Wilmington starts its 3A run in much the same fashion it has done in 2A with dominant win

WILMINGTON – When Wilmington wasn’t given the opportunity to defend its Class 2A title of a year ago as it was moved up to the Class 3A draw, some wondered if the Wildcats would be ready and willing to make that jump up in classification.

Ryan Kettman and his Wilmington teammates did not see what the problem was.

“We wanted to be 3A,” Kettman said after Wilmington throttled Stillman Valley 42-7 in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs Saturday night. “We wanted to prove a bunch of people wrong. People that don’t think we can do it. We want to come out and show that we can play football. We’re a 3A team. We’re not a 2A team.”

The win lifts Wilmington (10-0) into the second round where it will host Eureka (9-1) at 5 p.m. next Saturday. Eureka defeated Peotone 29-22 in its first round matchup.

Wilmington wasted no time demonstrating that its defensive unit wouldn’t be trifled with. The Wildcats forced an immediate three and out and the Wildcats went on a painstaking 10-play drive that Kettman capped off by getting to the edge and racing 45 yards for a score.

Stillman had one of its few slightly productive drives on its next possession, but the defense soldiered up again around midfield. Wilmington’s offense from there went on another march that was finished off by a 5-yard touchdown run, this time by Kyle Farrell.

Wilmington’s defense promptly forced another three-and-out, giving the Wildcats just enough time to bunch in another score when Farrell got loose for a 32-yard touchdown run as Wilmington would go into half with a 21-0 lead.

While Wilmington’s offense did what it does and continues to do, it was the Wildcats defense that set the tone. Stillman Valley had just two first downs in the first half, one of which was helped along by a penalty and one play from scrimmage that went for more than four yards, a 20-yard burst by Michael Orlando.

“Our defense really has answered the bell,” WIlmington coach Jeff Reents said. “We kind of had to tinker with things earlier in the year and after our first two to three games we really solidified ourselves. I think we got as much speed as we can right now and we’re flying around.”

It took just three plays into the second half for Kettman to burst free for a 35-yard touchdown run as he ended up with 182 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. Kettman often uses an interesting technique of grabbing ahold of his lead blockers jersey and letting his blockers clear the path before bursting into daylight.

“Yeah, I like to get ahold of him and if I’m able to follow him and if I’m able to, I’ll see a guy and I’ll just throw him there and just try to find an open crease,” Kettman said.

It was a brutally effective plan of attack. Kettman almost always seemed to get to the second level of Stillman’s defense and that when coupled with the bruising running style of Farrell, who also cracked the century mark with 100-plus yards, Wilmington proved almost impossible to stop.

Other wrinkles in the Wilmington offense led to more scoring. Fullback Hunter Osipavicius did yeoman’s work blocking for much of the game but also managed to take the only carry he would get all night straight up the middle for a 53-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Shawn James closed out the Wilmington scoring with a 21-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter.

Stillman Valley, who closed the season at 5-5, broke up Wilmington’s shutout bid by with a 5-yard touchdown run from Jaxon Barrett with 11 minutes to play in the game.