Mahomet-Seymour football moves onto the second round of playoffs

By Fred Kroner

Mahomet-Seymour’s football Bulldogs get to play one more home game. At least.

The immediate reward for a 50-8 thrashing of Jacksonville on Saturday (Oct. 30) at Frank Dutton Field in a first-round Class 5A IHSA playoff game was the chance to return home.

M-S (10-0) will host Troy Triad (8-2) in the second round at 5 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 6) after Triad edged Hillcrest, 20-19.

The Bulldogs, ranked fourth in the state in Class 5A, built a 29-0 halftime lead and created a running clock in the third quarter when the score reached 43-0 at the 3:29 mark on the second Nolan Nierenhausen touchdown of the game.

“When kids show up to play and are locked in and focused like that, I guess you should expect something like that,” M-S coach Jon Adkins said. “The coaches put together one of their best game plans, and the kids played assignment and disciplined football and executed the plan.”

Six Bulldogs scored TDs, but only Nierenhausen had more than one.

M-S got on the scoreboard first when Valient Walsh ran 4 yards with 8 minutes left in the opening. Walsh’s score was followed by the first of six placement conversions by Kyle Walmer.

A safety when the center snap sailed over the punter’s head and a 21-yard pass from Wyatt Bohm to Dream Eagle lifted the Bulldogs into a 16-0 lead after one period.

Bohm completed 15 of 21 passes – without throwing an interception – and had 273 yards through the air. He threw the one TD pass, but had three others nullified by penalties.

The passing total raised his school-record single-season mark to 2,689 yards. Bohm also shattered the school mark for completions in a year with his eighth. Entering Week 11, Bohm has completed 155 passes.

The record-setting completion came on a set the Bulldogs had only installed during the week. Quenton Rogers lined up in the backfield for the first time.

“We sent him down the middle of the field and he was wide open,” Adkins said. “It went for a 29-yard gain on fourth down.”

Rogers got the ball to the 2-yard line, setting up a Bulldog TD on the next play.

The previous one-season completion record was set by Bodie Reeder in 2004 with 147.

Rogers and Eagle were Bohm’s favorite targets against the Crimsons. Rogers turned five receptions into gains of 132 yards. Eagle caught six passes for 112 yards.

Rogers became the second M-S footballer ever to have a 1,000-yard season in receiving. He has 1,002 yards to date. Eagle’s season receiving total stands at 718 yards.

Collectively, they are the top receiving duo statistically in one season at M-S.

Nierenhausen, Walsh, Gallier and Evan Anderson also had receptions against Jacksonville.

Also reaching the end zone for M-S – which hit the 50-point mark for the third game this season – were Rogers, Mitch Gallier and Ryken Kirby.

The M-S defense recorded its top effort of the season, allowing the Crimsons 83 total yards (42 by rushing). The headliners were Nick Golden (seven tackles), Jack Gallier (six tackles), Braden Houchin (six tackles) and Logan Petro (six tackles). 

Jacksonville scored in the final minute to avert the shutout.

“It was the greatest defensive performance I’ve seen in high school football,” Adkins said. “Jacksonville is tough. They have a quarterback that has passed for 2,000 yards and rushed for 1,000 and we held him to about 30.

“At one point, before we substituted, we held them to 20 yards of total offense. What an incredible performance. It was one of the best scouting reports I’ve been a part of.”

The defensive domination started early, when Mateo Casillas had a 9-yard tackle for loss on the Crimsons’ second play from scrimmage, which Adkins said, “put them in third and forever.”

After that quick tone-setter, “it was every single kid,” Adkins said, sharing the credit for the defensive effort throughout the four quarters.

A Bulldog win in the second round would mean a road trip for the quarterfinals, either to unbeaten Morris or to twice-beaten Morton.

Triad employs an option-style attack on offense which has similarities to what the Bulldogs saw from both Lincoln and Peoria Richwoods.

“It can be tough to stop,” Adkins said. “We have to be disciplined and assignment sound. 

“We’ve seen it and our kids will know the expectations for this week. If we were going into it blind, I would be a little worried or nervous.”