Peotone powers past Streator in Bulldogs’ home opener

STREATOR – Peotone fumbled the opening kickoff return and was forced by host Streator into two fourth-down situations on its initial drive Friday night.

The Blue Devils overcame all three – the last with a 36-yard, Tristan Weglarz-to-TJ Chenoweth touchdown pass on fourth-and-5 – and then rolled from there to a convincing 49-13 Illinois Central Eight Conference victory at the SHS Athletic Fields.

“I really thought after [Weglarz] completed that touchdown pass on the fourth-down play, that got [Streator] second-guessing a little bit,” Peotone coach Apostolos Tsiamas said. “After that, our run game really started to open up.

“Credit to our kids. They went out there and just executed the heck out of the game plan. ... It’s a great start to the season.”

Peotone (2-0) scored on seven of its eight offensive possessions, the other ending on a wide-left 34-yard field goal as the first half expired, and outgained the Bulldogs 340 to 195 in yards from scrimmage.

“[Streator] threw their best punch, and we just had to keep fighting. Once we got the first score, the floodgates just sort of opened.”

—  Peotone senior RB/LB Ben Balmer

Leading the assault was Dawson Piper’s 72 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries; Weglarz’s 5-for-9, 113-yard, two-TD passing performance; 76 yards from scrimmage (33 rushing, 43 receiving) and two TDs courtesy of Chenoweth; and Ben Balmer’s 65 yards from scrimmage (23 rushing, 42 receiving) with a 42-yard touchdown catch on a second-quarter rainmaker from Weglarz.

“We knew Streator played a really good team, Coal City, last week, so we didn’t want to underestimate them in any way,” Balmer said. “We came out here, the offensive line set the tone, and then we went from there. ...

“It was gritty, especially that first drive. [Streator] threw their best punch, and we just had to keep fighting. Once we got the first score, the floodgates just sort of opened.”

The Bulldogs (0-2) made a number of solid plays in the first half but shot themselves in the proverbial paw multiple times to find themselves down, 35-0, at the halftime break.

“We said from the very beginning, if we don’t match their physicality they’re going to do exactly what they did. They’re going to pound the football and have great play-action, and that’s what they were able to do.”

—  Streator football coach Kyle Tutt

Four offensive plays for negative yards put first-year head coach Kyle Tutt’s offense behind the sticks, and penalty after penalty – six for 50 yards in the first quarter alone, including a controversial targeting call on a muffed punt that not only gave Peotone excellent field position but removed Streator on-field leader AJ Benning from the contest – continued to put the Blue Devils in excellent shape to build on their lead.

Which they did at every opportunity, enforcing the 40-point running clock rule 3 1/2 minutes into the third on a 15-yard scoring run from Piper.

“You have to give a lot of credit to Peotone,” Tutt said. “We said from the very beginning, if we don’t match their physicality they’re going to do exactly what they did. They’re going to pound the football and have great play-action, and that’s what they were able to do.”

Jack Turner was 7-for-7 on PAT kicks, while Peotone defensive leaders included Joel Lee II with an interception and Tyler Hendricker and Austin Massat with quarterback sacks.

The Bulldogs put together a much stronger second half than the first, including scoring their first two touchdowns of the young season – on a 10-yard Cade Stevens scamper into the end zone with 4:28 left in the third (Mason Telford extra point) and an Alex Ward 3-yard sweep westward on the final play of the contest.

“One of the things we have to change is culture,” said Tutt, “and I thought we did an excellent job coming out of the half, adjusting our mindset and playing the kind of football we want to play.”

Stevens finished with 78 yards rushing on 11 carries, Ward hauled in three passes for 14 yards, Jake Luckey caught two for 15, and quarterback Tyler Luckey was 6-of-12 passing for 30 yards and ran for another 54 yards on 11 totes. Defensively, Christian Benning was the Bulldogs’ star with a quarterback sack, a tackle for a loss and a forced fumble.

Both teams face quick turnarounds because of the upcoming Easter holiday weekend. Peotone will host Manteno on Thursday for what the Blue Devils have circled as a revenge game from a loss in 2019; while Streator hosts Herscher for a 5 p.m. kickoff, also Thursday.