Dixon’s confidence grows despite loss to Byron: Week 8 Sauk Valley football notes

Even though Dixon came up one point short against Class 3A No. 1 Byron on Friday night, the Dukes left A.C. Bowers Field with even more confidence with the playoffs looming in two weeks.

Dixon (7-1, 6-1 Big Northern Conference) led for much of the game, and it took a touchdown and 2-point conversion with 16 seconds left for the defending 3A state champion Tigers to nab a 29-28 win and run their regular-season winning streak to 25.

Dixon senior quarterback Cullen Shaner said the difference this year against Byron (8-0, 7-0) was that the players truly went in believing in their chances for the victory.

“I feel like it was our mindset. This year, we knew we had a chance. Last year, we were saying we had a chance, but did we really believe it?” Shaner said. “I tried to believe it, I don’t know how many other people did. But this year, we have a lot of great leaders – they may not be talkative leaders, but we have a lot of leaders mentally and on the field when we need them. We played a great game, and I’m proud of what we did.”

Dixon gained 314 total yards on offense, with Shaner completing 85% of his passes (17 for 19) for 235 yards and two touchdowns; three receivers (Gabe Rowley, Eli Davidson and Tyson Dambman) had more than 50 yards receiving apiece.

Byron pounded away on the ground, amassing 317 yards rushing with a pair of 100-yard rushers in Caden Considine and Brayden Knoll. But the Dukes forced two fumbles, a punt and a turnover on downs among the Tigers’ eight possessions. The defense gave up just two runs of 20-plus yards and only 10 runs (out of 53 rushing attempts) of 10 or more yards to one of the best rushing offenses in the state.

“Byron’s obviously a phenomenal program – there’s no doubt in anybody’s mind about that – but after what I saw today from our guys, there’s no doubt in my mind that we can compete with anybody in the state,” said Davidson, a senior linebacker/receiver. “I’ve never been more confident in a group of guys, even after a loss; I’ve never been more confident in our guys that we can go out there and go toe-to-toe with anybody in the state.”

The Dukes hit the road for their Week 9 game against North Boone, and with a win could secure a home game in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs. The players believe the game against Byron came at the perfect time to give them a good look at the caliber of team they’re likely to see in the postseason.

“That’s a great team, and give all the props to their players and coaches. That helps us so much for the playoffs, just tremendously. That gives us a look at what it’s like to play a powerhouse school,” Shaner said. “In the huddle after the game, we talked about how we plan to not lose another game, and that gives us a lot of motivation. We’ve still got six weeks left if we want to win a state championship.”

Fulton’s Meyers has record-setting day

Stepping in for an injured Dom Kramer, Fulton QB Braedon Meyers had a record-setting performance in Friday’s 61-40 win over Knoxville. Meyers threw six touchdown passes, surpassing the Steamers’ previous single-game record of four, which was done twice: by Mark Faulkner in 1992 and Tyler Renkes in 2009. Four TDs went to Jacob Huisenga, who tied Chad Soenksen’s record set in 1992.

Meyers got the start after Kramer suffered a knee injury in the second quarter against Durand-Pecatonica in Week 7. He finished with 233 yards passing, also throwing TDs to Mason Kuebel and Jonah Lutz. Lutz also had two rushing touchdowns. It was Fulton’s season high in scoring and the most points scored by the Steamers since last season’s 66-0 win over West Carroll in Week 9.

Fulton (3-5, 2-5 NUIC) closes the regular season against Morrison (3-5, 2-5) in the Wooden Shoe rivalry game.

Jungerman steps up for Newman

Newman also had a different quarterback step up with Evan Bushman out because of illness. George Jungerman got the start for Newman, posting an efficient 5-of-6 game passing with three touchdowns and 92 yards through the air. He also had a rushing touchdown in the 35-14 win over Kewanee as the Comets won a seventh straight game. Brady Williamson caught two TDs, and Matthew Blackert had a rushing and receiving score in the win. Defensively, Newman intercepted four passes.

Newman closes the regular season with one of its biggest tests yet against Monmouth-Roseville (7-1), ranked fifth in the latest Class 3A rankings.

Sterling earns fifth win

Sterling (5-3, 4-1 Western Big 6 Conference) bounced back from a 63-6 road loss to No. 2 Quincy and surpassed last year’s win total with a 47-14 home victory over Rock Island.

Sterling had over 300 yards of offense as Drew Nettleton threw three touchdown passes, two to Kaedon Phillips, helping to build a 37-7 halftime lead before a running clock was enforced in the second half.

Sterling coach Jon Schlemmer said the team made the needed adjustments during practice leading up to the game.

“I think our execution early on, offensively, defensively, special teams, I thought was pretty strong,” Schlemmer said. “It’s a credit to our kids. It’s easy to kind of hang your head and feel sorry for yourself after you get your tail whipped, but they didn’t do that.

“They came back to work, and it was a fun night here tonight.”

Sterling closes the regular season on the road against Moline (6-2, 4-1).