Polo, Amboy, Fulton ready for next playoff tests

As the third round of the playoffs arrives, three local teams are still dreaming of hoisting a state championship trophy over the next two weeks.

The Polo Marcos, reigning 8-man state champs, visit Biggsville to take on West Central in a semifinal showdown on Saturday, while the Amboy-LaMoille Clippers look for a revenge win for the second straight week as they host Orangeville in the other 8-man semifinal.

The Fulton Steamers are also looking to avenge an earlier loss, as they visit Lena-Winslow in a Class 1A quarterfinal. All three games kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Here’s a closer look at all three games:

8-man semifinal

No. 1 Polo (11-0) at No. 4 West Central (9-2)

The Marcos have barely missed a beat all season, especially since having back-to-back games canceled because their scheduled opponent was dealing with COVID issues.

Since returning to the field in Week 6, Polo has outscored its opponents 346-102 – and 52 of those points allowed were in last week’s wild 62-52 win over Milford-Cissna Park. The Marcos have scored at least 50 points in five of those six games, and before last week, had allowed just 50 total points in the previous five games.

The win over M-CP last weekend saw Polo facing its largest deficit of the season at 20-7, but it might’ve been a positive to face a little adversity in a game situation.

“I think from that respect, it was good to be tested like that,” Polo coach Ted Alston said. “We were down a couple of scores early, but the kids were able to hang with it and come back by just playing our game. The biggest part of that was seeing the character of our kids, and they never quit.”

The Marcos have been effective and efficient running the football this season, with a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Brock Soltow (123 carries, 1,212 yards, 21 TDs) and Avery Grenoble (150-1,081, 20 TDs). Quarterback Tyler Merdian has thrown for 685 yards and 10 touchdowns, and has also run for 223 yards and four scores.

When Polo does go to the air, Kahlil Sankey (10 catches, 248 yards, 5 TDs), Grenoble (9-209, 2 TDs) and Soltow (9-172, 2 TDs) have been the top targets.

“They’re solid,” West Central coach Jason Kirby told the Galesburg Register-Mail about Polo. “They don’t make mistakes, either on down-and-distance on offense, or on defense by giving up explosive plays. They make you get a lot of first downs. That’s going to be something for us to battle, because we’ve looked to those explosive plays all year.”

West Central, which was ranked No. 1 early in the season before back-to-back losses in Weeks 4 & 5, also relies on the ground game. Running back Kaiden Droste is a 1,000-yard rusher, and comes in off a 174-yard, four-touchdown game last weekend in a 56-28 win over South Beloit. Quarterback Mason Carnes added 76 yards and three scores last weekend.

“They had some kids out in that two-game stretch, a bunch of starters, and you could tell,” Alston said. “They’re a solid team, very well-coached. They run the option really, really well, they’re very disciplined, and they have a great tailback; Droste is a really good player.

“Defensively they’re solid, too; they don’t give up big plays. It will be a challenge against a well-coached team that’s playing really well the last few weeks of the season. It’s going to be a pretty good battle.”

The Heat have outscored opponents 452-272 this season, with 102 of those points given up in their two losses. They have allowed 28 points or fewer in eight games, and scored at least 38 points nine times – including in each of the last six games.

As the reigning 8-man state champs, Polo knows what it takes to win it all – and the Marcos know that means focusing solely on the opponent in front of them, and not worrying about the fact that with a win, they’ll be playing for their second straight title.

“We tell the kids that we can’t play the next game if we don’t win this one first,” Alston said. “We don’t take anyone lightly. We knew going into last week how good M-CP was, and we know this week that this team is even better. We have to step up our game, be focused, limit our mistakes, and play a really good game to give us a chance to win.”

8-man semifinal

No. 3 Orangeville (10-1) at No. 10 Amboy-LaMoille (7-4)

The Clippers have been red-hot down the stretch, and it seems like the young team has grown up and gained confidence every step of the way.

Amboy has won five of its last six games, and avenged one of its losses last weekend with a 28-18 win over Milledgeville. The Clippers hope to keep the revenge train rolling against the Broncos, the only team to beat them since the end of September.

While dwelling on the past can be harmful to a team, it can be effective if done correctly.

“We actually watched that Orangeville film again Tuesday,” coach Scott Payne said, “and showed the kids everything we did wrong as a team. The best thing you can do is learn from your mistakes, and we told them that obviously we’re a different football team than we were a month ago. The kids are confident – and they should be after the last few games.”

Amboy closed the regular season with a 46-8 win over Alden-Hebron, then defeated seventh-seeded Aquin 52-28 in the first round in Freeport, before beating second-seeded Milledgeville at home last weekend.

That recent string of strong play has been noticed by Orangeville coach Bill Meier.

“We expect Amboy will be ready to play this weekend,” Meier said. “They have a great team and are well-coached. We will need to come prepared and play a solid game if we expect to have success. I do not think that the results of our first meeting will be any indication of the game this weekend; it’s going to be a battle.”

Gunnar Lobdell leads the Broncos offense with 185 rushes for 2,040 yards and 38 touchdowns, averaging 11 yards per carry. Quarterback Carson Rote has thrown for 800 yards and 11 touchdowns, while also running for 371 yards and six scores. Brandon Cahoon has 600 total yards and six touchdowns, and tight end Nate Anderson has 264 yards receiving and five TDs.

Orangeville holds a 496-188 scoring edge this season, including 104-28 in the playoffs, with wins over Hiawatha (56-8) and Martinsville (48-20). The Broncos have gained more than twice as many total yards as their opponents this season (4,109-2,040), and average 410.9 yards per game while giving up 209.2.

