Pork and Pigskins first round voting is underway

WJBC’s Scott Miller with the A-Train concession group at Normal Community High School, last year’s state champions. (Scott Miller/WJBC)

By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – First round voting to find the state’s best pork chop sandwich is underway in the Illinois High School Association’s and Illinois Pork Producers Association’s (IPPA) Pork and Pigskins Championship.

58 contenders will look to advance out of the first round into the Savory 16.

Voting is currently open online here. First round voting closes on Thursday, Sept. 15.

Several schools from across central Illinois have entered the competition, including the defending state champions from Normal Community High School, the A-Train concession group.

Once the Savory 16 field is set, guest judges will flock to games around the state to sample the fare. The state champion will be announced on Oct. 22 and then recognized at the 2022 IHSA Football State Championships on Nov. 26 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign-Urbana.

The state champ will receive a prize package from the IPPA that includes a $500 reimbursement on their pork purchase for next season, a state championship banner, and the coveted Golden Spatula.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…