By Fred Kroner
It took 100 years – plus another 28 days – for a football team from Mahomet to gain revenge on the gridiron athletes from Bloomington High School.
Until the schools met on Friday (Oct. 23) in Mahomet, the only football game against the two non-conference opponents was played on Sept. 24, 1921 in Bloomington.
Bloomington won that game, 30-3.
No one reading this account will remember that contest, but thanks to archives – and research compiled by Bloomington historian Kev Varney – the first meeting has not slipped into obscurity.
In a history-making rematch on Friday (Oct. 22), it was all Bulldogs from the time Dayten Eisenmann intercepted a pass 13 seconds into the contest until the final horn sounded at 9:22 p.m. with M-S able to celebrate a 21-7 victory.
The victory enabled the current Bulldog squad to be one of six in school history in football to complete a regular-season schedule without a loss or a tie.
In the process of rolling up the milestone ninth win, M-S junior quarterback Wyatt Bohm shattered the 17-year-old school record for passing yardage in a season.
When Bohm connected with Valient Walsh, who flew up the north sidelines for a 9-yard gain with 2 minutes and 35 seconds left before halftime, it gave Bohm 2,345 passing yards for the year.
The previous mark (2,342) has been held since 2004 by Bodie Reeder, who is now a staff assistant at Auburn University.
By game’s end Bohm’s new single-season passing record stood at 2,416 yards.
“That was a special moment for him and I,” M-S coach Jon Adkins said. “When he came to the sidelines (after the possession ended), I gave him a big hug and whispered, ‘Congratulations. You’re the new record-holder.’”
In many games, on many days, that individual achievement would be the night’s highlight.
On this Friday, where raindrops matched the cheers of the spectators, it was overshadowed by the collective job the team has done in Adkins’ third year as head coach.
Officially, the 2021 team goes down as the sixth to be undefeated in the regular season at M-S, joining teams in 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962 and 2004.
In Adkins’ mind the list is much shorter.
“I took it one step further,” Adkins said. “I told them only one other team has gone 9-0.”
The 1959-62 Bulldog teams played during an era when the season consisted of eight games. M-S had a state-record 33 -game winning streak when the 1962 season ended.
The Bulldogs’ preseason goals in 2021 were to win the Apollo Conference title and to qualify for the playoffs. As the wins began mushrooming, the unbeaten season started to come into focus.
“Hats off to the kids,” Adkins said. “It’s one thing to say it and talk about it, but to get it done in this fashion, a dogfight, is rewarding and satisfying.”
Senior Tyler Uken said it was a statement win that coincides with a return to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
“It shows we’re back in business, back to being a powerhouse,” Uken said. “In June, I knew we’d be a special team.
“No one is surprised.”
Another senior, Mitch Gallier, said this season demonstrates how quickly a program can be turned around.
“Two years ago, we were 4-5 and looking at rebuilding,” Gallier said. “It feels good to have the hard work pay off. We knew if we worked hard, we could achieve anything.
“It’s special to the town to be as good as we once were.”
The Bulldogs hope to make more memories. M-S will host a first-round Class 5A playoff game on Saturday (7 p.m. kickoff) against Jacksonville (5-4).
“It’s an honor to play with these men,” senior Nolan Nierenhausen said.
Against Bloomington, M-S scored first and last, but the Purple Raiders prevented a pullaway. Bulldog starters returned to the field for the final 31 seconds, a possession that ended with Bohm taking a knee and letting the clock run down to zero.
A 16-yard pass from Bohm to Nierenhausen accounted for the game’s first touchdown, at the 5:22 mark of the opening quarter.
The score capped a 10-play, 72-yard drive on the team’s second possession.
M-S regained possession 3 minutes later and Bohm completed five consecutive passes, accounting for 66 yards, to set the Bulldogs up with a first-and-goal from the 5.
Bohm then handed off to Gallier, who bulldozed his way straight up the middle and into the endzone, dragging would-be tacklers with him.
