Record Newspapers football preview capsule for the Yorkville-Moline second-round playoff game

Here is a preview of the second-round matchup between Moline and Yorkville.

Class 7A

No. 10 Moline (9-1) at No. 7 Yorkville (9-1)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

About the Maroons: Moline, champions of the Western Big Six Conference, are back in the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season after a 21-13 first-round win over DeKalb. Riley Fuller ran for 228 yards on 34 carries for Moline in the win. The three-year varsity starter and four-year varsity player has rushed for over 1,600 yards and 24 touchdowns on the season in nine games. Four of Moline’s offensive linemen are three-year starters. Quarterback Grant Sibley has started for three years, before this season at receiver and defensive back. Two of Moline’s defensive linemen are three-year starters, as is linebacker and leading tackler Christian Reyes.

The Moline program appears to have been revitalized since current head coach Mike Morrissey took over in 2017. The Maroons have reached the playoffs five straight times, and last year reached the second round, losing to Willowbrook 30-26. Moline, whose only loss was to Benet in Week 2, has never reached a football quarterfinal.

“They’re explosive,” Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said of Moline. “Their run game is going to be one of the better ones we’ve seen. They’re the most committed to the run game that we will have seen up to this point. In our old conference with the Sycamores and Geneseos we’d see more run-dominant teams. In our league this year it was primarily passing teams, or at least 50/50 run and pass. Moline is kind of a throwback.”

McGuire said that the Maroons present a challenge not only with their scheme, but with their personnel with the multiple returning linemen up front.

“They have multiple backs that can score at a moment’s notice and defensively they are very stout up front,” McGuire said. “With that offense they really limit opponents’ possessions. If you do fumble or make any kind of mistake you might get 4-5 possessions with the way their offense is designed so everything is magnified.”

About the Foxes: Yorkville responded to an early challenge from Libertyville in fine fashion in an eventual 33-8 win. Blake Kersting had a game-turning pick-six, and Yorkville also scored a touchdown off special teams with Luke Zook’s blocked punt. Gio Zeman ran for 156 yards on 18 carries, and is up to 910 yards on the season with six touchdowns. Junior QB Michael Dopart has thrown for 1,020 yards and eight touchdowns. Defensively, Kyle Gettemy has 56 tackles, Blake Kersting 53 and Andrew Laurich 22 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.

The Foxes are in familiar territory. This is their fourth consecutive time reaching the second round of the playoffs. Yorkville has lost on the previous three occasions. The last time the Yorkville program reached the quarterfinals was in 1999.

“We try to take it one game at a time,” McGuire said. “We had some goals at the beginning of the season. Our team goal was to not be satisfied. In years past we’d be happy to be here. Our goals are to win the next game, approach it just like it was Week 1. We appreciate the opportunity we have and are not taking it for granted.”

The matchup to watch could be up front, with Yorkville’s fierce defensive linemen of Laurich, Jake Davies, Andrew Zook and Amani Kortie going up against Moline’s experienced offensive line.

“From a size standpoint we are a little overmatched, from a sheer height and weight standpoint for sure,” Moline coach Mike Morrissey said. “That D-line is the first thing that stood out on film. They’re big, but they’re also fundamentally sound and do a lot of good things. Their defense is the strength of the team. We feel like our O-line has been the catalyst for us this year. For us it comes down to being good fundamentally.”

Up next: The winner advances to the quarterfinal round against the winner between No. 2 Hersey (10-0) and No. 18 Batavia (7-3).

FND pick: Yorkville