Key takeaways from Week 7 of Rockford football: Star receivers, a call gone right

Every week we learn something new about area football. This week, we learned that Hononegah (7-0) will almost surely be the NIC-10 champion after dominating Belvidere North 34-7. Here are some other key things we learned:

Hononegah is loaded at receiver

In 2016, Belvidere's Phil Kolk set NIC-10 receiving records with 1,181 yards and 18 touchdowns, and the Bucs' other starting receiver, Will Morris, set the league record with 82 catches and finished with 838 yards. That is clearly the best receiving duo in conference history. But Hononegah's Isaiah Houi, Cole Schmall and Joe Melcher are one of the best receiving trios. Coach Brian Zimmerman said they are the best trio in Hononegah history, at the least.

"Those guys are all playing so well," Zimmerman said of targets that have helped make quarterback Cole Warren the league's leading passer. "Anything Cole throws up, it seems they come down with. We have a few other receivers we feel good about that haven't had an opportunity because those guys are the starters."

More: High school football Stillman Valley's Braden Rogers and Lena-Winslow's Gage Dunker lead Rockford's top performers

Houi, the league's leading receiver, caught a 45-yard TD pass in Friday's 34-7 win over Belvidere North that probably assured Hononegah (7-0) of the NIC-10 title. Joe Melcher outleaped a defender for a 35-yard TD. But the best catch was a one-handed grab by Schmall for a 31-yard gain to the 3. Two Hononegah receivers were crossing near the goal line on the play with two Belvidere North defenders zeroing in on the ball. At the last second, Schmall crossed in front of the other receiver and snatched the ball with one hand away from the two defenders.

"That catch was one of the best i’ve ever seen from a receiver," Zimmerman said. "Certainly from a Honoengah receiver. Oh my goodness, that was phenomenal. I am going to send that into the IHSA as an awesome play of the week."

Many in the press box didn't think the pass was even intended for Schmall. Zimmerman isn't sure, but he thinks that is who Warren was throwing to.

"A couple of times earlier, Schmall was wide open, and Cole missed him," Zimmerman said. "The first one Melcher caught, Schmall was wide open. I mean wide open in the end zone. And Melcher was covered pretty tight and still came down with the touchdown. We talked on the sideline that we need to come back to Schmall."

Getting the call right

High school football teams often throw screen passes too soon — or the receiver stands too far back. It doesn’t matter — refs almost always call it an incomplete pass if it hits the ground or is fumbled by the receiver even if it clearly should be ruled a lateral.

Not against Freeport on Friday night.

“We must have lost 30-plus yards due to our passes being behind the line of scrimmage,” Freeport coach Anthony Dedmond said after the Pretzels edged Jefferson 19-18 Friday. “At first we were upset about it. Thank goodness they were consistent on the calls.”

That’s because Freeport began its rally from 18-7 down in the fourth quarter with another bubble screen that didn’t go as planned. It was at Dedric Macon’s feet, and he couldn’t catch the ball cleanly. But he picked it up off the ground and ran 64 yards for a touchdown because quarterback Payton Woker threw the ball slightly behind him, making it a lateral — so the ball was still alive.

“We lost a lot of yards on bubbles,” Dedmond said. “This one was no different than the rest of them. He just happened to pick this one up.”

Forreston finds a way to stay on track

Forreston (7-0) set up a big finishing stretch by rallying for another comeback win Saturday, coming from 15-8 down at halftime to beat Gibson City/Melvin Sibley 22-21. It's the second time Forreston has had to rally in the fourth quarter this year and the third time it's used a 10-plus-play drive to secure a win late in a game.

"I don't know what it is about this group, but they just will not go away, they will never give up," Forreston head coach Keynon Janicke said. "This game just mirrored the Fulton game (to open the season). It's just nuts. They just will not roll over."

Forreston trailed GC/MS nearly the entire game: from four minutes into the game, until about four minutes left. That's when Owen Mulder scored his second touchdown of the game and, with 4:03 left in the game, sealed the victory for the Cardinals with a 1-yard TD and with the two-point-conversion run.

Now, Forreston will be on the road to face Durand/Pecatonica (6-1) next week before finishing off the regular season against No. 1-ranked Lena-Winslow (7-0) at home on Oct. 20.

Scoring on the pitch, and on the gridiron

Rockford Christian quarterback Jaden Williams threw for 169 yards and rushed for another 21 in Friday's football game, and that came after he had his first goal of his high school soccer career on Wednesday. Williams is one of four football players who agreed to also play soccer this year in order to keep the season alive. Four soccer players also agreed to play football.

Williams leads the Big Northern Conference in passing with 1,517 yards through the air, and he has worked his way into an important role on the soccer team as well. His goal on Wednesday helped the soccer team earn its first win of the season, an 8-0 rout over South Beloit.

However, the football team hasn't been able to haul in a win all season. Their last chances are coming up, as the football team is at North Boone this Friday, with only one more game left after that. The soccer squad opens postseason play next week.

Dakota comes up big

With back-to-back big wins, Dakota (3-4) has worked itself back into the Class 1A state playoff picture. After four losses in a row, it looked like a team that would have to wait until next season for a playoff bid. But now, following wins over West Carroll (48-0 on Sept. 29) and Galena (20-0 on Friday), this is a team that is rejuvenated and is back in the picture. Dakota is at Stockton (3-4) next Friday and finishes up at home against E/PC (1-6).

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Week 7 Rockford football takeaways: star receiving trio, fumble for TD