By Fred Kroner
The spectacular plays are the ones the fans remember and the ones that compel them to cheer wildly.
A 92-yard kickoff return to start the game and an 82-yard interception return early in the second half were two of the important crowd-pleasing touchdowns on Saturday (Nov. 6) when Mahomet-Seymour blitzed Troy Triad, 49-14, in a Class 5A football playoff game at Frank Dutton Field.
Quenton Rogers and Nick Golden were the Bulldogs with the two longest scoring plays in what evolved into M-S’ second postseason contest to end with a running clock.
Mahomet-Seymour head coach Jon Adkins applauds the performance of the two juniors, but also acknowledged that if prior things had not happened, the scoring runs would not have been possible.
The kickoff return:
“We had scouted them and had a scheme drawn up to take it up the right sidelines,” Adkins said.
Rogers was positioned so that he would be on the receiving end of such a kick.
The Triad kicker – a replacement for a teammate who was playing in the state championship soccer match on Saturday – booted the ball away from Rogers, who earlier in the year had a kick return for a touchdown covering more than 90 yards.
Valient Walsh accepted the kickoff inside his 10-yard line.
“This is another example of our players being unselfish,” Adkins said. “He could have taken the ball (and run with it).”
Walsh ran laterally to his right, where he knew the blockers would be starting to set up, but then he pitched back to Rogers.
“He knew he had a job, to go and block someone,” Adkins said.
That was exactly what Walsh and his blocking colleagues did, and Rogers took it from there, outsprinting the defense to the end zone after 17 seconds had elapsed.
The first of seven consecutive conversion placements by Kyle Walmer sent the Bulldogs into a 7-0 lead they never lost.
The interception return:
M-S carried a 21-7 lead into halftime, but Triad promptly marched downfield in the third quarter and threatened to make it a one-possession game.
Golden stepped up and picked off one of the six passes Triad attempted in the entire game. The TD was his first of the season.
“It was a fantastic play and flipped the scoreboard (to 28-7 instead of a possible 21-14),” Adkins said, “but in my opinion, the turning point on that drive was three plays before.”
Nic Funk had broken through the M-S front line and ripped off Triad’s longest gain of the game, 33 yards.
It could have been for more yardage.
“Jake Waldinger came out of nowhere and had a solo diving tackle to save the TD,” Adkins said. “If they score then, it’s a completely different outcome. Triad would have all of the momentum.”
A cornerback, Waldinger is a junior who finished the game with two tackles. That’s about the amount coaches hope for from their players stationed in the secondary.
Waldinger’s primary in-game assignment is to play on the side of the field as the opposing team’s top receiver.
“He is always in great position,” Adkins said.
The show-stopping plays that were courtesy of Rogers and Golden were only possible because of what their teammates had done earlier to set the stage for their heroics.
That was far from the night’s highlights, however.
The rest of the game:
Through two rounds of the IHSA football playoffs, no other Class 5A school has matched the accomplishments of Mahomet-Seymour.
In reaching the Elite Eight of 5A, the Bulldogs have rolled up 99 points in their first two postseason games. Only one other 5A quarterfinalist (Marion) has scored as many as 88 points in the first two rounds. Marion has 92.
No other 5A school has secured running clocks in each of its first two playoff games.
M-S made it 2-for-2 on Saturday.
While Adkins agrees that running clocks are not the norm in playoff games, he added, “I know the team we have and how special these kids are. When you add all of that together, special things tend to happen.”
The touchdown that put the Bulldogs into a lead of more than 40 points came on an 8-yard run by Nolan Nierenhausen with 11 minutes and 20 seconds left in the fourth period.
Nierenhausen’s TD lifted M-S into a 49-7 advantage and started the running clock.
A week earlier, M-S secured a running clock for the final 15 minutes and 29 seconds.
The M-S defense has been the equal of its offense since the playoffs started. Of the remaining eight schools in 5A, the Bulldogs are one of four schools that have permitted just three TDs in the postseason. That is the best in 5A.
“Not that they needed more motivation, but when I told our kids a comment that was said to me by a person in their program (at Triad) – that there was no way we’d be as physical as they were – that was all the motivation they needed,” Adkins said. “They wanted to show they are physical.
“Our defense is always flying around and causing havoc.”
Though Triad wound up with 245 yards, the total was under 200 yards when the running clock came into play and the Bulldogs sent in their second team.
“Our first group held them to seven points,” Adkins said.
A glance at the final statistics might lead a viewer to think there was a typo or that certain numbers were attributed to the wrong team.
