Amboy title defense off to good start in win over West Central

AMBOY – The Illinois 8-Man Football Association title defense for the Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio Clippers kicked off with a strong start Saturday afternoon against West Central at The Harbor.

The Clippers’ defense cooled the Heat’s running game early and provided great field position for its offense, which ran away and didn’t look back in a 54-0 win.

Led by senior running back Josh McKendry’s three touchdowns, along with one each on the ground by fellow senior backs Brayden Klein and Tyler Huggins, and one on a catch by Caleb Yanos, the No. 4-seeded Clippers (9-1) weren’t rattled a whole lot while clenching the ball with an offensive line giving them plenty of green grass to roam on. Some of the same linemen played a big role in holding the No. 13 Heat (6-4) to 69 yards on offense, most of which was attained in a running-clock second half.

“All week in practice we’ve been working on taking our steps and keeping our hand placement good to help lay off the holds,” senior two-way lineman Dillon Merriman said. “It was really about taking our steps and just executing.”

Clippers coach Scott Payne liked what he saw out of his offensive line.

“Our offensive line did a great job today coming out, getting off the ball and opening up the holes for our backs,” Payne said. “Josh McKendry did a really great job running the football. It all comes down to our offensive line, and they did a tremendous job today getting off the ball.”

The Clippers held the Heat to 5 yards in the first quarter while amassing 121 in the same span. McKendry opened the scoring with a 21-yard TD run 2:31 into the game, and added his second score with 5:45 left in the quarter on a 12-yard run. McKendry’s second came after the Heat turned the ball over on downs on its own 35.

The Heat’s next possession ended in their own territory with a fumble recovered by Clippers senior defensive end Quinn Leffelman, and Klein capitalized on it with a 6-yard TD run for a 22-0 lead less than 10 minutes in.

“Every hole was just there,” McKendry said. “They’ve been working all year and practicing real hard, and they deserve. Coach Payne gets on them all of the time about controlling the game themselves, and they really set the tone this game and showed us what they can do.”

Finally getting a first down with 10:05 left in the second quarter, the Heat could only collect 34 yards for the rest of the half against the tough Clippers defense. Clippers sophomore running back Caiden Heath increased the lead to 28-0 on a 2-yard run, McKendry tallied his third score on a 6-yard run, and Yanos was wide open for a 53-yard TD completion from senior quarterback Eddie Jones to go up 46-0 at the half.

Huggins’ TD rush came from 2 yards out with 8:30 to play in the game, putting the period on a drive that began with a fumble recovery by Kabe Daniels.

The Clippers’ top workhorse with the ball came from the second string with sophomore Jose Lopez leading with 80 rushing yards on six carries in an abbreviated second half.

“We just had everything good going for us,” McKendry said. “With last year’s team, we want to replicate the same thing we did then, so we’ve been working on everything and it feels pretty good to come here and win the first round at home.”

Heat senior running back Kyle Lafary had his team’s only two plays with double-digit yardage, finishing with 31 total on 10 carries.

Clippers senior linebacker Ed Fry led the defense with two tackles for loss.

“We were leading where the ball went and pulling our guards well,” Fry said. “We were reading our keys well to take us to the ball. I think we executed today perfectly. Everybody did an awesome job.”

The Clippers will host No. 5 Martinsville in the quarterfinals at 2 p.m. Saturday; the Bluestreaks defeated No. 12 seed Milford-Cissna Park 52-22 in a home game Friday to make the trek from southeast Illinois.

“It’s a great start to the postseason,” Merriman said, “and it being 54-0, there’s not a better way to start it off.”

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Amboy’s Rylan McNinch hauls in a pass against West Central’s Gage Stimpson Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in the 8-man football league first round playoffs. (Alex T. Paschal)