BETHALTO - On this cold and wet Halloween afternoon, the Civic Memorial High School Eagles football team fell to the Mater Dei Catholic High School Knights 34-14 at Hauser Field.
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The Eagles finished out the 2015 season 7-3 over all and the Knights (7-3) will continue on to face Taylorville High School (10-0) in the second round.
Mater Dei Head Coach Dennis Trame knew that his team’s capabilities could shine through in today’s rough match.
“We expected a mudder, and we got a mudder,” he joked. “Our keys were to control the ball, play within ourselves, and play smart football.”
CM Head Coach Justin Winslow commends his seniors for all of the hard work they put in over the season and said that their determination and skill will not go unnoticed for years to come.
“[Mater Dei] were a good football team,” he said. “In the playoffs, we can’t turn the ball over, and we did. This is now the bar of what CM football needs to be from now on. I think we have a really good and young nucleus of the team coming back next year, but this senior group set the bar for that.”
Mater Dei started off the first quarter strong, earning a touchdown with the assistance from quarterback and junior Colin Scheutz (#13). With less than ten and half minutes remaining of the first quarter, the Knights had an early lead of 7-0 after senior Grant Huelsmann’s (#14) fair punt against the Eagles.
CM senior quarterback Adam Hill (#12) attempted to gain some yardage by attempting several throws down the field to both wide receivers Brett and David Lane (#23, #6) who are seniors and juniors respectively. The Eagles turned over the ball the Knights began their push.
After reaching the third down with seven yards to go, Scheutz attempted a pass to senior wide receiver Brady Rakers (#28). The pass was blocked by senior Dylan Sutton (#17), forcing the fourth down. The Knights held on tight, and unfortunately for the Eagles, a number of pass attempts by Hill were missed. At the end of the first, the Knights led the Eagles 7-0.
To start the second, Hill made a pass attempt to Sutton. Unfortunately, it was called incomplete and Mater Dei took possession. In an effort to gain some yards, Hill handed off the ball to his receiving back and senior John Whitworth (#34). Hill’s line of incomplete passes continued. One ball was intercepted by senior Knight wide receiver Josh Haberer (#25).
At this point in the game, the waves of heavy rain came over Hauser Field. Fans on both sets of bleachers shielded themselves with umbrellas and kept themselves warm with blankets brought from home. One group of CM fans even brought and set up their own canopy to protect themselves from the rain.
Mater Dei pushed down the field and Rakers scored another touchdown for the Knights. After a good kick by Huelsmann, the score was 14-0.
Off of his kick downfield, Huelsmann was tackled by defensive back senior Dillon Lawrence (#42), gaining possession for CM. With this play, the Eagles began a push into the Knights’ end zone.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, they couldn’t make it on the scoreboard during the first half, and the Knights led the team in purple and gold 14-0 at halftime.
Much to the Eagles’ chagrin, the Knights were in full control at the beginning of the third. Mater Dei wide receiver and junior Brendan Timmermann (#5) intercepted a pass intended for the Eagles, earning possession for his team, from there, bets were off. Scheutz brought in his third touchdown of the afternoon for the Knights and brought the score to 20-0 after a no-good kick by Huelsmann against the Eagles.
Finally, the Eagles began to pick up the momentum by making great catches and rushing down the field. Eagles quarterback and junior Corey Price brought in the Eagles’ first touchdown. After the kick by junior Colin Hall (#60), the Eagles brought life to their side of the scoreboard at 20-7.
With a little less than a minute to go, the Knights pushed their way to the end zone as Rakers scored his second touchdown of the day after a 3-yard run. Their attempt at a two-point conversion was incomplete, and the Knights led the Eagles 26-7 at the end of the third.
Two minutes into the fourth, the Knights pushed toward the Eagles’ end zone. Before they knew it, Timmermann was running in and scored the team’s fifth touchdown of the day. After a good two point conversion, the Knights continued their domination of the Eagles 34-7.
Civic Memorial wasn’t going out of this game without a fight. With less than a minute left on the clock, the Eagles made a push into enemy territory. The Eagles landed at the 5-yard-line and Hill ran in his final touchdown of his high school career, bringing the Eagles score up to 14 to the Knights’ 24 after a good kick by Hall. When Mater Dei gained possession of the ball, they took a knee in their last play and let the clock run out, ending the game at 34-14 in the Knights’ favor.
