SVM_State_Football Preview_102618

Playoff EXTRA

Sauk Valley Media

4A

5A

Sterling Golden Warriors

First Round | October 26, 2018

2A

Dixon Dukes

Newman Comets

7 UP FOR STATE 7 area teams will open the IHSA playoffs tonight & Saturday after 9 weeks of fighting for their spots. SVM’s got you covered for the 1st round with 8 pages full of playoff previews & picks!

2A

1A

Eastland-P.C. Wildcatz

1A

Fulton Steamers

1A

Milledgeville Missiles

Starting lineups, stats, results & picks!

Polo Marcos

INSIDE.

BEST OF LUCK TO ALL AREA TEAMS!!

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Class 5A • Chicago Phoenix (5-4) at Sterling (8-1) • 7 p.m. Friday • Roscoe Eades Stadium • 105.5 FM

Sauk Valley Media • October 26, 2018

| FIRST-ROUND EXTRA

2

How they stack up:

Sterling Golden Warriors QB QB RB HB SL WR WR LT LG C RG RT

2 12 6 83 1 4 3 53 76 63 75 77

Offensive starters

Camden Bailey Cooper Willman DJ Johnson Trevon Jordan Alek Duran Weston Sisson Dylan Bryant Nate Beyers Aiden Munoz-Ripley Adan Ramirez John Rahn Jacob Capes

6-1 5-11 5-10 6-4 6-0 6-4 5-11 6-5 6-2 5-11 6-2 6-6

170 175 175 215 180 185 170 245 260 245 265 275

Sr. Jr. Sr. So. Sr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Sr.

Defensive starters

LE 51 Nick Simester DT 90 Ezra Torres DT 58 Junior Farnham RE 76 Munoz-Ripley OLB 14 Quintin Spaulding ILB 55 JJ Thompson ILB 7 Isaiah Ryan OLB 1 Duran CB 18 Isaiah Yarbrough S 12 Willman CB 3 Bryant

5-8 165 So. 5-11 200 Sr. 5-9 185 Fr. 6-2 260 Jr. 6-1 175 Jr. 5-10 210 Sr. 5-11 175 Sr. 6-0 180 Sr. 6-0 170 Jr. 5-11 175 Jr. 5-11 170 Sr.

2018 leaders

Rushing • Negil Bruce 67 rushes, 723 yards, 10 TDs • Cooper Willman 46-503, 6 TDs • Marquez Williams 57-453, 13 TDs Passing • Cooper Willman 38-53, 646 yards, 7 TDs, 2 INTs • Camden Bailey 32-50, 355 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT Receiving • Weston Sisson 20 receptions, 416 yards, 5 TDs • Dylan Bryant 15-141 • Alek Duran 13-144, 1 TD • Luke Heffelfinger 7-109, 1 TD • Trevon Jordan 4-97, 2 TDs Aug. 24 Aug. 31 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 6 Oct. 19 Oct. 26

Results

Warriors 46, Marengo (7-2) 8 Warriors 49, Pekin (4-5) 14 Warriors 42, Alleman (5-4) 7 Warriors 42, Kaneland (6-3) 24 Warriors 43, Geneseo (4-5) 7 Warriors 42, Ottawa (0-9) 0 Warriors 23, Rochelle (5-4) 20 Warriors 49, LaSalle-Peru (3-6) 12 Sycamore (7-2) 35, Warriors 7

Sterling looks to contain speedy QB

BY ERIC INGLES eingles@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5555 @Eric_Ingles

How they stack up:

Chicago Phoenix Firebirds QB HB WR WR WR WR LT LG C RG RT

7 31 9 33 10 84 62 59 79 55 75

Offensive starters

Jamon Gooden Jose Alarcon Jacari Webster Martin Martinez Khalid Herron Elijah Brantley Jario Orduno Luciano Alvarez Cody Beinor Juan Tovar Javier Trejo

Isaiah Ryan Sterling senior

Adan Ramirez Sterling junior

Jon Schlemmer Sterling head coach

Gooden’s speed and ability reminds Ryan of another quarterback who wore No. 7: former Atlanta Falcon Michael Vick.

“He doesn’t throw the ball really well, but he’s an athlete, he’s really fast,” Ryan said. “We have to do everything to contain him.”

That speed is not just something Gooden puts on display, but something Phoenix shows across the board.

“They weren’t the strongest or biggest, but I’m pretty sure they’re the fastest,” Golden Warriors center Adan Ramirez said. “On defense, we have to be on lockdown, and on offense, just block and run.”

The Firebirds defense, which allowed 40 points to Clemente in Week 5, has turned things around, allowing just six in a win over Chicago Marine in Week 7 and shutting out Chicago Military AcademyBronzeville last Saturday.

“Their defense, they have some pretty good outside linebackers,” Sterling’s Trevon Jordan said.

