Football: Stillman Valley overpowers Coal City

Updated: November 5, 2011 6:00PM

While the loss was still fresh and certainly stung, Coal City quarterback Cody Onsen did not want the season-ending defeat to Stillman Valley to take away from a successful season.

Coal City fell 28-13 to Stillman Valley in the Class 4A second round playoff game Saturday afternoon.

“Everyone’s sad now, but when you look back on it we had a really good year,” Onsen said. “We can’t hang our heads. We know we played hard and just came up short today.”

Onsen finished 14-for-28 passing for 264 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and a fumble lost. Coal City (9-2) struggled to establish a ground game, rushing for 94 yards on 14 carries.

Stillman Valley (9-2) countered with a dominant, clock-killing run game. The Cardinals had five different players with at least eight rushes, finishing with 280 yards on 55 carries as a team.

“We didn’t do anything to help our defense,” Coal City coach Lenny Onsen said. “We shot ourselves in the foot a couple times, and Stillman Valley does what they do really well.”

The Coalers fell behind 21-7 at halftime as seven first half possessions produced just one score, an Onsen to Ryan Bonarek 23-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter that tied the game at seven.

Coal City followed up the score by turning the ball over on its next three possessions, two interceptions and an Onsen fumble. Stillman Valley capitalized, turning two of those turnovers into second quarter touchdowns.

“They gave us a cushion (throwing), but against the wind it was hard to get the ball to the short guys,” Cody Onsen said. “We had our shots and just didn’t make the plays when we should have.”

Trailing 28-7 with 46 seconds remaining in the game, Onsen hooked up with Mike Halloran for a 78-yard touchdown bomb, the receiver’s 19th reception touchdown of the season.

“It’s tough when you invest so much,” Lenny Onsen said. “You win and lose together. It’s a tough way to end the season, but I’m very proud of these kids.”

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