Aurora High and Aurora Central Catholic High. About 30 students from those two schools entered this year’s contest, composing essays on the following theme: “Does my generation have a role in America’s future?” Four winners from each school were chosen. Senior Kayla Goodman of East Aurora and junior Kaylee Hoffner of Aurora Central Catholic won first place, and each received a $500 bond. …

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Stan Bond

11:31 pm on Sunday, March 27, 2011

I was a winner of this competition way back in 1966. The essay was "What Democracy Means To Me." I still have the publicity photo and the medal 45 years later. I spent the money for college. This is a great program of both the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I applaud them for conducting the program these many years. Congrats to this year's winners!   more ›

Boys Basketball: Tomcats Advance Thanks To Role Players

East Aurora 67, Plainfield North 54. East Aurora star Ryan Boatright is held to a season low 13, but the Tomcats advance in regionals thanks to Johnson, Williams.

BOLINGBROOK – People have become so used to East Aurora senior Ryan Boatright scoring over 30 points per game this season that it seems like an afterthought. But as the Tomcats opened their quest for their first state tournament berth since 1992 Tuesday in the Class 4A Bolingbrook Regional semifinals against Plainfield North, they caught a glimpse of what life is like when Boatright doesn’t score at his normal clip. Boatright was held to a season-low 13 points on 5-of-21 shooting from the field, and second leading scorer Snoop Viser sat out with a sprained ankle. But East was able to cruise to 67-54 win regardless thanks to contributions from the likes of Domonique Johnson and John Williams. Williams scored a game-high 21 points and …

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Wrestling: Drendel Rolls To State Unbeaten

West Aurora senior will take his 38-0 record to the IHSA state tournament in Champaign next weekend.

DOWNERS GROVE–West Aurora senior wrestler Nicholas Drendel’s goal coming into the season was to win every match he was in and eventually win the state championship. After winning the 125-pound title at Saturday’s Class 3A Downers Grove North Sectional, he has the first part of the equation taken care of. Next weekend at Assembly Hall in Champaign, he has a chance to complete the goal. Drendel (38-0) was his usual dominant self, pinning DeKalb’s Doug Johnson (38-3) in a mere 1:37 in the finals Saturday. “My goal is to win every match I can,” Drendel said. “I feel just as good as I ever do. The way I see it, nothing else matters at this point. This is the end of the time that I have.” In the finals, Drendel leaned on his extensive Greco-…

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