LE 62 Orduno DT 59 Alvarez DT 51 Nyjiel Simmons RE 66 Jason Winston OLB 9 Webster ILB 31 Alarcon ILB 21 Aloisius Arellano OLB 24 Rafael Soto CB 2 Jonah Wilburn S 7 Gooden CB 27 Steven Gonzalez

Aug. 24 Aug. 31 Sept. 6 Sept. 14 Sept. 20 Sept. 29 Oct. 8 Oct. 11 Oct. 20

Fr. Sr. Fr. Sr. Sr. Fr. Sr. Sr. Jr. So. Jr.

Results

Good Luck TO ALL AREA TEAMS!

STERLING

1203 W/ 4th St. | 815-626-1313

5-10 180 Sr. 5-9 175 Sr. 5-8 160 Fr. 5-11 250 So. 6-0 175 Fr. 5-9 180 Sr. 5-8 210 Sr. 5-6 145 Fr. 5-5 155 Sr. 6-3 180 Fr. 5-9 160 Jr.

Urban Prep (5-4) 32, Firebirds 12 Collins (8-1) 30, Firebirds 0 Firebirds 8, Von Steuben (6-3) 7 Chi. Washington (4-5) 21, Firebirds 6 Clemente (6-3) 40, Firebirds 8 Firebirds 36, Urban Pr. West (3-6) 12 Firebirds 27, Marine (4-5) 6 Firebirds 48, Senn (1-8) 14 Firebirds 34, Bronzeville (2-7) 0

GOOD LUCK IN THE PLAYOFFS!

SM-ST25914-1026

180 180 175 170 215 160 180 175 260 250 250

Defensive starters

You could divide Chicago Phoenix Military Academy’s football season into two parts.

For 5 weeks, the Firebirds ran up against four teams who would go on to finish the season with a winning record. In those games, they went 1-4 and got outscored 130-34.

Then came phase two, in which Phoenix rattled off a four-game winning streak to become playoff eligible, outscoring teams 145-34.

Pacing the offense to more than 36 points per game in the last 4 weeks is quarterback Jamon Gooden.

“They try to get him into different situations and get him out in space, sometimes get guys in front of him,” Sterling coach Jon Schlemmer said. “We’ve seen, even on the perimeter, a couple jump balls that their guys can go up and get, so we’re going to have to put the pressure on early and make sure we get them into some of those thirddown passing situations.”

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound freshman is a constant threat to run the ball, using his speed to get to the outside and then turn on the afterburners to break off a long gain.

“I feel like if he gets to the edge, he’s gone, so we need to contain him,” Sterling linebacker Isaiah Ryan said. “Just keep that physicality up.”

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6-3 5-9 6-0 5-10 6-4 5-10 5-10 5-9 5-10 5-11 5-10

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Class 4A • Stillman Valley (6-3) at Dixon (6-3) • 1 p.m. Saturday • A.C. Bowers Field • 1460 AM Dixon Dukes Offensive starters

QB 12 Jacob Shafer RB 2 Tyler Christiansen WR 3 Cade Callison WR 8 Nate Long WR 21 Brayden Forrest WR 22 Joseph Heckert LT 65 Dylan Messer LG 79 Forrest Schmall C 53 Alex Boswell RG 70 Nick Engle or RG 75 Zach Scheffler RT 51 Patrick Grossman

5-10 5-6 5-10 5-9 5-10 5-11 6-2 6-3 5-11 6-2

182 142 147 153 145 151 216 286 265 282

Jr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Sr. Sr Sr. Sr Sr. Jr.

6-1 6-2

265 157

Jr. Jr.

Defensive starters

2018 leaders

Rushing • Tyler Christiansen 186 rushes, 1,389 yards, 16 TDs • Bryce Christiansen 16-116, 2 TDs • Sebastian Quintana 10-75, 2 TDs Passing • Jacob Shafer, 112-for-187, 1,268 yards, 10 TDs, 3 INTs Receiving • Kade Callison 33 receptions, 347 yards, 4 TDs • Brayden Forrest 29-370, 3 TDs Aug. 24 Aug. 31 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19

Results

Stillman Valley (6-3) 42, Dukes 13 Dukes 65, Rock Falls (1-8) 14 Dukes 27, Oregon (3-6) 6 North Boone (7-2) 28, Dukes 20 Dukes 36, Mendota (0-9) 7 Dukes 38, Rk. Lutheran (2-7) 28 Dukes 21, Genoa-Kingston (7-2) 20 Dukes 23, Winnebago (4-5) 20 Byron (9-0) 55, Dukes 21

Stillman Valley Cardinals Aug. 24 Aug. 31 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19

Results

Cardinals 42, Dixon (6-3) 13 Byron (9-0) 41, Cardinals 14 Cardinals 31, Winnebago (4-5) 6 Cardinals 55, Rock Falls (1-8) 38 Cardinals 29, Oregon (3-6) 7 North Boone (7-2) 35, Cardinals 34 Cardinals 28, Mendota (0-9) 15 Cardinals 31, Rk. Lutheran (2-7) 22 Genoa-Kingston (7-2) 34, Cards 6

Dukes eager for another opportunity against Cardinals

BY BRIAN WEIDMAN bweidman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5551 @BrianWeidman

Dixon feels it is a much-improved football team from the beginning of the regular season to the playoffs.

