Packers receive great news in latest NFL schedule development
Packers receive great news ahead of 2026 NFL schedule release

Haley Helm led the Champaign Central Maroons to a 1-0 victory over the Westville Tigers, striking out 11 batters and allowing only two hits. Lilly Kiesel pitched well for the Tigers, but a fifth-inning home run by Helm was the deciding factor.
May 13āWESTVILLE ā Going into Tuesday's home game against Champaign Central, Westville softball coach Brandon Zaayer didn't know what to expect, and he was up front about it with senior starting pitcher Lilly Kiesel.
"I said, 'I don't know if you're going to make it one inning or seven innings. We're just going to play it batter by batter and go with it,'" Zaayer said. "Hats off to Haley. She's one of the best pitchers in the nation, let alone Illinois. The girls competed. I'm not disappointed in the loss. Of course, I like to win, but it was a good game, and that's all I can ask for."
Any other day, Kiesel's performance would have led the Tigers to a win. She pitched seven innings of one-run ball while only allowing three hits and three walks. On the other side, however, was Haley Helm. Central's star junior struck out 11 batters over seven scoreless innings and gave up just two hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
The Tigers were the latest team to struggle with Helm staring them down from the pitching circle, and Kiesel was the latest to get bitten by a Helm home run, as her fifth-inning blast wound up being the difference in the Maroons' 1-0 victory.
"She's so talented, but her focus and drive to be the best she can be for her team is amazing," Central coach Justice Miller said of Helm. "Her team has stood behind her and played really solid defense for her all season, as well. It's been really great watching them continue to grow every game. They play together really well, and they have each other's backs all the time. It's been a really special season so far."
The last year has been full of history for Central (26-4-1). This time last season, the Maroons won a single-season program-record 25 games, the last earning them their first regional championship since 1981.
Starting this past weekend, every win has meant even more history for the Maroons. A 9-3 win against Peoria Notre Dame on Saturday completed a perfect 9-0 Big 12 Conference season, giving them their first conference title in program history, and Tuesday's win against Westville (19-4) was their 26th of the season, another record.
"Just trusting each other," Helm said of what's been the key to the team's success. "No matter where you are on the field, you have to trust everybody. No matter where we are in the lineup, everybody's hitting. No matter where we are in the field, everybody's making plays. Everybody is doing their job, and it's really helping us out. I've never had this much fun playing on a team before, and it's more special to be able to play with my friends these last few years and make more memories with them."
Tuesday was no different, as the Maroons trusted Helm to come through in a game that felt like, and later turned out to be, one where the first team to score would win. She had a no-hitter through four innings before Taylor Valangeon led off the bottom of the fifth with a bloop single over the right side of the infield. Helm set down the next three batters and subsequently led off the top of the sixth inning with a solo home run just over the right-field fence, her 14th homer of the season.
The final score was 1-0 in favor of Champaign Central.
Haley Helm struck out 11 batters during the game.
Lilly Kiesel pitched seven innings, allowing only one run, three hits, and three walks.
Helm's home run in the fifth inning was the only run scored, leading to the Maroons' victory.
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"I didn't think it was going to go over, so that was a sigh of relief for me," Helm said, "and I hope it was for everybody else, too."
Two more scoreless frames later, the Maroons put a bow on yet another tightly contested win. They've gotten used to playing in close games like that. Since their 12-1 win against Mahomet-Seymour on April 20, they've won two games by six runs, and their other seven victories in that stretch have been by three runs or fewer. They're proving they know how to win close games, invaluable experience come postseason time.
"Their mentality in the box is very much, 'You're not going to beat me,'" Miller said. "We upped the difficulty of our schedule this season with the intention of these games being close to prepare us for the postseason. That, 'I'm going to win, and no one's going to beat me' mentality has really been our strongest asset. Seeing them collectively work together to accomplish that has been a real privilege."
Tuesday's outcome could have easily gone the other way, which is why Zaayer had a smile on his face after the game. That and the fact that it was Westville's senior night, and he couldn't help but smile thinking about how his three seniors ā Kiesel, Jazmyn Bennett and Laney Cook ā did to surprise him during the pre-game festivities.
While this is just Zaayer's second year as the Tigers' varsity high school coach, he's been coaching those three since 2018. While Kiesel, Bennett and Cook got plenty of keepsakes of their own, they decided to give Zaayer one. They framed a picture of them from their early playing years next to one from this season, in which they're holding their old jerseys.
"When the opportunity for this position came up, it was this group that really made me want to do it," Zaayer said. "Coaching is a demanding job, and at the end of the day, you're doing it for the girls between the lines. That's the only reason behind it. It's just a good group, and it's fun to be here."
Winning helps, and the Tigers have done plenty of that in recent years, setting their own single-season wins record in four straight years from 2022-25. A win on Thursday at Oakwood/Schlarman would clinch an undefeated outright Vermilion Valley Conference title for the fifth time in the last six years after settling for second last season.
"Trust me, it's on our minds," Zaayer said. "Last year, we kind of trickled downhill. Fortunately, this year, we've been on an upward trend. We started out slow and have been consistently battling our way up. I have high hopes going into our last conference game and regionals, so we'll see where it leads us."
Central also has high expectations for the postseason, which starts next week. Another addition to this historic season would be a trip to the state finals, and the Maroons have every intention of making that happen.
"Their focus has been really great on just playing one game at a time, finishing the regular season strong and keeping that goal in the back of their minds," Miller said. "They've accomplished so much as such a young team. Our whole team is juniors and below. Of course, we want to get that state title, but by no means will we be defeated if we don't achieve that. We've already achieved so much, and we have a whole other year to work toward that goal."