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TOUCHDOWN 2019 TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 | MORRISHERALD-NEWS.COM

BIRTH OF A POWER 1979 Morris team set the bar for the future / 2

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Redskins begin play in I-8 conference / PAGES 3-4

Indians hoping for third 8A playoff showing / PAGES 5-6

Coalers return many key players in 2019 / PAGES 8-9

Fighting Irish seek another playoff berth / PAGE 14

Morris Herald-News / MorrisHerald-News.com • Tuesday, August 27, 2019

TOUCHDOWN 2019

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Photo provided by Greg Redford

The 1979 Morris football team sits with their state runner-up trophy and medals.

COVER STORY

The team that started it all 40 years ago, Morris sent its first team to state

By ROB OESTERLE

roesterle@shawmedia.com It was 1979. The country was going through what President Jimmy Carter called a “crisis of confidence.”

There were lines at gas stations due to rationing. United States citizens had been taken hostage in Iran. Disco music was all the rage.

It wasn’t a good time in America.

In the small town of Morris, Illinois, though, the fall and early winter of 1979 was like nothing the town had ever seen.

A group of high school student-athletes seized the attention of the town and gave it something to root for and take pride in.

The Morris Redskins football

team, coached by Dan Darlington, who had taken over the reins at his alma mater in 1977, reached the newly created IHSA football playoffs for the first time and put the little farming community with a nuclear plant attached on the statewide football map.

Darlington, who graduated from MCHS in 1968, brought with him two classmates – Keith Laughary and Denny Steele – to be his assistant coaches, and the triumvirate helped make Morris a multi-sport power throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Their influence is felt even into the present day.

But, in 1979, it was fresh and new.

People who didn’t even know that much about football heard about the team, which kept on winning, and began showing up in droves. By the end of the season, a Friday night football game had become an event. A normally quiet and reserved man with the unassuming name of John Smith

donned a Native American headdress, transformed into Johnny Redfeather, and led the growing crowd in cheers.

“That started out as kind of a joke,” John “Buzz” Smith said. “I am not really that outgoing of a guy, but Billy Button kind of goaded me into it. I started leading cheers and, about the fourth game or so, people really started to get into it, so I kept doing it.

“My wife thought I was crazy, but it was fun. All the credit goes to the kids on the team, though. If they hadn’t played so hard and so well, no one would have been there cheering.

But they kept winning and the whole town was coming to those games. I would bet there were 5,000 fans at that Geneseo game.”

“That was back when you had to win your conference to make the playoffs,” Darlington recalled. “Geneva and Sycamore were the two

powerhouses in the Little Seven Conference at that time. I think my first year, Geneva won it and my second year, Sycamore won it.

“Football really brought this town together. People could come out to the football games and cheer for the football team and forget about their own problems for a couple of hours every Friday night. Even people who said they hated football started coming to games. I would say 90 percent of the town was behind us, rooting for us. It was a great feeling.

“Morris had never been to state in anything, so it was a whole new thing. That team was treated like royalty. Even people in the surrounding towns got behind us. I remember one guy from Coal City treated the team to dinner, and so did the the owners of the Town House, back when that was still around. It was something.”

See COVER, page 10

MORRIS

Morris’ Zach Romak (middle) returns an interception Friday night at the Maroon and White scrimmage.

Redskins begin play in Interstate Eight Conference

By ROB OESTERLE

roesterle@shawmedia.com MORRIS – There was no question last season that the Morris football team was battle-tested. The Redskins had one of the top totals of playoff points in the state, but their 4-5 record kept them out of the playoffs and unable to test their postseason pedigree.

Gone from the schedule this year are 11-1 Washington, 12-4 Class 6A runner-up Crete-Monee, 8-2 DeKalb and 8-3 Yorkville. In their place are 1-8 Manteno, 5-5 Plano, 4-5 Sandwich and 5-5 Rochelle as the Redskins move from the Northern Illinois Big 12 East into the Interstate Eight Conference.

