Newman can’t overcome poor start in loss to Kewanee

KEWANEE – For many young football players, wet, soggy, windy conditions are considered the most fun in which to play.

The Newman Central Catholic football team, however, couldn’t possibly have envisioned a half of football that was less fun than the first two quarters of Friday’s 34-8 defeat at the hands of host Kewanee.

The visiting Comets (6-2) turned the ball over on the second play from scrimmage, fumbled the ensuing kickoff after allowing an early score and spent much of the rest of the game simply trying to keep up with their bigger, stronger Class 4A opponents, who improved to 7-1 with the victory.

“I really thought that we’d be ready to play today,” said Newman coach Mike LeMay. “We dug ourselves a hole and, with the conditions we had today, we really couldn’t afford to do that.”

As if the two early turnovers didn’t put the Comets into enough trouble, Kewanee quarterback Brady Clark punctuated the first quarter with a 72-yard run on a draw, sprung by a massive block that opened up a gaping hole in the middle of the field that was big enough for a John Deere combine.

“That was not at all like our defense,” LeMay said. “We didn’t play like we know how to play tonight.”

Clark rushed for 121 yards in the game for the Boilermakers, including 97 in the first quarter alone. Alejandro Duarte added 119 rushing yards on 19 carries as Kewanee used a power run game to chew clock following its auspicious start.

Meanwhile, a couple of hard, high, dangerous hits by the Kewanee defense, including one to Newman quarterback Evan Bushman, seemed to fire up the Comets just a little, and a steady diet of rushes by senior Brady Grennan put them on the board midway through the third quarter. The momentum fizzled out there, however, and there simply wasn’t enough time for a legitimate comeback.

Instead, the Comets are left licking their wounds after having climbed their way to No. 8 in the latest Class 1A Associated Press poll. They had navigated a tough Three Rivers schedule by finding themselves on the good end of some close games, but after Friday’s loss, LeMay is hoping that his team will find a way to learn from the lumps it suffered instead of letting the one-sided defeat define them.

“Teams are going to play us tough, and we know that,” LeMay said. “We’ve got two weeks to get better, and we know we can do that.”

Grennan finished with a team-high 70 rushing yards on 11 carries.