Byron throws final punch in heavyweight win over Dixon

DIXON – In a fitting end to an epic showdown for the Big Northern Conference title, Friday night’s game between 4A second-ranked Dixon and 3A top-ranked Byron was decided by the slimmest of margins.

Tigers quarterback Andrew Talbert scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 16.2 seconds left, then fullback Caden Considine crashed in for the two-point conversion to give Byron a 29-28 win over the Dukes in a battle of unbeatens at A.C. Bowers Field.

[ Photos of Dixon vs. Byron football ]

There was no doubt among the Byron coaches or players that the Tigers were going for the win.

“No way we weren’t going for it; obviously we wanted the win right there,” Considine said. “I was having flashbacks to the 2021 IC Catholic game [in the Class 3A semifinals] where they all looked to the sideline and held up two fingers. We did the same thing trying to recreate that, and we created that pretty well. We got it and we won.”

Byron (8-0, 7-0 BNC) was sure it was over the goal line. Dixon (7-1, 6-1) was sure the run up the middle was short. Either way, it was the perfect capper to a physical, back-and-forth heavyweight fight.

“The ref said he was in, so he was in,” senior linebacker Eli Davidson said. “That’s all I can say.”

The most anticipated game of the season in the BNC lived up to the hype and became an instant classic. Dixon grabbed a 14-0 lead on a 35-yard Cullen Shaner-to-Davidson touchdown pass on its second possession and a 4-yard Landon Knigge run on its fourth drive.

But the Tigers answered with a 78-yard drive, scoring on Talbert’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Brayden Knoll with 2.5 seconds left in the first half.

The Tigers then drove 63 yards on their second possession of the second half, with Considine tying the score on a 14-yard touchdown run with 3:51 left in the third quarter.

“I think the line just stepped up. They were opening holes better, and the backs started running harder. I think we got a little more comfortable with what their defense was doing, and I think we were able to start doing our thing,” Knoll said. “It was awesome that we were able to dig deep in the fourth quarter and pull through.”

Dixon responded immediately, as Tyson Dambman ran in from 4 yards out on a reverse with 32.2 seconds left in the third; the PAT kick was blocked, leaving the Dukes up 20-14.

Knoll’s 4-yard TD run and the subsequent extra-point kick then gave Byron a 21-20 lead with 7:09 to play.

But again, the Dukes had an answer, scoring on a 29-yard strike from Shaner to Davidson on fourth-and-5; Davidson threw a halfback pass to Dambman for the two-point conversion and a 28-21 lead.

“It was just throw the ball, and we did well with that. We ran hard, too. We played a great game, I’m so proud of our team,” Shaner said. “That team is 22-0 in their last 22 games – that’s impressive. And the fact that we were able to keep up with that team, that we lost by one on a two-point conversion ... it sucks [to lose], but we were right there.”

Byron started its final drive on its own 30-yard line and used 11 plays to drive for the score. Talbert ran in around left end before Considine’s two-point conversion run gave the Tigers the lead in the final 20 seconds.

Dixon managed to run three plays in the final 15.5 seconds, but only made it to the Byron 46 before the clock expired on a hook-and-ladder play that ultimately fell to the ground.

“We definitely needed that. Obviously we were very rusty, very undisciplined; we had so many penalties and mistakes, you could tell we haven’t been in a close game yet,” Considine said. “But we needed this really bad. We needed a good team like Dixon to punch us in the mouth, and we’re only going to get better from here.”

In his first game back after missing the previous six weeks following surgery for a hand injury, Considine ran for 130 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, and Knoll added 109 yards and a score on 16 rushes for the Tigers. Talbert ran for 56 yards on 14 carries, and completed 5 of 7 passes for 83 yards and a score.

Shaner finished 17 for 20 through the air for 235 yards and two touchdowns, while Knigge had 17 rushes for 78 yards and a score. Gabe Rowley caught six passes for 94 yards, Davidson had three receptions for 71 yards and two TDs, and Dambman added five catches for 57 yards for the Dukes.

“We had our eyes set on winning this football game, so no matter what came in our way we were going to go out and fight to in this game,” Davidson said. “There’s nothing else you can do. Anytime we had adversity, we were ready to respond. This was our goal, we had our mindset to answer no matter what they had, and I’m proud of what we did. I think we did just that.”