The Times Week 4 football notebook: Versatility powers Fieldcrest, adversity fuels Marquette

More from the sidelines across The Times coverage area in our Week 4 football notebook.

Versatile players getting it done for Fieldcrest

There are always multiple standout performances in a lopsided victory, such as in Fieldcrest’s 54-0 win over visiting Westmont on Friday.

Eddie Lorton – a punt returner in addition to his offensive and defensive responsibilities – scored four touchdowns, including one on a punt return. Jackson Hakes added two more scores, and a defense that recorded a shutout led to multiple tackle-for-loss performances from Hakes, Lucas Anson and Braydin Eplin.

Third-year head coach Nick Meyer also pointed out a couple of players who didn’t grab headlines from their performances Friday, but whose ability and willingness to man unfamiliar positions made it possible for those other teammates to earn their accolades.

“Jordan Carey, he’s a senior, our left guard and been moved to Mike linebacker,” Meyer said. “He’s the do-it-all senior who outworks everyone. Great kid. And then there’s Cooper Haugens, he’s moved from tackle to tight end because of injuries.

“With those two, [it’s], ‘Hey, we need something, need somebody to play somewhere else. Coop, you play tight end? No? You can play it. Jordan, you’re not a Mike [middle linebacker]? Now you’re a Mike.’

“Those are guys coaches appreciate a lot. It’s not easy to play multiple positions, but they’re doing it, and they’re proud of it.”

Marquette win a matter of ‘time’

To say that Marquette had to grind out its 26-21 comeback win over a quick-scoring Dwight/Gardner-South Wilmington club would be putting it mildly.

Grant Dose rushed a season-high 22 times for 119 yards, but 48 of his yards came on back-to-back first half carries. Without those, he averaged only 3.55 yards a try. Meanwhile, Payton Gutierrez had 14 carries for 110 yards, but got 50 of those on one rush in the fourth quarter, leaving him with an average of 4.16.

Those workman-like efforts behind an offensive line giving away several pounds per man allowed the Cru to dominate time of possession, 31:09 to just 16:51 for the Trojans.

Also a factor? The lack of adversity Dwight experienced prior proved costly, according to coach Luke Standiford. The Trojans enjoyed running clocks in outscoring their first three opponents 146-8 but were winded and struggled to contain their frustration when the Crusaders refused to lie down.

Marquette (2-2) knew that adversity right off the bat, falling in Week 1 the past two seasons to Aurora Christian, but used it last year to bounce back to make the playoffs.

Prior to the 2023 season, the last time the Cru’s record dipped below .500 was 10 years ago, when they dropped the 2014 season opener to Rockford Christian Life before winning seven of the next eight.

Before that, it was 2011, the last season in the Big Rivers Conference when they started 0-2 on a pair of 20-7 losses to Bureau Valley and Erie-Prophetstown.

Those who remain in the I-8

When only a handful of schools remain in a conference such as the current Interstate 8 – whose members have been through multiple conference iterations over the years and seen school after school leave the group looking to find situations in which they can be more competitive – it goes without saying a conference schedule against the teams that are left is going to be a tough one.

That’s exactly where Ottawa – 1-3 after Friday’s 49-20 loss to Kaneland – finds itself.

After starting the season 1-1 against former conference foes Plano and Streator, who both in recent years have left Ottawa’s conference to form/join leagues in which they’d be one of the larger schools instead of one of the smallest, the Pirates have a six-game stretch of games against I-8 rivals who currently have a combined record of 16-4.

That includes two games against 2-2 La Salle-Peru, which defeated Ottawa 33-0 in a nonconference Week 3 meeting and visits King Field on Oct. 4 for their I-8 showdown.

Streator working to consistently find those final yards

After a three-and-out on its first possession Friday night’s 42-8 loss at Manteno, Streator’s offense put together back-to-back solid drives of 14 and 10 plays with some clutch plays mixed in. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, each of those marches ended coming up short on fourth-down plays deep inside Panthers’ territory.

The second time with the ball saw Streator start at its own 35 and use third-down conversions runs for eight and seven yards from freshman running back Demarcus Hunter and senior quarterback Isaiah Weibel, respectively, but had stalled at the Manteno 15. The Bulldogs next drive began at their own 25 - and partly behind a 7-yard run by Hunter, a 12-yard dash by Jordan Lukes and a 30-yard pass play from Weibel to Matt Williamson - moved all the way to the Panthers’ 10, but an inch short of gaining a first-and-goal chance.

“We are still trying to find a way to get over the hump when it comes to finishing off drives,” Streator coach Matt Cloe said. “It’s just little mistakes that are keeping us coming up short when we get down deep in the opponent’s end. The [fourth-quarter scoring] drive there late wasn’t much different than the couple of drives we had in the first half other than we finished it with a score.”

Streator broke the ice early in the fourth when Weibel hit Williamson for a 23-yard TD after the two had combined for a 6-yard pass play on fourth-and-4.