Alexis (population 863) is a town of about 850 residents situated 12 miles north east of Monmouth, 3 miles east of Route 67. According to "Ripley’s Believe It or Not", Alexis is the only town in the United States sitting in two different counties, Mercer and Warren, and four different townships.

The town was settled in 1870 and first named Alexander after J.E. Alexander who platted the town. The name Alexis was chosen after learning of another Alexander, Illinois and so a unique name Alexis was chosen.  This time the town was named after Grand Duke Alexis, the heir to the Russian throne. Alexis was in the area hunting buffalo and with his consent, Alexis, Illinois was born.

Alexis High School was likely established in the late 1800s and survived through the 20^th century. The school district was deactivated in 2004. Alexis and Monmouth Warren consolidated to form United High School beginning the 2004-2005 school year.

Athletics

The Cardinals athletics teams were very competitive through their history, most notably on the grid iron.  Girls basketball and volleyball also had success at the end of the 90's. Alexis played in the Lincoln Trail Conference from the 1970s on.

If you have any further information you would like to see added to this page please do not hesitate to contact us via the means listed at the bottom of this page.  

Football

The Alexis football tradition is rich making several trips to the post season.  The biggest success story for the Cardinals was a trip to the 2A State Championship game the first year the current state playoff structure was formed.  The Cardinals finished 2nd that year with an 11-2 overall record.  To get to that game, it took a double overtime thriller to defeat Sherrard.  Illinois Coaches Hall of Fame member John Elder coached that team, among his 28 seasons as the head man in Alexis.  Elder also coached track and basketball at times throughout his time in Alexis.

Regarding the photo above and to your right which was submitted by Mike Edwards, this is the Alexis Cardinal grid iron warriors of 1923. The names of the players were provided to us by Tammie Houston and Jackie Nelson.  They are as follows:

First Row, L to R:  Berle Stover, Joe Burns, Kenneth Bellinger, W. Hall, Gale Brown, Coach Clark

Back Row, L to R: Noha McFarline, Don Bellinger, Carl Thompson, Bill Allen, Charles Metzner, ? Edwards, Leonard Criswell, Bill Page, Proffessor Jones, John Beal, Harold Pittard 

As the sign in the front of the team proclaims, this group won the conference championship that year. The Cardinals beat Keithsburg (107 - 0!), Monmouth, East Moline, Cuba, Knoxville, Industry, Aledo, and Colchester before falling to Dallas City in the season finale. This is proof positive that the Alexis football tradition extends deep into the school's history. 

Tradition also extends deep into the Edwards family.  Mike's grandfather, Richard William Edwards, is pictured in the photo standing in the second row directly above the "Champions" sign. Mike's father, Richard Edwards, was also named Captain and starred on Cardinal team of 1943. Mike would later suit up for the Yorkwood Golden Bears in the late 1960s. If you know any of the other players pictured on the 1923 team photo let us know so we can properly identify them.  

Listed below are the more successful seasons on the field at Alexis.

1923     8-1       Conference Champions                           Coach Clark

1943                                                                                 Coach Francis Reed

1953     5-3-1                                                                     Coach Wayne Strum

1974   11-2   IHSA CLASS 2A STATE RUNNER-UP             Coach John Elder

                   Beat ROVA 21 - 0

                   Beat Stillman Valley 7 - 0

                   Beat Sherrard 10 - 9 (2 O/Ts)

                   Championship Game

                   Lost to Decatur St. Theresa 15 - 6  

1977   10-2   IHSA Class 1A Final 4 Finalist!                      Coach John Elder

                   (Lincoln Trail Conference Champs)

                   Beat Tremont 12 - 7

                   Beat Sterling Newman Catholic 15 - 14

                   Lost to Stockton 14 - 0 (Stockton placed second)

1979   9-2    Class 1A Elite 8 Finalist!                                Coach John Elder

                   (Lincoln Trail Conference Champs)