Still on the schedule will be 10-2 Coal City, 8-3 Sycamore and 7-4 Kaneland, as well as 0-9 Ottawa and 3-6 LaSalle-Peru.

On paper, at least, it looks like Morris should be able to find that one win that eluded it last year and get into the playoffs.

But head coach Alan Thorson and the Redskins know that games aren’t played on paper.

“We are in a different conference, but that doesn’t mean we are just going to run right through it,” Thorson said Monday at the first official day of practice. “Everyone in that conference is going to be gunning for us.”

The man with the biggest target on his back for Morris will be quarterback Zach Reddinger, who has been getting interest from such schools as Northern Illinois and Central Michigan.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound left-handed thrower is being viewed as an athlete on the next level, with many colleges

Dan Voitik for Shaw Media

seeking him out for possible defensive purposes. Until then, though, he will call the signals and direct the Morris offense as well as start at defensive end.

“Zach has a real strong arm, and he is one of, if not the, fastest guys on our team,” Thorson said. “We definitely want him to have the ball in his hands as often as possible.”

Along with him in the backfield will be a quality stable of running backs, such as senior Brandon Phelps (5-10, 185), juniors John Landers (5-10, 175) and Tyler Davis (5-11, 190) and sophomore Jorge Loza (5-9, 185).

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Morris geared up for big football season

3

• MORRIS Continued from page 3 The receiving corps is a deep one, as seniors Nolan Swartz (6-0, 170), Barry Amiano (6-0, 175), and Cole Laurie (5-11, 165) and juniors Keegan Puckett (5-11, 170), Colin Cummings (6-2, 165) and Parker Skubic (6-1, 160) will all get their chances.

The offensive line will be anchored by senior Robbie Bates (5-10, 210) at center, who returns after starting at the position last season. Senior Nathan Lobb (6-2, 205) has the inside track at left tackle, while Juan Gutierrez (5-10, 230) will be the left guard. The right guard will be senior Braden Engleman (5-8, 225) and the right tackle will be freshman Justin Hemmersbach (6-1, 225).

“We feel pretty good about the offensive line,” Thorson said. “It’s a little young, but these kids are pretty good. It might seem a bit odd for us to have a freshman starting on the varsity, but Justin has earned his position. We feel like he will do a good job.”

The defensive will continue to be a 4-3, with Reddinger, Davis, Lobb and Devin Bailey (6-0, 215) rotating at defensive end and Engleman, senior Ovahdyah Ben-Israel (6-4, 320 transfer from Joliet West) and junior Drayden McKerrow (6-0, 190) getting time at defensive tackle.

The linebackers will be Bates in the middle and Phelps and Loza on the outside, with senior Scott Dale (6-1,180) capable of stepping in and giving one of them a breather when needed.

Laurie and Nathan Jepson (5-9, 165) will be the cornerbacks, and junior Cameron Anderson (5-9, 160) and sophomore Zach Romak (5-11, 170) will be the safeties.

“We are pretty young,” Thorson admitted.

“This is probably the youngest team I have had in my time here. But, we have a good balance of seniors that will provide good leadership and some real talented younger kids. The young guys aren’t just in there because we don’t have the numbers in the upperclassmen. They have earned it with what they have shown us in the off season and in practice.”

As far as special teams go, Henry Hansen will handle placekicking duties, while Reddinger will be the punter. Laurie and Landers will rake care of both punt and kickoff returns.

“Henry has done a good job of kicking for us,” Thorson said. “And, Cole and John are both capable of taking a kick back all the way at Morris quarterback Zach Reddinger warms up on the sideline at Friday night’s Maroon and White scrimmage. any time, so we feel good there, too.”

Dan Voitik for Shaw Media

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TOUCHDOWN 2019

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MINOOKA

Indians hoping for third straight 8A playoff appearance

By ROB OESTERLE

roesterle@shawmedia.com MINOOKA – Last season, with a starting team composed mostly of juniors, the Minooka football team went through some growing pains early, starting the season 0-2 before rebounding to win its final seven to finish the regular season at 7-2 and qualifying for the Class 8A playoffs before an opening-round loss to Loyola Academy.