Time of possession:
The Triad offense had the ball for 35 minutes and 58 seconds.
M-S had the ball for 12 minutes and 2 seconds.
No mistake. The numbers are indeed accurate.
“They are a ball-control offense and we knew that would be the case,” Adkins said. “They control the clock and try to wear you down.
“We knew possessions would be limited and we had to capitalize.”
M-S’ balanced scoring attack featured touchdowns in four different manners to account for the team’s first four TDs.
Rogers’ return was followed by a 4-yard run by Braden Houchin. Next came a 22-yard scoring strike from Wyatt Bohm to Dream Eagle that created the 21-7 halftime lead for M-S.
Less than 2 ½ minutes into the third stanza, Golden raced 82 yards with his first interception of the year to move M-S into an insurmountable 28-7 lead.
In a subsequent 9-minute stretch that extended early into the final quarter, the Bulldogs added three more TDs.
Mitchell Gallier scored on a 4-yard run, Rogers took a pass from Bohm and turned it into an 80-yard score before Nierenhausen added the tally that led to the running clock.
All told, six different squad members reached the end zone against Triad.
As dominant as the Bulldogs were in gaining 404 total yards in the second-round playoff game, Triad ran more plays from scrimmage, 54-42.
For the third game in a row, Bohm etched his name in the M-S record book.
Two games ago, it was for passing yards in a season (now at 3,005), one game ago, it was for passes completed in a season (now at 169) and, on Saturday, he tied Joe Kenney’s 2013 mark for TD passes in a season, with 26.
The record-tying pass came on the 80-yard play to Rogers.
Rogers is on the verge of setting a school record as well. He has 1,156 receiving yards this season. He needs 21 more yards on catches to surpass the current mark set by Tom Kenney in 2014.
Bohm completed 14 of 22 passes against Triad, surpassing the 300-yard mark for the fourth time this year.
He finished with 318 yards and is the state’s passing leader (regardless of class) by 367 yards.
“And, he keeps getting better,” Adkins said. “He is making strides fundamentally and in managing the game.”
Rogers had five receptions for 154 yards. Eagle caught four passes for 77 yards and Braden Pagel had three receptions for a season-high 69 yards.
Rogers ranks third in the state in receiving yardage, and is 117 behind the state leader.
Nierenhausen was the team’s top rusher against Triad with 43 yards on seven carries.
Ironically, the Bulldogs have an offensive set they use in certain situations where, Adkins said, “we take the No. 1 quarterback in the state off the field.
“Houchin is the quarterback in the diesel package and it has been extremely effective,” Adkins said.
That unit – which also features Mitchell Gallier in the backfield – got M-S out of a deep hole against Triad.
“They punted the ball to the 2, and we came out in the diesel package and got about 30 yards and two first downs,” Adkins said.
Bohm returned and directed another of the Bulldogs’ scoring drives.
The defense against Triad was led by Golden and Ashton Heiser, with nine tackles apiece. Jack Gallier, who has amassed 29 tackles in his last three games, was next with eight stops.
Hayden Marxmiller had seven tackles, Mitchell Gallier had six tackles and Logan Petro had five tackles.
Besides Golden’s interceptions, M-S’ other forced turnover was a fumble recovered by Mateo Casillas.
M-S (11-0) returns to action at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 13) at Morton (9-2) and its turf field. The Bulldogs have played four consecutive home games and one other game on turf (at Quincy Notre Dame).
Morton has won six games in a row and is the top scoring team in the Mid-Illini Conference.
The M-S defense is yielding an average of 12.5 points per contest.
With one more victory, the Bulldogs will not only match the 1977 M-S team for the most wins in a season (12), but will also break a tie they currently share with the 2004 and 2005 teams for most consecutive wins in a season. That record is 11.
Morton’s offense is centered around 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior Seth Glatz, who is the state’s rushing leader (according to Maxpreps) with 2,663 yards. Glatz is averaging 9.1 yards per carry and has accounted for 73 percent of the yards the Potters have gained on the ground.
“Their offensive line creates holes for him,” Adkins said. “I love the fact that we get the opportunity to take on the No. 1 running back in the state.
“No doubt, the game will come down to our defense. We are battle-tested these last two weeks (in the postseason). We definitely like our chances.”
The 5A quarterfinal game will feature two of the state’s premier offenses.
According to Maxpreps, M-S ranks fifth in the state in total offense (4,497 yards) and Morton ranks sixth (among all classes) with 4,477 yards to date.
In scoring average, M-S ranks 10th (40.5 per-game average) and Morton ranks 18th (35.5 per-game average).
