Battle-tested Sycamore can claim outright I-8 title with win over Morris

SYCAMORE – For the first three weeks of the season, Sycamore needed to come from behind each game to start the season undefeated.

In Week 4 the Spartans won another one-score game.

So when they host Morris on Friday with the chance to claim an outright Interstate 8 Conference title, they’re ready for anything that happens.

“Going through adversity prepares you for a game like this,” Sycamore defensive lineman Owen DePauw said. “You’ve already been through it, you know what to expect. And especially if you get down, you can come out of the hole and keep your heads.”

Last year in Morris, the Spartans fell behind 15-0 early in a 22-14 loss. Morris got a 77-yard touchdown pass on its third play of the game. Neither team scored in the second half and both teams turned the ball over three times. The Week 9 victory gave Morris its second league title in three years.

Now Sycamore (7-0, 4-0) is looking for its second title in three years.

Sophomore quarterback R.J. Kennedy made his first start for Morris (5-2, 3-1) last week in place of an injured Brady Varner. Kennedy led Morris to a 59-0 home win against Ottawa.

“We better get off to a better start than we did last year,” Sycamore coach Joe Ryan said. “They got over top of us. But it doesn’t matter what quarterback it is. Obviously he had a really good week last week. You have to play their schemes, what they do, not necessarily who they have. They usually have good players, no matter if it’s the first guy or the second guy.”

Sycamore needed comebacks to start the year against DeKalb (35-28), Oswego East (15-9) and Mahomet-Seymour (21-13) before winning 25-19 at Rochelle. It’s still the only loss the Hubs have suffered this year, as they beat Morris 37-15 in Week 6.

The game against the Hubs was also the last one-score game Sycamore was involved in.

“I think it showed that our team is never really out of a game,” Sycamore linebacker and quarterback Gautcher said. “The first three weeks, we’ve been down scores, and we’ve always fought back and made it a close game to the end, obviously. I think it really just shows the resiliency our team has.”

Gautcher has thrown for 1,115 yards and rushed for 158, third-best on the team. Dylan Hodges (80 carries, 372 yards, four touchdowns) and Kevin Lee (42-267-7) are the two leading rushers.

Ryan said he likes how the team has been improving each week, and the offensive line is at the center of that. Only DePauw and Dawson Gurley are returning starters on the O-line, and both are still only juniors.

“Practice is where you get better,” DePauw said. “It’s good to see the younger kids can keep up. Me and Dawson, we keep each other going. If we mess up one play we know we’ll do better the next play.”

Gautcher said he’s definitely seen the progression of the line in front of him.

“It’s been fun to watch those guys, even from the summer all the way into Week 8 now,” Gautcher said. “I’ve seen them develop and them getting better every day is just really cool to see.”

With a win, the Spartans win the Interstate 8 outright. A loss likely creates a three-way tie for first between Rochelle, Sycamore and Morris. The Hubs are at Ottawa this week.

Morris is the fourth team with a winning record the Spartans have played this year, with Cahokia (6-1) looming next week before the start of the postseason.

“I don’t think we’ve hit our ceiling yet,” Ryan said. “I don’t know that we’ve played our best, complete game yet. So that’s kind of exciting but we’re also running out of opportunities.”