This year, under second-year head coach John Belskis, that group comes back as seniors and with a different plan in mind.

“We had some growing pains early last year and started 0-2,” Belskis said.

“Hopefully, that experience pays off this year and we can improve on what we did.”

Belskis noted that with all the experience returning from last season, he and his staff have spent much less time teaching the Indians’ system and more time working on execution.

“We took full advantage of our 25 contact days during the summer,” he said. “The kids keep getting better.

There’s not really a sense of urgency, but we are able to keep practices to two or two and a half hours instead of three hours.

“The kids have really bought in to what we are doing and why we are doing it. Right now, we are working on getting in shape to play four quarters of football.”

With the addition of Yorkville and West Aurora to the Southwest Prairie Conference, the Indians were put in

Eric Ginnard – eginnard@shawmedia.com

Minooka’s defensive line runs drills Aug. 14 at Minooka Community High School in Minooka. the East Division of the conference, in which five of the six teams were playoff qualifiers last season.

“There are no games we can look past on our schedule,” Belskis said.

“Also, the last couple of years, I think we kind of snuck up on some people.

This year, we aren’t going to be able to do that. We are going to have a target on our back. That’s a good place to be,

because it means we are a pretty good football team.”

See MINOOKA, page 6

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TOUCHDOWN 2019 Morris Herald-News / MorrisHerald-News.com • Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Minooka has experience on its side

5

Photos by Eric Ginnard – eginnard@shawmedia.com

Minooka’s defensive line runs drills Aug. 14 at Minooka Community High School in Minooka.

• MINOOKA

Continued from page 5 Leading the offense will be returning quarterback Seth Lehr and running back/receiver Connor Etzkorn.

“Connor battled a hip injury most of last year, but he is fully healthy this year,” Belskis said. “He is a very versatile weapon for us.

He’s one of those kids you can put anywhere on the field. Running back, receiver, defensive back. He is what we call a program kid.

He is more interested in what helps the team win rather than his own numbers.

“Seth Lehr, if he was 6[-foot-]2 or 6[-foot-]3, would be getting a lot of looks from big schools. He has a great football IQ and knows the offense inside and out. He knows not just what he’s supposed to do, but what everyone

is supposed to do. It’s almost like having a coach out there on the field, and that’s a huge help.”

Belskis looks for the offensive line to be anchored by tackle Jake Shipla (6-3, 280) and center Ryan Doody, both returning starters from last season.

Shipla also will be a mainstay on defense, where he registered 21 tackles for loss and 10 sacks last season. Other returning defensive players to watch are linebacker Tommy Burrs and defensive back Steve Gonzalez.

“This team has great chemistry,” Belskis said. “They get along well. That can take you a long way in this game. “It is also [assistant coach] Terry McCombs’ 50th year of coaching and it may be his last year. The kids really enjoy being around him and I think they would like to send him out on a high note.”

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TOUCHDOWN 2019

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TOUCHDOWN 2019

8 COAL CITY

Coal City poised for another playoff run Coalers return many key players in 2019

By ROB OESTERLE

roesterle@shawmedia.com COAL CITY – Last season, the Coal City football team lost the first and last games it played. In between those two losses was a 10-game winning streak, which included six shutouts.

With a bulk of the front seven returning from that defense, the Coalers have high hopes entering the 2020 season.

“The goal for this group is to win a state title,” defensive end Brady Crawford said. “We have a lot of talent coming back from last year and we feel like we have some unfinished business after losing [17-14 to Richmond-Burton] in the quarterfinals last year.”

Crawford will be one of the defensive mainstays for the Coalers, as he returns as a defensive end and has already committed to play for Sioux Falls University next season.

“We feel like we have some unfinished business from last year,” said quarterback Payton Hutchings, who will be entering his third season as the starting signal-caller for the Coalers.

The left-handed thrower will continue his athletic career next year as a member of the University of Illinois baseball team. “It feels good to get back on the football field with everyone together.

