Peoria High School

Once a year, the vampires circle the Lions Den. This year, Key Club made plenty of them happy with a record turnout at the Peoria High School blood drive. A record 27 donors flooded the library and donated blood to help save lives. After months of promotion and preparation, teachers and students came together to donate blood to serve the community.

Shoutout to librarian Ms. Cloud and English teacher Ms. Bell for working together to secure a $2,000 grant! Read about a HUGE UPGRADE COMING to the library down below. https://peoriahighnews.wordpress.com/2026/10/28/phs-library-awarded-2000-grant/

According to librarian Ms. Cloud, the push to read has been show! Just look at the numbers... At Peoria High School Library: Q1 -2019 (pre-pandemic) = 242 books checked out Q1 - 2026 (post-pandemic & no phones) = 865 books checked out + books from Peoria Public Library This to us is an AMAZING stat demonstrating how our students are improving their engagement with reading enjoyment.

Football FRIDAY. Even better when it is PLAYOFF football. The Lions travel to Lemont. Here's five things you need to know about tonight's game! https://peoriahighnews.wordpress.com/2026/10/22/5-things-to-know-about-peoria-postseason-football-at-lemont/

The boys soccer team saw their season come to a close. The volleyball team finishes up their regular season tonight and the XC team competed at the Big 12 Conference. All that and more down below! https://peoriahighnews.wordpress.com/2026/10/19/in-case-you-missed-it-soccer-comes-to-a-close-football-playoff-matchup-set/

We regret to inform you that vampires have taken over the library. We tried negotiating. They want blood. So naturally, we scheduled a blood drive. Read about how you can save lives, get snacks, some $$, and again save lives down below. https://peoriahighnews.wordpress.com/2026/10/13/peoria-high-blood-drive-info-has-been-released/

Congratulations to Hayden Weller for earning a spot in the Illinois Music Educators Association’s District 2 & 8 Orchestra Festival in DeKalb, Illinois. This prestigious event brings together some of the most talented young musicians from across the region, and Hayden’s successful audition is a testament to hard work, dedication, and musical excellence. We are proud to have Hayden represent Peoria High at this year’s festival and evening performance!

CONGRATS to Kayden for making DAY 2 of the boys state golf tournament. Only the top 40 individuals make it and his score of 82 made the cut!

A win on Senior Night and a historic performance on the golf course highlighted last week. The Lion football team moved to 4-4 on the season with a 70-7 win over Urbana. The win confirms Peoria making the playoffs. The team will look to secure a winning record in the regular season this Friday at Peoria Notre Day. Meanwhile, the soccer and volleyball teams ended their regular season, while Kayden Turner finished his historic golf season on Saturday. All of that and more is what you might have missed down below. https://peoriahighnews.wordpress.com/2026/10/12/in-case-you-missed-it-turner-completes-historic-golf-run-football-clinches-playoffs/

The girls swim team concluded their season at conference. Here shows the Lady Sea Lions enjoying time with Manual High’s and Bloomington High’s during a break in the swim meet. Coach Dupree said he loved how all the schools in the Big 12 are very supportive of each other with their swimmers. Continuously cheering on swimmers from other schools who they know they’re working hard even when they might not be the fastest, but they are working their hardest. This year Coach said his team has shared meals with Notre Dame and Manuel at Culver’s and gotten together for friendly gatherings with Normal West.

What was going on 22 years ago? Facebook was launched by Mark Zuckerberg from his college dorm room. The iPod mini and Motorola Razr were released and World of Warcraft was the top online game. Lost was the No. 1 television show and Shrek 2 was the sensational sequel everyone lined up for at the movie theater. That was the last time a Peoria High Lion golfed at the state tournament. Junior Kayden Turner broke that streak with his performance on Monday and heads to the state golf tournament this Friday. Read about it below https://peoriahighnews.wordpress.com/2026/10/07/four-hole-playoff-win-by-turner-breaks-22-year-state-drought/

CONGRATS to Kayden for qualifying for STATE. He shot his 79 today and won a four hole playoff to go to state. This is the first time in 23 years a Lion will represent the boys golf team at the state tournament!

The Peoria High School fine arts department took a break from paint brushes and canvas to hit the typewriters. Their grant writing turned into dollar bills to help fund several proposed projects at the pride of the city. The overall amount totaled $6,000, while librarian Leigh Ann Cloud also won a $1,000 grant to fund a workshop as well. Read about all the great things looming this school year and more down below. https://peoriahighnews.wordpress.com/2026/09/29/fine-arts-wins-6000-in-grant-money/

The flag football team TOOK CARE OF BUSINESS yesterday. A DOMINATING win in the Regional set up the first win in the playoffs in school history for our flag football team. This is the third year of the program so something is seriously building over here for our athletes. Congrats to Coach Woods, Hansen, & staff for this accomplishment. Full game recap down below https://peoriahighnews.wordpress.com/2026/09/30/flag-football-wins-first-postseason-game-in-school-history/

With a trip to the playoffs already locked in, it’s all about playoff seeding with three weeks to go. The Peoria High Lions, now 3-3 on the season, are coming off a loss at Normal Community but can still boost their playoff resume. Three wins to close out the season would certainly help their chances in hosting a playoff game in the first round. However, Champaign Central has goals of their own. With a 2-4 record, a win would allow the Maroons to enter the playoff field as well. Their playoff hopes are among five things to know as the Lions travel to Champaign on Friday. https://peoriahighnews.wordpress.com/2026/10/01/5-things-to-know-about-peoria-at-champaign-central-football/

What looked like could have been a strong road win ended with a down to the wire loss for our football team. In addition, the boys golf team will have a representative at the Sectional tournament for the second year in a row, while the Peoria High Invitational brought in thousands of runners at Detweiler Park. All of that and more is what you might have missed this week. https://peoriahighnews.wordpress.com/2026/10/05/in-case-you-missed-it-lions-drop-close-football-matchup-turner-qualifies-for-sectionals/

Another busy week was in the books as the first quarter is winding down. Sports at PHS were in full circle once again. The flag football team made school history while the soccer squad snagged a big win over their rival. In case you missed what went down last week, we have you covered! https://peoriahighnews.wordpress.com/2026/09/28/in-case-you-missed-it-flag-football-makes-history-soccer-wins-rival-match/

At this time, we'd like to shoutout our cheer and dance team!! They have been extra busy supporting our football team on Friday nights. Most recently, several members of these teams were on homecoming court!

With a young core, the Peoria High flag football future is bright. In the present, the Lions are 3-4 on the season. With contests lined up against Mahomet-Seymour and Danville, the team has an opportunity to enter Regionals with a record above .500. On top of that, the team’s freshman quarterback has an opportunity to crack 1,000 yards rushing on the season. With a few weeks left in the season, there’s plenty to be excited about now and for later. https://peoriahighnews.wordpress.com/2026/09/21/flag-football-youth-excites-now-and-the-future/

The junior class wants you to know “Our Domino’s Pizza fundraiser is almost over! We have 1 day to go and have raised $240 (and counting) towards our goal of $2,000 (only knowing the online sales so far)! Remember, we’re asking everyone to pitch in by buying or donating cards to fund Junior field trips and rewards! The $20 Domino’s card is good for Buy One, Get One Free Large Pizzas every time you purchase from delivery of card through 6/30/27! All Peoria County Dominos honor the card, but you can check the map to see where else you can buy! Please share this store to everyone you know and ask for their support! 🦁🍕💰 https://store.dominos.cards/56624