Last Saturday, before the Rockets took on rival St. Joseph Ogden in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs, one crucial message was written on the whiteboard in the Unity football locker room.
Playmakers have to make plays.
The atmosphere surrounding the Rockets (8-3), who will face Nashville (10-1) in the state quarterfinals this Saturday at 2 p.m. at Hicks Field in Tolono, is much different than it was at the end of September. A 35-7 win over SJ-O certainly helps, but so does rebounding from a 20-10 home loss to Bloomington Central Catholic on Sept. 27.
Unity was 2-3 after losing to BCC, and it was unclear whether they would qualify for the playoffs or make it to the postseason. Those concerns are now a thing of the past.
“The BCC loss was game-changing and very humbling for all of us,” Unity coach Scott Hamilton said. “We couldn’t run the ball. We couldn’t do what we did against St. Joe. It’s a lot of hard work by a lot of people. Hats off to the coaches and the kids for believing in this system. We is starting something.”
Regardless of the outcome of this Saturday’s game against Nashville, it will be the ninth-seeded Rockets’ last home game of the season. The state semifinal game will be played on the road against either No. 6 seed Monticello (9-2) or No. 10 seed Benton (8-3). That means this could be Hamilton’s last home game. The Hall of Fame coach is in his 31st season leading the Rockets and will step down as Unity’s athletic director at the end of this year, but has not yet made a decision on his coaching future.
Either way, he doesn’t want the focus to be on him this Saturday.
“The important thing is to prepare for Nashville,” Hamilton said. “We have to keep improving things ourselves, but I’m really proud of the kids.”
chase it
Much of the evaluation of Monticello revolves around Sages’ offense. Considering quarterback Ike Young’s two-way ability and the fact that the Sages are averaging 45.5 points so far in the playoffs before Monticello faces Benton in the 3A state quarterfinals this Saturday at 2 p.m. Well, of course.
But holding Duquoin to just 20 points in a first-round win and holding Williamsville to 14 points in last Saturday’s second-round win didn’t go unnoticed by Monticello coach Curry Welter. isn’t it. The Sages have come a long way since losing 40-28 to SJ-O in Week 1, shutting out Rantoul and Paxton Buckley-Roda during the regular season.
Nolan Buehnerkemper, Hunter Romano, Matt Swartz, Mason High and Jack Helms are players to keep an eye on when Monticello’s defense is on the field.
“Our toughness showed once again,” Welter said. “We’re not the biggest front, and Williamsville had a pretty strong offensive line. Even though they broke some tackles, we fought relentlessly in the front seven and it paid off. Ta.”
get over it
Mark Dodd has coached Bismarck-Hennig/Rossville-Albin in 28 playoff games and has led the program since 2007. However, only one of those games made it past the second round, with the Blue Devils losing 26-21 to Carrollton in Game 2. 2014 1A state quarterfinals.
On Saturday night, Dodd and the Blue Devils (11-0) will travel to Palos Heights to play Chicago Christian (10-1) in the first 2A state quarterfinal in program history, kickoff at 5 p.m. BHRA defeated Seneca 21-14 at home in the second round last Saturday, ending a 12-game losing streak for the Blue Devils in 2A second round games.
“I don’t talk about it, but I know the players talk about it,” Dodd, who is inducted into the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, said earlier this year. “It’s not that I make it important, but the players know it’s important just because they care about me and they care about our program. I think that’s why our kids are so great. We have great kids who are fully invested. This was a huge win for our entire program.”
Preparations are underway
Gibson City vs. Melvin Sibley will make the 200-mile drive north this weekend for the 1A state quarterfinals against perennial powerhouse Lena Winslow, Saturday with a 2 p.m. kickoff.
The Falcons (10-1) have never faced the Panthers (11-0) in a playoff game, but GCMS coach Chad Augasperger has a good idea of what they’re in for. know.
Lena Winslow is making its 30th playoff appearance and has won six state championships since 2010, appearing in the last four 1A state title games and last losing in the 2016 state quarterfinals. It is a match. Located west of Rockford, they have outscored opponents 432-159 this season and rarely throw the ball on offense.
“Each team was able to earn a certain amount of points.Depending on how the games played out, there may be some misunderstandings, but not all of them were big losses throughout the season,” Augspurger said. . “We’re going to have to make some plays from the passing game because we can’t completely stop them. If we can change their strategy a little bit and force them into third-and-long, that’s going to be a good thing. But they’re huge. Our kids are excited about this opportunity and we’re not going to look away.”
get ready
LeRoy won’t have to leave McLean County again to play in a football game this season. The undefeated Panthers (11-0) will play No. 13 seed Galena (7-4) in the 1A state quarterfinals this Saturday at 1 p.m. If Leroy can avoid an upset against the Pirates, it will face either Lena Winslow or GCMS in the state semifinals next Saturday. They will earn the right to play at Hancock Stadium in Normal, about a 15-minute drive from LA McKean Field.
The high expectations this group of Panthers had in the preseason haven’t diminished with each win as LeRoy looks to pull off the sixth undefeated season in the program’s 125-year history. Four of those seasons occurred before the IHSA playoffs arrived in 1974, with Jim Zeleznik’s 1996 team going 14-0 and winning the 1A state title.
Almost 30 years later, Jim’s son BJ is in his 22nd season coaching the Panthers. His son, Bo, is a senior quarterback and linebacker at LeRoy. And BJ just surpassed his father for the most wins in Leroy history with a 53-29 win at Rockford Lutheran last Saturday.
“They love the sport of soccer and they love playing for each other,” BJ Zeleznik said of the current team. “They really enjoy putting on their pads on Fridays and Saturdays and going out and jumping around. It really helps relieve the expectations and the pressure, because when there’s a love for the game, it’s really It’s an intangible thing that will help you get to the top.”
