Players of the Week: Stars shine during Week 3 gridiron competition
One-third of the football season has been completed and there is hope that things will start shaping up. One of those things for Pontiac is the offensive line, which played well en route to a 40-14 win over Rantoul last week.
Dwight also played well in bumping Norridge (Ridgewood) from the ranks of the unbeaten. This may be giving the Trojans some momentum heading into the second third of the season.
Prairie Central came up inches short of possibly upsetting St. Joseph-Ogden, but the Hawks fell 26-19. El Paso-Gridley also fell short as Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley relied on three big plays for a 21-13 win. The Hawks and Titans will be looking to rebound at home.
Looking ahead to this weekend, in Illini Prairie Conference play, Pontiac (1-2) will be tested on the road at Paxton-Buckley-Loda (2-1). Prairie Central (1-2) returns to Lewis Field to host Rantoul (0-3).
Dwight (2-1) returns home to meet Melrose Park (Walther Christian) (2-1) in a Chicagoland Prairie tilt at Oughton Field. El Paso-Gridley (2-1) will look to rebound against Elmwood-Brimfield in its final nonconference contest of the regular season.
In Western Illinois, Monmouth-Roseville (2-1) may be finding a groove as it rolled past Erie-Prophetstown (0-3) 42-14 in Three Rivers Conference play at home. The Titans will be northbound as they travel to Port Byron (Riverdale) (0-3) for another TRAC contest.
Galesburg (1-2) traveled to Trafalgar, Ind., for a Saturday afternoon contest. The Silver Streaks had a longer trip home after falling 35-14 to Indian Creek. GHS will be on the road for the third straight week as it heads to Sterling (1-2).
Canton (0-3) fell 57-13 to unbeaten Morton (3-0) in a Mid-Illini Conference contest. The Little Giants travel to East Peoria (1-2) this week. Macomb (2-1) bounced back with a 38-12 decision over Carthage (Illini West) (1-2). The Bombers have a Saturday contest at Hamilton (West Hancock) (0-3).
In preparing for Week 4 of the high school football campaign, here is a look at who excelled in Week 3.
Offensive Line (Pontiac) — Pontiac's offensive line of Trent Blackwell, Hector Garcia, Elijah Hartke, Jackson Crawford and James Durham gave its best collective effort of the season as Pontiac garnered 362 yards of offense in its 40-14 Illini Prairie Conference win over Rantoul last week.
“I challenged our OL group this past week and they answered the call,” PTHS head coach Zach Gadbury said. “They played a much more physical brand of football, which set the tone early for us on Friday night. They also know that there are a lot of things that can be cleaned up and improved upon. They have an awesome mentality and come to work every day ready to get better.”
Hudson Ault (Prairie Central) — His jersey number of 10, but there are targets visible to opposing defenses on it. Still, the speedy junior finds a way to get the job done. Last week, Ault exploded for 223 yards, including touchdown dashes of 47 and 20 yards. It went for naught as the Hawks lost 26-19 when they were stopped inches short of the goal line as time ran out.
“Hudson had a great game running the ball Friday night against a very athletic St. Joe defense,” PC head coach Mike Goodwin said. “He also had a great game in pass protection, they were bringing a lot of blitzes and he was able to pick them up all night.”
Connor Telford (Dwight) — With Seth Robertson, Dylan Crouch and Caiden Nelson, it could be easy enough to not really notice Connor Telford. But the Dwight quarterback is the engine that drives the Trojans on offense, and he showed how with a 109-yard passing and 71-yard rushing effort in leading DTHS past previously unbeaten Norridge (Ridgewood) He tossed TD passes to Dylan Crouch and Drew Anderson.
“Conner Telford led the Trojan offense Against Ridgewood with a great performance in the run game and through the air,” DTHS head coach Luke Standiford said.
Kamren Schumacher (El Paso-Gridley) — This week it was the arm that was a necessary weapon for Schumacher as he threw for 200 yards and a touchdown.
Schumacher added 88 rushing yards but it wasn't enough as the Titans dropped a Heart of Illinois crossover contest to host Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley.
Tyler Finnicum (Monmouth-Roseville) — Being able to pound the ball has been key for Monmouth-Roseville the past two weeks as the Titans posted victories. It was Finnicum leading the assault against Erie-Prophetstown, a 42-14 win at Coach Warren Dobry Field.
Finnicum had 131 yards and scored on runs of 28 yards and 1 yard on 22 trips. He combined with Payton Thompson for 216 yards and four scores.
“Tyler is the true leader of our team on both sides of the ball,” M-R head coach Jeremy Adolphson said. “This year he is quickly becoming the catalyst to our offense with his ability to get tough yards and his ability as a blocker. He truly makes our team go on both sides of the ball.”
Branden Holthaus (Macomb) — Junior quarterback Braden Holthaus accounted for 264 yards and five touchdowns in leading Macomb (2-1) to a 38-12 victory over Carthage (Illini West).
Holthaus was 14 of 20 throwing the ball for 195 yards and four touchdowns. He added 69 yards and a TD on the ground as the Bombers' second-leading rusher.
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Players of the Week: Stars shine during Week 3 gridiron competition