It will have an ideal opportunity to drive that point home Saturday at 1 p.m., when it hosts Stillman Valley in a Class 4A first-round playoff game. It will be a rematch of the season opener at A.C. Bowers Field, in which the Cardinals rolled to a 42-13 victory.

“We didn’t do so well the first game, but we’re a lot better team now than what we were in Week 1,” Dixon coach Dave Smith said.

“After everything that’s happened, we’re excited to have a rematch on the same field,” senior center Alex Boswell added. “They’re a good team, a good program, but we’ll be ready for them.”

Stillman Valley (6-3) is one of the blueblood programs in Illinois, with five state championships (1999, 2000, 2003, 2009 and 2013) to its credit. All of them have come under the guidance of current head coach Mike Lalor, who has amassed a 178-63 record in 21 seasons leading the Cardinals.

Lalor has been successful with

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Alex Boswell Dixon senior

Bryce Tyler Christiansen Christiansen Dixon Dixon senior senior

a relentless rushing attack that churns out yards, then occasionally springs somebody for a big gainer. This year is no exception.

Through eight games (complete stats were unavailable), senior quarterback Tyler Lamer had 72 carries for 836 yards and nine touchdowns.

The two main backfield threats are Matthew Williams (79-576, 10 TDs) and Logan Lagerhausen (132575, 10 TDs).

Almost all of the offensive damage has been on the ground, as the Cardinals completed just five passes through eight games.

“He’s [Lalor] going to ground and pound, but the quarterback is so athletic, he can take it outside the box,” Smith said. “That’s the difference. We had trouble with that the first game, but we also had trouble with their defense the first game.

Good Luck To All Area Teams!

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Joseph Heckert Dixon senior

Dylan Messer Dixon senior

Jacob Shafer Dixon junior

His linebackers are very aggressive, and the defensive backs did a good job staying in their system against our passing game.”

Lamer gashed the Dixon defense for 269 yards – including TD runs of 72, 63 and 25 yards – on 20 carries in the season opener.

This will be the first playoff meeting between Stillman Valley and Dixon (6-3), and if it were up to Smith, it would be the last time they’d meet in the first round.

“I don’t know a coach that wants to play a conference game,” Smith said. “The beauty of the playoffs, when it works, is to play somebody different. I’ve had games where we’ve went down to central Illinois to play, and that was pretty cool.

You let kids see a different part of the state against a team that maybe they’ve never seen or heard of.”

GOOD LUCK AREA TEAMS! Mama Cimino’s

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• October 26, 2018

DE 65 Messer 6-2 216 Sr. DE 55 Kade Frey 6-0 173 Jr. or DE 50 Christian Stephenitch 5-11 213 Sr. or DE 68 Charles Helfrich 6-0 262 Sr. DT 44 Clint Schielein 5-6 202 Sr. DT 33 Bryce Christiansen 5-6 155 Sr. LB 32 Nolan Randick 5-10 179 Sr. LB 27 Finn Brandon 6-1 215 Sr. LB 16 Aidan Schmall 5-10 183 Jr. CB 22 Heckert 5-11 151 Sr. CB 25 Talbir Chima 5-11 142 Sr. S 15 Alec Faley 6-1 179 Sr.

Chance at redemption in Week 1 rematch

3

FIRST-ROUND EXTRA | Sauk Valley Media

How they stack up:

Sauk Valley Media • October 26, 2018

| FIRST-ROUND EXTRA

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Class 2A • Rockford Christian (6-3) at Newman (8-1) • 1 p.m. Saturday • Roscoe Eades Stadium • 102.7 FM

Keeping things private

How they stack up:

Newman Comets QB FB RB RB E E LT LG C RG RT

12 42 21 33 17 34 75 63 55 52 77

Offensive starters

Brycen Bartel Luke Olson Connor McBride Brody Ivey Andrew Wilson Colin Roberts Hunter Buser Mason Newman Eli Firorini Drew Ackman Nick Eddinger

6-1 6-1 6-0 5-10 6-3 5-10 6-1 5-10 6-0 6-1 6-6

200 225 160 165 195 170 225 190 225 215 290

Sr. Sr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr.

Defensive starters

DT 52 Ackman DT 70 Daniel Feltis DT 75 Buser OLB 33 Ivey OLB 34 Roberts ILB 22 Chase Graham ILB 42 Olson ILB 30 Nick Clevenger CB 21 McBride S 17 Wilson CB 13 Nate Ahlers

6-1 215 Sr. 5-10 220 Jr. 6-1 225 Jr. 5-10 165 Sr. 5-10 170 Sr. 6-2 210 Sr. 6-1 225 Sr. 6-0 200 Jr. 6-0 160 Jr. 6-3 195 Jr. 5-11 155 Jr.

