Streator snaps four-game skid with 54-21 win over Lisle

LISLE – The Streator football team scored touchdowns on seven of its eight offensive possessions, piled up 512 total yards and forced a pair of first-half turnovers to snap a four-game losing streak with a 54-21 Illinois Central Eight Conference triumph over Lisle on Friday night at the Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex.

“We did what we thought we would be able to do on offense,” Streator coach Kyle Tutt said, his squad with 270 yards rushing and 242 passing. “The past couple of weeks, we just didn’t feel like we were clicking like we should. But tonight, I think [QB] Christian [Benning] is getting healthier, [RB] Isaiah [Brown] is running like he has wanted to all season. We’ve been banged up all over our roster, but we are starting to get healthy, and that’s a huge key.”

Streator led 12-7 after one quarter, 26-7 at halftime and 46-21 after the third quarter.

Benning finished 21 of 27 for 242 yards and four TDs, two to Matt Williamson (11 catches, 134 yards, 2 TDs) and one each to Jake Hagie (4 for 49) and Anthony Mohr (3 for 35). Brown had a pair of long TD runs and finished with 159 yards rushing on nine carries. Streator is 2-4 overall and 1-3 in ICE action.

The Bulldogs’ defense allowed the hosts 298 total yards and received a forced fumble and interception in the opening quarter by senior Colin Jeffries.

“This team, this family has stuck together, kept fighting, kept working in practice, and tonight played really well. We all did our jobs.”

—  Colin Jefferies, Streator senior strong safety

“Our defense made some big plays in the first half and really played hard tonight,” Tutt said. “When you can cause turnovers, it not only helps the offense but also gives the entire team momentum and confidence.”

After Benning scored on a 4-yard run on Streator’s first chance on offense, Jeffries’ interception helped set up a 26-yard TD pass from Benning to Mohr.

“That was my first high school pick, it was a great feeling,” said Jeffries, a senior strong safety. “We were in man-to-man coverage, and I was right with my receiver. Now, I mean no shame on Lisle’s quarterback, but I thought there was no way he was going to try and throw it to my guy. It came right to me; but for a freshman, that kid played one heckuva game.

“We were coming off four really rough weeks, no doubt about it. But this team, this family has stuck together, kept fighting, kept working in practice, and tonight played really well. We all did our jobs. We’re not giving up on this season. We’ve got games left to play and we are going to keep fighting.”

Lisle scored late in the opening quarter when freshman QB Nolan Ashmore (11 of 24, 200 yards) hit classmate Adam Drake (24 carries, 104 yards) for a 64-yard TD.

The Bulldogs scored twice in the second period on a 45-yard run by Brown and a 27-yard pitch and catch from Benning to Hagie.

Streator then opened the second half with a pair of Benning-to-Williamson TD passes, the first from 12 yards and the second from 37, while Brown added a 59-yard dash for a score.

Lisle (1-5, 0-4) also scored twice in the third, Ashmore finding Myloe Thordson for a score from 51 yards, then Asher Carson from the 8.

The Bullodgs’ Jordan Lukes finished the game’s scoring with a 10-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

“We had a ton of positives tonight,” Lisle coach Cory Dillard said of his youthful squad. “At times, we have eight underclassmen out there on offense. It’s frustrating at times, but like you saw a few times tonight, those younger guys can make things pretty exciting. Adam Drake was super-tough tonight and had a really, really nice game for us.

“We’ve played some really tough teams already. This conference is a beast, but my guys came out here tonight and made a big step forward in getting to where we want to be. I saw some really good things from our guys tonight.”

Next week, Streator hosts Peotone, while Lisle entertains Herscher.

—

BOXSCORE

At the Village of Lisle-Benedictine University Sports Complex, Lisle-Benedictine

Streator 54, Lisle 21

Streator (2-4, 1-3) 12 14 20 8 — 54

Lisle (1-5, 0-4) 7 0 14 0 — 21

Scoring by quarter

First quarter

S — Christian Benning 4 run (run failed), 6-0, 6:45

S — Anthony Mohr 26 pass from Christian Benning (run failed), 12-0, 3:31

L — Adam Drake 64 pass from Nolan Ashmore (Thomas Jones kick), 12-7, 1:15

Second quarter

S — Isaiah Brown 45 run (Matt Williamson from Christian Benning), 20-6, 10:23

S — Jake Hagie 27 pass from Christian Benning (pass failed), 26-7, :06

Third quarter

S — Matt Williamson 12 pass from Christian Benning (pass failed), 32-7, 9:12

L — Myloe Thordson 51 pass from Nolan Ashmore (Thomas Jones kick), 32-14, 8:17

S — Matt Williamson 37 pass from Christian Benning (pass failed), 38-14, 6:44

L — Asher Carson 8 pass from Nolan Ashmore (Thomas Jones kick), 38-21, 2:18

S — Isaiah Brown 59 run (Isaiah Brown run), 46-21, 1:23

Fourth quarter

S — Jordan Lukes 10 run (Jordan Lukes run), 54-21, 1:19

Team statsistics

Streator Lisle

Total plays: 59 53

First downs: 25 13

Rushes-Yards: 32-270 28-85

Passing yards: 242 213

Total offense: 512 298

Comp-Att-Int.: 21-27-0 12-25-1

Third downs: 6-of-9 4-of-10

Fourth downs: 1-of-1 2-of-5

Fumbles-Lost: 1-0 1-1

Penalties-Yards: 6-34 3-20

Punts-Avg.: 1-28.0 0-0.0

Time of possession: 23:03 24:57

Individual statistics

RUSHING – Streator: Isaiah Brown 9-159 (2 TD), Isaiah Weibel 12-55, Jordan Lukes 5-30 (TD), Christian Benning 6-26 (TD). Lisle: Adam Drake 24-104, Nolan Ashmore 4-(minus 19).

PASSING (C-A-TD-INT-YD) – Streator: Christian Benning 21-27-0-4-242. Lisle: Nolan Ashmore 11-24-1-3-200, Elijah Candler 1-1-0-0-13.

RECEIVING – Streator: Matt Williamson 11-137 (2 TD), Jake Hagie 4-49 (TD), Anthony Mohr 3-35 (TD), Isaiah Brown 2-14, Zach Schultz 1-7. Lisle: Asher Carson 5-38 (TD), Myloe Thordson 2-63 (TD), Clay Hicks 2-17, Adam Drake 1-64 (TD), Nolan Ashmore 1-13, Hunter McGrath 1-8.

INTERCEPTIONS — Lisle: none. Streator: Colin Jeffries.