CHILLICOTHE – Three years ago, Mendota had its heart broken by neighbor Earlville-Leland-Paw Paw in its quest for the first sectional soccer championship in school history. Two years ago, Quincy Notre Dame rolled over Mendota in the Raiders’ defense of their state championship the year before. This year, it all fell into place for the Trojans.

Riding a 22-game unbeaten streak into a rematch with Quincy Notre Dame in the Chillicothe IVC Class 1A Sectional, the Trojans were not to be denied by the highly-touted Raiders as they held off a late-game push for a 3-2 victory to secure that elusive sectional title on Oct. 23 at Chillicothe. The win propelled Mendota into the Bloomington Central Catholic Supersectional where they are scheduled to play host Central Catholic on Tuesday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. for a chance at a trip to the state tournament.

The Trojan got goals from Johnathan Cortez, Ricky Orozco and Yahir Diaz, and a tremendous job in goal by Manny Trejo, who stopped a critical Notre Dame penalty kick in the process of the victory.