Mahomet-Seymour football wins another against Quincy Notre Dame

By Fred Kroner

On one side of the ball, what Mahomet-Seymour football coach Jon Adkins saw on Friday (Sept. 30) was “one of the best performances I’ve seen in several years.”

On the other side, however, there was a lot to be desired.

“Maybe the worst game in two years,” he said.

Put it all together – a superb defensive effort and a turnover- and penalty-prone offense – and the result was a 35-10 Bulldog triumph at Frank Dutton Field over Quincy Notre Dame.

“Great teams find a way to get the job done,” Adkins said.  “When the offensive side of the ball was struggling, we got the performance we needed out of the defensive side.”

For the first time in six games this season, the fourth-ranked (Class 5A) Bulldogs did not allow the opponent’s offense to reach the end zone.

For the fifth game in a row, M-S was lights-out stopping the running game.

QND managed 59 rushing yards on 31 attempts.

“Defensively, I’d say we dominated,” Adkins said. “We were up against a tough task and a tough matchup.

“Their size is the size of a college team.”

In the last five games, opponents are averaging just 2.2 yards per running play, gaining 309 yards on the ground on 138 attempts. None of those five foes have gained as much as 90 yards on the ground.

There was no shortage of Bulldog heroes on the defensive platoon against QND.

In the absence of Mateo Casillas (ankle injury), Jayvon Irwin was switched to defensive end.

“He was undersized at a position he hadn’t played, but was incredible,” Adkins said. “Besides the stats (six tackles), there were the extra little things he did.

“On one play, Ben Wagner was able to get a tackle for loss because Jayvon blew up the pulling guard.”

Linebacker Nick Golden – absent from the lineup for the previous game – blocked a punt and returned an interception 46 yards for a touchdown.

“Not being able to play as a senior in the homecoming game is a big deal,” Adkins said, “but he had great spirits all week and worked hard.

“He was able to get rewarded.”

Golden had seven tackles, matching his season’s high.

Noseguard Ryan Yancy was a force in the middle.

“Going up against three big dudes, he did awesome and clogged up the middle,” Adkins said. “Our box guys are incredible.

“Our stat-keepers told me every time there was a tackle, there were two or three guys in on the tackle. That has been a focal point, swarming to the ball. We’ve been able to do that to a few teams, but we had to do that against QND. We had to shut down the run.”

Defensive linemen Jack Gallier was a prominent part of the defensive dominance, providing four solo tackles while causing havoc up front.

“Jack is an incredible player you can always rely on,” Adkins said.

Defensive backs Dayten Eisenmann and Kale Schweighart played key roles as well.

“Dayten and Kale flew downhill and did their job helping us shut down the running game,” Adkins said.

The Raiders had limited success passing, ending with 71 yards through the air for a grand total of 130 yards of offense.

“Jake Waldinger and Braden Houchin were 1-on-1 with their man and did a great job limiting what they could do with their passing game,” Adkins added.

Linebackers Brennan Houser and Wagner (as well as Golden) continued to rack up the tackles. Houser had a team-high nine stops and Wagner was just behind with seven tackles.

“They were all over the field and continue to get better,” Adkins said.

Wagner left early with a shoulder injury and his status is uncertain.

Though the offense generated 424 total yards, quarterback Wyatt Bohm was intercepted four times in the first half (one for a pick six) and the Bulldogs lost one fumble.

“Offensively, up to this point, we haven’t had adversity or turnovers,” Adkins said. “We had one pick (in Week 1) and two fumbles going into Week 6.

“It’s always good when you can teach and learn in opportunities that don’t cost you (a win).

“We see our mistakes, but look what we were still able to do when we didn’t play that well. When your All-State quarterback is struggling, you’ve got to be able to find another way to be successful. We not only have the receivers, we have that extra element.”

Running back Luke Johnson was the offensive catalyst, rushing for a game-high 160 yards on 20 carries.

In the past four games, Johnson has rushed for 664 yards, pushing his season ground-gaining total to 835 yards.

Bohm completed 10 of 18 passes for 173 yards.

Quenton Rogers caught five passes for 101 yards and gained another 58 yards on the ground, scoring two TDs. Valient Walsh also had a TD run.

“We put our backs against the wall because we had a few turnovers, but to hold them under 200 yards and not give up a single offensive TD is incredible,” Adkins said.

Placekicker Kyle Walmer continued his assault on the school record books, hitting 5 of 5 extra-point attempts.

A week after shattering the mark for career extra points (which was 100 by Matthew Prather from 2013-15), Walmer raised the new standard for extra points to 110.

He is within 21 points of breaking the M-S career record for points by a kicker (136 by Prather).

Walmer has 116 kicking points entering the Bulldogs’ final regular-season home game on Friday (Oct. 7) against Taylorville.

On the same night that M-S (6-0) officially clinched a postseason playoff by beating Quincy Notre Dame, Taylorville (1-5) was officially eliminated from the playoffs with a 27-8 loss to Charleston.

Records aside, Adkins calls the upcoming week, “one of my favorite weeks because it is our Senior Night.

“We will spend the week honoring our seniors. We have 24 great ones.”

This particular group is special for the fourth-year M-S head coach.

“We came in at the same time,” he said. “This is the first class I’ve seen all the way through. You can see where the program is because of these kids.

“These seniors are a major reason for that.”

M-S has won 16 consecutive regular-season games, dating back to the 2020-21 school year.

It’s not just the 17 seniors who serve as starters who have made a notable impact, Adkins emphasized.

“One of our goals is to get those (other) kids as many reps as we can,” Adkins said.

Among the non-starters are Ryan Koller, Ethan Harrell, Nick Demos and Kole Morgan.

“It will be awesome to reward kids like these,” Adkins said. “Ryan Koller is one of our biggest unsung heroes. He’s a great leader and is so good at coaching up the underclassmen.”

Koller, a receiver, is a team captain as is Harrell, a defensive end.

“Ethan is probably behind the two best defensive ends in the state in Mateo and Jack,” Adkins said. “He is a great mentor and leader.”

Likewise, Demos is a linebacker who backs up what could be the best linebacker corps in school history.

The two dozen seniors who will be honored prior to Friday’s 7 p.m. game against Taylorville are: Marshall Bachar, Wyatt Bohm, Mateo Casillas, Nick Demos, Mikane Didier, Adam Dyer, Dayten Eisenmann, Mitchell Gilbert, Nick Golden, Zachary Hammond, Ethan Harrell, Braden Houchin, Brennan Houser, Ryan Koller, Niklas Minnich, Kole Morgan, Quenton Rogers, Kale Schweighart, Carter Selk, Ben Wagner, Jake Waldinger, Kyle Walmer, Valient Walsh and Ryan Yancy.