2018 leaders

Rushing • Luke Olson 82 rushes, 865 yards, 13 TDs • Connor McBride 80-723, 13 TDs • Brody Ivey 59-390, 5 TDs Passing • Brycen Bartel, 11-for-28, 186 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT Receiving • Olson 4 receptions, 38 yards, 2 TDs • Colin Roberts 3-68, 1 TD

Aug. 25 Aug. 31 Sept. 8 Sept. 15 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19

Results

Comets 48, Kewanee (2-7) 0 Comets 40, Princeton (6-3) 0 Orion (9-0) 20, Comets 17 Comets 55, Morrison (2-7) 8 Comets 42, Rockridge (6-3) 0 Comets 75, Bureau Valley (3-6) 14 Comets 27, Hall (6-3) 0 Comets 47, Fulton (5-4) 12 Comets 54, Riverdale (2-7) 7

How they stack up:

Rkfd. Christian Royal Lions QB RB SL SL WR WR LT LG C RG RT

BY ADAM FEINER afeiner@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5550 @AdamFeinerSVM

For the second year in a row, Newman will take on another private school in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs.

Rockford Christian will visit Roscoe Eades Stadium this Saturday, a year after Aurora Christian did so. All that matters to the Comets, however, is a similar result.

The Royal Lions enter with a 6-3 record, having tied for second place in the Northeastern Athletic Conference, their first season in the new league after bolting from the Big Northern.

Not including a forfeit win in Week 7, Rockford Chistian outscored opponents 227-102, losing to playoff teams in Ottawa Marquette (1A) and Palos Heights Chicago Christian (2A), as well as Harvard.

Quarterback Nate Dammann completed 65 percent of his passes in the regular season for the Lions, while Connor Cunningham led the team in carries (83), rushing yards (527) and rushing touchdowns (7).

Isaiah Johnson has 282 yards and four touchdowns on just nine catches, while Josh Drog, Noah Fulcomer and Malachi White are all averaging more than 14 yards per reception.

Defensively, the Lions are stout along the line.

“I’m real impressed with their defensive line. They remind me

Good Luck Newman Comets!

Dixon Glass C O M P A N Y

414 W. 1st St., Dixon 815-288-3000

12 7 35 5 30 80 66 70 52 72 59

Offensive starters

Nate Dammann 6-0 Connor Cunningham 6-1 Jared Frederick 5-9 Noah Fulcomer 5-10 Josh Drog 6-3 Isaiah Johnson 6-1 Jaden Ferlita 6-2 Lucas Sutton 6-1 Elijah Nitz 6-4 Sean Hyacinthe 6-0 Kalib Aboobaker 6-0

195 225 205 160 220 175 240 200 290 280 195

Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. So. Sr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Jr.

Defensive starters

Nick Eddinger Newman senior

Connor McBride Newman junior

Luke Olson Newman senior

a lot of Orion, and we had a lot of trouble with them,” Newman coach Mike Papoccia said.

“They’re big and physical, so we’ll have to be at our best up front.

Our line has been doing a great job of late, so I don’t think we’ll go backwards in that aspect.”

“It’s about being quickest off the ball and the low man wins,” senior offensive tackle Nick Eddinger added. “It’s really about fundamentals more than size.”

The Comets (8-1) have outscored opponents 405-59 this season, including four shutouts. Luke Olson, Connor McBride and Brody Ivey provide plenty of options for QB Brycen Bartel to hand off to.

Olson has taken on a larger role in Newman’s backfield as a senior, in addition to his 3-year starting role at middle linebacker.

“I can tell from the beginning of the season that I’m more in shape,” Olson said. “I can tell with everybody. The whole team is in much better shape.”

DE 59 Aboobaker DT 52 Nitz DT 66 Ferlita DE 30 Drog OLB 21 Noah Ross ILB 7 Cunningham ILB 35 Frederick OLB 6 Peyton Skeel CB 5 Fulcomer S 80 Johnson CB 19 Malachi White

6-0 195 Jr. 6-4 290 Sr. 6-2 240 Sr. 6-3 220 Sr. 6-0 170 So. 6-1 225 Sr. 5-9 205 Sr. 5-9 160 Sr. 5-10 160 Sr. 6-1 175 So. 5-11 160 Sr.

2018 leaders

Rushing • Connor Cunningham 83 rushes, 527 yards, 7 TDs • Peyton Skeel 34-169, 4 TDs • Jared Frederick 46-126, 3 TDs Passing • Nate Dammann, 53-for-81, 906 yards, 8 TDs, 6 INTs Receiving • Malachi White 15 receptions, 220 yards, 3 TDs • Josh Drog 10-244, 3 TDs

Aug. 24 Aug. 31 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 6 Oct. 12 Oct. 19

Results

Lions 34, Flanagan (0-9) 0 Chicago Christian (6-3) 15, Lions 14 Lions 48, River Valley (1-8) 7 Lions 44, Walther Christian (5-4) 8 Harvard (2-7) 13, Lions 12 Lions 47, Mooseheart (3-6) 7 Lions fft. Our Lady Sacred Heart Ottawa Marquette (9-0) 31, Lions 0 Lions 28, Kirkland Hiawatha (6-3) 21

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Class 2A • Chicago Harlan (5-4) at EPC (9-0) • 1 p.m. Saturday • Eastland H.S., Lanark • 100.3 FM EPC Wildcatz Roster