A two-point conversion pass, from Bohm to Braden Pagel, who cradled the ball in the right corner of the end zone, lifted M-S into a 14-0 lead with 14 seconds remaining in the opening period.
Bloomington, a school with 1,461 students, cut its deficit in half by intermission.
Adkins’ halftime message wasn’t one of despair.
“I told the kids, ‘If they don’t score again, we win,’” Adkins said.
The Purple Raiders moved into M-S territory twice in the second half, but to no avail. Each time, the Bulldog defense rose to the challenge.
The first time, the defensive front sent quarterback Marcus Griffin backwards for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-two from the M-S 17.
On the next possession, Mateo Casillas dropped Griffin for a 9-yard loss on third down from the Bulldog 44. The quarterback’s fourth-down pass resulted in Eisenmann’s second interception of the game.
Eisenmann subsequently had an underthrown ball in his hands, but instead of grabbing another interception in the game’s final 40 seconds, the junior defensive back batted it away.
“I was proud of our defense as a whole and how well we adapted to different things,” Adkins said. “The last three or four weeks, we have continued to see different things that will prepare us for what Week 10, and beyond, might look like.”
Adkins said he expected a low-scoring struggle.
“Bloomington is the toughest team we’ve prepared for,” Adkins said. “We spent hours and hours preparing for their formations.
“They are probably the toughest team we’ve played all year. Their defensive line is the best we’ve gone against. We knew it would be this type of game.”
Bohm completed 22 of 30 passes for 241 yards. Walsh and Quenton Rogers each snared six passes for 62 yards. Dream Eagle latched onto five passes for 60 yards.
Nierenhausen turned three catches into gains of 30 yards in addition to rushing for a game-high 79 yards on 18 carries.
M-S outgained Bloomington, 322-175.
Defensively, the Bulldogs had heroes aplenty.
Jack Gallier was involved with a season-high 15 tackles and Casillas had 10 stops. Nick Golden finished with eight tackles, Hayden Marxmiller had six tackles while both Mitch Gallier and Ashton Heiser ended with five stops apiece.
M-S has been operating the last three games without the 6-foot-10, 260-pound Uken anchoring the offensive line.
He suffered a knee injury in a Wednesday night practice during preparations for the Peoria Richwoods game and said he will undergo surgery on Tuesday (Oct. 26).
Uken was hurt, he said, “when I planted my right foot and the knee buckled in.”
He has remained a constant on the sidelines at games.
“We’re family-strong,” Uken said. “I love all these guys. I come to every practice.”
In Uken’s absence, Marshall Bachar was inserted as the right guard with Will Jones shifting to left tackle.
The other line starters (center Brayden Smith, left guard Mikane Didier and right tackle George Moore) remain the same.
Though Bachar was new to the varsity lineup, he was far from unproven.
“Marshall earned the spot by how he performed in JV games,” Adkins said. “He got a ton of experience on the JV the first half of the season and he has continued to get better.”
Jacksonville, which has an enrollment of 941, is one of five schools from the Central State Eight to advance into the playoffs. The Crimsons were 4-4 on the field and picked up a forfeit win from Springfield.
Jacksonville sewed up its playoff berth by winning in weeks 8 and 9.
“My honest opinion,” Adkins said, “is they are one of the best 5-4 teams in the state.
“They have one of the best quarterbacks in the state. We will have our hands full.”
Jacksonville head coach Mark Grounds is in his 22nd year as the school’s head coach. He was directing the Crimsons in the 2004 playoffs when they ended the season for Charleston and the high school career for a senior named Jon Adkins.
“We were 8-1 and they were 6-3,” Adkins said. “They got hot at the right time and lost in the semifinals to the eventual state champs.”
Adkins doesn’t have hard feelings from the loss.
“(Grounds) is somebody I look up to,” Adkins said. “He’s a guy I’ve admired. He does things the right way. His kids are always disciplined.
“It will be an honor to coach against him.”
For the season, M-S ran the table in the conference, going undefeated in Apollo play at the varsity, JV and freshmen levels.
The M-S JV squad finished its season with a 6-1 record. The freshmen team was 7-1.
