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La Harpe and Northwestern High Schools were old rivals. The two schools, situated less than 15 miles apart along IL Route 9, had been the southernmost members of the Bi-County Conference since the 1970s.
In 1992, however, the two schools merged their football programs, creating the Northwestern-La Harpe (NW-LH) Thunder.
The early days of Thunder football were underwhelming. In the first three years of the co-op, NW-LH went 9-18.
However, in 1995, Coach Tim Lafferty and the Thunder finished 10-2 and reached the quarterfinals before falling to a familiar foe, as Carthage knocked off the Thunder on their way to the school’s first state championship.
The Thunder followed up the 1995 season with an undefeated regular season and advanced to the state finals in Bloomington, where they lost to Chenoa, 28-35.
In 1997, Union High School left the Bi-County Conference, leading to its demise. NW-LH found itself in a new conference, the West Central, alongside a local powerhouse.
Jim Unruh had Carthage rolling. In his 15 years as head coach of the Blueboys, his teams had failed to reach the playoffs only once (the 1990 team was the only one to miss the IHSA playoffs in Unruh’s 25-year career).
Carthage won their first title in 1995 and were back-to-back defending state champions after going undefeated in 1998 and 1999.
In 2000, NW-LH started the season with three convincing wins, outscoring their opponents 188-6 over the first three games, setting up the biggest regular-season game in the area and all of 1A IHSA football.
When the Thunder rolled into Carthage on September 15, 2000, the Blueboys had won 31 games in a row and had no trouble in their first three games of the 2000 campaign, winning by a combined score of 180-25.
The #1-ranked Blueboys seized the momentum early in front of a huge crowd at Fuzz Berges Field. After a quick stop of the Thunder offense, Carthage scored easily to take an 8-0 lead.
The Thunder responded with a strong drive of their own before a goal-line stand by the Blueboys kept the score at 8-0.
The Thunder defense bottled up the Carthage offense and forced a punt from deep inside Blueboy territory.
A 32-yard touchdown run by Thunder junior RB Jason Myers and a successful two-point conversion tied the game at 8-8.
The Thunder defense forced a quick three-and-out, and NW-LH scored again, this time on an 8-yard run by senior RB Lynard Jones. A successful fake extra-point kick and pass gave NW-LH a 16-8 lead.
Late in the second quarter, a Thunder turnover led to a Blueboys touchdown. The Thunder stopped the two-point try, however, and the score at halftime was 16-14.
NW-LH got a stop on Carthage’s opening drive of the second half and, facing a 4th-and-long inside the red zone, hit on a screen pass to senior RB Ryan Duffie for a touchdown. The successful PAT made the score 23-14 in favor of the Thunder.
Carthage cut the lead to three as their methodical Wing-T offense found paydirt. The Thunder again stopped the two-point try, making the score 23-20.
The Blueboys had a chance to take the lead, driving deep into Thunder territory late in the fourth quarter.
At the NW-LH 14-yard line, a costly penalty by the Blueboys created a long fourth-down play that resulted in an interception by senior DB Jack Sharpe.
The Thunder couldn’t quite run out the clock and elected to take a safety and free kick, making the score 23-22. The Blueboys had two pass attempts with six seconds left that came up empty, ending the game and Carthage’s win streak.
NW-LH now found themselves #1 in 1A and in the driver’s seat for a West Central Conference title.
The Blueboys faced little resistance for the rest of the regular season, cruising to an 8-1 record while allowing only seven points in their final five games.
Carthage also had little trouble in the first four rounds of the playoffs. The Blueboys won by an average of 43.3 points, including a 28-0 victory over Galena in the semifinals, a rematch of the prior season’s championship game.
NW-LH also made light work of their remaining regular-season schedule, with an average margin of victory of 46.8 points. But the Thunder’s playoff run wasn’t as smooth as their rivals to the south.
In a road game against East Dubuque, the Thunder found themselves down 10-0 with under eight minutes left to play.
A touchdown pass from junior QB Jenson Jones to junior TE Adam Housewright cut the Warriors’ lead to 10-7.
After East Dubuque responded with a touchdown to push the lead to 16-7, Lynard Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 65 yards to set up a field goal by senior Caleb Thomas.
Another touchdown pass by Jenson Jones, this time to junior TE Grant James, gave the Thunder their first lead of the game, 17-16.
Lynard Jones iced the game for NW-LH with a 32-yard touchdown run, putting the Thunder up 23-16 with 1:24 remaining.
LB Ryan Duffie officially sealed the victory with a late interception, setting up a rematch with conference rival Carthage at Memorial Stadium in Champaign for the 1A State Title.
