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Casey-Westfield head coach Keith Sinclair was tied up at a team dinner early Tuesday evening.
Judging from the size of some of his players, the Warriors don’t miss too many meals.
Casey-Westfield will have a decided size advantage when they take the field against Morrison in the Class 2A championship game on Friday in Champaign. Game time is 1 p.m., after the conclusion of the 1A game between Dakota and Tuscola.
The Warriors (12-1) boast an offensive line that averages 6-foot-2, 256 pounds and includes three brothers: senior tackle Pat McCown (6-4, 285), junior center Shawn McCown (6-0, 260) and junior guard Matt McCown (6-3, 245). Shawn and Matt McCown are twins.
“We do have some size on the line, and it doesn’t hurt to have three of them from the same family,” Sinclair said. “Our line has done a nice job, but from looking at Morrison on film, it appears like the strength of their team is the offensive and defensive lines. They’re not exceptionally big, but they’re quick and they work extremely well together.”
The other starters on the Warriors’ offensive line are junior guard Austin Justice (6-0, 255) and junior tackle Austin Schaefer (6-3, 235).
Casey-Westfield has outscored its opponents 458-61 this season, and hasn’t wasted any time in doing so with a 139-6 advantage in the first quarter.
Leading the Warriors’ spread attack is senior quarterback Heath Huisinga (6-3, 195), who is a threat to run or pass when he has the ball in his hands. He’s completed 80 of 121 passes for 1,257 yards and 13 touchdowns with just one interception. He’s also rushed 76 times for 647 yards and 12 more scores.
Huisinga’s top target is a running back, Colin Carver (6-1, 170), who has 26 receptions for 573 yards and five TDs. Carver is a speedster, having finished second in the 300 intermediate hurdles and fourth in the 110 high hurdles at the 2010 Class 1A state track meet.
The top runner is Ajaye Meeks (5-9, 165), who has 132 rushes for 928 yards and 10 TDs.
Seven Warriors play both offense and defense, the same number as Morrison. They are OL/DL linemen Matt McCown and Pat McCown; quarterback/safety Huisinga; running back/linebackers Carver and Dalton Livvix (6-0, 195); end/cornerback Ethan Blankenship (6-0, 165); and end/Brady Davidson (6-0, 225).
Casey-Westfield allowed just 29 points in the regular season, the majority of which came in the team’s only loss, 17-16 against Marshall in Week 7. The Warriors have shut out seven opponents, including a 16-0 blanking of Williamsville in the quarterfinals.
They followed that up with a 14-7 victory over Maroa-Forsyth in the semifinals, denying the Trojans their third consecutive trip to the 2A title game. Maroa-Forsyth lost to Morrison 36-14 in 2009 and to Newman 48-7 a year ago.
“That was big for us,” Sinclair said. “It seems like we play Maroa-Forsyth in the playoffs every year. They’re a big rival, kind of like what Morrison has with Sterling Newman, and it’s always nice to win a game like that.”
Sinclair is in his second tour of duty at Casey-Westfield. He went 85-21 from 1981-1990. highlighted by a state championship in 1985 and a runner-up finish in 1982. Casey was on its own until the 1986 season, when it began a co-op with Westfield.
After a highly-successful (68-18) eight-year run under Mick Roberts, Sinclair returned in 1999 and has posted a 125-28 record since. Before this season, the Warriors had a run of four consecutive undefeated regular seasons, highlighted by a 13-1 finish by the 2008 squad that lost 36-17 to Immaculate Conception.
Casey-Westfield is 44-25 overall in 27 appearances in the playoffs, including the current run.
All about C-W
Head coach: Keith Sinclair, 210-49, 23 seasons
Playoff record: 44-25, 27 appearances
State titles: 1 (1985)
Runner-up: 2 (1982, 2008)