April 26, 2024
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Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio rallies past Milford-Cissna Park to win I8FA quarterfinal on the road

By Ty Reynolds
Amboy’s Landon Whelchel runs for a TD Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022 against Orangeville.

Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio’s Landon Whelchel runs for a touchdown during the Clippers' Week 5 game against Orangeville. In Saturday's I8FA quarterfinals against Milford-Cissna Park, Whelchel ran for 174 yards and three touchdowns, and Amboy came back from a 10-point deficit to win 30-28 and advance to the semifinals for the second straight season. (Kyle Reidelbaugh - Shaw Local News Network)

For the second straight season, Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio came from behind to win its Illinois 8-Man Football Association quarterfinal playoff game.

This year, the Clippers did it on the road, erasing a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Milford-Cissna Park 30-28 on Saturday afternoon.

“The kids stepped up and made plays when they needed to,” Amboy coach Scott Payne said. “We were down 10 [22-12] at halftime, and we came out in the second half and played great. The kids handled the adversity of being behind on the road.”

The key sequences came in the final period. After Mason Blanck gave MCP a 28-18 lead with a 20-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter, Amboy’s offense answered immediately. Landon Whelchel ran for a 51-yard touchdown on the first play after the kickoff to cut the deficit to 28-24 with 11:43 to play.

Three plays later, facing a third down, MCP QB Sawyer Laffoon tried to throw for the first down, but the pass was intercepted by Eddie Jones around the 40-yard line and returned inside the 20. The Clippers then faced a fourth-and-12 at the 20, but Tucker Lindenmeyer hit Brennan Blaine on a slant pass and Blaine took it to the house for a 30-28 lead with 8:36 to play.

“Come playoff time, you need kids to step up and make plays – and all our boys did that in the second half,” Payne said. “Our defense forced two turnovers, and offensively we were able to run the ball, with is a good credit to our offensive line.”

MCP had one last chance, as it drove into the red zone in the final minute. On fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line, Tyler Neukomm took the pitch to the right and tried to race to the end zone, but Jones stripped the ball near the goal line and Quinn Leffelman recovered in the end zone with three seconds remaining to seal the victory.

“Absolutely, that says a lot about our defense,” Payne said. “We had our backs against the wall there, with the game on the line, and our defense stood up and made a play.”

Whelchel finished with 24 rushes for 174 yards and three touchdowns, and Leffelman added 13 rushes for 98 yards and a score. Lindenmeyer had 29 rush yards and 36 passing yards, with both completions going to Blaine.

Laffoon ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, and he was also 5 for 7 passing for 82 yards, including a 17-yard scoring strike to Tevon Longest. Neukomm added 62 yards on 29 rushes for MCP, which had won the two previous eight-man meetings between the teams by a combined 12 points.

The Clippers will host a semifinal game next week against St. Thomas More, which upset top-seeded Decatur Lutheran/Mt. Pulaski 44-38 in their quarterfinal game.