SVM roundup: Newman loses low-scoring affair; Morrison tops Erie-Prophetstown in battle of 4-4 teams

Newman scored on its first play of the game Friday night, but lost 10-7 to Kewanee in a Three Rivers Mississippi road game.

The Comets (5-4, 3-3) scored on JJ Castle’s 51-yard pass to Ayden Batten for a quick 7-0 lead. But Kewanee (4-5, 3-3) tied the game with 2.1 seconds left before halftime, as Brady Clark connected with Jaiden Little on a crossing route at the goal line for a 26-yard scoring strike.

Clark then kicked a 32-yard field goal with 6:04 left in the third quarter to give the Boilers the lead, then they sealed the win by keeping possession of the ball the final 5:33 of the fourth quarter. For much of the final drive Kewanee ran one play: quarterback Brady Clark on a run to the right. He took a knee three times at the Newman 13 to close it out.

Newman had 182 yards rushing and 87 yards passing. Nolan Britt led the ground game with 67 yards.

Kewanee finished with 181 yards passing and 116 rushing.

It was the first time in 10 matchups since Kewanee joined the Three Rivers Conference that the Boilers have beaten the Comets.

Morrison 27, Erie-Prophetstown 14: In a showdown between two 4-4 teams looking to become playoff eligible, the Mustangs pulled away in the second and third quarters to win the Three Rivers Rock contest.

Danny Mouw was 11-for-17 passing for 183 yards and three touchdowns for Morrison (5-4, 4-2), with Daeshaun McQueen catching six passes for 114 yards and two TDs. The Mustangs scored a touchdown in each quarter, and held Erie-Prophetstown (4-5, 1-4) scoreless in the second and third.

Brady Anderson ran 15 times for 59 yards, Chase Newman had 14 rushes for 56 yards, and Carson Strating had 14 carries for 51 yards and a touchdown. Newman also had two catches for 37 yards, Strating had two receptions for 30 yards, and Karder White had a 2-yard touchdown catch for Morrison.

Jase Grunder had 59 yards and a touchdown on 17 rushes, and Jeremiah Kochevar added six carries for 47 yards and a score. Kochevar also went 3-for-7 passing for 15 yards and an interception for the Panthers.

North Boone 47, Oregon 20: After the game was tied 14-14 in the final two minutes of the first half, the Hawks couldn’t keep up with the Vikings the rest of the way in a Big Northern Conference loss at Landers-Loomis Field.

Noah Reber ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns, and Gabe Eckerd had 107 yards rushing and a score for Oregon (2-7, 2-7 BNC), which outgained North Boone 221-203 on the ground, but saw the Vikings hold a 231-56 edge in passing yards.

Jack Washburn was 7-for-14 passing for 56 yards, and Austin Egyed caught four passes for 28 yards.

Trailing 14-0 after the opening quarter, Eckerd scored on a 1-yard run 48 seconds into the second period, and Reber added a 13-yard scoring run with 5:16 left before halftime to tie the game at 14-all.

But Chandler Alderman connected on a scoring strike to Adrien Raabe with 1:21 left in the second quarter to give North Boone a 21-0 lead, then Alderman threw another touchdown pass midway through the third quarter. He connected again with Raabe early in the fourth quarter for a three-score lead.

Reber ran in for a 37-yard TD with 9:15 left to cut the Oregon deficit to 35-21, but Alderman threw a 38-yard scoring strike to Chris Doetch just 1:03 later, and ran in from 4 yards to cap the scoring with 2:49 to play.

Alderman finished 14-for-18 passing for 231 yards and six touchdowns, and he also ran for 160 yards on 16 carries. Doetch had eight catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns, and Raabe had 6 catches for 107 yards and two scores. Julian Rodriguez added TD catches of 30 and 5 yards for the Vikings (3-6, 3-6).

Fulton 48, Dakota 26: The Steamers answered every time the Indians scored in the first half on their way to an NUIC victory on the road.

Fulton (7-2, 7-1 NUIC) took a 7-0 lead just 11 seconds into the game, then scored again 1:36 after Dakota had cut it to 7-6 late in the first quarter. The Steamers scored 1:21 into the second quarter, then after Dakota cut it to 20-12 just 18 seconds later, Fulton scored 1:05 after that to take a 27-12 lead with 9:16 left before halftime. The Steamers then scored with 4:19 and 1:25 left in the second quarter to stretch their lead to 41-12.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, then Fulton made it 48-12 with 6:12 left in the game. Dakota tacked on touchdowns with 4:46 to play and 1:28 remaining to cap the scoring.

Lena-Winslow 28, Forreston 14: The Cardinals drew first blood with an early touchdown, but the Panthers scored the next four touchdowns to pull away for an NUIC win in Forreston.

After Brock Smith scored on a 7-yard run, Jake Zeal returned the ensuing kickoff 68 yards for a score, then Le-Win (9-0, 8-0 NUIC) added a 10-yard touchdown run from Gunar Lobdell with 1:29 left in the first half to take a 14-8 lead. The Panthers added on with Gage Dunker’s 8-yard TD run with 10 seconds left in the third quarter, then Zeal tacked on a 59-yard scoring run in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Johnny Kobler scored on a 12-yard run with 4:17 to play to cap the scoring, and he finished with 17 carries for 94 yards. Kaleb Sanders added 15 rushes for 50 yards for Forreston (5-4, 4-4).

Galena 67, West Carroll 0: The Thunder trailed 21-0 after the first quarter, then the Pirates pulled away with four touchdowns in the second period of an NUIC game in Galena, before adding three more scores in the second half.

West Central 68, Amboy-LaMoille-Ohio 30: Eddie Jones tossed three touchdown passes, and Landon Whelchel chipped in 114 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown, but it wasn’t enough as the Clippers fell to the Heat in an eight-man football game at The Harbor.

Brennan Blaine was the top Amboy receiver, catching four passes for 81 yards and a touchdown. Quinn Leffelman added two catches for 47 yards and a touchdown for the Clippers.

West Central had three runners over the century mark. Kaiden Droste led the way with 259 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries, Parker Meldrum ran 14 times for 106 yards and two touchdowns, and Mason Carnes rushed 13 times for 123 yards and three touchdowns.

Polo 66, Freeport Aquin 22: The Marcos piled up 46 first-quarter points against the Bulldogs on their way to a blowout win over the Bulldogs in an eight-man football game.

Avery Grenoble ran eight times for 137 yards and three touchdowns as the leading Polo rusher. Grenoble’s scores came on runs of 41, 58 and 16 yards.

Brock Soltow added 114 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including an 80-yard score, on 11 carries. He also returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, and threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Noah Dewey.

Brady Wolber rushed for a 28-yard Polo touchdown.

Thursday’s result

AFC 44, Rockford Christian Life 16: Carson Rueff threw five touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Raiders finished the regular season with four straight wins.

Lane Koning had four touchdown receptions, while Zane Murphy and Auden Polk also caught TD passes. Levi Near also threw a scoring pass for AFC (6-3), which will advance to the Illinois 8-Man Football Association playoffs for the first time, and make it to the postseason for the first time since 2005.

Rueff was 10-for-15 passing for 212 yards, and also ran for 48 yards. Murphy finished with 122 yards receiving and added a pair of interceptions on defense, and Koning had 98 yards receiving and an interception.

Auden Polk led the ground game with 50 yards, and Logan Mershon ran for 44 yards for the Raiders.