We are pretty close as a group.

“I would say, because we are so close, that chemistry is one of the big strengths of this team. We all are out there playing for each other.”

Tight end/linebacker Austin Pullara also is entering his third year as a starting varsity player, and he likes what he sees from this group of players.

Dan Voitik for Shaw Media

Coal City quarterback Payton Hutchings will be in his third year as the Coalers’ starter.

“We have a lot of guys coming back, especially on defense,” Pullara said.

“Having a lot of experienced guys will help a lot. Plus, we get [defensive lineman] Connor Best back. He missed all of last year with an injury and he give us another guy up front to take up blockers and let us linebackers make plays.”

The starting linebacking corps of

Pullara, Jack Bunton and Daniel Jezik all return from last season. Bunton currently is nursing a broken foot, but he expects to be ready to play in the season opener at Morris on Aug. 30. Jezik, the defending Class 2A 182-pound wrestling state champion, also saw significant time at running back last season and figures to be the top ball-carrier this season, as well.

“It’s nice to have so much talent returning,” Coal City coach Dan Hutchings said. “We have some spots to fill in the secondary, but hopefully our front seven will be able to put enough pressure on opposing quarterbacks that it will help the secondary. That’s the plan, anyway.”

See COAL CITY, page 9

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TOUCHDOWN 2019 Morris Herald-News / MorrisHerald-News.com • Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Any questions the Coalers have about their team should be answered after a tough two-game stretch to open the season that will see them travel to Morris before playing Kankakee Bishop McNamara at home in Week 2.

“It will be a tough two weeks to open the season, for sure,” Dan Hutchings said. “But that’s why we scheduled two strong programs like that.

They will definitely let us know where we need work. We enjoy playing quality programs like those two. They are two of the best programs around, and we enjoy the challenge of playing them.”

Coach Hutchings said the numbers are good in the Coaler program, with 66 players out between all levels and around 40 juniors and seniors for the varsity squad.

“We have a lot of guys that got a lot of time last year as juniors, and quite a few dressed as sophomores, too. Plus, we have Payton and Austin, who started every game their sophomore and junior years.

“We are excited to get back on the field and try to make ourselves better. We know that we have to come ready to play each week. Our conference [Illinois Central Eight] will be physical every week and there is no game we can take lightly.

Right now, we are just glad to be together and on the field as a team again.”

Coal City making the playoffs is as near to a certainty as it gets in Illinois high school football.

The Coalers have been in the postseason in 28 of the past 31 years.

Coal City left the Interstate Eight Conference, along with Streator, Lisle, Reed-Custer, Wilmington, Manteno, Peotone and Herscher to form the Illinois Central Eight, and the Coalers look to be be the cream of the crop in the new league, especially with its wealth of talent returning. Players to watch in 2019 for the Coalers will be Crawford, Pullara, Hutchings, Jezin, OL/DL Jacob Jasnosz and RB/WR/DB Asa Cooper, along with Best in the offensive backfield and defensive line.

The Coalers will want to be ready early, as the two nonconference games most likely will pose the biggest challenges of the season. if they can win one or both of those games, then a banner year could be on the horizon. Even if they lose both, the Coalers will be battle-tested once the Dan Voitik for Shaw Media playoffs hit and they will be one of those teams Coal City football coach Dan Hutchings watches the action at a recent practice.

The Coalers, who went 10-2 last season, begin the that no one wants to see in Class 4A and could year at Morris on Aug. 30. make another deep playoff run.

