By FRED KRONER
Schedule-makers didn’t do the Mahomet-Seymour football program any favors this spring.
The Bulldogs wound up playing fourth-ranked Effingham in its opener and will face 10th-ranked Mount Zion in Week 2.
On Friday (March 19), with 13 squad members missing for an assortment of reasons (including Spring Break), the Bulldogs battled Effingham on equal terms for more than 2 ½ quarters.
The Flaming Hearts broke the scoreless duel with a touchdown in the final 2 minutes of the third period and went on to a 21-7 triumph.
The scoreboard didn’t reflect how Bulldog head coach Jon Adkins was feeling.
“I was incredibly happy with our defensive performance,” Adkins said. “We started two freshmen (defensive end Jack Gallier and linebacker Luke Johnson) and had sophomores playing everywhere.
“It was an outstanding performance by our kids.”
Johnson finished with four tackles, tying for third on the team. Gallier wound up with two tackles.
It wasn’t by accident that the ninth-graders were in the position to help the varsity.
“They earned the right to dress, and the chance to play came because we were short-handed,” Adkins said.
M-S got on the scoreboard in the final minute when Braden Finch hooked up with Clay Hubble on a 47-yard pass play.
Sophomore Kyle Walmer – who is also playing soccer this spring – converted the extra-point kick.
“Our offense moved the ball well,” Adkins said. “We rushed for almost 200 yards (191), the guys up front blocked well, the running backs and quarterbacks ran well and the receivers did a great job, not only catching the ball, but also blocking on the edge.”
Finch completed 9 of 20 passes for 134 yards.
Hubble had seven receptions for 110 yards. Tyler Lewis caught one pass for 14 yards and Dream Morgan-Eagle had one reception for 10 yards.
Finch was the top rusher, gaining 70 yards on 14 tries. Hubble rushed for 50 yards and amassed 226 yards of all-purpose yardage, counting 66 yards on three kickoff returns.
Skyler Yancy ran the ball 11 times for 48 yards. Nolan Nierenhausen contributed 23 rushing yards on seven attempts.
“To be able to stand toe-to-toe with the No. 4 team in the state after all the adversity the program has had to deal with, I’m so proud of our kids,” Adkins said.
Leading the defense was sophomore linebacker Nick Golden, with 11 tackles.
“He read his keys well, found the ball and flew to it,” Adkins said. “He’s an aggressive player and did his job.”
Tyler Uken was next with six tackles. Johnson and Hayden Nelson each had four stops.
Yancy and Ashton Heiser wound up with three tackles apiece.
“We were young and inexperienced,” Adkins said. “A lot of kids got a lot of good game reps and we’ll continue to get better.”
There is a two-part goal for this spring’s abbreviated six-game season.
“We want to get the young kids some experience and send the seniors off on their last ride and honor them,” Adkins said.
The coach doesn’t expect any of the M-S players who missed the Week 1 game to be ready to play in the second game.
The upcoming opponent, Mount Zion, won its opener (against Mattoon) by the same score as M-S lost in the opener, 21-7.
“It doesn’t get any easier,” Adkins said. “Mount Zion has a lot of skill kids and we’ll have our hands full, but our kids are up to the challenge.”
Prior to the opener, Adkins made a point with his squad that didn’t focus entirely on football.
“When we were walking the field (pre-game), I said, ‘Take a deep breath, enjoy the moment and savor every second.
“’We’ve waited 500-some days for this (game), and we don’t know if we’ll get it again (because of the uncertainty of COVID-19), so relish it.’”
The Friday (March 26) game will be played at Mount Zion.