Brock Smargiassi Braden Smargiassi Jayden Kempel Collyn Kuberski Jase Sheffey Lucas Peterson Aidan Gassman Travis Kaney Logan Krell Bishop Groezinger Zander Endress Colin Colehour Davon Sweitzer Jarod Kempel Zach Lieb Braeden Heeren Jett Iske Drake Musser Bryson Sturtevant Gunner Cassell Caden Kuberski Braden Diddens Wyatt Hammer Cadin Colehour Caleb Tichler Eli Dertz Andrew Lorig Addison Keltner Carson Clouse Travis Spong

6-0 6-0 5-9 5-11 6-0 6-3 5-11 5-11 5-7 5-6 6-0 5-7 6-1 5-9 6-0 6-0 5-9 6-1 6-1 5-11 5-7 5-10 5-10 5-11 6-0 5-10 6-2 6-5 6-2 6-2

165 165 175 165 150 175 180 165 160 160 160 160 175 175 195 190 185 210 235 180 184 190 215 175 225 205 185 325 175 210

Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. So. Sr. So. Jr. So. So. Jr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Jr. Sr. So. Jr. Sr. So. Sr. Jr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Sr.

2018 leaders

Rushing • Jayden Kempel 153 rushes, 1,264 yards, 14 TDs Passing • Braden Smargiassi, 65-for-121, 805 yards, 7 TDs, 4 INTs Receiving • Lucas Peterson 31 receptions, 438 yards, 5 TDs

Results

Wildcatz 28, East Dubuque (3-6) 0 Wildcatz 26, Amboy-LaMoille (3-6) 16 Wildcatz 36, Durand-Pecatonica (3-6) 7 Wildcatz 34, Forreston (7-2) 8 Wildcatz 20, Lena-Winslow (8-1) 14 Wildcatz 34, Galena (2-7) 7 Wildcatz 40, West Carroll (3-6) 12 Wildcatz 21, Dakota (6-3) 10 Wildcatz 42, Polo (5-4) 14

Chicago Harlan Falcons Results

Falcons 40, Chicago Butler (5-1) 8 Chicago Clark (6-3) 24, Falcons 8 Falcons 20, Chicago Lake View (1-8) 14 Chicago Ag Science (7-2) 28, Falcons 20 Falcons 56, Chicago Goode (1-8) 0 Chicago Hyde Park (7-2), Falcons 20, OT Falcons 28, Chicago Englewood (5-4) 23 Chicago Orr (9-0) 40, Falcons 0 Falcons 14, Chicago Julian (2-7) 6

BEST OF LUCK EPC Wildcatz

Aug. 25 Sept. 1 Sept. 8 Sept. 14 Sept. 20 Sept. 28 Oct. 8 Oct. 13 Oct. 18

BY ADAM FEINER afeiner@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5550 @AdamFeinerSVM

Eastland-Pearl City’s seniors have been a part of three straight Class 2A playoff teams, but are well aware of the program’s recent trend in the postseason.

The Wildcatz won the NUIC Northwest with a 9-0 record this season, but have been bounced from the first round in each of the last 2 years.

EPC won three straight NUIC Northwest titles from 2012-2014, but only one season had a happy ending.

The Wildcatz lost as an undefeated No. 1 seed to Orion in the 2012 2A first round, and bowed out to eventual state champ Newman a year later in the second round after a perfect regular season. In 2014, EPC broke through by winning the 2A state championship.

“I’ve reminded the kids of that.

We started our playoff run last week,” EPC coach Jared McNutt said. “We didn’t have a fresh-soph game, and it felt like a playoff week because fresh-soph wasn’t practicing with us.”

Addison Keltner is a 3-year varsity starter on both sides of the ball, and at 6-foot-5 and 325 pounds,

Addison Keltner EPC senior

Jarod Kempel EPC senior

Jayden Kempel EPC senior

anchors an offensive line that has imposed its will on opponents this season.

“That’s going to have to continue against any team you play in the playoffs, especially in 2A,” Keltner said. “We have to play at our best every single game, or we will get beat.”

Chicago Harlan (5-4) will come to Lanark on Saturday riding a season-long trend of alternating wins and losses. The Falcons punched their playoff ticket with a 14-6 win over Chicago Julian in Week 9.

Harlan’s four losses came against Chicago Public League playoff qualifiers in four different classes – Hyde Park (7-2, 5A), Agricultural Science (7-2, 4A), Clark (6-3, 3A) and Orr (8-1, 1A).

The Falcons use two mobile quarterbacks on offense, are big on both sides of the line, and feature

Lucas Peterson EPC senior

Braden Smargiassi EPC senior

Brock Smargiassi EPC senior

speed across the field.

“It helps a lot that we can run and pass,” EPC senior quarterback Braden Smargiassi said. “Coach [McNutt] has been making good play calls and making everything pretty easy for us.

“But I’m going to have to speed everything up. Their defense is just as fast, if not faster than any defense we’ve seen all year.”

