More from the Times-area’s sidelines from Week 10 (the opening week of the IHSA playoffs) of the football season.

Wednesday nights key to Seneca’s weekend success

The preparation for Seneca’s success these past handful of years under head coach Terry Maxwell hasn’t been limited to just the practice field and the weight room.

The Fighting Irish absolutely believe its Wednesday night leadership sessions come into play when they face stressful in-game situations like the ones they overcame Saturday in a Class 2A opening-round win over Port Byron Riverdale.

“We do this thing Wednesdays,” Seneca running back/edge Wyatt Biffany said when asked about his team’s handling of adversity throughout the 35-21 victory. “It’s a program where we all come together and read books about playoffs and all this great stuff about being great players, being good teammates, just being good people and leaders.

“I think that really helps us in these game environments.”

Maxwell said his teams have run the Wednesday leadership sessions for the past five years, the book “The Twin Thieves: How Great Leaders Build Great Teams" by Steve Jones and Lucas Jadin a centerpiece of the discussions.

“A lot of lessons about how to handle adversity and how to push through those tough moments,” Maxwell said when asked about the leadership sessions. “I think our guys really benefit from those Wednesdays. Things like this [game], your strength and your speed can only take you so far. Things come up, and you have to push through them, train yourself mentally too.”

Fumble just before halftime turned tide against Marquette

After a scoreless first 18 minutes, a turning point came in the final minutes of the first half of Marquette’s opening-round, 28-6 loss to Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley in Class 1A.

With six minutes left in the second quarter, GCMS junior quarterback Tucker Mueller delivered a 21-yard strike to junior receiver Graydon Leonard, who hauled in a contested grab to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead.

Marquette responded with its best drive of the half, marching into the red zone in the final two minutes and in position to tie or take a lead in the contest before a costly mistake flipped momentum. From the 10-yard line, a bad handoff exchange put the ball on the ground, and GCMS recovered.

The Falcons then took the second-half kickoff and drove for another touchdown – a 14-point swing that would set the tone for the rest of the game.

“Our defense lives for those moments,” Mueller said. “We call them a bunch of dogs for a reason. They get energy off those big stops.”

Dwight, a Cinderella again, this time in 1A?

Last year’s Cinderella in Class 2A, thanks to a run to the quarterfinals despite being a No. 12 seed – the only double-digit seed to make it to 2A’s second round – the Dwight Trojans recaptured a bit of that playoff magic in their 29-26, opening-round win at Rushville-Industry.

After fifth-seeded Rushville-Industry scored to take a 26-21 lead in the fourth quarter Saturday, Dwight – a No. 12 seed again, this time in the 1A field due to no longer co-oping with Gardner-South Wilmington – drove down and scored the winning touchdown on an Ayden Collom 6-yard run and ensuing two-point conversion with just under three minutes remaining.

To make another Cinderella run, the Trojans will need to pull off another upset this weekend. Dwight hosts No. 4 seed Clifton Central on Saturday.

Second-round playoff matchups around the area

FRIDAY

4A: Coal City at Dixon, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY

4A: Metamora at Morris, 3 p.m.

2A: Wilmington at Seneca, 6 p.m.

2A: Sterling Newman at El Paso-Gridley, 5 p.m.

1A: Clifton Central at Dwight, 4 p.m.