Mahomet-Seymour football defeats Effingham on Senior Night
By FRED KRONER
It was called The First Play.
It was the one that Mahomet-Seymour’s football team started with on its first offensive play in the Friday (Oct. 6) 48-0 victory at home over Effingham on Senior Night.
All 12 Bulldogs who were healthy started the game either on offense or on defense. The three seniors on offense were part of the pre-scripted First Play.
The ball went to rushing leader Luke Johnson on a direct snap. He took off to his right, following wide receiver Braden Pagel as the lead blocker and behind right tackle Trevor Coit.
Johnson, Pagel and Coit were the three seniors who started on the offensive side in the team’s final regular-season home game.
The play gained 5 yards and M-S was literally off and running.
On the next play, quarterback Luke Dyer tossed a screen pass to Pagel and he took it the remaining 69 yards for the only points the Bulldogs would need.
“He used his athletic ability under the Senior Night stars,” M-S head coach Jon Adkins said.
Jackson Davis’ conversion kick lifted M-S into a 7-0 lead after 49 seconds had elapsed in the game.
While the team didn’t need more points to earn the win and move one step closer to an undisputed Apollo Conference title, five more TDs lit up the scoreboard by the time the fourth quarter was one minute old.
With a 41-0 lead and a running clock in operation for the remainder of the game, the Bulldogs’ second unit took the field on both offense and defense.
The unheralded seniors, the ones whose playing time has been limited, were able to finish the game the way they started it: on the field.
“I’m proud of the starters for taking care of business to give the seniors a ton of playing time in the fourth quarter and give them the reps they deserve,” Adkins said. “That was special.”
One of those unheralded seniors, Ryken Kirby, scored the game’s final TD on a 7-yard run. Despite being a backup, Kirby rushed for 45 yards, the third time this season he has eclipsed the 40-yard mark in a varsity game.
“He has played football since third grade, and I’m happy for him,” Adkins said.
The First Play was not just reserved for offense.
The Bulldogs knew in advance what they would be doing on the first play on defense, with nine seniors (including Kirby) starting.
“Tyler Majeres and Ryken Kirby blitzed, Gage Decker was guarding the tight end and Lukas Alstetter was out there,” Adkins said, referring to four seniors who had designed roles the first time Effingham ran an offensive play.
Adkins said that Decker is always a factor, whether he is in the game or on the sidelines.
“He always has a smile on his face,” Adkins said. “His enthusiasm and energy brings life to the team.”
Another senior who has started since Game 1 as a freshman, noseguard Jack Gallier, had a showcase performance.
“We’ve been saying all along that teams have to double- or triple-block Jack,” Adkins said. “For the first time all year, he was single-blocked and he took advantage and was a huge factor.”
Gallier recorded a season-high seven tackles, one behind team-leader Brock VanDeveer.
Another senior lineman, Jayvon Irwin, logged four tackles.
The other Bulldog seniors are part of a secondary that is a veteran unit: Evan Anderson, Colby Crowley and Donovan Lewis.
“Colby limited their best receiver to 12 yards and Lewis was making incredible tackles on sweep runs,” Adkins said. “The secondary is where we’ve taken a step forward. The senior leadership helps.”
In the 15 years that he has coached high school football – including five at M-S – Adkins said the 2023 defensive brigade is special.
“When you look at the total yards allowed by the first group this year, you can make the case that they are up there as one of the top defenses we’ve ever had,” Adkins said. “I can’t say enough about those 11 kids.”
Not only did the defense shut out Effingham, they controlled the action on their side of the ball.
“Effingham was averaging 300 yards a game (of total offense), and 200 on the ground,” Adkins said. “Their running back was over 1,000 yards (rushing in six games) and we held him to 22 yards.”
As a team, the Flaming Hearts managed 112 yards. The 100 rushing yards that were recorded required 40 plays to achieve.
M-S forced two turnovers. Brayden Garrett (the lone junior starting in the secondary) intercepted a pass. Hughey Allen recovered a fumble.
Tackling leaders in Week 7 were VanDeveer (eight), Gallier (seven), Ethan Esker (six), Noah Frank (six), Lewis (five), Henry Wagner (five) and Irwin (four).
Adkins didn’t limit his praise to the starting unit.
“In my 15-year career, I’ve never seen a program where (player) 1 to 62 have an impact on a team and a season like this year,” Adkins said.
“Mason Orton is one of the best receivers in the conference and would start for most conference teams, but he is our scout team player. Ryken Kirby is our scout team running back and Brayden Lamb is our scout team center.
“All of them, and the others (from 1 to 62), are doing their jobs. Every person has a role and does it exceptionally well.”
Offensively, the Bulldogs started slowly against Effingham. The Dyer-to-Pagel score in the first minute accounted for the only points for more than 17 minutes.
It wasn’t until the 6:28 mark of the second period that M-S scored the only other points it would muster before intermission. That TD was on an 11-yard run by Johnson, who rushed for a game-high 69 yards.
Adkins wasn’t distraught early, not even in the face of three consecutive possessions where the Bulldogs punted, the first time all season the team punted on three straight possessions.
“The first quarter was played on our side of the field with us going into the wind,” Adkins said. “We had the wind with us in the third quarter.”
M-S took advantage quickly. In a span of less than 3 minutes, the Bulldogs ripped off three more TDs to build an insurmountable 35-0 lead.
Dyer, who hit career highs for passing yards (350) and touchdowns (five), had scoring plays that covered 126 yards in the third quarter.
He connected with Raymond Long for a 22-yard TD, then with Pagel for a 61-yard score and finally with Trey Peters on a 43-yard pass play.
Another Dyer-to-Peters play covering 45 yards set the running clock in motion at the outset of the fourth period.
“I was shocked they gave us single coverage,” Adkins said. “We took advantage of the 1-on-1 matchups.”
The performance of the offensive unit was no small feat, Adkins said.
“Their (defensive) front four is the best we’ve seen or will see this year,” Adkins said. “They love to rush the passer.
“Our offensive line was outstanding and the pass protection was incredible. There were no sacks all night.”
The Bulldogs amassed a season-high 479 yards of total offense, nearly three-fourths of which came after intermission.
For the first time in Adkins’ tenure at M-S, two receivers caught passes for at least 140 yards in the same game.
Peters and Pagel each had five receptions. Peters turned them into gains of 177 yards. Pagel had 141 receiving yards.
Pagel and Peters share the team-led in receptions with 32 through seven games. Pagel’s play is an example of perseverance.
“He split time last year (with Adam Dyer),” Adkins said, “and is stepping up big-time.
“What an incredible night he had. There’s no better kid I’ve ever met. He’s the prototypical example of a kid you’d want to be your son.”
Dyer completed 15 of his 24 attempts. Long caught three passes and Johnson snared two passes.
The Bulldogs’ 13th senior, injured DeAndre Hughey, was in his pads and uniform for the pre-game introductions, but is still unable to play.
Adkins said Hughey is “likely out this week.”
With the win over Effingham, M-S (6-1) clinched a playoff berth for the third straight season.
Next up is a road trip to Mattoon (1-6 with a five-game losing streak) on Friday (Oct. 13). The Green Wave is coming off a 28-21 loss at Taylorville.
“This will be their Senior Night and we have to come prepared,” Adkins said. “I like the way our kids are playing on both sides of the ball, and special teams.
“They’re playing at another level I haven’t seen in a while.”