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• October 26, 2018

DB 1 QB 2 RB 5 LB 6 WR 10 WR 11 QB 14 DB 20 LB 22 LB 24 DB 29 RB 33 WR 34 RB 41 TE 42 FB 43 RB 44 Line 50 Line 51 Line 55 Line 62 Line 64 Line 69 Line 73 Line 74 Line 76 Line 77 Line 78 WR 84 TE 85

5

FIRST-ROUND EXTRA | Sauk Valley Media

Wildcatz guarding against recent history

How they stack up:

Class 1A • Fulton (5-4) at Milledgeville (9-0) • 1 p.m. Saturday • Floyd Daub Field • 1390 AM How they stack up:

Milledgeville Missiles QB RB HB SL WR WR LT LG C RG RT

11 33 22 30 9 14 68 71 54 60 70

Offensive starters

Jack Munz Carson Boyer Nate Rahn Cayde Gusloff Grant Schurman Marcus McKenna Connor Woodin Corey Anderson Mason McKenna Blayne Kappes Brandon Eye

5-10 6-0 6-2 6-2 6-3 5-9 5-11 6-0 5-11 5-9 5-10

160 160 200 190 205 155 185 240 185 210 230

Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Jr.

Defensive starters

LE 68 Woodin 5-11 185 Sr. DT 14 Marcus McKenna 5-9 155 Jr. DT 54 Mason McKenna 5-11 185 Sr. RE 71 Anderson 6-0 240 Sr. OLB 30 Gusloff 6-2 190 Sr. ILB 60 Kappes 5-9 210 Sr. OLB 22 Rahn 6-2 200 Sr. CB 26 Christian Toms-Smith 5-6 135 Sr. S 33 Boyer 6-0 160 Sr. S 11 Munz 5-10 160 Sr. CB 20 Thane Yingling 5-11 160 Sr.

2018 leaders

Rushing • Carson Boyer 78 rushes, 820 yards, 15 TDs • Cayde Gusloff 107-619, 8 TDs • Nate Rahn 68-553, 11 TDs Passing • Jack Munz, 16-for-41, 269 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs Receiving • Carson Boyer 5 receptions, 105 yards, 1 TD • Nate Rahn 4-26

Aug. 24 Aug. 31 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 22 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19

Results

Missiles 36, Amboy (3-6) 7 Missiles 26, Polo (5-4) 8 Missiles 34, Stockton (7-2) 8 Missiles 61, Farmer City (3-6) 0 Missiles 20, Orangeville (5-4) 14 Missiles 46, Warren (1-8) 6 Missiles 46, AFC (0-9) 6 Missiles 54, River Ridge (4-5) 14 Missiles 36, Aquin (4-5) 28

Ground & pound in first round

QB FB HB TE WR WR LT LG C RG RT

17 33 34 23 2 6 74 57 58 66 59

Offensive starters

Max Lemke Ethan Rash Kyler Pessman Will Conner Nick McQuistion Kyle Schipper Dylan Bridgeman Eli Pannell Max Pannell Nate Portz Trae VanZuiden

6-0 5-6 6-1 6-0 5-10 6-2 6-4 5-9 6-0 5-10 6-3

LE 51 Josh Huizenga DT 57 Eli Pannell DT 58 Max Pannell RE 66 Portz OLB 6 Schipper ILB 23 Conner ILB 33 Rash OLB 34 Pessman CB 2 McQuistion S 7 Anthony Miller CB 4 Eathan Long

SM-ST26192-1026

Sr. So. So. So. Sr. Sr. So. Sr. So. So. Jr.

6-0 180 So. 5-9 210 Sr. 6-0 220 So. 5-10 220 So. 6-2 170 Sr. 6-0 160 So. 5-6 180 So. 6-1 170 So. 5-10 170 Sr. 6-3 180 Sr. 5-10 150 Jr.

2018 leaders

Rushing • Ethan Rash 143 rushes, 543 yards, 9 TDs • Kyler Pessman 78-430, 4 TDs • Max Lemke 44-278, 7 TDs Passing • Max Lemke, 55-for-99, 685 yards, 5 TDs, 5 INTs Receiving • Nick McQuistion 22 receptions, 306 yards, 1 TDs • Kyler Pessman 14-179

Aug. 25 Aug. 31 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19

Results

St. Bede (4-5) 27, Steamers 20 Mon.-Roseville (7-2) 33, Steamers 16 Steamers 20, Bureau Valley (3-6) 12 Steamers 35, Rockridge (6-3) 6 Steamers 14, Morrison (2-7) 12 Orion (9-0) 44, Steamers 7 Steamers 26, Riverdale (2-7) 6 Newman (8-1) 47, Steamers 12 Steamers 40, Erie-P’town (1-8) 13

®

Milledgeville Do It Best supports all area schools for the Football Playoffs!

160 180 170 160 170 170 280 210 220 220 240

Defensive starters

Milledgeville will bring its powerful rushing attack into the Class 1A playoffs, and a first-round matchup with Fulton’s powerful Carson Cayde Ethan defensive line.