                   Beat Walnut 28 - 6

                   Lost to Hampshire 32 - 14 (Hampshire State Champs)

1980   9-1    IHSA Class 1A Qualifier                                 Coach John Elder

                  (Lincoln Trail Conference Champs)

                  Lost to Roseville 20 - 16 

1981   9-1    IHSA Class 1A Qualifier                                 Coach John Elder

                  (Lincon Trail Conference Champs)

                  Lost to Tiskilwa 40 - 22

1983   7-3    IHSA Class 1A Qualifier                                 Coach John Elder

                  (Lincoln Trail Conference Champs)

                  Lost to Walnut 27 - 3

1988   7-3    IHSA Class 1A Elite 8 Finalist!                       Coach John Elder

                  Beat Monmouth Warren 13 - 0

                  Beat Annawan 9 - 0

                  Lost to Carthage 9 - 7 (Carthage finished 2nd)

1989   9-1    IHSA Class 1A Elite 8 Finalist!                       Coach John Elder

                   (Lincoln Trail Conference Champs)

                   Beat Bradford 28 - 0

                   Beat Westmer 12 - 10

                   Lost to Sciota NW 7 - 0

1990   8-2    IHSA Class 1A Sweet Sixteen!                      Coach John Elder

                   (Lincoln Trail Conference Co-Champs)

                   Beat Avon 28 - 6

                   Lost to Monmouth Warren 28 - 6

1999   8-2    IHSA Class 1A Qualifier                                Coach Job Lindbloom

                  (Lincoln Trail Conference East Champs)

                  Lost to Dakota 13 - 6 (Dakota lost in semi-finals)  

The Cardinals won their final game as the Alexis Cardinals 34-10 over Galva. 

Alexis Cardinal Team Records
Rushing Yards/Season               (3298)   1979
Rushing Yards/Game                 (429)     1981 vs. Winola
Passing Yards/Season               (1054)   1999
Passing Yards/Game                 (189)     2000 vs. Monmouth Warren

Alexis Cardinal Individual Records
Rushing Yards/Season              (1306)    1999  Eric Humes
Rushing Yards/Game                (255)      2000  Tyler Yarde vs. Alwood
Tackles/Game                          (24)        2001  Jimmy Lawson vs. Annawan
Yards off Kickoff Returns           (143)      1988  Ryan Brown vs. Carthage

Alexis had a long running rivalry with the Aledo Green Dragons known as "The Old Shoe Rivalry".  The series ran from 1915 to 1989, with the winner claiming host the "old shoe" for the year.  The "old shoe" retired as a Cardinal, with Alexis winning the final meeting 35-0.  Aledo won the series 34-28-3.

To view more excellent information on Alexis High School Football please take a look at the web address of www.geocities.com/umhur .  Truly a thorough look at the major records in Cardinal Football history. A majority of the records listed are in turn listed below: 

PASSING

Most Passing Yards in a Season
1,054  Ryan Peterson  1999
  988  Graham Johnson 2001
  776  Gary Swanson   1981
  691  Graham Johnson 2000
  682  Gary Goodman   1979

Passing Yards in a Game
198  Graham Johnson vs. Galva 2001
189  Graham Johnson vs. Warren 2000
188  Graham Johnson vs. Cambridge 2001
172  Graham Johnson vs. Alwood 2001
169  Ryan Peterson vs. Wethersfield 1999

Touchdown Passes in a Season
12  Gary Goodman   1979
11  Graham Johnson 2001
11  Gary Swanson   1981
10  Ryan Peterson  1999

Touchdown Passes in a Game
3  Ryan Peterson vs. Alwood 1999
3  Darrin Frye vs. ROVA 1983

