Leading Milledgeville by just six points at halftime in a defensive battle, Amboy’s Jose Lopez helped the Clippers pull away by running for 205 yards and three touchdowns in an 18-8 win on Saturday.

“We started off slow, just not as fast as we’d like to, but we knew we had to stay physical, keep pounding the ball, and we’d get out of the game with that W,” Lopez said. “The line did everything they had to coming out of halftime, everything we talked about. We made a few adjustments and everybody did what they needed to do and it opened the game wide open.”

Lopez’s 48-yard TD with just under a minute left was the final dagger as the two-time defending state champion Clippers (11-1) advanced to the Illinois 8-Man Football Association title game for the fourth straight year.

Amboy took advantage of a short field after a blocked punt for the only score of the first half.

“The first half, we were basically in the shadow of our own goalpost, just terrible field position, and then they blocked that punt and got a short field – and if you give a team like that a 17-yard field, they’re going to score a touchdown,” Milledgeville coach Jason Wroble said. “I thought the first half we battled, and I thought we were lucky to be in the game only down 6-0. I thought they controlled the game, but our defense did a good job and got a goal-line stand and a couple of other stops.”

The Missiles’ defense stood tough to keep the team within striking distance, even after Lopez’s second TD made it 12-0 with 5:10 to play.

Milledgeville answered quickly. Kyson Francis hit Spencer Nye on a short pass on first down, and Nye pitched it back to Karter Livengood on a hook-and-ladder play that gained 42 yards. Livengood scored from 6 yards out three plays later, then ran in the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 12-8.

Konner Johnson then recovered the ensuing onside kick, and Milledgeville had the ball at the Amboy 45 with 3:55 to go.

“Down the stretch there, I thought we made some plays and maybe had a shot, but just came up short,” Wroble said. “We scored, then we get the onside kick and we’re right back in it. But you’ve got to win every play, and we didn’t do that. That one snap, we’re going to look back and say, ‘What if?’, but there were other plays leading up to that too. Our guys kept fighting, and I’m proud of this team and how they finished. That’s just a good football team over there.”

Lopez put the nail in the coffin three plays later, breaking away for the long touchdown run, and Trevor Stenzel’s sack ended the final Milledgeville possession.

The Clippers had 281 of their 292 yards on the ground, with Cadein Heath (35 yards) and Colt McCoy (43 yards) complementing Lopez.

The Missiles finished with 153 total yards; Evan Schenck led the way with 50 yards rushing and 40 yards receiving. Francis was 8-for-18 passing for 85 yards.

“We had a lot of push from the front, and that’s where it all starts, right in the trenches,” Lopez said. “They stepped up, filled the holes and didn’t let them get going or make any big plays.”

• Ty Reynolds contributed to this report

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Milledgeville’s Jayden Promenschenkel meets Amboy’s Jose Lopez for the stop Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in the 8-man football semifinal. (Alex T. Paschal)

Tremendous defensive effort sends Polo past South Fork

Facing one of the top offenses in the I8FA, the Polo defense put together a dominant performance in a 38-0 win at South Fork on Saturday.

The Marcos (11-1) were constantly in the Ponies’ backfield and had three interceptions en route to their first shutout of the season.

Polo set the tone right out of the gate, going 50 yards on its opening drive, which was capped by a Mercer Mumford touchdown. Mumford finished with 197 yards and two scores before dealing with some cramping.

Defensively, Polo held South Fork (11-1) to less than 80 yards rushing. George Bailey came into the game with over 2,200 yards and 41 TDs. Brody Lush was also the league’s leading receiver and was held to 49 yards.

“We knew George Bailey was the leading rusher this year, so we knew we had to focus on him,” Mumford said. “I think we just zoned in on that all week for our defense, and we got it done today.”

Polo held South Fork to just three first downs in the first half and led 22-0 at the break. Damon Rowe and Eli Perez each caught scores from JT Stephenson in the second quarter. Perez’s score came off play action on fourth-and-1 with 10 seconds until halftime.

Stephenson said the defensive performance was huge.

“We came out and we punched them in the throat in the beginning,” he said. “I think that motivation just got us going. We work on it a lot, so it shows.”

Mumord and Stephenson both had interceptions in the win and Polo got a turnover on downs at the 1-yard line.

Jordan Reed followed Stephenson’s interception with the longest play of the game, finding paydirt from about 90 yards out on the ground.

Polo’s defense was relentless in the win, finishing with at least nine tackles for a loss. Ethan Dewey also had a big sack in the fourth quarter.

“Shutting out a team 38-0, that is a really good team offensively,” Rowe said. “I think it’s amazing that we shut them out the way we did. We had new defensive schemes, practiced really hard on defense and just did it to the best of our ability.”

Polo coach Ted Alston said the Marcos’ defense played tremendously.

“To hold that team to no points, I mean, we didn’t think we’d play that well,” he said. “But the kids executed the game plan perfectly. Very proud, especially of how we played up front.”

Alston said reading the Ponies’ offensive line movement was key to getting in the backfield.

“Our kids did a great job of chasing pulls, taking on traps and they just did everything we asked of them today,” he said.

Polo advances to face 11-1 Amboy at 7 p.m. Friday at Monmouth College in the I8FA state championship.

After a sixth straight appearance in the state semifinals, Polo will now play for its first state title since winning it all in 2019 and 2021.

“I think this is a spot we deserve to be in,” Rowe said. “We worked so hard for this. We’ve worked all season, every practice.”