Wilmington rolls over Athens for 2nd IHSA Class 2A title in 3 years

NORMAL – Kyle Farrell had fought for the tough yards for three quarters Friday during a Class 2A state championship game that was often a defensive struggle.

But on the second play of the fourth quarter, Farrell, Wilmington’s junior workhorse running back, finally had some daylight. He broke free and saw nothing but green turf ahead of him.

“The whole time I was thinking, ‘Don’t get caught, don’t get caught, don’t get caught,’” Farrell said.

Farrell did not get caught, and his 78-yard touchdown run put the exclamation point on a dominant performance for the Wildcats, who won their second state championship in three years with a 28-3 victory over Athens at Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium.

“It was great,” Farrell said of the long run. “There was great blocking, and I was able to slip out there and score. Just seeing everybody come pile in the end zone with me was a great feeling.”

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The Wilmington Wildcats and coach Jeff Reents celebrate their 28-3 win over Athens Friday, Nov. 24, 2023 in the 2A state football championship game at Hancock Stadium in Normal. (Alex T. Paschal)

[ Photo store: Wilmington beats Athens for the Class 2A title ]

Farrell ran for 192 yards on 24 carries, while the dominant defense for the Wildcats (13-1) held Athens (11-3) to 104 total yards.

It’s the third state championship for the Wilmington football program, all in the past 10 years and all under coach Jeff Reents, who also led the Wildcats to the 2A championship in 2021 and a Class 3A title in 2014.

“I know it’s a cliché,” Reents said. “Everybody talks about how they want a family culture and how they want to be tight. We do have a tight team. These guys are guys you want to be at practice with. They’re guys you love seeing in the hallways at school. They make your school better and your community better. I’m just very proud of them.”

Leading 7-3 at halftime, Wilmington got the ball to start the second half and embarked on a 16-play, 61-yard drive that chewed up 8 minutes, 23 seconds and was capped by a 1-yard quarterback sneak touchdown from Cade McCubbin on fourth down.

“Coming out after halftime, we knew we wanted to eat a ton of clock up,” McCubbin said. “We knew we were capable of doing it.”

Reents knew, too. It was prototypical Wilmington football.

“Our defense gets a lot of pub, and they deserve it, but when their offense is off the field, that’s the best defense you can have.”

Sophomore Ryan Kettman started the scoring for the Wildcats with a 4-yard touchdown run with 34 seconds left in the first quarter. Senior Jake Castle capped it with a 3-yard scoring run with 8:46 to go in the game.

In between, the Wilmington defense was lights out. Athens’ only points came on a 27-yard field goal by Gage Honn that was set up by a Wilmington fumble that gave the Warriors a short field.

Senior Brendan Moran had five tackles and a sack, senior Joey Allgood also had five tackles, including one for loss, and sophomore Zach Ohlund had four tackles, 2 1/2 coming for a loss, to lead the Wildcats’ defense.

“We’ve got a good defensive coordinator,” Moran said, referring to Reents. “We had a good game plan against a good offense that they run. All the coaches worked really hard to make sure we were all in the right spots.”

The Wildcats took a tough path to the state championship, along the way avenging a 2022 playoff to Tri-Valley with a 42-14 second-round win and getting revenge for their only loss this season by topping Seneca 20-14 in the quarterfinals.

Wilmington won 13 straight games after that Week 1 loss to the Irish. Moran knew all along the Wildcats had a special team.

“It’s a super tight group,” he said. “We’ve been like that since we were 6 years old, playing bobcat football. To see us come all the way through this season, all the work that everybody on this team puts in, it paid off.”

Reents said his players grew up admiring those on the previous Wilmington state champion teams.

Now, the 2023 Wildcats have established their own legacy for others to follow.

“It’s amazing,” McCubbin said. “Hopefully we get those little kids something to look forward to and something to believe in.”