2018 team results

10

Morris Herald-News / MorrisHerald-News.com • Tuesday, August 27, 2019

TOUCHDOWN 2019

MORRIS (4-5) Morris 21, Coal City 7 Washington 28, Morris 7 Morris 21, Crete-Monee 19 Yorkville 34, Morris 21 Morris 49, Ottawa 7 DeKalb 34, Morris 21 Sycamore 17, Morris 7 Kaneland 50, Morris 14 Morris 63, LaSalle-Peru 13 COAL CITY (10-2) Morris 21, Coal City 7 Coal City 27, Wilmington 0 Coal City 28, Herscher 7 Coal City 15, Streator 0 Coal City 19, Plano 14 Coal City 21, Sandwich 0 Coal City 24, Manteno 0 Coal City 14, Reed-Custer 0 Coal City 43, Lisle 14 * Coal City 37, Wheaton Academy 0 * Coal City 33, Johnsburg 14 * Richmond-Burton 17, Coal City 14

Photo provided by Scott Belt

Morris running back Mark Sharp is tackled during a 1979 playoff win over Lisle Benet Academy.

• COVER Continued from page 2 On the field, a center and middle linebacker wearing No. 51 – Ed Brady – started to remind folks of Dick Butkus.

Like Butkus and his head coach, Brady went on to play football at University of Illinois. He started for the Illini in the Rose Bowl against UCLA before spending a decade in the NFL and even playing in a Super Bowl for the Cincinnati Bengals. But it was that 1979 season he remembers most fondly.

“I am just a kid from Fremont Av-

enue,” he said. “The guys I played with in high school, they are still some of my best friends now. I took a lot of Morris with me into the Super Bowl. Everything I learned about football started here, so there was always a lot of Morris with me whenever I played.

“The guys on my college team, I was only on the same team with for four years. It was about the same in the NFL. But the guys I played in high school with, I had grown up playing with since we were about 6 or 7 years old until we were 18.

Those are the guys I remember most, and going to state with them is something I will never forget.”

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Brady wasn’t the only star on the field. Teammate Sheldon Sobol played for Northern Illinois University and helped lead the Huskies to their first Division I bowl game appearance (1983 California Bowl) before graduating and becoming the Grundy County state’s attorney before being named a circuit court judge.

“As good as Ed was, and we all knew he was the best player on the field, everyone else on the team knew they had a job to do, too,” Sobol said.

“We just didn’t sit around and wait for Ed to do everything.

See COVER, page 11

MINOOKA (7-3) Plainfield South 14, Minooka 7 Oswego 35, Minooka 20 Minooka 55, Joliet Central 7 Minooka 21, Plainfield East 14 Minooka 31, Plainfield North 29 Minooka 45, Plainfield Central 7 Minooka 58, Romeoville 0 Minooka 17, Joliet West 6 Minooka 24, Oswego East 7 * Loyola Academy 38, Minooka 14 SENECA (4-5) Seneca 40, Westmont 0 Ottawa Marquette 31, Seneca 0 Seneca 22, Dwight 16 Paxton-Buckley-Loda 32, Seneca 16 Clifton Central 42, Seneca 14 Seneca 42, Iroquois West 14 Watseka 22, Seneca 16 Seneca 55, Momence 20 Bismarck-Henning 58, Seneca 34

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• COVER

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See COVER, page 12

Members of the 1979 Morris football team ride through town on fire trucks after finishing second in Class 3A.

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TOUCHDOWN 2019 Morris Herald-News / MorrisHerald-News.com • Tuesday, August 27, 2019

“We knew coming into the season that we were going to be pretty good. Our junior class was good and we had some real good seniors. I was the free safety and through our first three games, I didn’t have a tackle. That’s how hard it was for the other teams to get past our defensive line and linebackers.”

One of the members of the defensive line was Scott Belt, who currently serves as the Morris city attorney.

He also played offensive tackle for the Redskins.

“What I remember most about that team was the camaraderie,” Belt said. “We all worked together really well. We had a lot of guys going both ways, but we didn’t have a lot of injuries.

“I remember one time we were just hanging out with the coaches and Coach Darlington said that he felt we had what it took to get into the playoffs and make it to state.

Morris had never been in the playoffs before, so to have our coach tell us that he believed we could do it meant a lot.”

2019 team schedules

• COVER Continued from page 11 Those who were juniors on the 1979 team – notably quarterback Bill Button, running back Mark Sharp, lineman Harvey Van Cleave and receiver Frank Varner, returned and led Morris to the state championship a year later, dominating Plano and Harrisburg in the semifinals and title game by a combined score of 74-0.

