‘I want them to be afraid of us’: Coal City earns fourth place in Class 1A state finals, plants flag as giants

Coal City coach Steve McCleary isn’t sure what’s given the community a sudden thirst for soccer. But boy, is he happy it’s happened inside the Coal City community. McCleary believes that’s the biggest reason the Coalers have now made two straight Class 1A state finals appearances.“We love it. We’ve been kind of pushing it for a while,” McCleary said.Before 2025, the Coal City program had zero titles. Not even a regional.McCleary had already been the head coach for seven years before they clinched their first state appearance, let alone a regional in 2025. Throughout his first six seasons as head coach, McCleary had a combined record of 62-52.A mighty turn awaited in year seven.On Friday, the Coalers dropped a tough one to Cristo-Rey St. Martin, 3-2, in the third-place game at Rockford Guilford High School to finish back-to-back state finals appearances. They took home a fourth-place trophy. In 2025, they finished third in the state finals.There’s an acknowledgement that the Coalers had