The Carthage Blueboys’ high-powered rushing offense entered the state championship game with 680 points, having already broken the Illinois state record for total points in a season.
NW-LH came in with 587 total points on the year. Ironically, however, points would be hard to come by in the championship game.
NW-LH drove inside the red zone on their first possession, but a 35-yard field goal attempt by Caleb Thomas missed wide left.
The teams traded punts before Carthage finally put a drive together. The Blueboys marched all the way down to the one-yard line.
The NW-LH defense forced a fourth-and-goal from the one, where senior defensive end Colby Yard and a senior DB Jacob Hobby teamed up to stop Carthage senior RB Wyatt Green for no gain, forcing a turnover on downs.
Green would get his revenge, however. A pass attempt by NW-LH’s Jenson Jones was tipped by Carthage junior LB Adam Harrison and intercepted by Green, who dove for the ball, setting the Blueboys up at the Thunder’s 9-yard line.
Green wouldn’t be denied this time on fourth down, powering into the end zone on a three-yard run. The Blueboys failed to convert the two-point attempt, leaving the score at 6-0 with just over five minutes remaining in the first half.
Miscues by the Thunder squandered a couple of scoring chances in the third quarter. The Blueboys, after going three-and-out on their first two possessions of the second half, finally found offensive rhythm.
Carthage worked Green on the edges and junior FB Aarron Fink up the middle to drive into Thunder territory.
On third-and-9 from the 24-yard line, Green shed a tackle at the line of scrimmage and raced up the sideline for a touchdown.
Fink added a two-point conversion with a dive up the middle, giving Carthage a 14-0 lead.
NW-LH again drove into Carthage territory. Facing fourth-and-inches from the Blueboys’ 23-yard line, a miscommunication on the snap led to a two-yard loss and a turnover on downs.
The stout Blueboys’ offensive line and run game methodically drove down the field, consuming the final 10:19 of the game to secure their third consecutive championship. Carthage became the first Class 1A school to accomplish this feat.
Both teams finished the season with a 13-1 record. Carthage set a single-season record for most points in a season with 694, currently ranking 12th all-time in IHSA history. The 2000 Carthage team ranks 15th all-time with 94 touchdowns, 11th all-time in rushing yards in a season with 5,093, and fourth all-time in rushing touchdowns with 81.
Four players from the two teams were selected to the All-State Team that season:
Carthage RB Wyatt Green: 2,018 yards on 186 carries and 35 touchdowns
Carthage TE/LB Chris Rogers: 31 solo tackles, 46 assisted tackles, and 2 sacks; 6 receptions for 129 yards and 2 touchdowns
NW-LH QB Jenson Jones: 72 of 127 passing for 1,238 yards; 733 rushing yards on 129 carries and 22 total touchdowns
NW-LH OL/DE Colby Yard
Both programs moved up to 2A the following fall. NW-LH had a second consecutive undefeated regular season but fell to Moweaqua in the state quarterfinals.
Carthage finished the 2001 campaign 6-4, losing to Aledo in the first round of the playoffs.
In 2002, the Blueboys began another streak of title game appearances. They accounted for the Thunder’s only two losses that year, beating NW-LH in the regular season and in the IHSA 2A quarterfinals.
Carthage was 2A runner-up in 2002, 2003, and 2004. Northwestern’s consolidation in 2003 marked the end of the Thunder, but the co-op continued as West Prairie-La Harpe until Carthage, Dallas City, and La Harpe came together to form Illini West in 2007.
Lafferty, who had compiled 132 wins over 21 years as head coach of La Harpe/NW-LH/WP-LH, took an assistant role at Illini West as Unruh took the head job at the newly formed school.
The three towns found themselves at the top again with 3A titles in 2008 and 2010. Unruh retired following the 2010 State Championship run with a 256-45 career record, 24 playoff appearances, 10 state championship game appearances, and 6 state titles.
Lafferty took over as head coach at Illini West, where he had served as an assistant since the consolidation. He resigned in 2013 after two seasons with a 13-8 record.
Coming into the 2025 season, Carthage/Illini West ranks 9th in the state of Illinois for most program wins.
The 2000 football season remains a defining chapter in the storied rivalry between Northwestern-La Harpe and Carthage.
The Thunder’s thrilling upset in the regular season and Carthage’s hard-fought championship victory showcased the heart and talent of both programs.
Though the Thunder and Blueboys are no more, their legacy continues to inspire the communities of La Harpe and Carthage united today as Illini West, where the echoes of that unforgettable season still resonate.