SVM football roundup: Sterling outlasts Quincy in overtime thriller

Kael Ryan rushed for 173 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime, to lead the Sterling Golden Warriors to a 34-28 win over Quincy on the road in the Western Big 6 on Friday night.

Ryan had two 1-yard touchdown runs and one 70-yarder. The second 1-yard touchdown run was the game-winner for the Warriors, who improved to 5-1 overall, 4-0 in conference play.

Sterling running back Antonio Tablante racked up 77 rushing yards, while quarterback JP Schilling chipped in 70 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Schilling also connected with Tablante for an 8-yard scoring pass.

Byron 63, Rock Falls 0: The Tigers took control from the start and the Rockets (0-6) never recovered in a Big Northern Conference loss on the road.

Braden Smith connected with Brayden Knoll on a 13-yard touchdown pass just 1:19 into the game, then Carsen Behn ran for a 3-yard TD with 9:14 left in the first quarter. Smith added scoring runs of 22 and 2 yards, and Byron (5-1) led 28-0 through the opening quarter.

Behn added a 53-yard touchdown run just 21 seconds into the second quarter, then Ashton Henkel (22 yards) and Jarrett Ross (15 yards) both added TD runs for a 49-0 lead with 4:28 left in the first half.

Genoa-Kingston 19, Oregon 0: The Cogs scored one touchdown in each of the first three quarters, and pitched a defensive shutout to roll past the Hawks (1-5) in a BNC matchup in Genoa.

Traven Atterberry scored two of the touchdowns on run plays: one from 1 yard out and the other from 10 yards out.

Brady Brewick added a 14-yard rushing score for G-K (5-1).

Jack Washburn went 15 for 24 with 101 passing yards to lead Oregon’s offense. Joshua Crandall caught five passes for 41 yards as the leading Hawks’ receiver.

Rockridge 36, Morrison 22: The Rockets’ offense put up 22 second-quarter points, and its defense held the Mustangs to seven second-half points to secure a Three Rivers Rock win.

Morrison quarterback Danny Mouw went 9 for 21 with 194 passing yards, tossing touchdowns of 48 and 57 yards.

Chase Newman caught both touchdown passes, and totaled six catches for 149 yards for the Mustangs (2-4, 1-2).

Brady Anderson rushed for 97 yards, with an 80-yard touchdown run, as the leading Morrison rusher.

Forreston 60, West Carroll 6: The Cardinals piled on 54 first-half points and rolled past the Thunder in an NUIC matchup.

Forreston (4-2, 4-2) averaged a whopping 20.6 yards per carry as a team, racking up 412 rushing yards on 20 attempts.

Micah Nelson rushed for touchdowns of 44, 8 and 92 yards, and finished the game with 136 rushing yards.

Kaleb Sanders rushed for 126 yards, with scores of 81 and 37 yards; Johnny Kobler rushed for 56 yards, with scores of 39 and 1 yards; and Evan Boettner scored a 67-yard touchdown for the Cardinals.

The lone score for West Carroll (0-6, 0-5) was a 50-yard touchdown pass from AJ Boardman to Aaron Becker.

Galena 28, Eastland-Pearl City 13: The Wildcatz lost an NUIC game on the road, as they fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter and couldn’t come back.

EPC (1-5, 1-5) trailed 21-0 with 9:45 to play, and scored two touchdowns in the final 9 minutes, but the comeback came up short.

Polo 48, Bushnell-Prairie City 6: The Marcos jumped out to a big lead early and never looked back in an Illinois 8-Man Football Association win on the road.

Brock Soltow ran 14 times for 267 yards and four touchdowns, and Avery Grenoble added 167 yards and two TDs on 11 carries for Polo (4-2), which outgained BPC 498-31 on the ground, and averaged 13.5 yards per carry.

Soltow had touchdown runs of 72 and 73 yards in the game’s first 2:26, and Grenoble added a 32-yard TD run for a 22-0 lead 3:58 into the game. Soltow ran in from 5 yards and 18 yards for a 34-0 lead with 8:44 left in the first half, and Grenoble sprinted in from 42 yards with 3:11 to go before halftime for a 42-0 lead.

Carter Merdian added a 6-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to cap Polo’s scoring.

AFC 44, South Beloit 40: The Raiders (3-3) picked up their third win in four weeks – and second contested victory in that span – with an eight-man road victory over the SoBos.