Bulldogs break away in second have of second-round Class 5A playoff game
By FRED KRONER
Throughout the high school football season, Mahomet-Seymour’s first-team defense took pride in holding its opponent scoreless or to no more than one first-half touchdown.
Of the first 10 M-S games, just one school reached the end zone more than once against the Bulldogs during the opening 24 minutes.
In a Saturday (Nov. 5) second-round IHSA Class 5A playoff game at Frank Dutton Field against Metamora, it was the second half during which the Bulldogs buckled down and kept the Redbirds off the scoreboard.
The repeated defensive standouts were significant in a game where the M-S halftime lead was a slender one-point margin, 29-28.
The top-seeded Bulldogs (11-0) went on to a 44-28 triumph to move into the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.
Metamora’s vaunted running attack generated the majority of its 392 yards on the ground before the halftime buzzer.
“To start the game, they showed us some things we hadn’t seen on film,” M-S coach Jon Adkins said. “It took a series or two to get adjusted, and then a couple more series to get the players to understand what the adjustments would be.”
Metamora’s final record is 6-4, but three of the losses were to teams that have moved into the state quarterfinals.
“They are more like an 8-1 or a 9-0 team,” Adkins said. “We knew Metamora was a very good club.”
The M-S defense was up to the challenge against the Redbirds.
Brennan Houser intercepted two passes and produced a season-high 11 tackles.
“Houser had one of the best high school games I’ve seen, Adkins said. “Besides the tackles and interceptions, he scored a touchdown.
“Talk about a kid who knows if we lose, we’re done. He was vocal all night and put guys in spots (defensively).
“The guys were feeding off of that. He was the absolute leader. Not many middle linebackers can over the ground he can. His effort was incredible.”
Nick Golden, Braden Houchin, Donnovan Lewis and Ben Wagner all registered seven tackles for the Bulldogs.
Golden also recorded a game-high two sacks.
When his team was pushed, Adkins was pleased to see how they responded.
“For the first time, we were in a meaningful, close game in the second half,” he said. “This was a lot of fun.
“Nick and Ben were all over the field and Mateo (Casillas) had one of his best games. He was crunching people (on offense) in our Diesel Package.”
Adkins also praised the solid second-half defensive play of Dayten Eisenmann and Kale Schweighart.
Not to be overlooked was an offensive platoon which produced more rushing yards (191) than passing yards (134) for just the third time in 11 games.
“It was one of our better offensive games,” Adkins said. “We had only three incompletions (in 18 attempts), got the ball to multiple people (10 Bulldogs carried the ball or caught a pass) and only punted one time.
“We were able to have success running the ball even with their loaded box. The holes our front five were able to open were incredible.”
The backfield headliner was sophomore Brayden Garrett, who was handed the ball 13 times. He rushed for a career-high 123 yards – nearly doubling his season total, which had been 64 yards – and scored one touchdown.
“Three weeks ago, he was on the defensive side as a backup safety,” Adkins said. “We made a change (when rushing leader Luke Johnson was sidelined with an ankle injury in Week 9) and he kept progressing.
“He is a sophomore who is stepping up. We knew he could be something special.”
Quenton Rogers – one of the state’s leading receivers – ground out 72 rushing yards, which accounted for more than half of his total offense.
Rogers caught eight passes for 64 yards. He tallied two TDs.
Wyatt Bohm connected on 15 of 18 passes – without an interception for the eight game this season – and threw for 134 yards.
Adam Dyer had 28 yards on his one reception. Valient Walsh caught three passes and Trey Peters grabbed two receptions. Tyson Finch caught one pass.
The Bulldogs returned two consecutive kickoffs for touchdowns.
The first one lifted the Bulldogs into a 29-22 led with 3:28 left in the first half when Houchin raced 68 yards with a kickoff.
Lewis returned the second-half kickoff 74 yards to the end zone, moving the Bulldogs’ lead to 35-28 just 11 seconds into the third quarter.
Two other Bulldogs (Rogers and Walsh) had kickoff returns for TDs earlier in the season.
They were the deep backs on Saturday, with Lewis and Houchin positioned in front of them.
“We have a 5-2-2-2 (alignment) on kickoffs and the next two (in front of Lewis and Houchin) are Ben Wagner and Brennan Houser,” Adkins said. “We’ve shown we have more (explosive returners) than Rogers and Walsh.”
Garrett’s TD came later in the third quarter and senior placekicker Kyle Walmer made a field goal for the second playoff game in a row, providing the final insurmountable 16-point margin. Walmer was also 3-for-3 on his extra-point attempts.
The Bulldogs’ offense could receive a boost for its quarterfinal road trip to Morris (for a 4 p.m. game on Saturday, Nov. 12) if Johnson gets a green light from his doctors this week to return to action.
“If we get Luke back, it would be the healthiest we’ve been in a long time (since Week 5),” Adkins said. “I can’t remember the last time we’ve been at full strength.”
Morris has a 9-2 season record and is coming off a 56-0 shutout at Centralia.
“They are really good and extremely physical,” Adkins said. “We will definitely have our hands full.
“I know our kids will be ready to play for four quarters. They know there is an opportunity to return home (for a game) in the semifinals (on Saturday, Nov 19).”
