HARDIN - Playoff football has become a November tradition in Calhoun County, with the Warriors now regulars in the IHSA 1A state tournament. On Saturday, Calhoun hosted a second round matchup against the Red Devils of Sesser-Valier/Waltonville from Southern Illinois.
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What started as a seasonable fall day turned really wet and really muddy throughout four quarters of football in Hardin. A muddy, sloppy game isn’t what Calhoun Warriors head coach Aaron Elmore was planning for, but the conditions suited his team’s power run game, and Calhoun scored twice on the ground and held Sesser-Valier in check to claim a 14-6 victory.
The visitors won the toss and elected to receive, but a game-opening three-and-out only fired up the Calhoun faithful in attendance. They were in the bleachers, on the hills, some in cars (often honking their horns) to stay out of the rain, some perched high above the football field for a top-down view.
Calhoun’s opening drive resulted in the game’s first touchdown. The Warriors marched down the field with a mix of power running with big senior fullback Conner Longnecker, and an option game that kept the Red Devils defense on their toes. When it came time of asking, Jack Webster punched in a short-range score. The kick for the extra point was no good, giving the Warriors a 6-0 lead in the early going.
As the rain began to intensify, and field conditions on the grass started to become sloppier and sloppier, offense came at a premium for both teams. Sesser-Valier had a long drive in the second quarter that came to a halt on fourth down on the Calhoun nine-yard line, but that was the extent of their offensive output in the first half.
“It’s pretty sloppy, that’s for sure,” said Calhoun head coach Aaron Elmore postgame. “This is probably the muddiest game that I’ve ever been a part of. The rain was an equalizer, and it changed a lot of what we had to do.”
Conner Longnecker mentioned postgame that the weather played a big part in Calhoun’s offense.
“(Our offense) is obviously not designed for mud, but it helps that our offense is slow, we can play in the mud,” explained Longnecker. “I think it played to our advantage, and we just kept going, stay low and try not to slip.”
Calhoun came out of the locker room ready for the third quarter with a long, clock-eating drive. A big Conner Longnecker run to the left side set up a goal-to-go situation for the Warriors, and Longnecker pushed the pile for the score. Jack Webster added a two-point conversion on an outside run for a 14-0 Calhoun lead..
“It’s 100 percent about the execution,” said Elmore. “It’s not easy, but the conditions are like this for both sides.”
Sesser-Valier responded in the fourth quarter, with quarterback Jaxon Borta scrambling to the outside for a 19-yard touchdown run. The Red Devils failed to convert for two points, but were within a touchdown with over eight minutes to play.
The visitors were finding their proverbial footing, if not finding their actual footing on the field that had turned to mud from heavy rain and lots of power running. Sesser stopped Calhoun on 4th and short and had momentum at their backs with plenty of football to play.
Credit to Aaron Elmore’s Warrior defense, when the Red Devils had a chance to move the football with the game on the line, the defense made a number of huge stops, and forced Sesser-Valier into a turnover on downs with just 3:46 remaining in the contest.
All the Calhoun Warriors needed to do for a rematch with the defending 1A State Champions, Camp Point, was keep the football for those three minutes and 46 seconds. Per usual, Calhoun trusted the big fullback Conner Longnecker, for a string of carries between Sesser-Valier timeouts.
On 4th and 4, with 51 seconds on the clock, Longnecker got the call once again on a play with the season on the line. Longnecker broke through the line and past the line to gain for a first down that clinched the victory for the hosts.
It was a scene of jubilation in Hardin, despite the mud, despite the rain, families gathered with players on the field to celebrate their big victory. But for Aaron Elmore and his football team, the job doesn’t get any easier against Camp Point next week.
Luckily for Calhoun, they’re as experienced as any team is against Camp Point.
“They’re the best team in the state,” said Aaron Elmore on the Warriors’ opponents next weekend. “They won the whole thing last year, but we’re very familiar with them. They’re very familiar with us too. We were lucky enough to win the first time, but in the playoffs things are totally different.”
“(Camp Point) has been on my radar since last year,” said Calhoun fullback Conner Longnecker. “They’re a great team, and it's always fun to play against them.”
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