WOODSTOCK – It wasn’t that long ago that many of the seniors that made up this year’s Woodstock football team experienced an 0-9 run as sophomores, climaxed by a difficult loss to crosstown rival Woodstock North in Week 9.
Liam Mickle didn’t forget the stinging feeling of that season. He used it as motivation to return the favor in his final game in the blue and white.
The Woodstock quarterback rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another to lead the Blue Streaks to a 27-14 win over Woodstock North Friday night.
The victory finished a 4-5 season for the Blue Streaks (2-4 in the KR/I-8 White), matching the four wins Woodstock gained in last spring’s shortened season. Meanwhile, the loss sent Woodstock North to 0-9 (0-6).
“This has been on my mind for two years,” Mickle said. “I wanted to get revenge. I love my guys and I love my team. It’s been a great year, and we’ve been preparing for this for the last two years, through quarantine, too.”
Woodstock did it with a lesser-known part of the Mickle arsenal, too – the running game.
Mickle rushed for 115 yards on 14 carries, including a game-breaking 48-yarder to open the second half and make it a two-score game. Teammate Adan Duenas added a 25-yard touchdown run late as the Blue Streaks rushed for 203 yards. Mickle added 149 yards through the air on 10-of-17 passing.
“We knew with Liam, this being his senior year, we didn’t have to protect him a whole lot in this game,” said coach Mike Brasile, who got a victory shower from his players after the win. “It allowed him to run wild a little bit. He made some great reads and did the right things with his legs, too.
“I’m proud of our kids and proud of our program. It ended up a great win.”
The Thunder didn’t exactly make it easy, however. They came out with a desire to end the season with a big win and pulled out some additional stops in the attempt.
On the game’s opening possession, Woodstock forced fourth-and-5 from North’s 44. The Thunder ran a fake punt to up man Kaden Combs, who got the sideline and carried it to the house to make it 8-0 just over two minutes into the game.
“That’s something that we worked on and planned on,” North coach Jeff Schroeder said.
“We haven’t had many big plays this year, and have struggled making big plays. It was big when we needed it. That really propelled us into the game and gave our kids a chance to compete. And they competed until the very end.”
The Thunder just didn’t have an answer for Mickle, however. Late in the first quarter, Mickle hit Caden Monti on a slant route off the option, and Monti did the rest, sprinting 69 yards for a score. That made it 8-7 with 2:42 left in the opening period.
Woodstock North managed to put together a strong drive immediately following, advancing to the Woodstock 22 before a costly penalty set up a third-and-long passing situation for the wing-T offense. The result was an interception by Jonah Habel.
The Blue Streaks then took the lead, going 92 yards on 15 plays, the last of which was an 8-yard run by Mickle to make it 13-8 just prior to halftime.
The gamebreaker, however, followed right after halftime. Woodstock used a little tempo, the result of which ended with a 48-yard run by Mickle to make it 20-8 with 10:47 to go in the third quarter.
Woodstock North never was truly able to answer as it had extended drives finish on downs with another closing on an interception by Woodstock’s Jared Kniola. That interception was immediately followed by the clinching touchdown by Duenas to make it 27-8.
“Our motto was force them to take another snap, and we did that tonight,” Brasile said. “Fortunately it worked out for us.”
Thunder senior Henry Goetz closed his career with a 1-yard touchdown run late. He finished with 92 yards on 25 carries.