But those games probably wouldn’t have happened had it not been for a couple of nailbiters in 1979, one that went Morris’ way and one that didn’t.

The 1979 season was when Morris was Rocky Balboa in the first movie. The underdog that finally got its shot, lost in the end, but made a name for itself.

At that time, a football team had to win its conference in order to qualify for the playoffs. Sycamore and Geneva had been the powers in the Little Seven Conference up to that point, but Morris beat them all in 1979, and entered the playoffs undefeated.

Once there, they began with a twoweek decimation of the town of Lisle, first beating Lisle, 29-10, then going on the road to beat Lisle Benet Academy, 21-6.

That brought about a matchup with the Best from the West, a trip to Geneseo, which had won the previous three Class 3A state titles with a com-

MORRIS Aug. 30 – Coal City, 7 p.m.

Sept. 6 – at Manteno, 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 – Rochelle, 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 – at Plano, 7 p.m.

Sept. 27 – Ottawa, 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 – at Sycamore, 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 – at LaSalle-Peru, 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 – Kaneland, 7 p.m.

Oct. 25 – Sandwich, 7 p.m.

MINOOKA Aug. 30 – Joliet West, 7 p.m.

Sept. 6 – at Plainfield South, 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 – Plainfield East, 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 – at Joliet Central, 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 27 – at Oswego East, 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 – at Plainfield North, 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 – Yorkville, 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 – West Aurora, 7 p.m.

Oct. 25 – at Oswego, 7 p.m.

COAL CITY Aug. 30 – at Morris, 7 p.m.

Sept. 6 – Kankakee Bishop McNamara, 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 – at Herscher, 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 – Peotone, 7 p.m.

Sept. 27 – at Streator, 7 p.m.

Oct. 4 – Manteno, 7 p.m.

Oct. 11 – at Lisle, 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 – Wilmington, 7 p.m.

Oct. 25 – Reed-Custer, 7 p.m.

SENECA Aug. 31 – Shelbyville, 2 p.m.

Sept. 6 – Ottawa Marquette, 7 p.m.

Sept. 13 – at Dwight, 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 – at Paxton-Buckley-Loda, 7 p.m.

Sept. 27 – Clifton Central, 7 p.m.

Oct. 5 – Iroquois West, 1 p.m.

Oct. 11 – at Watseka, 7 p.m.

Oct. 18 – at Momence, 7 p.m.

Oct. 25 – Bismarck-Henning, 7 p.m.

bined record of 38-1 over those three years and 11-0 entering the semifinals.

That’s 49 wins in the last 50 games for the Maple Leafs, and here comes Morris, playing in the playoffs for the very first time.

“Geneseo had won three state titles in a row,” Darlington said. “I remember driving through the town on the way to their stadium and there was

a sign up that said ‘The only Morris we’ve ever heard of is No. 34,’ because they had a kid on their team whose last name was Morris and he wore No. 34.”

Either Morris didn’t know that they were supposed to lose that game or the Redskins didn’t care. Either way, they put up a 14-8 upset on the board and, suddenly, everyone in the state knew

KN

about Morris. The Redskins were on their way to the state championship to take on Mascoutah, which featured all-state quarterback Kris Jenner, who later would be a teammate of Brady’s on the U of I Rose Bowl team.

“We were on our way back from Geneseo and we got to the LaSalle and Grundy County line and, all of a sudden, the bus sped up,” Sobol recalled.

“We looked ahead of the bus and the Grundy County deputies were escorting us down the highway. We pulled into the parking lot at Pizza Hut and there were fire trucks waiting for us to take us through town, where people were lined up waiting for us.”

During the Geneseo game, Morris had built a 14-0 lead and, in the fourth quarter, Darlington noticed something.

“I went over to Denny Steele on the sideline and told him, ‘Look at their crowd. No one is moving. It’s like a picture.’ Their crowd was stunned.

We weren’t supposed to come in there and have them down 14-0 in the fourth quarter.