Boyer Gusloff Rash The multi-pronged attack of Milledgeville Milledgeville Fulton Cayde Gusloff, Carson Boyer, Nate senior senior sophomore Rahn and Jack Munz will have to With nine of the Missiles offenfind space going against Josh Huisive starters also starting on zenga, Max Pannell, Eli Pannell defense, that speed will also be and Nate Portz. something for the Steamers to deal “On film, they’re a big, physical with when they have the ball. team, one of the more physical “You might be able to get someteams we’ll face this year,” Rahn said. “We’ve got to bring the phys- thing early on them, but you can’t go back to it because they shut it icality this week when we play down,” Lower said. them.”

That defense will have to shut As a team, the Missiles are averaging 7.5 yards per carry, with five down a Fulton offense that also different players having broken off brings multiple rushing threats into the attack with Kyler Pessa run of at least 40 yards. man, Ethan Rash and Max Lemke.

“When watching them on tape, “They run a lot of different things what jumps out at you is their offensively,” Missiles coach Jason overall quickness,” Fulton coach Wroble said. “We’ve got to make Patrick Lower said. “Their team sure we know our assignments speed at the skill positions is very and keys. [Rash] runs low to the good. This is a very good football ground and can be hard to tackle, team, and you can’t pinpoint just one thing that’s going to give us a and [Lemke] can make some plays problem.” with his legs.”

Supports Our Area Teams 18246 Waller Rd., Fulton

SM-ST26195-1026

Fulton Steamers

BY ERIC INGLES eingles@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5555 @Eric_Ingles

Agri-King Inc. 800-435-9560

How they stack up:

Missiles, Steamers bring powerful run games into 1A matchup

451 N Main Ave. Milledgeville IL 61051 815-225-7171 SM-ST26194-1026

Sauk Valley Media • October 26, 2018

| FIRST-ROUND EXTRA

6

Good Luck MHS Missiles at the Playoffs!

Class 1A • Polo (5-4) at Princeville (9-0) • 7 p.m. Friday • Princeville H.S. • 94.3 FM Polo Marcos 11 17 31 5 10 7 74 52 65 50 79

Offensive starters

Braiden Soltow Tucker Mumford Jace Coffey Ethan Phillips Jesse Powell Johnny Crumley AJ Williams Brady Clark Draven Wells Casey Thacker Cooper Blake

6-2 6-3 5-10 6-0 5-8 5-11 6-3 5-8 6-2 6-0 6-0

175 155 200 160 150 145 280 190 165 185 230

Sr. Jr. Jr. Sr. So. Sr. Sr. So. Sr. Sr. Fr.

BY BRIAN WEIDMAN bweidman@saukvalley.com 815-625-3600, ext. 5551

Defensive starters

DE 31 Coffey DT 74 Williams NG 79 Blake DT 52 Clark DE 17 Mumford LB 24 Cole Faivre LB 65 Wells LB 50 Thacker CB 5 Phillips CB 7 Crumley S 11 Soltow

5-10 200 Jr. 6-3 280 Sr. 6-0 230 Fr. 5-8 190 So. 6-3 155 Jr. 5-9 170 So. 6-2 165 Sr. 6-0 185 Sr. 6-0 160 Sr. 5-11 145 Sr. 6-2 175 Sr.

Results

Marcos 34, Orangeville (5-4) 31 Milledgeville 26, Marcos 8 Marcos 49, Metro-East (0-6) 12 Marcos 28, Aquin (4-5) 20 Marcos 28, Warren (1-8) 14 River Ridge (4-5) 6, Marcos 0 Stockton (7-2) 20, Marcos 0 Marcos 42, AFC (0-9) 18 EPC (9-0) 42, Marcos 14

BEST OF LUCK Polo Marcos

Aug. 24 Aug. 31 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19

21 18 22 7 86 13 74 56 55 59 58

Offensive starters

Matthew Butterfield Adam Snedden Jack Arnett Justin Janssen Jayden Jones Cody Thole Andrew Spurgeon Eli Wieland Finley Crear Adam Hurst Levi Endress

5-9 5-9 5-9 6-1 6-2 5-11 6-4 5-6 6-0 5-8 6-2

Tucker Mumford Polo junior

Braiden Soltow Polo senior

Ethan Phillips Polo senior

a 367-45 margin. Only Ridgewood managed to score more than two touchdowns in a game.

Meanwhile, the Princeville offense averaged 40.7 points.

Leading the way is returning allstate running back Adam Snedden, who has 144 carries for 1,320 yards and 25 touchdowns.

“They’ve got a great rushing attack,” Polo coach Jeff Bumsted said. “They’ve got good linemen.

They’re pretty steady on what they do. They don’t make mistakes – hardly any penalties. Defensively, they don’t blitz a lot, but just play assignment football. They play a 3-5, and their linebackers fill.

They’ve got quality kids all the way around, plus they have subs.”

Indeed, depth will be an issue.

Ten of the 11 Polo starters go both ways, while that number is seven for the Princes – but Princeville has a much larger roster to work with.

