Stockton Blackhawks
The Stockton Blackhawks enter the 2019 season in year 3 under Coach Jesse Snyder. Last season, the Hawks saw their run of dominance in the Upstate Division come to a halt, as preseason favorite Milledgeville was able to live up to their billing. However, the Blackhawks still finished 2nd in the conference and earned their 8th straight trip to the playoffs.
With the shift to the North Division entering 2019, Stockton will get a feel for some new opponents in Galena, Le-Win, Du-Pec, Dakota, and East Dubuque, but most are teams the Blackhawks have seen over the past 7 seasons in one form or another. The Hawks will have a manageable schedule, but teams like Aquin, Orangeville, and Du-Pec, who are looking to make runs to the playoffs, could be critical match-ups for Stockton this season, whereas in past years they were able to handle them. Stockton will be turning to some new guys to lead the way, but return quite a bit of talent that saw big minutes for the Hawks in 2018.
Stockton is 43-30 in the playoffs all-time, and are looking for their NUIC leading 33rd trip to the playoffs. The Blackhawks also lead the NUIC in state finals appearances with 6, but their last trip came in the 2012 season where they lost to an always tough Maroa-Forsyth team. The Blackhawks 43 playoff wins is the 2nd most all-time in the NUIC, trailing only their rival, Galena. The Blackhawks will start 2019 at home against the Milledgeville Missiles. The Blackhawks will be looking for that magical win number 600 in school history, as they currently sit at 599 wins, the most all-time in the NUIC.
Stockton Playoff History
1974 0-1
1975 3-1 Class 2A State Runner-Up
1976 0-1
1977 3-1 Class 2A State Runner-Up
1978 4-0 Class 2A State Champion
1979 1-1
1982 0-1
1983 0-1
1984 1-1
1985 0-1
1986 0-1
1987 3-1
1988 0-1
1990 1-1
1991 5-0 Class 1A State Champion
1992 0-1
1993 2-1
1994 3-1
2002 1-1
2003 1-1
2004 4-1 Class 1A State Runner-Up
2005 0-1
2006 2-1
2007 0-1
2011 1-1
2012 4-1 Class 1A State Runner-Up
2013 2-1
2014 0-1
2015 1-1
2016 0-1
2017 1-1
2018 0-1