“We had a drive in the fourth quarter that stalled and I decided to try a field goal, because if we kick a field goal there, the game was pretty much over. The one thing I didn’t think about is what if they block it. Well, they blocked it and one of their guys

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Morris fan John “Buzz” Smith, the father of defensive tackle Randy Smith, led cheers as “Johnny Redfeather” during the 1979 season. about that call. I remember I told the press that we would be back the next year and we would make it so one call wouldn’t beat us.”

It didn’t matter to the town, though.

The Redskins got a hero’s welcome upon their return. Having played the final game of the night, they spent the

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13 TOUCHDOWN 2019 Morris Herald-News / MorrisHerald-News.com • Tuesday, August 27, 2019

picked it up at about the 50. I remember not knowing if our guys even knew they had to tackle him, but someone did. They drove it to the 5-yard line or so and on fourth down threw a little pop pass to the tight end. Either Brady or Butler knocked it down, but their guy had been knocked down, too, and it fell right into his chest on the ground in the end zone. Then, they got the onside kick and their stands weren’t like a picture anymore. But our defense held them, and we went on to state.”

Morris trailed Mascoutah, 7-6, late in the state title game and faced thirdand-short from about the 25-yard line.

The Redskins ran for what appeared to be a first down, until a penalty was called, assisting the runner against Morris. At the time, it was a loss of down and 15 yards, moving the ball back and forcing the Redskins to attempt a 50-yard field goal, which missed.

“I have coached a lot of football games, and never have I ever seen that call, before or since,” Darlington said.

“All of the officials from that game were from within 30 miles of Mascoutah and we had 10 penalties called against us and they didn’t have any.

“Here’s how young and stupid I was back then. We had a press conference after the game and I was still mad

night in Bloomington before coming home Saturday morning.

“When we got off of 55 in Dwight, the mayor of Dwight got on the bus and congratulated us,” Sobol recalled.

“Everyone around here was rooting for us and was proud of us.”

“That was a neat feeling,” Darlington said. “The police escorted the bus back into town all the way up 47 from Dwight to Morris, and there was a little parade downtown for us. The next year, when we won it, we came back that night and the bus went down Liberty Street at around 11 o’clock. Everyone came out of the bars downtown and were coming up to the bus and shaking the guys’ hands through the windows. It looked like Corn Festival, there were so many people.

“That’s what I remember most about those two teams. The way they brought the town together and made people proud to be from Morris.”

Since the playoffs began in 1974, Morris has made an appearance in 11 state championship games, winning state titles in 1980 (3A), 1984 (4A) and 2005 (6A). The Redskins have been state runner-up in 1979, 1989, 1994, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2012 and 2017. According to www.ihsa.org, only Joliet Catholic Academy (18), Chicago Mt. Carmel (17), and Providence Catholic (13) have more state championship appearances than Morris, which is tied with East St. Louis and Wheaton Warrenville South for fourth place.

Morris Herald-News / MorrisHerald-News.com • Tuesday, August 27, 2019

TOUCHDOWN 2019

14

Photo provided

Fighting Irish returning lettermen for 2019 include (front row, from left) Luke Sangston, Brock Moore, Ben Vergo, Collin Quinn, Gavin Robertson, Brayden Roe, Nate Aldrich, Cody Carvell and Rick Milliman; (back row, from left) Trey Thorsen, Creighton O’Boyle, Nathan Elliott, Cody Carey, Maveric Varland, Ryan McCauley, Myles Mitchell, Edgar Reyes, TJ Van Ness, Cole Underhill and Nathaniel Finch.

SENECA

For Seneca, this season is time to ‘turn the card’ Fighting Irish seeking first playoff berth since 2013

By BILL LIDINSKY

Shaw Media correspondent Since Seneca last qualified for IHSA postseason in 2013, the Fighting Irish have battled through a roller coaster of ups and downs during the last five seasons, just missing the playoffs by one win in three of those campaigns.

