Little Illini Conference football teams settled into conference play last week during one of the most oppressive heat waves in recent memory. The triple-digit temperatures altered everything, from kickoff times to numerous water breaks. The elements also forced coaches to shuffle players around, which even altered game strategy to a degree (no pun intended).
By the time players, coaches and fans had all cooled off, there were still two undefeated teams left. Paris and Mt. Carmel are both 3-0 after conference-opening wins, though neither had an easy time of it. Olney, out of the gate at 0-2 after back-to-back undefeated regular seasons and LIC titles, bounced back with a league win. And, Newton knocked off last year’s Class 1A quarterfinalist, Casey-Westfield, to step out at 1-0 in LIC play.
Here is the way it went down:
Paris 34, Marshall 20
Paris, snakebit early, finally eased away from Marshall with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. The Tigers used their ground game almost exclusively, rushing for 335 yards collectively, while going to the air only three times all night. Sophomore Marcus Hutchings ran for 143 yards in eight carries, with two touchdowns, one a 51-yard run in the fourth frame. Veteran Dawson Rogers added 85 yards on 12 trips and two scores. Max Welsh helped lead the way for Marshall. The 5-foot-8 junior rushed for 70 yards on nine carries. and caught two Luke Brodie passes for 96 yards and one touchdown. Brodie finished 8-of-12 in the air for 180 yards, with two TD’s and one pick. He spread the wealth around, hitting five different receivers.
Mt. Carmel 29, Robinson 13
After trailing at halftime, 13-6, Mt. Carmel recovered in the second half, outscoring the Maroons 23-0. The Golden Aces stayed mostly on the ground, with quarterback River Deisher and running back Sitalecki Militoni forming a solid 1-2 punch. Deisher ran for 139 yards in 13 carries, while Militoni covered 130 yards in 18 trips. The Aces ended up with 343 yards in total offense. Robinson ran the ball more than Mt. Carmel (51 plays to 33), but averaged less than three yards a pop. Josh Crouse paced the host Maroons with 54 yards on 24 carries. Robinson totalled 197 yards of total offense.
Newton 42, Casey-Westfield 14
Newton, the highest-scoring LIC team after three weeks (41 points per game), poured it on in the second half, overwhelming Casey-Westfield, 28-7. There was plenty of offense in this one (638 yards the combined total). Newton finished with 359 of those, mostly through the air. Eagles quarterback Hayden Mulvey was 11-of-26 for 211 yards and three touchdowns. one a 67-yard scoring flip to Quincy Fulton. Maddox Horner led the ground game with 10 carries for 58 yards. Casey-Westfield also went topside for most of its’ 279 yards of total offense. Sophomore quarterback Carter Stinson was 9-of-20 for 146 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jett Self (57 and 58 yarders). Nick Fouty led the Warriors on the ground with 35 yards.
Olney 46, Lawrenceville 9
The Tigers bounced back from an 0-2 start with a resounding win. Owen Cycholl made headlines on both sides of the ball for the winners. On offense, the senior quarterback threw two touchdown passes in a 10-of-16, 149-yard outing. Then, on defense, Cycholl picked off a Lawrenceville pass and returned it 68 yards for a TD. On the ground, it was Xavier Owusu-Gyan doing the damage, churning for 134 yards and two scores on 13 carries. Lawrenceville finished with 282 yards of total offense: 136 on the ground, 146 in the air. Indians senior quarterback Blayton Gossett led the way on the ground with 61 yards, while going 7-of-15 over the top for 146 yards. Gossett’s 48-yard TD pass to Korbin Shaffer gave the Indians an early 7-0 lead.
Some of the statistics used in this report are unofficial. This story has been edited.
