Mac Resetich, Hall continue their playoff push

KEWANEE – The Hall Red Devils have started their playoff run.

Friday night was their latest step.

Hall built a 26-point lead on the legs and arm of senior quarterback Mac Resetich and finished off a 26-15 victory over the Kewanee Boilermakers to spoil their 2022 Homecoming Night.

The win was Hall’s second straight, improving the Red Devils to 3-3 overall, 2-1 in Three Rivers Conference East Division play.

The Red Devils need to win two of their last three to become playoff eligible.

“It’s a big win. We stepped on ourselves on the road over at Morrison and that was a game we probably should have won,” Hall coach Randy Tieman said. “But we didn’t, and I think maybe we learned from it a little bit. We got one here tonight and we’re in a good position. We’re going to have to play hard the rest of the way, but we feel like we’re in position, we might be able to sneak into the playoffs and see what happens.”

Hall junior running back Joseph Bacidore said the Red Devils know they are in a must-win situation from here on out.

“It’s huge because we have to win every game to secure a spot in the playoffs,” he said.

Resetich, who scored a school record seven touchdowns in last week’s win over Mendota, was up to his old tricks Friday, scoring three touchdowns by rush and another by pass. He rushed for 306 yards and completed one of three passes for an 81-yard touchdown.

He got the Red Devils on the board with a 20-yard run touchdown run and added the conversion run to put Hall ahead 8-0 with 3:19 left in the first quarter.

He was just warming up.

The Hall quarterback called his own number again on a draw play, tucking the ball away and racing downfield for an 85-yard TD romp at the 7:11 mark of the second quarter to go up 14-0.

Bacidore, who Tieman said has the ability to run the ball, too, said it’s amazing to watch Resetich in action.

“He’s phenomenal. I wouldn’t want him on any other team,” Bacidore said. “I just have to run down with him when he’s running an 80-yard touchdown, cheering him on like a little cheerleader.”

Following a timeout to make sure everyone was on the same page, Resetich found a wide open Braden Curran, a freshman, who raced for an 81-yard score. The conversion run failed, but Hall took a 20-0 lead to halftime.

“We put that play in, but we didn’t know if Braden knew to line up in the right formation,” Tieman said. “So we wanted to make sure we had Braden on the trip side. He’s usually the solo guy. We talked about it in the timeout to make sure it was set up right.

“They were playing so far up and with Mac running that motion that way, we figured they would come up. [Braden] came up like he was going to block the kid and then he just took off. It was good play by him. He did a good job for a freshman.”

Resetich was not done yet.

He took a 46-yard run to pay dirt on the first play of the fourth to cap the Hall scoring at 26 points.

Kewanee (2-4, 1-3) avoided the shutout by scoring on a 20-yard TD pass from Brady Clark to Ben Taylor and a 1-yard TD run by Alex Duarte in the final nine minutes of the game.

“We felt confident coming in, but when you’re not used to winning, it’s scary,” Tieman said. “It got a little scary in the second half, but they held on.”

Hall will seek its fourth win at home next week against Newman (3-3, 1-2).