By FRED KRONER
The Bulldogs closed their abbreviated football season on Friday (April 23) at home by shutting out Taylorville, 56-0.
M-S held a 469-91 edge in total yards.
“For a season that had its ups and downs, to finish the season like that is definitely icing on the cake,” M-S coach Jon Adkins said. “Our defense played incredibly all year.
“This is Year 2 in this system, we continue to get better. The future is bright.”
The Bulldogs scored once in the first quarter, but added four touchdowns in the second period – two in the final 2 minutes – to pull into a 35-0 lead at intermission.
Braden Finch passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another two TDs. He hooked up with Dream Morgan-Eagle for two scores late in the first half. The pass plays covered 25 and 17 yards.
Finch completed 6 of 9 passes for 110 yards and for the fourth game in a row, did not throw an interception. He was also the game’s top rusher, gaining 110 yards on 11 carries.
“Being a former quarterback and a coach now for 15 years, I’ve been around a lot of good quarterbacks and Braden is up there at the top,” Adkins said. “He runs the ball well, and had great stats, but his leadership role he took on and the way he took control of the team, I’ll never forget.”
Skyler Yancy rushed for 84 yards, Cole Hubble totaled 76 yards on the ground and Clay Hubble ended with 58 rushing yards.
Finch, Yancy and the Hubbles were four of the 10 seniors who played in their final home game.
Other squad members who will graduate next month are Luke Buzicky, Jeff Corray, Gage Granadino, Peyton Myers, Hayden Nelson and Zach Travis.
“At the end of the day, we had three goals for the season,” Adkins continued. “One was to send the seniors off in the right way. All 10 of the seniors are four-year football players.
“We’re happy those kids had the opportunity to have a season when we were so unsure (all fall) that we would get to play. These seniors were a great class of kids.
“They stuck together and became a family. They set the tone with their work ethic and helped the younger kids see what was necessary.
“We also had a goal to get ready for next fall, and try kids at new positions and get kids some playing time. And, I wanted us to compete, which we did. In Week 1, we were tied with the No. 4 team in the state (Effingham) 0-0 at halftime.”
In the season-finale, Morgan-Eagle turned his four receptions into gains of 82 yards. Travis, who became the seventh Bulldog to score a TD this season, had two catches for 26 yards.
Sophomore placekicker Kyle Walmer converted 8 of 8 extra points.
In keeping an opponent out of the end zone for the second time this season, MS limited Taylorville to 22 rushing yards on 28 attempts.
By contrast, the Bulldogs generated 359 rushing yards on 28 carries.
Granadino had an interception for M-S.
The team’s tackling leaders were Nick Golden (seven), Myers (six), Ashton Heiser (six), Jack Gallier (four) and Luke Johnson (four).
The interceptions leader for the season (Ethan Grindley) had two and is a junior.
For the season, two of the team’s top four tacklers were freshmen and another was a sophomore.
The overall tackling leaders for six games were Golden (a sophomore with 45), Johnson (a freshman with 25), Heiser (a junior with 23) and Gallier (a freshman with 17).
Offensively, Finch finished with 1,289 total yards (714 rushing and 575 passing). Finch completed 54 percent of his passes (49 of 90).
Between rushing and passing, Finch was involved with 16 of the team’s 26 touchdowns generated by the offense.
Yancy rushed for 631 yards for the year. The top receivers were Morgan-Eagle (24 catches for 271 yards) and Clay Hubble (14 catches for 173 yards).
Adkins wasn’t surprised by the development of Morgan-Eagle.
“From the first day I met him, I knew he would be something special,” Adkins said. “I saw how much work he put in and the questions he asked.
“The fact that he put in that much dedication, I knew he’d be rewarded with a great season.”
While many of the Bulldogs’ skill positions were manned by seniors, Adkins said the offense won’t be starting from scratch next season.
“It’s always good when you return all five of your offensive linemen,” he said, “and essentially we’ll have all six blockers back when you add in fullback Brennan Houser.”
Finch led the team in scoring (66 points), followed by Yancy (36 points), Walmer (25 points) and Morgan-Eagle (24 points).
M-S finished with a 3-3 record.
Football activities are halted for more than a month. For some student-athletes, it will be time for a break. For others, it will be time to focus on other sports.
“In June, we’ll get back in the weight room and get ready for camps and 7-on-7s at the end of June,” Adkins said, “But those kids (in other sports) will focus on those sports they’re in until they finish up.”
The Bulldogs’ opener in the fall will be a non-conference contest on the road against Canton on Friday, Aug. 27.
“It will be an awesome opening test,” Adkins said.
