Dixon ready to visit St. Laurence in second round

For the first time in the last five trips to the playoffs, the Dixon Dukes will play in the second round. A trip to the suburbs is their reward for eking out a 10-7 win over Plano last Friday night at home.

The third-seeded Dukes (9-1) will travel to Burbank to take on St. Laurence (7-3) in a Class 4A second-round matchup at 1 p.m. Saturday. The 11th-seeded Vikings advanced with a 64-0 win at Chicago Vocational last weekend in their first trip to the postseason since 2019; it was their first playoff win since 2017.

Dixon also notched its first playoff win since 2017, when it advanced to the 4A quarterfinals. The Dukes dropped first-round games in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022.

“It was a big win for us last weekend. Any win in the playoffs is good, and Plano was a tough team; they played physical and they played hard,” Dixon coach Jared Shaner said. “It was different than what we’re used to; we don’t have a ton of low-scoring, grind-it-out games, and it was good for the kids to see that. Hopefully it pays off this weekend.”

Getting the proverbial monkey off their backs was sort of a sigh of relief for the Dukes, who ran the ball well and played stout defense to survive and advance.

Dixon will need to do more of that Saturday against a tough St. Laurence team, whose three losses were to playoff teams Wheaton St. Francis, Chicago St. Rita and Lombard Montini.

“I think it will help us this week, 100%,” senior quarterback Tyler Shaner said. “I think if we came in [last week] and won the game by a wide margin, we’d probably be more confident, but we also might be too in over our heads with our expectations this week. St. Laurence is legit; their only three losses were to some of the top teams in their respective classes.

“I think last week’s game will help us play looser and more relaxed, and we know what it takes now to win in the playoffs. Pretty or ugly, we just have to get the job done however we can.”

Senior Aiden Wiseman rushed for 136 yards and 27 carries, and Tyler Shaner was 9-for-13 passing for 81 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown to Tyson Dambman. Eli Davidson had seven catches for 65 yards, and Caleb Carlson’s 19-yard field goal to open the scoring late in the third quarter provided the eventual margin of victory.

“We ran the ball pretty well; I need to do better, but Aiden took on the load and did a great job,” Tyler Shaner said. “Whether it was 3-yard or 15-yard gains, he ran hard every single time. We have to keep doing that this week, and I need to throw the ball better.”

The defense made the difference last week. The Dukes forced three turnovers: an interception by Dambman to set up his touchdown catch, and fumble recoveries by Davidson at the Dukes’ 3-yard line to prevent a touchdown and Aidan Hoggard with 49 seconds left to seal the victory.

“It was definitely a nail-biter for most of the game, and we definitely played our hearts out the entire game,” Wiseman said. “Our defense was stellar; everybody played a great game on defense, and we have to keep it up. The D-line needs to keep doing the great job it’s been doing, me and Eli need to read our keys and get in the right spots – dropping back on passes or flowing to the ball and getting to the running back – and the secondary is ready to go out and show what they can do.

“All three levels competed their best last week, and we need that same effort his week. We just have to stick together the way we’ve been doing it all year, play with high intensity, and just stay focused and locked in.”

That’s what St. Laurence coach Adam Nissen hopes to see from his team, too. The Vikings have outscored opponents 338-130 and snapped a two-game losing streak with last week’s first-round rout on the road.

Aaron Ball leads the St. Laurence rushing attack with 1,128 yards and 13 touchdowns on 132 carries, while Harley Rizzs (41-394, eight TDs) and Evan Les (52-207, four TDs) also contribute to the ground game. Les is 70-for-107 passing for 775 yards and seven scores; Connor Engstrom (21 catches, 146 yards, two TDs), Kaden McHugh (19-143) and Kyle Richardson (5-116, two TDs) are his top targets.

“Dixon has a very explosive offense, so we need to limit big plays. They have great players across the field, so we need to make sure we tackle well in space and limit yards after the catch,” Nissen said. “They also have a very stout defense. They get hats to the ball quickly, and we need to make sure we take care of the ball. Third-down conversions will be key.”