Last year was one of those frustrating see-saw ledgers, when Seneca alternated weeks of winning followed by the next week dropping a contest.

In all, the Irish finished with an overall record of 4-5 and a 2-3 mark during their first season competing in the Sangamon Valley Conference after being a charter member of the Interstate Eight Conference from 19792017.

Head coach Ted O’Boyle (31-35), now in his eighth year as gridiron boss at Seneca, knows it’s time for his ballclub to get back in the ring as playoff participants.

“Last year, there was a game where we really should have won, but maybe one that we should have lost,”

O’Boyle said. “Give or take a couple of games over the past five seasons, the bottom line is we’ve got to get back into the playoffs. I know numbers are down all over the place, but we’re still close to 50 as a program.

“The kids are still excited and have put forth great efforts so far this year in practice. It’s just time to turn the card a bit and get this thing back to where we need to be, and that’s winning football games and making the postseason.”

It’s no secret O’Boyle likes to run the ball on offense, but he will have to replace better than 1,700 yards of rushing that was lost when Logan Bruss (1,182 yards) and Brody Baudino (569 yards) graduated.

He will turn to a stable of running backs headed by junior Cole Underhill (210 yards) and senior Myles Mitchell (131 yards), who besides Bruss and Baudino saw the most playing time in the 2018 backfield.

O’Boyle also will count on junior captain Gavin Robertson (5-8, 200), seniors Ben Virgo (5-8, 140), Ryan McCauley (6-2, 185) and Ben Krause (511, 160) to tote the rock behind firstyear senior quarterback Cody Carey (6-1, 195).

“We lost a couple of backs that had a good amount of yards, but I think now a strength of our ballclub is the number of backs we have,” O’Boyle

said. “With our ‘T’ system that we’re going to run, it’s going to require a lot of backs, and right now we’ve got a good number to work with within our power system of running.”

That being said, Seneca will need a good offensive line to provide yardage moving downhill.

Senior captain Edgar Reyes (5-11, 220) will anchor a tackle spot along with junior Nathan Elliott (6-0, 230).

Rick Milliman (5-7, 260) will snap center and be flanked by guards Maveric Varland (6-1, 190) and Collin Quinn (5-9, 195). Seniors Creighton O’Boyle (5-10, 160) and TJ Van Ness (5-11, 200) will man the end positions along with junior Nathaniel Finch (6-0, 180).

“We know as an offensive line we’re going to have to work very hard to get our running game going,” Reyes said. “I believe we’ve got the group to do that, and hopefully it will translate into enough wins to make the playoffs. I’m confident that will happen.”

The Irish defense will be led by defensive coordinator Levi Derber and Seneca mainstay Don Brown.

Both will rely on nose guard Robertson to lead the way along with linemates Varland, Finch, Reyes and senior Trey Thorsen (6-2, 200), who had 39 tackles, 17 solo, and five and a half sacks last season.

“I’m excited and honored to be a

captain on this team, especially as a junior,” Robertson said. “I want to lead by example and have played football since I was in fifth grade.

I’m really confident we can make the playoffs for the first time in a while.”

Mitchell will take on middle linebacking duties behind Robertson and company, with Underhill and McCauley flanking him at outside linebacker with others in competition as well.

Van Ness will man a cornerback spot along with Virgo. Creighton O’Boyle will start at safety.

Special teams will see a first for the Irish, as senior competitors Steven Bartkus and Silas Odum, who compete with the Newark-Seneca soccer cooperative, will be allowed to play football as well. Bartkus will handle placekicking duties, while Odum and Van Ness will vie for the punting job.

“This year kicking will be a weapon that we have not had since I’ve been a coach at Seneca with Bartkus and Odum,” O’Boyle said.

“I believe this team has potential, but we could be a three-win team or we could be a six or more-win team, and it’s a very fine line for us. I think we need to start 2-2 or hopefully better in order to change up the pattern we’ve been stuck in over the last five years.”

15 MORRIS HERALD-NEWS Morris Herald-News / MorrisHerald-News.com • Tuesday, August 27, 2019

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