Longest Touchdown Pass
92 yards Swanson to Donn Sperry vs. ROVA 1981
91 yards Swanson to Brian Nall vs. Aledo 1982
83 yards Frye to Brian Nall vs. Winola 1983
79 yards Peterson to Eric Humes vs. Wethersfield 1999
78 yards G.Johnson to Scott Swiler vs. Annawan 2001
77 yards McGuire to Brian Nall vs. Toulon 1984
69 yards Lindley to Dave Cook vs. Winola 1985
65 yards Swanson to Donn Sperry vs. Alwood 1981
62 yards Swanson to Brian Nall vs. Winola 1982

Completion % in a Season
48.5% Graham Johnson  2000
41.7% Ryan Peterson 1999

 

 

The Alexis Cardinal boys basketball team won a total of FOUR District titles throughout their history. Several scores involving Alexis High School in the IHSA State Tournament play were found on a webiste titled "Illinois Postseason Basketball Scores." These scores and the location of the tournament are listed below. Also listed below are seasons Alexis won district titles, season reocrds and coaches' names of other seasons are needed.

  

1921-22 through 1932-33  Postseason scores, records, and coaches' names needed.

  

1933-34                  Roseville District Tournament           Coach's name & record needed

                              1st Rd Beat Stronghurst 26-13

                              Semi-final lost to Media 14-12

                              Media beat Keithsburg for the title

  

1934-35                  Roseville District Tournament           Coach's name & record needed

                             Semi-Final Beat Warren 89-76

                             1st Rd lost to ROVA 74-73

                             ROVA lost semi-final to Galva

                             Galva beat Aledo in title game

   

                             Title Game lost to Abingdon 71-59

   

                              Record needed

                              Postseason scores needed

                   

                       

1972-73 through 2003-04  Postseason scores, records, and coaches' names needed.

   

*The Cardinals had other successful seasons on the basketball court. They won the LTC Conference championship back-to-back in 1990 and 1991.  Coach Ronald Powell won 156 games as the head coach including an 18-7 campaign in 1967-1968 and a 19-6 record in 1971-1972

Girls Basketball

The girls basketball program at Alexis had good runs in the late 1990's winning three regional titles.  Below are those seasons.

1997-98   N.R.A.   Regional Title     Coach Peg Mitchell
1998-99   N.R.A.   Regional Title     Coach Peg Mitchell
1999-00   N.R.A.   Regional Title     Coach Jeff Whitsitt

LTC Conference championships were won in 1976, 1977, 2000 and 2001 (tie).

Alexis Cardinal Girls Basketball Scoring Leaders
Carrie Yerkey     (1662)     1995-1998
Andrea Swiler    (1121)     1998-2001
Amber Martin     (1040)     1998-2001

Volleyball

Where the Girls Basketball success tired out the Regional Titles came in for the Volleyball teams at Alexis.  Listed below are the Regional titles for Alexis Volleyball.

2000-2001   N.R.A.     Regional Title    Coach Donn Damos
2002-2003   N.R.A.     Regional Title    Coach Donn Damos
2003-2004   N.R.A.     Regional Title    Coach Donn Damos

LTC Conference championships were won in 1987 (tie) and 2002 (tie). They also won the LTC Volleyball Tournament in 2002.

Individual Events

Alexis also had their fair share of success in the English activity spotlight, as they won four District Championships in Individual Events in the following years: 1962, 1966, 1969 and 1970.

Great Coach

The name John Elder is renowned around the state of Illinois football as much as it is in the town of Alexis.  Coach Elder stalked the sidelines of Alexis High School from 1965 to 1993 amassing a 167-99-4 record with a trip to the State title game in 1974 and two appearances state semi-finals.  Elder also served as the schools High School Principal from 1968 to 1995 and Superintendent from 1984 to 1995.  Coach Elder is a member of the Illinois Coach's Hall of Fame, and has been a recipient of the Ray Elliot Award, a Distinguised Service Award, as well as a recipient of the Gerald Ford All-American Coach.

Seeking Further Information

We are seeking further information regarding the Alexis High School Cardinals and their many successful seasons.  If you wish to share any information please write us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net