Mustangs romp to 2A title
CHAMPAIGN — Morrison football coach Cory Bielema surveyed Memorial Stadium’s stands and its sea of red-clad, jubilant fans on Friday afternoon.
He looked at the field itself, which still contained a few of his players whooping it up.
And then he smiled.
“It feels fantastic right now,” Bielema said, “and it’s going to feel better once it settles in.”
“It” is the first team state championship in Morrison High School history. The Mustangs accomplished that feat with a 36-14 victory over Maroa-Forsyth in the Class 2A finals
The Mustangs (14-0 did it their usual way – with a punishing ground attack. They racked up 343 yards on the ground, led by senior fullback Josh Vos, who had 173 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries, and Janssen, who rushed 13 times for 111 yards and a score.
“Pick your poison,” Maroa-Forsyth coach Josh Jostes said. ”They’ve got three really good running backs and we knew that.”
Morrison becomes the fourth member of the Three Rivers Conference to win state, landing the sixth in league history. Sterling Newman has won three times (1990, ’94, ’04) and Amboy (’84) and Bureau Valley (’05) one each.
4A: Metamora gained revenged three decades later when it defeated Geneseo 41-7 in the 4A finals. Geneseo defeated the Redbirds for the state title in 1976 and 1977.
Metamora quarterback Michael Fay scored three second quarter touchdowns (4, 9, 3) to give the Redbirds a 21-0 halftime lead and added a fourth (24 yards) at the end of the third quarter for 34-7 lead.
Luke Lembke broke the field, heading for an apparent Geneseo score in the first quarter, but was tripped up from behind by Metamora’s Dan Burk at the 9. The Maple Leafs couldn’t get the ball into the end zone and then missed a 22-yard field.
3A: Stillman Valley captured its fourth state title since 1999 by whipping Tolono Unity 52-22. Unity fell in the 2005 3A finals to Bureau Valley.
1A: Tuscola won its second 1A crown in four years by defeating Lexington 14-7. The Minutemen dropped their fifth state title game in as many chances.