WE ARE

2018 leaders

Rushing • Adam Snedden, 144 rushes, 1,320 yards, 25 TDs • Jack Arnett, 100-556, 8 TDs • Justin Janssen, 38-277, 6 TDs Passing • Matthew Butterfield, 27-for-45, 363 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT Receiving • Janssen, 8 receptions, 96 yards • Arnett, 6-44, 1 TD

Aug. 24 Aug. 31 Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19

Results

Princes 14, Lewistown (5-4) 7 Princes 49, Abingdown (3-6) 7 Princes 53, West Central (1-8) 0 Princes 56, United (0-9) 7 Princes 42, Wethersfield (6-3) 6 Princes 27, ROWVA (6-3) 0 Princes 49, Stark County (3-6) 0 Princes 35, Mercer County (5-4) 7 Princes 42, Ridgewood (5-4) 12

OF YOU! SHANNON • POLO • LAKE CARROLL

www.fsbshannon-polo.com

WORK HARD. PLAY HARD

3210 4th St., Sterling, IL • 815-626-0401

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SAUK VALLEY TEAMS!

SM-ST25909-1026

Sr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Sr.

6-2 245 Sr. 6-4 312 Sr. 6-3 214 Jr. 5-9 167 Sr. 5-6 170 Sr. 6-1 190 Sr. - - - - Jr. 5-8 150 Jr. 5-11 140 Jr. 5-9 165 Sr.

Good Luck in the Playoffs!

PROUD (815) 864-2111 Shannon (815) 946-2777 Polo (815) 864-2125 Lake Carroll

150 165 167 190 215 140 312 170 240 180 245

Defensive starters

DE 58 Endress NG 74 Spurgeon DE 70 Hayden Hughes LB 22 Arnett LB 56 Wieland LB 7 Janssen LB 12 Cobee Craig LB 88 Tyus Hunt CB 26 Ruben Garcia CB 13 Thole S 18 Snedden

@BrianWeidman

A down-sized version of Polo football looms on the horizon, but all that matters for now is at least one more regular football game – and it’s of the playoff variety.

Before the Marcos give the 8-man game a go in 2019, they have to put a lid on 2018. They were the second-to-last team to qualify for the 256-team playoff field announced on Saturday night, and will begin play in the Class 1A postseason with a road game against Princeville on Friday.

Game time is 7 p.m.

For Polo (5-4), this marks the 22nd appearance in the postseason, and that was this team’s main objective.

“We want to go out on a high note,” junior running back/defensive end Tucker Mumford said.

“Our goal at the beginning of the season was to be the last 11-man team in Polo to make the playoffs.

Now that we’ve done that, we can only go up from here.”

In Princeville (9-0), the Marcos are facing one of their stiffest challenges. The Princes, champions of the Lincoln Trail Conference, have outscored their nine foes by

QB RB RB RB SE SE LT LG C RG RT

103 W. 3rd St., Sterling, IL 815-548-9550 SM-ST25916-1026

• October 26, 2018

2018 leaders

Rushing • Tucker Mumford 100 rushes, 534 yards, 8 TDs • Braiden Soltow 112-439, 7 TDs • Brady Webb 34-224, 5 TDs Passing • Soltow 63-111, 901 yards, 5 TDs, 13 INTs Receiving • Ethan Phillips 24 receptions, 286 yards, 1 TD • Mumford 17-292, 2 TDs

Princeville Princes

Marcos to make most of playoff berth

SM-ST25920-1026

QB RB WR WR WR WR RT RG C LG LT

One more dance for Polo

7

How they stack up:

FIRST-ROUND EXTRA | Sauk Valley Media

How they stack up:

Sauk Valley Media’s sports staff predicts the state champs

Sauk Valley Media • October 26, 2018

| FIRST-ROUND EXTRA

8

Class 1A

Class 2A

Class 3A

Class 4A

Class 5A

Class 6A

Class 7A

Class 8A

Cody Cutter

LenaWinslow

GCMS

Monticello

IC Catholic

Montini

Cary-Grove

Batavia

Oswego

Eric Ingles

Milledgeville

GCMS

Byron

Taylorville

Montini

Chicago Phillips

Glenbard East

Oswego

Adam Feiner

LenaWinslow

MaroaForsyth

Byron

IC Catholic

Montini

Cary-Grove

Hononegah

Lincoln-Way East

Ty Reynolds

LenaWinslow

GCMS

Byron

IC Catholic

Montini

Cary-Grove

Batavia

Lincoln-Way East

Brian Weidman

Aurora Christian

GCMS

Byron

Rochester

Montini

Oak Lawn Richards

Batavia

Brother Rice

Dan Woessner

Aurora Christian

GCMS

Byron

Rochester

Montini

Sacred Heart-Griffin

Glenbard East

Lincoln-Way East

Wishing All Area Teams

Good Luck in the Playoffs!

Angelo’s 608 12th Ave., Rock Falls 815-625-5163

Angelo’s II

WE’RE BEHIND YOU!

Good Luck

Milledgeville High School Missiles in the Football Playoffs!

2525 E. Lincolnway, Sterling 815-625-5451

Angelo’s Delivery 1804 Locust St., Sterling 815-625-5000 SM-ST25913-1026

Angelo’s III 800 N. Galena Ave., Dixon 815-285-0055

309 N. Washington Ave., Milledgeville IL 61051

13464 Galt Rd. • Sterling, IL • 815-716-8915 SM-ST25923-1026