Mendota stuns Morris in 4A playoffs

Comments (...) | Add Comments

E-mail this story

Print this story

Comments

Share

The Mendota Trojans didn’t care about Morris Redskins’ state history. They were interested in making some of their own.

Mendota stunned the three-time state champions in a big way with a 35-0 defeat in the second round of the 4A playoffs on the Redskins’ home turf. And the Trojans did it without star running back Kurtis Knapp, who is sidelined with an enlarged spleen as the result of a virus.

“I just thought (Morris) was ripe for the picking. You could just tell with our kids that we had a great night of practice Thursday,” Mendota coach John McKenzie told the Mendota Reporter “There was no one feeling sorry for themselves. Kurtis has carried us for three years; its time for us to carry him. That’s what our kids did.”

Even without Knapp, who is to be sidelined for four weeks, the Trojans racked up 265 yards rushing. Travis Martenson, who missed a good portion of the season with a broken arm, gained 165 yards on 12 carries, including TD runs of 55, 73 and 9. Alex Carrusso added a 50-yard TD romp.

The Trojans (9-2) will do battle with another program well documented in the IHSA history books when they host Geneseo in the 4A quarterfinals at Doenier Field at 1 p.m. Saturday in Mendota. The Maple Leafs (9-2) edged Bishop McNamara 26-24.

Mendota reaches the quarterfinals for just the second time in school history and first since 1987.

2A: Three Rivers champion Morrison blanked 9 seed Lanark-Eastland Pearl City 42-0 in the second round of the 2A playoffs, holding EPC to 9 rushing yards and 53 overall.

“We can always get better, but our defense was just crazy today.” said Morrison senior Kyle Janssen, whose team will host Orion (10-1) in next weekend’s quarterfinals.

3A: Another Three Rivers team, Sterling Newman, pitched its own shutout in 3A, defeating Oregon 9-0. The turning point came on Oregon’s opening possession. The Hawks (6-5) marched 44 yards to the Comets’ 27-yard line before stalling with an incomplete pass on fourth down.

“When we stopped that first drive, you could just see the kids pick up confidence,” Newman coach Mike Papoccia said. “We realized we could play with them, and that’s when we kicked it into gear.”

The sixth-seed Comets (8-3) will host undefeated Stillman Valley in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

5A: Washington rallied to defeat NCIC Reagan champ Sterling 28-21 in Washington Saturday. The Golden Warriors held a 14-0 lead in the second quarter. Then Isaac Fisher struck. The sophomore quarterback threw for 270 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another score.

Former Princeton coach Joe Ryan guided his Sycamore Spartans into the quarterfinals with a 42-0 win over Wheaton Academy.

Comments    

Add Comments

Report Abuse

We have changed our registration and comment module, so all registered users will need to register again in order to post comments. We apologize for the inconvenience.

You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your member ID will be posted with the comments.

Registered users sign in here:

Become a Registered User

*Member ID: *Password:   Forgot Your Password?

Do not use usernames or passwords from your financial accounts! Note: Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required! *Create a Member ID: Choose a password:* *Re-enter password: *E-mail Address: *First Name *Last Name *Phone Number *Your age: 13-2021-3031-4041-6061-8081-100100-   (children under 13 cannot register) *Zip Code: Do you wish to receive Breaking News alert emails? YesNo *Do you currently subscribe to the Bureau County Republican? YesNo From time-to-time, we may send you e-mail announcements on new features, products and services from the Bureau County Republican and selected advertisers and affiliates. Sending you occasional advertising and announcements is necessary for us to continue providing our rich news content. We will try to limit the amount of advertising you receive. Information is used as described in our Privacy Policy. Some advertisers may prefer to contact you directly. Please check this box if you prefer not to be e-mailed directly by advertisers unaffiliated with the Bureau County Republican. Note you may continue to receive certain other e-mail from the Bureau County Republican and our affiliates as described in our Privacy Policy. * I agree to the Bureau County Republican's terms of service. Security Image: