Sycamore, Morris face off in Week 9 battle for conference crown for 2nd straight year

SYCAMORE – For the second straight year, Morris and Sycamore will meet in a Week 9 battle to determine the champion of the Kishwaukee River/Interstate 8 White.

Last year, Morris entered with an undefeated record and won 28-21 to win the conference. This year, the Spartans enter the game undefeated against a one-loss Morris team.

“We’re in a good spot, we’re 8-0, we’re facing a real good team,” Sycamore coach Joe Ryan said. “It’s a good game to have before you get into playoffs. It’s kind of a measuring stick. You’re playing for a conference championship. It’s what you want to be doing at the end of the year. I’m sure they’re saying the same thing. Should be a great game.”

Morris brings a powerful running attack and got a strong special teams performance last week from Will Knapp, who returned two punts for touchdowns in a 59-7 win against Ottawa. Sycamore, meanwhile, won at La Salle-Peru 28-0, opening up the passing game in the second half behind quarterback Eli Meier and receiver Burke Gautcher to pull away.

Sycamore linebacker and running back Joey Puleo missed most of last season, including the Morris game, because of an injury. He has stayed healthy this season and is eager to be on the field with a shot at the title this time around.

“I just had to sit there and watch it happen,” Puleo said. “I’m excited to do something about it this year.”

The Spartans also have a chance to go undefeated in a full season for the first time since 2013, although they were 6-0 in the COVID-19-shortened spring 2021 season.

Puleo said a win would give the team a ton of momentum heading into the postseason.

“We’re ready for a challenge like Morris and ready to play another true playoff top-dog team,” Puleo said. “We’re excited to finally go at it with them.”

Ryan said the focus is just on claiming a win and taking whatever comes with it.

“It’s coach speak, but you want to win once a week,” Ryan said. “We want to win Friday. If we’re successful, then we would have an undefeated regular season. We want to keep getting better, and if that’s what happens from getting a win on Friday, we’ll be awfully excited about it.”

As for last year’s loss, Ryan said the Spartans try not to get too caught up in the past.

“It’s different kids, although some of our kids were involved with it, and some of their kids were certainly involved with it. It’s a whole different tone this year,” Ryan said. “I don’t know if you gain any extra incentive because you lost the year before. We want to win this year, and I’m sure they want to win this year.”

Linebacker Kiefer Tarnoki said for the returning players, the game Friday is a big one.

“I know everyone who was on that team still thinks about it a little bit until this day,” Tarnoki said. “I know we have the one-game-at-a-time mentality, but I know everyone, including me, still thinks about that game and what we could have done to win that game.”