Indians to face No. 1 in Round 2
By MARK JOHNSON
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mjohnson@morrisdailyherald.com
The cliche says that to be the best, a team has to beat the best. The Minooka Indians will get their chance to beat the best this weekend.
Their opponent Saturday in the second round of the IHSA Class 7A football playoffs is East St. Louis, which entered the postseason rated No. 1 in 7A by The Associated Press. Ironically enough, the Flyers were awarded only a No. 2 seed in the 7A bracket by the IHSA. They, like the Indians, have two losses. East St. Louis started its season with defeats against a pair of Ohio schools, 48-29 to Cincinnati Elder and 27-16 to Middletown.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Flyers flirted with their third loss. Running back Courtney Molton was injured during the first quarter with a sprained foot. East St. Louis needed all of the production it got from replacements Jeremy Nicholson and Duke Robinson, as it just got past Bradley-Bourbonnias 50-43.
"First of all, it obviously shocked us tremendously, it being such a close game," said Minooka coach Bert Kooi, who was in attendance for the Bradley-Bourbonnais game. "I think the entire state of Illinois expected East St. Louis to end up walking away from them. It's a tribute to coach [Craig] Bundy and his staff for the preparation they did for that game. They did some things that caused East St. Louis some problems.
"But their athleticism is something you can't hear about, and I'm not even sure you can fully appreciate it just seeing it on tape. Seeing it in person is the only way to do it justice. They're every bit as fast and athletic as everyone says that they are."
East St. Louis earned its No. 1 billing by recovering to close the regular season with seven consecutive victories. It thumped Alton, which ended up 0-9, 77-7 in Week 3 to begin its Southwestern Conference schedule. It then rolled to the conference championship with wins over Edwardsville, 48-15, O'Fallon, 44-0, Belleville West, 44-24, Belleville East, 35-7, Collinsville, 63-6, and Granite City, 62-18.
Edwardsville, O'Fallon, Belleville West and Belleville East are all playoff teams. Edwardsville met Minooka in the first round of the playoffs, and the Indians prevailed in a 44-25 decision.
"We looked at the film.," said Minooka linebacker Brandon Haase. "They have a lot of speed on their team and they look like a good team. Like our coaches always say, how you beat a very fast team is you got to be disciplined and play physical football. We have had success all year against all the teams in our conference playing physical football, and if we keep it up, I think we have a good chance."
Minooka can match the Flyers' 8-2 overall record, but not their eight-game winning streak. The Indians have won eight of their last nine games. They defeated just one playoff team during the regular season, besting Oswego 34-14 in Week 8.
Molton has rushed 165 times for 2,004 yards — an average of 12.15 yards per carry — and 27 touchdowns this year. The second-highest gainer on the ground for the Flyers is fellow senior captain Detchauz Wray, who is the quarterback. He rushed for 403 yards on 53 carries with four touchdowns and was 91-for-172 for 1,593 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions through the air.
Junior Keante Minor has caught 30 passes for 471 yards and six touchdowns. Senior Jylon Spraggins had 24 receptions for 377 yards and five touchdowns. Molton scored six touchdowns and gained 283 yards on his eight receptions.
"Just as it's been all year long, the big key is that we control the ball on offense, and score points on offense," said Kooi. "We've not going in to try and stop them altogether, because that may not be possible. What we're hoping to do is get a couple of stops, whether it's because we cause some turnovers or make them punt several times. What they like to do is demoralize you. They have the ability to break so many big plays that teams get frustrated and want to drop their heads, thinking the game is over. We can't let that happen."
Linebacker Isiah Gray is the East St. Louis leader in tackles with 91. He also leads the Flyers in sacks with six. Charles Tigue, a junior lineman, has 72 stops. Junior defensive back Duke Robinson has a team-high five interceptions.
"We've worked on our tacking, and specifically on our ability to stop the cutback," said Kooi. "That's something we need to coach up and teach up more, because they can change direction more than anyone we've seen more this year. Defensively, they may not be as disciplined as some of the teams we've seen, but again, their athleticism compensates for some of that."
Minooka racked up 393 yards of total offense in its playoff opener against Edwardsville. Mitchell Brozovich completed 4-of-6 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown and also rushed 15 times for 189 yards and two more scores. Junior running back Kyle Banks added 112 yards on 23 carries and another score. Fullback Steven Pullara scored on a goal-line run.
"It means that we are playing another week and we get to get better another week," said Kooi of the opening-round playoff win. "Our kids have responded, over and over, again and again this season. East St. Louis is a talented team. I would never bet against our kids. You know what? I won't bet against our kids. Bring them on."
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