Week 2 Football Notebook: Ottawa’s winning recipe, Marquette not needing gaudy yardage and an American hero at Doug Dieken Stadium

While its offense isn’t putting up the gaudy numbers it has in recent seasons, Marquette has done what it needs to do to put points on the scoreboard – 67 of them through the first two weeks of the season.

In some recent seasons, the Crusaders regularly have put up 400 yards, and at times 500 and even 600 in a single game.

However, this season on its way to a 2-0 mark, MA is averaging 264 total yards per contest, 338 (169 per game) on the ground and 190 (95) through the air.

That’s not a problem, exactly. The current offensive line with tackles Aiden Thompson and Noah Barth, guards Sam Mitre and Ethan Price and center Stephan Swords is extremely solid, just not as dominant as some in the past. They should continue to mesh and get stronger as the season goes on.

However, that must happen quickly. The next two weeks have Deer Creek-Mackinaw and Annawan/Wethersfield coming to Gould Stadium, followed by a trip to Chicago Hope Academy. All three were playoff schools in 2021.

– Charlie Ellerbrock

Big pass play precedes Seneca’s second-half surge

Seneca led Hoopeston Area by six points after the Cornjerkers completed a long TD pass late in the second quarter Friday night. The Fighting Irish then coughed up the ensuing kickoff, but the defense forced back-to-back intentional grounding penalties and a punt with two minutes left. Run-heavy Seneca drove to the HA 10, but used its last time out with 18.8 seconds on the clock.

Out of the break, Seneca QB Nathan Grant fired a pass on a fade route and TE Lane Provance made a leaping catch over a defender just inside the back of the end zone, with Paxton Giertz adding the PAT kick to make it 29-16.

“We don’t ask Nathan to do that very often, but when we do he more than likely is going to put the ball where it needs to go,” Seneca head coach Terry Maxwell said. “Having a tall kid like Lane [6-foot, 6-inches] going against a 5-10 defender doesn’t hurt either.”

Seneca started the second half scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions to break the game open on its way to a 49-16 victory.

– Brian Hoxsey

Second-half dominance Ottawa’s recipe

Ottawa is off to its first 2-0 start since a 4-0 beginning in 2015. The formula for success this time has been simple and quite effective.

Play a close first half, then don’t let the other team have the ball in the second half.

After crafting a 19:44-4:16 second-half time of possession advantage (30:21-17:39 for the game) in Week 1′s win over Plano, the Pirates opened the second half Friday by holding the ball 11:25 of the first 14:04 against Streator, as the Bulldogs suffered three turnovers – including two fumbled snaps on the first plays of back-to-back possessions. Those fumbles were recovered by Charles Medrow and Cody Sprowls, and the 42-14 rout was on.

For the game, Ottawa won the time of possession, 25:57-22:03.

– J.T. Pedelty

Not much luck for Hoopeston’s offense against Seneca

It’s often said numbers don’t lie. That would be the case using the statistics the Seneca defense put up against Hoopeston Area in Friday’s 49-16 triumph.

For the game, the Irish gave up just 4.4 yards per snap, recorded 11 plays for negative yardage (three sacks), forced 14 incompletions in 22 pass attempts and picked off three passes. The Cornjerkers did finish with 213 total yards, but only 40 of those came on 21 plays in a scoreless second half.

– Brian Hoxsey

‘We all have heroes’

Among the guests invited by Doug Dieken to Friday night’s pregame celebration naming Streator’s football facility in his honor was a true American hero, former U.S. Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy. McCarthy was made famous when, on March 30, 1981, he suffered a bullet wound protecting President Ronald Reagan from a would-be assassin, stepping between the shooter and President Reagan.

McCarthy was a walk-on for the University of Illinois football team and played alongside Dieken in the late 1960s/early 1970s. While Dieken went on to be drafted and enjoy a Pro Bowl career as a player and Hall of Fame career as a broadcaster for the Cleveland Browns, McCarthy went on to a life in criminal justice including the Secret Service and later the Chief of Police in Orland Park.

“There’s one guy over here, Tim McCarthy,” Dieken said introducing his longtime friend to the large crowd at about-to-be-named Doug Dieken Stadium. “We all have heroes. He’s my hero.”

– J.T. Pedelty