“Anyone who knows Orangeville knows they’ll run the ball and trap you to death,” Payne said. “We just have to keep playing fundamentally sound football, and continue to stop the run – something we’ve done a good job of in the playoffs.”

Amboy has also run the ball well this season. Quarterback Tucker Lindenmeyer leads the team in rushing (105 carries, 838 yards, 12 TDs) and passing (43-for-78, 891 yards, 14 TDs, 2 INTs), and gets help on the ground from a stable of backs: Kye Koch (63 rushes, 467 yards, 7 TDs), Dylan Daniels (69-420, 6 TDs), Joe Quest (50-228, 7 TDs) and Jordan Gulley (39-196, 4 TDs).

The passing game has been key in the playoffs, too. The Clippers have turned momentum to their side each of the last two weeks with a touchdown pass at the halftime buzzer, one to Brennan Blaine (25 catches, 617 yards, 10 TDs) and the other to Caden Wittenauer (7 catches, 156 yards, 2 TDs).

“We just have to keep executing blocks; that’s one of the biggest things the last few games, is that the line has done a great job staying on blocks,” Payne said. “It helps, too, when you can make plays in the air, and we’ve done a good job doing that. The receivers have been going up and getting the football when it’s there, and guys are making plays for us.”

The success has caused a bit of a positive feedback loop for the Clippers, and it’s shown Payne and his assistants how far the team has come in the last three months.

“The better we play, the more confidence the guys are getting – and the more confidence they have, the better they play,” Payne said. “We’re a young football team – at any given time we’ve got four sophomores on offense, and three sophomores and a freshman on defense – and they’ve learned a lot and come a long way. All of us coaches are really proud of them for that, and we’re happy the kids are seeing success from their hard work.”

Class 1A quarterfinal

No. 7 Fulton (9-2) at No. 6 Lena-Winslow (9-2)

The Steamers are playing their best football right now, and it’s the perfect time to do it. They ride a six-game winning streak into Lena on Saturday to face the Panthers – who, coincidentally, are the last team to beat Fulton.

That was a 54-7 win in Fulton in Week 5, but Steamers coach Patrick Lower feels his team is better prepared to face their fellow NUIC team this time around.

“It felt like the first game, we didn’t play our best and they played really well,” Lower said. “We did some things out of character for us, and we didn’t tackle as well as we would’ve liked. We feel more comfortable the second time around, because we know them a lot better than we did in Week 5.

“This new conference has been wonderful to us, and we’ve really enjoyed this season. But it feels like every game has been a playoff game because we don’t know the teams that well yet. We know what to expect now, we know their personnel and players, and they’re on our radar with what they want to do.”

That doesn’t mean Lower is expecting anything easy on Saturday afternoon. Le-Win has won its two playoff games by a combined score of 92-15, after losing two of its final three regular-season games.

On the season, the Panthers have outscored their opponents by an average of 40.7-10.3 per game, and has allowed eight points or fewer in eight games while scoring at least 38 points eight times.

Marey Roby was the key cog when Le-Win faced Fulton the first time around, and he’s coming off a 165-yard, four-touchdown performance in last week’s 38-8 second-round win over Forreston.

“They’re a fantastic football program, and have been for a very long time. We have great respect for their players and coaching staff; they do things the right way up there,” Lower said. “They play a physical style of football, and there’s no secret to what they do: they’re going to pound the ball at you, and you have to stop it. It’s tough to stop, but if you do stop it, you have to do it for four quarters. We’re well aware of what we’re facing, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Fulton has a 1,000-yard rusher in Keegan VanKampen, who reached that mark with a 101-yard game last week against Ottawa Marquette. He has 1,039 yards and 19 touchdowns on 150 carries, and Jacob Jones (106 rushes, 669 yards, 7 TDs) has also helped carry the load on the ground.

After starting quarterback Patrick Lower, the coach’s son, missed three games midway through the season, he has stepped back into the role for the playoffs. He is 68-for-98 passing for 874 yards and 12 TD tosses this season. Brayden Dykstra, who took over under center when Lower was out, is 27-for-34 passing for 438 yards and 4 TDs.

Brock Mason leads the receiving corps with 32 catches for 567 yards and eight TDs, while Jones has 27 catches for 312 yards and 4 TDs, and Baylen Damhoff has 16 catches for 270 yards and 3 TDs.

“We’ve played really well since the first Lena game, and we didn’t lose a beat playing with a backup quarterback for three games,” Lower said. “We made a couple of adjustments after the Le-Win game, but we’ve mainly just focused on ourselves. We’re not so much worried about the other team now; we understand what we need to do, and if we do certain things then good things should happen. We’re paying attention to details and the little things that are the most productive for us.”

The defense has also been stout since the loss to Le-Win. During the six-game winning streak, the Steamers have outscored opponents 267-56, and haven’t allowed more than two touchdowns in any game.

That unit is led by VanKampen (119 tackles, 59 solo, 14 tackles for loss), Jones (91 tackles, 52 solo, 10 TFL, 2 sacks), Mason (87 tackles, 45 solo, 10 TFL, 2 sacks), Zach Dykstra (83 tackles, 41 solo, 12 TFL, 1 sack), Kole Schipper (80 tackles, 39 solo, 18 TFL, 3 sacks) and Joey Huizenga (78 tackles, 46 solo, 13 TFL, 4 sacks).