Cadets continue to march on

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:04PM

The wind whipped around Dan Thorpe's face Saturday night as the sun faded behind the scoreboard at Fichtel Field on the campus of Marmion Academy, but the sixth-year head coach couldn't have had a warmer feeling in his heart.

His Cadets (11-1) had just wiped away the favored Lemont Indians 31-20 in dominating fashion, pushing Marmion into the Class 6A semifinals at Danville (12-0).

"I'm just enjoying standing on this field with these seniors and this football team that are a bunch of grinders," he said with a smile.

The 11 wins tie this team for the second-best record in school history with the 1998 squad that finished 11-1 but lost in the quarterfinals. The best Cadets team ever, at least in the current playoff format adopted in 1974, was the 12-1 team that current Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy took to the Class 3A semifinals before losing 35-7 to Princeton.

"I can't even ... I mean it's ... it's the best feeling I've ever had in my life," Marmion senior T.J. Lally said. "It's amazing. Lemont played really well but we played a great game. It's just awesome."

Added fellow senior Nick Scoliere: "This feeling, for our team, for the whole Marmion community, it's unbelievable. This is something you're going to remember forever. This is amazing. It's really great."

The Cadets knocked off the previously unbeaten and top-seeded Indians thanks to a stifling defense that forced turnovers or punts on 10 of the Indians' 12 full possessions (Lemont ran out the first half on two plays).

Thorpe tried to credit the elements with some of that dominance, especially since Lemont quarterback Mike Hall was held to 139 yards on 11 of 28 passing with three interceptions.

"He's just being nice. He's just being nice," Lemont coach Eric Michaelsen said of Thorpe with a slight smile. "They beat us. They deserved to beat us. I wish we had played a little bit better but you have to tip your hat to them. They sure had a big part of us not doing as we all we (could). This is one of the first games where we had a lot of turnovers. We've been able to click on all three levels - offense, defense and special teams - and there were some letdowns in all three areas. I won't let him give us an out. They deserve the credit for it."

SANDWICH'S SENIOR STANDOUTS

The firsts keep piling up for the Sandwich Indians (11-1) this year after a resounding 42-13 victory over Mendota on Saturday.

This team has now clinched the first Interstate Eight Large Conference title, first playoff victory and now, first semifinal appearance in school history as the Indians will travel to Rock Island Alleman (12-0) for the right to play in the Class 4A state championship game.

A large part of those "firsts" is the Indians have been able to win without several first-teamers. Senior and 2009 all-conference wing back Sam Hill has been out since the start of the season with a knee injury, senior star fullback Tim Schmitt missed most of the season with a knee injury before returning late and senior running back Connor Voss - the leading candidate for I-8 Large Player of the Year - broke his leg last week.

Not to mention all the other nicks and bruises and random missed games or practices suffered throughout the year.

Yet, they keep trucking on.

Head coach Derek Avery attributes that to a senior class of 16 that really only knows winning.

"They're a group that as sophomores went undefeated in the conference and they did that without (varsity call-ups) Tyler Crane, Tim Schmitt and Justin Wegener most of that season," Avery said. "It kind of grew back then with them that it's more than just a one-man team and there are plenty of them out there that can play and do a good job. It started there and they've just had that belief all along.

"These seniors have showed great leadership and they're not going to make excuses for anything."

Part of that senior leadership is on the offensive line with left tackle Colton Mueller, center Troy Reddoch, right guard Matt Chalfin and right tackle Sam Caldwell. Along with juniors Jake Fiedler (TE), Jeremy Anderson (LG) and Dallas Schroeder (TE), those four seniors have made sure to keep opening holes for whoever is carrying the ball.

Such was the case against Mendota, as no Indian cracked 100 yards but seven carried the rock 34 times for 228 yards, good for 6.7 yards per carry.

"We know that as a team that our offensive line is top-notch and we can do anything if they're doing a good job," Avery said. "Those guys take a lot of pride in not worrying who gets the glory. They just open holes for our running backs and have done a great job all year long for us."

THE GREATEST HOMECOMING

Since no team in the state can truly "host" a state title game since all of the championship games are held at the University of Illinois, the next best thing is to host a semifinal.

Kaneland (11-0) is the only area team to be doing so this weekend, but what makes it extra special is that it will be the first semifinal the Knights will be able to enjoy a home-field advantage in.

In the state championship years of 1997 and 1998 the Knights had to win at Marengo and at Spring Valley Hall. They then lost at Marian Central Catholic in the 2005 semifinals.

"It's going to be awesome," Knights coach Tom Fedderly said. "We can't wait."

Kaneland will need all the advantages it can get as it will host defending Class 5A champion Montini Catholic (10-2), which beat Marian 24-10 Saturday.

"We're going to celebrate this one (Saturday) and we'll do what we have to do," Fedderly said. "(We'll) just hope it's a great game out at Kaneland."

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