Seneca’s huge drive secures 4-0 start

The Fighting Irish held a touchdown lead and the ball at their own 30 with just over 11 minutes left in Friday’s game at Genoa-Kingston.

Seneca’s opening three plays left a fourth-and-two, and Cam Shriey dropped back in punt formation. The senior took the snap, but instead of a kick, he took off towards the right end and ran for the first down.

“Cam almost always has the green light to try for it,” Seneca coach Terry Maxwell said of running instead of punting. “It was a great play and decision on his part and really gave us momentum.”

Seneca faced a similar situation seven plays later – fourth-and-four from the G-K 39 with five minutes left. This time, the Irish lined up in their normal power-T formation, and the ball was handed to Shriey, who looked at first to be stopped short of the line to gain, but then leaped over a Cogs defender to secure the first down.

“I trust my offensive guys. So, I asked them, ‘What do you want to do?’ Not one guy said punt it,” Maxwell said. “Everyone in the stadium knew the ball was going to (Cam) Shriey, and he made a great play.”

Eventually, the Irish finished off the drive and made it a two-score game when Shriey scored from the one with 40 seconds remaining to complete a 19-play, 70-yard drive that covered over 11 minutes and helped them improve to 4-0 on the season.

Crusaders sophomore scores 3 TDs

In Marquette coach Ken Carlson’s words, Marquette sophomore Connor Baker was on fire Friday.

Baker touched the ball six times and scored three touchdowns. He rushed for touchdowns of 12 and 18 yards and hauled in a 60-yard touchdown pass.

Baker said he scored only one other touchdown in his high school career before Friday.

What was working for him?

“My blockers,” Baker said. “I’m pretty good at reading my blocks, and all my blockers were doing their job. They were doing what they are supposed to do. That’s all you can ask for.”

Baker finished with 103 total yards - 43 yards on the ground and 60 yards through the air.

Marquette D attacks the football

Following an 80-minute lightning delay that featured some heavy rains, Marquette coach Ken Carlson said the Crusaders talked about capitalizing on a wet football before its 50-18 win Friday against Dwight.

The Crusaders were able to force three turnovers on fumbles, a pair of them on two of the Trojans’ first three drives.

“We practice every single day about punching and ripping when we get in a pile that we punch and rip at the ball, and the kids followed through on that,” Carlson said. “That really sparked us in that first quarter, getting those turnovers, and got us really rolling.”

The Cru built a 22-0 lead, capitalizing on those two turnovers. The Marquette ‘D’ also added a pair of interceptions.

Confident Crusaders

Week 3’s 9-6 loss at the hands of small-school defending state champion Edgar was a confidence builder for Marquette.

“I think it definitely got us ready for this week,” said Marquette RB/LB Jaxsen Higgins. “We wanted revenge for our next game for sure.”

Carlson said both of the Cru’s losses, including Week 1 to Aurora Christian, helped set the tone for Friday’s victory against Dwight.

“The two teams we’ve lost to haven’t lost themselves,” Carlson said. “Edgar was fast and physical, and got after it. On film, we saw a lot of things that we need to correct and we were able to do that. I think that we definitely played two playoff teams in the first three weeks, which helps.”

Week 4 scoreboard

Kaneland 56, Ottawa 7

Sycamore 27, Rochelle 22

Morris 48, La Salle-Peru 0

Coal City 49, Streator 13

Wilmington 49, Herscher 7

Manteno 26, Reed-Custer 21

Marquette 50, Dwight 19

Seneca 35, Genoa-Kingston 28

St. Bede 56, Lewistown 0

Johnsburg 28, Sandwich 0

LeRoy 33, Fieldcrest 0

Pontiac 28, Illinois Valley Central 7

8-man: Amboy/LaMoille/Ohio 46, FCW 18