Senior lineman Matt Purdom admits that he never expected the Immaculate Conception football team to roll through the playoffs in such a dominating fashion as the Knights demonstrated.
He did have an inkling of what may lie ahead for the Knights early in their quest for glory.
"During our first playoff game, standing on the sidelines in the fourth quarter, I realized 'We're going to do it,' " Purdom said of IC's 42-6 win over No. 2 seed Orion in the playoff opener. "I knew if we played like we did in the game against Orion that we were going to be tough to stop."
No one came close to stopping the Knights, who capped a remarkable run by routing Casey-Westfield 36-17 Friday in the Class 2A state championship game at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium in Champaign.
IC (10-4) became the first team to capture a state title with four losses. The Knights outscored their five playoff opponents 214-67 and had a running clock in each of their first four victories.
"This means everything to us," senior linebacker Erik Hansen said. "It was a road where we kept beating teams and beating teams (badly) and it doesn't really hit you. Then, all of a sudden, it's there in front of your face and we're playing in a state game. It's just a crazy feeling to be state champions."
The championship game did prove to be the biggest challenge for IC, which won the program's first state title in 2002.
On the second play from scrimmage, the Knights lost a fumble and Casey (13-1) capitalized on the turnover when Clinton Scott kicked a 32-yard field goal to give the Warriors a 3-0 lead 3 minutes, 19 seconds into the game. It was the first and only time the Knights trailed in a game the entire postseason.
The deficit could have been bigger, but IC came up with a momentum-changing defensive stand late in the first quarter. The Warriors drove to the IC 23, but Antonio Taylor and Rob Peachey combined on a fourth-and-one stop on a quarterback keeper to stall the drive.
IC lost another fumble with 9:36 left in the second quarter, but the Knights regrouped and scored 21 unanswered points to take a 21-3 halftime lead and never looked back. Peachey scored on a 6-yard run, Hansen returned an interception 37 yards for a TD and Carlos Rodriguez (80 yards, 11 carries) added a 9-yard TD run with 47 seconds left to cap the first-half scoring.
"It was a tough game," IC coach Bill Schmidt said. "We started a little bit slow and had a couple turnovers, which was uncharacteristic of us in the playoffs. We were able to overcome that. I couldn't be more proud, and these kids deserve everything that is coming to them."
IC's Dan Muisenga, who missed the first four games of the season before returning and being a key contributor, intercepted a desperation pass by Casey all-state quarterback Mitch Snyder (22-for-36 passing, 265 yards) at the 8-yard line with 11 seconds left in the second quarter to preserve the Knights' comfortable lead.
"That was a great feeling," Muisenga said of the pick. "The ball was up in the air a long time and I just cut right in front of the (receiver) at the last second and took the ball from him. This is the best feeling ever. We saw the 2002 team (win state) and we knew that is where we wanted to be and we wouldn't settle for anything less."
IC kept the momentum going in the third quarter. A 49-yard punt by Muisenga was downed as the Casey 1, and two plays later, an intentional grounding in the end zone resulted in a safety for the Knights, who increased their lead to 23-3. It was the first points scored all season in the third quarter against Casey, which had outscored its opponents 111-0.
The Knights extended their lead to 30-3 on a 1-yard run by Paul Hornstra (138 yards, 25 carries) with 4:45 left in the quarter. Olivia Vatch replaced Jose Godinez, who kicked the first three extra-point attempts, and booted the conversion kick to become the first female to ever score a point in a state-championship game.
Casey pulled within 30-10 with 1:23 left in the quarter, but Hornstra answered with a 16-yard TD run to stretch the lead to 36-10 with 10:17 left in the game. Casey's Kaleb Brandenburg closed the game's scoring with a 14-yard TD run with 7:50 remaining.
IC rushed for 306 yards behind linemen Purdom, Robert Rivera, Marco Medina, Nick Stam, Dan Delaney and Josh Fenton. IC junior quarterback Will Cronin completed 3 of 9 passes for 68 yards and rushed for 36 yards on 10 carries.
The Knights defense was led by Hornstra (8 tackles, pass breakup), Medina (5 tackles, sack), Purdom (4 tackles, sack, forced fumble) and Hansen, Taylor and Muisenga (6 tackles each).
"Our persistence and our desire just pushed us through," said Cronin, who grew four inches and gained 35 pounds from last season when he was thrust into the starting role as a sophomore.
"We were watching the (Class 1A championship) game before we played and (Triopia) was dominating and we were all thinking, 'What if that is going to be us?' Then, it was us and it's pretty incredible."
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