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Quiz Bowl winners River Ridge FFA Chapter team successfully defeated Lena-Winslow in the final round to take home the championship trophy. Pictured are David Buck, Katie Cobine, Laiken Haas, Kayla Diehl and Ty Spahn.
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Orangeville makes playoff run in first eight man season By Trenten Scheidegger CORRESPONDENT
The Orangeville Broncos and Head Coach, Bill Meier, have taken over Illinois eightman football in 2021. After finishing the regular season with an 8-1 overall record, the Broncos came into the 2021 Illinois’ eight-man football playoffs with their heads held high as they were riding a three game winning streak. They have kept their momen-
tum rolling as three straight postseason victories have extended their winning streak to six games. With a matchup against the Polo Marcos in their near future, I decided to take a look at how the Broncos have gotten here. Ahead of the regular season, Meier expressed a desire to be one of the more physical teams in eight-man football. They did so thanks in large to the running attack led by Gu-
nar Lobdell. The junior running back was the main focus of their offense as he rushed for 1,648 yards in the regular season. He did so in just eight games as they lost a week nine matchup when AFC was forced to forfeit. That total does not include the yardage Lobdell caught in the passing game, or the postseason run he has led the Broncos on. Orangeville began their 2021 postseason run with a
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familiar matchup against the Hiawatha Hawks. The Broncos had plenty of confidence in their round one matchup as they routed the Hawks 56-8 back in their week three duel. Their postseason matchup was much of the same as Orangeville took control from the very start. While the Broncos were able to rely on their aggressive running game, quarterback Carson Rote did plenty of damage through the air. Lobdell rushed for a trio of scores in the first quarter alone, which opened up the passing attack. Rote threw for 127 yards and a touchdown on just four completions. Lobdell finished the game with 167 yards and a mind-boggling total of six touchdowns as Orangeville dominated Hiawatha 48-14. Brayden Cahoon caught the lone touchdown pass as he finished the game with ninety receiving yards on just two receptions. The Broncos would face much tougher competition in round two as they faced off with the Martinsville Bluestreaks, who held a record of 8-2. Orangeville kept their momentum rolling, howev-
er, as it was the Lobdell show once again. The junior rushed for 225 yards and four touchdowns, bringing his postseason total to ten scores in just two weeks. Cahoon helped with the ground attack as he rushed for ninety-five yards and a score on nine attempts. Rote was dynamic as he threw for seventy- seven yards and a score while adding sixty-seven yards and another score on the ground. Altogether, the Broncos rushed for 392 yards and seven touchdowns as they beat the Bluestreaks 48-20. Cahoon helped keep Martinsville out of it as he nabbed two interceptions on the defensive side of the ball. In round three, Orangeville faced off with another familiar opponent in the Amboy Clippers. Although, the Broncos handled the Clippers 55-6 in their week eight matchup just four weeks prior, the Clippers gave them a better test in round three. It was the Amboy defense that gave the Broncos fits as they forced three turnovers with two fumbles and an interception. That was enough to keep the Clippers in the game, however, the Orangeville run-
ning attack would prevail, once again. Lobdell put up incredible numbers again as he rushed for 224 yards and a trio of scores on the ground. Orangeville had two rushers reach triple digits as Cahoon totaled 106 yards and a score on eleven attempts. Cahoon had the longest run of the day as he went fifty-eight yards in the third quarter to put the Broncos up 21-12. The Orangeville defense had some answers of their own as Jake George and Rote both snagged interceptions in the round three game. It was an all around performance as the Broncos went on to beat the Clippers 34-12 to punch their ticket to the eight-man title game. Including the postseason, Lobdell has now rushed for 2,264 yards in the 2021 season. 616 of those yards came in the postseason, where the junior has also added thirteen touchdowns to his total. The Broncos will need Lobdell to keep it rolling if they hope to bring home the championship as they face off with the 12-0 Polo Marcos this Friday at Monmouth college.
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