Dixon in quarterfinals for third time in school history: Sauk Valley notes for Week 11

There was only one game in the second round of the Class 4A football playoffs that was decided by more than 40 points.

It has been that kind of season for the Dixon Dukes (10-1).

Host Dixon beat Chicago Agricultural Science 51-6 on Friday at A.C. Bowers Field after scoring touchdowns on its first five opportunities with the ball, forcing a running clock in the third quarter. The third-seeded Dukes advance to face seventh-seeded Coal City (9-2) on the road at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Dukes were efficient on offense in the win, rushing for 227 yards and passing for 55. Landon Knigge had 141 yards rushing and four touchdowns on just 13 attempts while Cullen Shaner was 6-of-8 passing for two TDs and also ran for 45 yards. Tyson Dambman had an interception and returned a kick 75 yards for a touchdown as Dixon led 44-6 at halftime.

Dixon led 15-0 after the first quarter.

“That was really the biggest thing we needed in the game, just to set the tone for the team,” Knigge said. “We dominated the line of scrimmage, and that was the game plan. In Monday’s practice, they said we were going to run the ball, run the ball, run the ball. So we all prepared for that this week, and we wanted to come out here and run the ball.”

It was the sixth time the Dukes have scored 50 or more points in 11 games this season, as they became the third team in program history to advance to the quarterfinals, joining the 2006 and 2017 squads.

Polo rolls on to semifinals: The Marcos (11-0) continued to steamroll whatever crosses their path with a 66-0 win over West Carroll. The victory sets up another matchup with Milledgeville at 1 p.m. Saturday. Milledgeville has been the only team that somewhat stuck with Polo this season. The Marcos beat the Missiles 30-14 on Oct. 7 in the Battle for the Blacktop trophy.

Polo senior QB Gus Mumford had 75 yards rushing and two TDs in the win over West Carroll.

“Obviously, coming out in the quarterfinals and beating a team 66-0 is a great feeling, but we’ve got another big game next week – an even bigger game than this, because they all get bigger now – against a team we’ve already played,” he said. “They always say it’s hard to beat a team twice, so we’ve got to come out and be prepared and take it to them like we did [against West Carroll].”

The winner advances to the Illinois 8-Man Football Association championship to face the victor of the Amboy at Pawnee game. The championship game will be played at Monmouth College’s April Zorn Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m. Nov. 22.

West Carroll wraps up successful 8-man debut: West Carroll came into the season on a 24-game losing streak dating to 2019. The Thunder’s turnaround was remarkable in their first year in eight-man football. Their three losses came to Polo (twice) and Milledgeville, who have a combined record of 21-1 – and will face off in next weekend’s I8FA semifinals.

“I tell the kids all the time, we have our moments when we play these games. They have it within them to play with teams like this, and that’s probably one of the last humps that we’ve got to get over, is understanding that we can be that elite team when we play somebody that’s undefeated, we can play well enough to take that giant down, and hopefully move that forward,” West Carroll coach Abel Sustaita said. “We just tightened up a little bit again those tougher teams, and that’s really what it comes down to. When you play an undefeated team, it’s a mindset to play with confidence.”

Sustaita believes this is only the start for the Thunder.

“I think this was great for our kids; you have to fail before you move forward, so hopefully we learn from it, and then next year we come out and understand that we can play with these strong teams,” he said. “That’s the last barrier we have, and it’s hard to get over it, but once we get there, watch out for West Carroll.”

Livengood leads Milledgeville to semis: After dealing with a stomach virus earlier in the week, Milledgeville junior Karter Livengood helped lead the Missiles to a 16-12 win over Ridgewood. Livengood ran for 107 yards on 31 carries with two TDs, completing all four his passes for 60 yards.

“We’ve had a stomach bug going through all week, and Karter spent five hours in the E.R. this past Wednesday; he needed to get some fluids into him,” Milledgeville coach Jason Wroble said. “He put in an amazing effort today.”

Milledgeville’s win sets up a rematch with Polo to go to the title game. The Missiles are in the semis after finishing in the quarterfinals the past three seasons.

“This feeling amazing,” said Livengood. “There’s definitely been a stigma around it [three consecutive I8FA quarterfinal defeats]. But we came here hungry and ready to play.”

Amboy defense locks in against Martinsville: Playing in a fast-paced, back-and-forth game with Martinsville, the Clippers flipped the script with a defensive effort in the second half. Amboy outscored the Bluestreaks 6-0 in the second half of a 32-20 win Saturday. Amboy was coming off five straight blowout wins in which it scored 46 points or more while not giving up more than 14.

A closer contest provided some adversity, and Amboy responded.

“We weren’t in the right mindset at the start of the game,” Amboy senior Brayden Klein said. “Coming off all these big-scoring games, we weren’t expecting a close game like this. But in the locker room we talked it over and we had to fix what we needed to do.”

Klein led the team with 111 yards rushing and a TD on 12 carries as Josh McKendry added 100 yards on nine carries. QB Eddie Jones threw for 90 yards and two TDs to Caleb Yanos in the win.

Amboy advances to pace No. 1 Pawnee (11-0) on the road at 4 p.m. Saturday.

“We’ve got to have a good week of practice and be ready to play,” Jones said. “Watch film, and study them.”