Adkins gives nod to senior class after Mahomet-Seymour loss
By FRED KRONER
Jon Adkins will never have another loss like the one his Mahomet-Seymour football team sustained on Saturday (Nov. 12) at Morris.
Falling behind early in a Class 5A quarterfinal game, the previously unbeaten Bulldogs were eliminated from the IHSA playoffs with a 35-14 loss to the fourth-seeded Redskins.
“This is a tough day,” Adkins said, “knowing I’ll never coach these seniors again.
“This was the first senior class I’ve had all the way through. This is a special group.”
Adkins arrived at M-S in the fall of 2019, at the same time members of the Class of 2023 were enrolling as freshmen.
“Nobody wants it to be done,” Adkins continued. “Maybe moreso this year than others.
“This senior class watched a new coach come in and go 4-5 (on varsity in 2019). For them to buy in to the message (and a new philosophy) says everything you need to know about them.”
And then, after compiling an 11-1 record in 2021, the Class of 2023 leaders made certain that complacency was not present for their final high school season.
“It would be easy after you go 11-1 to coast and go through the motions,” Adkins said, “but that’s not what these kids did.
“They did the opposite. They worked even harder to follow up on that.”
Once again, M-S closed out an 11-1 season with the quarterfinal-round setback at Morris. It was the second straight year the Bulldogs suffered their first loss one win shy of a Final Four appearance.
“Some kids, some teams, some coaches, some programs dream about going to the quarterfinals,” Adkins said. “They’ve done it back-to-back years.
“The overall standard is one where they have raised the bar really, really high. Everyone (in the future) will try to live up to what these kids have done.
“I feel good about where the program is.”
Morris scored two touchdowns in the first 8 ½ minutes, building what became an insurmountable 14-0 lead.
The Redskins completed only three passes in the game, but the first two were TD strikes to junior A.J. Zweeres within a 2-minute and 8-second span.
“He’s probably the best receiver we’ve faced,” Adkins said. “Their running game is their strong suit, but when they pass, the quarterback could put it on the money.
“They are a very good ball club.”
The Bulldogs retaliated and scored both of their TDs on Quenton Rogers’ runs during a 3-minute segment of the second quarter.
The second of Kyle Walmer’s two conversion kicks narrowed the M-S deficit to 21-14 with 7:26 left in the opening half.
“It’s hard to win when you have turnovers (three) and penalties (seven),” Adkins said. “I wish things would have been different, but I told them one loss doesn’t define who they are or what they have accomplished.”
By contrast, Morris had one turnover (a fumble recovered by Jake Waldinger) and two penalties.
Morris effectively bottled up Rogers and the M-S passing game. Rogers was limited to one reception, the first time this year he had fewer than three catches in a game.
“They double-covered ‘Q’” Adkins said.
Bulldog quarterback Wyatt Bohm completed 11 of 24 passes for a season-low 130 yards. He was intercepted twice.
Valient Walsh hauled in four passes while Luke Johnson, Braden Pagel and Trey Peters all had two receptions.
Johnson, who had missed the previous 2 ½ games with an ankle injury, rushed for a team-high 58 yards on 16 carries and eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the season.
He gained 1,034 rushing yards and had a per-carry average of 7.0 yards.
Morris added one more TD in each of the final two quarters to seal its advancement to the semifinals and a date at Peoria on Saturday (Nov. 19).
“We essentially made Morris end up earning every score,” Adkins said, “but unfortunately, we didn’t get enough stops or couldn’t convert when we did (after a goal-line stand). You’ve got to get them off of the field.
“Overall, I was proud of that side of the ball.”
Four Bulldog defenders reached their season’s high for tackles, led by Nick Golden (11 stops). Braden Houchin had nine tackles as did Donnovan Lewis. Ryan Yancy had six tackles.
Two other teammates matched their top tackling performance of the year: Ben Wagner (seven) and Jack Gallier (four). Brennan Houser had 10 tackles, one away from his season’s best. Mateo Casillas had five tackles, also one shy of his top game of the year.
Jayvon Irwin also finished with four tackles.
Three of the 24 seniors who will graduate from this year’s squad accounted for a bevy of school records, 12 in all.
Bohm holds the top two marks for passing yards in a season (3,171 as a junior and 2,512 as a senior). He also owns the top two spots for season completions (184 as a junior and 166 as a senior). He stands 1-2 in TD passes for a season (32 as a senior and 27 as a junior).
Bohm stands at or near the top in those same categories for his career totals. He is first in career TD passes (59), second in career completions (350) and third in career passing yardage (5,383).
His primary target, Quenton Rogers, has the first- and third-best season totals for receiving yardage (1,255 as a junior and 1,141 as a senior). He is second and third, respectively, for passes caught in a season (59 as a senior and 58 as a junior) and ranks third in total TDs scored in a season (28 as a senior).
Rogers holds the M-S career receiving yardage record (2,396 yards) as well as ranking first for career receptions (117). His 18 TD catches as a senior is a new school mark as are his 29 career TD receptions.
Walmer made his mark in the record books as well. He holds the second- and third-best season scoring totals by a kicker (68 points as a senior and 51 as a junior) and set the record for extra-point conversions in a season (59 as a senior). The 48 conversion kicks he hit as a junior rank third on the single-season list.
Walmer also rewrote the mark for career points scored by a kicker (144) at M-S as well as for career extra points made (132).
“I’m happy for them,” Adkins said. “How long have those records (that were broken) lasted?
“Hopefully, 10 years from now, I will be talking to our quarterback about Wyatt Bohm.
“As I reflect, I’m extremely happy, 22-2 (over the past two years) is just incredible. All good things must come to an end.”
The 24 seniors on the Bulldogs’ playoff roster were Marshall Bachar, Wyatt Bohm, Mateo Casillas, Nick Demos, Mikane Didier, Adam Dyer, Dayten Eisenmann, Mitchell Gilbert, Nick Golden, Zachary Hammond, Ethan Harrell, Braden Houchin, Brennan Houser, Ryan Koller, Niklas Minnich, Kole Morgan, Quenton Rogers, Kale Schweighart, Carter Selk, Ben Wagner, Jake Waldinger, Kyle Walmer, Valient Walsh and Ryan Yancy.
For those who like to look ahead, the 2023 high school football season will start for the Bulldogs in 284 days with a Friday (Aug. 25) non-conference road game at Morton.
